Organizations can gain a competitive advantage simply by matching their competition in terms of cutting costs and responsiveness to employees.

_________ is a data-mining technique used to predict future behavior and anticipate the consequences of change.

The United States limits the amount of cheese purchased from other countries; this is a(n) ________ policy.

Innovation in business is defined as seeking ways to deliver less costly goods but in similar ways, maintaining employee morale.

Nora is a small-business owner who loves to take risks. She also enjoys going out and meeting customers and potential clients—the social aspect of her job. Nora relies on intuition and discussions with others to acquire information. As an interior decorator, Nora utilizes her imaginative strengths, taking a broad perspective to problem solving, and she likes to consider many options and future possibilities. Nora’s decision-making style is best described as

Marta, the public relations manager of a local library, is meeting with the news media regarding a new reading program for children. Marta is performing the ________ role.

Timothy, a restaurant general manager, carefully watches his costs by reusing some items that in the past were immediately thrown away. Timothy is an example of a(n) _____ manager.

Sunset Resort, a successful 100-year-old hotel and resort, entered into a co-marketing arrangement with Sleepytime Hotels, a five-star hotel chain. Both companies benefit from the new relationship. Pleasant is now able to market its facility and services through Sleepytime’s marketing team, and Sleepytime Hotels now offers access to an upscale resort that it can recommend to its customers who are looking for a resort experience. Sleepytime Hotels and Sunset Resort can be considered strategic allies.

Mediation is the process in which a neutral third party, an arbitrator, listens to both parties in a dispute and makes a decision that the parties have agreed will be binding on them.

Two managers from Appliance King were talking to Uri, their district manager, about Hannah, the unpopular store manager. Vivian, the assistant manager, said, “I believe I speak for other managers and employees when I say that Hannah acts like she knows it all. We all feel that Hannah does not listen to any of us because she always thinks her way is right and does not want to consider any other opinion.” Hannah is an example of a geocentric manager.