Some of the key questions in employment relations, comparative business, and globalization revolve around the extent to which businesses embody a national business system, and what happens when these employment models are exported to other national settings. By exploring the variety of ways in which US multinationals deal with these issues, and their reception, when operating in Europe, Phil Almond, Anthony Ferner, and their contributors examine the interaction between globalization and national 'Varieties of Capitalism'. Using the findings of a four-year international exploration of the management of employment relations in US multinationals in the UK, Germany, Ireland, and Spain, this book examines what is distinctively 'American' about these companies, and how this notion is exported. The process is shown to be one that is not a technical managerial one, but one that is highly political, and 'negotiated', in which groups and individuals at different levels within the company try to influence the terms of transfer. These questions are not only of theoretical importance, but also of practical significance in terms of the transfer of management knowledge and 'best practice'. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and advanced students of HRM, International Business, and Organization Studies, as well as HR practitioners concerned with US multinationals operating in Europe.
About the AuthorPhil Almond is a Reader in Human Resource Management at Leicester Business School, De Montfort University. His published research interests include labour management in MNCs, comparative industrial and employment relations, wage determination systems, gender pay inequality, comparative methodology and the effects of corporate governance regimes on the management of labour. Anthony Ferner is Professor of International Human Resource Management at Leicester Business School, De Montfort University, Leicester. His research is concerned with employment relations in multinational companies, focusing in particular on the interaction between multinational behaviour and national employment relations systems.
ReviewsThis book is an important contribution to a fast growing literature on industrial relations in foreign-owned companies...a benchmark for future comparative studies of multinational companies as employers. * Guglielmo Meardi Industrial Relations Journal *
Book InformationISBN 9780199274635
Author Phil AlmondFormat Hardback
Page Count 366
Imprint Oxford University PressPublisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 160mm * 25mm