51) Horatio is a virtual expatriate based in the U.S., managing operations in France and Belgium
for his company. What disadvantage of working as a virtual expatriate is Horatio likely to
experience?
A) He may find it difficult to build close contact with subordinates and customers.
B) His family will need to be uprooted.
C) He will risk losing out on promotions at corporate headquarters.
D) He will likely lack the understanding of how home-office politics influence decisions.
E) The top personnel at the headquarters will tend to ignore his advice.
52) The primary difference between professional expatriates and virtual expatriates is that
A) professional expatriates can avoid misunderstandings that arise from cross-cultural
communications.
B) for virtual expatriates, building close contact with customers is much easier.
C) professional expatriates do not incur any extra expense to the company.
D) for virtual expatriates, establishing a good working relationship with subordinates is much
easier.
E) virtual expatriates work from their home branch and do not relocate to the assignment
country.
53) When recruiting sales and marketing personnel for an international sales force, there is a
preference in favor of the locals. The reason for this is most likely that local nationals
A) transcend both cultural and legal barriers.
B) have supreme technological expertise.
C) are more highly trained than expatriates.
D) have a better understanding of home-office politics.
E) do not accept bribes.
54) What is an advantage of hiring local nationals in the sales force?
A) They are more efficient in communicating with and influencing headquarters’ personnel.
B) They are more knowledgeable about a country’s business structure and systems.
C) They add to the prestige of the product line in the eyes of foreign customers.
D) They are likely to have superior technical expertise.
E) They do not accept any form of bribe.
55) What is an advantage that a sales force consisting of local nationals is likely to have over a
sales force of expatriates?
A) They are more efficient in communicating with and influencing headquarters’ personnel.
B) They cost the firm less to maintain.
C) They add more to the prestige of the product line in the eyes of foreign customers.
D) They have greater technical expertise.
E) They are less likely to accept any form of bribe.
56) What is the main disadvantage of hiring local nationals in the sales force?
A) Headquarters personnel tend to ignore the advice of local nationals.
B) Most local nationals are costly to maintain.
C) Poaching of experienced personnel by competitor companies increases.
D) Cultural differences lead to communication issues with customers.
E) Lack of familiarity with distribution systems and referral networks plagues local nationals.
57) What is most likely to be a reason that headquarters personnel tend to ignore the advice of
local nationals?
A) Foreign nationals are not keen on keeping up with current best practices.
B) Foreign nationals lack the understanding of how home-office politics work.
C) Foreign nationals have a good grasp of the local culture and prevalent practices.
D) Foreign nationals cannot build close contact with subordinates and customers.
E) Foreign nationals have superior technical expertise, but are not good at relationship
management.
58) What is true of local nationals who are hired to sell a company’s products?
A) They are not keen on maintaining a cordial relationship at the home office.
B) They lack the knowledge of local culture and prevalent practices.
C) They are better able to lead a company through the maze of unfamiliar distribution systems.
D) They do not communicate with subordinates and customers directly.
E) They normally work for a foreign company in a third country.
59) In relationship-oriented cultures such as France, Mexico, and Japan, sales representatives
A) are available to fill vacant positions perennially.
B) tend not to be highly respected.
C) are better paid than their U.S. counterparts.
D) lack proper knowledge of their culture.
E) are respected and held in high esteem.
60) What is considered to be the most common job in the United States despite being viewed
negatively?
A) government service
B) attorney
C) office management
D) personal selling
E) teaching
61) Expatriates from their own countries working for a foreign company in another country are
called
A) virtual expatriates.
B) native salespeople.
C) third-country nationals.
D) professional expatriates.
E) local nationals.
62) Doreen is a French citizen who has been working for a U.S. company in Spain for twenty
years. Doreen may be considered to be a
A) virtual expatriate.
B) native salesperson.
C) third-country national.
D) professional expatriate.
E) local national.
63) One feature of third-country nationals is
A) U.S. firms have to pay double tax when hiring them.
B) they are local nationals who work for a foreign company.
C) they work at the company’s headquarters and are located in their home country.
D) they manage their foreign clients and subordinates from their home country.
E) their nationality has little to do with where they work or for whom.
64) What is the most important quality of marketing personnel for a foreign assignment that a
recruiter should consider?
A) They should have little cultural empathy as this might distract them from their main purpose.
B) When working in a foreign country, they must be capable of making decisions that are not
influenced by the habits of the market.
C) They should be able to represent a culturally superior image of their country and its products.
D) They should be hypersensitive to the behavioral variations in different countries.
E) They should possess a considerable breadth of knowledge of many subjects both on and off
the job.
65) A marketer who expects to be effective in the international marketplace should
A) be antagonistic toward other cultures.
B) not let the local culture influence his or her decisions.
C) practice cultural ethnocentrism.
D) not let consumer behavior influence marketing decisions.
E) have a positive outlook on an international assignment.
66) Cultural empathy involves
A) being subservient to a superior culture.
B) understanding another culture and not being antagonistic.
C) believing that the people of inferior cultures should be enlightened.
D) having the attitude that one’s own culture is superior to others.
E) being dissatisfied with one’s own culture and adopting a new culture.
67) When hiring new personnel for international marketing, what is considered to be the best
way to assess the traits necessary for success?
A) paper-and-pencil ability tests
B) interviews and role-playing exercises
C) biographical information
D) reference checks
E) calligraphy analysis
68) Japanese sales representatives tend to be most satisfied with their jobs when
A) their values are consistent with those of their company.
B) they receive high salaries and many perks.
C) they are better educated than their colleagues.
D) their technological knowledge is superior to that of others.
E) their ideas that do not conform to the company’s goals are well-received.
69) What is most likely the reason that continual training is more important in foreign markets
than in domestic ones?
A) slow adaptation of foreign markets to innovative products
B) technological inferiority of domestic products
C) the need to establish the superiority of domestic cultures
D) lack of technical knowledge among expatriate salespersons
E) lack of routine contact with the parent company
70) The training of foreign employees is likely to be most effective when
A) it is handled by trainers who communicate in languages alien to the employees.
B) it is tailored to the employees’ ways of learning and communicating.
C) national differences are ignored during motivational sessions.
D) the superiority of their culture is emphasized over others.
E) it is different from the familiar ways of communicating.
71) What is likely to be the most effective method in making home-office personnel aware of the
problems of foreign operations?
A) providing cross-cultural training
B) designing a theoretical course
C) conducting in-house seminars
D) holding corporate virtual reality training
E) distributing marketing reading materials
72) Japanese and American salespersons are surprisingly similar except for one difference that
Japanese rate as more important than their American counterparts. Identify this difference.
A) job security
B) promotion
C) job satisfaction
D) social recognition
E) personal growth and development
73) Considering the specific characteristics of Japan’s culture, what strategies would be most
successful in motivating employees in Japanese organizations?
A) individual commission systems
B) group bonus systems
C) company cars
D) birthday gift vouchers
E) best employee awards
74) What is the main reason for the failure of individual incentives to motivate employees in
Japan?
A) society’s emphasis on paternalism and collectivism
B) high corruption levels
C) practice of cultural chauvinism
D) a democratic form of government
E) encouragement of individualism
75) Nontaxable perks such as a company vehicle given to an expatriate is an example of
A) an overseas premium.
B) a family compensation.
C) a special assessment.
D) a fringe benefit.
E) a separation allowance.
76) Claudia is being transferred to a foreign assignment that will last 3 months. Her family is not
accompanying her, so the company is paying her a premium, which is called a
A) fringe benefit.
B) pension plan.
C) displacement reserve.
D) special assessment.
E) separation allowance.