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O Brasil se destaca, dentre o conjunto de países, como aquele que engendrou e consolidou o uso de recursos energéticos alternativos aos combustíveis fósseis, como por exemplo, os biocombustíveis. A condição de player mundial de etanol, biocombustível produzido a partir da cana-de-açúcar, foi alcançada pelo país em decorrência dos significativos aportes financeiros concedidos pelo Estado ao setor sucroalcooleiro desde o final do século XIX e, sobretudo, durante a década de 1970, por meio do Programa Nacional do Álcool (PNA) cujo objetivo era diminuir a dependência do país em relação ao petróleo importado. Num período que se caracteriza, dentre outras questões, por uma corrida global por alimentos e novas fontes de energia limpa para suprir a crescente demanda mundial, o Brasil desponta no cenário internacional como o país que possui uma situação sui generis, uma vez que com o seu vasto território, poderia, supostamente, conciliar a produção de alimentos e de matérias-primas para a geração dos biocombustíveis (etanol e biodiesel). Investigou-se, portanto, a ocorrência simultânea dos seguintes fenômenos: a intensificação de compra de terras brasileiras por estrangeiros (para a produção de commodities agrícolas, matérias-primas para biocombustíveis e para servir de reserva de valor) e o questionamento dos agentes políticos e econômicos supraestatais quanto à sustentabilidade dos biocombustíveis, por compreenderem que o cultivo de matérias-primas voltadas para o processo produtivo do etanol e do biodiesel, pode comprometer a oferta de gêneros agrícolas de primeira necessidade, o que provocaria o aumento dos preços e elevaria o número de famintos no mundo. Assim, o objetivo dessa pesquisa, portanto, foi compreender as ações políticas do Estado brasileiro no processo de regulação do território para a produção dos recursos energéticos alternativos. Essas ações estiveram e estão condicionadas as forças externas (as corporações transnacionais, outros Estados territoriais e Instituições supraestatais) e as forças internas (os diferentes interesses dos segmentos sociais que compõe a nação). Ainda, elas têm imprimido no território brasileiro, diferentes dinâmicas sócio-espaciais cujos resultados têm sido a expansão dos canaviais sobre a região do Cerrado e o deslocamento da pecuária para o bioma da Amazônia. Convém destacar que buscamos compreender as ações do Estado brasileiro inseridas em contextos histórico-geográficos aos quais denominamos de ordens geopolíticas. Em cada uma dessas ordens geopolíticas, o Estado brasileiro esteve articulado à economia-mundo. Assim, embora as ações do Estado brasileiro tenham sido controversas e ambíguas no que diz respeito aos recursos energéticos alternativos, não se pode desconsiderar que as mesmas não tenham tido papel de relevo na consolidação de uma matriz energética mais limpa. Tal fato coloca o Brasil como um dos protagonistas nos fóruns internacionais sobre desenvolvimento sustentável. Não obstante, o setor sucroalcooleiro brasileiro tem se tornado mais concentrado, oligopolizado e desnacionalizado. E a concentração de terras pelas Corporações Transnacionais que atuam no segmento dos biocombustíveis tem sido um dos fatores que concorrem para que o Brasil ainda tenha uma segurança alimentar vulnerável. / Brazil stands out among the group of countries, such as one that engendered and consolidated the use of alternative energy sources to fossil fuels, such as biofuels. The condition of world player of ethanol, biofuel made from sugar cane, was achieved by the country as a result of significant financial contributions granted by State to the sugarcane sector since the late nineteenth century and especially during the 1970s through the National Alcohol Program (PNA) whose goal was to reduce the country\'s dependence on imported oil. In a period that is characterized, among other things, by a global race for food and new sources of clean energy to meet the growing global demand, Brazil is emerging on the international scene as the country that has a unique situation, since the its vast territory, could supposedly reconciling the production of food and raw materials for the generation of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel). We investigated, therefore, the simultaneous occurrence of the following phenomena: the intensification of land purchases by foreigners in Brazil (for the production of agricultural commodities, raw materials for biofuels and to serve as a store of value) and questioning of political and economic agents supra regarding the sustainability of biofuels, by understanding that the cultivation of raw materials aimed at the production process of ethanol and biodiesel, can compromise the supply of farm products of first necessity, which would lead to higher prices and would increase the number of hungry people in the world. The objective of this study was therefore to understand the political actions of the Brazilian state in the regulation of the territory for the production of alternative energy resources. These actions were and are conditioned external forces (transnational corporations, territorial states and other institutions supra) and internal forces (the different interests of social groups that make up the nation). Still, they are printed in the Brazilian territory, different socio-spatial dynamics whose results have been the expansion of sugarcane plantations on the Cerrado region and the displacement of cattle ranching to the Amazon biome. It should be noted that we try to understand the actions of the Brazilian state entered into historical and geographical contexts to which we call geopolitical orders. In each of these geopolitical orders, the Brazilian state was articulated to the world economy. Thus, although the actions of the Brazilian state have been controversial and ambiguous with respect to alternative energy resources, one can not ignore that they have not had major role in the consolidation of a cleaner energy matrix. This fact places Brazil as a major actor in international forums on sustainable development. Nevertheless, the Brazilian sugarcane sector has become more concentrated, oligopolistic and stateless. And the concentration of land by transnational corporations that operate in biofuels has been one of the factors that contribute to that Brazil still has a vulnerable food security.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a long history; as a matter of fact, it has been developing at an unprecedented pace in the recent years. The swift development might be tempting for observers to suppose that CSR is evolving into a permanent phenomenon, embodying a new form of business-society relationship at both national and international level. Naturally, the reality is always more complex than it might seem at first sight.

This diploma thesis deals with selected methods that large companies can use to optimize their business results in the international environment. It focuses namely on methods of outsourcing, offshoring, tax optimization and cash flow management. The first part briefly describes globalization in the world economy and transnational corporations as its major players. The next two chapters are devoted to strategies which lead to cost reductions of enterprises due to outsourcing and offshoring. The fourth part characterizes the way offshoring enters into foreign markets in the form of foreign direct investments. The fifth section deals with tax optimizations for multinational companies. The sixth part mentions the measures taken so far in the area of tax coordination in the world and in particular the European Union and the last chapter briefly defines various options which can be used for cash flow optimization.

Die Studie beschäftigt sich mit den Auswirkungen der von Deutschland geschlossenen bilateralen Investitionsschutzverträge (Bilateral Investment Treaties, BITs) auf die wirtschaftliche, soziale und ökologische Regulierung von ausländischen Investitionen. Die Analyse der 137 deutschen BITs sowie die Auswertung relevanter Schiedsgerichtsentscheidungen hat folgende zentrale Ergebnisse hinsichtlich der Einschränkung staatlicher Regulierungsmöglichkeiten ergeben: <br><br> Aufgrund eines breiten Enteignungsbegriffs kann eine umweltpolitische Regulierung, die wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen auf ausländische Investoren hat, eine Verpflichtung zur Entschädigung nach sich ziehen, denn den deutschen BITs ist nicht klar zu entnehmen, dass staatliche Regulierung im Regelfall nicht als Enteignung gelten sollte. <br><br> Empirisch kann weder eine Verbindung zwischen dem Abschluss von BITs und einem Anstieg des Investitionsvolumens noch ein Automatismus zwischen dem Zufluss von privatem Kapital und wirtschaftlicher Entwicklung hergestellt werden. Im Gegenteil sind sogar staatliche Maßnahmen, die für kapitalimportierende Länder eine Möglichkeit wären, den wirtschaftlichen Nutzen von ausländischen Investitionen zu erhöhen, durch Regelungen in den BITs untersagt. Problematisch im Bereich geistiges Eigentum ist, dass Rechtsinhaber vor einem internationalen Schiedsgericht Entschädigung einklagen können, wenn staatliche Regulierung im öffentlichen Interesse zu einem enteignungsgleichen Eingriff führt. <br><br> Dienstleistungen unterliegen aufgrund ihrer Eigenschaften besonders stark der staatlichen Regulierung, so dass auch hier Konflikte bezüglich des Enteignungsschutzes und des Grundsatzes der gerechten und billigen Behandlung entstehen. Bei der Beteiligung privater Unternehmen in der Daseinsvorsorge ist problematisch, dass jede Verletzung vertraglicher Zusicherungen durch den Gaststaat aufgrund der Abschirmungsklausel als Verstoß gegen die deutschen BITs gilt. Damit erschweren die Verträge, die häufig über lange Zeiträume geschlossen sind, Reaktionen staatlicher Stellen auf neu auftretende Regulierungsbedürfnisse. <br><br> Im Bereich des Arbeitnehmerschutzes und der Sozialpolitik kann in bestimmten Konstellationen die Verschärfung von Arbeitsstandards gegen die Abschirmungsklausel verstoßen oder die Umverteilung von Land ohne volle Entschädigung mit dem Enteignungsschutz in Konflikt geraten. Bei der Besteuerung ausländischer Investoren können insbesondere Widersprüchlichkeiten im Steuerrecht, die sich zuungunsten ausländischer Investoren auswirken, als Verstoß gegen den Grundsatz der Inländerbehandlung interpretiert werden, selbst wenn ihnen keine protektionistische Intention zugrunde liegt. <br><br> Auch das Investor-to-State Verfahren trägt dazu bei, dass der Ausgleich zwischen Investitionsschutz und legitimen staatlichen Regulierungsinteressen teilweise nur unzureichend gelingt. Das liegt unter anderem an seiner Nichtöffentlichkeit, der fragmentarischen Natur der Entscheidungen und der fehlenden Nähe der Schiedsgerichte zu den tatsächlichen und rechtlichen Hintergründen der Streitigkeiten. <br><br> Als Konsequenz aus den genannten Problembereichen werden Reformvorschläge für deutsche bilaterale Investitionsabkommen als ein erster Schritt zur Schaffung eines Gleichgewichts zwischen Investorenrechten und Investorenpflichten entwickelt. Durch eine Reform sollten den Gaststaaten größere Handlungsspielräume eröffnet und ihre Flexibilität erhöht werden, um den ökonomischen Nutzen ausländischer Investitionen für Entwicklungsländer zu steigern und allen Ländern eine Regulierung von Investitionen im öffentlichen Interesse zu ermöglichen.

The study addresses the outward cross-border linking of the Swedish economy and its most important transnational corporations during the 20th century. It explores the aggregate level of Swedish industry, and most importantly, the firm level of a group of eight long-standing transnational corporations, which during the post-1945 period represented roughly half of Sweden’s foreign industrial activity in terms of employment, e.g., Alfa Laval, ASEA, Ericsson, Sandvik, SKF, AGA, Electrolux and Atlas Copco. Since most of these corporations existed already a century ago it was possible to explore their historical trajectories within the general process of globalization. Hence, the study contributes to the testing of the globalization thesis with a small, open, developed economy as the point of reference. Based on aggregate national data and data on levels of foreign activity of Swedish transnational corporations the study presents a phase model of globalization, identifying first an ‘initial phase’ of globalization from ca 1871 to 1929, second a ‘stagnation phase’ (1930-1949), then a third ‘expansion phase’ (1950-1979) and finally, a ‘highlight of globalization’ phase, beginning in 1980 and continuing into the 21st century. In order to gain deeper insights into the historical process of Sweden’s outward economic linking it then looked in more detail at the eight firms mentioned above. Employing a quantitative formal model of foreign corporate activity, the study focusses on changes in the relative magnitude of foreign employment and sales (‘intensity’) and on the geographical distribution of foreign subsidiaries (‘extensity’). The two former categories are combined into an ‘index of transnationality’, which serves as a principal analytical tool for uncovering long-term change. The study concludes that for Swedish industry and its largest transnational corporations the term globalization represents more of a historical, continuous long-term trend than an exclusively contemporary development. In fact, the only period in time when we see a general stagnation in the positive trends was 1930-1945. Moreover, the study found at least two periods of rapid outward linking on the part of some of the most important Swedish corporations, apart from the current one, that is, the decade and a half preceding World War I and the 1960s. Nevertheless, levels of relative magnitude of activity abroad and of geographical spread attained by Swedish industry and its transnational corporations during the last two decades, were in many respects unprecedented. Findings on the variations in the actual pace of globalization during the whole 20th century demonstrated firstly, that positive change in geographical spread of the group of long-standing transnational corporations proceeded at an increasing pace when calculated in absolute terms. For the 1960-1999 period, the existence of positive long-term trends in the magnitude of both foreign sales and foreign employment were discovered. Also, there was an acceleration of the pace at which foreign sales increased over time, when calculated in absolute terms.

The overall aim of this thesis is to analyse the social consequences of a transnational corporation(TNC) from the global North investing capital in the global South, and the communal processes that evolve in response. The study highlights the TNC’s construction of leadership and domination in the areas in which it settles, as well as the forces of popular resistance to the TNC’s exploitation of the region’s natural resources and the resulting socio-environmental conditions. The study is based on empirical fieldwork (including 22 interviews) carried out in Uruguay and Argentina related to the establishment of a pulp mill by Botnia/UPM. The analyses focus on discursive processes whereby the TNC establishes itself in the community. The found patterns are discussed in the thesis based on the following themes: “Making the TNC indispensible” ; “Dominating the spaces of communication” ; “Controlling the narratives” ; “Contradictions of external and internal colonialism” and “Establishing and maintaining hegemony”. All of these have to do with socio-political and discursive strategies and circumstances whereby the TNC—symbolically and materially— becomes a powerful force in the country and community where it establishes itself. This creates certain social positions, and gives rise to tensions within a number of areas. In relation to these processes, the thesis also highlights the formation and mobilization of resistance against the changing social, cultural and economic conditions created through the arrival of the TNC. What appears to be crucial for the deployment of a successful counter-force is the creation of spaces for organisation, for practices of resistance and to sustain democratic values and practices. This makes the social movement an autonomous voice that incarnates disobedience against thestate, the juridical international apparatus and the hegemonic practices of TNCs.

What does the global situation look like after the end of Cold War? To the scholars on the international politics, what they put focus on is the establishment of global order and the configuration of the international society. Compared with the situation during the Cold War era, the changes of political conflicts, development of technology and the nature of human culture have been getting intense and frequent in the past ten years. The main trend of international relationship is the move toward global integration, and that gradually replaces the notion of putting the nation on the center of issues. The importance of transnational units and un-military forces is getting more impressive and powerful. As a result, besides nations, many non-nation units gradually occupy the global stage. The words like non-governmental organizations, transnational corporations and transnational financial institution all become popular in the post- Cold War era as well. That the occurrence of these non-nations stands for the collapse of the boundary of nations has caused impact on the international system consisting of sovereign nations, and the result the impact might cause is the main issue of global change and globalization. What foreseeable is that nations aren¡¦t the sole unit of global politics anymore. The activities of international non-governmental organizations have gradually affected the foreign policy-making of these nations; the expansion of transnational corporations has also directly influenced the change of global economy. Meanwhile, with the move of capitals these transnational corporations need, the role played by the global financial institution deserves more attention. In this dissertation, the words, globalization and globalism, will be properly defined and reviewed. Then, on the basis of understanding the birth of sovereignty and nations, I will discuss the operational rules and the essential parts of nations. Finally, what impact the nations will face in the process of globalization will be analyzed

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Vykstanti pasaulio ekonomikos globalizacija, spartėjantis informacinių technologijų naudojimas, tarptautinių korporacijų plėtra pateikė naujus iššūkius, reikalavimus, standartus ne tik įvairių šalių verslo visuomenei, vyriausybėms, bet ir žmonijai. Verslas, globalizacijos fone, keičiasi vis greitėjančiu tempu ir susiduria su naujais iššūkiais. Pastebimas spaudimas rinkoms bei globalioms įmonėms imtis vadinamo „atsakingo globalaus kapitalizmo“ bei globalių problemų sprendimo. Kaip atsakas į besikeičiančius visuomenės poreikius, globalinių problemų sprendimą, vis labiau plėtojama ir analizuojama įmonių socialinės atsakomybės idėja. Šio darbo tikslas yra išanalizuoti pelno, kaip pagrindinio įmonių veiklos tikslo, ir įmonių socialinės atsakomybės, kurios reikšmė vis auga, optimalaus derinimo galimybes. Darbą sudaro trys dalys. Pirmojoje analizuojama globalinė ekonomika, jos varančiosios jėgos, įmonių socialinės atsakomybės idėjos samprata bei teikiama nauda. Antrojoje dalyje analizuojama kelių tarptautinių korporacijų socialiai atsakingo verslo praktika, teorinių ir empirinių tyrimų padėtis įmonių socialinės atsakomybės klausimais Lietuvoje. Trečiojoje dalyje pateikti įmonių socialinės atsakomybės idėjos supratimo darbuotojų tarpe ir šios idėjos principų taikymo tyrimo rezultatai. / World’s economics globalization, speedy information technologies use, transnationals corporations development introduced new challenges, requirements, standards not only for business society of different countries, governments, but also for humanity. Business, in the context of globalization, is changing in a rapid speed and is facing up with new challenges. There is seen a pressure for global companies to undertake the “responsible global capitalism” and solve global problems. Corporate social responsibility concept is developing and analyzed as a response to changing society needs and global problems solving. The aim of this diploma paper is to analyze profit, as the main purpose of business operations, and corporate social responsibility, which importance is growing, optimal harmonization possibilities. This paper is made of three parts. In the first part of this paper there is analyzed global economy, corporate social responsibility concept and the benefits of corporate social responsibility. In the second part of diploma paper, there are analyzed the practice of socially responsible business of few transnationals corporations. In the third part there are presented research results.