Lecture 13

Question 1

National culture impacts the way human resource is managed in various areas:

Answer 1

Selection process of manpower

Training process

Socialization of employees

The performance and efficiency of manpower

Evaluation and control of manpower

Question 2

In Europe, beyond the national culture, the following factors have an impact on the way human resource management strategy is managed and constructed:

Answer 2

Existing government policy (changeable)

Labor union role in HRM policy

Work councils

Employment policy, practice and tradition (long-term)

Question 3

US approaches manpower management with an emphasis on doing oriented cultural behavior

Answer 3

The market perceives HR as capital and raw material

As long as immigration continues to flow in, such policy is likely to continue

Question 4

European culture approaches manpower strategy is based on being oriented cultural behavior

Answer 4

Societies expect sociological approach to manpower policy

As Europe is moving towards a united regions (EU), its traditional emphasis on being activity is under revision due to the unrestricted immigration of highly educated manpower from the former East European countries and currently receiving huge number of immigration form Middle East countries

European human resource policy, in the future, may look like the current policy in the US

Question 5

When K-mart opened its branch in Czech Republic, the US training of marketers style emphasized

Answer 5

“smiling when greeting customers.”

Question 6

Ikea’s hiring practice emphasizes on not to be __ is very different than that of US, thus Ikea preaches, humility, modesty and respect.

Answer 6

“flashy when greeting customes,” status oriented, but “straightforward”

Question 7

Both management styles are founded on different principles, but both would need

Answer 7

flexibility should they seek acceptance in the domestic respective markets.

Question 8

Both British and Japanese look for __ manager”. Both HRM policies anticipate that young managers will have problem of being accepted by senior employees

Answer 8

“matured-age

Question 9

Firms and governments, in both countries, when hiring individuals for higher managerial position, recruiters might emphasize on the manager’s

Answer 9

school background.

Question 10

Spanish higher level of management policy favors education with an emphasis on

Answer 10

economics and law contents

Spanish human resource management policy prefers managers, who have a background of humanist background

Question 11

French companies are inclined to hire from the French Grande Ecoles with an emphasis on

Answer 11

militaristic technical education.

most high government and industry management positions in France are filled by a very tight elitist group.

Question 12

The Germans prefer individuals with technical background to be placed in

Answer 12

high level of management positions

Question 13

Japanese HRM

Corporations bid for graduates from

Answer 13

famous schools

Question 14

Japanese HRM

Graduates from “neglected” schools and women offer a

Answer 14

competitive advantage to foreign firms (they focus on right people from right school, so foreign companies use the “leftover manpower” that is approachable)

Question 15

Japanese HRM

foreign female managers are expected to have less barriers in

Answer 15

the Japanese HR hiring process as they are seen primarily as foreigners

Question 16

Chinese hiring practice of managers

Hiring has to be through the process of:

Answer 16

Foreign enterprise cooperative office

Local labor bureau

Personal connection of the employee

Question 17

Multinational firms when hiring managers, might need to pay attention to:

Answer 17

the perception of societies on their school system

how to incorporate those values with the headquarters’ strategy

how to take advantage of the domestic company’s “blind spot” (to hire the graduates from the “forgotten schools”).

Question 18

Lessons for Foreign Companies:

Answer 18

graduates from non-elite schools are much cheaper

such graduates are more approachable and likeable by the common man

these graduates can attract more customers

Question 19

The successful manager of a foreign affiliate must be able to operate efficiently in one culture and explain operations in that culture to executives in another culture.

Sources of such manager can be:

Answer 19

The home country

The host country

A third country

Question 20

The country in which an international company (IC) has its worldwide headquarters is called the

Answer 20

home country.

Question 21

Employees who are citizens of the home country are called

Answer 21

home country nationals.

Question 22

A foreign subsidiary often cannot find suitable host country personnel for

Answer 22

management jobs.

Question 23

Home country citizens are used abroad to

Answer 23

broaden their experience to become high-level managers at headquarters.

Question 24

Some firms want at least __ in their foreign subsidiaries.

Answer 24

one home country manager

Question 25

Subsidiaries within the international company are often located in

Answer 25

countries other than the home country.

Question 26

Host country managers can be:

Answer 26

Cheaper than home country nationals

They can neutralize tensions that can arise between a foreign firm and the local people/government officials

Useful in penetrating local markets

Question 27

Disadvantage of hiring local managers

Answer 27

Local managers are often unfamiliar with the home country of the international company (IC) and with its policies and practices.

The best of the local managers may be pirated away by local firms or other IC subsidiaries.

There can be a conflict of loyalty between the host country and the employer.

Question 28

Third country nationals

Answer 28

An employee who is a citizen of neither the home nor the host country.

An employer should not count on cost savings in using third country nationals.

Salaries for these employees may be higher than what American companies are paying at comparable position levels.

Question 29

Home Country Nationals (people from the head quarter):

Answer 29

If a country feels that it probably will send home countries abroad,
it will frequently encourage them to study the language and culture of the country to which they are going.
A large problem that has plagued employers is caused by the families of executives transferred overseas.

Question 30

Host Country Nationals Hired in Home Country

Answer 30

Multinationals try to solve the business technique problem by hiring host country students on their graduation from home country business schools.

Brain-drain is sometime controversial

Reverse Brain Drain is a possibility

Question 31

The number of host country citizens graduating from home country universities is limited. Therefore, multinationals must

Answer 31

recruit locally for their management positions.

Question 32

Advantages of hiring third country nationals

Answer 32

Third country nationals may accept lower wages and benefits than will employees from the home country.

They may also come from a culture similar to that of the host country.

Question 33

As multinationals increasingly take the geocentric view toward promoting, there is likely to be evidence of increased use of

Answer 33

third country nationals

Question 33

As multinationals increasingly take the geocentric view toward promoting, there is likely to be evidence of increased use of

Answer 33

third country nationals

Question 34

Extra care should be taken not to inspire conflicts, in case that, the third country national is

Answer 34

unwelcome

Question 35

Sources of training

Geocentric

Answer 35

Related to hiring and promoting employees on the basis of ability and experience without considering race of citizenship.

Question 36

Expatriate

Answer 36

A person living outside of his or her country of citizenship.

Question 37

Nine out of ten expatriates’ failures are

Answer 37

family-related.

Question 38

Unhappy spouses are the biggest reason for employees asking to

Answer 38

go home early.

Question 39

The company will be losing a “million-dollar corporate-training investment” in order to

Answer 39

train expatriate’s family members.

Question 40

The English speakers are stuck in a language trap:

Answer 40

The English language has become the lingua franca of the world.

English is everybody’s second language.

There is culture context misunderstand between cultures.