Deck 17: Managing Human Resources in an International Context

Question 1

Companies with a transnational strategic orientation follow a global staffing policy, selecting the best person for each job without considering national origin and generally having a consistent HRM strategy across all subsidiaries.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

One reason for using home-country citizens overseas is to prepare them for high-level positions at headquarters.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Parent-country nationals usually are not knowledgeable about the host-country culture and language, but many such expatriates have adapted, learned the language, and become thoroughly accepted in the host country, which allows them to avoid any biases of their own cultural experience and to be able to understand and perform effectively within the new operating context.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The disadvantages of using employees from the home or host countries can sometimes be avoided by sending third-country nationals to fill management posts.

Question 5

A disadvantage of hiring local managers is that they are often unfamiliar with the home country of the IC and with its policies and practices.

Question 6

Under a polycentric staffing orientation, ICs primarily hire HCNs for subsidiaries and PCNs for headquarters' positions, and movement from the local subsidiaries to headquarters' positions is common.

Question 7

To achieve global objectives, the selection and training of IC managers are the same whether the candidate is from the home country, the host country, or a third country.

Question 8

Companies with a primarily international strategic orientation may adopt an ethnocentric staffing policy.

Question 9

The effectiveness of every organization is totally controlled by the effectiveness of its workforce.

Question 10

An expatriate is a person living outside his or her country of birth.

Question 11

Companies with a regional strategic approach can use a polycentric staffing policy, employing a variety of HCNs and TCNs.

Question 12

When a company's primary strategic orientation is multidomestic, an ethnocentric orientation is particularly appropriate.

Question 13

The use of third-country nationals has become particularly prevalent in the LDCs because they provide substantial cost savings over the use of home-country nationals.

Question 14

Parent-company nationals commonly encounter difficulty overcoming the biases of their own cultural experience and being able to understand and perform effectively within a new operating context.

Question 15

Sources of successful managers for IC activities include the home country, the host country, and a third country.

Question 16

Managerial positions in overseas operations require more and different skills than do purely domestic executive jobs.

Question 17

The combination of an openness to and awareness of diversity across cultures and markets with a propensity and ability to synthesize across this diversity has been termed a transnational mindset.

Question 18

The effectiveness of every organization depends, to a great extent, on how well its human resources are used.

Question 19

According to Heenan and Perlmutter, the nationality of a company determines whether the organization's approach to international human resource management should be ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, or geocentric.

Question 20

Because of the importance of the workforce to the effectiveness of organizational operations, a company's approach to international human resource management should drive its competitive strategy.

Question 21

In developing countries, third-country nationals are often preferred by the host country over nationals of the home country.

Question 22

Expatriate children who lived in a foreign country for a period of time while in their impressionable adolescent years often have attributes of "third-world kids."

Question 23

As international companies increasingly take the geocentric view, we can be certain to see less use of third-country nationals.

Question 24

Expatriate assignments have been reported to lead to faster promotions.

Question 25

When managers are assigned and move abroad with their families, the most difficult adjustments are frequently for the children.

Question 26

In two-career families, when one spouse accepts a foreign assignment and the other spouse goes along, that other spouse is referred to as a trailing spouse.

Question 27

If a company feels that it probably will send parent-country nationals abroad, it will frequently encourage them to study the language and culture of the country to which they are going.

Question 28

A recent study reported that 77 percent of companies considered that cross-cultural training was highly valuable and required such training for their expats or their families.

Question 29

Failure rates for expatriate assignments have been reported to range from 25 to 45 percent.

Question 30

The same general criteria for selecting home-country employees apply to host-country nationals.

Question 31

Approximately 15 percent of expatriates leave their firms during the course of their overseas assignment, and an additional 28 percent leave their companies within a year of their return from abroad.

Question 32

Employees hired in the host country are sometimes called flexpatriates.

Question 33

Worldwide, nearly 50 percent of expatriate positions are held by women.

Question 34

There is reverse culture shock when an expatriate returns to the home country and company.

Question 35

Employees hired in the host country are sometimes called inpatriates.

Question 36

Hiring personnel who are third-country nationals can be advantageous, especially in developing countries, because they may accept lower wages and benefits than will employees from the home country and they may come from a culture similar to that of the host country.

Question 37

Relatively few expatriate failures are family-related. Most relate to the expatriate's lack of technical skills.

Question 38

Family adjustment is not critical in the job performance of expats.

Question 39

The use of TCNs has become particularly prevalent in the developing countries.

Question 40

Generally, the host government will understand that a third-country national is better for the parent company than a local executive would be.

Question 41

Perks are symbols of rank in the corporate hierarchy and are used to compensate executives while minimizing taxes.

Question 42

There is a trend toward treating third-country nationals the same as home-country expatriates in terms of their compensation plans.

Question 43

A geocentric staffing policy:

A) enables the practices used at headquarters to be transferred worldwide.
B) tends to be used with a global strategic orientation.
C) selects the best person for each job, without considering national origin.
D) two of the above.
E) all of A, B, and C.

Question 44

Some firms promote host-country employees to international status without transferring them abroad.

Question 45

A regiocentric staffing policy:

A) involves human resource policies that are created at the local level for the specific context in which the local operations operate.
B) may send TCNs to fill management posts, to avoid problems from using PCNs or HCNs.
C) selects the best person for each job, without considering national origin.
D) two of the above.
E) all of A, B, and C.

Question 46

A polycentric staffing policy is appropriate when:

A) there are low levels of pressure for cost reduction and high levels for localization.
B) information technology is of increasing importance.
C) all of A, B, andD.
D) As stated directly in the text.
E)two of A, B, and D.

Question 47

Japanese attitudes toward Western women expats assigned to Japan suggest that these women would be ineffective in their assignments.

Question 48

An advantage of using home-country citizens abroad is:

A) they have expertise in the host-country culture.
B) they expand their experience, enhancing their potential for promotion at home.
C) they have lower-cost salaries and benefits than HCNs or TCNs.
D) two of the above.
E)all of A, B, and C.

Question 49

Being from another country qualifies expatriates for international status.

Question 50

Qualifications for a good manager of an overseas operation should include:

A) all of B, C, and D.
B) being bicultural and bilingual.
C) knowing business practices in the home and host countries.
D)having more and different skills than domestic managers.
E) two of B, C, and D.

Question 51

A candidate's fluency in the host country's language is a strong indicator of his or her ability to effectively adjust within the host country.

Question 52

Bonuses are payments made to compensate expatriates for the extra costs they must incur to live as well abroad as they did in the home country.

Question 53

An ethnocentric staffing policy:

A) utilizes host-country nationals in key foreign management and technical positions.
B) assigns expatriates who have learned the language and culture of the country of their assignment.
C) is required in order to prepare home-country citizens for high-level managerial positions at headquarters.
D) two of the above.
E) none of A, B, and C.

Question 54

Planning for an expatriate's return should begin while the employee is still on the overseas assignment.

Question 55

The effectiveness of every organization depends to a great extent on how well its:

A) human resources are utilized.
B) production facilities are operated.
C) financial resources are planned.
D) all of the above.
E)two of A, B, and C.

Question 56

In the method favored by the majority of American ICs, the salary part of an expatriate employee's compensation package will generally be governed by the employee's level in the organization and will not be higher because of the foreign assignment.

Question 57

A global mindset:

A) is a "prerequisite for global industry dominance."
B) combines an openness to and awareness of diversity across cultures and markets with a propensity and an ability to synthesize across this diversity.
C) results from a combination of training and language skills.
D) all of the above.
E) two of B, C, and D.

Question 58

A polycentric staffing policy:

A) involves human resource policies that are created at the local level for the specific context in which the local operations operate.
B) results in the company hiring local managers who are familiar with the home country of the IC and with its corporate culture, policies, and practices.
C) may confront the problem of having the best people pirated away by local firms or other IC subsidiaries.
D) two of the above.
E) all of A, B, and C.

Question 59

Allowances are paid by firms in recognition of the fact that expatriates and their families undergo hardship and make sacrifices while living abroad.

Question 60

Hiring and promoting employees on the basis of the specific local context in which the subsidiary operates refers to:

A) an ethnocentric orientation.
B) a polycentric orientation.
C) a regiocentric orientation.
D) a geocentric orientation.
E) none of the above.

Question 61

Training and development of potential candidates for expatriate assignments:

A) are unnecessary with host-country nationals.
B) are unnecessary with home-country nationals.
C) depend on whether the candidate is a home-, host-, or third-country national.
D) wastes company resources because management is an art form, not a skill.
E) none of the above.

Question 62

According to the text, approximately ______ of expatriate failures are family-related.

A) 25 percent
B) 40 percent
C) half
D) nearly 75 percent
E) 90 percent

Question 63

Regarding repatriation:

A) expatriates often struggle with the higher autonomy of their work context when they return home.
B) planning for an expat's return should start while the employee is abroad.
C) 49 percent of expatriates report that they do not have any guaranteed position in their IC after the end of their international assignment.
D) two of the above.
E) none of the above.

Question 64

According to the text, approximately ______ percent of the companies surveyed required cross-cultural training for their expats or their families.

A) 21 percent
B) 27 percent
C) nearly half
D) 77 percent
E) 90 percent

Question 65

When host-county nationals are employed:

A) training costs are a minimum.
B) they are familiar with local customs, culture, and language.
C) they are already familiar with the home country.
D) any conflict of interest is removed.
E) two of the above.

Question 66

Parent-company nationals might be concerned with:

A) the rate at which industrial skills are learned by host-country nationals.
B) how quickly they can learn the local language in their host country.
C) the exchange rate movement of their host country's currency.
D) all of the above.
E) two of A, B, and C.

Question 67

When an IC hires and trains local, host-country people, the IC often:

A) pays them too much and creates inflation.
B) overtrains them to IC culture-based standards.
C) may lose them to local firms or other ICs once they are trained.
D) encourages their transfer, causing brain drain.
E) two of the above.

Question 68

The use of third-country nationals as IC executives in LDCs is a growing practice because:

A) they tend to prefer working in LDCs.
B) there is frequently a shortage of skilled host-country nationals.
C) all of A, B, and D.
D) Both B and D are correct, so E is the appropriate response.
E) two of A, B, and D.

Question 69

According to the text, approximately ______ of expatriates leave their firms during the course of their overseas assignment.

A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 31 percent
D) nearly 40 percent
E) none of the above

Question 70

According to the text, the proportion of expatriates who are women has increased to _____ percent.

A) 15
B) 21
C) 29
D) 35
E) over 50

Question 71

Before accepting a foreign posting and becoming an expatriate, you should:

A) arrange with someone fairly high in the home-country company to be your mentor and look out for your interests.
B) insist that the bosses tell you exactly what the company expects you to accomplish.
C) try to assess how your family will adopt to the major changes involved.
D) all the above.
E) two of A, B, and C.

Question 72

Generalizations about TCNs are difficult because:

A) the IC usually does not know enough about their backgrounds.
B) the geocentric staffing policy prohibits these generalizations.
C) two of A, B, and D
D) As stated directly in the text.
E) all of A, B, and D.

Question 73

Home-country nationals may be used in host-country management because:

A) all of B, C, and
B) host-country nationals are unavailable.
C) home-country nationals are being groomed for IC headquarters.
D)C headquarters wants one of its nationals in the host country.
E) two of B, C, and D.

Question 74

Which of the following is(are) true about the spouses of expatriates?

A) Many are unable to legally work in the host nation.
B) Nearly one-quarter were employed during the course of the expat assignment.
C) Many experience stages of grief, similar to the loss of a loved one, due to career effects of the assignment.
D) Two of the above.
E) All of A, B, and C.

Question 75

According to the text, the failure rate for expatriate assignments, including failing to achieve performance targets for an international assignment or prematurely returning from the assignment, ranges from _______ percent.

A) 6 to 10
B) 15 to 25
C) 25 to 45
D) 30 to 55
E) 41 to 65

Question 76

Knowledge of foreign languages:

A) requires too much work to be worth the effort.
B) can be of great assistance in making export sales.
C) is useless if you know English.
D) is of academic but not business value.
E) none of the above.

Question 77

Which of the following is(are) true about assistance provided to the spouses of expatriates?

A) Over half of companies provide education or training assistance to spouses.
B) Nearly 70 percent of companies provide language training to spouses.
C) About one-quarter of companies sponsor work permits.
D) Two of the above.
E) All of A, B, and C.

Question 78

An advantage of hiring personnel who are citizens of neither the home country nor the host country may be that they:

A) may accept lower wages and benefits.
B) may come from a culture similar to that of the host country.
C) all of A, B, and D.
D) As stated directly in the text.
E) two of A, B, and D.

Question 79

Which of the following dimensions has (have) been identified as being associated with cross-cultural adjustment?

A) Work context
B) Gender
C) General environment
D) all of the above
E) two of A, B, and C

Question 80

According to the text, about ____ percent of medium and large-sized companies have employees working abroad.

A) 23
B) 47
C) 55
D) 76
E) 80