Deck 16: Hiring and Managing Employees

Question 1

Polycentric staffing policy necessarily indicates that host-country managers are left to run operations in any way they see fit.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In ethnocentric staffing, operations outside the home country are managed by individuals from the host country.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Citizens of a country who are working and living in their home country are called expatriates.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Firms generally pursue an ethnocentric approach to staffing the lower-level posts in their international operations.

Question 5

Ethnocentric staffing is expensive and can create barriers for the home-country office.

Question 6

An ethnocentric strategy can facilitate the transfer of special know-how.

Question 7

Ethnocentric staffing policy is important for companies needing a strong set of shared values among the people in each international office.

Question 8

Companies use ethnocentric staffing to incorporate local traditions into management policies.

Question 9

In polycentric staffing, operations outside the home country are managed by individuals from the host country.

Question 10

Companies use polycentric staffing to re-create local operations in the image of home-country operations.

Question 11

The main approaches to the staffing of international business operations are ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric.

Question 12

In geocentric staffing, operations outside the home country are managed by the best-qualified individuals, regardless of nationality.

Question 13

The geocentric staffing policy is typically reserved for nonmanagerial workers.

Question 14

Polycentric staffing places managerial responsibility in the hands of people intimately familiar with the local business environment.

Question 15

Ethnocentric staffing policy tends to appeal to companies that want to maintain tight control over decision making in branch offices abroad.

Question 16

A geocentric policy towards staffing is exclusively reserved for mid-level managers.

Question 17

International HRM differs considerably from HRM in a domestic setting.

Question 18

The customary means by which a company staffs its offices is called staffing policy.

Question 19

The process of staffing a company and ensuring employees are as productive as possible is called human resource management.

Question 20

The major drawback to polycentric staffing is the potential for losing control of the home-country operation.

Question 21

It is not uncommon for expatriates to leave their companies within a year of returning home because of difficulty blending back into the company culture.

Question 22

Likely candidates for international positions are managers who were involved in previous stages of an international project.

Question 23

Forecasting a company's human resource needs and supply is called staffing policy.

Question 24

The downside of geocentric staffing is that it is expensive.

Question 25

Culture shock is a psychological process that affects people living abroad and is characterized by homesickness, irritability, confusion, aggravation, and depression.

Question 26

The psychological process of readapting to one's home culture is called culture shock.

Question 27

Culturally sensitive managers reduce the likelihood that a company will achieve its international business goals.

Question 28

The inability of a family member to adapt to a new culture is the most common reason for the failure of expatriate managers.

Question 29

After a company recruits and selects its managers and other employees, it normally identifies the skills and knowledge employees have and those they need to perform their duties.

Question 30

The first phase of human resource planning involves taking an inventory of a company's current human resources.

Question 31

To speed up the process of getting government approval for local operations, companies can hire home country nationals.

Question 32

Companies typically recruit locally for nonmanagerial positions.

Question 33

The process of screening and hiring the best-qualified applicants with the greatest performance potential is called recruitment.

Question 34

Reverse culture shock is less troubling than initial culture shock.

Question 35

When current human resource levels are greater than anticipated needs, a firm must engage in the process of recruitment.

Question 36

Expatriate failure refers to an employee's early return from an international assignment because of inadequate job performance.

Question 37

The process of identifying and attracting a qualified pool of applicants for vacant positions is called recruitment.

Question 38

A firm making plans to reduce its workforce is undergoing decruitment.

Question 39

Hiring local managers is common when cultural understanding is a key job requirement.

Question 40

When a nation's government restricts the number of people allowed into the host country for work purposes, it is likely trying to reduce unemployment among the local population.

Question 41

An ethnocentric staffing policy is most appropriate for ________.

A) top-level management positions
B) mid-level management positions
C) lower-level management positions
D) all management levels

Question 42

The customary means by which a company staffs its offices is called its ________.

A) human resource policy
B) recruitment policy
C) staffing policy
D) selection policy

Question 43

International human resource management differs from human resource management in a domestic setting in which of these ways?

A) Managing compensation
B) Accommodating expatriates
C) Providing training and development
D) All of the above

Question 44

Individuals from the home country manage operations outside the home country in which kind of staffing?

A) Ethnocentric
B) Polycentric
C) Regiocentric
D) Geocentric

Question 45

Relations between laborers and managers are rooted in culture and affected by political movements in a market.

Question 46

Sensitivity training teaches people to be considerate and understanding of other people's feelings and emotions.

Question 47

Which of these is NOT an approach to staffing international business operations?

A) Ethnocentric
B) Polycentric
C) Regiocentric
D) Geocentric

Question 48

Field experience means visiting the culture, walking the streets of its cities and villages, and becoming absorbed by it for a short time.

Question 49

An ethnocentric staffing strategy ________.

A) can facilitate the transfer of special knowledge
B) is a fairly cheap policy to implement
C) allows a company to "blend in" with the local market
D) none of the above

Question 50

The extent of a company's international involvement demands a corresponding level of cultural knowledge from its employees.

Question 51

The positive or negative condition of relations between a company's management and its workers is called labor-management relations.

Question 52

Which of these is the process of staffing a company and ensuring that employees are as productive as possible?

A) Staffing policy
B) Human resource management
C) Recruitment
D) Human resource planning

Question 53

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Ethnocentric staffing appeals to companies that want to maintain tight control over decision making in branch offices abroad.
B) Ethnocentric companies formulate policies designed to work in every county in which they operate.
C) Ethnocentrism is usually pursued at all levels of an organization.
D) When a company uses ethnocentric staffing, individuals from the home country manage operations abroad.

Question 54

Environmental briefings include information that is obtained from books, films, and lectures.

Question 55

Firms pursue ethnocentric staffing for all the following reasons EXCEPT ________.

A) to re-create local operations in the image of home-country operations
B) when locally qualified people are not available
C) to eliminate of the high cost of relocating expatriate managers and families
D) when they want managers sent from home to look out for the company's interests

Question 56

Which of these appeals to companies wanting tight control over decision making in branch offices abroad?

A) Ethnocentric
B) Polycentric
C) Regiocentric
D) Geocentric

Question 57

Citizens of one country who are living and working in another are called ________.

A) locals
B) expatriates
C) host country nationals
D) immigrants

Question 58

Sensitivity training constitutes the most basic level of training for international assignments.

Question 59

Japan and Germany lead the world in vocational training and apprenticeship programs for nonmanagerial workers.

Question 60

While sensitivity training gets a trainee "under the skin" of the local people, language training gets a trainee "into the mind" of local people.

Question 61

The major disadvantage of a geocentric staffing policy is its ________.

A) potential for losing control of the host-country operations
B) expense
C) potential for creating barriers for the host-country office
D) potential for losing control of the home-country operations

Question 62

Companies recruit from ________ to fill their international positions.

A) current employees
B) recent college grads
C) local talent
D) all of the above

Question 63

The ________ of human resource planning involves estimating the company's future human resource needs.

A) first phase
B) second phase
C) third phase
D) fourth phase

Question 64

Which of these is an advantage of geocentric staffing?

A) Re-creates local operations in the image of home-country operations
B) Eliminates the high cost of relocating expatriate managers and families
C) Helps a company develop global managers who can adjust easily to any business environment
D) Sends managers from home who will look out for the company's interests

Question 65

The major drawback of polycentric staffing is the potential to ________.

A) lose control of host-country operations
B) incur great expense
C) create barriers for the host-country office
D) lose control of home-country operations

Question 66

Which of these is the process of identifying and attracting a qualified pool of applicants for vacant positions?

A) Human resource management
B) Recruitment
C) Planning
D) Selection

Question 67

A geocentric staffing policy is generally reserved for ________.

A) top-level management
B) mid-level management
C) lower-level management
D) all levels of management

Question 68

Developing a plan for recruiting and selecting people to fill vacant and anticipated new positions is the ________ phase of human resource planning.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Question 69

The best-qualified individuals, regardless of nationality, manage operations outside the home country in which kind of staffing?

A) Regiocentric
B) Geocentric
C) Ethnocentric
D) Polycentric

Question 70

Companies can implement polycentric staffing for ________.

A) top- and mid-level managers
B) lower-level staff
C) nonmanagerial workers
D) all of the above

Question 71

Which of these is a drawback of ethnocentric staffing?

A) Expensive to relocate managers
B) Potentially losing control of the host-country operations
C) Potentially losing control of the home-country operations
D) Re-location of local operations in the image of home-country operations

Question 72

The process of forecasting both a company's human resource needs and supply is called ________.

A) human resource planning
B) recruitment
C) human resource management
D) selection

Question 73

The third phase of human resource planning involves which of these?

A) Develop a plan to recruit and select people to fill vacant and anticipated positions.
B) Estimate the company's future HR needs.
C) Take an inventory of a company's current human resources.
D) Promote people to higher and lateral levels.

Question 74

Companies that want to give national units a degree of autonomy in decision making could choose a(n)________ staffing policy.

A) geocentric
B) regiocentric
C) ethnocentric
D) polycentric

Question 75

Recruiting recent college graduates who have come from other countries to attend college in the firm's home country is a particularly common practice among companies in ________.

A) the United States
B) Germany
C) Japan
D) South Korea

Question 76

Human resource planning involves collecting data on every employee including their ________.

A) educational background
B) special job skills
C) language skills
D) all of the above

Question 77

An important advantage of polycentric staffing is it ________.

A) re-creates local operations in the image of home-country operations
B) eliminates the high cost of relocating expatriate managers and families
C) helps a company develop global managers who can adjust easily to any business environment
D) sends managers from home who will look out for the company's interests

Question 78

Which of these is the first phase of human resource planning?

A) Develop a plan to recruit and select people to fill vacant and anticipated positions.
B) Estimate the company's future human resource needs.
C) Take an inventory of a company's current human resources.
D) Promote people to higher and lateral levels.

Question 79

Operations outside the home country are managed by individuals from the host country in ________ staffing.

A) geocentric
B) regiocentric
C) ethnocentric
D) polycentric

Question 80

The process of reducing a firm's workforce is called ________.

A) selection
B) decruitment
C) staffing
D) recruitment