Deck 15: International Human Resources Management

Question 1

Apprenticeship training in the United States is far superior to that in Europe.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Because of low labor costs and language similarities, it is likely that KyoTek, an Indian company, will locate its new call center in the United States.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Michelle is French and is spending some time in the United States. A work permit or visa issued by the U.S. government would allow her to seek employment in the country.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

One reason to employ host-country nationals is that local governments want good jobs for their citizens.

Question 5

LightWays hires natives of the host country to manage its international facilities as much as possible. These workers are known as host country nationals.

Question 6

A global HR information system facilitates coordination between world units but is difficult to put in place.

Question 7

A multidomestic corporation is essentially a domestic firm that builds on its existing capabilities to penetrate overseas markets.

Question 8

XLTek, a German company, operates in South Korea. South Korea is the host country.

Question 9

Steve is an American. He works for a U.S. company at its facilities in Great Britain. Steve is considered a third-country national.

Question 10

Foreign workers invited to come to perform needed labor are usually referred to as guest workers.

Question 11

LightWays is just beginning to expand internationally. At this point, it is most likely that the firm will try to use host-country nationals to manage its international facilities.

Question 12

Transnational teams consist of people from the same country working on different international projects.

Question 13

Louis is a student spending a year abroad. If he gets a work permit, or a visa issued by the government, he will be permitted to work up to 20 hours per week for an organization that is headquartered in his home country.

Question 14

ChannelSystems would be considered a global corporation because it has fully autonomous units operating in multiple countries.

Question 15

One reason companies hire local citizens to work in their international facilities is that it is generally less costly than relocating expatriates.

Question 16

Different cultural environments require different organizational behaviors.

Question 17

In some countries, night shifts are taboo.

Question 18

The European Union (EU) was established to facilitate free trade with the United States.

Question 19

LightWays is a U.S. firm that has subsidiaries that operate as fully autonomous units in other countries, making LightWays a multidomestic corporation.

Question 20

An expatriate should request a repatriation interview if it is not automatically offered by the firm in order to gain information about the host country prior to beginning the foreign assignment.

Question 21

Managers in Latin American countries can encourage performance by using personal influence and working through individual members of a group.

Question 22

Nearly all companies have career development programs designed for repatriating employees.

Question 23

Jay, a European, felt disoriented for the first two months that he worked in the United States. He was experiencing culture shock.

Question 24

English is almost universally accepted as the language for international business.

Question 25

For most companies, the transnational form represents an ideal, rather than a reality.

Question 26

Morris, a manager for an American company, has just been transferred to the office in India. Repatriation is part of the training he will receive to prepare him for that assignment.

Question 27

In recent years, there has also been a trend to send expatriates on longer, less project-based assignments.

Question 28

About 25 percent of expatriates are women, and they perform just as well as men.

Question 29

Despite improved telecommunications and travel, it is more difficult than ever to match up employers and employees worldwide.

Question 30

The first step in selecting expatriates should be self-selection, where employees who volunteer to go abroad are given the chance to do so.

Question 31

In order to encourage international companies to hire locals when they open a facility in a country, the host country will often offer tax incentives, tariffs, and quotas.

Question 32

Employee benefits in the United States are among the highest in the world.

Question 33

One reason that it is a good idea to have a repatriation interview is to address any technical issues related to the job itself.

Question 34

Pay plans in Japan tend to focus on individual performance and achievement.

Question 35

Companies tend to continue to use expatriates only when a specific skillset is needed or when individuals in the host country require development.

Question 36

The balance sheet approach to compensation refers to designing pay systems that equalize the purchasing power of employees at comparable positions living overseas and in the home country.

Question 37

Elana has an H2B visa. She can come to the United States for a maximum of six months to perform temporary, agricultural seasonal work that is one-time only.

Question 38

In Asian countries, the underlying philosophy is cooperation.

Question 39

Marissa works for a company whose pay plan focuses on internal equity and personal needs. It is likely that she works for a Taiwanese company.

Question 40

The failure of expatriate assignments is most often due to lack of technical and managerial ability.

Question 41

A domestic firm that has leveraged its existing capabilities to penetrate overseas markets is a(n) __________ corporation.

A)transnational
B)international
C)multinational
D)global

Question 42

TredWorks is a corporation that treats the world market as a whole and tries to combine its activities in various countries to maximize efficiency. TredWorks can best be characterized as a(n) __________ corporation.

A)transnational
B)international
C)multinational
D)global

Question 43

A task force has been created at KyoTek to explore the possibility of entering into various international markets. As part of this team, Jon is responsible for analyzing market and trade cycles and currency fluctuations in the targeted regions. Jon is researching __________ factors.

A)economic.
B)political.
C)sociocultural.
D)technological.

Question 44

The term used to refer to the communications, religion, values and ideologies, education, and social structure of a nation is the

A)ritual environment.
B)general environment.
C)cultural environment.
D)task environment.

Question 45

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is a confederation of 311 national trade union centers representing union members in __________ countries and territories.

A)87
B)123
C)162
D)176

Question 46

Because it treats the world market as a unified whole and works to maximize efficiencies on a globalized scale, the Japanese company Matsushita is considered a(n) __________ corporation.

A)transnational
B)international
C)multinational
D)global

Question 47

In some countries, unions have alliances with other organizations like political parties, churches, or governments.

Question 48

ConFab has given its foreign subsidiaries the latitude to make decisions as appropriate in their regions of the world. ConFab would best be characterized as

A)an international corporation.
B)a multidomestic corporation.
C)a transnational corporation.
D)a global enterprise.

Question 49

ShamRoth is a multinational firm that has kept control of its operations centralized in its the home office. ShamRoth can best be characterized as a(n) __________ corporation.

A)transnational
B)international
C)multinational
D)global

Question 50

A compensation method used to correct for the higher costs of goods and services overseas is the balance sheet approach.

Question 51

Domestic managers may not be able to understand an expatriate's experience.

Question 52

ExerEnterprises is considering several countries in which to open new facilities. The leading country under consideration requires that there be a representation of labor on the board of directors. The country ExerEnterprises is considering is Germany.

Question 53

ShamRoth's approach to international business is to try to achieve both local responsiveness and global efficiency. ShamRoth can best be characterized as a(n) __________ corporation.

A)transnational
B)international
C)multinational
D)global

Question 54

Codetermination refers to the training an expatriate manager receives before an international assignment.

Question 55

Poor cultural fit is a major reason why international job assignments fail.

Question 56

A company like McDonald's, which offers culture-specific food items in different countries, is an example of a(n) __________ corporation.

A)transnational
B)international
C)multinational
D)global

Question 57

The International Labour Organization enforces international labor standards.

Question 58

While unions are most often thought of as being associated with labor, China has only one union, which is more closely aligned with management.

Question 59

Host-based pay is compensation that is equivalent to that earned by employees in the country where the expatriate is assigned, and companies use this method because it is less costly than other methods.

Question 60

Cultural environment includes all of the following components EXCEPT

A)education.
B)values or ideologies.
C)corporate structure.
D)religious beliefs.

Question 61

The country in which an international business operates is a(n)

A)receptive country.
B)adaptive country.
C)resource country.
D)host country.

Question 62

Ira has an H2B visa. This means he can come to the United States for a maximum of __________ months to perform temporary, nonagricultural seasonal work that is onetime only.

A)6
B)9
C)12
D)18

Question 63

Home-country nationals can also be called

A)host-country nationals.
B)third-country nationals.
C)international managers.
D)expatriates.

Question 64

If General Motors, an American company, transferred Karl Hammer, a native German, from his assignment in Bonn to a new assignment in Paris, Karl would then be considered a

A)home-country national.
B)host-country national.
C)third-country national.
D)first-country national.

Question 65

WTO member countries cover approximately __________ of all international trade.

A)37 percent
B)57 percent
C)77 percent
D)97 percent

Question 66

Which of the following is NOT a major component of expatriate adjustment?

A)Economic alignment
B)Family alignment
C)Company alignment
D)Country alignment

Question 67

The source of overseas employees that provides the advantages of less cost and greater facility in the language is

A)host-country nationals.
B)home-country nationals.
C)third-country nationals.
D)expatriates.

Question 68

Marissa wants to get a job overseas. In order to do so, she will need to obtain a(n) __________ from the government of the country in which she seeks employment.

A)patent
B)allowance permit
C)work permit
D)passport

Question 69

Apprenticeship training in Europe directs a large number of youths into

A)managerial training.
B)white-collar training.
C)supervisory training.
D)vocational training.

Question 70

Today women comprise around __________ of expatriates.

A)25 percent
B)35 percent
C)45 percent
D)55 percent

Question 71

Randall is a U.S. citizen sent by a U.S. company to work abroad. Randall is a(n)

A)host-country national.
B)third-country national.
C)international manager.
D)expatriate.

Question 72

The __________ system of apprenticeship is one of the best in Europe.

A)British
B)Irish
C)Dutch
D)German

Question 73

Levi Strauss has identified all of the following as attributes of successful global managers EXCEPT

A)the ability to seize strategic opportunities.
B)sensitivity to issues of diversity.
C)interpersonal competency.
D)the capability to manage a highly centralized organization.

Question 74

ShamRoth has begun to use teams to conduct its international business. These transnational teams tend to be

A)focused on projects that span multiple countries.
B)comprised of members with generalized skills.
C)homogenous.
D)comprised of members from the same region.

Question 75

The first step in selecting individuals for an international assignment is

A)self-selection.
B)to assess core skills.
C)to assess augmented skills.
D)to create a candidate pool.

Question 76

Guest workers

A)are another name for home-country nationals.
B)are invited to a country to perform needed labor.
C)are not required to obtain a work permit.
D)are used when adequate numbers of skilled workers are available.

Question 77

A task force has been created at KyoTek to explore the possibility of entering into various international markets. As part of this team, Louise is responsible for analyzing the stability of governments and laws, especially related to property rights, in the targeted regions. Louise is researching __________ factors.

A)economic
B)political
C)sociocultural
D)technological.

Question 78

When an American corporation hires an employee from Italy to work in its office in India, this employee is referred to as a(n)

A)expatriate.
B)international manager.
C)host-country national.
D)third-country national.

Question 79

When an American corporation hires an employee from Italy to work in its office in Rome, this employee is referred to as a(n)

A)expatriate.
B)international manager.
C)host-country national.
D)third-country national.

Question 80

A task force has been created at KyoTek to explore the possibility of entering into various international markets. As part of this team, Emma is responsible for analyzing the maturity of manufacturing equipment, information systems, and intellectual property in the targeted regions. Emma is researching __________ factors.

A)political
B)technological
C)economic
D)sociocultural