1) ________ is increasingly being recognized as a major determinant of success or failure in international business.
A) International human resource management
B) Procurement of raw materials from abroad
C) Outsourcing
D) Insourcing
2) Which of the following should ideally dictate the organizational structure and staffing needs of the firm?
A) the firm's customers
B) the size of the firm
C) the firm's strategy
D) the firm's short-term objectives
3) Alec is an American working for a software company in Texas. He has been assigned to work on a project in China for a year. He would be considered as a(n) ________ in China.
A) domicile resident
B) expatriate
C) host-country national
D) third-country national
4) Kelly Roberts, an American, is a senior manager at her firm's headquarters in New York. Kelly is a(n) ________.
A) expatriate
B) parent-country national
C) host-country national
D) third-country national
5) A(n) ________ policy is likely to be used where a company notes the inadequacy of local managerial skills and determines a high need to maintain close communication and coordination with headquarters.
A) global
B) regiocentric
C) polycentric
D) ethnocentric
6) ________ are usually preferable when a high level of technical capability is required and maintenance of close control is desired.
A) Parent-country nationals
B) Host-country nationals
C) Expatriates
D) Third-country nationals
7) Which staffing approach will most likely be effective when implementing a global strategy of "acting local"?
A) polycentric
B) talent-intensive
C) ethnocentric
D) cost-intensive
8) Felix Department Store has over 900 stores in the United States and over 300 stores in Mexico and Canada. Felix has been particularly successful in Mexico, and the firm's executives believe Felix should expand into other Latin American countries. As a result, plans are underway for the construction of a new Felix store in Managua, Nicaragua. The construction, once started, is expected to be completed within a year, so staff selection needs to begin soon. Felix's executives are considering the idea of using parent-country nationals to manage the new store in Nicaragua. Which of the following, if true, best supports the argument that parent-country nationals should manage the Felix store in Managua, Nicaragua?
A) Felix encourages employees to participate in community outreach programs.
B) The top management of Felix is unlikely to endorse the recruitment of cheap, incompetent workers.
C) Felix wants to maintain close control of the Nicaragua store for at least three years.
D) Felix's managers in Nicaragua will choose what items to stock based on local needs and customs.
9) ________, when placed in key positions, are perceived by employees as acceptable compromises between headquarters and local managers.
A) Repatriates
B) Parent-country nationals
C) Home-country nationals
D) Third-country nationals
10) Which of the following is NOT a barrier for maintaining globalization momentum?
A) time and cost constraints
B) conflicting host government requirements
C) the scarce availability of staff
D) having an international team
11) Recruiting managers from Latin America for a position in Brazil is an example of ________.
A) global staffing approach
B) ethnocentric staffing approach
C) regiocentric staffing approach
D) polycentric staffing approach
12) More recently, a staffing option known as ________ has been utilized to provide employees for the company's headquarters from local host subsidiaries.
A) expatriates
B) inpatriates
C) transpatriates
D) migrants
13) ________ staffing approach usually results in a higher level of authority and decision making at headquarters compared to the polycentric approach.
A) Ethnocentric
B) Global
C) Geocentric
D) Regiocentric
14) Which of the following is an advantage of the staffing approach that employs parent-country nationals as top managers?
A) maintenance of close control over subsidiaries
B) less-costly transferees
C) facilitation of global multicultural teams
D) high effectiveness of expatriates in foreign countries
15) Most MNCs tend to start their operations in a particular region by selecting primarily from their own pool of managers. Over time, and with increasing internationalization, they may tend to move to a predominantly polycentric or regiocentric policy because of ________.
A) the lack of governmental support for hiring locals
B) the inefficiencies of expatriate managers
C) the poor performance of subsidiaries
D) the greater costs of expatriate staffing
16) Expatriate failure is most likely due to the ________.
A) manager's premature return home due to poor job performance
B) manager's miscues, which give competitors a market advantage
C) unintentional dilution of the company's core competency
D) poor expatriate selection procedures of the MNE
17) Which of the following is the LEAST critical area of expatriate preparation for a country?
A) cultural training
B) language instruction
C) technical training
D) familiarity with everyday life
18) The goal of cross-cultural training is to ease the expatriate's adjustment to the new environment by reducing ________.
A) culture shock
B) power distance
C) social distance
D) cultural diversity
19) An appropriate compensation and benefits package is most likely to ________.
A) increase the rate of attrition significantly
B) motivate employees
C) lower the overall organizational efficiency in the short-term
D) lower the importance of training
20) Which of the following is a factor that facilitates integration of expatriate staff with local staff?
A) withholding useful information
B) having a headquarters mentality
C) speaking the local language
D) demonstrating autocratic behavior
21) The ________ pays the expatriate the going rate for similar positions in the host country, plus whatever allowances and benefits for the assignment that the manager negotiates.
A) localization approach
B) privatization approach
C) balance sheet approach
D) home-based approach
22) The ________ is often used to equalize the standard of living between the host country and the home country, and to add some compensation for inconvenience or qualitative loss.
A) localization approach
B) balance sheet approach
C) relocation strategy
D) going-rate approach
23) In order to promote diversity of a firm's global human resources, IHR managers should ________.
A) promote the role of women in international management
B) develop line supervisors through extensive training programs
C) acquire low-cost resources
D) promote their organizations through word-of-mouth communication
24) Felix Johnson is a senior HR manager in a global conglomerate. He believes that an important factor contributing to international competitiveness is the ability of an organization to maximize its global human resources in the long run. With which of the following is Felix most likely to agree?
A) Outsourcing is the most logical method of achieving economies of scale and maximizing benefits.
B) Extensive training programs are unlikely to help organizations improve the quality of their workers.
C) The promotion of women in international management is unlikely to positively impact an organization's competitiveness in the global business arena.
D) Maximizing long-term retention through career management increases the odds in favor of global competitiveness.
25) Neil Grahams is a strategic HR advisor in an American MNC. He believes that in today's globalized economy, both the knowledge and management resources as well as the skilled and unskilled employee resources, central to the success of an organization, are dispersed around the world. According to him, an organization can significantly improve global competitiveness by maximizing its global human resources in the long run. With which of the following is Neil most likely to agree?
A) that maximizing long-term retention adversely affects the ability of an organization to maximize its global human resources in the long run
B) that IHR managers must develop effective global management teams to improve global competitiveness
C) that women have little or no role to play in international management
D) that the use of international cadre through career management is unlikely to improve global competitiveness
26) Effective human resource management of a company's global cadre of expatriates ends with ________.
A) allocation of an overseas assignment to the executive
B) successful repatriation of the executive into company headquarters
C) preparing the executive for cultural differences
D) providing foreign-language training to the executive
27) Jade International is a highly diversified global firm with headquarters in New Jersey. It manufactures a variety of products ranging from home security systems to automotive components. Jade's 100,000 employees work at facilities located in more than 60 countries around the world. Jade frequently sends American managers overseas to manage the firm's foreign facilities. Which of the following, if true, best supports Jade's decision to provide assistance to trailing spouses in finding jobs overseas?
A) Jade puts great emphasis on promoting the role of women in global management.
B) The majority of Jade's expatriate managers have long-term international experience.
C) Jade has lost a significant chunk of its global cadre in the recent past owing to its failure to offer feasible options to address the dual-career couples dilemma.
D) Female managers at Jade have reported discriminatory treatment while overseas
28) Which of the following is the primary benefit for a firm that carefully manages its expatriates' careers?
A) creating global opportunities for junior managers
B) retaining managers with global experience and skills
C) maintaining close connections with national subsidiaries
D) recruiting fresh college graduates for global management positions
29) Which of the following best explains the attrition rate for expatriates?
A) The skills of expatriates are not marketable because of their time spent overseas.
B) Expatriates are usually relegated to junior positions upon returning to their home country.
C) Expatriates feel unappreciated and dissatisfied both during and after the assignment and leave the company.
D) Expatriates receive less compensation overseas than they receive domestically.
30) Outstanding ________ are all about learning how to deal with a wide range of people, to adapt to their cultures through compromise, and not to be a dictator.
A) Multiple perspectives
B) Tolerance levels
C) Technical skills
D) Managerial skills
31) Lauryn, an American national, was sent to Japan on an assignment. According to her, it was during this time that she learned to understand situations from the viewpoint of local employees and business people. As an expatriate, which of the following skills did Lauryn attain?
A) multiple perspectives
B) ability to work with others
C) tolerance for ambiguity
D) technical skills
32) Jeff Richards works for an American MNC. For more than 10 years, Jeff was posted in the company's subsidiary in Ghana. Upon returning to his home country a few months ago, Jeff reported that his international experience had substantially enhanced his skills of making decisions with less information and more uncertainty about the outcome. In this instance, Jeff alludes to which of the following acquired skills?
A) tolerance for ambiguity
B) technical skills
C) managerial skills
D) multiple perspectives
33) Overall, more international managerial opportunities are available for ________ women than for women in most other countries.
A) Iranian
B) Japanese
C) Arabian
D) American
34) The reasons for the different opportunities for women among various countries can often be traced to ________.
A) the inadequate education systems of the host countries
B) the cultural expectations of the host countries
C) the predominantly agricultural economies of the host countries
D) the lack of adequate technology in the host countries
35) Research on expatriate assignments continues to show that ________.
A) the number of dual-career couples is steadily declining
B) linking rewards to team performance decreases the overall productivity of teams in the long run
C) females are disproportionately underrepresented in expatriate assignments
D) encouraging trial-and-error processes adversely affects cross-cultural collaboration
36) Opportunities for executive female employees to move up the managerial ladder in a given culture depend on the ________.
A) values and expectations regarding the role of women in that society
B) ability of women to perform in cross-cultural teams in that culture
C) success of male managers in integrating global teams in that culture
D) overall quality of life in that culture
37) The process through which managers and workers determine their workplace relationships is known as ________.
A) assimilation
B) labor relations
C) collective bargaining
D) international human resources management
38) One of the main dimensions of the labor-management relationship that a manager must consider is ________.
A) specific human resource policies in terms of recruitment, training, and compensation
B) the role of mentoring bodies in the relationship
C) advertising and promotional strategies
D) repatriation policies and procedures
39) Which of the following is the most likely reason for falling union membership in industrialized countries?
A) a decrease in the proportion of white-collar and service workers as proportionate to manufacturing workers
B) rising proportion of temporary and part-time workers
C) the declining popularity of unions among the older generations
D) a reduced number of firms offshoring white-collar jobs
40) ________ occurs as the migration of management and workplace practices around the world reduce workplace disparities from one country to another.
A) Convergence
B) Segregation
C) Diversification
D) Codetermination
41) The mission of the International Labor Organization is to ________.
A) develop and nurture global union leaders
B) file lawsuits on behalf of workers
C) promote low-skilled and semiskilled laborers as opposed to highly-skilled laborers worldwide.
D) ensure that humane conditions of labor are maintained
42) Which of the following terms refers to the participation of labor in the management of a firm?
A) codetermination
B) parochialism
C) assimilation
D) differentiation