Deck 9: Managing People

Question 1

How do U.S. universities and colleges educate students to prepare them for global management positions?

Answer 1

U.S. universities and colleges are educating and preparing students for global management positions by creating alliances and offering courses on international campuses. Both Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business have opened international campuses. This experience provides students with a different perspective, which is useful in global markets that continually evolve and are tightly interconnected. Universities are also encouraging students to participate in student and faculty exchange programs with schools in far-reaching places such as Chile and Turkey. Furthermore, they are encouraging participation in consortium memberships and training agreements with foreign schools. Schools such as Babson College, MIT, and Cal Berkley have allied with foreign universities to expand their reach and provide students with greater opportunities. MIT's alliance with Turkey's Sabanci School of Management provides students with access to local Turkish companies. Cal Berkley offers its students an international development class in which students participate in mini consulting projects which call for students to create business plans or conduct research on how to expand their clients' business in another country. Harvard Business School is making it mandatory for its students to complete international consulting projects for companies. These experiences will help prepare students to undertake roles as global managers.

Question 2

Do you think U.S. university programs are doing enough to meet the expectations of the MNCs that will hire these students after graduation? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these programs?

Answer 2

According to recruiters hiring MBAs for global positions, a school's efforts alone are not enough for university students to land jobs after graduation. They believe there is a disconnect between a school's globalization efforts and the desired skills employers seek in job candidates. At Bain, global positions require applicants to possess proficiency in another language. Simply going to study abroad is not sufficient for employers. Multinational firms are having difficulty finding candidates who meet all their requirements to manage global businesses and some are looking toward training and internal development to produce their desired candidates.
The strengths of these programs are that they offer and require students to undertake an international experience abroad, which helps expand their mindset and think globally. Furthermore, these programs offer international development classes which expose students to mini consulting projects, creating business plans and conducting research on how to expand a business in another country. Finally, these programs in conjunction with foreign alliance schools provide students with the ability to interact with regional and local companies, creating or improving cultural awareness and knowledge. The weaknesses of these programs are that they do not produce the candidates and skill sets that employers desire in qualified candidates. Instead of looking toward acquiring external talent and recent graduates, companies are instead turning toward internal training and development, utilizing their existing talent pool.

Question 3

Why do think IBM launched U-100? Do you think that IBM will bridge the gap between technology and business to deliver higher client value?

Answer 3

U-100 was launched to address the growing demand for big data and analytics in China. IBM plans to set up technology centers, launch undergraduate and graduate programs, and create a Center of Excellence at numerous universities. These programs will provide technical training to professors and faculty in areas such as information management, data mining, social media analytics, and risk management.
Yes, IBM will bridge the gap between technology and business to deliver higher client value. IBM announced a cooperative agreement that will provide and help prepare the next generation of Chinese data scientists who will utilize and interpret big data to fuel future innovation. IBM's collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Chinese universities is projected to accelerate and nurture big data and analytical skills to help prepare future business leaders, as well as apply big data and analytics technologies to solve complex societal issues: healthcare, transportation, and public services. The big data technology and services market in China will continue to grow at a compound annual rate. IBM's initiative will help develop talent for businesses to help them realize the potential of big data and ultimately pass value to the end users: clients.

Question 4

Why do you think Western companies continue to rely on expatriates instead of hiring local talent for top management positions?

Question 5

What are the main arguments that justify the increased use of local talent instead of expatriates?

Question 6

What personalities or characteristics embody the ideal profile of local talent and why?

Question 7

Why do Chinese managers who have previously worked for Western MNCs want to return home?

Question 8

What are the challenges these managers often face when they move from Western MNCs to local Chinese companies?

Question 9

Why are both MNCs and local Chinese companies interested in these Chinese natives?

Question 10

What are the key findings of the recent survey on expatriates?

Question 11

What are the main areas of concerns on the part of the expatriates?

Question 12

How do you think MNCs can improve their support to expatriates?

Question 13

Why are repatriates struggling after they return home?

Question 14

How do you think repatriates can alleviate the problems that they anticipate upon their return?

Question 15

What can companies do to improve repatriates' situations?

Question 16

What is global talent management and why is it important for an MNC to effectively conduct businesses across borders?

Question 17

Explain the three key staffing policies introduced in this chapter and then compare and contrast the pros and cons of each policy.

Question 18

What are the main selection criteria that MNCs use in choosing the right candidate for an opening position at an overseas subsidiary? What are the primary concerns that expatriates typically raise in managing their assignments as well as living abroad?

Question 19

How can an MNC keep talented employees and managers engaged with the organization and them? What types of compensation and performance appraisal schemes are available for MNCs to use to achieve this goal?

Question 20

What are the key challenges that expatriates face when they return home? How can a company improve its repatriation policies and practices to help returning managers ease their transition?

Question 21

Which of the following best describes global talent management?

A) An effort to identify, recruit, develop, and retain capable managers across borders
B) The ability to internally develop managers with a limited mindset
C) To create managers who are unable to perform anywhere, anytime, in any manner
D) The capability to hire the most qualified candidate for the position

Question 22

Which of the following is not a criteria utilized to attract potential candidates?

A) Strong brand and reputation
B) Reward and recognition system
C) Career development opportunities
D) Paid time off programs

Question 23

The managerial talent pool MNCs use to select qualified candidates consists of

A) Third-country nationals
B) Home-country nationals
C) Host-country nationals
D) All of the above

Question 24

The ethnocentric orientation approach

A) Believes the host country's way of conducting business is superior to the home country's
B) Is used when MNCs need looser control over overseas operations to solely achieve the subsidiary's objectives
C) Believes the home country's way of conducting business is superior to the host country's
D) A&B

Question 25

One advantage of implementing an ethnocentric approach is

A) Decentralized channels of communication
B) Alignment of parent company's goals and objectives with foreign subsidiary
C) Cultural divergence
D) Transfer of tangible knowledge (technology and machinery)

Question 26

The polycentric orientation approach does not

A) Promote cultural divergence
B) Assume each market is politically, economically, and socioculturally different
C) Require use of home country nationals who are unfamiliar with the host country
D) Allow for a high degree of autonomy and discretion

Question 27

One of the major concerns with the polycentric orientation approach is that

A) It prioritizes local business interests over the parent company's interests
B) Focuses on the big picture or the overarching strategy of the firm
C) It helps to easily create a cohesive organization
D) It undertakes a broad management approach

Question 28

Which of the following is not true in regard to the geocentric approach?

A) It seeks the most qualified individual to fit the managerial position
B) Uses home-country, host-country, and third-country managers
C) Combines both the ethnocentric and polycentric approaches
D) Categorizes qualified candidates by nationality, ethnicity, age, and gender

Question 29

An advantage of adopting a geocentric approach is

A) Cultural divergence
B) Global learning
C) Imbalanced management approach
D) Workforce homogeneity

Question 30

The most optimal staffing approach to apply is

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

Question 31

Which of the following criteria does HR not employ to select the proper candidate

A) Technical ability
B) Diplomatic skills
C) Language aptitude
D) Adaptability of family
E) None of the above

Question 32

The main objective of training and development is to

A) Create corporate cultural homogeneity
B) Produce managers who are solely focused on the organization's bottom and top line
C) Help managers perform the job at satisfactory levels
D) Increase loyalty by weakening communication channels

Question 33

Training for expatriates should consist of

A) Cross-cultural, language, and practical training
B) Pre-departure and post-departure training
C) Cultural intelligence
D) All of the above
E) A&C

Question 34

The four dimensions of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) are

A) Knowledge, reaction, strategy, drive
B) Action, strategy, emotion, knowledge
C) Drive, knowledge, strategy, action
D) Strategy, action, drive, intuition

Question 35

Which level of management requires leadership or business-level strategy training?

A) Middle and supervisory management
B) Entry level
C) Upper management
D) None of the above

Question 36

Which of the following is inconsistent with the headquarters-based approach?

A) Compensation is relative to performance
B) Expatriates from low-income countries may experience a wage increase
C) Expatriates from high-income countries may experience a wage decrease
D) Every expatriate is paid an equal standard amount

Question 37

Which of the following best describes the home-based balance sheet approach?

A) Creates purchasing power inequality so as not to offset qualitative differences
B) Ensures expatriates are not penalized in terms of quality of life due to relocation
C) Company forces expatriate to utilize their own resources to assimilate into the host country
D) Does not provide a compensation package (housing allowances, salary, holiday entitlements)

Question 38

Which of the following is not an aspect of the host-country based model?

A) Encourages movement of expatriates from lower-income countries
B) Deters movement of expatriates from higher-income countries
C) Maintains a standardized compensation scheme for expatriates anchored on headquarters' compensation structure
D) Expatriates compensated according to living costs of the host country

Question 39

Which of the following is not an advantage of an MNC's performance management?

A) Aligns corporate goals and business objectives
B) Provides input to all functional HR processes
C) Helps employees focus on tasks and recognize rewards for task completion
D) Promoting diversity

Question 40

Which of the following is a factor that needs to be considered in performance appraisal systems?

A) Strategic orientation
B) Transparency and fairness
C) Optimal tradeoff between standardization and localization
D) Financial performance and return on investment on expatriation
E) All of the above

Question 41

In the repatriation process, which of the following is not an issue that expatriates face when returning to the home country?

A) Readjustment to political system
B) Reverse culture shock
C) Readjustment to work environment
D) Readjustment to living environment at home

Question 42

Which of the following is not a solution to issues expatriates face when returning to the home country?

A) Cross-cultural preparation
B) Irregular communication from the home office
C) Appointment of mentors
D) Transitional programs and activities

Question 43

What is global talent management?

Question 44

Define each global staffing policy

Question 45

What is a global mindset? What are some of the other requirements for global leadership development?

Question 46

What is repatriation? What is one difficulty expats experience upon return to the home country? Provide a solution to this issue.

Question 47

What challenges do MNCs face in effectively managing global talent?

Question 48

What is Cultural Intelligence? Describe the four components of the dimensional model.

Question 49

Explain the various expatriate compensation packages. Which package is preferred? Why?

Question 50

Identify each factor evaluated in performance appraisal systems and describe their features and overall importance.