Talent Management (TM), as a new managerial concept with regard to Human Resource Management (HRM), has increasingly gained concern and attention from the academic as well as business world, but there are many gaps and omissions left for further theoretical development and empirical study. Hence, understanding the differences between TM and HRM becomes necessary. Given an absence of clarity in the literature, the aim of the present study is to gain a thorough understanding of TM among Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in Beijing, to explore to what extent this managerial idea represents anything new, and to find out why organisations adopt TM. A case study method was selected as the main research methodology. The study was undertaken in Beijing, and the target companies were limited to four MNCs, respectively from the IT (two organisations), health care and education industries, and three consultancy companies. The theoretical perspective largely draws upon the literature on TM, management fashion and institutional theory. Findings show that the topic of TM has been enthusiastically pursued. However, there is not a single concise definition shared by all the case study organisations, even though different strands of understanding regarding TM are explored in this study. The thesis has also explored what is distinctive about TM, and the factors and purposes influencing the adoption of TM in China. Through comparing HRM with literature and empirical findings relating to TM, this thesis has found that TM seems to presage some new approaches to the management of the people resource in organisations, rather than a simple repackaging of old techniques and ideas with a new label. Meanwhile, this thesis strongly challenges the idea that TM is another struggle by HR professionals to enhance their legitimacy, status and credibility. Therefore, TM should not be considered as ‘old wine in new bottles’, at least with respect to the case of MNCs in China.

This thesis argues that corporations have outgrown the theoretical frameworks that were devised to explain their dynamics at the turn of the 20th century. Contemporary conditions result in crises of legitimacy between corporations and their public contexts. With their amplified scales of operation and wide-reaching physical, economic, political, and social consequences, corporations of the 21st century demand revised theoretical, legal, and pragmatic interpretations that are better suited to grappling with present-day dynamics and to addressing critical challenges. This research examines contemporary controversies between corporations and publics from a critical legal perspective. Analysis of corporate dynamics is informed by geographically oriented themes of space and scale, contingency and attribution, and materiality and risk as they bear relevance to theoretical and real enactments of the corporation. This thesis grounds its claims with reference to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) discourse; taking advantage of its reach and popularity while maintaining enough distance to note its limitations and internal contradictions. This thesis finds that the present-day account of CSR is originated and advanced by an ideological orientation that is universalizing, materialist, positivist, formalist and rationalist. Such an orientation is confronted and contested in this work by a more critical rationality that is concerned with power dynamics, as well as questions of agency and self-determination. This rationality is elaborated through four empirical chapters which find that: 1) appeals to a CSR agenda as an effective mechanism for addressing the corporation’s public impacts assumes the existence of a modern, liberal political context; 2) community ‘materiality’ presents an opportunity to bridge the notional public/private divide that is a core tenet of liberal theory; 3) the global corporation extends into plural territorialities and legal jurisdictions, and its public identity as interpreted through legal text sets the parameters for the accountability regimes devised to manage its impacts 4) pragmatist and aspirational legal agendas might be coordinated to advance issue-focused as well as case-based corporate liability reform. This work advances an account of the corporate-public relationship that carries relevance to a range of actors; corporations, public communities, policy makers and legal scholars. Each group has an integral part to play in addressing the challenges presented by the modern corporate arrangement and devising regimes that contain its public implications.

The aim of this research is to examine the extent to which the offshoring and outsourcing practices in Multinational Corporations, when the headquarters are registered and located in either the UK or Germany; are embedded in the institutional contexts of their respective home countries. There are six research questions relating to differences in approach and choice of location, ownership and coordination, employment practice, cultural proximity, trade union influence and finally the extent of re-shoring. These are primarily assessed through the 'varieties of capitalism' perspective. A comparative case study approach has been adopted with a focus on two sectors; airlines and engineering; in each case a major UK and German organisation are compared. Fourteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews took place in both the home countries and overseas locations in Europe, India and Asia. The sample size is small, however, each was with a senior executive and the transcripts revealed 'rich data' for compiling the case studies and answering the research questions. The contribution to original thinking is a conceptual framework posited by proposing a taxonomy to analyse the relationship between coordinated and liberal market economies and the components of the offshoring and / or outsourcing process. Reference is made to theory drawn from the resource based view, global production networks, dynamic capabilities, embeddedness as well as varieties of capitalism to focus on competences, spatial dimensions and power. It is this collective approach that is considered to be novel. Qualitative analysis is deployed to re-construct the actual framework for each industry sector. Constructs (Reichertz, 2004) combining abduction, deduction and induction are used to develop propositions that lead to conclusions. The similarities between the two UK companies and the two German companies confirms the usefulness of the taxonomy and allows for its extension to other firms and sectors. Key findings and conclusions from the two case studies are that German organizations are less inclined to outsource (in both sectors) preferring to reduce costs and retain control through captive offshoring. The UK businesses were less risk adverse and more flexible and agile in their sourcing policies. There was evidence that the UK companies regarded outsourcing and offshoring as options for closer co-operation that may lead to strategic alliances and mergers or acquisition. The relationships with trade unions/works council was also found to be very different, with a reluctance by management in Germany to progress radical initiatives. Other differences in terms of autonomy and division of labour were found. From an institutional perspective the German CME's cases were less able to deploy outsourcing and offshoring strategies with the degrees of freedom that the UK LMEs typically enjoyed. CMEs are constrained by their policies, interconnectedness and style of working. A number of ambiguities are highlighted. The thesis argues that the outsourcing and offshoring practices are embedded to a high degree in the institutional practices of the home countries. Finally, the empirical novelty lies in the 'rich data' generated by valuable insights from the senior executive interviewees to which the researcher was privileged to have access.

L’objectif de ce travail de recherche est de croiser deux bases d’informations sur la relation entre stratégie et design organisationnel des firmes multinationales (FMN), dans le but de proposer un cadre conceptuel permettant de renouveler et d’actualiser la réflexion sur cette relation. La première base d’informations est théorique. Elle est le fruit d’une lecture originale de la littérature en management stratégique et en management international : cette lecture pense les stratégies et les designs organisationnels comme relevant d’une réflexion spatiale. En nous inspirant d’auteurs tels que Lefebvre (1974) ou Lussault (2006), nous montrons en effet que les stratégies de niveau corporate traitent des questions de distance perçue entre les activités ou les environnements géographiques, et que leur mise en œuvre consiste à agencer des espaces organisationnels par l’intermédiaire de deux outils : le découpage spatio-organisationnels et la localisation du pouvoir de décision. Ces outils permettent d’organiser la circulation des informations et des connaissances par et dans l’espace. La deuxième base d’informations est empirique. Elle ressort d’un travail de croisement de bases de données secondaires, provenant essentiellement d’enquêtes réalisées par les instituts de la statistique publique français et se compose de deux échantillons : un échantillon de niveau groupe (166 FMN françaises) et un échantillon de niveau entreprise (245 filiales françaises contrôlées par des FMN françaises). La confrontation de ces deux bases nous permet de proposer un cadre conceptuel construit dans le but de répondre à la problématique de la thèse : « comment se conçoit le design spatio-organisationnel des FMN ? » / The research work presented in this thesis addresses the relationship between strategy and organizational design in the context of multinational Corporations (MNC). First building and then exploiting two ad hoc information databases, this work helps in designing a conceptual framework that both rejuvenates and nourishes reflections about that relationship.The first information source is a theoretical one. Building on the strategic and international management literature, a new reading is developed that reinterprets organizational design and strategy through a new spatial lens. Drawing insights from authors that have specialized on space-related questions such as Lefebvre (1974) or Lussault (2006), it is shown here that strategies at the corporate level actually deal with questions about perceived distance among activities or geographical environments. Strategic execution is then concerned with two tools: cutting-out organizational spaces and locating decision nodes. Those tools foster information and knowledge exchanges, both in and through space. The second information source is an empirical one. It results from the cross-analysis of secondary data extracted out of several databases, mainly drawn from French national databases, and consists into two samples: a group-level sample (166 French MNCs) and a firm-level sample (245 French subsidiaries that are controlled by a French MNC).Confronting the two resulting information sources, a whole framework appears that let us both deepen and enlighten our reasoning about the question: “How is MNF’s spatio-organizational design to be conceived?”

This Diploma Thesis is about Internal Audit in Multinational Corporations in Energy Industry. The goal of this Diploma Thesis is to introduce Internal Audit in chosen Multinational Corporations. In each company is introduced emplacement of Internal Audit, process of Internal Audit and planning process of Internal Audit. Diploma Thesis also explores corrective actions, follow-up audits and fraud prevention program.

Student Number : 0411745T - MA research report - School of International Relations - Faculty of Humanities / The debate about companies in conflict zones and how they link with human rights violations has gained more attention recently in both business and International Relations. As a result of negative role played by some of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in conflict zones, the profile of business in conflict prevention, governance and democratization has become more defined. This is due to the outcry concerning the activities of MNCs in conflict zones. The international community has vigorously campaigned for effective regimes to guide the conduct of MNCs in conflicts. The aim of this thesis is to figure out both direct and indirect role that the MNCs played in conflict areas such as Angola where there are massive abuse of human rights. The increase in foreign direct investment has created a myriad of opportunities for expansion within developing countries such as Angola, the study wants to make intense analysis of that expansion in zones of conflict as to whether companies are a force for good or not, deriving empirical evidence of Angola.

Dentro da área de Negócios Internacionais, uma nova tendência surgiu no início da década de 2000, em complemento ao movimento de outsourcing que já se observava há décadas. Este movimento denominado offshoring passou a ocupar importante espaço na mídia e também em periódicos especializados, onde se procurou entender, caracterizar e delimitar sua abrangência, causas e conseqüências. Este trabalho procura contribuir neste tema através de um survey realizado junto a 172 subsidiárias de multinacionais instaladas no Brasil dos mais variados setores da economia. Com base nisso, quatro conjuntos de hipóteses foram elaborados para serem testados através das respostas obtidas com a aplicação de um questionário via Internet e que possibilitaram a verificação estatística para cada hipótese formulada. O primeiro conjunto foi referente aos tipos de atividades (estratégicas ou não-estratégicas) que a subsidiária desenvolve no país. O segundo conjunto está relacionado à terceirização de atividades. Se a terceirização faz parte do modelo de negócios adotado e que tipo de serviços contrata junto a terceiros. O terceiro conjunto questiona a percepção com relação à competitividade obtida pela subsidiária segundo os drivers encontrados, as ferramentas para decisão disponíveis e eventuais parcerias realizadas. Finalmente o quarto conjunto avalia a percepção dos respondentes com relação ao risco de perda ou inibição interna de competências. De forma geral, os testes realizados mostraram que as empresas pesquisadas realizam grande quantidade de atividades estratégicas, mas que também terceirizam serviços estratégicos em complemento às suas operações e modelos de negócios. Também foi observado que a competitividade é melhorada através do outsourcing de serviços, mas que também existe o receio de risco de perda ou inibição de competências, apesar de utilizarem ferramentas ou conceitos conhecidos como cadeia de valor, custo de transação, visão baseada em recursos e competências essenciais. / Within the area of international business, a new trend emerged in the early 2000s, in addition to the movement of outsourcing that has already been watched for decades. This movement called offshoring went on to occupy important space in the media and also in specialist periodicals, which sought to understand, characterize and delimit its scope, causes and consequences. This work seeks to contribute in this theme through a survey conducted among 172 subsidiaries of multinationals in Brazil from different sectors of the economy. Basis, four sets of hypotheses to be tested were prepared through the answers obtained by applying a questionnaire via the Internet and that allowed the statistical verification for each assumption made. The first set was covering the types of activities (strategic or non-strategic) that the subsidiary develops in the country. The second set is related to the outsourcing of activities. If outsourcing is part of the business model adopted and what kind of services hires along to third parties. The third set questions the perception with respect to competitiveness obtained by subsidiary second drivers found, available tools for decision and possible partnerships undertaken. Finally the fourth set assesses the perception of the respondents with respect to the risk of loss or inhibition of internal competence. Generally, the tests showed that the companies surveyed develop large amount of strategic activities internally, but that also outsource strategic services in addition to its operations and business model. It was also noted that competitiveness is improved through outsourcing services, but also there is the fear of risk of loss or inhibition of skills, although using tools or concepts known as value chain, transaction cost economics, resource-based view and core competences.

O presente estudo procurou compreender a transferência, o desenvolvimento e o reconhecimento das competências das subsidiárias. O objetivo principal foi entender o modelo de gestão da corporação, determinante para o fenômeno da transferência, desenvolvimento e reconhecimento das competências. O modelo proposto abordou a importância das diretrizes estratégicas da matriz na relação com as subsidiárias (autonomia, integração, orientação empreendedora), a gestão da subsidiária (iniciativa própria) e a gestão da relação da subsidiária com o ambiente externo (contexto competitivo e a rede externa). Serviu de base para a elaboração desses pressupostos a teoria da visão baseada em recursos e capacidades dinâmicas; os modelos estratégicos das multinacionais em conjunto com a teoria evolucionária do papel das subsidiárias; e as teorias recentes acerca das multinacionais emergentes. Para testar os pressupostos foi conduzido um survey com as subsidiárias de multinacionais brasileiras. De 46 empresas multinacionais brasileiras identificadas, 29 aceitaram participar da pesquisa. Estas multinacionais tinham 93 subsidiárias para as quais foram enviados questionários, retornando a resposta de 66 subsidiárias. De modo geral os resultados mostram a importância das variáveis ambiente externo para a transferência, desenvolvimento e reconhecimento de competências. Deve ser salientada a necessidade de iniciativas das subsidiárias para a criação de competências não-locais em contraposição às competências específicas e locais. Os resultados mostram também como diferentes modelos de gestão refletem na presença de diferentes tipos de competências nas subsidiárias. Conclui-se que a transferência, desenvolvimento e reconhecimento de competências das subsidiárias figuram como um dos fatores essenciais para a competitividade das multinacionais brasileiras. Isso implica que as multinacionais brasileiras devem enxergar as subsidiárias como fonte de competências superado o fato da empresa ter nascido no país errado e exaltando os modelos da estratégia transnacional e metanacional como guias para os seus modelos de gestão. / The current study tried to understand the transference, the development and the recognition of the competences of the subsidiaries. The main objective was to understand the model of management of the corporation, important for the phenomenon of the transference, development and recognition of the competences. The related model approached the importance of the strategic lines of direction of the headquarters in the relation with the subsidiary (autonomy, integration, entrepreneurial orientation), the management of subsidiary (initiatives) and the management of the relation of the subsidiary with the external environment (competitive context and the business network). The dynamic theory of the resource based view was considered as base for the elaboration of these purposes; the strategic models of the multinationals together with the evolutionary theory of the role of the subsidiaries; and the recent theories concerning the emerging multinationals. In order to test the purposes, a survey was conducted with the subsidiaries of the Brazilian multinationals. Twenty nine out of forty six identified Brazilian multinational companies, accepted to participate in the survey. These multinational companies had 93 subsidiaries for which questionnaires were sent, and from which 66 were answered. In general, the results show an the importance of the variable external environment for the transference, development and recognition of competences. The necessity of initiatives of the subsidiaries for the creation of non-local competences in contraposition to the specific and local competences must be pointed out. The results also show how different models of management reflect in the presence of different types of competences in the subsidiaries. As a conclusion, the transference, development and recognition of competences of the subsidiaries appear as one of the essential factors for the competitiveness of the Brazilian multinationals. This implies that the Brazilian multinationals must see the subsidiaries as source of competences considering the fact of the company has been born in the wrong country and emphasizing the models of the transnational and metanational strategy as guides for its models of management.

International Human Resource Management (IHRM) plays a significant role in Multinational Corporation (MNC) management and governance, particularly when such organizations transfer policies and practices from their headquarters to subsidiaries overseas. However, there is some scepticism concerning the balance and coherence in the relationship between standardized systems set in MNC headquarters and the adapted practices in their subsidiaries. This may become evident when considering the factors that influence the design, conduct and related effectiveness of human resource practices such as performance management. This research explores the extent to which transferability of a model for performance management, initially based on western practice, is possible from China to Africa, taking into account the required adaptation of its specific Chinese characteristics to specific African conditions. It concludes that performance management can make an important and long-lasting contribution to Chinese MNCs in Africa and raise their competitiveness and efficiency, although significant challenges remain. In the exploration of the design and implementation of this HR practice in the headquarters and subsidiary contexts, the study evaluates the methods incorporated in performance management systems for their effective transfer and examines the key factors which concern stakeholders, including employee engagement, intercultural communication and sustainable impacts within a development context. The research develops an analytical framework for taking into account the context, the influential factors and the effectiveness criteria of performance management systems in Chinese MNCs when their IHRM practices are transferred into different contexts, with specific reference to an Africa case study context. The study establishes that in the contexts considered the benefits of standardized HR practices, such as performance management, may be gained most fully for both headquarters and subsidiary when these practices are set within a win-win frame for both parts of the organisation. One which is characterised by an appropriate balance of standardisation and adaptability.

This thesis is about economic growth of China and India, their present situation and their socio economical problems. Then it describes their position in the international trade, their impact on the changes in the international trade and it concerns itself with the question, if their activity will benefit or harm the world economy. It also describes the impact of China and India on the changes in strategies of multinational corporations.