Fundamentals of HR Management, 8e (Noe)
Chapter 16 Managing Human Resources Globally
1) A host country is a country, other than the parent country, in which an organization operates a
facility.
2) Expatriates are employees from a country other than the parent country or the host country.
3) The usual way that a company begins to enter foreign markets is by exporting, or shipping,
domestically produced items to other countries to be sold there.
4) Cultural differences are a disadvantage to global organizations.
5) The most important influence on international HRM is the culture of the country in which a
facility is located.
6) Power distance concerns the way the culture deals with unequal distribution of power.
7) In countries with large power distances, people address one another with first names.
8) High uncertainty avoidance refers to a strong cultural preference for structured situations.
9) Ample opportunities for educational development are provided in capitalist economic systems
because education is free for students.
10) A country’s political system does not usually affect human resource management.
11) Compared with other countries, the United States allows employers much latitude in
reducing their workforce.
12) Companies usually prefer hiring third-country nationals for filling positions in host-
countries.
13) Hiring employees from outside the host country is an option many companies take when the
local labor market does not offer enough qualified people.
14) According to research, employees who are extroverted, agreeable, and conscientious are
most successful at completing overseas assignments.
15) Even if employees persist and continue learning about their host country’s culture, they rarely
recover from culture shock.
16) While training expatriates, trainers are expected to be authoritarian and controlling of the
session in cultures low in power distance.
17) A culture with a long-term orientation will have trainees who are likely to accept
development plans and assignments.
18) The specific methods of performance management that work in one country may fail in
another, while general principles of performance management may apply in most countries.
19) U.S. organizations exert more centralized control over labor relations in the various countries
where they operate when compared with European organizations.
20) Cross-cultural training requires developing a greater awareness of one’s own culture, too.
21) Which agreement was adopted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to encourage trade
between the three countries?
A) CSN
B) NAFTA
C) PICTA
D) APEC
E) TAFTA
22) Owen, a British citizen, and Trevor, a U.S. citizen, are employees of an electronics
manufacturing company headquartered in London. While Owen works out of the London office,
Trevor operates out of New York. Which statement is true in this scenario?
A) Owen is a host-country national.
B) Owen is a parent-country national.
C) Owen and Trevor are expatriates.
D) Trevor is a third-country national.
E) Trevor is a home-country national.
23) Rite Inc., a company headquartered in the United States, opens an overseas facility in China.
In this scenario, the Chinese facility is located in a
A) host country.
B) parent country.
C) first country.
D) third country.
E) guest country.
24) Jose, a Spanish national, is an employee at a U.S. company. He works at the company’s
branch in Spain. This would imply that Jose is a
A) host-country national.
B) parent-country national.
C) first-country national.
D) third-country national.
E) guest-country national.
25) Vineet, an Indian, is employed by a pharmaceutical company whose headquarters are in
Philadelphia. Vineet, however, operates out of the firm’s production facility in New Delhi, India.
Vineet is considered to be a(n)
A) parent-country national.
B) third-country national.
C) host-country national.
D) repatriate.
E) expatriate.
26) Which term refers to a country that is neither the parent country nor the host country of a
company?
A) first country
B) facilitating country
C) governing country
D) third country
E) guest country
27) Which term accurately describes Corina, who was born in the United States and is currently
working in Germany for a company headquartered in China?
A) parent-country national
B) host-country national
C) third-country national
D) home-country national
E) guest-country national
28) A beverage company headquartered in Miami selects a Brazilian manager to run its Mexican
operations. In this example, the Brazilian manager is a
A) parent-country national.
B) host-country national.
C) third-country national.
D) home-country national.
E) first-country national.
29) A company, which has its headquarters in Japan, has branches in the United States. A
Pakistani manager works in a facility in the United States. In this scenario, Japan is the ________
country, and Pakistan is the ________ country.
A) parent; third
B) expatriate; host
C) host; guest
D) third; first
E) parent; host
30) Pablo, an American who works for a U.S.-based company, has been sent to England for a
work assignment. Pablo would be known as a(n)
A) expatriate.
B) repatriate.
C) host-country national.
D) third-country national.
E) guest-country national.
31) What is the usual way in which companies first enter foreign markets?
A) importing
B) offshoring
C) exporting
D) outsourcing
E) relocating
32) Which description best defines an international organization?
A) an organization that builds facilities in a number of different countries in an effort to
minimize distribution costs
B) an organization that builds facilities in a number of different countries in an effort to
minimize production costs
C) an organization that sets up one or a few facilities in one or a few foreign countries
D) an organization that exports goods to more than a few countries
E) an organization that exports goods to a number of different countries
33) Which description best defines a multinational company?
A) an organization that builds facilities within the same country to facilitate large-scale exports
to various countries
B) an organization that builds facilities in a number of different countries in an effort to
minimize production and distribution costs
C) an organization that sets up one or a few facilities in one or a few foreign countries
D) an organization that operates from one country and has customers from all over the globe
E) a domestic organization that chooses to locate a facility using cultural differences as an
advantage
34) Which organizations are most likely to locate a facility based on the ability to effectively,
efficiently, and flexibly produce a product or service, using cultural differences as an advantage?
A) foreign subsidiaries
B) international organizations
C) multinational organizations
D) global organizations
E) domestic organizations
35) Kristen and Haley are employees of a publishing house and work together on the same team.
Kristen believes that Haley hails from an individualistic culture. Which statement, if true,
strengthens Kristen’s belief?
A) Haley prioritizes helping her team members attain their career advancement goals.
B) Haley focuses on self-development and puts her needs before those of the group.
C) Haley places emphasis on achieving upward social mobility by fulfilling common goals.
D) Haley prefers decision making through her team members’ participation in management.
E) Haley’s traits are typical of those from cultures that expect protection from the community.
36) Quin believes that the key to effective management is to involve his team members in the
firm’s decision-making processes. He surmises that this will allow him and his team to work as
one unit, making choices that will benefit them all in addition to the firm. In this case, Quin’s
thoughts reflect that of a person with
A) an individualistic nature.
B) a collectivist nature.
C) high power distance.
D) low uncertainty avoidance.
E) a short-term orientation.
37) Christopher, a U.S. businessman, visits India for a corporate meeting. While interacting with
the board members, he addresses them by their first names, as he does with board members in
the United States. However, the board members in India are offended by this gesture. Which
difference in culture does this scenario reveal?
A) individualism/collectivism
B) uncertainty avoidance
C) power distance
D) long-term/short-term orientation
E) masculinity/femininity
38) Jocelyn works at a retail store in Los Angeles. She addresses her Indian manager, Anika, by
her first name. Jocelyn’s colleague advises against addressing Anika by her name, as she might
find it disrespectful. The colleague is most likely right if Anika’s cultural beliefs align with a
A) long-term orientation.
B) collectivist nature.
C) high power distance.
D) low uncertainty avoidance.
E) short-term orientation.
39) Ashlee hails from a country whose legal system is based on religious scriptures. Social and
business behaviors are judged based on religious laws and legal codes to a great extent. Which
aspect of culture do these conditions represent?
A) masculinity
B) time orientation
C) high uncertainty avoidance
D) individualism
E) power distance
40) Sean’s company lays down stringent rules for employees to follow at work. Employees are
expected to set goals for each day and week and share those goals on the company intranet. This
way, Sean and his co-workers can be aware of the progress of departmental projects and prepare
far in advance to meet deadlines. These qualities best describe a company that rates high on
A) individualism.
B) long-term orientation.
C) femininity.
D) uncertainty avoidance.
E) power distance.
41) Becky and Dave are expatriates working for different companies in two different countries.
Becky’s company is very structured, follows rigid rules for security, and expects employees to
behave in a certain manner. Dave’s company is a little more relaxed, and they tend to take each
day as it comes. Which cultural difference contributes to this difference in the way these
corporations operate?
A) Becky’s company is in a country high in feminine culture, whereas Dave’s company is in a
country high in masculine culture.
B) The culture of Becky’s company functions with a low power distance, whereas the culture of
Dave’s functions with high power distance.
C) Becky’s host country functions at an individualistic level, whereas Dave’s host country
functions at a collectivist level.
D) Becky is in a company with a short-term orientation culture, whereas Dave is in a company
with a long-term orientation culture.
E) Becky’s company’s culture functions with a high uncertainty avoidance, whereas Dave’s
company’s culture functions with a low uncertainty avoidance.
42) Lillian and Thomas are employees of a software development firm in San Francisco. Thomas
believes that Lillian exhibits behaviors that resemble those of individuals from masculine
cultures. Which statement, if true, supports Thomas’s beliefs?
A) Lillian places more emphasis on a harmonious working relationship between members in her
team.
B) Lillian places more emphasis on creating an atmosphere of competition among her team
members.
C) Lillian places more emphasis on undertaking initiatives aimed at mobilizing funds for the
underprivileged.
D) Lillian places more emphasis on undertaking initiatives aimed at preventing environmental
degradation.
E) Lillian places more emphasis on achieving social mobility through collectivist means.
43) Alexis, the marketing manager of a mobile phone company, is achievement-oriented and
exhibits high levels of assertiveness. She creates marketing plans that will maximize financial
returns and enjoys competing against other managers in the company. Alexis is most likely to be
an individual whose culture reflects
A) masculine traits.
B) a short-term orientation.
C) high power distance.
D) low uncertainty avoidance.
E) collectivist views.
44) Ray works as an accountant in the headquarters of a fast-food chain. He encourages his
colleagues to participate in an initiative he started that involves planting trees and flowers on the
office’s grounds. Ray’s initiative most likely reflects a ________ culture.
A) collectivist
B) short-term
C) feminine
D) high power distance
E) low uncertainty avoidance
45) Which statement is true about cultures with a long-term orientation?
A) They have a tendency to look down upon those who invest in savings.
B) They prefer jobs that are relaxed, easy, and do not involve hard work.
C) They focus primarily on cultural values that fulfill obligations in the present.
D) They promote respect for those who are good at achieving immediate results.
E) They focus primarily on cultural values that tend to pay off in the future.