Question 1

Kagemusha,Inc.,is a Japanese multi-national with operations in 23 countries around the world.It is Kagemusha's policy to staff all the key positions in the company's foreign operations with Japanese managers.What is Kagemusha's staffing policy?

Accepted Answer

Kagemusha's staffing policy is ethnocentric, which means that the company places emphasis on the values, beliefs, and practices of its home country and relies on Japanese managers to oversee operations in foreign countries. This approach assumes that practices and behaviors that are successful in the home country will also be effective in other countries.

Question 2

Which of the following staffing policies is concerned with filling all key management positions by parent-country nationals?

Accepted Answer

The ethnocentric staffing policy is concerned with filling all key management positions by parent-country nationals.

Question 3

An expatriate's base salary is normally lower than the base salary for a similar position in the home country.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. An expatriate's base salary is typically higher than the base salary for a similar position in the home country due to additional expenses and challenges associated with living and working abroad.

Question 4

Which of the following is a disadvantage of an ethnocentric staffing policy?

Accepted Answer

An ethnocentric staffing policy involves hiring employees from the home country to manage international subsidiaries. This can lead to resentment in the host country where the subsidiary is located as it may be perceived as a lack of trust in local talent and an imposition of foreign culture.

Question 5

Imogene Davis of Benedict Pharmaceuticals' Human Resources department is responsible for developing the criteria for selecting people for particular jobs.Which of the following strategies is Imogene Davis involved in?

Accepted Answer

Imogene Davis is responsible for developing criteria for selecting people for particular jobs, which falls under the staffing policy. Compensation policy relates to the compensation and benefits given to employees. Performance appraisal policy relates to the evaluation of employee performance. Training and management development policies relate to training and development opportunities provided to employees.

Question 6

A concern of organized labor is that an international business keeps highly-skilled tasks in its home country and farms out low-skilled tasks to foreign plants.

Accepted Answer

This is a common concern of organized labor as it can lead to job loss and reduced bargaining power for workers in the home country.

Question 7

Ichiro Kawasaki,a Japanese citizen,is sent by his company,Kagemusha Corporation,a Japanese company,to head the company's sales office in the United States.In this situation,Ichiro is an example of a(n)

Accepted Answer

Ichiro Kawasaki is being sent by his Japanese company to work as a manager in the United States. This makes him an expatriate manager, as he is a citizen of one country (Japan) working in a different country (the United States) for his company.

Question 8

A(n)expatriate manager refers to

Accepted Answer

An expatriate manager refers to a citizen of one country who is working abroad in one of the firm's subsidiaries.

Question 9

Megan,a U.S.citizen,is the operations manager at the Middle East office of HS Constructions Inc.,an American firm.In this situation,she is an example of a(n)

Accepted Answer

Megan is an expatriate manager because she is a U.S. citizen working in a foreign country (Middle East) for an American company.

Question 10

An impediment to cooperation between national unions is the wide variation in union structure.

Accepted Answer

Different countries have different types of unions, such as sectoral or craft unions, industrial unions, or general unions, which can make it difficult to find common ground and collaborate effectively.

Question 11

Dalian Pharma,a Chinese company,prides itself on its corporate culture that it has developed over a twenty-year period.Dalian believes that its corporate culture is a key to its competitive advantage.What is the staffing policy likely to be followed by Dalian Pharma if it expands to Germany?

Accepted Answer

Dalian Pharma is likely to follow an ethnocentric staffing policy, as it believes its corporate culture is a key competitive advantage and may want to maintain this culture by staffing key positions in Germany with employees from its home country, China.

Question 12

Occidental Pharmaceuticals believes in risk taking and encourages its employees to do so.The company also holds its employees accountable for results.The norms and value systems of Occidental Pharmaceuticals constitute its

Accepted Answer

The norms and value systems of a company make up its corporate culture. Occidental Pharmaceuticals' culture promotes risk-taking and accountability.

Question 13

In the Swiss firm Terabithia Systems AG,all the important positions in its international operations are held by Swiss nationals.What is the staffing policy followed by Terabithia?

Accepted Answer

Terabithia Systems AG follows an ethnocentric staffing policy as all the key positions are held by Swiss nationals, indicating a strong preference for hiring individuals from the parent country.

Question 14

Taviscon International,a Singapore-based agricultural commodities player continuously expands into various African countries to source and process commodities.Taviscon finds that many of these countries lack good higher education institutions and also a lack of major companies that operate there.Taviscon International is likely to pursue an ethnocentric staffing policy in Africa because it

Accepted Answer

Taviscon's observation that many African countries lack good higher education institutions and major companies suggests that there may be a shortage of qualified individuals for senior management positions. This would make ethnocentric staffing, which gives priority to home country nationals, more likely. Taviscon might prefer to bring in its own staff to fill key positions rather than rely on local talent that may not have the necessary qualifications or experience.

Question 15

Which of the following is a characteristic of an ethnocentric staffing policy?

Accepted Answer

An ethnocentric staffing policy refers to the recruitment and placement of parent-country nationals in key management positions throughout the organization. This policy assumes that employees from the parent country understand the company's culture and business practices better and are better suited to run the subsidiary. Hence, choice E is the correct answer.

Question 16

OptiCare is a firm that specializes in eye care products such as contact lenses and sun glasses.OptiCare believes that market needs for eye care products are the same worldwide.In keeping with this perspective,OptiCare emphasizes global standardization.Firms such as OptiCare that emphasize global standardization try to create value by

Accepted Answer

OptiCare's emphasis on global standardization suggests that they are trying to realize experience curve and location economies, which involves standardizing products and processes to benefit from economies of scale and efficiency gains. This approach is focused on global efficiency rather than local responsiveness, and may result in retaining competencies in the parent country rather than localization. Ethnocentric staffing would not be relevant to OptiCare's emphasis on global standardization.

Question 17

Historically,most international businesses have centralized international labor relations activities.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Historically,most international businesses have centralized international labor...

Question 18

Unless a host country has a reciprocal tax treaty with the expatriate's home country,an expatriate must pay income tax to both the home- and host-country governments.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Without a reciprocal tax treaty, an expatriate may be subject to double taxation on their income where they have to pay income tax to both their home and host country governments.

Question 19

When the Chinese company,Dalian Pharma set up operations in Cambodia,the top management team of Dalian determined that Cambodia lacked qualified individuals to fill senior management positions.What is the staffing policy likely to be followed by Dalian Pharma?

Accepted Answer

The staffing policy likely to be followed by Dalian Pharma is ethnocentric as they believe that Cambodian individuals lack the necessary qualifications for senior management positions and hence may follow a policy of bringing in senior executives from China to fill those positions.

Question 20

Dalian Pharma,a Chinese company,has a core competence in expedited innovative drug discovery.It has used this core competence,which is based on the collective knowledge of hundreds of scientists and project managers,to grow and become a dominant player in the industry.What is the staffing policy likely to be followed by Dalian Pharma when it expands to India?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Dalian Pharma,a Chinese company,has a core competence...

Quiz 17: Global Human Resource Management