GPHR Global Employee Relations 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A US-based MNC is expanding into Japan. What employee relations practice is particularly important to understand in Japan?
- At-will employment doctrine
- Lifetime employment tradition and seniority-based compensation (Correct answer)
- Mandatory arbitration clauses
- Right-to-work legislation
Correct answer: Lifetime employment tradition and seniority-based compensation
Japan historically practiced lifetime employment with major corporations, and seniority heavily influences compensation and promotion, making terminations legally and culturally complex.
Question 2: What is the GPHR's recommended approach when a foreign subsidiary's local employee relations practices conflict with parent company global ethics standards?
- Always defer to local practices to respect cultural sovereignty
- Always impose parent company standards regardless of local context
- Apply global ethics standards while seeking culturally appropriate implementation methods (Correct answer)
- Ignore the conflict until a formal complaint is filed
Correct answer: Apply global ethics standards while seeking culturally appropriate implementation methods
Global ethics standards such as prohibitions on harassment or forced labor must be maintained, but implementation strategies should be culturally sensitive and locally appropriate.
Question 3: Which metric best indicates the health of employee relations in a global organization?
- Number of HR staff per employee
- Grievance rate, resolution time, and turnover in relation to industry benchmarks (Correct answer)
- Total compensation spend per employee
- Number of global HR policies in place
Correct answer: Grievance rate, resolution time, and turnover in relation to industry benchmarks
Grievance rates, how quickly and fairly they are resolved, and voluntary turnover relative to benchmarks are reliable indicators of the quality of the employment relationship.
Question 4: What is the purpose of an 'employee relations audit' conducted by a global HR team?
- To verify payroll accuracy across subsidiaries
- To assess compliance with local labor laws and identify risks or gaps in employee relations practices (Correct answer)
- To evaluate the financial performance of HR departments
- To rank countries by labor cost
Correct answer: To assess compliance with local labor laws and identify risks or gaps in employee relations practices
An employee relations audit systematically reviews practices, policies, and compliance status to identify legal exposure and opportunities to strengthen the employment relationship.
Question 5: How should a global HR professional handle a situation where a country's labor law permits practices that violate the company's global code of conduct?
- Follow local law and abandon the code of conduct in that country
- Apply the higher standard — the global code — where it exceeds local legal minimums (Correct answer)
- Seek a legal waiver to ignore the code of conduct
- Terminate operations in that country
Correct answer: Apply the higher standard — the global code — where it exceeds local legal minimums
Best practice is to apply whichever standard is higher — if the company's global code is more protective than local law, the code prevails; if local law is more protective, local law applies.
Question 6: What role does 'psychological contract' play in global employee relations?
- It is a formal written employment contract required in most countries
- It represents unwritten mutual expectations between employer and employee that influence engagement and trust (Correct answer)
- It refers to mental health benefits required by law
- It is a contract clause covering stress-related liability
Correct answer: It represents unwritten mutual expectations between employer and employee that influence engagement and trust
The psychological contract captures the unspoken expectations workers and employers hold about their relationship; violating it — even without breaching written terms — damages engagement and retention.
GPHR Global Employee Relations 2
A US-based MNC is expanding into Japan.
What employee relations practice is particularly important to understand in Japan?