Structural power in multinational corporations
Some of the MNCs include the Apple Corporation, Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Samsung among others. These companies have developed because they have identified market gaps in countries across the world where they would like to fill in and achieve their financial goals as well as broadening their customer base. Today, multinationals have not only focused on providing products and services to the customers (Geppert & Dörrenbächer, 2014). They have a great impact on the politics and economics of the world. MNCs have become influential in the world so that they have to be considered when making economic and political decisions in most parts of the world. The closure of the subsidiaries in the home country is unexplainable since they were contributing to the growth and development of the corporation. Most managers will claim that moving their companies abroad arises from the need to broaden markets and serve more customers.
For some MNCs, they grow because they need to merge with other companies abroad so that they can work towards common goals. Some of the MNCs have benefitted from operating in different countries because they genuinely want to expand their market share and attract more customers. However, for others, some other forces propagate they are moving to other nations while they close down their subsidiaries. These are some of the advantages of the MNCs but the big picture of their existence shows that they have drawbacks to some countries. Some of the countries where MNCs have portrayed the aspect of structural power include America where they had a major impact on political and economic decisions made by the government but applicable to all citizens and companies. MNCs have the potential of disrupting the political and economic systems through their influence despite the advantages they have for the global economy.
Structural power in MNCs The period between the late 19th century and early 20th century saw many changes which took place because of global revolution. The use of technology was growing, improvement of the infrastructure and changes in the economic conditions were experienced throughout the world. There is the subversion of democracy by the influence and power of the transnational corporations in the present day. MNCs have embraced the ideologies of selfishness and cruelty and it is important to understand the power which these corporations have in the society. In the European Union and the USA, the influence of MNCs is felt when making policies and political decisions. In this case, a large portion of the income earned by MNCs falls in the pockets of the shareholders and not a part of the income earned by the European workers.
MNCs have a large impact on the trade treaties operating internationally. However, through the power of the MNCs, the distribution of wealth and resources only takes place to benefit a small group of elites. The neoliberal policies created by the MNCs focus on benefitting a small group of people in the society. Despite the discredited neoliberal economic model in 2008, it remains a dominant paradigm which drives the policy decisions applied today in most parts of the world. The economic model affects the economy of the world whether used within or among nations. When economic sharing policies call for sharing of the available natural resources, the neoliberal policies allow the MNCs to go beyond the environmental exploitation limit. When the MNCs do not have a healthy working environment, they have a right to complain to the government which has to implement policies and strategies that will facilitate investment thus contributing to the growth of a country's economy.
Structural power has enabled firms to become agents of growth in the economy. The growth of MNCs across the world has improved the global economy. Nations have benefitted from the global corporations but some have faced challenges because of the more powerful of the MNCs. Multinationals can influence the political systems of most countries where they want to benefit from the economy. MNCs have become a part of the controlling agents in politics and economy. Most countries have embraced MNCs because they focus on the benefits associated with the large businesses across the world. When MNCs have their impact on the political systems, there is the likelihood that the citizens will suffer from the policies implemented by the government. The small businesses have not managed to grow because the business policies applied to favor the large businesses.
The control by MNCs has also made it hard for some governments to make the best decisions that will impact positively in the society (Perlmutter, 2017). MNCs have become beneficial in the world but they have also influenced the way in which economies run. In the future, there is the probability of MNCs controlling all operations in the world. For example, the MNCs affect the way in which operations take place in most countries (Geppert, Becker-Ritterspach & Mudambi, 2016). The government should, however, look forward to implementing the best strategies to reduce the impact of MNCs in the nations. MNCs have always impacted on the political and economic systems in the world. Organization studies, 37(9), 1249-1270. Geppert, M. Becker-Ritterspach, F. Mudambi, R. Politics and power in multinational companies: Integrating the international business and organization studies perspectives.
Andersson, U. How subsidiaries gain power in multinational corporations. Journal of World Business, 49(1), 101-113. Palan, R. Ed. European Journal of International Relations, 20(4), 912-938.
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