Premium Essay

What Are the Sources and Limits of Mnc Power

In:

Submitted By catiii
Words 1615
Pages 7
What are the sources and limits of MNC power?
Multinational Corporations in a Global Economy
IR 120 - 201136597 - Catharina Knobloch

1. Introduction

As MNCs are getting increasingly important as actors in political bargaining, the purpose of this essay is to provide a (more or less) detailed overview over the sources and limits of the power of multinational corporations (MNCs).
In the first section, I am going to lead into this topic by giving some definitions. In addition to that, I am also going to explain the role of MNCs in the international governance based on the typology of regime types. Then I am going to examine the most important sources and forms of business power, before taking into account the limits and the vulnerability of MNC power.

2. Definitions

First, the term of the “multinational corporation” is difficult to be generalised due to extensive variations among the current examples (corporations are of different size, age, nationality industry, pursuing distinct decision-making processes and strategy-setting patterns, etc.) In order to define it more precisely, a multinational corporation is a firm, which owns assets and controls activities in different countries. As a consequence, the corporation needs at least one subsidiary in a non-domestic country to be classified as an MNC (just foreign trade is not sufficient). Some examples of these include Shell, General Motors, IBM or BP that operates in more than 100 countries. There are four categories of multinational corporations: (1) a multinational, decentralized corporation with strong home country presence, (2) a global, centralized corporation that acquires cost advantage through centralized production wherever cheaper resources are available, (3) an international company that builds on the parent corporation's technology or R&D, or (4) a transnational enterprise combining the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Multi-National Corporation’s Strategies for Special Interest Groups Within a Host Country

...Abstract Developing countries seeking to build their economy commonly look to attracting multi-national corporations (MNCs) through low cost labor and lucrative tax incentives plans in the hopes of creating a mutually benefiting relationship between both parties. However bringing in these outside businesses poses a legitimate threat to elite special interest groups already existing and thriving in the current economic state. MNCs must due their due diligence when selecting a potential host country and then determine the best strategy to deal with these groups in order to mitigate as much risk as possible. Contents Abstract ……………2. Contents……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 Intorduction 4 Literature Review 6 MNCs must determine the political environment 6 Why elite special interest groups exist 8 Strategies for dealing with elite special interest groups 9 Corupption………………………………………………………………………… 9 Assisting host government in creating a functioning economy………………… 11 Methodology 12 Conclusion 12 References 16 Multi-National Corporation’s Strategies for Special Interest Groups within a Host Country Research of developing countries has shown that economic growth is closely correlated to its cash flows and the quickest way for developing countries to increase those cash flows is through attracting new businesses. Technology has played a major role in the globalization of business and has made it much easier for corporations...

Words: 4358 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Multinational Corporations

...Multinational corporations Table of contents Preface 4 1. Introduction; General meaning of MNC 4 2. Ranking multinationals 5 3. Entry of Multinational corporation into new markets, 6 4. Three Stages of Evolution 7 5. Motives for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) 9 6. The comparison of MNC and TNC 11 7. What are the benefits and problems that MNCs face? 11 8. What are the Russian companies that achieve the multinational status? 13 Conclusion 14 Bibliography 14 Appendix 15 Preface We would like to consider the most interesting topic concerning the multinational corporations. If we called it like that, it means that company made a great success in the market, it operate in several foreign countries. In this mini-course work we will investigate more detailed the structure and strategies of MNCs. In the first part we will look through the history of MNCs. The history, in general, is to be considered as an essential part of every project in order everyone may compare the development of the particular sphere. Next part will show us the statistical data of MNCs, where we will recognize all the most reputable companies from the different industries, such as BMW, Nike, Lego, etc. We cannot leave a side the point of entry into the new market. There it will be explained the strategies of MNCs, such as mergering, joint venture and sequential market entries. Also we will consider investing into the particular companies, weather it is risky or not and the motives...

Words: 3800 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

A What Ad

...operating systems, and working with people around the world to ensure sustained competitive advantage. 1. Globalism “Global competition characterized by networks that bind countries, institutions and people in an interdependent global economy.” 2. Evidence/Indicators of Globalism The growth rate of the trade of goods has grown faster than the world production of goods. The European Union has now caught up with the United States to share the position of the world’s largest investor. 2011 AMERICAN CITY UNIVERSITY Page 1 of 28 MBA505 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT REV11A 3. Globalism Strategy Global companies are becoming less tied to specific locations and their operations and allies are spreading around the world as they source and coordinate resources and activities wherever needed. Companies that desire to remain competitive will have to develop a cadre of experienced international managers. 4. Small companies are also affected by and, in turn,...

Words: 9226 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

International Business

...International Business ( Semester 2, 2014) * Topic 1: Context * Globalization: There is no agreed or consistent definition for globalization but the key features including: * Everything and everyone equal * Intensive and rapid flows cross border flows (eg product, finance) * Not just economic but social, culture also. * Implication for nation states (countries)- a loss on power for the countries on politically as well as economically. * “ Globalization is about growing mobility across frontiers- mobility of goods and commodities, mobility of information and communications products and services, and mobility of people” ( Robins 2000). * Globalization has become a leading concept in doing business during last few decades, there are various aspects of globalization that influencing in doing business such as Competition, exchange of technology, knowledge/information transfer. * Competition: there is increase in competition. It can relate to product, service cost, price, target market, technological adaptation, quick response, quick production by companies. Company needs to focus on production with less cost to sell cheaper in order to increase its market share. On the other hand, customers also have a large multitude of choices in the markets and it affects their behavior: they want to acquire goods and services quickly and in more efficient way than before with high expectation in quality and low prices. * Exchange of...

Words: 12315 - Pages: 50

Premium Essay

Langauge Importance Review Paper

...study of language and its impact on activities concerned with leadership and management in multinationals. The main focus being the impact on headquarter and subsidiary communication, knowledge sharing and management contexts, this paper details the literature which suggest that multinationals would be better off by focusing on language and developing language policies which better suit its nature rather than taking language as a granted factor. The objective of this paper is to conclude that language difference across different cultures can no longer be left unattended as its as various implication internally as well as externally for corporations which are operating with different cultures and different languages. Keywords: Language, MNC, multinationals, leadership, management, communication, knowledge sharing, language policy Introduction The growing integration of companies from all around the globe is increasing the race towards a global village. Companies that operate beyond borders are the most influential of them all. Multinational companies are crossing their national borders operating at different corners of the world with different cultures and different languages. As Jones (1996, p.4) says, “An MNE is usually defined as firm that controls operations or income generating assets in more than one country”. In order to improve their cost structure and add value to their products, companies are seeking collaboration with companies from different...

Words: 8052 - Pages: 33

Free Essay

Syllabus

...FIN 535 – International Finance COURSE DESCRIPTION Presents international financial tools, applications, and concepts used in formulating effective financial management strategies. Examines fundamental international financial relationships and transactions among firms, foreign exchange rate determination and forecasting, foreign exchange risk and exposure, balance of payment accounting, and evolution of the international monetary system. Analyzes special topics such as working capital management strategies, capital budgeting, cost of capital, and optimal capital structure in the context of international operations. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Required Resources Madura, J. (2012). International financial management (11th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Supplemental Resources Al Nasser, O.M. (2010). How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth? The role of local conditions. Latin American Business Review 11, 111-139. Kornecki, L. & E. M. Ekanayake. (2011). Inward FDI stock in the U.S. economy and state based determinants. Advances in Management, 4(6), 13-24. Ranjan, V. & Agrawal, G. (2011). FDI inflow determinants in BRIC countries: A panel data analysis. International Business Research, 4(4), 255-263. United Nations. (2011). Foreign Direct Investments in LDCs: Lessons learned from the decade 20012010 and the way forward. United National Conference on Trade and Development. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Compare multinational financial management...

Words: 4298 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Branding Strategies

...2 | 2. | ABSTRACT | 3 | 3. | INTRODUCTION TO BRANDING STRATEGY | 4 | 4. | PRODUCT BRAND STRATEGY | 6 | 5. | MARKERS MARK BRAND STRATEGY | 9 | 6. | ENDORSING BRAND STRATEGY | 9 | 7. | UMBRELLA BRAND STRATEGY | 10 | 8. | SOURCE BRAND STRATEGY | 12 | 9. | CASE STUDY | 13 | 10. | CONCLUSION | 18 | 11. | REFERENCE | 19 | ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance from many people and I am extremely fortunate to have got this all along the completion of my seminar paper. ABSTRACT Branding is an integral part of business for building process. Large corporations spend millions of dollars building their brands. Brands have become the most valuable asset for any enterprise, essential zing the knowledge, the art, the science, and the work for each person in each work day, making them the symbol of much that has a good, true and beautiful global economy. Brands began to enter beyond the corporate world. The impact of branding in the business building process of FMCG companies in India. It was witnessed two decades back. The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with an estimated size of Rs.1, 300 billion. The paper concludes that different MNCs adopt different branding strategies each having different pros and cons, depending upon their goal and vision of the company. INTRODUCTION A Brand has only one need- that is to grow while...

Words: 4318 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Homework

...orkMultinational Corporations 1. Multinational Corporations  http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/mul.htm  Definition of MNC | Multinational firms arise because capital is much more mobile than labor. Since cheap labor and raw material inputs are located in other countries, multinational firms establish subsidiaries there. They are often criticized as being runaway corporations.Economists are not in agreement as to how multinational or transnational corporations should be defined. Multinational corporations have many dimensions and can be viewed from several perspectives (ownership, management, strategy and structural, etc.) The following is an excerpt from Franklin Root, International Trade and Investment | Ownership criterion | Some argue that ownership is a key criterion. A firm becomes multinational only when the headquarter or parent company is effectively owned by nationals of two or more countries. For example, Shell and Unilever, controlled by British and Dutch interests, are good examples. However, by ownership test, very few multinationals are multinational. The ownership of most MNCs are uninational. (e.g., the Smith-Corona versus Brothers case) Depending on the case, each is considered an American multinational company in one case, and each is considered a foreign multinational in another case. Thus, ownership does not really matter. | Nationality mix of headquarter managers | An international company is multinational if the managers of the...

Words: 2635 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Multinational Corporation

...be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cohen, Stephen D. Multinational corporations and foreign direct investment: avoiding simplicity, embracing complexity / Stephen D. Cohen. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13 978-0-19-517935-4; 978-0-19-517936-1 (pbk.) ISBN 0-19-517935-8; 0-19-517936-6 (pbk.) 1. International business enterprises—Finance. 2. Investments, Foreign. I. Title. HG4027.5.C64 2006 332.67'314 —dc22 2006010605 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Acknowledgments Given what for me was a formidable challenge to say the least, it is no pro forma courtesy to thank a number of people whose assistance was invaluable in researching and...

Words: 160016 - Pages: 641

Premium Essay

International Business

...INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS Need for International Business International Business is important and necessary because economic isolationism is today impossible. Failure to become part of the global market assures a country of declining economic influence and deteriorating standard of living for its citizens. Successful participation in international business promises improved quality of life and a better society leading to a more peaceful world. Most people are likely, on individual levels, to become involved with international business corporations during their careers. Manufacturing companies, and also service companies like banks, consulting firms or insurance are going global. In an era of open borders, niche marketing, instant communications and free ways of reaching millions of people, huge opportunity emerges for individuals to enter the international business arena. International business offers companies new markets. Since the mid-20th century, the growth of international trade and investment has been substantially larger than the growth of domestic economies. The combination of domestic and international business presents more opportunities for expansion, growth and income than domestic business alone. International business generates the flow of ideas, services and capital across the world. International business also offers consumers new options. It enables the acquisition of a wider variety of products, in terms of both quality and quantity and at reduced...

Words: 13773 - Pages: 56

Premium Essay

Love

...corporations: organizational challenges and risk implications Tony W Tong1 and Jeffrey J Reuer2 1 School of Management, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA; 2Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Correspondence: JJ Reuer, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, McColl Building, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Tel: þ 1 919 962 4514; Fax: þ 1 919 962 4266; E-mail: reuer@unc.edu Abstract In this study, we investigate how multinationality affects firms’ risk levels. Our investigation builds on the idea from real options theory that international operations offer switching options to multinational corporations, yet we also emphasize different sources of coordination costs that can mitigate the benefits of operational flexibility. The findings from Tobit models accounting for selfselection underscore the importance of unobserved heterogeneity in the relationships between international investments and risk levels. Consistent with the coordination costs surrounding international operations, we find that the relationship between multinationality and downside risk is curvilinear: risk first declines and then increases as a firm’s portfolio of international investments becomes extensive. In addition, downside risk is an increasing function of the average cultural distance between a firm’s home base and the host countries in which its foreign subsidiaries operate. Journal of International...

Words: 11680 - Pages: 47

Premium Essay

International Finance

...Finance-Individual Assignments I Name Institution MFI 442 International Finance-Individual Assignments I Most corporations expand beyond their local boundaries to become multinationals. There are myriad reasons behind this (Wells & Wint, 2000). The biggest of all these reasons is to gain access to international markets and perhaps invest in economic zones that have high investment returns as compared to home countries (Fu, 2000). The trend of globalization has made most firms become multinational corporations. The most common method for MNCs is through franchises (Jones, 2005). In line with this, economists have put up theories explaining why businesses expand beyond their national boundaries (Hicks, 2000). My primary objective in this paper, therefore, is to discuss international finance and other macroeconomics policies. To foresee this goal, I will delve into foreign exchange market and operations of multinational corporations (MNCs). Theories Explaining Why Corporations Expand to become Multinationals a). Financial economists have brought forward three key arguments that enumerate why companies expand their operations to global markets. These theories are; the imperfect markets theory, the comparative advantage theory and the product cycle theory (Levi, 2004). i).The Comparative Advantage Theory This theory is among the most important concepts in international trade. It states that economic welfare increases when countries specialize in producing lower opportunity cost...

Words: 5206 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Int' Political Economy

...status as a new and interdisciplinary field of study. Despite such disagreements, most scholars can concur that IPE ultimately is concerned with the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, individual actors, etc.) shape the systems through which economic interactions are expressed, and conversely the effect that economic interactions (including the power of collective markets and individuals acting both within and outside them) have upon political structures and outcomes. IPE scholars are at the center of the debate and research surrounding globalization, both in the popular and academic spheres. Other topics that command substantial attention among IPE scholars are international trade (with particular attention to the politics surrounding trade deals, but also significant work examining the results of trade deals), development, the relationship between democracy and markets, international finance, global markets, multi-state cooperation in solving trans-border economic problems, and the structural balance of power between and among states and institutions. Unlike conventional international relations, power is understood to be both economic and political, which are interrelated in a complex manner. IPE emerged as a heterodox approach to international studies during the 1970s as the 1973 world oil crisis and...

Words: 6475 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

Concept of Mnc

...CONCEPT OF MNC A multinational corporation is an enterprise that carries on business operations in more than one country. It extends its manufacturing and marketing operations through a network of branches and subsidiaries which are known as its foreign affiliates. According to a report of international labour office the essential nature of multinational enterprises lies in the fact that its managerial headquarters are located in one country while the enterprise carries out operations in a number of other countries as well.´ CHARACTERISTICS OF MNC: * Large size * Worldwide operations * Centralized control * Sophisticated technology * Professional management * International market * High brand equity ROLES OF MNC 1) MNC’s help to increases the investment level & thereby the income & employment in host country. 2) The transnational corporations have become vehicles for the transfer technology, especially to developing countries. 3) They also initiate a managerial revolution in host countries through professional management and employment of highly sophisticated management techniques. 4) The MNCs enable that host countries to increases their exports & decreases their import requirements. 5) They work to equalize cost of factors of production around the world. 6) MNC’s provide and efficient means of integrating national economies. 7) The enormous resources of multinational enterprises enable them to...

Words: 10294 - Pages: 42

Premium Essay

Responsable

...content and process are culture-contingent – a function of an individual’s needs, value systems, and environmental context 2- One problem in using content theories for cross-cultural research, such as that created by Maslow, is the assumption of their universal application. Because they were developed in the United States, even the concepts, such as achievement or esteem, may have different meanings in other societies, resulting in a noncomparable basis of research. 3- Implicit in motivating an employee is an understanding of which of the employee’s needs are satisfied at work. Studies on the “meaning of work” indicate considerable cross-cultural differences. 4- A reexamination of motivation relative to Hofstede’s dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity provides another perspective on the cultural contexts that can influence motivational structures. 5- Incentives and reward systems must be designed to reflect the motivational structure and relative cultural emphasis on five categories of rewards: financial, social status, job content, career, and professional. S9: HRM focus on international – Chap 10: Developing a Global Management Cadre Key points 1- Expatriate career management necessitates plans for retention of expatriates during and after their assignments. Support programs for expatriates should include information from and contact with the home organization, as well as career guidance and support after the...

Words: 2569 - Pages: 11