105S2B

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100

Explain the difference between high-context and low-context cultures and name three countries commonly associated with each.

High-context cultures rely more on implicit meaning, shared background knowledge, non-verbal cues, relationships, and context. Communication is often indirect (Japan, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Mexico).

Low-context cultures rely more on explicit, direct, and precise verbal communication. Meaning is usually expressed clearly in words rather than inferred from context. (Germany, the USA, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Scandinavian countries)

200

Name five stylistic devices commonly used in advertising campaigns. 

Parallelism
Litotes
Chiasmus
Anadiplosis
Epistrophe
Antithesis
Rhetorical question
Tricolon
Pun

300

Name four types of workplace conflict and briefly describe one key feature of each.

1. Task conflict
→ Disagreement about the content of the work itself, such as ideas, priorities, decisions, or the best solution to a problem.

2. Process conflict
→ Disagreement about how the work should be done, including roles, responsibilities, deadlines, procedures, or division of tasks.

3. Relationship conflict
→ Personal tension between people, often caused by communication style, personality clashes, distrust, or negative emotions.

4. Status conflict
→ Conflict over influence, authority, recognition, or whose opinion should carry more weight in the team.

400

Come up with an example of parallelism.

They sell promises. We show proof.
Simple to start. Easy to use. Built to last.
Less noise. More value. Better choices.

500

Explain the rule for using intensifiers with gradable and ungradable adjectives. Give two examples of each. 

Gradable adjectives describe qualities that can exist in degrees. They can be used with intensifiers such as very, quite, rather, fairly, slightly, extremely.

Ungradable adjectives describe qualities that are already extreme, absolute, or complete. They are usually used with intensifiers such as absolutely, completely, totally, utterly.

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100

Name four types of corporate culture and describe two-tree key features of each.

1. Clan culture
→ A collaborative, people-oriented culture. It values teamwork, trust, mentoring, employee involvement, and a strong sense of belonging.

2. Adhocracy culture
→ An innovative, flexible culture. It values creativity, experimentation, risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and fast adaptation to change.

3. Market culture
→ A competitive, results-driven culture. It values performance, targets, productivity, achievement, customer focus, and winning in the market.

4. Hierarchy culture
→ A structured, rule-based culture. It values stability, clear procedures, formal roles, efficiency, consistency, and control.

200

Explain the following talent-management terms in your own words:

institutional knowledge
short-termism
asymmetrical value
attrition
retention
churn

• Institutional knowledge (knowledge accumulated inside an organisation over time, including internal processes, client history, informal practices, culture, and “how things really work”)

• Short-termism (a focus on immediate results, savings, or quick gains while ignoring long-term consequences)

• Asymmetrical value (a situation where an employee creates more value than their job title, salary, or visible role suggests)

• Attrition (a gradual reduction in staff numbers, usually because employees leave and are not replaced immediately)

• Retention (a company’s ability to keep valuable employees and reduce unwanted staff turnover)

• Churn (the rate at which employees or customers leave an organisation; in HR, it refers to frequent employee turnover)

300

Name five market entry strategies and briefly explain one key feature of each. 

• Niche entry (starting with a narrow, clearly defined customer segment before expanding)

• Underserved segment entry (targeting customers whose needs are ignored or poorly served by existing competitors)

• Low-end entry (entering with a simpler or cheaper offer for price-sensitive customers)

• Differentiation entry (standing out through a distinctive product, brand, experience, or value proposition)

• Channel entry (entering the market through existing sales channels, distributors, partners, or institutions)

• Land-and-expand (starting with a small group of users and gradually expanding within an organisation or market)

• Friction-reduction entry (winning customers by making an existing process easier, faster, or less painful)

• Business model innovation (entering with a different pricing, delivery, ownership, or monetisation model)

• Geographic or situational entry (starting in a specific location or situation where demand is easier to test or competition is weaker)

• Platform piggybacking (using an existing platform or ecosystem to reach customers quickly)

400

Come up with an example of anadiplosis.

Trust builds loyalty. Loyalty builds growth.
They promise innovation. Innovation without proof is just noise.
Small choices shape habits. Habits shape markets.

500

List as many concepts related to workplace inequality as you can. There are 18 concepts in total. The team that names the largest number of correct concepts wins the points.

Glass ceiling
Sticky floor
Mommy track
Meritocracy myth
Pink-collar jobs
Allyship
Concrete ceiling
Leaky pipeline
Old boys’ club
Halo effect
Nepotism
Glass escalator
Bamboo ceiling
Glass cliff
Tokenism
Horn effect
Code-switching
Gatekeeping

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100

Name five types of business meetings and briefly explain the purpose of each.

sync/sync-up
alignment meeting
stand-up
roadmap review
retro
post-mortem
product demo
deep dive
war room
escalation meeting
touchpoint
cross-functional meeting
all-hands
town hall
offsite
kick-off meeting

200

Give three examples of product or service localisation and briefly explain what was adapted in each case.

• McDonald’s adapting its menu in India (offering more vegetarian options and avoiding beef-based products to fit local dietary and cultural expectations)

• Netflix localising content for different markets (adding local-language subtitles, dubbing, regional recommendations, and locally produced shows)

• Starbucks adapting store design and products in China (offering tea-based drinks, local flavours, and store layouts suited to social gatherings)

• IKEA adapting product sizes in Japan (offering more compact furniture for smaller living spaces)

• KFC in China adapting its menu (adding rice dishes, congee, egg tarts, and flavours suited to local tastes)

• Uber adapting payment methods in different countries (allowing cash payments or local digital wallets where credit-card use is less common)

300

Name three types of cleft sentences and create one business-related example for each.

1. It-cleft
→ It was the unclear pricing strategy that caused customers to lose trust.

2. Wh-cleft
→ What the company needs is a more transparent recruitment process.

3. Reversed wh-cleft (with an introductory noun phrase)
→ A stronger differentiation strategy is what the start-up needs most.

400

Come up with an example of chiasmus.

Great brands do not chase attention; attention chases great brands.

Smart companies do not adapt to trends; trends adapt to smart companies.

We do not follow the market; the market follows us.

500

Name ten concepts related to employee disengagement, withdrawal, or exit behaviour and briefly explain what each one means.

• Resenteeism (staying in a job while feeling resentful, dissatisfied, or trapped)

• Quiet quitting (doing only what the job requires and refusing extra unpaid effort)

• Job hugging (staying in a job mainly for security, even if dissatisfied)

• Quiet vacationing (appearing to work while secretly taking time off or reducing effort)

• Bare Minimum Mondays (starting the week by doing only essential tasks to reduce stress)

• Career cushioning (preparing backup job options while still employed)

• Loud quitting (openly expressing dissatisfaction before leaving or disengaging)

• Quiet firing (an employer gradually pushing an employee out without formally dismissing them)

• Career catfishing (applying for or accepting interview opportunities without serious intention to follow through)

• Acting your wage (matching effort strictly to pay and refusing extra commitment)

• Coffee badging (briefly appearing at the office to show presence, then leaving or working elsewhere)

• Revenge quitting (leaving suddenly or dramatically in response to frustration or unfair treatment)

• Rage applying (applying to many jobs impulsively after a negative workplace experience)

• Quiet cracking (slowly losing motivation, confidence, or emotional connection to work)

• Ghostworking (creating the appearance of being busy while doing little meaningful work)

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100

Name ten body-language features that can influence the impression a candidate makes in a job interview.

1) mirroring; 2) dead-fish handshake; 3) power pose; 4) side-eye; 5) death stare; 6) peacocking; 7) fidgeting; 8) arms akimbo; 9) steepling; 10) slouch; 11) jaw clench; 12) pursed lips.

200

Give a synonym or a clear paraphrase for each of the following expressions:

to call the shots
to keep someone on a tight leash
to paper over the cracks
to pass the buck
to have a knee-jerk reaction
to tighten the screws

to call the shots: to make the decisions / to be in control

to keep someone on a tight leash: to control someone closely / to micromanage someone

to paper over the cracks: to hide deeper problems / to cover up weaknesses

to pass the buck: to shift responsibility / to avoid accountability

to have a knee-jerk reaction: to react impulsively / to respond without thinking

to tighten the screws: to increase pressure / to impose stricter control

300

What is the difference between the Scrum and Waterfall models?

Waterfall works best when requirements are clear and stable from the beginning, while Scrum is better suited to projects where requirements may change and the team needs frequent feedback, testing, and adjustment.

400

Name six of the eight leadership styles studied in the course and briefly explain one key feature of each.

Visionary leadership
→ Focuses on setting a clear direction and inspiring people to work towards a shared goal.

Democratic leadership
→ Involves employees in decision-making and values discussion, participation, and shared ownership.

Pacesetter leadership
→ Sets very high standards and expects strong performance, often by leading through example.

Bureaucratic leadership
→ Relies on rules, procedures, hierarchy, and consistency.

Autocratic leadership
→ Centralises decision-making in the leader and gives employees little influence over final decisions.

Servant leadership
→ Prioritises supporting employees, removing obstacles, and helping the team grow.

Coaching leadership
→ Focuses on developing employees’ skills, confidence, and long-term potential.

Laissez-faire leadership
→ Gives employees a high level of autonomy and minimal direct supervision.

500

Create one advertising slogan that uses a pun.

A better way to charge your day. (for a power bank or energy drink)

We make cents of your spending. (for a budgeting app)

Don’t just bank on luck — bank with us.

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100

Explain the difference between CSR, ESG, and DEI, and describe how they are interconnected.

• CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility (a broad idea that companies should act responsibly towards society, employees, communities, and the environment; often includes ethical, legal, economic, and philanthropic responsibilities)
  
  
• ESG — Environmental, Social, and Governance (a more measurable framework used to evaluate how responsibly and sustainably a company operates; often important for investors, reporting, risk management, and long-term reputation)
  
  
• DEI — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (a focus on fair representation, equal access to opportunities, inclusive workplace culture, and reducing barriers for underrepresented groups)

CSR is the broadest concept: it describes a company’s general responsibility to society. ESG makes some of that responsibility more measurable, especially through environmental, social, and governance criteria. DEI usually belongs to the social part of ESG and can also be part of a company’s CSR strategy because it concerns fairness, opportunity, and ethical treatment of employees.

200

Explain the Law of Diffusion of Innovation and name its five adopter categories.

The Law of Diffusion of Innovation explains how new ideas, products, or technologies spread through a market over time.

Five adopter categories:

• Innovators (first to try new products; risk-takers; open to experimentation)
  
  
• Early adopters (influential users; recognise value early; help build trust and credibility)
  
  
• Early majority (careful but open-minded; adopt once the idea has proved useful)
  
  
• Late majority (sceptical; adopt when the innovation becomes common or socially expected)
  
  
• Laggards (last to adopt; prefer familiar methods; resistant to change)

300

Name the five components of emotional intelligence.

Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social-Awareness
Relationship Management

400

Explain the following cognitive effects used to influence customer behaviour and give a brief example of how each can be used in marketing or sales:

Anchoring Effect
Loss Aversion
IKEA Effect
Mere Exposure Effect
Endowment Effect
Social Proof Effect

• Anchoring Effect (customers rely too heavily on the first price or number they see; for example, showing a higher original price before a discount makes the new price seem more attractive)

• Loss Aversion (people are more motivated to avoid losing something than to gain something of equal value; for example, “Only 2 seats left” or “Offer ends tonight” creates pressure to act)

• IKEA Effect (people value something more when they have helped create, customise, or assemble it; for example, personalised products or build-your-own options feel more valuable)

• Mere Exposure Effect (people tend to like or trust something more after seeing it repeatedly; for example, repeated brand exposure can make a product feel familiar and reliable)

• Endowment Effect (people value something more once they feel it belongs to them; for example, free trials make customers reluctant to give up the service later)

• Social Proof Effect (people are influenced by what others do, buy, or recommend; for example, reviews, ratings, testimonials, and “bestseller” labels make a product seem safer or more desirable)

500

Name at least three decision-making techniques studied in the course.

Red Team / Blue Team
The 10-10-10 Rule
Dialectical Inquiry
RACI Matrix
DACI Framework
Devil’s Advocate