47) Murphy Enterprises recently acquired a controlling interest in Mexico’s leading clothing
retailer. Murphy plans to open additional retail stores in the next three years. Some of Murphy’s
top executives advocate the idea of transferring U.S. managers to Mexico to oversee the
construction and opening of the new stores. Another group of Murphy executives believe that
host-country nationals should manage the project. Which of the following best supports the
decision to use a polycentric staffing approach?
A) Murphy’s HR department has been unable to locate qualified Mexican managers.
B) Murphy wants to establish that the corporation is fully committed to Mexico.
C) HR managers at Murphy rely on selection tests to find competent workers.
D) Most Murphy managers have international work or travel experience.
48) Jorge, a Mexican citizen, works for Ford Motor Company at the firm’s factory near Mexico
City. Jorge would most likely be categorized as a(n) ________.
A) host-country national
B) third-country national
C) expatriate
D) operant
49) Most foreign operations of North American MNCs are primarily staffed by ________.
A) host-country nationals
B) third-country nationals
C) contingent workers
D) expatriates
50) Which of the following is most likely a host-country national?
A) a U.S. citizen working for a Japanese company in the United States
B) a Japanese citizen working for a Japanese company in the United States
C) an Italian citizen working for a French company in Germany
D) an Indian citizen working for an Indian company in Singapore
51) In most cases, the majority of employees in international offices are ________.
A) foreigners
B) third-country nationals
C) expatriates
D) host-country nationals
52) Which of the following is most likely associated with hiring host-country nationals?
A) repatriation
B) lower costs
C) cultural problems
D) required relocation
53) Sarita, a Spanish citizen, is employed at a Samsung facility in Texas. Samsung is a South
Korean firm. Sarita would most likely be categorized as a(n) ________.
A) expatriate
B) third-country national
C) home-country national
D) host-country national
54) Which of the following is an example of a third-country national?
A) a U.S. citizen working for a Japanese company in the United States
B) a Japanese citizen working for a Japanese company in the United States
C) an Italian citizen working for a French company in Germany
D) an Indian citizen working for an Indian company in Singapore
55) Which of the following is NOT an approach to global staffing?
A) polycentric
B) biocentric
C) regiocentric
D) ethnocentric
56) Which staffing strategy assumes that home-office perspectives and issues should take
precedence over local perspectives and issues?
A) polycentric
B) ethnocentric
C) regiocentric
D) geocentric
57) All of the following are primary HR concerns associated with ethnocentric staffing EXCEPT
________.
A) handling repatriation issues
B) selecting experienced local managers
C) developing global compensation packages
D) training managers for foreign assignments
58) With which staffing strategy do companies primarily hire expatriates to staff higher–level
foreign positions?
A) polycentric
B) geocentric
C) regiocentric
D) ethnocentric
59) Monique is a manager at a firm based in Chicago. She has recently been selected to manage
the firm’s Singapore office along with three other managers from the Chicago office. The firm
hopes that the American managers will effectively represent the views of the home office and
will link the Singapore office to the Chicago office. Which type of staffing approach is most
likely being used by Monique’s employer?
A) polycentric
B) regiocentric
C) ethnocentric
D) geocentric
60) When host-country nationals are used throughout the organization, from top to bottom, what
staffing approach is being used?
A) polycentric
B) geocentric
C) regiocentric
D) ethnocentric
61) Which staffing model assumes that host-country nationals are better equipped to deal with
local market conditions?
A) ethnocentric
B) regiocentric
C) polycentric
D) geocentric
62) Tyler is a corporate HR manager at a global corporation that uses the polycentric staffing
approach. Which of the following most likely describes the focus of Tyler’s job?
A) handling adjustment issues when home-country nationals return from assignment
B) coordinating relevant activities with their counterparts in each foreign operation
C) developing appropriate expatriate compensation packages
D) selecting and training managers for foreign assignments
63) Firms that use a polycentric staffing approach will most likely employ ________ for
positions at foreign facilities.
A) expatriates
B) contingent workers
C) third-country nationals
D) host-country nationals
64) With the ________ staffing approach, regional groups of subsidiaries reflecting the
organization’s strategy and structure work as a unit.
A) geocentric
B) polycentric
C) regiocentric
D) ethnocentric
65) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the regiocentric staffing approach?
A) Each region develops a common set of employment practices.
B) Promotions from the region to headquarters rarely occur.
C) Each region actively recruits third-country nationals.
D) Some autonomy exists in regional decision making.
66) With which staffing approach does each region develop a common set of employment
practices?
A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) geocentric
D) regiocentric
67) Which staffing approach uses a worldwide integrated business strategy?
A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) geocentric
D) regiocentric
68) With which staffing approach does the firm always attempt to hire the best person available
for a position, regardless of where that individual comes from?
A) geocentric
B) polycentric
C) regiocentric
D) ethnocentric
69) Which staffing model is most likely to be adopted and used by truly global firms?
A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) regiocentric
D) geocentric
70) In which staffing approach would the corporate HR function typically be the most
complicated?
A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) geocentric
D) regiocentric
71) Which of the following is NOT one of the stages in the expatriate selection process?
A) supervisor recommendation
B) candidate pool creation
C) technical skills assessment
D) self–selection
72) Which of the following occurs in the first stage of the expatriate selection process?
A) creating a candidate pool from a database
B) conducting personal and family assessments
C) determining technical and managerial skills
D) conducting a thorough background investigation
73) Which of the following is LEAST likely to be an expatriate selection criterion?
A) cultural adaptability
B) interpersonal skills
C) technical competence
D) foreign language degree
74) With regard to background investigation, which country prohibits criminal checks of its
citizens?
A) Mexico
B) Japan
C) Canada
D) United Kingdom
75) A background investigation of a potential employee would most likely take up to 40 days in
which country?
A) United States
B) United Kingdom
C) Japan
D) Canada
76) A host-country national is an employee who is not a citizen of the country in which the firm’s
operation (or subsidiary) is located, but is a citizen of the country in which the organization is
headquartered.
77) A host-country national (HCN) is an employee who is a citizen of the country where the
subsidiary is located.
78) Normally, the bulk of employees in international offices will be expatriates because they are
less costly and more reliable than locals.
79) In most cases, global firms employ host-country nationals with the long-term goal of turning
over control to local management.
80) A host-country national is a citizen of one country, working in a second country, and
employed by an organization headquartered in a third country.
81) An example of a third-country national would be an Italian citizen working for a French
company in Germany.
82) With polycentric staffing, companies primarily hire expatriates to staff higher-level foreign
positions.
83) During the self-selection phase, expatriate candidates must consider whether their spouses
and children are interested in relocating internationally.
84) With geocentric staffing, employers try to hire the best regional person for a position.
85) The best employees for global assignments typically have strong communication skills,
cultural adaptability, and technical competence.
86) Japanese law prohibits criminal checks on Japanese citizens except when they are employed
by U.S.–based firms.
87) One survey found that 55 percent of employees facing dual-career issues are less likely to put
themselves forward as a candidate for a global assignment.
88) In principle, China’s citizens do not elect individuals to serve in the Communist Party.
89) In Russia, women are rapidly moving into the ranks of management.
90) Describe how legal factors influence the conduct of business globally?
91) Explain the importance of conducting background investigations in the global environment.
92) Why would a global firm primarily staff foreign positions with expatriates? How can a
global firm prepare employees and their families for international assignments?
93) What are expatriates? Why is compensating expatriates a challenge for global firms?
94) Companies spend upwards of ________ times of an expatriate’s base salary.
A) three to four
B) one-half to three-quarters
C) four to five
D) two to three
95) Often, ________ is the weak link in global human resource management.
A) reciprocation
B) expropriation
C) repatriation
D) expatriation
96) During the pre-move orientation and training phase, providing the expatriate with ________
would be insufficient.
A) immersion in the language
B) a cultural “dummies” guide and a basic phrasebook
C) an understanding of cultural dos and don’ts
D) continuing employee development
97) Which of the following is LEAST likely to be a component of the ideal expatriate
preparation and development program?
A) pre-move orientation
B) continual development
C) repatriation training
D) availability forecasting
98) The development process for expatriate employees should start ________.
A) on an as-needed basis
B) after they have begun the global assignment
C) as soon as they have been selected
D) during the recruitment process
99) Language, culture, and history are addressed during which stage of expatriate preparation
and development?
A) pre-move orientation
B) repatriation orientation
C) continual development
D) repatriation training
100) Which of the following topics would most likely be addressed during the continual
development stage of expatriate preparation and development?
A) language skills
B) local customs and traditions
C) home-country development
D) home-country living conditions
101) Why have many global organizations established a formal buddy system for expatriates and
their families?
A) provide them with technological assistance
B) reduce the stress of moving overseas
C) help them repatriate to the United States
D) give them temporary housing