International Business: Globalization, Culture, Political, Economic, and Legal Systems

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from international business lectures on globalization, cross-cultural business, and political, economic, and legal systems.

International Business

Commercial transactions that cross the borders of two or more nations.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

The purchase of physical assets or a significant amount of ownership in another country to gain a measure of management control.

Born Global Firm

A company with a global perspective that engages in international business from inception and quickly achieves a competitive advantage.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The value of all goods and services produced within a domestic economy in a one-year period.

Gross National Product (GNP)

The value of all goods and services produced by a country's domestic and international activities in a one-year period.

Globalization of Markets

The convergence of buyer preferences in markets around the world.

Globalization of Production

The dispersal of production activities worldwide to minimize costs or maximize quality.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

A treaty designed to promote free trade by reducing tariffs and nontariff barriers to international trade.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

The international organization that enforces the rules of international trade.

Race to the Bottom

An economic and political concept where companies, states, or nations compete by cutting wages, lowering worker protections, reducing taxes, or weakening environmental rules to slash costs and attract business.

Culture

The complex set of shared values, beliefs, behaviours, customs, symbols, and artefacts that characterise a group of people or a society.

Ethnocentricity

The belief that one's own ethnic group or culture is superior to that of others.

Cross-Cultural Literacy

Detailed knowledge about a culture that enables a person to work happily and effectively within it.

Geocentrism

A global orientation that seeks to combine the best practices from home and host countries, building a culturally agile organization.

Subculture

A group of people who share a unique way of life within a larger, dominant culture.

Material Culture

The physical objects, infrastructure, and technology a society creates and relies on to produce goods and deliver services.

Folk Custom

Behaviour, often dating back several generations, that is practised by a homogeneous group of people.

Polychronic Time (P-time)

A perception of time in which people tend to engage less in advance planning and do things according to their own schedule.

Monochronic Time (M-time)

A perception of time in which people tend to prefer well-defined, advance schedules for deadlines and meetings.

Cultural Imperialism

The replacement of one culture's traditions, folk heroes, and artefacts with substitutes from another.

Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Framework

A framework for studying cultural differences along six dimensions, such as focus on past or future events and belief in individual or group responsibility for personal well-being.

Anarchism

The belief that only individuals and private groups should control a nation's political activities, viewing public government as unwanted and unnecessary.

Totalitarianism

A political system in which individuals govern regardless of the people's support, tightly control people's lives, and do not tolerate opposing viewpoints.

Pluralism

The belief that both private and public groups play important roles in a nation's political activities, balancing each other's power.

Theocracy

A political system in which a country's religious leaders are also its political leaders.

Communism

The belief that social and economic equality can be obtained only by establishing an all-powerful Communist party, violently seizing control over economic resources, and eliminating political opposition.

Socialism

A political system in which government owns and controls all types of economic activity to achieve social and economic equality.

Market Economy

An economic system in which most of a nation's land, factories, and other economic resources are privately owned by either individuals or businesses.

Common Law

A legal system based on tradition, precedent (prior rulings), and usage.

Civil Law

A legal system based on a comprehensive, highly detailed set of written statutes and codified laws rather than judge-made judicial precedent.