Planning in Nigerian business

This article focuses on two specific areas of Corporate Planning in Nigeria, i.e. what are the special problems of planning in a less developed economic environment and how have these problems affected the practice of corporate planning in such an economy? The author reviews the planning environment in Nigeria and finds that formal corporate planning is fairly widespread, a reflection of their association with multinational companies in many cases.     

Prediction and practice in multinational strategic planning

The author of this article argues that the models which have been put forward relating to the strategic planning process in multinational companies are inadequate. Nevertheless that the organizational structures and control systems adopted by companies have allowed them to cope to some degree, the advent of the regional headquarters having played a significant role in this process where inter-regional trading is limited.The emergence of global strategies seems to be progressing at a substantial pace.     

有核网络型集群中知识共享深度与知识型企业的创新资源投入关系研究

针对我国由国内小企业对大企业(国外跨国公司)的依附关系而形成的有核网络型集群.建立集群中知识溢出、知识共享所形成的不同深度组织知识和企业的私有知识对产出的影响分析模型,通过仿真计算,研究了不同知识共享深度及私有知识产出弹性对企业知识共享行为和创新资源投入的影响.研究表明,对大企业而言.只有当公共知识产出弹性超过一定阈值时,才会进行主动知识共享,且该阈值随着知识共享深度的增加而增大:且当公共知识产出弹性超过该阈值时,大企业创新投入将随公共知识产出弹性的增加而显著增加;但此时公共知识产出弹性的增加反而会抑制小企业的创新投入.相关研究结论对促进集群持续发展提供了有益的启示.     

The impact of autonomy on information systems planning effectiveness

Autonomy for information systems planning may have an impact on the effectiveness of that planning. Theory Y suggests that when managers have more autonomy, they have greater feelings of ownership, commitment, and responsibility, and thus perform better. A postal survey of 131 chief information officers of US subsidiaries of multinational firms collected data to test hypotheses based on the theory. Data analysis revealed that autonomy for IS planning in general and the strategy selection planning activity in particular significantly predicted IS planning effectiveness. These findings thus extend the theory to a new domain, namely IS planning in multinational firms, and thereby facilitate a better understanding of the management of IS planning. They further suggest that parent managers consider delegating greater autonomy to the managers of their foreign subsidiaries.     

An environmentally conscious robust closed-loop supply chain design

Strategic network planning activities of national and even more of multinational companies are recently influenced by an increasing number of laws and regulations regarding environmental issues. On top of that non-governmental bodies pose additional pressures on companies to comply with environmental as well as social standards. Therefore, this paper presents a multi-objective and robust optimization-based closed-loop supply chain design model. In the objective function both expected total costs as well as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) are to be minimized. Customer demands and used-product return ratio are considered to be uncertain. The model supports the decision makers to better understand the influence of parameters and their values as well as the interrelationship between these when deciding on the structure of the entire value chain.     

International adjustment of Brazilian expatriates in the United States of America

The adjustment of expatriates to host countries has been identified as a determinant of their success in international assignments. The literature on expatriates is largely based on cases of expatriates from developed economies; however, given the current global market scenario, companies from developing countries are also assigning expatriates to international assignments. The purpose of this study was to understand the international adjustment of Brazilian expatriates working for Brazilian multinational subsidiaries in the United States of America (USA). The study used an exploratory approach of in-depth interviews with open-ended questions conducted with 11 Brazilian expatriates working for 11 different Brazilian multinationals in the USA. The contributions of this study are twofold: (1) exploration of the adjustment perspectives of expatriates of Brazilian multinational companies, and (2) exploration of the effects of variables from the USA context, as host country, on the international adjustment of expatriates. Findings show that Brazilian expatriates perceived that rules and laws of the USA had a great effect on their international adjustment, while cross-cultural differences influenced leadership styles and interpersonal relationship.     

Strategic planning for multinationals—The views of governments and scientists

The purpose of the project described in this paper was to study the environmental changes that influence the strategic planning of multinational firms. The environment of any business or government consists of all things external to an organization which influence it, such as political climate, social situation, international economics, etc. The changes in the strategic planning procedures of firms have been reported elsewhere. This article concentrates on the role that three governments in north-western Europe play in multinational business planning and the views of a number of scientists concerning the interaction of environmental conditions and the strategic planning of multinational firms.     

Strategic planning in smaller rapid growth companies

The research reported in this article is based on a study of the strategic planning practices of the 500 fastest growing privately held smaller companies in the United States ranked according to percentage of sales increases from 1978 to 1982.^p1 Based on the information provided, a clear picture emerges regarding the actual role of strategic planning in rapid growth companies.     

Planning for changes in stages of corporate development

A considerable amount of research has demonstrated how companies evolve in terms of strategy and organizational design. The evolution of firms reflects the dynamic response of companies to their changing environment. It is logical that planning must also change in response to changes in overall corporate strategy. This dynamic aspect of planning requires a different approach than planning for the continuing growth of existing businesses based on a consistent strategic outlook. This difference is illustrated by reference to two components of planning: fixed and variable. These distinctions are used to demonstrate the dynamic aspect of planning and how planning can, and should, change to accomodate changes in management strategies.     

在华跨国企业中外员工薪酬差异的实证研究:基于相对剥夺理论

在华跨国企业中本土员工的薪酬绝对值普遍增加,与外籍员工(特指从国外派到中国的外籍员工)的薪酬差异正在缩小,但本土员工的不公平感并没有明显缓解。本文调查了来自11个在华跨国企业中的249名员工的薪酬状况,从相对剥夺理论的视角研究该现象。通过对收集到的有效数据进行多元方差和层级回归等统计分析,我们发现尽管本土员工和外籍员工的薪酬差异导致了本土员工的相对剥夺感,但本土员工工作动机的下降和离职意愿的增加并不显著。     

Corporate planning in small companies— a survey

The current state of research on corporate planning is directed at investigations of actual practices within specific industries. It is believed that by so doing, a more generally applicable theory of corporate planning will ultimately be developed. Within this broad framework, the study reported upon in this article was undertaken so that a determination could be made of the current level of actual planning by small businesses. More specifically, it focuses upon the corporate planning process within small and medium sized companies located in New England, U.S.A.     

Strategic planning in 21 U.K. companies

This article is based upon an analysis of strategic planning performance in 21 UK companies and discussions with 91 executives in those companies. The author's findings stress some of the problems related to strategic planning particularly with regard to the importance of informal and political processes in planning.     

Developing strategies for management information systems

This is the first of two articles on a practical approach to Business Information Systems Planning. The articles will outline a formal but practical approach for the development of an information systems strategy. The approach is based on experience gained by the author in the conduct of planning projects in a variety of industries, including wholesale and retail banking, consumer credit, chemicals, multinational manufacturing and distribution and the oil industry. The articles are based on the author's book ‘Planning for Business Information Systems’ (Pergamon Books, 1986).     

Environmental scanning— the state of the art

In recent years increasing attention has been devoted to amplifying individual elements of corporate planning systems—among them the environmental scanning element. Moreover, the unprecendented intensification of corporate environmental complexity has led to a proliferation of approaches to scanning the general environment. However, a recent survey of a dozen U.S. companies has questioned whether such scanning practices have, in fact, been established in an ongoing manner. The author provides evidence here, based on publicly available information, of at least nine leading organizations where the practice of scanning for planning appears to have taken firm root. A discussion of the many facets of the resulting composite picture of sophisticated wide angle scanning leads to the anticipation that it is, in fact, on the threshold of rapid diffusion in the corporate world.     

The Japanese multinational

In this article the author examines the four features found in the emerging Japanese multinational enterprises, (1) joint ventures with participation of trading companies, (2) the R & D capabilities, (3) the Japanese style of management, and (4) socio-political reactions in Asian countries. These features provide the Japanese multinational enterprises with both opportunities and challenges for their future development. Proper consideration is given to the comparison with the American multinational enterprises.     

跨国公司逆向知识转移研究述评

知识在跨国公司内的转移是其建立竞争优势的关键,因而跨国公司知识转移一直是学者们研究的主题。经过了传统正向知识转移、水平知识转移2个热点后,近几年逆向知识转移开始成为学者的关注焦点。从多个视角系统地梳理了逆向知识转移研究的相关成果,指出了相关研究的发展脉络并探讨了未来的研究方向,以期为后续研究提供参考。     

When Do Multinational Companies Consider Corporate Social Responsibility? A Multi‐country Study in Sub‐Saharan Africa

While African countries are becoming more and more relevant as host countries for suppliers of multinational companies little is known about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this region. To fill this gap, the present article explores CSR considerations of foreign affiliates of multinational companies when choosing local African suppliers. The article suggests a model of three types of determinants, namely firm characteristics, exports, and intra‐trade. Analyses of a large‐scale and quite unique firm level data for more than 2,000 foreign owned firms in 19 sub‐Saharan African countries demonstrate that firms importing intermediates from their parent company abroad are more likely to implement CSR. Similarly, CSR plays a larger role for affiliates that export to developed countries. Different determinants affect environmental and social CSR activities.     

Why Are Some Subsidiaries of Multinationals the Source of Novel Practices while Others Are Not? National,Corporate and Functional Influences

It has frequently been argued that multinational companies are moving towards network forms whereby subsidiaries share different practices with the rest of the company. This paper presents large‐scale empirical evidence concerning the extent to which subsidiaries input novel practices into the rest of the multinational. We investigate this in the field of human resources through analysis of a unique international data set in four host countries – Canada, Ireland, Spain and the UK – and address the question of how we can explain variation between subsidiaries in terms of whether they initiate the diffusion of practices to other subsidiaries. The data support the argument that multiple, rather than single, factor explanations are required to more effectively understand the factors promoting or retarding the diffusion of human resource practices within multinational companies. It emerges that national, corporate and functional contexts all matter. More specifically, actors at subsidiary level who seek to initiate diffusion appear to be differentially placed according to their national context, their place within corporate structures and the extent to which the human resource function is internationally networked.     

Divisionalization and transfer pricing: A review

This paper reviews the various transfer-pricing systems that have been commonly suggested for divisionalized companies. The properties of an ideal system are discussed and the advantages and disadvantages of each practical system are examined in relation to these properties. The fiscal restrictions that act on multinational companies are also considered. Finally, the contribution of operational research in establishing transfer pricing systems is discussed and criticized. Some very recent work is briefly looked at in the hope that this will form a basis for a more substantial contribution in the future.     

Transferring lean knowledge within multinational networks

Abstract

Transferring lean knowledge is crucial for multinational companies; however, it is very difficult. Nevertheless, our knowledge in the area is limited. This paper investigates (a) how lean knowledge is transferred within multinational networks and (b) the type of organizational context that supports it. We use four case studies with 18 interviews in our exploratory study. Our results indicate that companies use a sophisticated knowledge transfer system with a fine web of practices that serve to transfer both explicit and tacit knowledge. The revealed organizational contexts show different patterns of division of labour (and responsibilities) between a central lean office and the particular subsidiary’s lean office. Our findings highlight the importance of transfer coalition, which consists of the cooperation of lean experts and top management during the knowledge transfer process. Top managers play a key role with their weak inter-unit ties, and they provide guidance for lean efforts and allocate sufficient resources to them. Further findings show that the evolution of lean transitions is not linear, and each of our case companies has witnessed turnaround during their journey.