Final INB 300

Which of the following is true of expatriate failure?

A combination of work-related and family-related problems leads to expatriate failure.

Allied Food Inc. is a food and beverage manufacturing company in Bordania. While staffing its top positions in its headquarters and in its foreign subsidiaries, it focuses only on finding suitable people to fill the positions. The nationality of the applicants is not considered important. In this case, which of the following staffing approaches has Allied Food Inc. adopted?

A geocentric approach

Which of the following is an effect of adopting a local responsiveness strategy?

Costs of products and services are increased.

From a resource-based standpoint, a fundamental basis for competitive advantage is innovation-based firm heterogeneity. _____ virtually guarantees that there will be persistent heterogeneity in the solutions generated.

Decentralized R&D work performed by different teams around the world

_____ are nonnative employees who work and reside in a foreign country.

Expatriates

_____ is leaving one's home country to work in another country.

Expatriation

TrinkCan Inc., a soft drink company in Wales, establishes new branches in England, Australia, and the United States. To minimize its costs, the company uses similar packaging, distribution, and promotion across all the countries. According to the integration-responsiveness framework, which of the following strategies is used by TrinkCan?

Global standardization strategy

Frolik Foods Inc., a fast food franchise in the United States, opens a new outlet in Germany. The franchise develops recipes in the U.S. and then transfers them to its outlets in Germany. Which of the following strategies is being used by Frolik Foods?

Home replication strategy

In the context of organizational cultures, which of the following is true of a wolf culture?

It centers on relentless pursuit with highly motivated employees working overtime.

Which of the following statements is true of the going rate approach of compensating expatriates?

It differs for the same position around the world.

Which of the following is a leading problem with the international division organizational structure?

It does not give sufficient voice to foreign subsidiary managers relative to the heads of domestic divisions.

Which of the following statements is true of a geographic area structure?

It encourages the fragmentation of the multinational enterprises into fiefdoms.

In the context of repatriation, which of the following is true of a psychological contract?

It is an informal understanding and can be easily violated.

Which of the following is true of a localization strategy?

It is effective when pressures for cost reductions are low.

Which of the following statements is true of a global product division structure?

It is highly responsive to cost reduction pressures.

Which of the following is an advantage of adopting a home replication strategy?

It is relatively easy to implement.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of a global product division structure?

It results in the suffering of local responsiveness.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of adopting a global standardization strategy?

It sacrifices local responsiveness.

In the context of knowledge management, which of the following is true of multinational enterprises (MNEs) adopting a localization strategy?

Knowledge is developed and retained within each subsidiary.

In the context of knowledge management, which of the following is true of multinational enterprises (MNEs) adopting a home replication strategy?

Knowledge is developed at the center and transferred to subsidiaries.

In the context of knowledge management, which of the following is true of multinational enterprises (MNEs) adopting a transnational strategy?

Knowledge is developed jointly and shared worldwide.

In the context of knowledge management, which of the following is true of multinational enterprises (MNEs) adopting a global standardization strategy?

Knowledge is mostly developed and retained at the center and key locations.

_____ means reacting to different consumer preferences and host-country demands.

Local responsiveness

Which of the following statements is true of multinational enterprises' (MNEs') strategic postures and staffing approaches?

MNEs pursuing a global standardization strategy often require a geocentric approach.

Which of the following best illustrates the effect of formal institutions on human resource management?

Red Inc., a company based in the country of Nebulia, faces legal hurdles when hiring part time workers for one of its foreign subsidiaries.

Zipsoft Inc., a technological firm in Belwick, is planning to establish subsidiaries in Arcadia and Platinia. A major problem is that Arcadia is a union stronghold. To tackle the union stronghold, which of the following would be in the best interest of the company if it establishes a subsidiary in Arcadia?

Relying on an experienced employee from Arcadia

Which of the following is true of performance appraisal meetings conducted by western multinational enterprises (MNEs) in high power distance countries?

These meetings are not of much help as employees themselves do not place a lot of importance on self-expression.

To avoid expatriate failure, which of the following is true of the firms using only individual dimensions to select expatriates?

They prefer employees with strong technical abilities and cross-cultural adaptability.

Which of the following is the fifth C that implicates actions for non-HR (human resource) managers?

career

The two sets of pressures that multinational enterprises (MNEs) confront are _____.

cost reduction and local responsiveness

Companies following a localization strategy differ from companies following a home replication strategy in that the companies following a localization strategy:

develop and retain knowledge within each subsidiary.

In the context of strategizing, structuring, and learning around the world, an implication for savvy managers will be to:

develop learning and innovative capabilities to leverage multinational presence as an asset.

_____ refers to longer-term, broader preparation to improve managerial skills for a better career.

development

A(n) _____ emphasizes the norms and practices of the parent company (and the parent country of the MNE) by relying on parent-country nationals (PCNs).

ethnocentric approach

Widget Corp., a technological firm based in the U.S., mainly relies on staffing its employees from the U.S. for its operations. It adopts the same approach in staffing the top positions of its foreign subsidiaries as they have perfect understanding of the norms and cultures of the parent company. In this case, Widget Corp. follows a(n) _____ in staffing.

ethnocentric approach

A perceived lack of talent among parent-country nationals (PCNs) often necessitates an ethnocentric approach.

false

Centralized research and development guarantees persistent heterogeneity in the solutions generated by a company.

false

Every country has formal rules that are embodied in cultures, norms, and values governing the do's and don'ts of human resource management.

false

From a resource-based standpoint, a fundamental basis for competitive advantage is innovation-based firm homogeneity.

false

In multinational enterprises, host-country nationals (HCNs) are generally referred to as expats.

false

In the context of performance appraisals, evaluation of host-country nationals by expatriates is isolated from cultural differences.

false

Nowadays, it has become necessary to pay extra compensation to attract higher-caliber and more senior expatriates.

false

Performance appraisal refers to salary and benefits.

false

The global standardization strategy maximizes local responsiveness.

false

To be more effective and supportive of labor causes, labor unions should move operations around the world.

false

Widget Corp., a manufacturing firm in Lithuania, exports its manufactured tools to Wales. To protect its domestic firms, the Government of Wales imposes a 20 percent tax on the tools imported from Widget Corp. Therefore, Widget Corp. is subject to:

formal institutional frameworks erected by the host-country government.

Multinational enterprises appoint home-country nationals as the head of a foreign subsidiary because the home-country nationals:

have an understanding of the informal workings of multinational enterprises.

In the context of staffing approaches, a multinational enterprise (MNE) pursuing a localization strategy:

hires host-country nationals to head subsidiaries.

Burger Mart, a fast food franchise in the U.S. is famous for its unique recipes that are a combination of a variety of spices. Their products are very popular in the U.S. They open a new outlet in Germany. They do not change their menu or their recipes as their menu and products are already popular in the U.S. Based on the integration-responsiveness framework, the strategy used by Burger Mart is a(n) _____.

home replication strategy

Training and development programs for expatriates who are assigned to work for a short period in a foreign country should ideally:

involve survival-level language training.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of adopting a home replication strategy?

it often lacks local responsiveness

Asset Sports, a sports equipment manufacturing company based in India, specializes in cricket equipment. It establishes a new manufacturing plant in Brazil that specializes in soccer equipment. Based on the integration-responsiveness framework, the strategy adopted by Asset Sports is called a(n) _____.

localization strategy

The global matrix structure supports the goal of the transnational strategy, but in practice it is often difficult to deliver because:

managers have to deal with two bosses who are often in conflict.

Ziff Corp, a publishing firm based in the U.S., has its subsidiary in Italy. The company focuses on the norms and practices of Italy. It even hires Italian nationals for managerial positions. In this case, Ziff Corp is following a(n) _____ in staffing.

polycentric approach

Expatriates acting as ambassadors:

represent the interests of the subsidiaries when interacting with headquarters.

_____ refers to human resource management (HRM) activities associated with hiring employees and filling positions.

staffing

John lives in the country of Lucitonia. He has been employed with Rues and West Inc., a capital goods manufacturing company based in Lucitonia, for more than 15 years. He is currently on an assignment to his company's subsidiary at Aquardica. He is representing the interests of Rue and West's headquarters to suggest changes in the management of the subsidiary at Aquardica. Given this information, John is an expatriate acting as a _____.

strategist

Unlike a transnational strategy, a global standardization strategy involves:

the development and retention of knowledge at the center and key locations.

Altonland Inc., a pharmaceutical company based in the United States, generally appoints a U.S. national as the head of its foreign subsidiaries for the first few years after a subsidiary is established. The company has been following this practice from the time it started its overseas operations. The given scenario illustrates:

the informal rules of the game.

When a geocentric approach in staffing is adopted, _____.

the nationality of the employees is disregarded.

Jane is an experienced analyst at a data analytics company based in Bulimia. She is traveling to their subsidiary unit at Sparanthea to explain the use of the latest data analytics tools to the newly recruited data analysts. In this scenario, Jane is an expatriate acting as a(n) _____.

trainer

_____ is specific preparation to do a particular job.

training

Multinational enterprises that engage in a _____ strategy promote global learning and diffusion of innovations in multiple ways.

transnational

'Be curious' is one of the four Cs developed by Susan Meisinger for savvy managers.

true

A hallmark of transnational multinational enterprises is a high degree of interdependence and extensive and bi-directional flows of knowledge.

true

A repatriate is a manager who returns to his or her home country to stay after working abroad for a length of time.

true

Formal structures are easier to observe and imitate than informal structures.

true

Formally, organizational charts specify the scope of responsibilities for various parties.

true

Managers need to actively develop learning and innovation capabilities to leverage multinational presence.

true

Tacit knowledge is non-codifiable, and its acquisition and transfer require hands-on practice.

true

The balance sheet approach refers to a compensation approach that balances the cost-of-living differences based on parent-country levels and adds a financial inducement to make the package attractive.

true

Transnational strategy aims to capture the best of both worlds by endeavoring to be both cost efficient and locally responsive.

true

According to a polycentric approach in staffing, host-country nationals (HCNs):

who are in top positions send morale-boosting signals to others.