Chapter 9

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Section 1 – Match the words on the left with the right explanations on the right

1. Global mind-set A. neither home nor host country culture dominates decision making, human
G resource management, and overall corporate culture in a multinational firm.

2. Ethnocentric B. each subsidiary, division, or function reflects the culture of its host
country. Local managers' cultural predispositions and decision making
dominate over those of home-country managers in a multinational firm.

3. Polycentric C. employee who is a citizen of the nation in which the parent company is
headquartered.

4. Regiocentric D. a situation in which a person doing international business can speak only
his or her home language.

5. Geocentric E. entitles the expatriate employee to all the allowances and bonuses
applicable to the place of residence and employment.

6. Home-country F. employee who is a citizen of the nation in which the subsidiary is

national operating, which is different from the parent company’s home nation.

7. Parent-country G. combines an openness to and an awareness of diversity across markets

National C and cultures with a propensity and ability to synthesize across this diversity.

8. Host-country H. individuals who reside abroad but are citizens of the multinational's
National F parent country; they are citizens of the home, not the host country.

9. Third-country I. employees that engage in short-term, unaccompanied business travel

national assignments and typically have a job in a home office but carry a workload
L in other countries.

10. Expatriates J. expatriate employee compensation payments in addition to base salaries

and allowances because of hardship, inconvenience, or danger.

11. Inpatriates K. a belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group. The dominance of
the home-country culture in decision making, human resource management,
and overall corporate culture in a multinational firm.
 12. Flexpatriates L. employee who is a citizen of neither the parent company nation nor the
host country.

13. Language trap M. employee who is a citizen of the country where the multinational resides.

14. Allowances N. the tendency of a multinational to use a strategy that addresses both local
Q and regional needs.

15. Bonuses J O. employees of a multinational company who are from a foreign country,
but is transferred from a foreign subsidiary to the corporation’s headquarters.

16. Compensation P. for expatriate employees, packages that can incorporate many types of
Packages P payments or reimbursements and must take into consideration exchange rates
and inflation.

17. International Q. employee compensation payments added to base salaries because of

Status E higher expenses encountered when living abroad.

Section 2 – Fill in each of the gaps with a suitable word or phrase

1 Housing allowances 5 Allowances for Tax Differentials

2 houses 6 children
3 food 7guidence on the intricacie
4 medical expenses

A. Finding the right people to manage an organization can be difficult under any circumstances,
but it is especially difficult to find good (8)_managers__ of overseas operations. Such
 positions require more and different skills than do purely (9) _domestic_ executive jobs. The
right persons need to be (10) __bicultural_, with knowledge of the business practices in the
(11)_home_ country plus an understanding of business practices and customs in the
(12)__host__ country. And to fully understand a (13)__culture___, it is usually necessary to speak the
language of its people.
B. Two competing forces – the pressure to achieve (14) _global integration_ and reduce costs
and the
pressure to respond to (15)_local differentiation_ – determine which of four alternative
competitive
strategies ((16)_home replication_, multidomestic, global, or transnational) a company should
adopt.
A company’s competitive strategy should, in turn, drive the organization’s approach to
international human resource management that should be ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric,
or geocentric.
Section 3 – Find the best answer.
1. IHRM mainly focuses on ______________.
A. management of expatriates
B. world-wide management of people
C. management of small businesses internationally
D. management of international organisations

2. Expatriates are people who

______________. A. are naturalized citizens
B. are either third-country nationals or locals
C. are locals from the nation of the foreign
subsidiary D. work outside their home nation

3. All of the following are examples of a local EXCEPT ______________.

A. a Swiss manager working for a Swiss firm in the United States
B. a U.S. manager working for a Swiss firm in the United States
C. a Swiss manager working for a U.S. firm in Switzerland
D. a U.S. manager working for a U.S. firm in the United States

4. Which of the following is an example of a third-country national?

A. A dual citizen who works for a Mexican company in Mexico
B. A Canadian citizen that works for a U.S. company in Mexico
C. A U.S. citizen working for a U.S. company in Canada
D. A Canadian citizen that works for a U.S. company in Canada
5. Staffing with which of the following kinds of workers is considered the least expensive
choice? A. expatriates
B. home-country nationals
C. third-country nationals
D. locals

6. The place where the headquarters of a multinational company is located is seen as

______________.
A. home country
B. host country
C. third country
D. None of the above

7. When an international firm follows a strategy of choosing only from the nationals of the
parent country, it is called ______________.
A. polycentric approach
B. geocentric approach
C. ethnocentric approach
D. None of the above

8. When the firms apply a strategy of restricting recruitment to the nationalities of the host
country where the branch is located, it is called ______________.
A. polycentric approach
B. geocentric approach
C. ethnocentric approach
D. None of the above

9. When a choice is made by the firms, which is about a strategy of employing the most suitable
persons for the positions available in the firm, irrespective of their nationalities, it is called
______________.
A. polycentric approach
B. geocentric approach
C. ethnocentric approach
D. None of the above

10. In international human resource management, communication in geocentric organisations are

_________________.
A. totally linked in a network of subsidiaries and subsidiaries with headquarters
B. little among subsidiaries and little between the subsidiary and headquarters
C. from headquarters to local subsidiaries
D. little between the subsidiary and headquarters, medium to high among subsidiaries in regions

11. The use of third-country nationals (TCNs) brings in the following advantages, except
__________.
A. They take the organisation away from criticism as
ethnocentric B. They are usually considerably cheaper
C. They often have a cultural awareness which can be beneficial
D. They have an adequate knowledge of home office goals and procedures

12. In international human resource management, communication in polycentric organisations are

_________________.
A. totally linked in a network of subsidiaries and subsidiaries with headquarters
B. little among subsidiaries and little between the subsidiary and headquarters
C. from headquarters to local subsidiaries
D. little between the subsidiary and headquarters, medium to high among subsidiaries in regions

13. In international human resource management, communication in regiocentric organisations are

_________________.
A. totally linked in a network of subsidiaries and subsidiaries with headquarters B.
little among subsidiaries and little between the subsidiary and headquarters
C. from headquarters to local subsidiaries
D. little between the subsidiary and headquarters, medium to high among subsidiaries in regions

14. In international human resource management, geocentric organisations are usually staffed with
_________________.
A. home nation managers
B. the best people where they can be used the best
C. host country managers
D. managers that may come from regional nations

15. In international human resource management, polycentric organisations are usually staffed
with _________________.
A. home country managers
B. the best people where they can be utilised the best
C. host country managers
D. managers who may come from regional nations

16. In international human resource management, ethnocentric organisations are usually staffed
with _________________.
A. home country managers
B. the best people where they can be used the best
C. host country managers
D. managers that may come from regional nations

17. Which of the following factors is not connected directly to the successful expatriate
assignments?
A. The personality of expatriate employees
B. The intentions of expatriate employees
C. The incapability of the spouse to change to the new situation
D. The nature of products made by the company
18. Someone who lives and works in a foreign nation is a(n)
__________. A. expatriate
B. holiday maker
C. international jet-setter
D. immigrant

19. HRM as practiced by multinational organizations is called __________.

A. global HRM
B. personnel management
practices C. domestic HRM
D. international HRM

20. When developing an international HRM policy, it is important to answer__________.

A. who is going to coordinate the HRM functions
B. what kind of organization is desired
C. how cross-boarder training can be designed
D. when the HR manager should start developing HR policies?

21. To work effectively in the international environment, HRM policies must __________.
A. reflect an international perspective
B. concentrate on domestic matters
C. accommodate differences in management ways
D. effectively transplant HRM policies and practices from the home nations to all other offices

22. When organizations do not adopt a strategic HRM approach and a global vision, they will
__________.
A. develop effective two-way communication
B. are virtually guaranteed to fail
C. find it easier to carry out traditional HRM activities
D. be more flexible in responding to environmental changes

23. __________ is the understanding behavior and culture of host country’s market by host
manager in corporation orientation.
A. ethnocentric
B. polycentric
C. geocentric
D. expat-centric

24. In corporation orientation, management way and evaluation criteria of home nation is
superior to anything that host country offers, known as ______________.
A. polycentric
B. geocentric
C. ethnocentric
D. expat-centric
25. United States executives working in Australian branch of United Kingdom multinational
bank are seen as_____________.
A. third country nationals B.
home country nationals C.
home country nationals D.
second country nationals

26. United States citizens working in China, in subsidiary of company whose headquarter is
located in United States, are known as __________.
A. expatriates
B. second country nationals
C. home country nationals
D. both a and c

27. A country in which headquarters of company are located are categorized as _____________.
A. third country nationals
B. home country nationals
C. expatriates
D. subordinates

28. Which of the following activities is part of international human resource management?
A. Hiring
B. Training
C. Compensation
D. All of the above

29. Martians Co. of the UK has expanded to 7 nations in South America. All its
managers are UK citizens. The company depends on ______________.
A. third-country nationals
B. host-country nationals
C. home-country nationals
D. none of the above
30. Jin Yoon of Korea has been sent by Hyundai to the US to head their R&D department. In this
situation, he is ______________.

C. a host-country national
D. all of the above

31. A young MNE is more likely to utilize ______________ for managing their overseas
operations.

B. home-country nationals
C. host-country nationals
D. third-country nationals
32. MNEs from ______________ are more likely to depend on home-country
managers for senior posts.
A. US
B. EU
C. Japan
D. the country is irrelevant

33. Which of the following does not cause that a firm might choose a host-country manager over
a home-country manager?
A. more expensive home-country management
B. differences in language
C. Host-country managers’ better understanding about the country than home-country ones
D. Home-country managers’ being less likely to abuse the company’s trust

34. Which case of the following will be the least likely to get a foreign assignment?
A. A man whose partner is the president of a home-based University and with whom he is
bringing up two young children
B. A unmarried motivated individual
C. An individual joining the company after fulfilling an internship in Africa with a development
of NGO
D. A young manager with a young husband who is willing to
relocate 35. Which of the following statements is true?
A. There is no general agreement as to the importance of self-reliance in choosing an
international manager
B. A family situation is not as important as the age of the potential manager when choosing an
international manager
C. There is no general agreement as to the level of education that international managers should
have
D. All of the above

36. Successful repatriated managers often find ______________.

A. their standard of living increases
B. the MNE appreciates their success and they receive a high-level home country assignment
C. their new position in the home country typically lacks the level of authority of their previous
assignment
D. all of the above

37. Which of the following is the most common selection procedure for choosing an
international manager?
A. Surveys
B. Interview
C. Resume examinations
D. Reviews from managers

Section 4 –Decide whether the following sentences are true or false and correct if they are false.
1. Companies with a primarily international strategic orientation may adopt an ethnocentric
staffing policy.
2. An advantage of hiring local managers is that they are often unfamiliar with the home country
of the IC and with its policies and practices.
3. The same general criteria for selecting home-country employees apply to host-country nationals
4. Hiring personnel who are third-country nationals can be advantageous, especially in
developing countries, because they may accept lower wages and benefits than will employees
from the home country and they may come from a culture similar to that of the host country.
5. The use of TCNs has become particularly prevalent in the developed countries.
6. Employees hired in the host country are sometimes called flexpatriates.
7. Expatriate assignments have been reported to lead to lower promotions.
8. There is reverse culture shock when an expatriate returns to the home country and company.
9. If a company feels that it probably will send parent-country nationals abroad, it will frequently
encourage them to study the language and culture of the country to which they are going.
10. In two-career families, when one spouse accepts a foreign assignment and the other spouse
goes along, that other spouse is referred to as a trailing spouse.
11. When managers are assigned and move abroad with their families, the most difficult
adjustments are frequently for their husbands/wives.
12. A candidate's fluency in the host country's language is a strong indicator of his or her ability
to effectively adjust within the host country.
13. Bonuses are symbols of rank in the corporate hierarchy and are used to compensate
executives while minimizing taxes.
14. Effective managers use one consistent style of management in all situations.
15. When an organization enters the international training and development area the HR manager
must consider issues of ethnocentricity.