Page 201 - DMGT548_GLOBAL_HRM

Global HRM

Notes 10.4 Summary

 International operations of MNCs create considerable implements in effectively
segmenting labour groups by national boundaries and stratifying groups within and
between nations.
 MNCs headquarters involved in IR is influenced by various factors.

 Trade unions opt for less ambitious strategies in dealing with multinationals.
 Trade unions and the ILO will pursue these strategies and continue to lobby where possible
for the regulation of multinationals via the European Commission and the United Nations.

 Healthy IR can enhance employment and further the goal of upgrading employment
quality and skills in foreign subsidiaries.
 The EU aims to established minimal standards for social conditions that will safeguard the
fundamental rights of workers.

10.5 Keywords

Industrial Relations: Employer–employee relationships that are covered specifically under
collective bargaining and industrial relation laws.
MNC: It is a corporation or enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than
one country.

NAFTA: It is a regional integration agreement between US, Canada and Mexico.
Regional Integration: A process in which states enter into a regional agreement in order to
enhance regional cooperation through regional institutions and rules.

Social Dumping: It is a temporary movement of labour from one country to other country
where the labour cost is very high.
Subsidiary: It is an entity that is controlled by a separate entity.

Trade Union: It is an organisation of workers who have banded together to achieve common
goals in key areas, such as working conditions.
Trading Bloc: It is a set of countries which engage in international trade together, and are usually
related through a free trade agreement or other association.
Wage: It is compensation, usually financial, received by a worker in exchange for their labour.

10.6 Review Questions

1. Analyse the factors that influence multinationals in industrial relations?

2. In what way can trade unions constrain the strategic choices of multinationals?
3. Critically examine the characteristics of multinationals that give labour unions cause for
concern.

4. Examine the response of the trade unions to multinationals. Have these responses been
successful? Justify.
5. Examine the role that has regional integration played in international IR.

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