Question 1

National culture can have a significant impact on employee perceptions, preferences, and emotional reactions associated with employee compensation and rewards.

Accepted Answer

National culture shapes values, attitudes, and beliefs, which in turn can influence how employees perceive and react to compensation and rewards. For example, individualistic cultures may emphasize performance-based pay and personal achievement, while collectivistic cultures may prioritize team-based rewards and equitable distribution of resources.

Question 2

Compensation practices in countries and subcultures registering high in femininity (such as those in Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, USA, and Germany) may emphasize individual and group competition in pay, promotions, and recognition, with a clear emphasis on performance-based pay.

Accepted Answer

Countries and subcultures that register high in femininity tend to emphasize work-life balance, equality, solidarity, and quality of life over competition and performance-based pay. Those that are high in masculinity, not femininity, are more likely to emphasize individual and group competition in pay, promotions, and recognition, with a clear emphasis on performance-based pay.

Question 3

Work flexibility to fit individual employee personal needs is increasingly recognized as one of the most commonly desired forms of workplace rewards for all levels of employees throughout the world.

Accepted Answer

Work flexibility to accommodate personal needs is becoming more popular as a workplace benefit for employees of all levels globally.

Question 4

A total reward system perspective also considers possible negative factors and disincentives faced by employees.

Accepted Answer

Total reward system perspective takes into account both positive and negative factors that affect employee motivation and engagement. It also aims to minimize disincentives that may hinder employees' performance and productivity.

Question 5

Managers should work to eliminate all disincentives faced by employees in the overall reward system since, as disincentives, they serve to block desired job performance.

Accepted Answer

While it's important for managers to minimize unnecessary disincentives, not all disincentives can or should be eliminated. Some disincentives are necessary for maintaining discipline and ensuring that employees meet performance standards. The key is to balance incentives and disincentives to motivate desired behaviors effectively.

Question 6

When planning for employee compensation, managers should consider, within a total reward system perspective, the entire spectrum of rewards, incentives, and disincentives, including financial and non-financial, formal and informal.

Accepted Answer

It is important for managers to consider all aspects of employee compensation, including financial and non-financial rewards, incentives, and disincentives, as well as formal and informal reward systems, in order to create a comprehensive total reward system.

Question 7

It has been found that an increase in MNC-wide knowledge sharing is associated with global manager bonuses that are based on the MNC's overall performance.

Accepted Answer

The statement suggests a positive correlation between MNC-wide knowledge sharing and global manager bonuses based on overall MNC performance.

Question 8

According to the Milkovich and Bloom model of global reward system design, the crafted set of rewards provides clear encouragement for a common company mind-set and support of identified priorities for success, and which underlie and reinforce a common MNC global culture.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the Milkovich and Bloom model...

Question 9

According to the Milkovich and Bloom model of global reward system design, the core set of compensation components involves the selection by employees themselves of elements of compensation that they perceive are of greatest value to their individual situations.

Accepted Answer

The Milkovich and Bloom model of global reward system design does not primarily focus on the selection of compensation components by employees themselves. Instead, it emphasizes aligning the compensation strategy with the overall business strategy, ensuring competitiveness, equity, and compliance with legal requirements across different countries.

Question 10

Tax law for expatriates around the world is fairly standard, making tax-related compensation planning relatively simple.

Accepted Answer

Tax laws for expatriates vary widely from country to country and can be quite complex. Therefore, tax-related compensation planning for expatriates can be anything but simple.

Question 11

Despite recent developments in more standardized models of expatriate compensation, it is recommended that companies maintain flexibility in considering each expatriate's unique needs and situation and fine-tune the actual compensation arrangements through open discussion and negotiation.

Accepted Answer

The statement is true as it emphasizes the importance of considering each expatriate's unique needs and situation and adjusting compensation arrangements through open discussion and negotiation. While standardized models can provide a framework, they may not necessarily take into account individual circumstances and preferences of the expatriate.

Question 12

Although direct financial compensation for the same level of employees can differ dramatically from one country to another, the preferred forms of employee benefits tend to be fairly standard throughout the world.

Accepted Answer

Preferred forms of employee benefits can vary significantly from one country to another due to cultural, legal, and economic differences. For example, healthcare benefits might be a top priority in the United States, whereas in countries with comprehensive national health services, additional vacation time might be more valued.

Question 13

Since HCN inpatriates and third-country nationals (TCNs) also represent forms of expatriates as employees assigned to work away from their home countries, they require little if any differing approaches to expatriate compensation from those presently used for traditional PCN expatriates.

Accepted Answer

Inpatriates and TCNs may require different compensation approaches due to factors such as tax equalization, housing allowances, and cost-of-living adjustments that may not be relevant for PCNs.

Question 14

The practice of "pay for performance" represents one of the most significant and rapidly growing trends in compensation practices at all employment levels across globally managed MNCs. Please explain the main characteristics of this approach. What do you think are the limitations of this approach?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The practice of "pay for performance" represents...

Question 15

Compensation for a global workforce is faced with the dynamic tension of the duality challenge, i.e., global integration vs. local responsiveness. Explain how to begin to address this challenge by structuring employee total compensation according to Milkovich and Bloom's three-level model of strategic flexibility.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Compensation for a global workforce is faced...

Question 16

What are key factors that need to be considered in determining the compensations of expatriates? How different are these factors when MNCs are using hot county nationals (HCNs) or third country nationals (TCNs)?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are key factors that need to...

Quiz 10: Compensation for a Global Workforce