Chapter 11

Question 1

IHRM

Answer 1

International Human Resource Management

Question 2

Value of IHRM

Answer 2

• Identifying new international business opportunities.
• Facilitating adapting to changing conditions worldwide.
• Sharing innovation knowledge throughout the firm.
• Effectively coordinating subsidiary operations.
  -Conducting successful cross-border acquisitions.
• Maintaining a high-performing, committed overseas workforce.

Question 3

Possible Additional/Unique Responsibilities
of IHRM professionals

Answer 3

1. A wider variety of external variables that must be taken into account when making decisions
2. Need to manage a wider and more diverse mix of employees
3. A larger portfolio of human resource activities and functions
4. More direct exposure to international risk issues

Question 4

Effectively Managing Human Resources in Transition Economies - Strategies

Answer 4

Social Welfare Approach (e.g., used by some state-owned firms in China and Russia).
Cost-Containment Approach (e.g., used by U.S. firms with a cost-cutting mentality)
Invest-in-Employees Approach (e.g., used by Western firms with a high commitment philosophy)

Question 5

Parent-Country Nationals (PCNs)

Answer 5

Employees who have citizenship in the country where the hiring firm is headquartered.

Question 6

Expatriates (Expats)

Answer 6

A PCN who works overseas for an extended period.

Question 7

Boomerangs

Answer 7

Employees who are hired or chosen to return to their home countries to work for the multinational.

Question 8

Host-Country Nationals (HCNs)

Answer 8

Individuals from the country where a multinational has decided to set up a facility.

Question 9

Third country nationals (TCNs)

Answer 9

Employees who are citizens of a country other than that of the foreign subsidiary where they work or the country where the parent firm is based.

Question 10

International cadre

Answer 10

A talented group of managers who are sent to any country and successfully represent the firm’s values.

Question 11

Permanent Expatriates

Answer 11

Employees who stay on at one or more foreign subsidiaries for an extended period of years.

Question 12

inpatriates

Answer 12

Foreign employees working abroad who are brought to the home country where the parent firm is based to fill a temporary position at corporate headquarters for as long as a few years.

Question 13

Factors Affecting International Staffing Options:

Answer 13

The firm’s international business strategy.
Integration of IHRM into the firm’s strategic decision-making process.
National cultural values of the parent firm.

Question 14

Approaches to International Staffing

Answer 14

Geocentric Philosophy
Stresses ability and performance when selecting international staff, without regard to nationality.

Ethnocentric Philosophy
Is an approach in which headquarters makes all key decisions and foreign subsidiaries have little autonomy or input.

Polycentric Philosophy
Places human resource management control in the hands of the foreign subsidiary, although headquarters still makes broad strategic decisions.

Regiocentric Philosophy
Moves foreign employees from country to country in a particular region, rather than into headquarters positions.

Question 15

Developing International Managers

Answer 15

Rotate promising managers through different foreign assignments over several years.
Identify and cultivate talent at local levels worldwide.
Recruit foreign students who want to work in their home country after graduation.
Focus on employees who are fluent in multiple languages, open to other cultures, and willing to tackle overseas assignments.
Use global training programs to bring high-potential managers from all over the world to work together on a variety of projects in a simulated environment.

Question 16

Home-Country Culture Influences:

Answer 16

How an individual is assessed (what is considered about an individual’s values, background, and personal characteristics) during the selection process.

How successful training programs are when matched to the values and culture of the employees being trained.

Question 17

Managing Equal Opportunity and Organizational Diversity in an International Context

Answer 17

Legal Requirements
It is illegal for U.S. firms to discriminate against U.S. citizens working abroad on the basis of color, sex, race, religion, or national origin.
U.S. firms can sidestep this requirement only if complying with U.S. law means a local law will be violated.

Cultural Differences
The American view that everyone deserves equal opportunity is a cultural value not viewed the same way everywhere.

Question 18

Expatriates and the Consequences of Failure

Answer 18

Premature return, Waster relocation costs, waster preparation and support costs, other indirect costs, Ineffective performance, Turnover after repratiation.

Question 19

Cross-National Diversity

Answer 19

Occurs in a corporate environment in which frequent interactions occur between parent-, host-, and third-country nationals.

Question 20

Intranational Diversity

Answer 20

Occurs in a corporate environment in which frequent interactions occur between employees from a specific country who represent different races, ethnic groups, and so on.

Question 21

Synergistic Multiculturalism

Answer 21

Involves being open to the positive aspects of all cultures and attempts to leverage cultural differences in ways that benefit the company.

Question 22

Parochialism

Answer 22

Is an approach to managing cultural diversity in which the firm believes its way is the only way and cultural diversity is ignored.

Question 23

Ethnocentrism

Answer 23

Is an approach to managing cultural diversity in which the firm believes its way is the best way and tries to smooth out differences across the firm by imposing corporate values.

Question 24

Factors affecting expatriate selection.

Answer 24

Nature of the assignment.
Availability of appropriate training.
Assignment location.
Personal fit of the expatriate.

Question 25

Selection of Expatriates

Answer 25

Interviews.
Personality and skills tests.
Performance on training exercises.
Review of past accomplishments.

Question 26

Training for expatriates

Answer 26

Goals of Preparation/Training for Overseas Assignments
To help expatriates be effective in their assignments as quickly as possible.
To minimize adjustment difficulties that expatriates and their families face, in both their new environment and after they return.

Question 27

Cultural Toughness

Answer 27

Is the extent to which a foreign culture is different from a person’s home environment, making adjustment more difficult in an expatriate context.

Question 28

Trends in expatriate preparation

Answer 28

• Wider and Deeper Training Programs
• Continued Improvement in Training
• Self-Preparation and Training
• Involvement of Families

Question 29

Returning Home: The Challenge of Repatriation

Answer 29

Repatriation Problems
Changes in home country and in expatriate’s values.
Changes in home office require major adjustments and new learning on return.
Difficulties in experiencing a new job after return.
Reorienting to living conditions in the home country.
Feeling unappreciated by the firm after performing well overseas.
Adjusting to a lower standard of living after returning home (no more pay premiums or fancy benefits).