Chapter 12: Human Resources Management
TRUE/FALSE
1. Individuals sent to a foreign location from the firm’s home market are referred to as expatriates.
2. Tax neutral means that firms will try to ensure that an expatriate does not pay more tax by being
posted abroad.
3. Single individual interviews are a common selection method, and research suggests that a single
interview by itself is a very valid predictor of performance.
4. In group interviews, typically there are both multiple candidates and multiple interviewers present at
the same time.
5. The observation method is the least helpful method in selecting individuals for overseas assignments.
6. No matter how well they think they know a culture, people with international postings will have some
degree of culture shock at the start.
7. Research conducted among expatriates in China found that those who were best able to deal with their
new situation had developed coping strategies characterized by socioeconomic adjustments.
8. Most firms placing an employee in an expatriate position will also strive for a balance between age and
experience.
9. Contrary to what one might expect, there is evidence that older managers in the twilight of their career
are more eager for international assignments than their younger counterparts.
10. People can be taught the informal systems, but formal knowledge has to be gained through field
experience.
11. Employing host-country nationals is often less expensive than employing home-country or
third-country nationals, especially in lower-wage countries.
12. The advantage of hiring host-country locals for the management positions is that it is easy to find
qualified locals with the right skills for the assignment.
13. The host-country employee’s loyalty to his/her country or community may interfere with company
policies.
14. The problem of preparing expats for the foreign assignment may be improving in recent years, partly
because of the attitudes and (self) preparation of expats themselves.
15. 360-degree evaluations focus the evaluator’s attention on those tasks and behaviors that are key in
making the difference between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.
16. BARS measure personality or attitudinal factors rather than behavioral performance factors on a scale.
17. The nature of the job is more important in formulating the compensation system than the local culture.
18. International firms tend to use the average salaries in the host-country as a base to determine expatriate
compensation.
19. Approximately two-thirds of compensation for regular employees in the United States consists of
benefits.
20. Cost-of-living allowances pay the expatriate for differences in expenses between the home and foreign
country.
21. Most large firms in North America spend adequate time preparing employees for foreign assignments.
22. One way to avoid communication problem in a foreign country is to repeat what you are saying loudly
if the host-country national does not understand what you are saying the first time.
23. Expatriate managers encounter difficulties because they are responsible for implementing objectives
and policies formulated by the home office.
24. U.S. multinationals that interviewed both candidates and spouses to determine suitability for foreign
assignments experienced the same level of incidents of expensive expatriate failure as those that did
not.
25. Repatriation of the expatriate to his/her home country is often overlooked by the company and the
expatriate.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A person from one country who is working and residing in another country is known as a(n):
a.
expatriate.
b.
repatriate.
c.
inpatriate.
d.
host country national.
2. The added cost of hiring and placing an expatriate in a foreign location can range from _____ of the
expatriate’s salary.
a.
5 to 10 percent
b.
15 to 25 percent
c.
25 to 50 percent
d.
50 to 100 percent
3. Which of the following statements about the observation method is true?
a.
This method facilitates another type of selection method called group interviews.
b.
This method is particularly helpful in selecting individuals for overseas assignments.
c.
Typically there are both multiple candidates and multiple interviewers present at the same
time.
d.
It is fairly effective for certain types of jobs – customer service jobs, or factory or facility
management.
4. The selection test that evaluates a person’s ability in a cross-cultural setting is the:
a.
Structured Questionnaire Method.
b.
integrity test.
c.
cultural intelligence test.
d.
individual interview.
5. In terms of selection methods, in Anglo-Saxon cultures:
a.
what is generally tested is how much the individual can contribute to the tasks of the
organization.
b.
the emphasis is more on the quality of education in a particular (job) function.
c.
the recruitment process is characterized by ascertaining how well a person fits in with the
larger group.
d.
the emphasis is on personality, communication, and social skills more than intelligence or
job function.
6. In research conducted among expatriates in China, it was found that those who were best able to deal
with their new situation had developed coping strategies including all of the following EXCEPT:
a.
having experience in adjusting to new situations.
b.
learning how to interact well with host-country nationals outside of work.
c.
feeling reasonably happy and being able to enjoy day-to-day activities.
d.
being familiar with the company’s top management.
7. Which of the following statements about language training is true?
a.
Most expatriates are required to learn the local language because most companies still
carry out their international business in their national language.
b.
Executives in the U.S. place a high priority on speaking more than one language, which is
often compulsory for them from an early age.
c.
Those who can speak only English are at a disadvantage when doing business in
non-English-speaking countries.
d.
Traditionally, Japanese managers have done rather poorly in learning foreign languages
and tend to downplay their importance.
8. What is the advantage of using an expatriate as opposed to a host-country local for a foreign
assignment?
a.
Expatriates and their families are usually highly motivated to learn about the new culture
and adapt to it well.
b.
Expatriates have a detailed knowledge of company policies, procedures, and corporate
culture and how to transfer them to new local hires.
c.
Smaller firms can send their expatriate candidates for private training, particularly
language training, as it is not costly.
d.
Hiring a number of expatriates can enhance a company’s image in the host country and
even give it additional bargaining power with the local government.
9. What is the disadvantage of using expatriates in an international setting?
a.
Many expatriates who stayed for the duration of a posting did not perform up to their
firms’ expectations, and many also quit to join a competitor.
b.
Most expatriates are not familiar with the company’s resources, processes, and values.
c.
It may be difficult to find qualified people with the right skills for the assignment,
especially in less-developed countries.
d.
The expatriate’s loyalty to his/her country or community may interfere with company
policies.
10. What is the advantage of using host-country employees?
a.
It is easy to find qualified people at the local level with the right skills for the assignment.
b.
They are often highly loyal to the firm and have many connections within it.
c.
They have a detailed knowledge of company policies, procedures, and corporate culture.
d.
Employing host-country nationals is often less expensive than employing home-country
nationals, especially in lower-wage countries.
11. What is the disadvantage of using host-country locals?
a.
Employing host-country nationals is more expensive than employing third-country
nationals, especially in lower-wage countries.
b.
It does not enhance host-country employees’ morale because these employees do not
appreciate working for foreigners.
c.
It may be difficult to find qualified people at the local level with the right skills for the
assignment, especially in less-developed countries.
d.
Employing host-country nationals may diminish the multinational’s reputation especially
in a country that has strong populist government.
12. Foreign firms going to China are tempted to hire those with good _____, or connections.
a.
keiretsu
b.
guanxi
c.
chaebol
d.
zaibatsu
13. Which of the following statements about training is true?
a.
For top managers, foreign-educated lawyers can explain the laws of the specific region
and other subtleties not covered in standard expat training.
b.
The results of a major study indicated that nearly 90 percent of international Japanese
firms surveyed sponsored formal training programs for their expatriates.
c.
A major study found that American firms doing business internationally invested more
than Japanese firms in training programs.
d.
The problem of preparing an expat may be getting worse in recent years, partly because of
the attitudes and lack of preparation on the part of expats themselves.
14. _____ are evaluations of an employee conducted by the supervisor, subordinates, peers, and
sometimes customers.
a.
BARS
b.
360-degree evaluations
c.
Critical incident approaches
d.
Management by objectives
15. The _____ focuses the evaluator’s attention on those tasks and behaviors that are key in making the
difference between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.
a.
trait rating appraisal
b.
written essay
c.
critical incident approach
d.
360-degree evaluation
16. BARS:
a.
focus the evaluator’s attention on those tasks and behaviors that are key in making the
difference between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.
b.
assume that one can define and rate traits objectively, and is often used in conjunction
with written feedback.
c.
are evaluations by the supervisor, coworkers, subordinates, and even customers or clients
outside the immediate work area.
d.
use the constituents of critical incidents along with graphic rating scales.
17. Which of the following statements about BARS is false?
a.
BARS measure personality or attitudinal factors rather than behavioral performance
factors on a scale.
b.
BARS use the constituents of critical incidents along with graphic rating scales.
c.
BARS can work well when a job’s tasks are well understood and performance can be
measured in quantitative terms.
d.
For any particular job, BARS involve designing appropriate performance dimensions for
that job.
18. _____ employs the principle from goal-setting theory that employees are more likely to accomplish
goals that they set themselves or to which they jointly agree.
a.
The critical incident approach
b.
MBO
c.
BARS
d.
360-degree evaluation
19. The system of _____ was popularized by Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, and it
“force ranks” employees into three categories based on what is generically called a vitality curve.
a.
managing by objective
b.
360-degree evaluations
c.
employee differentiation
d.
behaviorally anchored rating scales
20. Which of the following statements about the compensation system is false?
a.
An effective compensation policy seeks to eliminate all pay inequity between an expatriate
and his/her local peers.
b.
The implementation of a compensation system may necessarily be different in countries
less accustomed to pay for performance and individual rewards.
c.
An assignment in a difficult environment, such as much of Africa, would require greater
compensation than an assignment to a more developed environment like Western Europe.
d.
It has been estimated that, on average, expatriates cost employers two to five times as
much as corresponding home-country employees, and even higher in some lower-wage
countries.
21. _____ is the amount of money that an expatriate normally receives in the home country.
a.
Minimum wage
b.
Severance pay
c.
Variable pay
d.
Base salary
22. Which of the following statements about taxation for expatriates is false?
a.
The problem of double-taxation is mitigated in the United States by an income exclusion
of about $40,000.
b.
The current maximum marginal tax rate for those working in the United States is about 35
percent.
c.
International firms are subject to varying tax rates around the globe.
d.
Rates are different from country to country, and they change within countries from time to
time.
23. Which of the following statements about socialization is false?
a.
The need to socialize local hires into the company culture occurs with careful selection
and training.
b.
One type of socialization is essentially an acculturation of the expatriate to the local
environment.
c.
The home-country nationals of Japanese firms have been less successful than the
home-country nationals of U.S. firms in expatriate assignments.
d.
In recent years, only a quarter of U.S. international firms recalled expatriates at 5 percent
or less of their expatriates.
24. All of the following are common communication problems to avoid EXCEPT:
a.
use more common words and phrases.
b.
use props and common frames of reference when possible.
c.
avoid sports-related terms that only people from your country would understand.
d.
if people do not understand the first time, just repeat the same thing more loudly.
25. Which of the following statements about repatriation is false?
a.
Sometimes an expatriate will return home only to find that a former colleague got a good
promotion, or a former subordinate may now be the expatriate’s boss.
b.
When repatriation of the expatriate to his/her home country occurs, the company
immediately sets right any issues faced by the expatriate.
c.
The returned expatriate is no longer in a central position at work, after having gotten used
to giving orders and having quite a bit of help getting things done at work.
d.
The expatriate may end up returning to the same job at home with no promotion and may
thus feel the time on the foreign assignment meant little to his/her career.
ESSAY
1. Explain the term “tax neutral.”
2. Write a short note on written tests.
3. Explain the disadvantages to using expatriates in an international setting.
4. Explain the advantages of using host-country employees.
5. Write an explanatory note on BARS (behaviorally anchored rating scales).
6. How do a firm’s physical and social environments affect expatriates?
7. How does repatriation affect expatriates?