Deck 16: Global Human Resource Management

Question 1

Compared to the other staffing policies,the most attractive staffing policy is probably the geocentric approach.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Research has identified three types of staffing policies in international businesses: the ethnocentric approach,the polycentric approach,and the geocentric approach.The most attractive staffing policy is probably the geocentric approach,although there are several impediments to adopting it.

Question 2

According to some critics,firms that have a broad geographic scope are the most likely to have a geocentric mind-set.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Critics note that the staffing policy adopted by a firm is primarily driven by its geographic scope,as opposed to its strategic orientation.Firms that have a broad geographic scope are the most likely to have a geocentric mind-set.

Question 3

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

Answer 3

True
Explanation: Through its influence on the character,development,quality,and productivity of the firm's human resources,the HRM function can help the firm achieve its primary strategic goals of reducing the costs of value creation and adding value by better serving customers.

Question 4

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

Question 5

The organization's norms and value systems are referred to as the organizational architecture.

Question 6

Although a polycentric approach may be effective for firms pursuing a transnational strategy,it is inappropriate for other strategies.

Question 7

One of the reasons firms pursue a polycentric staffing policy is that it is the best way to maintain a unified corporate culture.

Question 8

According to Mendenhall and Oddou,when deciding on expatriate managers,domestic performance should be taken as the standard overseas performance potential.

Question 9

A polycentric staffing policy can lead to "cultural myopia."

Question 10

Perhaps the major drawback with a polycentric approach is the gap that can form between host-country managers and parent-country managers.

Question 11

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 12

A polycentric staffing policy can be very expensive to implement.

Question 13

A geocentric staffing policy is one in which all key management positions are filled by parent-country nationals.

Question 14

A geocentric approach is compatible with an international strategy.

Question 15

A disadvantage of ethnocentric staffing is that it produces resentment in the home country.

Question 16

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

Question 17

According to a study by R.L.Tung,the main reason for expatriate failure among U.S.multinationals is difficulties with new environment.

Question 18

A citizen of Japan who moves to the United States to work at Microsoft would be classified as a repatriate.

Question 19

Performance appraisal systems that firms use must measure the perceptions that the firm wants to encourage.

Question 20

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

Question 21

The ideological similarity between union leaders in different countries has made cooperation easy.

Question 22

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

Question 23

Firms that emphasize localization try to create value by emphasizing:

A)local responsiveness.
B)ethnocentrism.
C)brand consciousness.
D)repatriation.

Question 24

From a strategic perspective,the important point regarding compensation is that whatever compensation system is used,it should reward managers for taking actions that are consistent with the strategy of the enterprise.

Question 25

The most common approach to expatriate pay is the income statement approach.

Question 26

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

Question 27

A firm's performance appraisal systems are an important element of its control systems.
strategy and the attainment of a competitive advantage.

Question 28

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

Question 29

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 30

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

Question 31

There is now a trend toward greater centralized control.

Question 32

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

Question 33

Megan is the operations manager at HS Constructions Inc.She is asked to manage operations of her firm's subsidiary in the Middle-East.When posted,she will be referred to as a(n)_____ manager.

A)immigrant
B)host-country
C)home-country
D)expatriate

Question 34

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

Question 35

Transnational firm managers do not need culture training to understand the culture of the host country.

Question 36

A(n)_____ manager is a citizen of one country who is working abroad in one of his/her firm's subsidiaries.

A)expatriate
B)home-country
C)transnational
D)repatriate

Question 37

Performance appraisal systems are part of the _____ systems in an enterprise.

A)process
B)structural
C)control
D)culture

Question 38

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

Question 39

Many Americans regard Great Britain as a relatively easy foreign posting.This example pertains to the perceptual ability dimension identified by Mendenhall and Oddou.

Question 40

Which of the following is a major task of the human resource function?

A)Marketing analysis
B)Staffing policy
C)Strategy development
D)Business planning

Question 41

International firms create value by

A)transferring products and competencies overseas.
B)realizing experience curve and location economies.
C)focusing on local responsiveness.
D)concentrating on repatriation.

Question 42

helps transfer core competencies.

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

Question 43

Firms that emphasize global standardization try to create value by:

A)transferring products and competencies overseas.
B)realizing experience curve and location economies.
C)focusing on local responsiveness.
D)concentrating on repatriation.

Question 44

In the Dutch firm Philips,all important positions in most foreign subsidiaries were at one time held by Dutch nationals who were referred to by their non-Dutch colleagues as the Dutch Mafia.This example illustrates a(n)_____ staffing policy.

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

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT a staffing policy used in international business?

A)Geocentric approach
B)Polycentric approach
C)Unicentric approach
D)Ethnocentric approach

Question 46

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

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

Question 47

"Cultural myopia" refers to the firm's failure to:

A)understand host-country cultural differences.
B)create the proper environment for fostering creativity.
C)adapt to certain ethnocentric cultures through the expatriate.
D)distinguish between forward thinking and empowerment among cultures.

Question 48

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

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

Question 49

One advantage of adopting a polycentric approach is that the firm is less likely to suffer from:

A)higher fixed costs.
B)skill deficits.
C)corporate center control.
D)cultural myopia.

Question 50

A firm pursues an ethnocentric staffing policy because

A)it allows for advancement opportunities for host-country nationals.
B)it is not likely to suffer from cultural myopia.
C)it may believe the host country lacks qualified individuals to fill senior management positions.
D)it may want to keep all core competencies within the home country.

Question 51

General Electric is not just concerned with hiring people who have the skills required for performing particular jobs;it wants individuals whose behavioral styles,beliefs,and value systems are consistent with those of GE.This would be an example of:

A)ethnocentrism.
B)corporate culture.
C)polycentric approach.
D)network approach.

Question 52

Firms may see an ethnocentric staffing policy as

A)reducing 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 to implement.

Question 53

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

A)It is expensive to implement.
B)The higher pay enjoyed by managers placed on an international fast track may be a source of resentment within the firm.
C)It limits advancement opportunities for host-country nationals.
D)It invariably makes a firm suffer from cultural myopia.

Question 54

If a firm is trying to create value by transferring core competencies to a foreign operation,it may believe that the best way to do so is to transfer parent-country nationals who have knowledge of that competency to the foreign operation.This is a reason for the firm to pursue a(n)_____ staffing policy.

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

Question 55

isolates headquarters from foreign subsidiaries.

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

Question 56

The norms and value systems of an organization is called its:

A)business culture.
B)corporate orientation.
C)cultural toughness.
D)corporate culture.

Question 57

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

A)It may be less expensive to implement compared to other approaches,reducing the costs of value creation.
B)Host-country nationals have unlimited opportunities to gain experience outside their own country.
C)It enables the firm to make the best use of its human resources.
D)It enables the firm to build a cadre of international executives who feel at home working in a number of cultures.

Question 58

_____ is concerned with the selection of employees for particular jobs.

A)Compensation policy
B)Staffing policy
C)Performance appraisal policy
D)Training policy

Question 59

Identifying the two reasons that the ethnocentric staffing policy is on the wane in most international businesses.

A)It limits advancement opportunities for host-country nationals;it can lead to "cultural myopiA."
B)It is the most expensive of the alternatives;it limits advancement opportunities for parent country nationals.
C)It limits advancement opportunities for parent-country nationals;it can lead to "marketing myopia."
D)It is the most expensive of the alternatives and;it limits the cultural awareness of host-country nationals.

Question 60

is inexpensive to implement.

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

Question 61

_____ is the premature return of an expatriate manager to his/her home country.

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

Question 62

A citizen of Japan who moves to the United States to work at Microsoft would be classified as a(n):

A)expatriate.
B)inpatriate.
C)third-country national.
D)host-country national.

Question 63

Most countries require extensive documentation if they wish to hire a foreign national instead of a local national.This is a major problem with which approach?

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

Question 64

According to the results of a seminal study by R.L.Tung,what was the most consistent reason cited by European expatriates for expatriate failure in their group?

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

Question 65

Which of the following staffing strategies helps firms better to create value from the pursuit of experience curve and location economies and from the multidirectional transfer of core competencies than firms pursuing other staffing policies?

A)Domestic
B)Transnational
C)Ethnocentric
D)Geocentric

Question 66

Which of the following was identified by R.L.Tung as a reason for expatriate failure among U.S.expatriate managers?

A)Inability of the spouse to adjust
B)Difficulties with the new environment
C)Insufficient and below par pay
D)Personal or emotional problems

Question 67

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

A)the inability of spouse to adjust.
B)the lack of technical competence.
C)personal or emotional problems.
D)the inability to cope with larger overseas responsibilities.

Question 68

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

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

Question 69

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

A)Immigrants
B)Inpatriates
C)Third-country nationals
D)Host-country nationals

Question 70

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

A)It permits better corporate center control.
B)It is inexpensive to implement.
C)It helps build a strong culture.
D)It helps transfer core competencies.

Question 71

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

A)International strategy
B)Global standardization strategy
C)Localization strategy
D)Transnational strategy

Question 72

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

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

Question 73

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

A)Regiocentric and geocentric
B)Polycentric and geocentric
C)Ethnocentric and polycentric
D)Geocentric and ethnocentric

Question 74

Jamiqua Jackson is an expatriate who uses _____ to strengthen her well-being and self-confidence.

A)cultural toughness
B)others-orientation
C)perceptual ability
D)self-orientation

Question 75

Which of the following two international strategies are most compatible with a geocentric staffing policy?

A)Global standardization and transnational
B)Localization and transnational
C)International and transnational
D)Global standardization and localization

Question 76

Which of the following is NOT one of the dimensions recommended by Mendenhall and Oddou to predict success in a foreign posting?

A)Self-orientation
B)Cultural toughness
C)Technical ability
D)Perceptual ability

Question 77

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

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

Question 78

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

A)The multinational composition of the team reduces cultural myopia and enhances local responsiveness.
B)It is inexpensive to implement.
C)It reduces the costs of value creation.
D)The firm may believe the host country lacks qualified individuals to fill senior management positions.

Question 79

A number of studies have consistently confirmed that expatriate failure largely occurs because of all of the following EXCEPT

A)the lack of technical abilities.
B)the inability of spouse to adjust.
C)the inability of manager to adjust.
D)family problems.

Question 80

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 can form between host-country managers and parent-country managers.