A U.S. software company keeps testers on its payroll but moves the testing department to a company-owned office in Poland. Which term best describes the change?

A hospital stops running its own cafeteria and signs a contract with an independent food-service company in the same city. What is this an example of?

A carmaker closes its in-house seat-cover unit and pays a separate supplier in another state to make the covers. What is the most likely reason?

A clothing brand owns a sewing plant in Vietnam but keeps design and marketing at headquarters in New York. Why does it split the work this way?

A bank replaces its employee call center with a contract handled by an independent company in the same country. What is the most likely reason?

A U.S. phone company closes the payroll office it owns in Ireland and moves the work back to company employees in Ohio. What is this called?

A retailer hires an independent warehouse firm in India to manage online returns that were formerly handled by its U.S. staff. Which description is most precise?

A U.S. firm moves its accounting work to an office it owns in Costa Rica. Which effect in the firm's U.S. home city is most likely?

A U.S. factory buys plastic casings from a nearby independent supplier. Why might it later switch to an independent supplier in Mexico?

Use the map of a laptop's stages. What pattern does the map best illustrate?

Use the map. Which explanation best fits the arrangement of this electronics chain?

Use the map. Which conclusion about the shoe's commodity chain is most supported?

Use the map of cotton, cloth, sewing, and retail. What concept does the split sequence show?

A firm designs medical devices in Boston, makes precision sensors in Germany, assembles units in Malaysia, and sells them worldwide. What does this arrangement show?

Use the map. Why would the firm divide tablet production this way?

A coffee chain buys beans in Colombia, roasts them in the United States, designs packaging in Italy, and sells drinks in many countries. Which stage usually captures the smallest share of the final price?

Use the map of car parts and assembly. Which claim is best supported?

A government creates a fenced industrial park beside a port, waives import duties on machinery, and lowers taxes on exporters inside it. What is the main purpose?

Factories in northern Mexico near the U.S. border import parts duty-free, assemble them, and ship the finished goods back to the United States. What are these plants called?

In 1980, China set up a special economic zone beside Hong Kong with tax breaks and looser rules for foreign firms. It grew into a huge manufacturing city. Which city is it?

Use the map. The shaded coastal area offers tax holidays and duty-free imported inputs. What purpose does it most likely serve?

A fenced zone has its own customs office so inputs can enter with fewer fees than in the rest of the country. Why would firms locate there?

A government allows 100 percent foreign ownership inside a manufacturing park but restricts it elsewhere. What outcome is the rule meant to encourage?

An industrial zone near an airport offers tax breaks and simplified customs to foreign electronics exporters. Which is a common criticism of such zones?

Why might a low-income country establish a special economic zone before changing rules nationwide?

A port district lets firms store imported parts in bonded warehouses and pay duties only if goods enter the domestic market. What activity is being encouraged?

A plant once made one car model on a long line. Now it uses reprogrammable machines to make small batches of several models. Which shift is shown?

A factory keeps little inventory and depends on suppliers delivering parts hours before use. Which production system is this most associated with?

How do factory jobs under post-Fordist production usually differ from jobs under older mass production?

Just-in-time production was developed at a Japanese carmaker after World War II and is often named for that company's production system. Which company was it?

In 1914, Henry Ford raised many assembly-line workers' pay to about $5 a day. How did high wages fit the Fordist system?

Use the flowchart. Which production regime is represented by the plant's routing decision?

A carmaker keeps only a few hours of parts on hand and relies on suppliers delivering them just in time. What is a major risk of this system?

An old appliance factory was organized around one standardized product and repetitive tasks. What production model does that older arrangement represent?

A company uses many specialized suppliers and assembles customized products only after orders are placed. What shift in industrial organization is this?