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international business4200
midterm
157
Business
Undergraduate 4
05/15/2012

Additional Business Flashcards

 


 

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Term
globalization
Definition
trend away from distinct national economic units and toward one huge global market
Term
globalization of markets
Definition
moving away from an economic system in which national markets are distinct entities, isolated by trade barriers and barriers of distance, time, and culture, and toward a system in which national markets are merging into one global market.
Term
Globalization of production
Definition
trend by individual firms to disperse parts of the productive processes to different locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production
Term
factors of production
Definition
imputs into the productive process of a firm, including labor, management, land, capital, and technological know-how.
Term

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(GATT)

 

Definition
international treaty that committed signatories to lowing barriers to the free flow of goods across national borders and led to the WTO
Term

World Trade Organization

(WTO)

Definition
organization that succeeded the GATT as a result of the successful completion of the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations
Term

International Monetary Fund

(IMF)

Definition
international institution set up to maintain order in the international monetary system. 
Term
World Bank
Definition
international organization set up to promote general economic development in the world's poorer nations
Term
United Nations
Definition
an internat'l organization made up of 191 countries and headquartered in NYC formed in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation
Term
International Trade
Definition
occurs when a firm exports goods or services to consumers in another country
Term

Foreign Direct Investment

(FDI)

Definition
direct investment in business operations in a foreign country
Term
Moores Law
Definition
the power of the microprocessor, the single most important innovation, technology doubles and its cost of production talls in half every 18 mos.
Term
stock of foreign direct investment
Definition
the total cumulative value of foreign-owned assets at a given time. 
Term

Multinational Enterprise

(MNE)

Definition
a firm that owns business operations in more than one country
Term

political economy

Definition
the political, economic, and legal systems of a country are interdependent; they interact and influence each other, and in doing so they affect the levels of economic well-being.
Term
political system
Definition
the system of government in a nation. assessed by two dimensions: degree to which they emphasize collectivism or individualism, the degree to which they are democratic or totalitarian 
Term
collectivism
Definition
a political system that emphasizes collective goals over individual goals; needs of society as a whole more important; philosophy of Plato..."common good" 
Term
 socialism
Definition
(karl marx); advocating substantial public involvement through government ownership, in the means of production and distribution
Term
communist
Definition
those who believe socialism can be achieved through revolution and totalitarian dictatorship
Term
social democrats
Definition
those committed to achieving socialism by democratic means
Term
privatization
Definition
the sale of the state-owned enterprises to private investors. 
Term
individualism
Definition
an emphasis on the importance of guaranteeing individual freedom and self-expression. aristotle.
Term
democracy
Definition
politcal system in which government is by the people, exercised eeith directly or through elected representatives
Term
totalitarianism
Definition
form of governement in which one person or politcal party exercises absolute control oer all spheres of human life and prohibis opposing politcal parties. 
Term
representative democracy
Definition
a political system in which citizens periodically elect individuals to represent them. 
Term
communist totatarianism
Definition
a version of collectivism advocating that socialism can be achieved only through a totalitarian dictatorship
Term
theocratic totalitarianism
Definition
a political system inwhich pplitical power is monopolized by a party, group, or individual that goerns according to religious prinicples; such as Iran/saudi Arabia. These states limit political and religious expression with laws based on Islamic principles 
Term
tribal totalitarianism
Definition
political system in which a party, group, or individual that represents the interests of a particular tribe (ethnic group) monopolizes political power. 
Term
Right-Wing Totalitarianism
Definition
political power is monopolized by a party, group, or individual that generally permits indivvidual econoic freedom but restricts individual political freedom, including free speech, frequently on the grounds that it would lead to the rise of communism; commonly backed by military
Term
market economy
Definition
an economic system in which the interaction of supply and demand determines the quantity in which goods and services are produced; all productive activities are privately owned. customers are sovereign. consumption patterns signaled to producers thorugh price system. 
Term
command economy
Definition

an economic system in which the government plans the goods and services that a country produces, the quantity in which the are produced, and the prices at which the are sold; goal for the government to allocate resources for "the good of society; number has fallen dramatically with the fall of communist countries. 

>dynamism and innovation absent...tends to stagnant

Term
mixed economy
Definition
certain sectors of the economy are left to private ownership and free market mechanisms while other sectors have significant state ownership and government planning; privatization has reduced state ownership of businesses; governements inject capital into troubled enterprises for the greater good of society. 
Term
Legal system
Definition
system of rules that regulate behavior and the processes by which the laws are enforced and through which redress of grievances is obtained...regulate business practices, define the manner in which transactions are executed, and set down the rights and obligations of those involved in business transaction; influenced by prevailing political system; rules reflect rulers dominant political ideology. 
Term
common law
Definition
a system of law based on tradition, precedent, and custom
Term
civil law
Definition
a system of law based on a detailed set of written laws and codes; judges have less flexibility to interpret the law and must only apply the law.
Term
Theocratic Law system
Definition
a system of law based on religious teachings. Islamic most widely practiced; also have some elements of common or civil law
Term
contract law
Definition
the body of law that governs contract enforcement
Term

United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

(CIGS)

Definition
a set of rules governing certain aspects of the making and performance of commercial contracts between sellers nd buyers who have their places of business in different nations. 
Term
property rights
Definition

the bundle of legal rights over the use to which a resource is put and over the use made of any incom that may be derived from that resource. Property rights can still be violated in two ways:

1)private action--the theft, piracy, blackmail, and the like by private individuals or groups.

2)public action and corruption--the extortion of income or resources of property holders by public officials, such as politicans and governement bureaucrats. (corruption reduces FDI

Term
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Definition
U.S. law regulating behavior regarding the conduct of international business in the taking of bribes and other unethical actions. grease/speedy payments acceptable bc they facilitate performance of dudties that the recipients are already obligated to perform. 
Term
intellectual property
Definition
products of the mind such as computer software, a screenplay, a music store, or the chemical formula for a new drug: can be protected b patents, copyrights, and trademarks. 
Term
patent
Definition
grants the inventor of a new product/process exclusive rights for a defined period to the manufacture, use, or sale of that invention.
Term
copyright
Definition
the exclusive legal rights of authors, composers, playwrights, artists, and publishers to publish and disperse their work as they see fit. 
Term
trademark
Definition
designs and names, often officially registered, by which merchants or manufacturers designate and differentiate their products. 
Term
World Intellectual Poperty organization
Definition
an international organization whose members sign treaties designed to protect intellectual property. 
Term
paris convention for the protection of industrial property
Definition
international agreement to protect intellectual property; dates to 1883 and has been signed by some 170 nations. 
Term
product safety laws
Definition
set certain safety standards to which a product must adhere
Term
product liability
Definition
involves holding a firm and its officers responsible when a product causes injury, death, or damage
Term

Gross Naional Income

(GNI)

Definition
the yardstick for measureing the economic activity of a country; it measures the total annual income received by a nation's residents
Term

Purchasing Power Parity

(PPP)

Definition
an adjustment in gross domestic product per capita to reflect differences in the cost of living. 
Term

Human Development Index

(HDI)

Definition
an attempt by the UN to assess the impact of a number of factors on the quality of human life in a country; three measures: life expectancy, educational attainment, average incomes<.5 low human development, .5-.8 medium, .8>high
Term
innovation
Definition
development of new products, processes, organizations, management practices, and strategies...leads to increase in productivity of labor and capital which boosts economic growth rates. 
Term
entrepreneurs
Definition
those who first commercialize innovations
Term
deregulation
Definition
removal of government restrictions concerning the conduct of business.
Term
Cross-cultural literacy
Definition
an understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced. 
Term
values
Definition
abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable
Term
Norms
Definition
social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations
Term
folkways
Definition
routine conventions of everyday life
Term
Mores
Definition
are norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a society and to its social life. Ex: indicment aga theft, adultery, incest
Term
social structure
Definition
the basic social organziation of a society; degree to hich the basic unit of social orgaization is the individual as opposed to a group; degree to which a society is stratefied into classes or castes. 
Term
group
Definition
an association of two or more individuals who have a shared sense of identity and who interact with each other in structured ways on the basis of a common set of expectations about ach other's behavior. 
Term
social strata
Definition
hierarchical social categories often based on family background, occupation, and income. Born toward the top of the social heiracrchy tend to have better life chances. Two diff b/t top and bottom...mobility among stratum and significance in business context. 
Term
social mobility
Definition
the extend to which individuals can move out of he strata into which they are born; most rigid system of stratification is the caste system
Term
caste system
Definition
a closed system of stratification in which social position is determined by the family into which a person is born, and change in that position is usually not possible during an individual's lifetime. 
Term
class system
Definition
a system of social stratification in which the position a person has by birth can be changed through his /her own acchievement or luck. 
Term
class consciousness
Definition
a tendency for ppl to perceive themselves in terms of their class background. 
Term
business ethics
Definition
the accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of businesspeople
Term
regional economic integration
Definition
agreements among countries in a geographic region to reduce, and ultimately remove, tariff and nontariff barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and factors of production between each other; been most successful in Europe. 
Term
free trade area
Definition

a group of countries committed to removing all barriers to the free flow of goods and services between each other, but pursing independent external trade policies; accounting for 90% of all regional agreements.

 

European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland

Term

European Free Trade Association

(EFTA)

Definition
a free trade association including Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland; the most enduring free trade area in the world.
Term
customs union
Definition

a group of countries committed to (1)removing all barriers to the free flow of goods and services between each other and (2) the pursuit of a common external trade policy.

 

Ex: the Andean Community

Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela

Term
Common Market
Definition

a group of countries committed to (1)removing all barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and factors of production between each other and (2)pursuit of a common external trade policy. Labor/capital free to move due to no restrictions on immigration, emigration, or cross-border flows b/t member countries. 

Ex: EU (priorly)

Mercosur: hopes to eventually establish itself as a common market

Term
Economic Union
Definition

entails even closer economic integration and cooperation than a common market. a group of countries (1) removing all barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and factors of production; (2) the adoption of common currency; (3) the harmonization of tax rates; and (4) the pursuit of a common external trade policy. 

 

Ex: EU

Term
political union
Definition

a central political apparatus that coordinates economic, social, and foreign policy. 

 

Ex: United States

Term
trade creation
Definition
trade created due to regional economic integration; occurs when high-cost domestic producers are replaced by low-cost foreign producers in a free trade area.
Term
trade diversion
Definition
trade diverted due to regional economic integration; occurs when low-cost foreign suppliers outside a free trade are are replaced by higher-cost foreign suppliers in a free trade area. 
Term

European Union

(EU)

Definition

an economic group of 27 European nations; established as a customs union, it is moving toward economic union; formerly the European Community; product of two political factors:

(1) the devastation of Western Europe during two world wars and the desire for a lasting peace

(2) the European Nation's desire to hold their own on the world's political and economic stage.  

Term
Treaty of Rome
Definition
The 1957 treaty that established the European Community; provided for the creation of a common market. 
Term
European Commission 
Definition
body responible for proposing EU legislation, implementing it, and monitoring compliance; commission has to be approved by Parliment before begins work. 
Term
European Council
Definition
the ultimate controlling authority within the EU;
Term
European Parliment
Definition
Elected EU body that consults on the issues proposed by the European Commission; 732 members, consultative rather than legislative body, now has the right to vote for appointment of commissioners as well as veto some laws. 
Term
Treaty of Lisbon
Definition
Treaty signed in 2007 that made the European Parliament the co-equal legislator for almost all European laws and also created the position of the president of the European Council. 
Term
Court of Justice
Definition
Supreme appeals court for EU laws.
Term
Single European Act
Definition
A 1987 act, adopted by members of the European Community, that committed member countries to establishing an economic union. 
Term
Maastricht Treaty
Definition
Treaty agreed to in 1991 but not ratified until Jan 1, 1994, that committed the 12 member states of the European Community to adopt a common currency.
Term
optimal currency area
Definition
one where similarities in the underlying structure of economic activity make it feasible to adopt a single currency. 
Term
NAFTA
Definition
free trade area between canada, mexico and the US.
Term
Andean Pact
Definition
a 1969 agreement between bolivia, chile, ecuador, colombia, and peru to establish a customs union
Term
mercosur
Definition
pact between argentina, brazil, parguay, and uruguay to establish a free trade area. 
Term
central american common market
Definition
a trade pack bt costa rica, el salvador, guatemala, honduras and nicaragua, which began in the early 1960s but collapsed in 1969 due to war.
Term

Central America Free Trade Agreement

(CAFTA)

Definition
the agreement of the member states of central american common market joined by the dominican republic to trade freely with the US.
Term
CARICOM
Definition
an association of english-speaking caribbean states that are attempting to establish a customs union
Term

Caribbean Single Market and Economy

(CSME)

 

Definition
unites six CARICOM members in agreeing to lower trade barriers and harmonize macroeconomic and monetary policies. 
Term

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN)

Definition
an attempt to establish a free trade area between brunei, ambodia, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, philippines, singapore, thailand, and vietnam. 
Term

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 

(APEC)

 

Definition
made up of 21 member states whose goal is to increase multilateral cooperation in view of the economic rise of the Pacific nations. 
Term
ethical strategy
Definition
a strategy, or course of action, that does not violate the accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of businesspeople
Term
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Definition
A U.S. law regulating behavior regarding the conduct of international business in the taking of bribes and other unethical actions
Term
Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officals in International Business Transactions
Definition
OECD convention that obliges member states to make the bribery of foreign public officials a criminal offense
Term
Social Responsiblity
Definition
the idea that businesspeople should consider the social consequences of economic actions when making business decisions.
Term
ethical dilemma
Definition
a situation in which none of the available alternatives seem ethically acceptable
Term
Organization Culture
Definition
he values and norms shared among an organization's employees
Term
cultural Relativism
Definition
the belief that ethics are culturally determined and that firms should adopt the ethics of the cultures in which they operate. 
Term
religious moralism
Definition
the belief that a multinational's home-country standards of ethics are the appropriate ones for companies to follow in foreign countries
Term
naive immoralism
Definition
the belief that if a manager of a nultinational sees that firms from other nations are not following eithical norms in a host nations, that manager should not either
Term
utilitarian approaches
Definition
these approaches to ethics hold that the moral worth of actions or practices is determined by their consequences
Term
kantian ethics
Definition
the belief that people should be treated as ends and never as means to ends of others. 
Term
right theories
Definition
20th century theories that recognize human beings have fundamental rights and privileges that transcend national boundaries and cultures
Term
universal declaration of human rights
Definition
a united nations document that lays down the basic principles of human rights that should awlays be adhered to
Term
just distribution
Definition
a distribution of economic goods and services that is considered fair and equitable
Term
code of ethics
Definition
a business's formal statement of ethical proiorities
Term
stakeholders
Definition
the individual or groups that have an interst, stake, or claim in the actions and overall performance of a company
Term
internal stakeholders
Definition
people who work for or own the business, such as employees, directors, and stockholders
Term
external stakeholders
Definition
the individuals and groups that have some claim on the firms, such as customers, suppliers, and unions.
Term
free trade
Definition
the absence of government barriers to the free flow of goods and services between countries
Term
New Trade Theory
Definition
theory that sometimes countries specialize in the production and export of particular products not because of underlying differences in factor endowments, but because in certain industries the world market can support only a limitied number of firms. 
Term
Mercantilism
Definition
an economic philosophy advocating that countries should simultaneously encourage exports and discourage imports
Term
zero-sum game
Definition
a situationin which economic gain by one country results in an economic loss by another. 
Term
absolute advantage
Definition
a country has an absolute advantage in the production of a product when it is more efficient than any other country in producing it
Term
constant returns to specialization
Definition
the units of resources required to produce a good are assumed to remain constant no matter where one is on a country's production possibility frontier. 
Term
factor endowments
Definition
the extent to which a country is endowned with such resources as land, labor, and capital
Term
economies of scale
Definition
cost advantages associated with large-scale production
Term
First-Mover advantage
Definition
advantages accruing to the first to enter a market
Term
tariff
Definition
a tax levied on imports
Term
specific tariff
Definition
a tariff levied as a fixed charge for each unit of good imported
Term
Ad Valorem tariff
Definition
a tariff levied as a proportion of the value of an imported good
Term
subsidy
Definition
government financial assistance to a domestic product
Term
import quota
Definition
a direct restriction on the quantity of some good that may be imported into a country
Term
tariff rate quota
Definition
the process of applying a lower tariff rate to imports within the quota than those over the quota
Term

Voluntary Export Restraint 

(VER)

Definition
a quota on trade imposed by the exporting country, typically at the request of the importing country's government
Term
Quota Rent
Definition
the extra profit producers make when supply is articially limited by an import quota
Term
local content requirements
Definition
a requirement that some specific fractionof a good be produced domestically
Term
administrative Trade policies
Definition
bureaucratic rules designed to make it difficult for imports to enter a country
Term
dumping
Definition
selling goods in a foreign market at below teir costs of production or below their "fair" market value
Term
antidumping policies
Definition
policies designed to punish foreign firms that engage in dumping and thus protect domestic producers from unfair foreign competition
Term
countervailing duties
Definition
antidumping duties
Term
Helms-Burton Act
Definition
Act passed in 1996 that allowed Americans to sue foreign firms that use Cuban property confiscated from them after the 1959 revolution
Term
D'Amato Act
Definition
Act passed in 1996, similar to the helms-burton act, aimed at Libya and Iran
Term
Infant Industry Argument
Definition
New industries in developing countries must be temporarily protected from international competition to help them reach a position where they can compete on world markets with the firms of developed nations. 
Term
strategic trade policy
Definition
government policy aimed at improving the competitive position of a domestic industry or domestic firm in the world market
Term
smoot-hawley act
Definition
enacted in 1930 by the U.S. Cogress, this tariff erected a wall of barriers against imports into the United States
Term
Greenfield investment
Definition
establishing a new operation in a foreign country
Term
Flow of FDI
Definition
the amount of FDI undertaken over a given time period (normally a year).
Term
Stock of FDI
Definition
The total accumulated value of foreign-owned assets at a given time
Term
Outflows of FDI
Definition
the flow of FDI out of a country
Term
Inflows of FDI
Definition
The flow of FDI into a country
Term
Gross Fixed Capital Formation
Definition
Summaries the total amount of capital invested in factories, stores, office buildings, and the like
Term
Ecletic Paradigm
Definition
Argument that combining location-specific assets or resource endowments and the firm's own unique assets often requires FDI; it requires the firm to establish production facilities where those foreign assets or resource endowments are located
Term
exporting
Definition

sale of products produced in one country to residents of another country

 

Limitations: transportaion costs and trade barriers

Term
Licensing
Definition

occurs when a firm licenses the right to produce its product, its prodution processes, or its brand name or trademark to another firm; in return for giving the licensee these rights, the licensor collects a royalty fee on every unit the licensee sells.

Term
Internalization theory
Definition
the argument that firms prefer FDI over licensing to retain control over know-how, manufacturing, marketing, and strategy or because some firm capabilities are not amenable to licensing; also kow as the market imperfections approach
Term
oligopoly
Definition
an industry composed of a limited numer of large firms
Term
multipoint competition
Definition
arises when two or more enterprises encounter each other in different regional markets, national markets, or industries
Term
location-specific advantages
Definition
advantages that arise from utilizing resource endownments or assets that are tied to a particular foreign locaion and that a firm finds valuable to combine with its unique assets (such as the firm's technological, marketing, or management capabilities)
Term
externalities
Definition
knowledge spillovers
Term
balance of payment accounts
Definition
national accounts that track both payments to and receipts from other countries
Term
current account
Definition
in the valance of payments, records transactions involving the export and import of goods and services
Term
offshore production
Definition
FDI undertaken to serve the home market
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