Deck 10: Developing a Global Management Cadre

Question 1

Tyco International is a highly diversified global firm with headquarters in New Jersey. Tyco manufactures a variety of products ranging from home security systems to automotive components. Tyco's 100,000 employees work from facilities located in more than 60 countries around the world. Tyco frequently sends American managers overseas to manage the firm's foreign facilities. The HR department is considering the idea of redesigning Tyco's expatriate support services program. Which of the following questions is most relevant to Tyco's decision to redesign its repatriation program?

A) How effective would virtual global teams be for Tyco's management of overseas facilities?
B) How is knowledge transferred from Tyco's global managers upon their repatriation?
C) What percentage of Tyco's female executives are given overseas assignments?
D) What percentage of Tyco's repatriated managers remain with the firm?

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Approximately what percentage of expatriate spouses are male?

A) 5%
B) 10%
C) 25%
D) 50%

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following will most likely occur during the home country exit transition process?

A) vertical integration
B) career counseling
C) reverse culture shock
D) culture sensitivity training

Answer 3

D

Question 4

________ most likely eases the expatriate's adjustment to the host country.

A) Fair compensation
B) Headquarters support
C) Spousal career training
D) Headquarters orientation

Question 5

Tyco International is a highly diversified global firm with headquarters in New Jersey. Tyco manufactures a variety of products ranging from home security systems to automotive components. Tyco's 100,000 employees work from facilities located in more than 60 countries around the world. Tyco frequently sends American managers overseas to manage the firm's foreign facilities. The HR department is considering the idea of redesigning Tyco's expatriate support services program. Which of the following, if true, best supports Tyco's decision to redesign its expatriate support services program?

A) Nearly 20% of repatriated Tyco managers resign from the firm within one year of completing overseas assignments.
B) Over 40% of repatriated Tyco managers switch divisions within the firm upon returning from overseas assignments.
C) The number of female executives at Tyco is significantly less than the national average for firms of the same size.
D) Competitors of Tyco provide managers with six months of language and cultural training prior to sending them abroad.

Question 6

Which of the following terms refers to a state of disorientation and anxiety that results from returning to one's own culture?

A) synergy
B) culture shock
C) reverse culture shock
D) projected cognitive dissonance

Question 7

All of the following are suggestions by expatriates regarding how to have a successful experience overseas EXCEPT ________.

A) learn the local customs
B) establish a family routine
C) develop a support network
D) cease contact with headquarters

Question 8

All of the following are examples of support systems recommended by Tung for a successful repatriation program EXCEPT ________.

A) mentor program
B) special career planning unit
C) domestic and foreign tax assistance program
D) system of maintaining contact with expatriates

Question 9

According to research, which of the following is LEAST likely to improve the cross-cultural adjustment of expatriate spouses?

A) Firms seek the spouse's opinion about the assignment.
B) The spouse initiates his or her own predeparture training.
C) Firms seek the spouse's opinion on the expected standard of living.
D) The spouse initiates his or her own job search in the foreign location.

Question 10

Which of the following is most likely a true statement about expatriate assignments?

A) Most multinational firms provide expatriates with mentors during overseas assignments.
B) Many employees of U.S. firms consider overseas assignments to be negative career moves.
C) Most employees in European and Japanese firms view overseas assignments to be demotions.
D) Reverse culture shock primarily results from ineffective preparation for overseas assignments.

Question 11

Reverse culture shock occurs primarily because of the difficulty of reintegration ________.

A) into the home society
B) with family members
C) into the organization
D) with foreign cultures

Question 12

Which of the following best explains the attrition rate for expatriates?

A) Expatriates are not marketable because of their time spent overseas.
B) Expatriates receive demotions upon returning to their home country.
C) Expatriates feel dissatisfied both during and after the overseas assignment.
D) Expatriates receive less compensation overseas than they receive domestically.

Question 13

What is the most commonly cited reason that employees refuse expatriate assignments?

A) money issues
B) family concerns
C) health and safety issues
D) career concerns of spouse

Question 14

What is the primary benefit for a firm that carefully manages its expatriates' careers?

A) creating global opportunities for junior managers
B) retaining managers with global experience and skills
C) maintaining close connections with global subsidiaries
D) recruiting college graduates for global management positions

Question 15

Tyco International is a highly diversified global firm with headquarters in New Jersey. Tyco manufactures a variety of products ranging from home security systems to automotive components. Tyco's 100,000 employees work from facilities located in more than 60 countries around the world. Tyco frequently sends American managers overseas to manage the firm's foreign facilities. The HR department is considering the idea of redesigning Tyco's expatriate support services program. Which of the following, if true, best supports Tyco's decision to provide assistance to trailing spouses in finding jobs overseas?

A) Tyco interviews managers' spouses about potential international assignments.
B) The majority of Tyco's expatriate managers are married men with children.
C) The majority of skilled managers at Tyco are part of dual-career couples.
D) Female managers at Tyco have reported bias treatment while overseas.

Question 16

All of the following are stages in the expatriate transition process EXCEPT ________.

A) host country language transition
B) home country exit transition
C) host country entry transition
D) home country entry transition

Question 17

Successful repatriation is most likely important to the parent company because it ________.

A) enables firms to recover all financial losses
B) allows firms to establish roots in developing countries
C) improves the ability to recruit new expatriate managers
D) helps spouses of expatriates find rewarding jobs overseas

Question 18

In order to maximize a firm's global human resources, IHR managers most likely need to ________.

A) promote the role of women in global management
B) develop line supervisors through training programs
C) offer job expansion and job enrichment opportunities
D) expand into new economies through global franchises

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT one of the components of developing an international cadre?

A) preparation
B) adaptation
C) repatriation
D) expropriation

Question 20

According to surveys, which of the following support practices is most important to repatriates?

A) lifestyle counseling
B) career planning sessions
C) financial and tax assistance
D) corporate reorientation programs

Question 21

According to a study of global teams by Govindarajan and Gupta, which of the following is the most important task in developing a successful global business team?

A) clarifying the objectives of the team
B) aligning the goals of each team member
C) cultivating trust among all team members
D) ensuring that team members have essential skills

Question 22

Firms primarily benefit from repatriated managers' knowledge transfer and application of all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) local marketing
B) host-country laws
C) cultural differences
D) competitor information

Question 23

According to research on HR managers in the Asia-Pacific region, what is the advantage of having synergy within transnational teams?

A) greater likelihood for individual recognition
B) more opportunities for global competition
C) elimination of unnecessary communication
D) increased simplification in the global workforce

Question 24

The operational challenges for global virtual teams include all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) geographic dispersal
B) cultural differences
C) language and communication
D) too many different viewpoints

Question 25

According to a survey of Alcoa's virtual team members, successful team leaders have the ability to ________.

A) convey goals and resolve conflicts
B) explain the organization's mission
C) provide career planning advice
D) integrate technology systems

Question 26

Research shows that women are ________ in expatriate assignments.

A) not represented
B) disproportionately represented
C) as equally represented as men
D) disproportionately underrepresented

Question 27

According to the Joshi study, the most critical conflicts related to transnational teams are between ________.

A) subsidiaries in different countries
B) expatriates in different countries
C) headquarters and subsidiaries
D) headquarters and expatriates

Question 28

Which of the following terms refers to collections of managers from several countries who must rely on group collaboration if each member is to experience optimum success and goal achievement?

A) global management teams
B) specialized management teams
C) virtual management teams
D) strategic management teams

Question 29

According to research by Chevrie, which of the following is a strategy used to manage transnational teams?

A) using procedures established by headquarters
B) focusing on technical rather than cultural issues
C) linking compensation to individual achievement
D) establishing a single team leader as spokesperson

Question 30

According to research done by Black and Gregersen, which of the following was NOT a practice used by companies that reported high degrees of job satisfaction and strong performance?

A) They assign overseas posts to managers with both technical skills and cross-cultural abilities.
B) They focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development.
C) They end expatriate assignments with a deliberate repatriation process.
D) They provide full-time overseas positions for managers' spouses.

Question 31

Advances in communication technology have facilitated the increasing number of ________ and enabled firms to capitalize on 24-hour productivity.

A) virtual global teams
B) transitional global teams
C) specialized global teams
D) assimilated global teams

Question 32

Which of the following is a language and communication issue that poses a challenge to many global virtual teams?

A) lack of qualified translators
B) variations in equipment speed
C) lack of visible nonverbal cues
D) variations in time expectations

Question 33

Which of the following terms refers to employees in various locations around the world who coordinate their work and decisions through teleconferencing and e-mail?

A) transitional global teams
B) specialized global teams
C) multicultural teams
D) virtual global teams

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a recommendation by Govindarajan and Gupta for improving global teamwork?

A) linking rewards to team performance
B) rotating and diffusing team leadership
C) having a regular meeting location
D) building a culture of trust

Question 35

According to Lazarova and Tarique, which of the following conditions must be met for the successful transfer of knowledge to occur between repatriates and firms?

A) repatriate readiness and organization incentives
B) organization transfer tools and legal guidelines
C) repatriate readiness and cultural preparation
D) organization incentives and legal procedures

Question 36

An repatriated manager says, "I learned to understand situations from the viewpoint of local employees and businesspeople when I worked overseas." Which of the following skills did the manager most likely acquire?

A) technical knowledge
B) multiple perspectives
C) autocratic management
D) tolerance for ambiguity

Question 37

In a survey of 440 training and development professionals across a variety of industries, respondents indicated that the most valuable and effective training addressed how to ________.

A) select virtual team members
B) use appropriate technologies
C) lead virtual team meetings
D) preview virtual team challenges

Question 38

Which of the following is more likely to be learned during an overseas assignment than during a home-country assignment?

A) acquisition of high-level technical skills
B) management of information systems
C) management of office politics
D) tolerance for ambiguity

Question 39

Which of the following is a primary challenge that faces most virtual global teams?

A) variations in management authority levels
B) differences in goal sets and work styles
C) time and cost of traveling for meetings
D) incompatible infrastructure systems

Question 40

Which of the following is particularly import in joint ventures for strategic planning, implementation, and production?

A) legal sanctions
B) third country nationals
C) multicultural teams
D) repatriation policies

Question 41

While 60 percent of women work in Japan, only ________ hold managerial positions.

A) 9 %
B) 14%
C) 21%
D) 32%

Question 42

Based on Adler's research, which of the following is NOT a true statement about women in international assignments?

A) American women can expect to face discrimination in most countries.
B) Asians view female executives as foreigners who happen to be women.
C) A female expatriate in Asia is not expected to act like an Asian woman.
D) Many U.S. firms assume that female managers do not want to go overseas.

Question 43

Overall, more managerial opportunities are available for ________ women than for women in most other countries.

A) German
B) Chinese
C) Japanese
D) American

Question 44

In ________, the disparity in opportunities for women can be traced in part to the lifestyles and laws, such as children attending school only in the morning, which restricts the ability of both parents to work.

A) Japan
B) Germany
C) Spain
D) Italy

Question 45

In Europe, which of the following terms refers to negotiations between the employer's organization and a trade union at the industry level?

A) labor relations
B) direct control
C) collective bargaining
D) environmental scanning

Question 46

Which of the following is a constraint frequently placed on management by organized labor?

A) restrictions on the repatriation of capital
B) limits on the firm's ability to vary employment levels
C) requirements on bargaining with global unions
D) limits on hiring workers from other unions

Question 47

In ________, collective bargaining takes place between a local labor union and management.

A) Japan
B) Canada
C) Germany
D) France

Question 48

Which of the following represents all grades of employees in a specific industry?

A) craft union
B) general union
C) industrial union
D) conglomerate union

Question 49

Which of the following is the most likely reason for falling union membership in industrialized countries?

A) increasing proportion of blue collar and service workers
B) rising proportion of temporary and part-time workers
C) declining belief in unions by older manufacturing workers
D) decreasing number of firms offshoring white collar jobs

Question 50

According to Adler, what should businesses do regarding female managers and overseas assignments?

A) prepare female executives for the discrimination they will face abroad
B) realize that most women do no want to go abroad due to family concerns
C) give female managers the title, status, and recognition appropriate to the overseas position
D) send women overseas for only short-term assignments that do not require family relocation

Question 51

In the U.S., union membership ________.

A) has increased to 30% of the population
B) has decreased to 50% of the population
C) has declined about 50% in the last 20 years
D) is higher than in Europe, although it has decreased to 30%

Question 52

A written, legally binding agreement between employers and labor unions that is valid for a specific period is most common in ________.

A) Southern Europe
B) North America
C) Great Britain
D) France

Question 53

What is the primary reason for the varying opportunities for women that exist in different countries?

A) discriminatory education systems
B) cultural values and expectations
C) agricultural economies
D) inadequate technology

Question 54

What is the most likely reason that many European businesses move jobs overseas?

A) EU restrictions
B) euro instability
C) poor labor relations
D) technology infrastructure

Question 55

The most difficult challenge for women working overseas seems to be ________.

A) adjusting to language differences
B) earning adequate compensation
C) receiving expatriate assignments
D) dealing with cultural biases

Question 56

One of the main dimensions of the labor-management relationship that an international manager must consider is ________.

A) recruitment, training, and compensation policies
B) international suppliers and distributors
C) advertising and promotional strategies
D) repatriation policies and procedures

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about women in the Japanese workplace?

A) Over 60% of Japanese women are currently employed.
B) Japanese women were once only allowed to work in clerical positions.
C) The Japanese workplace has traditionally been dominated by male managers.
D) Currently, over 30% of Japanese women serve in high management positions.

Question 58

The labor contract generally determines all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) job duties
B) retirement
C) firing procedures
D) performance appraisals

Question 59

In which country would a firm most likely have to negotiate with several different national unions, such as a truck drivers' union and an airline pilots' union?

A) U.S.A.
B) Japan
C) China
D) Mexico

Question 60

The process through which managers and workers determine their workplace relationships is known as ________.

A) codetermination
B) labor relations
C) collective bargaining
D) international human resources management

Question 61

Which of the following terms refers to the participation of labor in the management of a firm?

A) codetermination
B) parochialism
C) governmentalism
D) differentiation

Question 62

Which of the following is NOT a force used to establish divergent labor relations systems?

A) national labor relations systems and traditions
B) local regulations and practices
C) new market economies
D) cultural norms

Question 63

What is the primary mission of the International Labor Organization?

A) developing global union leaders
B) filing lawsuits on behalf of workers
C) lobbying international governments
D) monitoring global labor conditions

Question 64

Which of the following countries has the fewest number of union members?

A) Denmark
B) Mexico
C) Germany
D) United Kingdom

Question 65

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about codetermination?

A) Firms with at least 500 employees have to give one-third of supervisory board seats to union representatives.
B) Unions and salaried employees are represented on the supervisory boards of firms with at least 2,000 employees.
C) Labor union work councils have veto power over CEO appointments.
D) Labor unions participate in the management of the firm.

Question 66

Which of the following is a true statement about labor relations in Mexico?

A) Unions have significant control over Mexican workers.
B) The Mexican government has strong control over union activities.
C) Less than one-fourth of the total workforce in Mexico belongs to a labor union.
D) The Mexican government requires MNCs to fill all manager positions with union members.

Question 67

________ occurs as the migration of management and workplace practices around the world reduce workplace disparities from one country to another.

A) Convergence
B) Divergence
C) Diversification
D) Contradiction

Question 68

Most experts view the All-China Federation of Trade Unions as a ________.

A) short-term Chinese experiment
B) tool of China's Communist Part
C) method of discouraging excessive FDI in China
D) real effort by the Chinese government to protect workers' rights

Question 69

Despite protests from foreign firms, the Chinese government recently passed a law that will ________.

A) allow the use of prison labor in Chinese-owned factories
B) force foreign firms to share technology with Chinese firms
C) protect worker's rights by granting power to labor unions
D) legalize the use of child labor in Chinese-owned factories

Question 70

Which of the following is a force for the global convergence of labor relations systems?

A) cultural norms
B) harmonization
C) social systems
D) political ideology

Question 71

What skills can managers gain from overseas assignments? Why are North American female managers so infrequently offered the opportunity to acquire international experience?

Question 72

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions claimed that foreign employers did all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) forced workers to work overtime
B) ignored labor-safety regulations
C) deliberately found fault with workers
D) replaced old workers with young workers

Question 73

Give examples of how firms help married couples adjust to international assignments.

Question 74

Discuss Tung's support systems to ensure a successful repatriation.

Question 75

What are the three phases of the expatriate transition process? Briefly describe each phase.

Question 76

All of the following are causes of convergence in labor relations practices EXCEPT ________.

A) political changes
B) increased open trade
C) external competitive forces
D) national labor relations systems

Question 77

Which of the following countries is primarily associated with codetermination?

A) Mexico
B) Germany
C) Russia
D) Denmark

Question 78

What was the underlying reason for the Chinese government granting power to labor unions?

A) addressing the rise in labor tension
B) making labor unions responsible for wage laws
C) cracking down on street demonstrations in the capital
D) increasing taxes on foreign investors to pay for social programs

Question 79

Which of the following is a primary concern for foreign companies operating in Germany?

A) high termination costs
B) long workdays
C) poor work ethics
D) low-skilled workers

Question 80

What are the long-term consequences of an ineffective repatriation program?