International Management Exam #3 (Chapters 8, 9, & 10)
________ is the ability to convey goals and train team members to use the collaborative technology effectively.
Task facilitation
Global functional structures are primarily used by small firms with highly centralized systems. T or F?
TRUE
Globalization is a specific strategy that treats the world as one market by using a standardized approach to products and markets. T or F?
TRUE
Host-country nationals are more likely to be accepted by people both inside and outside the subsidiary, and they provide role models for other upwardly mobile personnel. T or F?
TRUE
IHR managers are responsible for developing effective global management teams. T or F?
TRUE
In the global staffing approach, the best managers are recruited from within or outside of the company, regardless of nationality. T or F?
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. T or F?
TRUE
Inpatriate managers can facilitate multicultural management teams in global organizations. T or F?
TRUE
International human resource management is a vital component of implementing global strategy. T or F?
TRUE
Internationalization is the process by which a firm gradually changes in response to global competition; domestic market saturation; and the desire for expansion, new markets, and diversification. T or F?
TRUE
Knowledge transfer is optimized when career opportunities provided by the organization are congruent with repatriate career goals and aspirations. T or F?
TRUE
Local managers are, by and large, effective in dealing with problems in sensitive political situations. T or F?
TRUE
Many multinationals, in particular "chains," wish to train their local managers and workers to bridge the divide between the firm's successful corporate culture and practices, and the local culture and work practices. T or F?
TRUE
One disadvantage of a polycentric staffing policy is the difficulty of coordinating activities and goals between the subsidiary and the parent company, including the potentially conflicting loyalties of the local manager. T or F?
TRUE
Organizing to facilitate a globalization strategy involves rationalization. T or F?
TRUE
Research indicates that teleconferencing and videoconferencing is the best way to kick off a virtual team project. T or F?
TRUE
Reverse culture shock occurs primarily because of the difficulty of reintegrating into the organization. T or F?
TRUE
Small firms typically start their international involvement by getting involved in exporting. T or F?
TRUE
Task facilitation is the ability to convey goals and train team members to effectively use the collaborative technology. T or F?
TRUE
The MIS adequacy in foreign affiliates is a sticky problem for headquarters managers in their attempt to maintain efficient coordination of activities and consolidation of results. T or F?
TRUE
The attrition rate for expatriates is considerably higher than that of non-expatriates. T or F?
TRUE
The manner in which multicultural interaction affects the firm's operations depends on its level of international involvement, its environment, and its strategy. T or F?
TRUE
The need to outsource employees is a complex issue for international human resource (IHR) managers as they seek to support strategic mandates. T or F?
TRUE
The organizational structure for global e-businesses, in particular for physical products, typically involves a network of virtual e-exchanges and "bricks and mortar" services, whether those services are in-house or outsourced. T or F?
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. T or F?
TRUE
To achieve rationalization, managers choose the manufacturing location for each product based on where the best combination of cost, quality, and technology can be attained. T or F?
TRUE
To address the globalization—localization dilemma, firms that have evolved through the multinational form and the global company seek the advantages of horizontal organization in the pursuit of transnational capability. T or F?
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. T or F?
TRUE
What are the changes necessitating new structural designs for organizations?
1. New management with different goals and strategies 2. Downturn in profitability or finances 3. Lack of competitiveness, failure to meet goals or capitalize on opportunities 4. Poor management, leadership, communication, delegation, or morale 5. New strategic directions: growth, alliances, retrenchment; global expansion from directing export activities to controlling overseas manufacturing and marketing units; a change in the size of operations on a country, regional, or worldwide basis; or failure of foreign operations to grow in accordance with plans and expectations 6. Clashes among divisions, subsidiaries, or individuals over territories or customers in the field 7. Divisive conflicts between overseas units and domestic division staff or corporate staff 8. Underutilization of overseas manufacturing or distribution facilities 9. Duplication of sales offices or geographic operational units within an area 10. An increase in overseas customer service complaints 11. Breakdowns in communications within and among organizations 12. Bottlenecks, too many reporting layers, and ill-defined executive responsibilities 13. Lack of innovation
What are the major causes of expatriate failure?
1. Selection based on headquarters criteria rather than assignment needs 2. Inadequate preparation, training, and orientation prior to assignment 3. Alienation or lack of support from headquarters 4. Inability to adapt to local culture and working environment 5. Problems with spouse and children—poor adaptation, family unhappiness 6. Insufficient compensation and financial support 7. Poor programs for career support and repatriation
As women continue to move up the corporate ladder, the accompanying spouse is often male—estimated at more than ________ percent.
25
What are the advantages of the global staffing approach?
A global staffing approach has several important advantages. First, this policy provides a greater pool of qualified and willing applicants from which to choose, which in time results in further development of a global executive cadre. Second, where third country nationals are used to manage subsidiaries, they usually bring more cultural flexibility and adaptability to a situation, as well as bilingual or multilingual skills, than parent-country nationals, especially if they are from a similar cultural background as the host- country coworkers and are accustomed to moving around. Third, it can be more cost-effective to transfer and pay managers from some countries than from others because their pay scale and benefits packages are lower. Indeed, those firms with a truly global staffing orientation are phasing out the entire ethnocentric concept of a home or host country. Overall, firms still tend to use expatriates in key positions in host countries that have a less familiar culture and also in less-developed economies.
Why is it difficult for managers to evaluate and compare performance across subsidiaries? How can managers overcome these difficulties?
A major problem that arises when evaluating the performance of foreign affiliates is the tendency by headquarters managers to judge subsidiary managers as if all of the evaluation data were comparable across countries. Unfortunately, many variables can make the evaluation information from one country look very different from that of another country, owing to circumstances beyond the control of a subsidiary manager. For example, one country may experience considerable inflation, significant fluctuations in the price of raw materials, political uprisings, or governmental actions. These factors are beyond the manager's control and are likely to have a downward effect on profitability—and yet, that manager may, in fact, have maximized the opportunity for long-term stability and profitability compared with a manager of another subsidiary who was not faced with such adverse conditions. Other variables influencing profitability patterns include transfer pricing, currency devaluation, exchange-rate fluctuations, taxes, and expectations of contributions to local economies. One way to ensure more meaningful performance measures is to adjust the financial statements to reflect the uncontrollable variables peculiar to each country where a subsidiary is located. This provides a basis for the true evaluation of the comparative return on investment (ROI), which is an overall control measure. Another way to provide meaningful, long-term performance standards is to take into account other nonfinancial measures. These measures include market share, productivity, sales, relations with the host-country government, public image, employee morale, union relations, and community involvement.
Describe the organizational structure and characteristics of transnational corporations.
A transnational corporation has the ability to manage across national boundaries, retaining local flexibility while achieving global integration. This ability involves linking foreign operations to each other and to headquarters in a flexible way so as to leverage local and central capabilities. This structure is less a matter of boxes on an organizational chart and more a matter of a network of the company's units and their system of horizontal communication. This involves lateral communication across networks of units and alliances rather than in a hierarchy. The system requires the dispersal of responsibility and decision making to local subsidiaries and alliances. The effectiveness of that localized decision making depends a great deal on the ability and willingness to share current and new learning and technology across the network of units. The matrix structure typical of the transnational company creates a complex coordination and control system as it attempts to combine: (1) the capabilities and resources of a multinational corporation, (2) the economies of scale of a global corporation, (3) the local responsiveness of a domestic company, and (4) the ability to transfer technology efficiently typical of the international structure.
Historically, a firm reorganizes as it internationalizes to ________.
Accomodate new strategies.
Overall, more managerial opportunities are available for ________ women than for women in most other countries.
American
________ 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
According to Berthoin, what are the different types of knowledge that can be gained abroad by global managers? How can firms ensure that they experience long-term benefits from this knowledge?
Berthoin described five types of knowledge gained abroad: 1. Knowledge about what (e.g., differences in customer preferences) 2. Knowledge about why (e.g., understanding how culture differences affect cross-cultural understanding) 3. Knowledge about how (e.g., management skills such as delegating responsibilities) 4. Knowledge about when (e.g., knowledge about the effect of timing) 5. Knowledge about who (e.g., relationships created over the life of an assignment) The management of the reentry phase of the career cycle is as vital as the management of the cross-cultural entry and training. Otherwise, the long-term benefits of that executive's international experience may be negated. A company may derive many potential benefits from carefully managing the careers of its expatriates. By helping managers make the right moves for their careers, the company will be able to retain people with increasing global experience and skills.
According to research, what practices should firms follow when making international assignments in order to ensure a high degree of job satisfaction and limited turnover?
Black and Gregersen's research of 750 U.S., European, and Japanese companies concluded that those companies reporting a high degree of job satisfaction and strong performance, and experiencing limited turnover, used the following practices when making international assignments: 1. They focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development. 2. They assign overseas posts to people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross-cultural abilities. 3. They end expatriate assignments with a deliberate repatriation process. A successful repatriation program starts before the assignment. The company's top management must set up a culture conveying the message that the organization regards international assignments as an integral part of continuing career development and advancement, and that it values the skills of the returnees. The company's objectives should be reflected in its long-range plans, commitment, and compensation on behalf of the expatriate.
Which of the following is true with regard to born globals?
Born globals operate in the international business arena right from their inception.
_______ refers to a process of negotiations between workers and managers.
Collective bargaining
Why are global companies increasingly abandoning rigid structures? How are they adapting to the changing global environment?
Companies are increasingly abandoning rigid structures in an attempt to be more flexible and responsive to the dynamic global environment. Some of the ways they are adapting are by transitioning to formats known as interorganizational networks, global e-corporation network structures, and transnational corporation network structures.
_______ represent members in several industries.
Conglomerate unions
_______ unions are based on certain occupational skills.
Craft
What is the difference between culture shock and subculture shock?
Culture shock is a state of disorientation and anxiety about not knowing how to behave in an unfamiliar culture. It occurs when the individual first begins working in a new culture. Subculture shock occurs when a manager is transferred to another part of the country where there are perceived cultural differences between majority and minority cultures. The shock comes from feeling like an "immigrant" in one's own country and being unprepared for such differences.
What are the different stages of culture shock as described by Oberg?
Culture shock usually progresses through four stages, as described by Oberg: (1) honeymoon, when positive attitudes and expectations, excitement, and a tourist feeling prevail (which may last up to several weeks); (2) irritation and hostility, the crisis stage when cultural differences result in problems at work, at home, and in daily living—expatriates and family members feel homesick and disoriented, lashing out at everyone (many never get past this stage); (3) gradual adjustment, a period of recovery in which the "patient" gradually becomes able to understand and predict patterns of behavior, use the language, deal with daily activities, and the family starts to accept their new life; and (4) biculturalism, the stage in which the manager and family members grow to accept and appreciate local people and practices, and are able to function effectively in two cultures.
Why is expatriate compensation complicated? What are some of the universal best practices regarding employee compensation?
Designing and maintaining an appropriate compensation package is more complex than it would seem because of the need to consider and reconcile parent- and host-country financial, legal, and customary practices. The problem is that although little variation in typical executive salaries at the level of base compensation exists around the world, a wide variation in net spendable income is often present. Universal best practices include the idea that there should be a reduced emphasis on seniority and that benefits should comprise an important part of a compensation package.
Which of the following is true with regard to direct coordinating mechanisms?
Direct coordinating mechanisms that provide the basis for the overall guidance and management of foreign operations include, the design of appropriate organizational structures and the use of effective staffing practices.
What are direct and indirect coordinating mechanisms?
Direct mechanisms that provide the basis for the overall guidance and management of foreign operations include the design of appropriate structures and the use of effective staffing practices. Such decisions proactively set the stage for operations to meet goals, rather than troubleshooting deviations or problems after they have occurred. Expatriates from "headquarters" exert control over the foreign affiliate through the expectations of the national and corporate culture of the parent company. If the staffing assignment is handled through third country nationals, it is likely that somewhat less of the corporate culture might be present locally, and certainly less of the national culture of the parent. Other direct mechanisms are visits by head- office personnel and regular meetings to allow employees around the world to consult and troubleshoot. Increasingly, those meetings comprise videoconferences to allow face-to-face, if not physical, interaction among managers around the world to enable faster and less-expensive frequent meetings. Indirect coordinating mechanisms typically include sales quotas, budgets, and other financial tools, as well as feedback reports, which give information about the sales and financial performance of the subsidiary for the last quarter or year.
________ staffing approach serves to perpetuate particular personnel selections and other decision-making processes because the same types of people are making the same types of decisions.
Ethnocentric
________ staffing approach usually results in a higher level of authority and decision making at headquarters compared to the polycentric approach.
Ethnocentric
Host-country nationals are employees assigned to key positions in countries other than their own. T or F?
FALSE
Briefly define the ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, and global staffing approaches.
Ethnocentric staffing approach is used to fill key managerial positions with people from the headquarters—that is, parent-country nationals (PCNs). With a polycentric staffing approach, local managers—host-country nationals (HCNs)—are hired to fill key positions in their own country. This approach is more likely to be effective when implementing a multinational strategy. In a regiocentric staffing approach, recruiting is done on a regional basis—say, within Latin America for a position in Chile. This staffing approach can produce a specific mix of PCNs, HCNs, and TCNs, according to the needs of the company or the product strategy. In the global staffing approach, the best managers are recruited from within or outside of the company, regardless of nationality. This practice—recruiting third country nationals (TCNs)— has been used for some time by many European multinationals.
________ are employees assigned to a country other than their own.
Expatriates
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.
Which of the following methods is used by many firms to reduce the overall costs of expatriate assignments?
Extending the expatriate's tour
A successful repatriation program starts after the first phase of the assignment has been completed. T or F?
FALSE
By transitioning to formats such as interorganizational networks, companies are abandoning traditional structures and switching to more rigid organizational structures. T or F?
FALSE
Enculturation refers to a state of disorientation and anxiety about not knowing how to behave in an unfamiliar culture. T or F?
FALSE
Expatriates are managers with global experience who are transferred to the organization's headquarters country, so their overseas business and cultural experience and contacts can facilitate interactions among the country's far-flung operations. T or F?
FALSE
Feelings of alienation due to the loss of contact with family, friends, and daily life speed up the resocialization process. T or F?
FALSE
For firms with diversified product lines that have different technological bases and are aimed at dissimilar or dispersed markets, a functional structure is far more strategically advantageous than a global product structure. T or F?
FALSE
In a polycentric staffing approach, recruiting is done on a regional basis and can produce a specific mix of PCNs, HCNs, and TCNs, according to the needs of the company or the product strategy. T or F?
FALSE
In general, decentralized decision making is common for functions such as finance, and research and development that are organized for the entire corporation, whereas other functions such as production, marketing, and sales are more appropriately centralized. T or F?
FALSE
Intel's "Platformisation" refers to customizing a range of chips in a combination suitable for a particular target market, as a response for the increasing need for speedy adaptation to the market. T or F?
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. T or F?
FALSE
Local managers can provide communication of strategic goals and change processes, and provide continuity among revolving expatriates and host nationals. T or F?
FALSE
Making decisions with more information and less uncertainty about the process and the outcome is referred as tolerance for ambiguity. T or F?
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. T or F?
FALSE
Regardless of the stage of internationalization, a firm's structural choices always involve two opposing forces: globalization and localization. T or F?
FALSE
The global functional structure typical of the transnational company creates a complex coordination and control system, as it attempts to combine the capabilities and resources of a multinational corporation. T or F?
FALSE
To ensure that expatriates do not lose out through their overseas assignment, the going-rate approach is often used to equalize the standard of living between the host country and the home country. T or F?
FALSE
Two major variables in choosing the structure and design of an organization are the opportunities and need for differentiation and integration. T or F?
FALSE
Typically, firms use highly formal means to help the accompanying spouse find a position at the same location. T or F?
FALSE
Variables such as transfer pricing and exchange-rate fluctuations do not influence profitability patterns. T or F?
FALSE
When a company is at the internationalization stage of strategic expansion, and has a centralized structure, it will likely use a polycentric staffing approach to fill key managerial positions. T or F?
FALSE
What are the factors that facilitate and hinder the integration of expatriate staff with local staff?
Factors that facilitate integration of expatriate staff with local staff are: 1. Relationship-building 2. Speaking the local language 3. Knowledge sharing 4. Cultural adaptability/flexibility 5. Respect 6. Overseas experience 7. Develop local value-added from venture 8. Encourage local innovation Factors that hinder integration of expatriate staff with local staff are: 1. Not using team concept 2. Not learning local language 3. Withholding useful information 4. Spouse and family problems in adjusting 5. Superior and autocratic behavior 6. Limited time in assignment 7. Headquarters mentality 8. Dominate from head office
Briefly describe the characteristics of the global geographic structure.
In the global geographic (area) structure—the most common form of organizing foreign operations-divisions are created to cover geographic regions. Each regional manager is responsible for the operations and performance of the countries within a given region. In this way, country and regional needs and relative market knowledge take precedence over product expertise. Local managers are familiar with the cultural environment, government regulations, and business transactions. In addition, their language skills and local contacts facilitate daily transactions and responsiveness to the market and the customer. While this is a good structure for consolidating regional expertise, problems of coordination across regions may arise.
Which of the following is true with regard to indirect coordinating mechanisms?
Indirect coordinating mechanisms typically include sales quotas.
________ is increasingly being recognized as a major determinant of success or failure in international business.
International human resource management
________ is the process by which a firm gradually changes in response to global competition; domestic market saturation; and the desire for expansion, new markets, and diversification.
Internationalization
________ is the ability to build teams and resolve conflicts.
Interpersonal facilitation
________ is optimized when career opportunities provided by the organization are congruent with repatriate career goals and aspirations.
Knowledge transfer
Which of the following is an advantage of the polycentric staffing approach?
Local managers tend to be instrumental in staving off or more effectively dealing with problems in sensitive political situations.
________ is most likely to reduce the effectiveness of an organizational structure.
Low adaptability
________ 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
Which of the following is true with regard to training and compensating host-country nationals?
Many multinationals wish to train their employees to bridge the divide between the firm's successful corporate culture and practices, and the local culture and work practices.
Which of the following is true with regard to the global geographic structure?
Marketing-oriented companies are most likely to opt for this structure.
With an ethnocentric staffing approach, host-country nationals are hired to fill key positions in their own country. T or F?
TRUE
Why do most firms shift from ethnocentric staffing to polycentric or regiocentric staffing methods?
Most MNCs tend to start their operations in a particular region by selecting primarily from their own pool of managers. Over time, and with increasing internationalization, they tend to move to a predominantly polycentric or regiocentric policy because of (1) increasing pressure (explicit or implicit) from local governments to hire locals (or sometimes legal restraints on the use of expatriates) and (2) the greater costs of expatriate staffing, particularly when the company has to pay taxes for the parent-company employee in both countries. In addition, in recent years, MNCs have noted an improvement in the level of managerial and technical competence in many countries, negating the chief reason for using a primarily ethnocentric policy in the past.
________ operate(s) outside the formal structure, focusing on innovation and improvement.
Parallel global virtual teams
________ are familiar with company goals, products, technology, policies, and procedures; they know how to get things accomplished through headquarters.
Parent-country nationals
________ are the most preferred staffing choice for a foreign subsidiary where proprietary technology is used extensively.
Parent-country nationals
________ are usually preferable when a high level of technical capability is required and maintenance of close control is desired.
Parent-country nationals
_______ is the first stage in a comprehensive plan for developing expatriates.
Problem recognition
A global staffing policy ________.
Provides a greater pool of qualified and willing applicants from which to choose
Which of the following is true with regard to the global staffing approach?
Recruiting third-country nationals is a common aspect of the global staffing strategy.
Discuss Tung's support systems to ensure a successful repatriation program.
Research into the practices of successful U.S., European, Japanese, and Australian multinational corporations (MNCs) indicates the use of one or more of the following support systems, as recommended by Tung, for a successful repatriation program: 1. A mentor program to monitor the expatriate's career path while abroad and upon repatriation. 2. As an alternative to the mentor program, the establishment of a special organizational unit for the purposes of career planning and continuing guidance for the expatriate. 3. A system of supplying information and maintaining contacts with the expatriate so that he or she may continue to feel a part of the home organization.
What are some of the operational challenges for global virtual teams with respect to language and communication?
Since the teams are composed of members from different nationalities and culture, there are translation difficulties, or at least variations in accents, semantics, terminology, and jargon. Lack of personal and physical contact inhibits trust- and relationship-building in many countries. Also, the social dynamics change. Additionally, lack of visibility of nonverbal cues makes interpretation difficult and creates two-way noise in the communication process.
Direct mechanisms that provide the basis for the overall guidance and management of foreign operations include the design of appropriate structures and the use of effective staffing practices. T or F?
TRUE
Effective human resource management of a company's global cadre ends with the successful repatriation of the executive into company headquarters. T or F?
TRUE
For a firm, the ability to develop a globally experienced top management team depends largely on the success of expatriates' assignments. T or F?
TRUE
Organization ________ refers to the formal arrangement of roles, responsibilities, and relationships within an organization.
Structure
What are some of the skills that are necessary for leaders of virtual global teams?
Successful virtual global team leaders have the following skills: (1) interpersonal facilitation, the ability to build teams and resolve conflicts; (2) task facilitation, the ability to convey goals and train team members to use the collaborative technology effectively; (3) resource acquisition; and (4) external alignment/vision, the ability to mesh the team's activities with the organization's goals.
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. T or F?
TRUE
A matrix structure is a hybrid organization of overlapping responsibilities. T or F?
TRUE
A polycentric recruiting approach enables a company to take advantage of its worldwide pool of management skill. T or F?
TRUE
A strategic business unit (SBU) is a self-contained business with its own functional departments and accounting systems. T or F?
TRUE
According to the study by Lazarova and Caligiuri, career planning sessions are associated with successful repatriation. T or F?
TRUE
Alienation or lack of support from headquarters is one of the major causes of expatriate failure. T or F?
TRUE
Building global corporate cultures and staffing organizations with global leaders are some of the major challenges faced by the HR function in the global arena. T or F?
TRUE
Companies using a polycentric staffing approach, avoid using parent-country nationals to fill in key managerial positions. T or F?
TRUE
Discuss the conflicts associated with transnational teams.
Teams comprising people located in far-flung operations are faced with often- conflicting goals of achieving greater efficiency across those operations, responding to local differences, and facilitating organizational learning across boundaries. Conflicts arise based on cultural differences, local work norms and environments, and varied time zones. A study by Joshi et al. of a 30-member team of human resource (HR) managers in six countries in the Asia- Pacific region showed that network analysis of the various interactions among team members can reveal when and where negative cross-cultural conflicts occur, and thus provide top management with information for conflict resolution, so a higher level of synergy may be attained among the group members. The advantages of synergy include a greater opportunity for global competition (by being able to share experiences, technology, and a pool of international managers) and a greater opportunity for cross-cultural understanding and exposure to different viewpoints. The disadvantages include problems resulting from differences in language, communication, and varying managerial styles; complex decision-making processes; fewer promotional opportunities; personality conflicts, often resulting from stereotyping and prejudice; and greater complexity in the workplace.
________ is described by Miles et al. as a collaborative, multi-firm network along with community-based structures, used by innovative firms such as Taiwan's Acer.
The I-form
Briefly describe the problems faced by headquarter managers attempting to maintain efficient coordination of activities across countries.
The MIS adequacy in foreign affiliates is a sticky problem for headquarters managers attempting to maintain efficient coordination of activities and consolidation of results. Another problem is the noncomparability of performance data across countries—the control problem caused by the difficulty of comparing performance data across various countries because of the variables that make that information appear different—which hinders the evaluation process.
Define labor relations. What are the three main dimensions of the labor-management relationship that a global manager needs to consider?
The term labor relations refers to the process through which managers and workers determine their workplace relationships. This process may be through verbal agreement and job descriptions, or through a union's written labor contract that has been reached through negotiation in collective bargaining between workers and managers. The three main dimensions of the labor-management relationship that the manager will consider are: (1) the participation of labor in the affairs of the firm, especially as this affects performance and well-being; (2) the role and impact of unions in the relationship; and (3) specific human- resource policies in terms of recruitment, training, and compensation.
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 true with regard to information systems in less-developed countries?
The accuracy and timeliness of information systems are often less than perfect in less- developed countries.
What are the major challenges presented by information systems in less-developed countries?
The accuracy and timeliness of information systems are often less than perfect, especially in less-developed countries, where managers typically operate under conditions of extreme uncertainty. Government information, for example, is often filtered or fabricated; other sources of data for decision making are usually limited. Employees are not used to the kinds of sophisticated information generation, analysis, and reporting systems common in developed countries. Their work norms and sense of necessity and urgency may also confound the problem. In addition, their available technology, and the ability to manipulate and transmit data are usually limited.
Which of the following is true with regard to a global product structure?
The advantages of this organizational form are market concentration, innovation, and responsiveness to new opportunities in a particular environment.
________ refers to an organization running its operations and opening subsidiaries worldwide right from the beginning.
The born-global phenomenon
What are the major variables that should be taken into account when designing a firm's organizational structure?
The design of an organization, as with any other management function, should be contingency-based, taking into account the variables of that particular system at that specific point in time. Major variables include the firm's strategy, size, and appropriate technology, as well as the environment in those parts of the world in which the firm operates. Given the increased complexity of the variables involved in the international context, it is no easy task to design the most suitable organizational structure and subsystems. In fact, research shows that most international managers find it easier to determine what to do to compete globally (strategy) than to decide how to develop the organizational capability (structure) to do it. Additional variables affecting structural choices-geographic dispersion as well as differences in time, language, cultural attitudes, and business practices-introduce further layers of complication.
Briefly discuss the interdependence of strategy, structure, and staffing.
The interdependence of strategy, structure, and staffing is particularly worth noting. Ideally, the desired strategy of the firm should dictate the organizational structure and staffing modes considered most effective for implementing that strategy. In reality, however, there is usually considerable interdependence among those functions. Existing structural constraints often affect strategic decisions; similarly, staffing constraints or unique sets of competencies in management come into play in organizational and sometimes strategic decisions. It is thus important to achieve a system of fits, among those variables, that facilitates strategic implementation.
What are the long-term consequences of an ineffective repatriation program?
The long-term implications of ineffective repatriation practices for any particular company are clear: few good managers will be willing to take international assignments because they will see what happened to their colleagues. If a certain manager lost out on promotion opportunities while overseas and is now, in fact, worse off than before he or she left, the only people willing to take on foreign assignments in the future will be either those who have not been able to succeed on the home front or those who think that a stint abroad will be like a vacation. In fact, research has shown that employees commonly see overseas assignments as negative career moves in some U.S. multinational companies.
Which of the following is true with regard to virtual teams?
The members of virtual teams interact through computer-mediated communication systems.
What are the three phases of the expatriate transition process? Briefly describe each phase.
The overall transition process experienced by the company's international management cadre over time comprises three phases of transition and adjustment that must be managed for successful socialization to a new culture and resocialization back to the old culture. These phases are: (1) the exit transition from the home country, the success of which will be determined largely by the quality of preparation the expatriate has received; (2) the entry transition to the host country, in which successful acculturation (or early exit) will depend largely on monitoring and support; and (3) the entry transition back to the home country or to a new host country, in which the level of reverse culture shock and the ease of re-acculturation will depend on previous stages of preparation and support.
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.
Who, among the following, when used to manage subsidiaries, usually brings more cultural flexibility and adaptability to a situation?
Third-country nationals
_______, when placed in key positions, are perceived by employees as acceptable compromises between headquarters and local managers.
Third-country nationals
What is true with regard to the structural evolution model?
This model has become known as the stages model, resulting from Stopford's research on 187 U.S. multinational corporations.
_______ 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
________ refers to the ability to manage across national boundaries, retaining local flexibility while achieving global integration.
Transnational capability
Which of the following is considered essential in light of the increasing proliferation of foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures?
developing effective transnational teams
Which of the following refers to focusing on and specializing in specific markets?
differentiation
Smaller firms are most likely to reorganize into ________ during their internationalization.
domestic structure plus export department
Which of the following is true of Ueno and Sekaran's study of Japanese and U.S. firms with regard to monitoring and reporting systems?
U.S. firms tend to use communication and coordination processes more extensively than Japanese firms.
_______ enable cost effective, rapid knowledge sharing and collaboration, but are fraught with cross-cultural and logistical challenges.
Virtual global teams
To be effective, firms reorganizing into a domestic structure plus foreign subsidiary in one or more countries should ________.
allow a great deal of autonomy to subsidiary managers
The downside of rationalization is ________.
a lack of differentiation and specialization for local markets
Centralized global product responsibility implies that ________.
a single manager at the headquarters is responsible for a specific product around the world
Which of the following refers to a training priority for e-business development?
addressing security and privacy concerns
Relocation expense is an example of a(n) ________.
allowance
Historically, personnel directors selected potential expatriates on the basis of a candidate's ________.
domestic track records
At persistent signs of ineffective work, a company should ________.
analyze its organizational design, systems, and work flow for the possible causes of those problems
According to Tung, which of the following refers to a training technique where the trainees are acquainted with documentary programs about the country's geography, economics, sociopolitical history, and so forth?
area studies
According to Mansour Javidan, which of the following is NOT a global mind-set attribute that a successful expatriates possesses?
autocratic leadership qualities
The ________ is often used to equalize the standard of living between the host country and the home country, and to add some compensation for inconvenience or qualitative loss.
balance sheet approach
To be effective, an organizational structure should ________.
be highly adaptable to the changing needs of the company
According to Oberg, which of the following is the final stage of culture shock?
biculturalism
As described by Oberg, ________ refers to the stage in culture shock in which the manager and family members grow to accept and appreciate local people and practices, and are able to function effectively in two cultures.
biculturalism
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
________ occurs as the migration of management and workplace practices around the world reduce workplace disparities from one country to another.
convergence
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 Tung, the ________ training technique exposes trainees to the kinds of situations they are likely to encounter, which are critical to successful interactions.
culture assimilators
A state of disorientation and anxiety that results from not knowing how to behave in an unfamiliar culture is called ________.
culture shock
The goal of cross-cultural training is to ease the expatriate's adjustment to the new environment by reducing ________.
culture shock
Which of the following is the final stage of the IHRM process that is used to maximize the effectiveness of expatriate assignments?
debriefing expatriate and family to improve IHRM process
With the increasing number of companies that operate around the world and assign and move personnel from one country to another, ________ has become exceedingly complex.
designing equitable pay scales
Which of the following is an advantage of the staffing approach that employs parent-country nationals as top managers?
maintenance of close control over subsidiaries
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
Using the Internet to streamline global supply systems ________.
enhances the efficiency of the supply chain
The mission of the International Labor Organization is to ________.
ensure that humane conditions of labor are maintained
Which of the following refers to a problem that firms with structurally sophisticated global networks are most likely to face?
environmental volatility
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
A(n) ________ policy is likely to be used where a company notes the inadequacy of local managerial skills and determines a high need to maintain close communication and coordination with headquarters.
ethnocentric
When the company is at the internationalization stage of strategic expansion and has a centralized structure, it will likely use a(n) ________ staffing approach to fill key managerial positions with PCNs.
ethnocentric
According to the ________ model, as the company becomes larger, more complex, and more sophisticated in its approach to world markets, it may evolve into a transnational corporation.
evolutionary stages
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
The best organizational structure is the one that ________.
facilitates the firm's goals and is appropriate to its industry, size, technology, and competitive environment
Research on expatriate assignments continues to show that ________.
females are disproportionately underrepresented in expatriate assignments
In general, centralized decision making is common for some functions such as ________.
finance
A ________ structure is the ideal way to organize work when global integration is more important than local responsiveness and the industry structure encourages cost leadership.
functional
In which of the following is a firm's foreign operations integrated into the activities and responsibilities of each department to gain operative specialization and economies of scale?
global functional structure
Which of the following organizational structures is particularly appropriate for product lines using similar technology and for businesses with a narrow spectrum of customers?
global functional structure
Marketing-oriented companies, such as Nestlé and Unilever, which produce a range of products that can be marketed through similar channels of distribution to similar customers, will usually opt for the ________.
global geographic structure
Which of the following is the most common form of organizing foreign operations in which divisions are created to cover various regions?
global geographic structure
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
Given the generally accepted consensus that staffing, along with structure and systems, must "fit" the desired strategy, firms desiring a truly worldwide posture should adopt a(n) ________.
global staffing approach
In which of the following staffing approaches, are the best managers recruited from within or outside of the company, regardless of nationality?
global staffing approach
A specific strategy that treats the world as one market by using a standardized approach to products and markets is called ________.
globalization
Two major variables in choosing the structure and design of an organization are the opportunities and need for ________.
globalization and localization
As described by Oberg, in the ________ stage of culture shock the expatriate and his or her family members come to understand and predict patterns of behavior, use the language, deal with daily activities, and accept their new life.
gradual adjustment
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
Which of the following is NOT a barrier for maintaining globalization momentum?
having an international team
What are global management teams? Why are they important to global firms?
he term global management team 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. Therefore, global teamwork is vital, as are the pockets of cross- cultural teamwork and interactions that occur at many boundaries. For the global company, worldwide competition and markets necessitate global teams for strategy development, both for the organization as a whole and for the local units to respond to their markets.
List the typical ways in which firms organize their international activities.
he typical ways in which firms organize their international activities are shown in the following list. Larger companies often use several of these structures in different regions or parts of their organization. 1. Domestic structure plus export department 2. Domestic structure plus foreign subsidiary 3. International division 4. Global functional structure 5. Global product structure 6. Matrix structure
Which of the following factors will hinder the integration of expatriate staff with local staff?
headquarters mentality
Which of the following can be termed as a benefit in the context of expatriate compensation?
health insurance
The ________ the level of the company at which managers make decisions, the more that organization is ________.
higher; centralized
The noncomparability of performance data across countries ________.
hinders the evaluation process
As described by Oberg, which of the following is most likely a characteristic of the irritation and hostility stage of culture shock?
homesickness
To address the globalization—localization dilemma, firms that have evolved through the multinational form and the global company seek the advantages of ________ in the pursuit of transnational capability.
horizontal organization
The traditional trade union structures in Western industrialized societies have been in ________, representing all grades of employees in a specific industry.
industrial unions
Which of the following refers to a financial variable in MNC reports that complicates financial statements and performance evaluations?
inflation level
Managerial training in ________ is particularly critical for firms in new economy and emerging markets.
information and communication technologies
More recently, a staffing option known as ________ has been utilized to provide a linking pin between the company's headquarters and local host subsidiaries.
inpatriates
_______ are managers with global experience who are transferred to the organization's headquarters country, so their overseas business and cultural experience and contacts can facilitate interactions among the country's far-flung operations.
inpatriates
The fundamental limitation of a matrix structure is that it ________
institutes a dual hierarchy that violates the unity-of-command principle
The fundamental limitation of a matrix structure is that it ________.
institutes a dual hierarchy that violates the unity-of-command principle
Which of the following refers to the coordination of specific markets?
integration
No matter what the stage of internationalization, a firm's structural choices always involve ________.
integration and differentiation
________ is one of the informal means that firms often use to help the trailing spouse find a position at the same location.
intercompany networking
A(n) ________ permits managers to allocate and coordinate resources for foreign activities under one roof, and thus enhances the firm's ability to respond, both reactively and proactively, to market opportunities.
international division
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 is a disadvantage of the ethnocentric staffing approach?
lack of managerial effectiveness of PCNs in foreign countries
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 factors adversely affects the accuracy and the timeliness of information systems in less-developed countries?
limited sources of data for decision making
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
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
The ________ pays the expatriate the going rate for similar positions in the host country, plus whatever allowances and benefits for the assignment that the manager negotiates.
localization approach
With the geographic structure, the focus is on ________, since products can be adapted to local requirements.
marketing
A ________ is a hybrid organization of overlapping responsibilities.
matrix structure
Which of the following is NOT a recommendation made by Govindarajan and Gupta for improving global teamwork?
minimize global exposure for all team members
A firm that uses an international division structure sometimes experiences intra- organizational conflict because ________.
more resources and management attention tend to get channeled toward the international division than toward the domestic divisions
An appropriate compensation and benefits package is most likely to ________.
motivate employees
Which of the following is/are particularly important in joint ventures for the purposes of strategic planning, implementation, and production?
multicultural teams
Historically, the geographic division structure is associated with companies pursuing ________ strategies.
multidomestic
The organizational culture has a low impact in a ________ strategy.
multidomestic
Which of the following is most likely to occur in the honeymoon stage of culture shock?
new arrivals are fascinated by aspects of the new culture
Which of the following indicates a need for change in organizational design?
new management with different goals and strategies
Which of the following is NOT an operational challenge for global virtual teams?
organizational objectives
Which of the following refers to a core concept of the Toyota Way?
ownership of problems and visibility
Kelly Roberts, an American, is a senior manager at her firm's headquarters in New York. Kelly is a(n) ________.
parent-country national
Training for host-country nationals during the export stage of globalization will most likely focus on ________.
parent-country products
Which of the following should ideally dictate the organizational structure and staffing needs of the firm?
the firm's strategy
Which of the following forms of organization is particularly appropriate in a dynamic and diverse environment?
the global product structure
Customizing a range of products in a combination suitable for a particular target market, as a response for the increasing need for speedy adaptation to the market, is known as ________.
platformisation
Which of the following is one of the forces working toward convergence in labor systems?
political changes
A(n) ________ staffing approach is more likely to be effective when implementing a multinational strategy.
polycentric
Which staffing approach will most likely be effective when implementing a global strategy of "acting local"?
polycentric
In ________, operations outside the home country are managed by individuals from the host country.
polycentric staffing
Expatriate failure, defined in broad terms, refers to the ________.
poor expatriate selection procedures of the MNE
In general, decentralized decision making is common for some functions such as ________.
production
In order to maximize a firm's global human resources, IHR managers need to ________.
promote the role of women in international management
According to Mansour Javidan, the ability to function successfully in the host country through internal acceptance of different cultures and a strong desire to learn from new experiences is termed ________.
psychological capital
Managers choose the manufacturing location for each product based on where the best combination of cost, quality, and technology can be attained in order to achieve ________.
rationalization
Which of the following will most likely produce a specific mix of parent-country nationals, home-country nationals, and third-country nationals, according to the needs of the company?
regiocentric staffing approaches
Which of the following does NOT represent a typical way in which firms organize their international activities?
regional structure
In addition to the global war for talent, there are considerable strategic competitive challenges for firms. Which of the following is one such challenge?
relocating operations around the world
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
An expatriate manager who returns after a few years from an overseas assignment to find that there is no position for him in his home country office experiences a(n) ________.
reverse culture shock
The psychological process of readapting to one's home culture after working in a host-country culture is called ________.
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
In their rush to get on the globalization bandwagon, too many firms have ________.
sacrificed the ability to respond to local market structures and consumer preferences
Which of the following terms is increasingly replacing the term "expatriate" due to the global staffing approach?
transpatriate
The feedback from the control process and the information systems should ________.
signal any necessary change in strategy, structure, or operations in a timely manner
Which of the following is a factor that facilitates integration of expatriate staff with local staff?
speaking the local language
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
The concept of "keeping the expatriate whole" in terms of compensation most likely means ensuring that the expatriate's ________.
standard of living is at par with that of colleagues at home
Which of the following refers to a self-contained business within a company with its own functional departments and accounting systems?
strategic business unit
According to Tye and Chen, which of the following characteristics has the greatest predictive value of determining expatriate success?
stress tolerance
Which of the following most likely occurs when a manager is transferred to another part of the country where there are significant cultural differences?
subculture shock
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
Most MNCs tend to start their operations in a particular region by selecting primarily from their own pool of managers. Over time, and with increasing internationalization, they tend to move to a predominantly polycentric or regiocentric policy because of ________.
the greater costs of expatriate staffing
In the global stage of a firm's globalization, ________.
the need for training is high
Meaningful, long-term performance standards can be provided by taking into account nonfinancial measures such as ________.
union relations
Which of the following is the LEAST critical area of expatriate preparation?
technical training
Which of the following refers to a force that favors global convergence?
technological standardization
The reasons for the different opportunities for women among various countries can often be traced to ________.
the cultural expectations of the host countries
To reconcile accounting statements, MNCs usually require ________ different sets of financial statements from subsidiaries.
three
The degree to which headquarters' practices and goals are transferable most likely depends on whether ________.
top managers are from the head office, the host country, or a third country
The ________ strategy involves maximizing opportunities for both efficiency and local responsiveness by adopting a structure that uses alliances, networks, and horizontal design formats.
transnational corporation
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
Indirect coordinating mechanisms typically include all of the following EXCEPT ________.
visits by head-office personnel