Deck 17: Global Human Resource Management

Question 1

Expatriate failure represents the failure of a firm's selection policies to identify individuals who will not thrive abroad.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

According to Mendenhall and Oddou,human resource managers must equate domestic performance with overseas performance potential.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The fact that many countries want foreign subsidiaries to employ their citizens limits a firm's ability to pursue a geocentric policy.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The human resource management function can help a firm achieve its primary strategic goals of reducing the costs of value creation and adding value by better serving customer needs.

Question 5

For international firms,an ethnocentric staffing approach is compatible with a localization strategy.

Question 6

For a firm to outperform its rivals in the global marketplace,the performance appraisal systems it uses must measure the perceptions that it wants to encourage.

Question 7

In international businesses,a geocentric staffing policy is one in which all key management positions are filled by parent-country nationals.

Question 8

An expatriate manager is a citizen of one country who is working abroad in one of the firm's subsidiaries.

Question 9

International firms that have a broad geographic scope are the most likely to have a geocentric mind-set.

Question 10

International firms pursuing an ethnocentric staffing policy may be better able to create value from the pursuit of experience curve and location economies than firms pursuing other staffing policies.

Question 11

According to a study by R.L.Tung,the most important reason for expatriate failure among U.S.multinationals is difficulty coping with a new environment.

Question 12

In international businesses,firms pursue a polycentric staffing policy because they see it as the best way to maintain a unified corporate culture.

Question 13

In international businesses,a polycentric staffing policy increases the costs of value creation.

Question 14

A polycentric staffing approach is effective only for international firms pursuing a transnational strategy and inappropriate for other strategies.

Question 15

It is believed that a firm attains higher performance when its employees are predisposed toward its value systems by their personality type.

Question 16

The major drawback with a polycentric staffing policy is the gap that can form between host-country managers and parent-country managers due to language barriers.

Question 17

In international businesses,a disadvantage of an ethnocentric staffing policy is that it produces resentment in host-country nationals.

Question 18

Citizens of a foreign country working in the home country of their multinational employer are known as repatriates.

Question 19

Organizational architecture refers to an organization's norms and value systems.

Question 20

An international firm that adopts a polycentric staffing policy is more likely to suffer from cultural myopia.

Question 21

Unintentional bias makes it easy to evaluate the performance of expatriate managers objectively.

Question 22

An impediment to cooperation between national unions is the wide variation in union structure.

Question 23

Firms that pursue a localization strategy try to create value by:

A) emphasizing local responsiveness.
B) encouraging a global staffing approach.
C) emphasizing transnational strategies.
D) building an informal management network.
E) transferring products and competencies overseas.

Question 24

Megan,a U.S.citizen,is the operations manager at the Middle East office of HS Constructions Inc.,an American firm.In this situation,she is an example of a(n)_____ manager.

A) immigrant
B) host-country
C) inpatriate
D) expatriate
E) virtual

Question 25

Home-office managers are unbiased while evaluating the performance of expatriate managers.

Question 26

International firms try to create value by:

A) transferring products and competencies overseas.
B) following a local staffing policy.
C) focusing on local responsiveness.
D) emphasizing a localization strategy.
E) adopting an ethnocentric staffing approach.

Question 27

Firms that emphasize global standardization try to create value by:

A) retaining products and competencies within the parent country.
B) realizing experience curve and location economies.
C) focusing on local responsiveness.
D) emphasizing localization.
E) adopting an ethnocentric staffing approach.

Question 28

In terms of expatriate pay,the income statement approach equalizes purchasing power across countries so employees can enjoy the same living standard in their foreign posting that they enjoyed at home.

Question 29

According to Mendenhall and Oddou,expatriates with perceptual ability tend to be judgmental and evaluative in interpreting the behavior of host-country nationals.

Question 30

Expatriate managers who lack others-orientation tend to treat foreign nationals as if they were home-country nationals.

Question 31

Historically,most international businesses have been more concerned with management development than with training.

Question 32

A concern of organized labor is that an international business keeps highly skilled tasks in its home country and farm out low-skilled tasks to foreign plants.

Question 33

It is important that the spouse of an expatriate manager,and perhaps the whole family,be included in cultural training programs.

Question 34

Unless a host country has a reciprocal tax treaty with the expatriate's home country,an expatriate must pay income tax to both the home- and host-country governments.

Question 35

An expatriate's base salary is normally lower than the base salary for a similar position in the home country.

Question 36

Historically,most international businesses have centralized international labor relations activities.

Question 37

A(n)expatriate manager refers to:

A) a citizen of one country who is working abroad in one of the firm's subsidiaries.
B) a parent-country national who works in the parent country.
C) a host-country national who works in the host country.
D) any person who lives in a foreign country.
E) a person willing to work in different departments of a foreign firm.

Question 38

Bringing managers together in one location for extended periods and rotating them through different jobs in several countries help the firm build an informal management network.

Question 39

Transnational firm managers need not be able to detect pressures for local responsiveness because it is not part of their skill set.

Question 40

From a strategic perspective,a compensation system must reward managers for taking actions that are consistent with the strategy of the enterprise.

Question 41

If a firm tries to create value by transferring core competencies to a foreign operation and,therefore,transfers parent-country nationals who have knowledge of that competency to the foreign operation,it pursues a(n)_____ staffing policy.

A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) geocentric
D) eurocentric
E) transnational

Question 42

Which of the following is true of a polycentric staffing policy?

A) It is expensive to implement.
B) It leads to cultural myopia.
C) It prevents mistakes arising from cultural misunderstandings.
D) It bridges the gap between the headquarters and its foreign subsidiaries.
E) It gives unlimited advancement opportunities for host-country nationals.

Question 43

Which of the following is a characteristic feature of an ethnocentric staffing policy?

A) It requires host-country nationals to be recruited to manage subsidiaries.
B) It is used when a firm places a low value on its corporate culture.
C) It increases advancement opportunities for host-country nationals.
D) It seeks the best people for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of nationality.
E) It places parent-country nationals in key management positions.

Question 44

The major drawback with a(n)_____ staffing policy is the gap that can form between host-country managers and parent-country managers.

A) global
B) geocentric
C) polycentric
D) ethnocentric
E) transnational

Question 45

Which of the following is an advantage of adopting a polycentric staffing approach?

A) It is less expensive to implement as compared to other staffing approaches.
B) It gives host-country nationals unlimited opportunities to gain experience outside their own country.
C) It increases career mobility.
D) It increases interaction between the headquarters of a firm and its foreign subsidiaries.
E) It bridges the gap between host-country managers and parent-country managers.

Question 46

A(n)_____ staffing policy limits advancement opportunities for host-country nationals.

A) transnational
B) polycentric
C) geocentric
D) ethical
E) ethnocentric

Question 47

A polycentric staffing approach is effective for firms pursuing a(n)_____ strategy.

A) international
B) localization
C) global
D) transnational
E) regional

Question 48

A firm's failure to understand host-country cultural differences that require different approaches to marketing and management is referred to as _____.

A) cultural parity
B) cultural myopia
C) power distance
D) cultural toughness
E) cultural polarization

Question 49

Which of the following is a drawback of adopting a polycentric staffing approach?

A) It is expensive to implement.
B) It leads host-country managers to make mistakes due to cultural misunderstandings.
C) It limits advancement opportunities for host-country nationals.
D) It invariably makes a firm suffer from cultural myopia.
E) It bridges the gap between the headquarters of a firm and its foreign subsidiaries.

Question 50

_____ refers to a strategy that is concerned with the selection of employees for particular jobs.

A) Compensation policy
B) Staffing policy
C) Performance appraisal policy
D) Training policy
E) Management development policy

Question 51

Firms that use an ethnocentric staffing policy consider it to be:

A) a way to reduce the costs of value creation.
B) inappropriate for a localization strategy.
C) the best way to maintain a unified corporate culture.
D) the most inexpensive staffing approach.
E) the only approach to reduce cultural myopia.

Question 52

Which of the following is a disadvantage of an ethnocentric staffing policy?

A) It leads to resentment in the host country.
B) It isolates the headquarters from foreign subsidiaries.
C) It does not allow transfer of core competencies.
D) It leads to a dearth of qualified managers in the host nation.
E) It diversifies corporate culture.

Question 53

A(n)_____ approach to staffing has the following disadvantages: it limits career mobility and it isolates headquarters from foreign subsidiaries.

A) polycentric
B) transnational
C) geocentric
D) ethnocentric
E) global

Question 54

A firm pursues an ethnocentric staffing policy because it:

A) believes in providing growth opportunities to host-country nationals.
B) wants to avoid cultural myopia.
C) believes the host country lacks qualified individuals for senior management positions.
D) wants to keep all core competencies within the home country.
E) wants to build strong cultural and informal management networks in all its subsidiaries.

Question 55

A firm that adopts a polycentric staffing policy is less likely to:

A) isolate foreign subsidiaries from corporate headquarters.
B) implement an expensive staffing policy.
C) be controlled by corporate headquarters.
D) suffer from cultural myopia.
E) provide growth opportunities.

Question 56

A(n)_____ staffing policy requires host-country nationals to be recruited to manage subsidiaries,while parent-country nationals occupy key positions at corporate headquarters.

A) geocentric
B) polycentric
C) ethnocentric
D) global
E) transnational

Question 57

The norms and value systems of an organization constitute its _____.

A) corporate social responsibility
B) cultural toughness
C) cultural sensitivity
D) corporate culture
E) perceptual ability

Question 58

A(n)_____ staffing policy is one in which all key management positions are filled by parent-country nationals.

A) ethnocentric
B) global
C) polycentric
D) geocentric
E) transnational

Question 59

Which of the following is an advantage of an ethnocentric staffing policy?

A) It alleviates cultural myopia.
B) It is inexpensive to implement.
C) It helps build strong informal management networks.
D) It helps transfer core competencies to a foreign operation.
E) It uses human resources efficiently.

Question 60

In the Swiss firm Terabithia Systems AG,all the important positions in its international operations are held by Swiss nationals.Terabithia follows a(n)_____ staffing policy.

A) eurocentric
B) ethnocentric
C) polycentric
D) geocentric
E) transnational

Question 61

Most countries require extensive documentation if they wish to hire a foreign national instead of a local national.This is a disadvantage of the _____ staffing approach.

A) polycentric
B) geocentric
C) transnational
D) ethnocentric
E) local

Question 62

A(n)_____ staffing policy seeks the best people for key jobs throughout the organization,regardless of nationality.

A) global
B) ethnocentric
C) geocentric
D) polycentric
E) transnational

Question 63

How is a geocentric staffing policy beneficial to a firm?

A) It requires the firm to provide little or no documentation to hire a foreign national.
B) It is inexpensive to implement.
C) It helps the firm follow a localization strategy.
D) It allows all key management positions to be filled by parent-country nationals.
E) It enables the firm to make the best use of its human resources.

Question 64

With a(n)_____ staffing policy,the expatriates are all home-country nationals who are transferred abroad.

A) geocentric
B) ethnocentric
C) polycentric
D) international
E) domestic

Question 65

Firms that have a broad geographic scope are most likely to have a(n)_____ mind-set.

A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) transnational
D) geocentric
E) localized

Question 66

_____ refers to the premature return of an expatriate manager to his or her home country.

A) Expatriate relief
B) Expatriate failure
C) Expatriate rotation
D) Expatriate timing
E) Repatriation

Question 67

Which of the following strategies is compatible with a geocentric staffing policy?

A) Global standardization strategy
B) Localization strategy
C) International strategy
D) Ethical strategy
E) Global strategy

Question 68

According to the results of a seminal study by R.L.Tung,what was the major reason for expatriate failure among European expatriates?

A) Personal or emotional problems
B) Inability to cope with overseas responsibilities
C) Poor pay
D) Inability of spouse to adjust to a new environment
E) Lack of technical competence

Question 69

Which of the following is an advantage of a geocentric approach to staffing for international businesses?

A) It requires minimal documentation.
B) It is inexpensive to implement.
C) It helps build a strong culture and informal management networks.
D) It helps transfer core competencies to foreign operations.
E) It requires less management personnel to implement this staffing policy.

Question 70

According to R.L.Tung's study,which of the following is the most important reason for expatriate failures for U.S.multinationals?

A) Inability of the spouse to adjust
B) Difficulties with the new environment
C) Insufficient pay
D) Personal or emotional problems
E) Lack of technical competence

Question 71

According to the results of a seminal study by R.L.Tung,the top reason that Japanese expatriate managers fail is:

A) the inability of their spouses to adjust.
B) their lack of technical competence.
C) personal or emotional problems.
D) the inability to cope with larger overseas responsibilities.
E) their inability to deal with difficulties in the new environment.

Question 72

Broadly speaking,a(n)_____ staffing approach is compatible with an international strategy.

A) ethnocentric
B) geocentric
C) polycentric
D) transnational
E) ethical

Question 73

Yuriko,a citizen of Japan,was working as a manager in the Japanese branch of an American firm.Due to her efficiency,she was assigned a temporary posting at the headquarters of the firm in America.In this situation,she is known as a(n)_____.

A) repatriate
B) inpatriate
C) third-country national
D) beneficiary
E) parent-country national

Question 74

Which of the following is a disadvantage of adopting a geocentric staffing approach?

A) Cultural myopia negatively influences effective management control.
B) Training and relocation costs increase when transferring managers from country to country.
C) Host-country nationals cannot progress beyond senior positions in their own subsidiary.
D) A gap forms between host-country managers and parent-country managers.
E) The lack of management transfers leads to a lack of integration between corporate headquarters and foreign subsidiaries.

Question 75

Which of the following staffing policies relies extensively on the use of expatriate managers?

A) Global staffing policy
B) Polycentric staffing policy
C) Transnational staffing policy
D) Ethnocentric staffing policy
E) Localized staffing policy

Question 76

Which of the following is an advantage of adopting a geocentric staffing approach?

A) It tends to reduce cultural myopia and enhance local responsiveness.
B) It is inexpensive to implement.
C) It reduces the costs of value creation.
D) It allows all key management positions of a firm and its subsidiaries to be filled by parent-country nationals.
E) It requires minimal documentation for hiring foreign nationals.

Question 77

According to Mendenhall and Oddou,what is the major problem in the selection of appropriate candidates for overseas assignments in many firms?

A) Lack of technical abilities
B) Equating domestic performance with overseas performance potential
C) Lack of communication between line managers and HR managers
D) A geocentric staffing policy
E) A polycentric staffing policy

Question 78

_____ refers to a subset of expatriates who are citizens of a foreign country working in the home country of their multinational employer.

A) Virtual expatriates
B) Inpatriates
C) Third-country nationals
D) Host-country nationals
E) Parent-country nationals

Question 79

Firms pursuing a(n)_____ staffing policy may be better able to create value from the pursuit of experience curve and location economies than firms pursuing other staffing policies.

A) domestic
B) eurocentric
C) ethnocentric
D) geocentric
E) local

Question 80

What is the advantage of a geocentric staffing policy?

A) It requires firms to provide little or no documentation to hire a foreign national.
B) It enables firms to build a cadre of international executives who feel at home working in a number of cultures.
C) It is inexpensive to implement the policy in a firm.
D) It allows all key management positions of the firms and their subsidiaries to be filled by parent-country nationals.
E) It helps firms to follow a localization strategy.