Deck 10: Managing Human Resources Globally

Question 1

The education and skill levels of a country's labour force affect the extent to which companies want to operate there.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Compared with other countries,Canada allows employers wide latitude in reducing their workforce.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A multinational company represents the highest level of global participation.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Third-country nationals are employees from a country other than the home or host country,but who work in the host country.

Question 5

The most important influence on international HRM is the culture of the country in which a facility is located.

Question 6

Organizations fill many key foreign positions with home-country or third-country nationals.

Question 7

Tax equalization allowance ensures that the worker neither gains nor loses with regards to tax liability as a result of an international assignment.

Question 8

An organization that expands internationally does not require expertise in the host country's legal system because the organization is only required to adhere to the home country's laws and regulations.

Question 9

An international organization builds facilities in a number of different countries,in an effort to minimize production and distribution costs.

Question 10

The country in which an organization's headquarters is located is the home country.

Question 11

Foreign-born employees who come to Canada need cross-cultural preparation as much as Canadian employees sent on foreign assignments.

Question 12

Job design aimed at employee involvement can be problematic in cultures with high power distance.

Question 13

Research shows successful completion of an overseas assignment is most likely among employees who are extroverted,agreeable,and conscientious.

Question 14

Virtual expatriates are employees who never return to the home country,but rather spend their entire careers moving from one foreign assignment to another.

Question 15

Employees who take assignments in other countries are called inpatriates.

Question 16

Repatriation is the process of preparing expatriates for a foreign assignment.

Question 17

People in cultures with low uncertainty avoidance tend to be rather easygoing and flexible and tend to take each day as it comes.

Question 18

In some industries,unions are forming global alliances.

Question 19

The balance sheet approach to international compensation adjusts the employee's compensation so that it equals the host country's standard of living,further ensuring assimilation into the local culture.

Question 20

Canada has a high power distance and long-term orientation culture.

Question 21

A firm that is currently locating facilities in a large number of other countries in order to capitalize on lower production and distribution costs is at what level of global participation?

A)Domestic
B)International
C)Multinational
D)Global
E)Transnational

Question 22

What type of cultures tend to have much flatter pay structures?

A)Masculine
B)Low uncertainty avoidance
C)High power distance
D)Collectivist
E)Long-term orientation

Question 23

John,who was born in Canada and who works for a Canadian-based company,is on assignment in Japan.John is:

A)an expatriate.
B)an inpatriate.
C)a host-country national.
D)a third-country national.
E)a global national.

Question 24

The most important influence on international HRM is the _________ of the country in which a facility is located.

A)political-legal system
B)educational system
C)culture
D)economic system
E)power distance

Question 25

Valuing achievement,money making,assertiveness,and competition are associated with what type of culture?

A)Short-term orientation
B)Masculine culture
C)High power distance culture
D)Feminine culture
E)High uncertainty avoidance

Question 26

What type of organization operates at the highest level of involvement in the global marketplace?

A)Exporting
B)Domestic
C)International
D)Multinational
E)Global

Question 27

A transnational HRM system:

A)makes decisions from a global perspective,includes managers from many countries,and is based on ideas contributed by people from a variety of cultures.
B)is a home-country-based HRM program that has been extended to various overseas countries and cultures.
C)consists of HRM practices that have been approved and are supported by the World Trade Organization.
D)is dominated by the home country's culture.
E)all of the abovE.

Question 28

What is behind the trend toward expansion into global markets?

A)Foreign countries can provide a business with new markets in which there are millions or billions of new customers.
B)They can operate with lower labour costs.
C)Global activities are simplified and encouraged by trade agreements among nations.
D)All of the choices are correct.
E)"a" and "c" only.

Question 29

Which one of the following statements about global organizations is FALSE?

A)They are flexible organizations.
B)They offer top products tailored to segments of the market while keeping costs as low as possible.
C)They treat different cultures as a source of competitive advantage.
D)They tend to have centralized,home-country decision-making structures.
E)They need a transnational HRM system.

Question 30

The Hofstede dimension that deals with the degree to which a culture prefers structured conditions is:

A)power distance.
B)individualism/collectivism.
C)masculinity/femininity.
D)uncertainty avoidance.
E)long-term/short-term orientation.

Question 31

An individual who was born in Mexico and is currently working for a Canadian company in Mexico is referred to as a:

A)home-country national.
B)host-country national.
C)third-country national.
D)home-country expatriate.
E)none of the abovE.

Question 32

Canada is high in:

A)power distance.
B)individualism.
C)uncertainty avoidance.
D)long-term orientation.
E)all of the abovE.

Question 33

An individual who was born in Canada and is currently working in Spain for a company headquartered in Germany would be considered a:

A)home-country national.
B)host-country national.
C)third-country national.
D)home-country expatriate.
E)none of the abovE.

Question 34

In Germany,employees have a legal right at the level of the company,facility,and individual to have direct influence on important decisions that affect them,such as large investments or new strategies.This participative process is called:

A)transnational decision-making.
B)distributive justice.
C)empowerment.
D)codetermination.
E)profit sharing.

Question 35

Assume that you are visiting Mexico for a business meeting and you call your host by his first name rather than his title.He seems offended.Your offense most likely stemmed from a difference between Canadian culture and Mexico's culture on which dimension?

A)Individualism/collectivism
B)Uncertainty avoidance
C)Power distance
D)Long-term/short-term orientation
E)Masculinity/femininity

Question 36

The ____________ of a country's labour force affect how and the extent to which companies want to operate there.

A)natural resources and cultural values
B)laws and religious practices
C)education and skill levels
D)geographic location and dominant language
E)none of the above

Question 37

A firm that is currently shipping domestically produced items to other countries to be sold there is at what level of international participation?

A)Exporting
B)Subsidiary operations
C)Multinational
D)Global
E)Host-country consolidation

Question 38

Validation involves giving expatriates recognition for their international service when they return home.

Question 39

According to Hofstede's cultural dimensions,a culture where people are expected to devote themselves to the interests of the community,and the community is expected to protect them when they are in trouble is high in:

A)power distance.
B)masculinity.
C)long-term orientation.
D)collectivism.
E)uncertainty avoidancE.

Question 40

The country in which an organization's headquarters is located is the:

A)host country.
B)home country.
C)first country.
D)third country.
E)expatriate country.

Question 41

The emotions that accompany an overseas assignment tend to follow a cycle of:

A)honeymoon,culture shock,recovery,and adjustment.
B)culture shock,honeymoon,learning,and adjustment.
C)honeymoon,learning,culture shock,and adjustment.
D)learning,culture shock,adjustment,and honeymoon.
E)honeymoon,recovery,culture shock,and return.

Question 42

In which of the following countries,does the average employee work more hours annually than the average worker in Canada?

A)Norway
B)France
C)South Korea
D)All of the choices are correct.
E)Both "a" and "b."

Question 43

Companies are increasingly using which of the following activities to facilitate repatriation?

A)Increased pay and validation
B)Communication and validation
C)Shorter assignments and increased pay
D)Validation and promotion
E)Communication and longer assignments

Question 44

Which one of the following statements about international labour relations is FALSE?

A)In some industries,unions are forming global labour alliances.
B)North American organizations,in comparison with European organizations,exert more centralized control over labour relations in the various countries in which they operate.
C)Day-to-day decisions about labour relations are usually handled by each foreign subsidiary.
D)In some countries,such as Germany,management has an incentive to build cooperative relationships since labour representatives participate in company decision-making activities and participate on companies' boards of directors.
E)Most North American organizations,in contrast to European organizations,bargain with a union representing an entire industry's employees,rather than with local union.

Question 45

Most organizations adjust expatriates' compensation so that it gives the employee:

A)the same standard of living as in the home country.
B)extra pay for any hardships of locating globally.
C)host country's prevailing wage.
D)both "a" and "b."
E)both "b" and "c."

Question 46

The extent to which expatriates receive recognition following their overseas assignment refers to:

A)validation.
B)repatriation.
C)adjustment.
D)acknowledgment.
E)none of the abovE.

Question 47

Research has found that successful completion of an international assignment is most likely among employees who demonstrate all but one of the following characteristics.Name the exception.

A)Extroverted
B)Assertive
C)Agreeable
D)Conscientious
E)Actually,none of these characteristics are associated with successful completion of an international assignment.

Question 48

Employees who manage an operation abroad without locating permanently in the country are called:

A)absentee expatriates.
B)inpatriates.
C)telecommuters.
D)temporary expatriates.
E)virtual expatriates.

Question 49

The process of preparing a person to return from a foreign assignment and assisting him or her with that reentry is known as:

A)reorientation.
B)expatriation.
C)repatriation.
D)validation.
E)remuneration.

Question 50

Training known as cross-cultural preparation is needed during which phase or phases of an international assignment?

A)Preparation for departure
B)During the assignment
C)Preparation for the return home
D)All of the answers are correct.
E)Only "a" and "b."

Question 51

What are home-country nationals,host-country nationals,and third-country nationals? Describe the different forms an organization can take as it tries to compete in the global marketplace.

Question 52

Employees from cultures high in power distance would expect and respond best to a training session where:

A)they are able to discuss and ask questions about the training content.
B)a formal instructional environment exists,with a structured agenda and timetable.
C)an impromptu style is used.
D)the trainer is an expert.
E)trainees are asked to complete follow-up activities,such as development plans and other assignments.

Question 53

Cross-cultural competence requires the expatriate to be:

A)sensitive to the host country's cultural norms.
B)flexible enough to adapt to the host country's cultural norms.
C)strong enough to survive the culture shock of living in another culture.
D)all of the choices are correct.
E)both "a" and "b."

Question 54

According to research,the factor that most strongly influences whether an employee completes a foreign assignment is:

A)flexibility.
B)job knowledge.
C)comfort of the employee's spouse and family.
D)pay.
E)ability to speak the foreign country's languagE.

Question 55

(Did You Know?))Which country tops the list of being the country with the highest business costs?

A)China
B)India
C)Brazil
D)Canada
E)Japan

Question 56

The most notable disadvantage for virtual expatriates is:

A)the amount of time they must spend away from friends and family while on assignment.
B)the loss in income they will experience as a result of accepting their overseas assignments.
C)the difficulty they may experience in building relationships with host-country employees.
D)the isolation that comes with never returning to their home countries.
E)all of the abovE.

Question 57

As an HR specialist in workforce planning,in which country would you experience the greatest freedom in reducing your company's workforce in response to a forecasted oversupply of workers?

A)Canada
B)Germany
C)Denmark
D)France
E)Sweden

Question 58

Which of the following items is typically included in an international assignment letter?

A)Location and duration of assignment.
B)Remuneration (e.g.salary,benefits,and currency of payment).
C)Relocation program (e.g.house hunting,moving,and schooling).
D)Repatriation (e.g.employment opportunities upon return and financial counselling).
E)All of the choices are correct.

Question 59

The approach to compensating and rewarding expatriates that equalizes the purchasing power of the expatriate manager with that of employees in similar positions in the home country and provides incentives to offset any hardships incurred in the location is known as:

A)the international approach.
B)the balance sheet approach.
C)the equalization approach.
D)the host-country approach.
E)the flexible benefits approach.

Question 60

Employees from cultures high in uncertainty avoidance would expect and respond best to a training session where:

A)participation in exercises and questioning is determined by status in the company or culture.
B)a formal instructional style and environment exists.
C)trainers are flexible and open to schedule and activity changes.
D)trainees are asked to complete follow-up activities,such as development plans and assignments.
E)the instructional environment is informal.

Question 61

Identify 5 topics that should be addressed to assess candidates' ability to adapt to a new global work environment.For each of the topics you identified what is at least one thing that you would be attempting to determine about the job candidate?

Question 62

What is the purpose of the balance-sheet approach to expatriate compensation,and what are its four major components and their respective purposes?

Question 63

Name and discuss the four factors that affect HRM in global markets.Which factor is thought to be the most important and why?