Exam 15: International Human Resources Management

What term do we use to describe the country in which an international business operates?

Compared to North American managers, European managers-especially those in France, Germany, and Italy-tend use which of the following decision-making styles?

Different cultural environments require different organizational behaviours.

North American managers tend to have highly autocratic decision-making styles.

Define and describe the balance-sheet approach used by many multinational corporations to calculate the compensation they wish to offer to their expatriates.

Multinational corporations tend to use different kinds of external recruitment sources than are used in their home countries.

MAGNA is a Canadian firm located in Ontario. In this instance, what does Canada represent?

General Motors, headquartered in the United States, has operations in many parts of the world. Jimmy Lee, an IT manager from its Canadian operations, has been posted to India to oversee a start-up operation. What type of employee is Jimmy?

In designing compensation systems, what does the philosophy of "thinking globally and acting locally" mean?

Anna works as a compensation manager for IDL Inc., a multinational firm located in British Columbia. She has been posted to Hong Kong on an assignment. What type of employee is Anna?

Culture shock refers to the disorientation people experience adjusting to a new culture.

Lack of training is one of the principal causes of failure among employees working internationally.

Production manager Jim McIntyre has been successful in his Canadian assignment using a participative management style. If he uses this same style in some other countries, he may be regarded as an incompetent manager.

Scenario 15.1 From 2008, ForEx Inc. has shifted some of its operations to China and Malaysia, where production costs are considerably lower compared to Canada. Since then, 35 managers have been sent to those countries either on short- or long-term assignments to head up operations, conduct training and development, or just to oversee specific projects. Of the 35 managers only 5 were women, even though women make up 40 percent of the management team. Expatriates on long- term assignments are given financial incentives to offset any qualitative differences between the costs of living in the two locations. -Refer to Scenario 15.1. Assume that ForEx will use the balance-sheet approach to compensate expatriates. Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in this approach?

Global managers must be capable of managing highly decentralized organizations.

In general, it is typically better to hire host-country nationals when operating abroad because it is less expensive, it pleases the local government, and it eliminates the problem of employees adjusting to the culture.

If you were developing a performance appraisal system for individuals on international assignments, it would be best to base individuals' appraisals on information from which of the following?

ABM is an international firm with headquarters in the United States. Its operations in other parts of the world are fully autonomous. What type of firm is ABM?

Repatriation is usually a planned and positive experience for employees returning from an international assignment.

Which of the following best describes the difference between labour relations in Canada and those in Europe?