Defining the enterprise role of MNCs - Free Essay Example

An MNC can be defined as a corporation or enterprise that conducts and controls productive activities in more than one country Todaro (2009). Multinational corporations can be characterised as large in size and operate worldwide and the parent company is the headquarter. As business companies try to increase their market share and maximise profit they tend to go multinational operating on a global scale because different countries vary in government rules and regulation. Companies use PEST analysis to decide which host country will be suitable depending on Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors to operate their activities. It can be argued that developing countries encourage Foreign Direct Investment to improve economic growth, increase employment opportunities and improve infrastructure ( IMF 2006). Also MNCs have the advantage to invest in foreign countries especially in the developing countries due to availability of raw materials which can be produced at a lower cost of production. Companies can be monopolies controlling the market price over their competitors imposing barrier to entries. Local people are willing to work at a low rate of pay therefore cheap labour saves companies cost. On the other hand Todaro (2009) argues that we must recognize that multinational corporations are in the development of business, their objectives is to maximise their return on capital. MNCs search out for the best profit opportunities and are unconcerned with issues such as poverty, inequality, employment conditions and environmental problems. Research released by ( UNCTAD 2009) shows us a considerable value of global corporations and the increase in FDI to the economy. FDI flows steadily grew from 2004 and peaked in 2007 in a record of $1.3 trillion as illustrated in the diagram below. Although global FDI peaked in 2000 and fell a slower growth since then until 2003 due to the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Global FDI inflows 1980-2008 by group of economies ( billion of dollars). Source: UNCTAD, 2008, p.7 Global corporations are critical to business, management and the economy. At the end of these essay the reader will be in a better position to understand major issues relating to management of MNCs, what difficulties management faces depending on cross culture, human rights including gender and equality, ethics and responsibilities, communication barrier and giving case examples of companies. GENDER AND EQUALITY Women in management in the Middle East In the diverse world we live in we all vary in culture. Culture derive from language, attitude, education, social class, value, religion, economy, manners, policies, material. Hofstede (1991). Managers understand the importance of culture and they try to adapt to various culture because it is an important issue in management. Recent research by ( Huthchings 2010) suggest that women account for only 14% of senior executive post from USA and less than 5% from Europe represent in MNCs, women from South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa are less represented as international managers regardless of their increase represented as middle and senior managers in their own country. In Adler (1994) research explains three barriers to under representation of women at Macs including foreigner prejudice, company resistance and womens own lack of interest. Foreigner prejudice Companies are unwilling to send women on international duty because of foreign prejudice against women which makes them ineffective managers. Close to three quarter of human resource managers form MNCs surveyed believed that foreigners are so prejudiced against female that women managers would not succeed on their expatriate assignment (Hutchings 2010). Companies are not able to maximise the talent of women managers, ideas and managerial skills, if given the chance on expatriate assignment eliminating foreign prejudice they can be successful. Corporate Resistance Some companies hold assumption about women as managers and their availability, appropriateness and preference for international duty. Research done by (Adler 1994) proved that men believed that women are qualified for a career in domestic position and not international positions also male colleagues perception of women and unsupportive attitude towards female by companies has led to corporate resistance reducing the number of women at senior positions in MNCs. Corporate organisations are not helping and encouraging women to achieve their goals and dreams. Organisations should advice women with career development activities, give chance for promotion to senior management position so that they can mentor and support their fellow female in the organisation. Women managers disinterest Women are disinterested in following up expatriate positions but as Hutching (2010) argues that women are interested and ready for international duty, the only difference is when children are involved then they tend to decline the international duty. Also womens perception in international duty also affects them leading to reduction of women managers representation at MNCs. Further research by Metcalfe (2007) examines barriers of Arab Middle East womens career advance and finds out that lack of diversity and equality frameworks in organisations, work family conflict and limited organisation training support. It can be argued that the Islamic law on gender order on equal rights has different philosophies and creates gendered work hierarchies which can determine mens job and womens job supporting discrimination in work places limiting women to progress with their career in business. Every MNCs want equality in gender and respect diversity in work place but such factors above af fect management, especial Human Resource management when it comes to employee recruitment. It would be fair to say MNCs have less represent women in management in the Middle East due to the barriers of perception, culture and religion. A good example would be the Coca Cola Company. Coca Cola is operating business activities for 124 years and operate in over 200 countries. The company has no senior executive women representing in Middle east. Adler (1994) theory of women perception against international duty and the research by Hutching (2010) of less than 14% senior executive post from USA supports the fact why there are less women representation. If you pay more attention or research into the Coca Cola Company website under leadership, in the Board of Directors out of 14 directors only three are women, under the Operation Group of leadership out of 9 leaders there is only one female. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES ( CSR) AND ETHICS Tesco and Trafigura CSR is the continuing commitment to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of local community and the society at large. CSR report (1999). Tesco is Britains biggest and most profitable supermarket (Corporate watch.org). In recent years the company expanded into the international market dominating the supermarket industry in Europe and Asia. Despite the growth in world market questions are raised over their CSR and ethics global sourcing in the garment industry. Tesco imports its garment and textile from some of the world poorest countries, the company does not label its cloths with the country of origin and its value brand labelled as Tesco product meaning worker are not aware who they are supplying to. It is very often that workers in the developing countries are willing to work at a low wage and poor working conditions therefore Tesco sell clothes at a cheap price, at a low cost of production and maximum saving made from low wages. Today Tesco have gained more ground aware of CSR and ethics, the company is yet to be come first zero carbon business, supports Cancer Research UK race for life and voted as CLIC Sargent charity of the year 2009. The company success is due to the improvement in management. Managers are able to deal with and understand CRS especially when dealing with developing countries because they need to be careful with cross culture and ethics. Due to poverty, people work in poor condition, accept low wages, work over time and the minimum age law is broken and parents send children under the age of fourteen to work. Managers face these task everyday to protect human rights, brand image of the company, keep the loyal customers and attract more customers because if a mistake is done it would be an advantage to the to the competitors. On the other hand Trafigura is a multinational oil trading company with bases in London, New York, Genev a and Netherlands. From 2006 the company faced court charges for the disposal of hazardous waste in Ivory Coast. The waste disposal polluted the most parts of the city Abidjan causing a wave of illness break out and death. The chemical waste damaged vegetation and polluted the environment and still causing environmental problems. Trafiguras turn over is twice the size the economy of Ivory Coast. Trafigura paid compensation but the damage caused is too much. Issued face by the companys management and all other global corporation is corruption and communication difficulties. The reason for Trafigura waste disposal was that the contractor who was supposed to properly discharge the waste safely with no harm caused, realised the cost would be expensive and opted for the cheaper option. Also there was a communication barrier in language and the style of communication used such as email was not clear enough to explain how and to what degree the the waste is discharged. CONCLUSION MNCs play a major role in the economy, research by UNCTAD (2009) revels that investment by multinational corporations in foreign markets from 2004 to 2006 contributed $ 1.3 trillion to the economy. These global corporation are important to the economy, politics and business. Gender and equality can be affected by culture and perception. As Adler (1994) argues that foreign prejudice, corporate resistance and women disinterest has led to under representation of women in work place. Due to these perception women are not able to progress with their career in business. Further research by Metcalfe (2007) indicates barriers to Arab women in the Middle East career advancement and finds out that lack of equality in organisations and Islamic law on gender and equality has different philosophies which can determine men and women job creating discrimination in work place. It would be fair to argue that culture, perception and religion has led to the under representation of women in MNCs . A good example would be Coca Cola Company. Business management abide the codes of equal right and opportunity and diversity but barriers in culture and perception leads to unequality. CSR and ethics is immodest to business and the community. It is the companies obligations to look after the environment and be corporate social responsible. Management in global corporation REFERENCES Adler, N. (1994) Competitive Frontiers: Women Managing Across Borders. Journal of Management Development. 13 (2), p. 24-41. BBC. 2009. Trafigura knew of waste dangers [online]. Available from: https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8259765.stm [Accessed 25th April 2010] BBC. 2006. Pepsi apoints first female boss [online]. Available from: https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4791137.stm Corporate watch. 2005. Off the peg: Tesco and the garment industry in Asia [online] Available from: https://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=1825 [Accessed 18th April 2010] Curator, M, M., 2009. Womens Empowerment, Arab Style [online]. Available from: https://www.imow.org/economica/stories/viewStory?storyId=3644HYPERLINK https://www.imow.org/economica/stories/viewStory?storyId=3644 Farndale, E., Scullion, H., and Sparrow, P. (2010) The role of corporate HR function in global talent management. Journal of World Business. 45 (2), p. 161. Greenpeace. 2006. Deadly cargo dumped in the Ivory Coast [online]. Available from: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/ivory-coast-toxic-dumping [Accessed 25th April 2010] Hofstede, G. 1991. Culture and Organisations. McGraw Hill, Maidenhead. Hutchings, K., Metcalfe, B.D and Cooper, K.B. (2010) Exploring Arab Middle Eastern womens perception of barrier and facilitators of international management opportunities. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 21 (1), p. 61-83. Liu, W. (2010) The Environmental Responsibilities of Multinational Corporation. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge. 15 (2), p. 81-88. Mellahi, K and Collings, D. (2010) The barriers to global talent management: The example of Corporate elites in MNEs. Journal of World Business. 45 (2), p. 143. Metcalfe, B.D. (2007) Gender and Human Resource Management in the Middle East. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 18 (1), p. 54-74. Ojasalo, J. ( 2009) Risk, Cultural Theories and Global Management. The Business Review, Cambridge. 14 (1), p. 83. Todaro, P.M and Smith, C.S. (2009) Economic Development. 9th ed. Addison Wesley: Pearson Education. United Nations Development Program. Human Development Report, 2008. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner - 1029 Words

Dijon Smith ENG 101 Mrs. Walker 17 June 2014 Compare and Contrast: â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† In â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is a short story written by William Faulkner published in a national magazine in April 30, 1930. The main character of the short story is Miss Emily Grierson. Miss Emily is an old-school woman who is trapped in a society where she is forced to stay in her role. Miss Emily is a tradition woman who hangs on to her old ways and tries to break free of them. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to find† is a short story written my Flanner O’Conner published in 1955. The main characters of the story include The Grandmother who is a manipulator. When something run’s against her will, she always tries to have everything go her way. The other main character if The Misfit who escaped from the federal penitentiary, and cannot grasp the concept of why he is being punished for what he did. These two stories have different themes, â€Å"A rose for Emilyâ₠¬  conveys isolation, and memory of the past. While â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† conveys religion, grace, and good versus evil. Although, the stories differ in themes there is one theme the stories share which is death. One of the themes of â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is the sustained struggle between the past and present. Miss Emily is a traditional woman she steadily stayed the same despite the changes around her in the community. Emily believed in the importance of hereditary, which she learned significantly from her father.Show MoreRelatedA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner923 Words   |  4 PagesA Rose for Emily; A Tale of The Old South William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi in 1897 but lived most of his life in Oxford, a small town nearby. After dropping out of high school then briefly joining the Canadian Air Force, he returned home and completed three terms at the University of Mississippi (Fulton 27). 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Why Companies Expand Beyond Their Own Borders Essay

There are many reasons why firms expand beyond their own borders and attempt to gain success on a global scale. A key reason is the ability to diversify its risk. Much like the old adage â€Å"don’t put all your eggs in one basket†, the firms attempting to gain success internationally are following the same belief. They are simply trying to spread their risk amongst many different countries rather than depending on one country’s operational capabilities. Another reason is to gain access to achieve lower costs that it cannot get in its home market, which in turn increases its competiveness. An example of this is cheap labor, countries such as India and many Latin American offer cheap labor compared to the wages of American workers, so firms will expand into these markets to take advantage of this valuable resource (and save money in the process). Besides cheap labor, firms will move into international markets to gain access to resources that it cannot obtain in i ts home market. 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Science of Consumer Behaviour Healthy Items

Question: Write about theScience of Consumer Behaviour for Healthy Items. Answer: According to the research article, Healthy-Left, Unhealthy-Right: Can Displaying Healthy Items to the Left (versus Right) of Unhealthy Items Nudge Healthier Choices? by Romero and Biswas (2016) aims to demonstrate that the healthier items on the left are highly preferable by the customers. The data was collected after conducting seven studies in which different variables such as display positions, lateral display, organization of items, left-side bias effects, gaze starting point and consumption volume are assessed. The results indicate that there is greater preference for healthy items than unhealthy items on the menu. Further, there is higher preference for healthy items when it was on the left side. Romero and Biswas (2016) found that healthy option is mentally represented to the left of unhealthy option. The study indicates that alphabetical order of the menu does not affect customer preferences. The customers have high preference for unhealthy items when they are placed on the left side. Further, it was found that customers prefer healthy item if the display image was placed on left side of the screen. However, the results indicate that customer preference was unaffected if unhealthy item was placed on left versus at the centre. The healthy beverages had higher consumption when placed on the left. The above results can be applied to McDonalds as it offers a range of healthy and unhealthy food choices. It is recommended that they must redesign the menu and have a combination of healthy and neutral food choices. Graphic images of food items that have low calorie can be used on the left side. The fried items such as French fries and other food offering with higher calorie such as Cheesy Grilled Chicken can be put to the centre or on the right side of the healthy food range. The healthy beverage like smoothies, fruit juice on the left rather than the right. Instead, the sweetened beverages and dessert must be put on the right side of the menu. McDonalds offers a range of desserts in which the low calorie dessert such as fruit n yogurt parfait on the left side of the dessert section. Lastly, the food items can be named using phrases like Fresh, Healthy, and Nutritional as it would impact sales. References Johns, N., Edwards, J., Hartwell, H. (2013). Menu Choice: Satisfaction or Overload?.Journal Of Culinary Science Technology,11(3), 275-285. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15428052.2013.798564 Liu, P., Wisdom, J., Roberto, C., Liu, L., Ubel, P. (2013). Using Behavioral Economics to Design More Effective Food Policies to Address Obesity.Applied Economic Perspectives And Policy,36(1), 6-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppt027 Romero, M., Biswas, D. (2016). Healthy-Left, Unhealthy-Right: Can Displaying Healthy Items to the Left (versus Right) of Unhealthy Items Nudge Healthier Choices?.Journal Of Consumer Research,43(1), 103-112. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucw008 Thomas, E. (2015). Food for thought: obstacles to menu labelling in restaurants and cafeterias.Public Health Nutrition,19(12), 2185-2189. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1368980015002256