Thomas4e Test Bank 10 (14665)

Instructor Resource
Thomas/Peterson, Cross-Cultural Management, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018
Test Bank
Chapter 10: The Challenge of International Assignments
Multiple Choice
1. Employees sent to foreign countries for temporary assignments are called ______.
A. paradoxes
B. expatriates
C. polycentrics
D. individualists
Ans: B
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Challenge of International Assignments
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Ann’s organization has sent her to Canada for a 3-year assignment. In her role, Ann will be considered
a(n) ______.
A. expatriate
B. individualist
C. third country national
D. ethnocentric
Ans: A
Cognitive Domain: Application
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. The term ______ is used to encompass both the experience of firms with staffing with expatriates and
the experience of these employees with an overseas assignment.
A. polycentric
B. geocentric
C. contradiction
D. expatriate experience
Ans: D
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
4. The ______ staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using local foreign managers only.
A. polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: A
Answer Location: The Role of Expatriates
Instructor Resource
5. Acme Global has subsidiaries in 10 countries. Its staffing strategy is to use local foreign managers only
in each subsidiary. This staffing strategy is considered ______.
A. polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: A
6. The ______ staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using mostly home country
managers.
A. polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: B
7. The headquarters of Oceanic Corp. is in the United States but it has subsidiaries in 10 countries. Its
staffing strategy is to use managers from the United States to staff each subsidiary. This staffing strategy
is considered ______.
A. polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: B
8. The ______ staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using a mix of nationalities at
home and abroad in management.
A. polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: C
Instructor Resource
9. Umbrella Corp. has subsidiaries in 10 countries. Its staffing strategy is to use managers from around
the world to staff each subsidiary. Umbrella Corp. hires whoever is the best manager for the subsidiary,
regardless of nationality. This staffing strategy is considered ______.
A. polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: B
10. The ______ staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using a mix of nationalities
within regions.
A. polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: D
11. Acme International has subsidiaries in 10 countries. Its staffing strategy is to use a mix of
nationalities to manage each subsidiary. Managers are selected from the region in which the subsidiary
is located. This staffing strategy is considered ______.
A. Polycentric
B. ethnocentric
C. geocentric
D. regiocentric
Ans: D
12. The staffing strategy of a multinational organization is affected by all of the following EXCEPT:
A. its stage of internationalization
B. the recruitment strategy
C. the size and the task complexity of its foreign affiliates
D. the cultural distance of the affiliate from headquarters
Ans: B
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
13. Individual staffing decisions reflect the overall firm-level staffing strategy mentioned previously,
whether or not this strategy is made explicit. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons
organizations typically transfer personnel internationally?
Instructor Resource
A. To fill a technical requirement

B. To develop the manager
C. To develop the organization
D. To provide the manager with a vacation
Ans: D
Answer Location: Individual Staffing Decisions
Difficulty Level: Hard
14. Managerial performance in the domestic setting and ______ is the main selection criterion for
foreign assignments.
A. technical competences
B. domestic setting
C. financial gain
D. perceived risk
Ans: A
Answer Location: Selection of Managers for Overseas Assignments
15. Which of the following is NOT one of the typical motives found for workers in the United States for
accepting a foreign assignment?
A. A sense of vocation
B. Financial rewards
C. The desire to escape undesirable circumstances at home
D. Organizational loyalty
Ans: D
Answer Location: Decision to Accept an Overseas Assignment
16. The definitions of success of a foreign assignment include all the following EXCEPT:
A. career advancement
B. turnover
C. adjustment
D. task performance
Ans: A
Answer Location: Definitions of Success
17. The most frequently used measure of expatriate success (or failure) has in the past been ______.
B. turnover
C. adjustment
D. task performance
Ans: B
Instructor Resource
Answer Location: Turnover

18. In a foreign assignment, most organizations measure ______ as the intent to remain on assignment
for the time originally agreed upon.
B. turnover
C. adjustment
D. task performance
Ans: B
Answer Location: Turnover
19. A psychological definition of ______ in a foreign assignment is a condition consisting of a

relationship with the environment in which needs are satisfied and the ability to meet physical and
social demands exists.
A. turnover
B. success
C. adjustment
D. performance
Ans: C
Answer Location: Adjustment
20. The traditional three dimensions of adjustment to a foreign assignment include all of the following
EXCEPT:
A. general living adjustment
B. cuisine adjustment
C. work adjustment
D. interaction adjustment
Ans: B
21. In the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment, everything is new,
exciting, and interesting and the new environment intrigues the expatriate in much the same way as if
the expatriate was a tourist.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: C
Instructor Resource
22. Ryan’s expatriate assignment to Norway is exciting. He feels that he is still a tourist in the country
and everything is new. Ryan is in the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign
environment.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: C
23. At the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment, the expatriate becomes
frustrated and confused because the environment is not providing familiar cues.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: D
24. Nancy’s expatriate assignment to Ireland is not going well. She is confused by how meetings are
conducted and seems to miss much of the implicit communication in the office. She finds the whole
thing to be frustrating. Nancy is at the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign
environment.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: D
25. At the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment, the expatriate begins to
understand cultural differences, learns the ways to get things done, and begins to settle into the rhythm
of daily living in the foreign country.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: B
Instructor Resource
26. Martha feels like she has made several breakthroughs in her expatriate assignment to Iceland. She
has learned several new ways to get things done and has settled into the daily rhythm of life in the
country. Martha is at the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: B
27. At the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment, the expatriate can
function in the new culture almost as well as at home.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: A
28. Terri has found ways to be effective at her expatriate job in Switzerland. In fact, she can function
equally well in the new culture as she can in her home culture. Terri is at the ______ stage of the cycle
of adjustment to the foreign environment.
A. mastery
B. adjustment
C. honeymoon
D. culture shock
Ans: A
29. The assumption that good adjustment to a new culture during an expatriate assignment leads
directly to good performance is probably a(n) ______.
A. oversimplification
B. fundamental truth
C. interaction
D. moderator
Ans: A
Answer Location: Adjustment–Performance Relationship
Instructor Resource
30. Which of the following is NOT a performance measure of whether a foreign assignment is
successful? If the expatriate:
A. meets the performance expectations of quality and quantity of both home country and host country
superiors
B. develops and maintains satisfactory relationships with local nationals
C. acquires skills related to managing people of different cultures
D. finishes the assignment ahead of schedule
Ans: D
31. Which of the following is NOT a behavior or personal ability identified by individuals who described
themselves as being satisfied with and functioning well in a foreign culture as being important to their
success?
A. The ability to manage psychological stress
B. The ability to communicate effectively
C. The ability to establish interpersonal relationships
D. The ability to perform the task they were assigned
Ans: D
Answer Location: Individual Factors
32. Two individual factors with established linkages to expatriate success are the ability of the overseas
employee to communicate in the host country language and previous ______.
A. adaptability
B. family situation
C. international experience
D. social skills
Ans: C
33. Which of the following was NOT identified as one of the main reasons organizations would hesitate
to send women on an expatriate assignments?
A. Foreigners’ prejudice against women
B. Dual careers
C. Lack of language fluency
D. Selection bias
Ans: C
34. Reviews of cross-cultural training for expatriates find that training is positively related to all of the
following EXCEPT:
Instructor Resource
A. self-development (self-oriented skills, perceptual skills, and relational skills)

B. adjustment
C. length of assignment
D. relationships with host nationals
Ans: C
Answer Location: Job and Organizational Factors
35. The extent to which the host country culture is ______ from the expatriate’s home culture is
typically thought to make the adjustment process more difficult.
A. different
B. closely related
C. similar
D. predictable
Ans: A
Answer Location: Environmental Factors
36. The logic behind the effect of social support on the expatriate experience is that being able to draw
on social relationships provides a mechanism for dealing with the ______ associated with an overseas
assignment.
A. language
B. stress
C. tax implications
D. culture
Ans: B
37. Reentry to one’s home country after an expatriate assignment is referred to as ______.
A. honeymoon
B. culture shock
C. repatriation
D. retrieval
Ans: C
38. Unlike the domestic job changer, the ______ is likely to be confronted with individual and home
country changes simultaneously.
A. repatriate
B. foreigner
C. third country national
D. host country national
Instructor Resource
Ans: A
39. While individuals recognize that a foreign assignment may not have a positive effect on their career,
they accept it because they view the experience as ______.
A. positive for their personal and professional development
B. a way to make money
C. being a team player
D. necessary for their next promotion
Ans: A
Answer Location: Outcomes of Overseas Assignments and Global Careers
40. The effect of an overseas assignment on the longer term career of managers depends in part on how
a person views his or her career. From a traditional “move up the career ladder” perspective, expatriate
assignments ______.
A. have little effect
B. do not seem to have positive effects
C. create huge gains in career advancement
D. most often have negative effects
Ans: B
41. A career perception in which individuals view their careers with a subjective sense of where one is
going in one’s work life is referred to as a ______ career.
A. boundaryless
B. bounded
C. discrete
D. conditional
Ans: A
True or False
1. Managers on temporary assignments overseas continue to play a very important role in managing
today’s global organizations.
Ans: T
Instructor Resource
2. An ethnocentric staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using local foreign managers
only.
Ans: F
3. An ethnocentric staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using home country

managers predominately.
Ans: T
4. A geocentric staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using a mix of nationalities at

home and abroad.
Ans:
5. A geocentric staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using a mix of nationalities

within regions.
Ans: F
6. An influential study of why firms might fill an overseas position with an expatriate suggested that
firms transferred personnel internationally for one of three reasons: to fill a technical requirement, to
develop the manager, or to develop the organization.
Ans: T
Answer Location: Individual Staffing Decisions
7. Early studies found that the motives of people from the United States for accepting an assignment
were (a) a sense of vocation, (b) financial rewards, and (c) the desire to escape undesirable
circumstances at home.
Ans: T
Answer Location: Decision to Accept an Overseas Assignment
8. Whether an overseas assignment is viewed as a success or failure can be measured in three primary
ways: turnover, adjustment, and task performance.
Ans: T
Instructor Resource

9. Repatriation is a simple process. As workers return home, they easily readjust to their former lives.
Ans: F
Answer Location: Repatriation
10. For most expatriates the repatriate experience is qualitatively different from the expatriate
experience.
Ans: T
11. Management development may be a key reason that an individual is sent on an overseas
assignment, and personal development is an often reported outcome of overseas experience.
Ans: T
12. Multicultural experience has been found to enhance individual creativity and even results in higher
promotion rates and enhanced professional reputations.
Ans: T
Completion (Fill in the Blank)

1. ______ is used to describe both the experience of firms with staffing with expatriates and the
experience of these employees with an overseas assignment.
Ans: Expatriate experience
2. The ______ staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using local foreign managers only.
Ans: polycentric
3. The ______ staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using mostly home country
managers.
Ans: ethnocentric
Instructor Resource

4. The ______ staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using a mix of nationalities within
regions.
Ans: regiocentric
5. In the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment, everything is new,
exciting, and interesting and the new environment intrigues the expatriate in much the same way as if
the expatriate was a tourist.
Ans: honeymoon
6. At the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment, the expatriate begins to
understand cultural differences, learns the ways to get things done, and begins to settle into the rhythm
of daily living in the foreign country.
Ans: adjustment
7. At the ______ stage of the cycle of adjustment to the foreign environment, the expatriate can
function in the new culture almost as well as at home.
Ans: mastery
8. A career perception in which individuals view their careers with a subjective sense of where one is
going in one’s work life is referred to as a ______ career.
Ans: boundaryless
Essay
1. Describe the four staffing strategies of multinational organizations that involve the use of expatriates.
Ans: Polycentric: local foreign managers only.
Ethnocentric: home country managers predominate.
Geocentric: a mix of nationalities at home and abroad.
Regiocentric: a mix of nationalities within regions.
Instructor Resource
2. Discuss the main factors that impact the staffing strategy of multinational organizations?
Ans: The staffing strategy of an MNO is affected by its stage of internationalization, its country of origin,
the size and the task complexity of its foreign affiliates, and the cultural distance of the affiliate from
headquarters.
3. Discuss the different ways the success of expatriates in foreign assignments has been measured.
Ans: Definitions vary widely. Traditionally, success has been defined primarily as three outcomes of the
expatriate experience: turnover, adjustment, and task performance.
4. Describe the relationship between expatriate adjustment to the foreign assignment and job
performance by the expatriate.
Ans: Much of the research on the expatriate experience has assumed a direct, positive relationship
between the adjustment and the performance of expatriates. However, this relationship might be more
complicated. Some studies have found performance to be negatively related to expatriates’ perceptions
of the intensity of their adjustment to the new culture). However, other studies have found different
effects depending on the facet of adjustment and the measure of performance used.
5. How is the job change associated with repatriation of an expatriate different from the job change of a
domestic worker?
Ans: Reentry to one’s home country after a long sojourn requires a process of adjustment similar to that
of the initial transfer overseas. There are several things to consider:
First, the degree of novelty (e.g., cultural, organizational, job) is higher for a transfer between countries
as compared to within a country.
Second, in the repatriation situation, the individual is returning to his or her home country after a period
of absence. During this time, both the individual and the home country have undergone changes largely
independent of each other. Unlike the domestic job changer, the repatriate is likely to be confronted
with these changes simultaneously.
In addition, for most expatriates the repatriate experience is qualitatively different from the expatriate
experience. Most repatriates are returning home from an assignment in a country of which they had
little or no prior experience. Therefore, their prior knowledge and expectations about the country they
are moving to are likely to be substantially different in the case of repatriation versus expatriation.

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Instructor Resource

Thomas/Peterson, Cross-Cultural Management, 4e

Difficulty Level: Easy

A. To fill a technical requirement

Answer Location: Turnover

19. A psychological definition of ______ in a foreign assignment is a condition consisting of a

A. self-development (self-oriented skills, perceptual skills, and relational skills)

3. An ethnocentric staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using home country

4. A geocentric staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using a mix of nationalities at

5. A geocentric staffing strategy of multinational organizations involves using a mix of nationalities

Answer Location: Definitions of Success

Completion (Fill in the Blank)

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

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