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 Business Quiz Questions

35.
How do we know Bibendum better?
Answer

As the Michelin Man

The symbol was introduced in 1898 by French artist O'Galop (pseudonym of Marius Rossillon), and is one of the world's oldest trademarks. André Michelin apparently commissioned the creation of this jolly, rotund figure after his brother, Édouard, observed that a display of stacked tyres resembled a human form. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks, representing Michelin in over 150 countries.

 
34.
Which company is the largest exporter of the United States?
Answer

Boeing

In 2006 it took 55% of global commercial aircraft orders for the first time since 2000. Boeing also continues to serve as the prime contractor on the International Space Station and has built several of the major components.

 
33.
Which cartoon character, created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose, was licensed to Pepsico in the 1980s?
Answer

Fido Dido

 
32.
What is the largest oil corporation in the world and the world's largest in terms of proven crude oil reserves and production?
Answer

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia.

Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco also operates the world's largest single hydrocarbon network, the Master Gas System. It was formerly known as just Aramco, an acronym for Arabian American Oil Company.

 
31.
Marshall McLuhan was named as the "patron saint" of which Magazine that also had his quote on its masthead for the first ten years of its publication?
Answer

Wired

'Wired' has both been admired and disliked for its strong libertarian principles, its enthusiastic embrace of techno-utopianism, and its sometimes experimental layout with its bold use of fluorescent and metallic inks.

 
30.
The name of which company is supposedly derived from the transcandental god of Zoraastrianism?New!
Answer

Mazda

It is also said that Mazda coincides with the anglicized pronunciation of the founder's name, Jujiro Matsuda, who was interested in spirituality, and chose to rename it in honor of both his family and the Zoroastrians. Mazda means "wisdom" in the Avestan language. However, in Japanese, the company has always been pronounced and spelled as "Matsuda" leading many to believe that Mazda is really just a poorly anglicized version of the founder's name.

 
29.
Which business was named for a word because the founders liked the word's general definition, as in Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth." ?
Answer

Yahoo!

It was founded by Stanford graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo in January of 1994 and incorporated on March 2, 1995.

 
28.
In 2006, who posed with a nude Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley on the cover of Vanity fair?
Answer

Tom Ford

Ford was the guest editor for the February 2006 Hollywood edition of Vanity Fair and the cover was originally planned to showcase Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson, and Rachel McAdams. But McAdams was replaced with a clothed Ford after refusing to appear nude.

 
27.
Which company's name comes from a misheard line in "Space Captain," a song by Joe Cocker and Leon Russell? The actual words are "lovely XXX" but Tony Wheeler, the founder, heard "YYY XXX", liked it and decided to name the company thus.
Answer

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet's first books catered to young people from Australia and Europe (mainly the UK) undertaking the overland hippie trail between Australia and Europe, via South-East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. This was becoming something of a rite of passage for young travellers, especially Australians and New Zealanders, who spent many months (or years) on the journey.

 
26.
In a 2006 commerical for Genworth Financial, a little boy, who is later shown to be the kid of Agassi and Graf, more than matches a former professional player in a game of tennis. Who is the player in question?
Answer

Taylor Dent

Dent won 4 ATP singles titles during his career. During a talk at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, Dent confirmed that injuries have forced him to retire from the professional game, much to the disappointment of many tennis fans who believed that Taylor Dent was the last pure Serve-and-Volley player remaining on the professional tour.

 
25.
Dean Kamen, the inventor of which self-balancing transportation device holds that "walking is a remnant of the Dark Ages, an unpleasant time-waster that technology needs to eradicate"?
Answer

The Segway PT

The Segway resembles the motorized, gyroscopically stabilized unicycles in the science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein titled "The Roads Must Roll".

 
24.
Which renowned company based out of California is best known for inventing laser printing, Ethernet, and the graphical user interface (GUI) paradigm, among other things?
Answer

PARC (Palo Alto Research Center, Inc.), formerly Xerox PARC

It was founded in 1970, and incorporated as a separate company (wholly owned by Xerox) in 2002. Xerox has been heavily criticized (particularly by business historians) for failing to properly commercialize and profitably exploit PARC's innovations. The work at PARC in the years since the early 1980s is often overlooked, but major work since then includes ubiquitous computing, aspect-oriented programming, and IPv6.

 
23.
In October 2006, which advertising icon did USA Today list as #1 on their list of 'Imaginary Luminaries: the 101 most influential people who never lived.'?
Answer

The Marlboro Man

The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The ads were originally conceived as a way to popularize filtered cigarettes, which at the time were considered feminine.

 
22.
Nike's Air Jordan XIX (19) basketball shoe's design was reportedly inspired by which creature?
Answer

The Black Mamba

 
21.
In 1914, which company offered the first charge card for consumers, which were precursors to the current day credit cards?
Answer

Western Union

These early cards were issued to preferred company customers to offer them an array of special services, including interest-free deferred payments.

 
20.
Harald X Gromson was the king of Denmark in the AD900's who is regarded as having united Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under a single king. How is his name popular in the technological world (X in his name)?
Answer

As Bluetooth

Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs) that provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices.

 
19.
In Economics, what is 'Monopsony'?
Answer

Market form with only one buyer, as opposed to Monopoly

The term "monopsony" was first introduced by Joan Robinson. Good example is the Arms Industry, where the government is the only buyer.

 
18.
How is Douglas Hofstadter's book 'Fluid Concepts & Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought' significant for Amazon.com?
Answer

It was the first book sold by Amazon on July 15, 1995

 
17.
By repute, what/where is the largest gold repository in the world?
Answer

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Manhattan

This cannot be confirmed as Swiss Banks do not report their gold stocks. The FRBNY's stocks are larger even than Fort Knox, and it holds approx 5,000 tonnes of gold bullion ($90 billion worth at 2007 prices). The gold is owned by many foreign nations, central banks and official international organizations. The Federal Reserve Bank does not own the gold but serves as guardian of the precious metal, which it "protects" at no charge as a gesture of good will to other nations.

 
16.
Which television channel, that carries programming aimed at young women, was co-founded in 1998 by Oprah Winfrey?
Answer

Oxygen

 
15.
In Japan, what term is given to a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings, akin to a business group?
Answer

Keiretsu

There are two types of keiretsu: vertical and horizontal. Vertical keiretsu illustrates the organization and relationships within a company, while a horizontal keiretsu shows relationships between entities, normally centred around a bank and trading company. There are currently 6 major ones and a host of minor ones.

 
14.
What name was given to a group of economists who were consulted by Augusto Pinochet of Chile to formulate his economic policy?
Answer

Chicago boys

The Chicago Boys (c. 1970s) were a group of about 25 Chilean economists working under the Augusto Pinochet administration to create a free market economy and decentralize economic and ultimately political power.

 
13.
Which device, now known by the name of its Japanese version, was released in 1979 with the name of 'Soundabout' outside Japan?
Answer

The Walkman

The device was created by audio division engineer Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony co-chairman Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to operas during his frequent transpacific plane trips.

 
12.
Which company's name was contrived by Esso (Standard Oil of New Jersey) in the early 1970s to create a distinctive label, but was initially dubbed "the double cross company" because of the way the name was spelt?
Answer

Exxon

 
11.
In the 2006 list of cities with Fortune Global 500 companies, which city topped with 52 companies?
Answer

Tokyo

Followed by Paris with 27, and New York with 24.

 
10.
Which shoe brands' success is closely associated with the aerobics fitness craze?
Answer

Reebok

Reebok surged in popularity in 1982 after the introduction of the Freestyle athletic shoe, which was specifically designed for women and came out when the aerobics fitness craze started. Reebok continues to produce the Freestyle to this day as it is popular with cheerleading, aerobic dancing, the gym, and dedicated consumers.

 
9.
In Cuba, what are known as 'Yank tanks'?
Answer

Classic cars

After the Cuban Revolution, the USA imposed an embargo on Cuba, making international trade very difficult. As a result, the cars that were present were nurtured. Due to the presence of many rich US citizens in Cuba under Fulgencio Batista, classic cars were the standard and due to constant good care, many remain in good working order.

 
8.
In a 2007 MSN-Zogby International survey of customer service of US companies, which corporation came in last, topping the 'Hall of Shame'?
Answer

Sprint, followed by Bank of America

 
7.
What did Oliver Pollock create on April 1st 1778, which came in use by the US economy shortly?
Answer

The $ sign to represent the dollar unit

An Irish immigrant, he became a merchant in Lousiana and in his dealings with the Spaniards, Pollock used their currency, the peso. In true Spanish tradition, Pollock used an abbreviation for pesos, yet his penmanship made the abbreviation appear to be the transposition of the letters "p" and "s."

 
6.
A colloquial principle of hierarchiology, what states "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."?
Answer

The Peter Principle

Formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in his 1968 book of the same name, the Peter Principle pertains to the level of competence of the human resources in a hierarchical organization. The principle explains the upward, downward, and lateral movement of personnel within a hierarchically organized system of ranks.

 
5.
In business, who/what is the "marzipan layer"?
Answer

Group of managers just below the highest level of directors.

This phrase refers to the fact that in some cakes, a layer of marzipan lies just below the icing.

 
4.
Which is the all time bestselling car in the world?
Answer

Toyota Corolla

In 1997, the Corolla became the bestselling car in the world, with over 30 million sold as of 2007.

 
3.
What nickname was given to Jack Welch in the 1980's for eliminating employees while leaving the office buildings intact?
Answer

Neutron Jack

In reference to the Neutron bomb that kills people but does not destroy buildings.

 
2.
Which Micronesian island houses an 'offshore' detention centre that holds and processes asylum seekers trying to enter Australia?
Answer

Nauru

Nauru is a phosphate rock island, and its primary economic activity since 1907 has been the export of phosphate mined from the island. With the exhaustion of phosphate reserves, its environment severely degraded by mining, the government of Nauru has resorted to unusual measures to obtain income and has given this service to Australia since 2001.

 
1.
How did Google's famous 'page-rank' algorithm actually get its name?
Answer

From Larry Page, one of the co-founders of Google.

It is a link analysis algorithm which assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of measuring its relative importance within the set. The PageRank process has been patented and is not assigned to Google but to Stanford University.

 
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