Deck 8: International Compensation

Question 1

With the Going Rate Approach,if the location is in a low-pay country,the multinational usually supplements base pay with additional benefits and payments.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Paying TCNs according to their home-country base salary can be less expensive than paying all expatriates on a PCN scale.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The provision of a relocation allowance implies that employees should be entitled to maintain their home country living standards.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Obtaining up to date information on international living costs is a constant issue for multinationals.

Question 5

The Balance Sheet Approach links the base salary for PCNs and TCN to the salary structure of the relevant home country.

Question 6

Pension plans are very easy to deal with from country-to-country,as national practices are similar

Question 7

The term "base salary" acquires a somewhat different meaning when employees go abroad.

Question 8

"Universal" pay systems may be preferred by corporate pay planners rather than having to deal with myriad "Local" systems.

Question 9

Increased complexities in global pay include the decreased use of outsourced activities and subsequent labor pricing needs.

Question 10

The competing objectives of the international firm and the expatriate employee are fundamentally different from that which exists in a domestic environment.

Question 11

The provision of a cost-of-living allowance implies that the cost-of-living in the foreign assignment is higher than at home.

Question 12

Generally the developed countries tend to rank as more expensive than developing countries because their wage costs are higher.

Question 13

PCNs and TCNs do not usually receive the same treatment concerning educational expenses.

Question 14

Firms will never provide standardized "core" pay in the global firm.

Question 15

Base salary must be paid in local country currency.

Question 16

Many employers cover the expense of one or more trips back to the home country each year.

Question 17

Foreign service inducements are usually made in the form of a percentage of salary and usually amount to 30 to 60 percent of base pay.

Question 18

MNEs using the Balance Sheet approach to international compensation are constantly updating compensation packages for cost of living changes.

Question 19

It is a common practice for MNEs to use a home-country balance sheet approach for TCNs except in the USA.

Question 20

The Going Rate Approach is based on local market rates.

Question 21

The provision of a housing allowance:

A) Is not often assessed on a case-by-case basis
B) Does not ever include a fixed housing allowance
C) Implies higher living standards
D) May include company-provided housing

Question 22

The Balance Sheet Approach:

A) Is the most widely used approach to international compensation
B) Relies on survey comparisons
C) Creates potential re-entry problems
D) Creates variation between expatriates of the same nationality in different countries

Question 23

The base salary for an international transfer is linked to the salary structure in the host country using:

A) Tax protection
B) Tax equalization
C) The Going Rate Approach
D) The Balance Sheet Approach

Question 24

The four categories of outlay incurred by expatriates that are incorporated in the Balance Sheet Approach are:

A) Goods and services,housing,income tax and reserve
B) Housing,base pay,goods and services and taxation
C) Taxation,housing,exchange rate and goods and services
D) Reserve,housing,taxation and evaluation cost

Question 25

The most common taxation policy used by multinationals is:

A) Tax protection
B) Parent country national taxation
C) Tax equalization
D) No taxation

Question 26

A firm-external theory of job worth is influenced by:

A) Behavioral theory
B) Level of internationalization
C) Cultural and institutional perspectives
D) Local market conditions

Question 27

Many multinationals respond to complexity of tax issues across countries by:

A) Ignoring all tax issues except for the Parent company
B) Retaining the services of international accounting firms
C) Having an in-house tax division to prepare all tax related forms and addresses all country tax issues
D) Leaving all tax issues up to the employee

Question 28

MNEs generally pay allowances in order to:

A) Change the living standards of employees
B) Encourage employees to take international assignments
C) Avoid certain taxes
D) Discourage employees from taking international assignments

Question 29

"Globals" are:

A) Expatriates
B) Permanent international assignees
C) Commuters
D) International travelers

Question 30

The purpose of home leave allowances is to:

A) Compensate for differences in expenditures between the home country and the foreign country
B) Give expatriates the opportunity to renew family and business ties,thereby helping them to avoid adjustment problems when they are repatriated
C) Cover moving,shipping and storage charges,and temporary living expenses
D) Give employees a chance to leave their homes to tour their potential foreign assignment

Question 31

Most US PCNs typically:

A) Remain under their home country benefit plan
B) Adopt US benefit plans
C) Take advantage of both their home countries' and the US's benefit plans
D) Do not receive benefits,only allowances

Question 32

Firms need to address many issues when considering benefits,including:

A) Whether or not to maintain expatriates in home-country programs
B) Whether or not to use the Going Rate Approach
C) Whether or not to use the Balance Sheet Approach
D) Whether or not expatriates should receive any social security benefits

Question 33

Which of the following is the foundation block for international compensation whether the employee is a PCN or TCN?

A) Tax protection
B) Foreign service inducement/hardship premium
C) Allowances
D) Base salary

Question 34

Successfully managing compensation and benefits in a multinational context:

A) Requires knowledge of employment and taxation law,customs,environment,and employment practices of many foreign countries
B) Requires the use of both the going rate approach and the balance sheet approach to international compensation
C) Does not require familiarity with currency fluctuations
D) Does not require the use of any kind of base salary

Question 35

In a domestic context,base salary:

A) Is the primary component of a package of allowances
B) Includes cost-of-living allowance
C) Denotes the amount of cash compensation serving as a benchmark for other compensation elements
D) Is determined by using the Going Rate Approach

Question 36

Relocation allowances:

A) Do not usually cover temporary living expenses
B) Usually cover temporary living expenses
C) Cover discretionary items
D) Do not usually cover moving

Question 37

A disadvantage of the Balance Sheet Approach is that:

A) There can be variations between assignments for the same employee
B) There can be variations between expatriates of the same nationality in different countries
C) There may be potential re-entry problems
D) It can result in great disparities between expatriates of different nationalities and between expatriates and local nationals

Question 38

Benefits that may be provided to employees include:

A) Base pay
B) Tax protection
C) Vacations and special leave
D) Cost-of-living allowances

Question 39

An advantage of the Going Rate Approach is that:

A) There is variation between assignments for the same employee
B) There is equality in pay with local nationals
C) There is equity between assignments
D) It results in fewer taxes

Question 40

Which of the following involves a payment to compensate for differences in expenditures between the home country and the foreign country?

A) Home leave allowance
B) Housing allowance
C) Cost-of-living allowance
D) Relocation allowance

Question 41

Present the general objectives of international compensation for a firm.

Question 42

Pay strategy may be defined in terms of a series of interlocking strategic choices on:

A) Basis of pay,units of aggregations,patterns of variation in pay and job evaluations
B) Industry/competition,size of organization,organizational structure and job evaluations
C) Employment relationships,corporate culture,basis of pay and job evaluation
D) Local market conditions,laws,basis of pay and job evaluations

Question 43

Discuss the key components of an international compensation program.

Question 44

In a recent cost of living survey,the most expensive city to live in is:

A) London
B) New York
C) Zurich
D) Tokyo

Question 45

The Top Five highest taxation countries are:

A) Netherlands,Belgium,Germany,Australia and Italy
B) USA,Netherlands,France,Germany and China
C) China,Australia,Belgium,France and Malaysia
D) Taiwan,France,Netherland,Belgium and Australia

Question 46

List the objectives of international compensation for an employee.

Question 47

International compensation is characterized by:

A) Complexity,culture and corporation
B) Complexity,cultural challenges
C) Complexity,challenges and choices
D) Complexity,cooperation and competition

Question 48

National and regional differences in the meaning practice and tradition of pay:

A) Are rapidly diminishing
B) Have practically disappeared with global cultural integration
C) Remain significant sources of variation in the international firm
D) Are actually increasing due to national and regional protectionist legislative mandates

Question 49

Describe some categories of Basis-for-Pay of strategic pay systems.

Question 50

Global pay practices consist of firm level decisions about:

A) Pay mix,pay level and standardization versus localization
B) Pay levels,pay mix and hierarchy versus egalitarian basis
C) Pay levels,cultural norms and pay bases
D) Pay mix,pay culture and standardization versus localization

Question 51

An external,environmental norm in global pay strategy would be:

A) Traditional employment relationships
B) Labor unions and educational systems
C) Resource-based view of the firm
D) Institutional economics

Question 52

Performance verses seniority is a strategic choice of pay strategy considered in:

A) Job evaluation system
B) Units of aggregation
C) Internal equity
D) Basis of pay

Question 53

International compensation is:

A) On a practical level,simpler than a domestic pay system
B) Not considered critical for most multinational enterprises
C) Still essentially equivalent to the topic of expatriate pay practices in all multinational enterprises
D) More complex than domestic pay due to outsourcing and balancing centralizations and decentralization of pay forms

Question 54

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the Going Rate Approach to international compensation and the Balance Sheet Approach.

Question 55

What are the three vertical levels of global pay strategies?

Question 56

The "Local Plus" approach to international compensation

A) Pays expatriates solely based on prevailing local wage conditions
B) Provides nothing but benefits in transportation assistance,housing and dependent's education
C) Combines some local pay practices with some expatriate benefits
D) Always includes tax equalization policies

Question 57

A seamless network of pay providing members,made up of global firms,their specialist consultant and local and regional public and private interests are:

A) A reality
B) An impossibility
C) Not considered critical to MNEs executives
D) A goal not yet a reality