GPHR Study Questions - Untimed Test Flashcards
A home country office with separate country offices reporting to the home country.
International Organizational Structure
A reporting structure that is based on functional departments reporting to home office.
Functional Organizational Structure
A global organization that focuses resources without reference to national origins.
Transnational Operational Structure
Each region operates independently and reports to CEO.
Regional or Geographical Organizational Structure
What is the most likely strategy of a multi-national corporation that purchases a poorly performing competitor in another country?
Completely absorb the acquired company into the parent organization.
A primary benefit of establishing centers of excellence within the international HR function is to:
Share HR best practices among locations.
The best time for an organization to establish a formal international HR program is when:
Subsidiary business activity in more than one country reaches beyond basic import-export functions.
In many European countries, a common trend in the HR function is a decrease in the:
Size of HR departments in relation to the overall size of the staff.
A company has developed a strategy that requires a merger or acquisition. Once the company has scanned the environment and collected data, which process should occur before selecting a target to merge with or acquire?
Scenario planning
What is a common alternative to greenfield investments and strategic alliances as a vehicle for internationalization?
Acquisitions
What are Greenfield Investments (GI)?
A foreign direct investment (FDI) where a company establishes operations in a foreign country
Why are acquisitions necessary?
Acquisitions allow Multi-National Companies (MNCs) to obtain another company that already has its structures, processes and business in place. It also allows the main company to maintain control and ramp up its internationalization quickly.
What is a disadvantage when forming a strategic alliance?
Companies do not always have control over their partners’ operations.
What is outsourcing?
A business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally
What is an equity investment?
When an investor purchases shares of a company in the stock market, becoming a partial owner of the company. The investor receives a share of the company’s assets and profits, and may benefit from the company’s success
What is a territorial market agreement?
A legal document that outlines the distribution of a company’s products or services across a particular geographic area.
What does a territorial market agreement do?
The agreement sets the terms and conditions for selling, marketing, and distributing the products or services within a designated territory.
The best approach to becoming an employer of choice is with:
Employer branding.
Why are Centers of Excellence important to a business strategy?
Centers of Excellence drive leading practices and processes by applying deep HR functional domain knowledge, a strong understanding of business imperatives, and market trends to deliver thought leadership.
What are some benefits of a Centers of Excellence?
Centralize administrative activities.
Increase communication across locations.
Ensure that parent-country HR practices are known and followed.
What is a benefit of Formal International HR Program?
It will allow a company to be set up for future growth and setting standards
What is not necessary when establishing a Formal International HR Program?
It is not always necessary to send expats to work in foreign locations.
There is no requirement for a specific number of countries; rather it will be dependent on each organization’s own global expansion.
It is not necessary for feasibility studies to be conducted in order for an organization to establish a formal international HR program
European countries and its businesses are generally more established and therefore more likely to ___________.
Outsource
At what stage does communication planning occur during the M&A process?
The Final Stage
What are two steps that occur before the M&A strategy is developed?
Due Diligence & Financial Analysis
What is Employer branding?
The term commonly used to describe reputation as an employer, and its value proposition to its employees, as opposed to its more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to customers.
Which of the following would be the most advisable method for reducing expatriate costs without threatening return on investment (ROI)?
Shorten assignment lengths
Eliminate foreign service premiums.
Tighten policies and limit the number of exceptions.
What area does the expatriate receive coaching/training in?
Business etiquette, interpersonal communication, leadership styles and labor relations
Which of the following would be the least advisable method for reducing expatriate costs without threatening return on investment (ROI)?
Increase use of unaccompanied assignments.
What is the most important challenge to the effectiveness of a pre-departure, cross-cultural training program?
Applicability of the program to diverse cultures
Why is cross cultural training important?
It assists the expatriate and his family to understand cultural differences in their new country. It reduces the stress of the relocation and provides coping strategies.
Which term best describes people who live in one country but regularly travel to other countries to perform some aspect of their work?
International commuters
What is an unaccompanied assignee?
Assignments in which the employee cannot bring their families on the overseas assignment.
What are reverse expatriates?
Bringing home an expat who has been abroad for a significant period of time, to the point that they feel the overseas location is now their “home.”
What are domestic employees?
Employees who live and work in the home office and country.
What is the primary expatriate selection criterion?
Technical competence
Which of the following countries does not require an employment contract?
United States
The best predictor of success for a potential international assignee is the ability to:
Perform specific job tasks and function well in a different culture.
What are two examples of being successful on an international assignments?
Adaptable to change and willing to embrace the challenges of working on an international assignment.
What are most often cited by expatriates as contributing to assignment success?
Role autonomy and job discretion
A formal group work structure or hierarchy would be preferred by virtual team members residing in:
Germany
What term describes expatriates who remain in their jobs despite their ineffective performance?
Brownouts
The mindset that allows one to live and work successfully across cultures is called:
Global
What is a global mindset?
Mindset that can be defined as one that is open-minded, adaptable, and curious.
When interacting with employees from a Latin American country, it is appropriate to expect them to
Carry on simultaneous conversations.
Employers make annual contributions based on estimates of future retirement plan performance to:
A defined benefit pension plan.
What is a cash balance pension plan?
A pension plan under which an employer credits a participant’s account with a set percentage of his or her yearly compensation plus interest charges.
What is a profit sharing plan?
A contribution plan that lets companies help employees save for retirement and the contributions from the employer are discretionary.
What is an umbrella pension plan?
A fund that pools the retirement investments of multiple employers thereby reducing the average cost per member and enhancing the overall returns and benefits to both the employer and the employees.
The most prevalent global stock program is:
stock options.
The governing principle of the European community regarding the right to annual leave is:
A fundamental social right which cannot be taken away from any worker.
True or False: The EU has labor laws that mandate unpaid annual leave for workers.
False. The EU labor laws mandates that the annual leave for European employees as a paid leave.
True or False: Works Councils do not always make decisions regarding annual leave
True. Works Councils do not always make those decisions
Which of the following is the practice that ensures that international assignees neither gain nor lose with regard to home-country income and social taxes?
Tax equalization
What is tax compliance?
Obeying the tax law
What is tax protection?
The process that reimburses assignees the excess taxes that they incur while on international assignment but will incur the responsibility for the pay of all actual home and host country taxes.
What is tax gross-up?
increasing reimbursements or wages for workers, for the taxes paid on some portion of their income, usually from a one-time payment such as relocation expenses.
Collectively bargained multi-employer pension programs that supplement social security are mandatory in:
France
What are some ideals that expatriates consider as preferences while on their international assignments?
If role autonomy and job discretion exist, the expats have the room to make decisions and operate independently without any micromanagement from the home office.
Which of the following terms refers to the practice of paying international transfers essentially the same salary as local nationals in equivalent positions?
Localization
What is most important to consider when implementing an international performance management system?
Relevance
Which of the following is the most prevalent pay-mix practice for executive managers in global organizations?
Local-based salary and short-term incentives, but long-term incentives consistent globally
Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), how is bribery defined?
Paying agents to do something inconsistent with the purpose of their position
Which country generally does not require employers to justify dismissal of employees?
United States
What has been the trend in the European Union (EU) for union membership by employees over the last two decades?
What is a Monochronic Culture?
A culture that focuses on one conversation or topic at a time.
True or False: Latin American is a monochronic Culture
False: It is a polychronic culture
What is a polychronic culture?
A culture that focuses on multiple topics or conversations at one time.
What is a unique factor regarding France’s pension program?
Unlike other countries, France’s pension plan is built into its country’s social security programs. It requires collectively bargained multi-employer pension programs to supplement social security
What is pay (salary protection) for assignees?
A process that reimburses an assignee the excess taxes they incur while on an international assignment, paying for all country and home taxes.
What is standardization pay for assignees?
The process to which a company pays all employees a standard amount
