Chapter 17 – Personal Selling and Sales Management
Discussion Questions
1. Define:
Repatriation
2. Why may it be difficult to adhere to set job criteria in selecting foreign personnel? What
compensating actions might be necessary?
3. Why do the global sales force cause special compensation problems? Suggest some alternate
solutions.
4. Under what circumstances should expatriate salesmen be utilized?
5. Discuss the problems which might be encountered in having an expatriate sales manager supervising
foreign salesmen.
6. “To some extent, the exigencies of the manpower situation will dictate the approach to overseas sales
organization.” Discuss.
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 17 – Personal Selling and Sales Management
7. How do legal factors affect international sales management?
8. How does the sales force relate to company organization? To channels of distribution?
9. “It is costly to maintain an international sales force.” Comment.
10. Adaptability and maturity are traits needed by all salesmen. Why should they be singled out as
especially important for international salesmen?
11. Can a person develop good cultural skills?
12. Describe the six attributes of a person with good cultural skills.
13. Interview a local company which has a foreign sales operation. Draw an organization chart for the
sales function and explain why that that company used particular structure.
Individual project.
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 17 – Personal Selling and Sales Management
14. Evaluate the three major sources of multinational manpower.
15. Which factors complicate the task of motivating the foreign sales force?
16. Why do companies include an evaluation of their employees’ families among selection criteria?
17. Concern for career and family is the most frequently mentioned reason for managers to refuse a
foreign assignment. Why?
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 17 – Personal Selling and Sales Management
18. Discuss and give examples why returning U.S. expatriates are dissatisfied. How can these problems
be overcome?
A returning expatriate’s dissatisfaction with the perceived future is usually the reason many resign
their positions after returning to the United States. The most frequently heard complaint involves the
lack of a defined plan for the expatriate’s career when returning home. New home-country
assignments are frequently mundane and do not reflect the experience gained or the challenges met
19. If “the language of international business is English,” why is it important to develop a skill in a
foreign language? Discuss.
Proponents of language skills argue that learning a language improves cultural understanding and
business relationships. Others point out that to be taken seriously in the business community, the
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 17 – Personal Selling and Sales Management
20. The global manager of the year 2020 will have to meet many new challenges. Draw up a sample
resume for someone who could be considered for a top-level executive position in a global firm.
A resume for the global manager of the year 2020 should reflect the experiences and skills in the
description below. Experience in domestic operations as well as foreign experience in at least two or
As the 40-year postwar period of growing markets and domestic-only competition fades, so too is the
narrow one-company, one-industry chief executive. By the turn of the century, companies’ choices of
While this description of tomorrow’s business leaders is speculative, there is mounting evidence that
Until recently the road to the top was well marked. A 1987 survey of chief executives reported that
You might have your students find the bio of the current CEO of P&G’s American operations. A
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.