Chapter 5: Socioeconomic Transitions: The New Realities of
the Global Workforce
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. The encounter of people from different places, with different cultures and capabilities, is an important
source of workplace diversity. Why is diversity an important aspect to understand?
a. Because societies tend to racialize immigrants, placing them in either an “alien” or “minority” status
b. Because its necessary in order to implement appropriate workplace language instruction
c. Because it helps employers ensure that they are hiring the right employee for each of their locations
d. Because diversity always includes conflict which must be managed
2. In countries like Dubai and Kuwait, what caused the work force to grow rapidly and change in
composition?
a. Explosive fertility rates
b. Work-related migration
c. Public health improvements
d. Women joined the labor force
3. What trend is Europe experiencing which makes the issue of workforce diversity increasingly salient?
a. They are experiencing a growing share of young workforce entrants
b. They have a large transgender population
c. Foreign-born workers are staying longer and having descendants who will one day enter the workforce
d. They have a high demand for low skilled workers
4. Migration of working-age people has traditionally contributed to __________ such imbalances in labor
demand and supply, and is still a solution for many in developing countries.
a. Exacerbating
b. Resolving
c. Questioning
d. Perpetuating
5. Migration of workers or migration of employers, and the resulting encounter of people from different
places with different cultures and capabilities, is an important contributor to _______________.
a. Socioeconomic Diversity
b. Gender Diversity
c. Age Diversity
d. Workplace Diversity
6. The proportion of foreign or foreign-born workers grew in European countries that are primary
destinations for people from neighboring countries in _____________.
a. Asia
b. Eastern Europe
c. United Nations
d. Northern Ireland
7. Jobs that are _____ paying and ____ status in an industrialized country can be exported as _____
paying and _____ status to developing companies.
a. Low; Low; High; High
b. Low; High; Low; High
c. High; Low; High; Low
d. High; High; Low; Low
8. Globalization is allowing countries to _________ many of their employers, particularly those in labor
intensive, low paying industries that make a product that is transportable.
a. Retain
b. Import
c. Export
d. Retire early
9. Population trends are making culturally based workforce diversity a fact of life for virtually all
_______________.
a. Undeveloped Countries
b. Developed Countries
c. Countries in Europe
d. Countries worldwide
10. Why does it make sense to move jobs to people?
a. Because jobs that are low status in an industrialized country might be superior to local alternatives in a
developing country.
b. Because it allows companies to save on employee related travel and relocation cost
c. Because companies can expand their operations by being in more than one place at the same time.
d. Because companies can more easily tap into the global marketplace to sell their products.
11. After World War II many industrialized countries such as Germany actively sought to recruit
immigrants in pursuit of economic development. What flawed assumption did they have in terms of the
immigrants?
a. That foreign workers would immediately demand citizenship and the same rights and status of current
citizens
b. That foreign workers would choose to live an ethnic isolated communities made up of like ethnicities
c. That foreign workers would leave when no longer needed
d. That foreign workers would migrate believe their families behind in their home country
12. Historically, industrialized countries have had a significant power and presence in their workforce.
What makes the recent trend different?
a. There are now more female immigrant workers migrating
b. The numbers of immigrants has increased to overwhelming amounts
c. Migrating immigrants are now more likely to be high skilled labor verse in the past where there was
more lower skilled labor
d. The origins of the immigrant workers has become more diverse
13. What does “simple population growth” mean?
a. The population growth is simply a monitor of higher fertility rates
b. That the same relative flows contain more people
c. That they are not compound factors contributing to the growth rate
d. That rapid population growth is correlated to the growth in the rate of immigration
14. The United Nations estimated that between 2005 and 2010 for the first time the growth rate of the
migrant stock (meaning all migrants, not just workers) for less-developed regions ____________ the rate
for more-developed regions.
a. Equaled
b. Surpassed
c. Fell behind
d. Quadrupled
15. Which oil rich, labor-poor regions have been the most notable recipients of worker migrants,
especially from a wide range of Asian countries?
a. South Africa
b. Middle East
c. Southeast Asia
d. European Union
16. _______________ within the European Union (EU) is relatively low, as evidenced by the general
reluctance of most people to migrate for work, given alternative, albeit less attractive opportunities at
home.
a. Inter-country mobility
b. Cross-border mobility
c. Full-time employment
d. Two-job employment
17. The origins of workforce diversity in EU countries have tended to be relatively ____________.
a. Stagnant
b. Robust
c. Unreliable
d. Predictable
18. What has been the geographic pattern of worker migrations?
a. Migrants had for countries that are greatly geographic distant from their home countries
b. Migrants head largely to those countries with which they share a geographic border
c. Migrants head for countries where they have a historic relationship
d. Migrants head for countries where the climate and geography are similar to their home country
19. Which region has been the most notable recipient of worker migrants, especially from a wide range of
Asian countries?
a. Middle East
b. North America
c. Caribbean
d. North Africa
20. Eastern European countries, during their post Communism era, experienced a significant inflow of
migrants. What was the source of the inflows?
a. Inflow from immigrants playing other communist countries
b. Inflows from distant countries
c. Inflow of highly qualified employees from EU countries
d. Inflow from traditional exporting regions like turkey and North Africa
21. Why are the Gulf states considered an interesting laboratory for studying for workplace diversity?
a. Because they have only recently received large populations of migrant workers
b. Because of the mix of skill levels and ethnic/cultural differences present in the workforce
c. Because they have established a solid history of human rights improvements and implemented anti–
discrimination legislation
d. Because they have the record for the largest number of human rights violations
22. What was the United Nations estimate of the developing regions growth rate of migrant stock between
2005 and 2010 in comparison to the growth rate for developed regions?
a. Less developed regions surpass the rate for more developed regions
b. Less developed regions were far below the rate for more developed regions
c. The rates were fairly similar for both developing and developed regions
d. Data was not available due to poor tracking systems in the developing countries
23. Why has China begun to incentivize return migration?
a. To balance out there working age population levels
b. In support of recent strong nationalism trends
c. Chinese companies are seeking an influx of agricultural workers in order to best food production
d. In order to attract experience university professors and researchers in the science and technology
fields
24. In the first decade of the 21st century, what was the overall employment growth for the OECD
countries?
a. 70%
b. 25%
c. 150%
d. 10%
25. In addition to return of previous migrants, _____________________ was one of the first migration
channels to be affected by the economic downturn.
a. Contracted services migration
b. White collar migration
c. Temporary labor migration
d. Family reunification migration
26. The occupational patterning of migrants is _________ in broad categories if both sides of the
migration equation are considered.
a. Predictable
b. Unpredictable
c. Easily tracked
d. Never easily tracked
27. Advanced economies that reward and subsidize high educational attainment are increasingly
experiencing a need for workers to perform unskilled tasks, particularly the service tasks that national
economies cannot ____________.
a. Export
b. Import
c. Sustain
d. Distribute
28. Although there is no indication that the natural human reluctance to leave home and family is any less
pronounced among the highly skilled, in some countries policy failures by governments have encouraged
large numbers of skilled people to migrate.
a. Stay in their home
b. Migrate
c. Participate in an underground economy
d. Accept menial jobs.
29. What occupational patterning trend are the industrial countries that are members of the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development experiencing?
a. A reduction of highly skilled workers in the total flow
b. And increasing share up temporary and highly skilled workers in the total flows
c. An increase of workers filling jobs largely in the service sectors
d.A more diverse mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds in the total flow
30. Advanced economies that reward and subsidize high educational attainment are increasingly looking
for what type of laborer?
a. Young workers who are able to stay in the work force longer
b. Workers to perform unskilled task
c. Workers capable of attaining advanced educational degrees
d. Native workers willing to work abroad and then return to their home country with the broader
experience
31. Which of the following reflects a dominant trend in regards to immigrant workers in national
economies?
a. Advanced economies are seeing highly skilled people from developing countries migrate to pursue
more lucrative opportunities than their home country can offer
b. Middle skilled workers are migrating in huge numbers outpacing both low skilled and high skilled
worker migration
c. Advanced economies are recruiting skilled workers but only for a few very specialized industries
d. More highly skilled workers are becoming mobile in order to gain greater experience in their field
32. South Korea created a migrant worker program in order to fill jobs that can be described with the
“three Ds.” What do the “three Ds” stand forg?
a. Disgusting, dirty and deadly
b. Difficult, deadly and disgusting
c. Difficult, dirty and dangerously
d. Deafening, dirty and disgusting
33. Why is immigration easier for the highly skilled immigrant?
a. Companies are more willing to offer economic relocation assistance
b. They are more likely to have information about employment opportunities
c. Highly skilled workers have more disposable income and can visit perspective countries before
migrating
d. Highly skilled workers have a greater selection of opportunities available to them to choose from
34. Which profession has trouble finding work if a countries educational system has produced more than
the country can employ?
a. Mechanics
b. Engineers
c. Accountant
d. Doctors
35. In 2001, while the American plant manager and his team were working on changing the plant’s culture
regarding attitudes toward women, _____________ agreed to pay a multimillion dollar settlement to
African American and Hispanic workers who were experiencing racial and job discrimination.
a. Chrysler
b. Mitsubishi
c. Ford
d. Chevy
36. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated that
_______________ generated about a quarter of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010.
a. Hospitality Industries
b. Transnational Corporations
c. Micro Business Industries
d. U.S. Corporations
37. In a ___________ trade environment, transnational corporations export capital to reduce their labor
costs and, indirectly, increase new markets for their products.
a. Robust
b. Liberalized
c. Conservative
d. Government controlled
38. Worker migration is a _____________, leading to constant change in supplying and receiving
countries.
a. Predictable Process
b. Restrained Process
c. Dynamic Process
d. Unpredictable Process
39. The net amount of investment by nonresidents in enterprises in which nonresidents exercise
significant management control is knows as:
a. Foreign straight share
b. Foreign straight investment
c. Foreign direct share
d. Foreign direct investment
40. Historically, what problem did massive immigration of working age people help nations solve?
a. Reversing the trend of having an aging workforce
b. Resolving national in balances between labor supply and labor demand
c. Broadening the skill set of its labor force in order to stay more competitive in the global market
d. Reducing labor cost by recruiting employees willing to accept less pay
41. What is the primary reason organizations decide to outsource?
a. Global expansion
b. Skill balancing
c. Cost savings
d. Higher customer service
42. The rate of which foreign direct investments exist is influenced by:
a. Global economy; policy uncertainty; and geopolitical risks
b. Foreign disposable income; geopolitical risks and labor availability
c. Global legislation; global economy and global market
d. Global economy; geopolitical risk and international labor laws
43. Employer migration is a dynamic process leading to constant change. What stimulates the constant
change?
a. International legislation changes may have the impact of making a location more or less business
friendly
b. The role of the labor cost shifts the overall business equation
c. When companies change product offerings they may relocate the different areas to reach different
customer markets
d. Corporate boards frequently decide to change the companies investment profile and that drives which
geopolitical risk they are willing to accept
44. The largest outward investing economies include:
a. United States, Canada and Mexico
b. China, South Africa and Northern Ireland
c. Singapore, North Africa and Germany
d. Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia
45. How might age diversity be an issue for cross border migrations?
a. Migrants tend to be young, therefore it will affect the hose country’s average working age population
b. Migrants tend to be older, therefore it will affect the hose country’s average working age population
c. Younger migrants will ultimately burden the country’s social security and retirement systems
d. Older migrants will ultimately burden the country’s social security and retirement systems
46. Why are people concerned about the widespread employment of young women in export–
manufacturing zones in the Gulf States?
a. The women are taking jobs which were previously saved for men
b. The work is dirty and dangerous
c. The salaries are very low and not enough to make a living
d. Their culture and traditions make them malleable and easy to exploit
47. What can companies do to improve multicultural interaction in a diverse workplace environment?
a. Establish a bill of rights to protect workers in the company
b. Provide cross-cultural sensitivity training
c. Create multicultural appreciation celebrations with food for sharing
d. Make sure the composition of the leadership matches the composition of the workforce
48. Why is the relative educational level of a country’s labor force becoming increasingly important?
a.Work environment is more complex
b.Increasing role of advanced technology
c. Higher education is needed to successfully compete in the global market
d. Workers with higer education costs the company more to employ
49. In developed countries how does the employment rate of highly educated immigrants compare to
similarly educated natives?
a. Until the 21st century, the immigrants had lower employment rates but that has begun to change
b. The immigrants have higher employment rates
c. The rates of both immigrants and natives are the same
d. The immigrants have lower employment rates
50. Due to its large population, which country by 2030 will have larger numbers of better educated people
than either Europe of North America?
a. China
b. Africa
c. Austraila
d. Israel
True/False
1. Jobs that are low paying and low status in an industrialized country can be exported as higher paying
and higher status to developing countries.
2. Almost concurrently the major labor exporters in the average region also became labor importers
3. No association has been found between development of a country and immigration.
4. Cross-border mobility within the EU is a relatively high and the rate keeps increasing
5. Countries with vibrant economies tend to attract immigrants from their former colonies and/or their
relatively impoverished neighborhoods.
6. Immigration is beginning to diversify workplaces in some Eastern European economies, including
countries that have joined an expanded European Union (EU).
7. Migrant worker opportunities and their place in the workforce are determined by the evolution of the
receiving economy, as well as by the capabilities they possess relative to workers in the host country.
8. Highly skilled people from developing countries often migrate in search of better opportunities than
their home economies can offer.
9. In 2012, a carbide chemical plant released a deadly gas that formed a cloud over a large population,
resulting in an environmental disaster. Luckily there were no deaths reported.
10. The growing share of direct foreign investment going to undeveloped countries has received more
attention due to their emphasis on diverse workforce composition.
11. Education enrollment rates are decreasing in developing countries, though more slowly for women
than for men.
Essay
1. What are some of the world-wide trends that have caused the workforce to become increasingly
diverse?
2. What is the Barefoot College, where is it located and how has it helped educate the rural poor?
3. What was the impact from the Bhopal Disaster in December 1984?
4. What barriers might highly skilled workers face when migrating to another country?
5. What is the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on workplace diversity?
6. The experience of migrants is often shaded by whether they are those who are categorized as highly
skilled or lower skilled. What are some of the challenges that high skilled workers are likely to face and
how can countries mitigate those challenges?