MGMT 309 - Chapter 10

The mission of the International Labor Organization is to ________.

ensure that humane conditions of labor are maintained

Which of the following is a recommendation by Tung for a successful repatriation program?

establishing a special organizational unit for the purposes of career planning and continuing guidance for the expatriate

Which of the following is an advantage of a synergy?

exposure to different viewpoints

The ability to mesh the team's activities with the organization's goals is called ________.

external alignment

Research on expatriate assignments continues to show that ________.

females are disproportionately underrepresented in expatriate assignments

According to Berthoin, which of the following types of knowledge gained abroad helps in understanding the differences in customer preferences?

knowledge about what

The process through which managers and workers determine their workplace relationships is known as ________.

labor relations

Which of the following refers to a language- and communication-related issue that poses a challenge to many virtual global teams?

lack of visibility of nonverbal cues

Which of the following is a constraint frequently placed on management by organized labor?

limits on the firm's ability to vary employment levels when necessary

In order to maximize a firm's global human resources, IHR managers need to ________.

promote the role of women in international management

Reverse culture shock occurs primarily because of the difficulty of ________.

reintegrating into the organization

Which of the following is the primary benefit for a firm that carefully manages its expatriates' careers?

retaining managers with global experience and skills

"The longer a person is away, the more difficult it is to get back into the swing of things." In the context of repatriation, this often leads to ________.

reverse culture shock

Which of the following is the most likely reason for falling union membership in industrialized countries?

rising proportion of temporary and part-time workers

Which of the following is a recommendation made by Govindarajan and Gupta for improving global teamwork?

rotating and diffusing team leadership

One of the main dimensions of the labor-management relationship that a manager must consider is ________.

specific human resource policies in terms of recruitment, training, and compensation

According to the Joshi study, the most critical conflicts related to transnational teams are between ________.

subsidiaries

Effective human resource management of a company's global cadre ends with ________.

successful repatriation of the executive into company headquarters

Which of the following refers to a force that favors global convergence?

technological standardization

Neil Grahams is a strategic HR advisor in an American MNC. He believes that in today's globalized economy, both the knowledge and management resources as well as the skilled and unskilled employee resources, central to the success of an organization, are dispersed around the world. According to him, an organization can significantly improve global competitiveness by maximizing its global human resources in the long run. With which of the following is Neil most likely to agree?

that IHR managers must develop effective global management teams to improve global competitiveness

The reasons for the different opportunities for women among various countries can often be traced to ________.

the cultural expectations of the host countries

For companies to maximize the long-term use of their global cadre, they need to make sure that ________.

the foreign assignment and the reintegration process are positive experiences

Jeff Richards works for an American MNC. For more than 10 years, Jeff was posted in the company's subsidiary in Ghana. Upon returning to his home country a few months ago, Jeff reported that his international experience had substantially enhanced his skills of making decisions with less information and more uncertainty about the outcome. In this instance, Jeff alludes to which of the following acquired skills?

tolerance for ambiguity

IHR managers are not responsible for developing effective global management teams.

FALSE

As women continue to move up the corporate ladder, the accompanying spouse is often male--estimated at more than ________ percent.

25

Overall, more managerial opportunities are available for ________ women than for women in most other countries.

American

Feelings of alienation due to the loss of contact with family, friends, and daily life speed up the resocialization process.

FALSE

________ pointed out that expatriate experience not only brings about knowledge about cultural differences but also creates insights about HQ--subsidiary relations from which ideas about improving business could be derived.

Berthoin

________ refers to a process of negotiations between workers and managers.

Collective bargaining

________ represent members in several industries.

Conglomerate unions

________ occurs as the migration of management and workplace practices around the world reduce workplace disparities from one country to another.

Convergence

________ unions are based on certain occupational skills.

Craft

Which of the following best explains the attrition rate for expatriates?

Expatriates feel unappreciated and dissatisfied both during and after the assignment and leave the company.

A successful repatriation program starts after the first phase of the assignment has been completed.

FALSE

Learning patience and tolerance, realizing that managers abroad are in the minority among local people, and learning to communicate more with others and empathize with them implies that an executive has acquired considerable tolerance for ambiguity.

FALSE

Making decisions with more information and less uncertainty about the process and the outcome is referred as tolerance for ambiguity.

FALSE

Opportunities for indigenous female employees to move up the managerial ladder in a given culture do not depend on the values and expectations regarding the role of women in that society.

FALSE

Research indicates that correspondence through e-mails is the best way to kick off a virtual team project.

FALSE

Task facilitation is the ability to build teams and resolve conflicts.

FALSE

The attrition rate for expatriates is considerably lower than that of non-expatriates.

FALSE

Typically, firms use highly formal means to help the accompanying spouse find a position at the same location.

FALSE

________ is one of the informal means that firms often use to help the trailing spouse find a position at the same location.

Intercompany networking

________ is the ability to build teams and resolve conflicts.

Interpersonal facilitation

Jade International is a highly diversified global firm with headquarters in New Jersey. It manufactures a variety of products ranging from home security systems to automotive components. Jade's 100,000 employees work at facilities located in more than 60 countries around the world. Jade frequently sends American managers overseas to manage the firm's foreign facilities. The HR department is considering the idea of redesigning Jade's expatriate support services program. Which of the following, if true, best supports Jade's decision to provide assistance to trailing spouses in finding jobs overseas?

Jade has lost a significant chunk of its global cadre in the recent past owing to its failure to offer feasible options to address the dual-career couples dilemma.

________ is optimized when career opportunities provided by the organization are congruent with repatriate career goals and aspirations.

Knowledge transfer

________ are all about learning how to deal with a wide range of people, to adapt to their cultures through compromise, and not to be a dictator.

Managerial skills

Felix Johnson is a senior HR manager in a global conglomerate. He believes that an important factor contributing to international competitiveness is the ability of an organization to maximize its global human resources in the long run. With which of the following is Felix most likely to agree?

Maximizing long-term retention through career management increases the odds in favor of global competitiveness.

________ operate(s) outside the formal structure, focusing on innovation and improvement.

Parallel global virtual teams

A horizontal networked structure, with people around the world conducting meetings and exchanging information via the Internet, thus enabling the organization to capitalize on 24-hour productivity is called a virtual global team.

TRUE

According to the study by Lazarova and Caligiuri, career planning sessions are associated with successful repatriation.

TRUE

Effective human resource management of a company's global cadre ends with the successful repatriation of the executive into company headquarters.

TRUE

For a firm, the ability to develop a globally experienced top management team depends largely on the success of expatriates' assignments.

TRUE

In the globalized economy, the knowledge and management resources required for the firm to succeed are no longer concentrated in a single region but are distributed around the world.

TRUE

Knowledge transfer is optimized when career opportunities provided by the organization are congruent with repatriate career goals and aspirations.

TRUE

Reverse culture shock occurs primarily because of the difficulty of reintegrating into the organization.

TRUE

The manner in which multicultural interaction affects the firm's operations depends on its level of international involvement, its environment, and its strategy.

TRUE

The prevailing labor relations system in a country is important to the international manager because it can constrain the strategic choices and operational activities of a firm operating there.

TRUE

To maximize the long-term use of their global cadre, companies need to make sure that the foreign assignment and the reintegration process are positive experiences

TRUE

________ is the ability to convey goals and train team members to use the collaborative technology effectively.

Task facilitation

Which of the following is true with regard to virtual teams?

The members of virtual teams interact through computer-mediated communication systems.

According to Lazarova and Tarique, which of the following conditions must be met for the successful transfer of knowledge between repatriates and firms?

The repatriates must have valuable knowledge to transfer.

________ is an acquired skill that refer(s) to making decisions with less information and more uncertainty about the process and the outcome.

Tolerance for ambiguity

________ enable cost effective, rapid knowledge sharing and collaboration, but are fraught with cross-cultural and logistical challenges.

Virtual global teams

The management of the reentry phase of the career cycle, if not handled adequately, ________.

can lead to the negation of the long-term benefits of that executive's international experience

In the context of the study conducted by Lazarova and Caligiuri, which of the following refers to a top-five ranked practice for successful repatriation?

career planning sessions

Which of the following must an international team avoid if it wants to achieve the individual and collective goals of the team members?

causing the global enterprise to disintegrate

Which of the following terms refers to the participation of labor in the management of a firm?

codetermination

Which of the following is a force that establishes or maintains divergent systems?

collective bargaining methods

According to a study of global teams by Govindarajan and Gupta, which of the following is the most important task in developing a successful global business team?

cultivating trust among all team members

According to a study of global teams by Govindarajan and Gupta, which of the following is critical to the success of global business teams if they want to minimize conflict and encourage cooperation?

cultivating trust among team members

According to Berthoin, which of the following exemplifies knowledge about when?

knowledge about the effect of timing

There are various categories of resources—both people and processes—which IHR managers and others must develop and maintain; in particular it is essential for them to ________.

develop effective global management teams

Which of the following is considered essential in light of the increasing proliferation of foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures?

developing effective transnational teams

A comparative study of European project groups in several countries by Sylvie Chevrie revealed three main strategies for dealing with the challenge of achieving cross-cultural collaboration in multinational horizontal projects. Which of the following is one of those strategies?

drawing upon individual tolerance and self-control

For sharing resources and managing the transnational transfer of knowledge, it is essential for MNCs to maximize their human assets in the form of ________ teams.

global management

The term ________ describes a collection of managers in or from several countries who must rely on group collaboration if each member is to experience optimum success and goal achievement.

global management team

Convergence occurs as ________ is sought, such as for the EC countries, and as competitive pressures in free-trade zones, such as the NAFTA countries, eventually bring about demands for some equalization of benefits for workers.

harmonization

According to a survey of Alcoa's virtual team members, successful team leaders ________.

have the ability to convey goals and resolve conflicts

According to Lazarova and Tarique, organizations need to ________ in order to facilitate knowledge transfer.

have the right tools to capture knowledge

The traditional trade union structures in Western industrialized societies have been in ________, representing all grades of employees in a specific industry

industrial unions

A comparative study of European project groups in several countries by Sylvie Chevrie revealed three main strategies for dealing with the challenge of achieving cross-cultural collaboration in multinational horizontal projects. Which of the following is NOT one of those strategies?

linking rewards to individual achievement

Which of the following is NOT a recommendation made by Govindarajan and Gupta for improving global teamwork?

minimize global exposure for all team members

Which of the following is/are particularly important in joint ventures for the purposes of strategic planning, implementation, and production?

multicultural teams

A repatriated manager says, "I learned to understand situations from the viewpoint of local employees and businesspeople when I worked overseas." Which of the following acquired skills is the manager referring to in this instance?

multiple perspectives

Lauryn, an American national, was sent to Japan on an assignment. According to her, it was during this time that she learned to understand situations from the viewpoint of local employees and business people. As an expatriate, which of the following skills did Lauryn attain?

multiple perspectives

Which of the following is NOT an operational challenge for global virtual teams?

organizational objectives

Which of the following is one of the forces working toward convergence in labor systems?

political changes

Opportunities for indigenous female employees to move up the managerial ladder in a given culture depend on the ________.

values and expectations regarding the role of women in that society

The members of ________ interact through computer-mediated communication systems and are linked together across time, space, and organizational boundaries.

virtual teams

In the context of the study conducted by Lazarova and Caligiuri, which of the following refers to the most important HRM practice for successful repatriation?

visible signs that the company values international experience