Deck 17: Human Resource Management in the Global Firm

Question 1

All of the following refer to key tasks of IHRM EXCEPT ________.

A)developing global managers
B)assessing job performance of expatriates
C)evaluating internal accounting practices and audits
D)handling labor disputes and strikes

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following best describes an expatriate?

A)an employee who is assigned to live and work in a foreign country for an extended period
B)an employee who returns to his home country after a foreign assignment
C)an employee hired on a temporary basis by an MNE
D)an employee who is a host-country national

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Avoiding country bias, nepotism, and other local practices and cultivating a global mindset are some of the significant challenges of the international staffing policy.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

________ are typically the largest proportion of workers hired abroad and usually work in manufacturing, assembly, basic service activities, clerical work, and other nonmanagerial functions.

A)Home-country nationals
B)Parent-country nationals
C)Third-country nationals
D)Host-country nationals

Question 5

International human resource managers support subsidiary managers by providing IHRM guidelines and by hiring, training, and evaluating employees for international operations.

Question 6

Host-country nationals (HCNs)are citizens of the country where the MNE is headquartered.

Question 7

Foreign subsidiaries are never staffed from the home country.

Question 8

Which of the following employees is most likely a third-country national?

A)Raj Patel
B)Marcus Field
C)Shelly Eaton
D)Keiko Tran

Question 9

Parent-country nationals (PCNs)are citizens of the country where the MNE's subsidiary is located.

Question 10

In a short essay, discuss the key tasks in international human resource managers.

Question 11

Linda Grahams, an American citizen, works in a global conglomerate based in Washington D.C. A few months ago, Linda was assigned to work in the company's office in Hong Kong and live there for the next three years. Which of the following can Linda be best described as?

A)expatriate
B)host-country national
C)third-country national
D)repatriate

Question 12

In which of the following situations is the employee considered a host-country national?

A)a French MNE sends a French employee to work in its Canadian subsidiary
B)a Japanese MNE sends an American employee to work at its Hong Kong subsidiary
C)a Chinese MNE employs a Chinese citizen for its subsidiary in Singapore
D)an American MNE employs a Mexican citizen for its subsidiary in Mexico

Question 13

International human resource management is usually more complex than domestic human resource management because ________.

A)IHRM managers usually encounter routine situations akin to those present at home
B)IHRM managers typically have a low exposure to risks
C)IHRM managers are required to both hire and retain talent
D)IHRM managers are required to demonstrate greater involvement in employees' personal lives

Question 14

________ are citizens of the country where the MNE's subsidiary is located.

A)Third-country nationals
B)Expatriates
C)Host-country nationals
D)Parent-country nationals

Question 15

In a short essay, discuss the factors that complicate the job of international human resource managers.

Question 16

Which of the following employees is a parent-country national working in a host country?

A)Marcus Field
B)Keiko Tran
C)Raj Patel
D)Shelly Eaton

Question 17

Which of the following issues most likely complicates international human resource management?

A)equal education opportunities
B)health benefit reimbursement
C)political risk and terrorism
D)vacation and travel policies

Question 18

Richard Johnson, an American citizen, is a senior manager in a telecom company based in Texas. He is currently posted in and works from the company's subsidiary in Uganda, Africa. Richard is a ________.

A)host-country national
B)parent-country national
C)third-country national
D)repatriate

Question 19

Margaret Lee, an American and a private bank employee from New York, is assigned to work and reside in Paris for five years. She is most likely to be known as a repatriate in Paris.

Question 20

Which of the following employees is most likely a host-country national?

A)Shelly Eaton
B)Raj Patel
C)Keiko Tran
D)Marcus Field

Question 21

________ refers to an employee's ability to function effectively with those from different cultural backgrounds or in different cultural contexts.

A)Reverse culture shock
B)Ethnocentrism
C)Cultural intelligence
D)Cultural pluralism

Question 22

Which of the following most likely occurs as a result of expatriate failure?

A)culture shock
B)diminished careers
C)acculturation
D)knowledge sharing

Question 23

________ refers to searching for and locating potential job candidates to fill the firm's needs.

A)Retrenchment
B)Recruitment
C)Codetermination
D)Repatriation

Question 24

Firms prefer HCNs when the host-country environment is complex and their specialized knowledge or local connections are required in the local marketplace.

Question 25

Briefly describe the three types of managers commonly found in the foreign subsidiaries of MNEs. What are the distinctive traits of managers with a global mind-set?

Question 26

Firms prefer HCNs when ________.

A)the host country environment is complex
B)the host country has no specialized knowledge to share
C)the parent country is keen on maintaining full control over foreign operations
D)managers located in the headquarters adopt a dominantly ethnocentric approach to hiring

Question 27

Firms usually hire HCNs abroad to maintain local control over foreign operations.

Question 28

________ refers to the confusion and anxiety experienced by a person who lives in a foreign culture for an extended period.

A)Culture shock
B)Culture pluralism
C)Enculturation
D)Segregation

Question 29

Which of the following most supports hiring Craig Springer as manager for CCC's facility in New Delhi?

A)Craig handles work-related stress mostly by exercising and spending time with friends.
B)Craig has served as a manager for six months in CCC's office in Beijing.
C)Craig learned to speak fluently in Spanish and French from his past assignments in Europe.
D)Craig is able to work independently with little direction.

Question 30

________ tends to worsen culture shock.

A)The ability to speak more than one language
B)Proximity to family
C)Inadequate cross-cultural skills
D)High adaptability

Question 31

Under which of the following circumstances would an MNE most likely hire a parent-country national?

A)when the MNE wants to maintain strong control over its foreign operations
B)when the MNE wants to benefit substantially from specialized knowledge available in the host country
C)when the MNE wants to transfer specific knowledge or corporate culture from third countries to host-country operations
D)when the host country environment is complex

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT one of the four dimensions of cultural intelligence?

A)behavioral flexibility
B)motivation
C)strategy
D)introversion

Question 33

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument in favor of hiring Devon Parks as manager for CCC's facility in New Delhi?

A)Devon has few local connections in New Delhi where success is largely determined by local connections and networking.
B)CCC wants to maintain strong control over all its foreign operations including India.
C)Devon is capable of working independently and with little direction.
D)CCC has significantly benefitted in the past by hiring PCNs for training local managers in Asia.

Question 34

________ refers to the employee's ability to adopt verbal and nonverbal behaviors appropriate in different cultures.

A)Behavioral biases
B)Parochialism
C)Behavioral flexibility
D)Ethnocentrism

Question 35

Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument in favor of hiring a local manager for the New Delhi facility?

A)Indians are mostly multilingual.
B)Local connections are crucial to achieve success in the local marketplace in India.
C)CCC wants to have strong control over all its foreign operations.
D)The quality of labor in New Delhi is no lesser than that in Texas.

Question 36

Which of the following would be the most important for human resources managers to determine before deciding who should manage the New Delhi facility?

A)Which candidate possesses the ability to be a flexible and sensitive leader with superior cross-cultural knowledge?
B)Which candidate best understands CCC corporate culture in Texas?
C)Which candidate is the most knowledgeable about CCC's products?
D)Which candidate has mentored the most CCC interns and new employees over the past three years?

Question 37

For which of the following activities would parent-country nationals most likely be employed?

A)marketing
B)creating a global culture
C)research and development
D)sales

Question 38

An MNE would most likely employ a host-country national when ________.

A)it has substantial knowledge regarding upstream value-chain activities
B)it emphasizes R&D and manufacturing
C)it wants to maintain strong control over local operations
D)it needs specialized knowledge about the local market

Question 39

Firms with global mindsets are characterized by ________.

A)staff diversity
B)parochialism
C)a strong sense of national pride
D)rigid hiring policies

Question 40

Typically, country laws do not dictate how many employees can come from nonlocal sources.

Question 41

Training programs designed for preparing employees for assignments abroad consist of area studies, practical information, and cross-cultural awareness.

Question 42

In a short essay, explain why some international firms chart global career paths for employees, and discuss the reasons women still do not enjoy equal access to senior management positions in most countries.

Question 43

MNEs with a global mindset encourage an ethnocentric orientation among managers and employees working abroad.

Question 44

What are the principal characteristics of managers who are best suited to working in foreign environments?

Question 45

Which of the following best summarizes the goal of cross-cultural awareness training for expatriates?

A)It enables expatriates to cope with reverse-culture shock.
B)It enables expatriates to share knowledge with host-country nationals more effectively.
C)It enables expatriates to significantly upgrade their technical skills.
D)It enables expatriates to effectively communicate with local customers and employees and be sensitive to the host-country's culture.

Question 46

Developing talent is a multistep collaboration between human resource managers and executive management.

Question 47

Worldwide staffing with PCNs helps firms develop an integrated global enterprise.

Question 48

Area studies refer to ________.

A)technical knowledge pertaining to a firm's core competencies
B)factual knowledge of the historical, political, and economic environment of the host country
C)factual knowledge about a firm's foreign subsidiaries
D)knowledge pertaining to daily living abroad

Question 49

Which of the following is the term used to describe an expatriate's return to his/her home country following completion of a foreign assignment?

A)repatriation
B)reverse culture shock
C)national integration
D)codetermination

Question 50

Cross-cultural awareness training tends to lower intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness.

Question 51

________ refers to the tendency to view other cultures through the lens of your own culture.

A)Codetermination
B)Self-reference criterion
C)Segregation
D)Cross-cultural awareness

Question 52

Which of the following most likely complicates international performance appraisals?

A)overproduction
B)distance from the headquarters
C)lack of general consensus among managers with regard to reward systems
D)cost of doing business abroad

Question 53

How can international human resource managers effectively minimize culture shock for expatriates?

A)by allowing personnel a short trip to the foreign location before the actual assignment
B)by training personnel to understand the host country's government, culture, and language
C)by inviting foreign employees to the homes of future expatriates for enhancing cultural awareness
D)by asking the expatriate to return to the headquarters

Question 54

Conrad's training for his assignment in Romania would most likely include ________.

A)technical training
B)area studies
C)training on developing global managers
D)natural disaster management

Question 55

Define repatriation. Discuss some of the difficulties faced by repatriated employees. How can human resource managers assist repatriated employees?

Question 56

In a short essay, discuss the connection between expatriate assignment failure and culture shock. What are the different components of training designed to prepare expatriates for assignments abroad?

Question 57

Which of the following sums up the goal of training Conrad for his assignment in Romania?

A)increasing Conrad's effectiveness abroad
B)ensuring a smooth repatriation for Conrad
C)decreasing the per-unit cost of production
D)enhancing overall freedom for employees

Question 58

Critical incident analysis examines an episode in which tension arises between an employee and a foreign counterpart due to a cross-cultural misunderstanding.

Question 59

The human resources department of Global Choppers designs trainings for employees in a way that helps them avoid the self-reference criterion. This implies that the training designed by the human resources department of Global Choppers ________.

A)helps counter the tendency of viewing foreign assignments with suspicion and distrust
B)does not emphasize cultural awareness
C)is inadequately equipped to enhance the cultural intelligence of employees
D)helps counter the tendency of viewing other cultures through the lens of one's own culture

Question 60

Critical incident analysis examines ________.

A)a situation under which an MNE is forced to relocate operations abroad
B)an episode in which tension arises between employee and foreign counterpart due to a cross-cultural misunderstanding
C)an episode in which tension arises between an employee and a manager with regard to performance evaluation
D)a critical situation in which the internal stakeholders of a firm fail to reach a consensus with regard to a common issue

Question 61

Why are taxes a concern for expatriates? Discuss how firms and governments often handle tax issues for employees working abroad.

Question 62

Which of the following is the best example of a situation in which a firm is compensating an employee with base remuneration?

A)An American engineer working in Japan receives a salary comparable to that of engineers working in the U.S.
B)A Dutch computer programmer working in Hong Kong receives an additional payment to cover the cost of relocation.
C)A German accountant working in India receives a one-time bonus for the potential hardships of working abroad.
D)A British manager working in a civil war-torn zone receives additional allowances for working under perceived threat.

Question 63

________ makes performance evaluations more complex in the international context.

A)The problem of noncomparable outcomes
B)Inadequate cross-cultural skills
C)Overproduction
D)Knowledge sharing

Question 64

Subsidiary managers are often assessed by multiple evaluators mainly because MNEs are typically characterized by a low level of mutual trust among employees.

Question 65

Given the potential hardships of working abroad, many MNEs also provide ________ to expatriate employees which is similar to a bonus.

A)wages
B)incentives
C)base remuneration
D)allowance

Question 66

Local tradition, culture, and cost of living do not influence compensation packages.

Question 67

Typically, ________ provide(s)a means for collective bargaining.

A)government agencies
B)the top management of MNEs
C)labor unions
D)NGOs

Question 68

Typically, a standardized diagnostic tool is used to evaluate the performance of all firm employees and subsidiaries, both domestic and international.

Question 69

In a short essay describe the four elements management must consider when compensating expatriates.

Question 70

________ is a formal process for assessing how effectively employees perform their jobs.

A)Performance planning
B)Performance management
C)Performance appraisal
D)Performance guarantee

Question 71

Base remuneration is also referred to as ________.

A)incentives
B)allowance
C)wages
D)benefits

Question 72

The problem of noncomparable outcomes arises because of differences in economic, political, legal, and cultural variables.

Question 73

Strikes organized by labor unions are aimed at ________.

A)settling disputes regarding offshore unions
B)pressuring management to grant union demands
C)pressuring management to unionize
D)creating public awareness about social issues

Question 74

Expatriates usually do not receive the benefits normally accorded to home-country employees.

Question 75

Define performance appraisal. Briefly describe the factors that make performance evaluations more complex in the international context and explain the use of incentives in the compensation of employees.

Question 76

Which of the following refers to the additional payment that allows the expatriate to maintain a standard of living similar to that at home?

A)allowance
B)benefits
C)base remuneration
D)wages

Question 77

In expatriate compensation, tax equalization is a special consideration.

Question 78

Which of the following is true about the taxation of expatriates?

A)Expatriates are exempted from paying taxes while working abroad.
B)Most employers do not reimburse the extra tax burden incurred by expatriates.
C)Most parent countries insist on double taxation for expatriates.
D)Most parent-country governments have devised regulations that allow expatriates to minimize double taxation.

Question 79

A strike refers to ________.

A)an unorganized anarchical movement initiated by employees within an organization
B)an organized, collective refusal to work with the aim of pressuring management to grant union demands
C)the hostile takeover of a weak company by a strong one
D)governmental restrictions on imports

Question 80

Managers typically consider all of the following elements when developing compensation packages for employees working abroad EXCEPT ________.

A)wages
B)premium
C)incentives
D)benefits