Assignment:
1. Juanita was told that on her first overseas assignment she would be getting a foreign service premium. That probably means she will be there at least how long?
2. Andre is going to be stationed overseas for about 18 months, so his foreign service premium will increase his base pay by about how much?
3. How are hardship allowances usually paid to expatriates?
4. Benjamin is going on his first expatriate assignment to a country considered a hardship location. About how much will you have to increase his base pay?
5. What law mandates that management bargain in good faith with labor unions over terms of employment such as wages?
6. What does the term repatriation refer to?
7. International employees are categorized into one of these three titles.
8. If your company hired a Canadian manager to work in your plant in Taiwan, she would be considered which type of international employee?
9. An international assignment is considered long-term when it lasts at least how long?
10. About how many countries are deemed as hardship locations by the U.S. State Department?
11. Which of the following would be considered a hardship location (due to dangerous conditions)?
12. Stephan is going to be getting a mobility premium for going to Saudi Arabia. How are you going to give it to him?
13. Renata Marie has been given a mobility premium as a reward for moving from one assignment to another. In what form did she receive this premium?
14. Tuition reimbursement and day care assistance fall under this category.
15. Which of the following is considered an enhanced benefit for expatriates?
16. When determining Ms. Jenkins' relocation assistance amount what will you need to consider?
17. Your company is sending Sheila on a six-month assignment to Sweden, so you should probably use which method to determine her base pay?
18. AT&T plans on sending R.J. to Peru to work for at least 3 years. They will probably use which method to set his base pay?
19. Since he started at American Eyeful Pictures, Inc., David has worked in Japan, China, and Thailand. The company has probably set his base pay using which method?
20. Which base-pay method works best for expatriates who move from one foreign assignment to another and rarely, if ever, work in their home countries?
21. These represent additional paid time off for employees working in hardship locations.
22. Which of the following are used by the State Department to determine the per diem schedules?
23. If the local index in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is 99, what does that mean?
24. What happens under tax equalization?
25. Josh works at a U.S. construction company as a civil engineer. He has been working overseas for the last three years. The hypothetical tax calculated by his company turned out to be less than his actual income tax. In this situation
26. ________ is the transition process of working in a domestic assignment in a worker's home country after having worked on an international assignment abroad.
27. ________ nationals are foreign citizens who work in U.S. companies' branch offices or manufacturing plants in their home countries.
28. ________ nationals are foreign national citizens who work in U.S. companies' branch offices or manufacturing plants in countries other than the United States or their own home countries.
29. U.S. citizens employed in U.S. companies with work assignments outside the United States are better known as ________.
30. An ________ is the price at which one country's currency can be swapped for another.
31. What provides expatriates the standard of living that they normally enjoy in the United States?
32. Quarters allowance is the U.S. Department of State's nomenclature for which expatriate cost provision?
33. When is a goods and services allowance given?
34. The State Department's Index compares the foreign costs of goods and services with which U.S. city?
35. If the local index for Tel Aviv, Israel is 146, what does that mean?
36. ________ is the increase in prices for consumer goods and services.
37. The ________ allowance compensates expatriates for their sacrifices while on assignment.
38. ________ premiums reward employees for moving from one assignment to another.
39. ________ benefits allow for expatriates to take paid time off back in the United States.
40. Expatriates receive ________ allowances when the cost of living is higher in the country that they work in that it is in the U.S.
41. Describe the four challenges that companies face in the development and the implementation of international compensation programs. How can a company prevent problems that are risen by repatriation?
42. Explain headquarters-based method to calculate expatriates based pay. Which incentive might work better for this method?
43. What is the balance sheet approach? When is its use most appropriate?
44. Canadian retirement plans are most similar to that of which of the following countries?
45. Mexico can be defined as which of the following?
46. Nora has been working at a manufacturing plant in Mexico for the last 18 months. Which of the following is NOT true regarding her paid time off benefits?
47. Which of the following country has the strongest economy in South America?
48. Brazil's workforce has over how many people?
49. What percentage of their gross earnings do Brazilian employees put towards social insurance?
49. Former under-developed countries of the world are experiencing which of these conditions, thus eliciting greater interconnections with U.S. employers?
50. The average hourly cost to pay a manufacturing worker in the United States in 2007 was how much?
51. In which country do companies incur the highest hourly cost for employing a manufacturing worker?
52. In 2008, hourly compensation costs in Brazil were less than that in the United States by how much?
53. Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of NAFTA?
54. Which of the following countries has the lowest per capita GDP?
55. Canada can best be defined as which of the following?
56. XYZ Co. plans to open a new facility in Canada to be able to reach its Canadian customers more quickly. Which of the following is true regarding labor-related considerations of the new facility?
57. The origins of the common law governing individual employment contracts in Canada were based on the laws of which country?
58. What Canadian province has the highest minimum wage?
59. Chris has been working in Vancouver, Canada at an accounting firm for the last 10 years. Which of the following should not be true regarding his paid time off benefits?
60. In Canada, the amount of vacation pay is equal to what percentage of the employee's pay for the preceding year per week of vacation?
61. Oliver works as a blue-collar worker in the metalworking industry in Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. His pay is based on minimum wage. Which of the following is probably true regarding his minimum wage?
62. An employee should receive regular pay during illness for a period of how many weeks in Germany?
63. In Germany, an employee can request up to how many year(s) of child-rearing leave?
64. Claudia works for a pharmaceutical company in Germany as a blue-collar worker. She used to opt out of the state insurance plan and to purchase a private insurance. This year due to increasing health insurance premiums, she decided to get the state insurance plan. Which of the following is true regarding her state health insurance?
65. Which of the following is NOT one of the top three largest economies in Asia as of 2010?
66. India's labor force has over how many people based on 2010 estimates?
67. Indian per capita expenditure on health care in 2006 was what amount at the international dollar rate?
68. The People's Republic of China Labor Law of 1995 resulted in which of the following?
69. Xue has been working at an electronics manufacturing plant in China for the last 5 years. Which one of the following should NOT be true regarding her paid time off benefits?
70. At least how many days of maternity leave are women entitled to in China?
71. In China, what percentage of local average annual wage for previous year is used to set minimum earnings for employee pension contributions?
72. In China, per capita expenditure on health was what amount at the international dollar rate in 2006?
73. The United States, Canada, and Mexico are part of a trade bloc better known as ________.
74. The country with the lowest GDP per capita reviewed in the chapter is ________.
75. Canada has two state-run pension plans: one for ________ provincial residents only, and one for the rest of Canada.
76. In ________ , employees are entitled to 6 vacation days after 1 year of employment and to 2 more days for each subsequent year up to a maximum of 12 days.
77. ________ has by far the strongest economy out of all the countries in South America.
78. The ________ is a unique international organization that aims at becoming an economic superpower, while still retaining such practices as high levels of employment, social welfare protection, and strong trade unions.
79. In Germany, the minimum wage rate is established by the ________.
80. In ________, time away from work for pregnant women under the terms of the Maternity Leave Law still counts towards entitlement to vacation time.
81. In 2010, ________ is the largest economy in Asia (and growing rapidly).
82. In China, the minimum wage rates are set by ________.
83. Why is it important for HR and compensation professionals to learn about compensation practices in other parts of the world? Discuss.
84. Briefly compare minimum wage rates and paid time off policies in Canada and Mexico.
85. Compare health benefits and paid time off benefits in India and People's Republic of China.