46) Ronda, a sales executive, believes that her hard work and persistence will reap rewards in the
future. She is not very assertive, prefers to be instructed, and awaits her team’s approval before
taking decisions. Ronda’s attitudes and behavior are consistent with a culture that
A) is highly individualistic.
B) has high power distance.
C) is low on uncertainty avoidance.
D) is feminine.
E) is long-term oriented.
47) ________ promote respect for past tradition and for fulfilling social obligations in the
present.
A) Short-term orientations
B) Masculine cultures
C) Feminine cultures
D) Individual orientations
E) Capitalist orientations
48) What is a feature of a company with an individualistic culture?
A) It has flatter pay structures.
B) It exhibits greater differences between the highest and lowest pay in the organization.
C) It emphasizes on organizational rather than individual performance.
D) It involves employees in collective decision making.
E) It has compensation systems based on fixed pay according to seniority.
49) The ________ of a country’s labor force affect how and the extent to which foreign
companies want to operate there.
A) population
B) HR practices
C) education and skill levels
D) cultural differences
E) collectivism and potential for unionization
50) What is the best way for an internationally expanding organization to gain expertise in a host
country’s legal requirements?
A) gather advice from a third-country national, since they are a neutral party
B) hire one or more host-country nationals
C) increase the number of parent-country lawyers
D) open a facility based on the parent-country’s legal system and adjust operations as the need
arises
E) interview host-country nationals to learn how they would like facilities in their countries to be
run
51) Whitman Tech forecasts a sales increase in several product lines, so management is planning
how to expand production capacity at its three factories in Mississippi, Poland, and Thailand.
The HR department prepares estimates of local labor costs and availability of workers in each
location. What else should the decision makers take into account when planning labor needs?
A) calculating of the total number of floating holidays each employee will receive
B) the probability that newly hired employees at each location will suffer culture shock
C) whether the country in which the factory operates has an individualistic culture
D) if the company can put a greater emphasis on protecting workers’ jobs
E) how these considerations weigh against financial and operational requirements
52) Several years ago, America Money Bank set up a large customer service facility in India and
hired English-speaking operators to handle questions from customers. Now, although the bank
forecasts continued growth, the human resource department is planning for fewer workers in
India. What changes in its customer service facility is America Money Bank most likely
implementing in this situation?
A) The bank will switch to exporting these services to customers from its home office.
B) The facility is moving to a higher-wage country.
C) The bank does not intend to continue this service to customers.
D) The bank is expecting the workers to handle each call faster.
E) The facility is automating the process of answering routine questions.
53) Identify an advantage of having wide latitude in reducing a company workforce.
A) It gives employers the option of hiring for peak needs and laying off employees if needs
decline.
B) It helps in protecting workers’ jobs.
C) It helps employees adjust to a new culture.
D) It allows workers to keep more of their earnings regardless of the taxes they pay.
E) It gives employees the advantage of accumulating many years of work experience in an
organization.
54) U.S.-based Pearly People introduced a line of accessories that have been very popular in
France, leading the company to want to open a distribution facility there. The marketing manager
is optimistic and wants to scale up fast, but the HR manager advises proceeding with caution.
What difference between the countries best explains the HR manager’s advice?
A) If the company replaces French workers in the future, they will have to develop new skills.
B) HR planning addresses hiring but cannot prepare the company for a possible slowdown.
C) French companies are developing computer systems to automate distribution facilities.
D) French laws encourage layoffs when business slows, which is bad for morale.
E) U.S. laws give employers wide latitude for workforce reductions, but French laws do not.
55) When Carlton Construction, a maker of construction equipment, needs supervisors for its
factories in China, it recruits Chinese workers before it looks in other countries. Which statement
best explains Carlton Construction’s recruiting practices in China?
A) Any Chinese workers Carlton Construction hires must be eligible to work in the United
States.
B) The United States ranks among the most challenging destinations for expatriate assignments.
C) Sometimes third-party nationals have better technical and human relations skills.
D) Chinese employees work harder and are better motivated than expatriate employees.
E) Hiring locally is much less expensive than training and transporting expatriate employees.
56) What is the most likely reason for hiring host-country nationals to fill most of a company’s
foreign positions?
A) They are familiar with the parent-country’s customs.
B) They can easily understand the values of the local workforce.
C) They cost more to train, showing the company invests in its workers.
D) The company will not be required to transport the employee’s spouse.
E) These employees are far more open to taking on new job responsibilities.
57) Morgan, a consultant, was assigned to an overseas project in China for a period of two years.
After only seven months, Morgan’s manager decides to bring Morgan back to the home country
and replace him with someone else in China. Which statement, if true, is most likely to have
caused this decision?
A) Morgan exhibited the ability to effectively communicate in Mandarin.
B) Morgan exhibited a sense of intolerance toward collectivist ideals.
C) Morgan exhibited high levels of extroversion that were required for the job.
D) Morgan exhibited high levels of cohesiveness.
E) Morgan exhibited lower levels of disillusionment than other employees.
58) Brenda, an American, works for an automobile manufacturer in Maine. Her manager, Roy,
sends her on an overseas assignment to handle operations at the company’s newly acquired plant
in Germany. Which statement, if true, most likely led to Brenda being chosen for the
assignment?
A) Brenda lacks tolerance to ambiguity and resists change.
B) Brenda prefers to work in a less challenging work environment.
C) Brenda works best with those from feminine cultures with low power distance.
D) Brenda is insensitive to differences in cultures and norms.
E) Brenda possesses the motivation to succeed and is achievement-oriented.
59) A&P Inc. is setting up production and distribution facilities in Mexico to meet the growing
demand there. The company’s executives want the human resource department to identify one of
its U.S. managers to lead the operations there, so he or she can ensure that the company culture is
maintained. They ask the HR vice president to recommend a person with strong financial skills.
The HR vice president agrees but adds that they also should use psychological testing to identify
candidates who are highly flexible and conscientious. Which statement best supports the HR vice
president’s advice?
A) These traits will replace the need for support from family members.
B) These traits will help the manager be extroverted in the new environment.
C) These traits are associated with a high degree of financial skills.
D) These traits will prevent the manager from noticing cultural differences.
E) These traits will help the manager persevere through culture shock.
60) When an expatriate is sent on a foreign assignment and begins experiencing feelings of
isolation, criticism, stereotyping, and even hostility, this person is said to be experiencing
A) validation.
B) adjustment.
C) recovery.
D) culture shock.
E) repatriation.
61) Christian, an automobile engineer, is sent on a foreign assignment to Iceland. Initially,
Christian is fascinated by the culture and history of the town he lived in. Within a month, he
begins to feel disillusioned and discomforted by the differences in norms and values. Which term
best describes this phase of Christian’s experience?
A) recovery
B) culture shock
C) honeymoon
D) validation
E) adjustment
62) While training and developing a global workforce, what is a challenge that an organization is
most likely to face?
A) creating a comprehensive training program for employees from different cultures
B) making employees aware of the training content and the method of evaluation
C) linking training objectives to performance management
D) making employees aware of the development plans
E) deciding the duration of the training program
63) Dwight, Dane & Associates, a consulting firm with offices in seven countries, is bringing
together employees from all locations for a leadership training event. Which consideration is
most affected by the international nature of the workforce?
A) the need to measure training outcomes
B) the need to have training objectives
C) management’s interest in the topic
D) the employees’ motivation level
E) cultural differences
64) Which statement describes an approach that is most appropriate for training employees from
cultures high in uncertainty avoidance?
A) Trainers adopt an impromptu style of instruction.
B) Trainers provide a formal instructional environment.
C) Trainers are flexible and open to schedule and activity changes.
D) Trainers allow trainees to determine the pace of the programs.
E) Trainers emphasize trainees’ relationships with one another.
65) ________ refers to training employees on overseas work assignments to work through
national and cultural boundaries.
A) Adventure learning
B) Experiential learning
C) Validation
D) Cross-cultural preparation
E) Repatriation
66) Sebastian has been selected to work at his firm’s manufacturing plant in India. The training
department divides the cross-cultural preparation into three phases. What is the training team
likely to do during the departure phase of cross-cultural preparation?
A) They will conduct training sessions that include language instructions.
B) They will arrange a mentoring program for the assignment overseas.
C) They will provide information about changes in the home-country workplace.
D) They will provide the company’s newsletters and local newspapers.
E) They will provide a formal program for the actual assignment.
67) International assignments are especially beneficial to the organization if they are linked to
the company’s
A) labor relations.
B) outsourcing programs.
C) training methods.
D) bonus plans.
E) development programs.
68) Appropriate behavior in Ghana includes
A) touching foreheads as a sign of greeting.
B) dramatic displays of loyalty only when it suits the individual.
C) disobedience of government-suggested regulations and procedures.
D) the length of eye contact.
E) repaying obligations.
69) Which statement best describes a difference of giving performance feedback outside the
United States?
A) In contrast to U.S. practices, performance feedback outside the United States includes
repayment of obligations.
B) Performance feedback is expected in the United States but is forbidden by many other
countries’ laws.
C) U.S. workers are more interested than other workers in other countries in hearing about their
performance.
D) Employees in other countries seek out direct feedback more readily than U.S. employees do.
E) Employees in other countries are less likely to be comfortable with direct statements about
their performance.
70) Deena, a human resource professional, works for a U.S. company that is opening an office in
Brazil. She is preparing a training program for the managers there to learn how to carry out
performance management. What is a valid point Deena should cover in the training?
A) If growth slows, the company may have to update its performance plans more often.
B) If managers are concerned about bad karma, they do not have to give employees feedback.
C) In delivering feedback, managers should meet Brazilian cultural standards for bowing and
making eye contact.
D) Managers should review employees’ shortcomings before giving praise.
E) Managers can expect that Brazilian employees want to know what they are doing right.
71) In Ireland, the pay structure includes high pay for managers relative to nonmanagement
employees. Which statement best explains the wide pay difference in Ireland?
A) Market structures are consistent across countries.
B) Ireland does not have good recruiting systems for identifying talented managers.
C) Irish managers tend not to be loyal, so companies are constantly replacing them.
D) Multinational companies have been leaving Ireland because of falling demand.
E) The demand for managers with technical expertise has been outstripping the supply.
72) Which statement is true regarding decisions related to the global compensation strategy?
A) They affect a company’s costs and abilities to compete.
B) They focus more on flexibility than on fairness to account for differences across cultures.
C) They are made on the basis of the cost of living in the home country.
D) They do not compare wages across countries.
E) They are not determined by labor costs.
73) The founder of Radiance Co. in Mexico wants to open its second facility to produce
housewares in the United States. However, the finance manager suggests an overseas location
would help the company remain competitive, because labor costs are lower in many other
countries. To arrive at the decision that will best promote Radiance’s ability to compete, what
other HR factors, if any, should the company consider?
A) access to resources in each possible location
B) differences in transportation costs from factories to customers
C) no other factors, because costs determine competitiveness
D) differences in workforces’ education levels and languages
E) differences in workforces’ education, skill, and productivity
74) Identify a true statement about employee benefits.
A) In both the United States and Europe, the awarding of stock options is linked to specific
performance goals.
B) Pension plans are more widespread in the United States and Japan than in Western Europe.
C) Unlike in the United States, compensation plans in other countries are less likely to include
benefits.
D) Paid vacation tends to be more generous in Western Europe than in the United States.
E) Although stock options became a common form of incentive pay in Europe during the 1990s,
American businesses did not begin to adopt them until the end of that decade.
75) Musician Productions, a maker of musical instruments based in Michigan, is preparing to
open a branch office in Paris, France. Its benefits package in the United States includes the
benefits most commonly offered in this country. What additional benefits are the French
employees likely to expect?
A) two weeks of paid vacation and national health insurance
B) unpaid family leave and paid vacation time
C) health insurance and unpaid maternity leave
D) pensions and flexible work schedules
E) pensions and more paid vacation time
76) Identify a true statement about international labor relations.
A) In comparison with U.S. organizations, European organizations exert more centralized control
over labor relations in the countries where they operate.
B) The day-to-day decisions about labor relations are usually handled by each foreign subsidiary
in companies that operate across borders.
C) Governments never get involved to protect workers who immigrate to other countries.
D) Most U.S. organizations, in contrast to European organizations, bargain with a union
representing an entire industry’s employees, rather than with the local union.
E) Companies that operate across national boundaries mostly work only with unions in the home
country.
77) Shannon, a Canadian citizen, has been working in the United States for two years. Shannon’s
manager, Eric, believes she possesses the skills required for adaptation and is ideal for an
overseas managerial assignment in India. Which statement, if true, strengthens Eric’s belief?
A) Shannon can take criticism only from positions above hers.
B) Shannon needs time to develop a positive self-image in a new place.
C) Shannon has the ability to foster relationships with people in a host country.
D) Shannon does not understand and value her own culture very well.
E) Shannon is very assertive and resistant to change.