Deck 12: Human Resources Management

Question 1

Most large firms in North America spend adequate time preparing employees for foreign assignments.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Single individual interviews are a common selection method, and research suggests that a single interview by itself is a very valid predictor of performance.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Research conducted among expatriates in China found that those who were best able to deal with their new situation had developed coping strategies characterized by socioeconomic adjustments.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Most firms placing an employee in an expatriate position will also strive for a balance between age and experience.

Question 5

Individuals sent to a foreign location from the firm's home market are referred to as expatriates.

Question 6

Tax neutral means that firms will try to ensure that an expatriate does not pay more tax by being posted abroad.

Question 7

Approximately two-thirds of compensation for regular employees in the United States consists of benefits.

Question 8

Employing host-country nationals is often less expensive than employing home-country or third-country nationals, especially in lower-wage countries.

Question 9

The nature of the job is more important in formulating the compensation system than the local culture.

Question 10

In group interviews, typically there are both multiple candidates and multiple interviewers present at the same time.

Question 11

People can be taught the informal systems, but formal knowledge has to be gained through field experience.

Question 12

No matter how well they think they know a culture, people with international postings will have some degree of culture shock at the start.

Question 13

The problem of preparing expats for the foreign assignment may be improving in recent years, partly because of the attitudes and (self) preparation of expats themselves.

Question 14

The advantage of hiring host-country locals for the management positions is that it is easy to find qualified locals with the right skills for the assignment.

Question 15

BARS measure personality or attitudinal factors rather than behavioral performance factors on a scale.

Question 16

Contrary to what one might expect, there is evidence that older managers in the twilight of their career are more eager for international assignments than their younger counterparts.

Question 17

Cost-of-living allowances pay the expatriate for differences in expenses between the home and foreign country.

Question 18

The observation method is the least helpful method in selecting individuals for overseas assignments.

Question 19

International firms tend to use the average salaries in the host-country as a base to determine expatriate compensation.

Question 20

The host-country employee's loyalty to his/her country or community may interfere with company policies.

Question 21

Expatriate managers encounter difficulties because they are responsible for implementing objectives and policies formulated by the home office.

Question 22

The added cost of hiring and placing an expatriate in a foreign location can range from _____ of the expatriate's salary.

A) 5 to 10 percent
B) 15 to 25 percent
C) 25 to 50 percent
D) 50 to 100 percent

Question 23

Which of the following statements about language training is true?

A) Most expatriates are required to learn the local language because most companies still carry out their international business in their national language.
B) Executives in the U.S. place a high priority on speaking more than one language, which is often compulsory for them from an early age.
C) Those who can speak only English are at a disadvantage when doing business in non-English-speaking countries.
D) Traditionally, Japanese managers have done rather poorly in learning foreign languages and tend to downplay their importance.

Question 24

In research conducted among expatriates in China, it was found that those who were best able to deal with their new situation had developed coping strategies including all of the following EXCEPT:

A) having experience in adjusting to new situations.
B) learning how to interact well with host-country nationals outside of work.
C) feeling reasonably happy and being able to enjoy day-to-day activities.
D) being familiar with the company's top management.

Question 25

In terms of selection methods, in Anglo-Saxon cultures:

A) what is generally tested is how much the individual can contribute to the tasks of the organization.
B) the emphasis is more on the quality of education in a particular (job) function.
C) the recruitment process is characterized by ascertaining how well a person fits in with the larger group.
D) the emphasis is on personality, communication, and social skills more than intelligence or job function.

Question 26

The _____ focuses the evaluator's attention on those tasks and behaviors that are key in making the difference between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.

A) trait rating appraisal
B) written essay
C) critical incident approach
D) 360-degree evaluation

Question 27

What is the advantage of using an expatriate as opposed to a host-country local for a foreign assignment?

A) Expatriates and their families are usually highly motivated to learn about the new culture and adapt to it well.
B) Expatriates have a detailed knowledge of company policies, procedures, and corporate culture and how to transfer them to new local hires.
C) Smaller firms can send their expatriate candidates for private training, particularly language training, as it is not costly.
D) Hiring a number of expatriates can enhance a company's image in the host country and even give it additional bargaining power with the local government.

Question 28

U.S. multinationals that interviewed both candidates and spouses to determine suitability for foreign assignments experienced the same level of incidents of expensive expatriate failure as those that did not.

Question 29

What is the disadvantage of using expatriates in an international setting?

A) Many expatriates who stayed for the duration of a posting did not perform up to their firms' expectations, and many also quit to join a competitor.
B) Most expatriates are not familiar with the company's resources, processes, and values.
C) It may be difficult to find qualified people with the right skills for the assignment, especially in less-developed countries.
D) The expatriate's loyalty to his/her country or community may interfere with company policies.

Question 30

Repatriation of the expatriate to his/her home country is often overlooked by the company and the expatriate.

Question 31

What is the disadvantage of using host-country locals?

A) Employing host-country nationals is more expensive than employing third-country nationals, especially in lower-wage countries.
B) It does not enhance host-country employees' morale because these employees do not appreciate working for foreigners.
C) It may be difficult to find qualified people at the local level with the right skills for the assignment, especially in less-developed countries.
D) Employing host-country nationals may diminish the multinational's reputation especially in a country that has strong populist government.

Question 32

What is the advantage of using host-country employees?

A) It is easy to find qualified people at the local level with the right skills for the assignment.
B) They are often highly loyal to the firm and have many connections within it.
C) They have a detailed knowledge of company policies, procedures, and corporate culture.
D) Employing host-country nationals is often less expensive than employing home-country nationals, especially in lower-wage countries.

Question 33

Foreign firms going to China are tempted to hire those with good _____, or connections.

A) keiretsu
B) guanxi
C) chaebol
D) zaibatsu

Question 34

The selection test that evaluates a person's ability in a cross-cultural setting is the:

A) Structured Questionnaire Method.
B) integrity test.
C) cultural intelligence test.
D) individual interview.

Question 35

Which of the following statements about the observation method is true?

A) This method facilitates another type of selection method called group interviews.
B) This method is particularly helpful in selecting individuals for overseas assignments.
C) Typically there are both multiple candidates and multiple interviewers present at the same time.
D) It is fairly effective for certain types of jobs - customer service jobs, or factory or facility management.

Question 36

One way to avoid communication problem in a foreign country is to repeat what you are saying loudly if the host-country national does not understand what you are saying the first time.

Question 37

_____ are evaluations of an employee conducted by the supervisor, subordinates, peers, and sometimes customers.

A) BARS
B) 360-degree evaluations
C) Critical incident approaches
D) Management by objectives

Question 38

A person from one country who is working and residing in another country is known as a(n):

A) expatriate.
B) repatriate.
C) inpatriate.
D) host country national.

Question 39

BARS:

A) focus the evaluator's attention on those tasks and behaviors that are key in making the difference between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.
B) assume that one can define and rate traits objectively, and is often used in conjunction with written feedback.
C) are evaluations by the supervisor, coworkers, subordinates, and even customers or clients outside the immediate work area.
D) use the constituents of critical incidents along with graphic rating scales.

Question 40

Which of the following statements about training is true?

A) For top managers, foreign-educated lawyers can explain the laws of the specific region and other subtleties not covered in standard expat training.
B) The results of a major study indicated that nearly 90 percent of international Japanese firms surveyed sponsored formal training programs for their expatriates.
C) A major study found that American firms doing business internationally invested more than Japanese firms in training programs.
D) The problem of preparing an expat may be getting worse in recent years, partly because of the attitudes and lack of preparation on the part of expats themselves.

Question 41

Explain the term "tax neutral."

Question 42

Which of the following statements about repatriation is false?

A) Sometimes an expatriate will return home only to find that a former colleague got a good promotion, or a former subordinate may now be the expatriate's boss.
B) When repatriation of the expatriate to his/her home country occurs, the company immediately sets right any issues faced by the expatriate.
C) The returned expatriate is no longer in a central position at work, after having gotten used to giving orders and having quite a bit of help getting things done at work.
D) The expatriate may end up returning to the same job at home with no promotion and may thus feel the time on the foreign assignment meant little to his/her career.

Question 43

Explain the advantages of using host-country employees.

Question 44

Which of the following statements about the compensation system is false?

A) An effective compensation policy seeks to eliminate all pay inequity between an expatriate and his/her local peers.
B) The implementation of a compensation system may necessarily be different in countries less accustomed to pay for performance and individual rewards.
C) An assignment in a difficult environment, such as much of Africa, would require greater compensation than an assignment to a more developed environment like Western Europe.
D) It has been estimated that, on average, expatriates cost employers two to five times as much as corresponding home-country employees, and even higher in some lower-wage countries.

Question 45

Which of the following statements about BARS is false?

A) BARS measure personality or attitudinal factors rather than behavioral performance factors on a scale.
B) BARS use the constituents of critical incidents along with graphic rating scales.
C) BARS can work well when a job's tasks are well understood and performance can be measured in quantitative terms.
D) For any particular job, BARS involve designing appropriate performance dimensions for that job.

Question 46

How do a firm's physical and social environments affect expatriates?

Question 47

Which of the following statements about taxation for expatriates is false?

A) The problem of double-taxation is mitigated in the United States by an income exclusion of about $40,000.
B) The current maximum marginal tax rate for those working in the United States is about 35 percent.
C) International firms are subject to varying tax rates around the globe.
D) Rates are different from country to country, and they change within countries from time to time.

Question 48

How does repatriation affect expatriates?

Question 49

Explain the disadvantages to using expatriates in an international setting.

Question 50

The system of _____ was popularized by Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, and it "force ranks" employees into three categories based on what is generically called a vitality curve.

A) managing by objective
B) 360-degree evaluations
C) employee differentiation
D) behaviorally anchored rating scales

Question 51

Write an explanatory note on BARS (behaviorally anchored rating scales).

Question 52

_____ is the amount of money that an expatriate normally receives in the home country.

A) Minimum wage
B) Severance pay
C) Variable pay
D) Base salary

Question 53

_____ employs the principle from goal-setting theory that employees are more likely to accomplish goals that they set themselves or to which they jointly agree.

A) The critical incident approach
B) MBO
C) BARS
D) 360-degree evaluation

Question 54

Which of the following statements about socialization is false?

A) The need to socialize local hires into the company culture occurs with careful selection and training.
B) One type of socialization is essentially an acculturation of the expatriate to the local environment.
C) The home-country nationals of Japanese firms have been less successful than the home-country nationals of U.S. firms in expatriate assignments.
D) In recent years, only a quarter of U.S. international firms recalled expatriates at 5 percent or less of their expatriates.

Question 55

Write a short note on written tests.

Question 56

All of the following are common communication problems to avoid EXCEPT:

A) use more common words and phrases.
B) use props and common frames of reference when possible.
C) avoid sports-related terms that only people from your country would understand.
D) if people do not understand the first time, just repeat the same thing more loudly.