Politics and Power within Multinational Corporations: Mainstream Studies,Emerging Critical Approaches and Suggestions for Future Research

Given the increased public interest in the use and misuse of power in multinationals in the aftermath of the financial crisis, it is notable that power relations in multinational corporations (MNCs) have not gained enhanced attention in the academic community. What is missing so far in the study of MNCs is a systematic examination of how power and politics within MNCs have been addressed in mainstream international business (IB) and sociological research studying the MNC. This paper starts by critically reviewing these two mainstream approaches in the study of MNCs as organizations and seeking to understand the shortcomings of former research. Next, it reviews new emergent critical perspectives, which the authors call socio‐political studies of MNCs, where power and politics are addressed not just more prominently, but also differently, from a more bottom‐up and actor‐centred perspective. After reviewing this emergent stream of research, the authors propose that future studies should take a more micro‐political perspective and focus in more detail on the micro‐foundations of power relations. In the concluding section, the authors show how future studies of MNCs can learn from both critical interactionist and discursive theories when analysing organizational politics and power relations. A framework is proposed for the study of micro‐level political game‐playing in MNCs, based on a three‐dimensional framework for organizational power (episodic, rules of the game and domination), and some key research questions for future studies are suggested.     

The psychological development of prelinguistic deaf infants

This paper will discuss the emotional developmental problems displayed by those who are deaf at birth. In order to provide an in-depth understanding of the emotional needs of the prelinguistic infant the distinctive perspectives and concerns of various developmental psychologies will be reviewed. The tremendous need for mental health and social work services for the deaf population and their families has been rarely discussed, therefore, the last stage of this presentation will provide some suggestions for clinical treatment and prevention programs for deaf individuals.     

Missing years of abuse in children's homes

This paper reflects upon the historic abuse of young people living in children's homes. Beginning with a recognition of ‘individual abuse’, it explores, first of all, the reasons why young people were abused, including: (1) the status of childhood and being in care; (2) the application of ‘approved’ treatment methods; (3) the failure of managerial, organizational and inspection systems; and (4) the institutional critique and the popularity of preventative policies. Second, by identifying common themes arising from this account, it is suggested we need to rethink the way abuse has been conceptualized. Individual direct abuse, sanctioned abuse, organized systematic abuse and system outcome abuse are discussed. Finally, the paper reviews recent changes in law, policy and practice, including the Children Act 2004, designed to prevent abuses happening again. It is argued that challenges still remain in addressing structural inequalities, improving protection, balancing needs and rights, extending protection to different groups of young people and in having a preventative vision for children's homes.     

Professionalism, educated labour and the state: hospital medicine and the new managerialism

This article examines the degree to which doctors, as members of an autonomous profession, function as organic intellectuals within capitalist society (Abercrombie and Urry, 1983) and, more generally, the complex and ambivalent relations that sustain their role within a ‘service class'. It is in this context that the organization of medical care and its delivery in Britain will be addressed. In particular, the current and intended changes in the organization and control of hospital medicine within the NHS, notably the issues of medical audit, clinical budgeting and the role of the ‘internal market’.     

On the block structure of proper block designs

In this paper we consider proper block designs and derive an upper bound for the number of blocks which can have a fixed number of symbols common with a given block of the design. To arrive at the desired bound, a generalization of an integer programming theorem due to Bush (1976) is first obtained. The integer programming theorem is then used to derive the main result of this paper. The bound given here is then compared with a similar bound obtained by Kageyama and Tsuji (1977).     

The interaction of aging and 10 years of racing on ultraendurance running performance

The aim of this study was to examine the interaction between aging and 10 years of racing in endurance runners. Race-time data from 194 runners who had completed 10 consecutive 56-km ultramarathons were obtained. The runners were either 20.5 +/- 0.7, 30.0 +/- 1.0, 39.9 +/- 0.9, or 49.4 +/- 1.0 years old at their first race. Each runner's race speed was determined for each race over the 10 years. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and independent t tests and showed that performance improved and declined at greater rates for younger runners; younger runners had a greater capacity for improvement than older runners; approximately 4 years were required to reach peak racing speed, regardless of age; it was not possible to compete at peak speed for more than a few years; and the combined effects of 10 years of aging and racing neither improve nor worsen net performance. In conclusion, these data suggest that although these runners showed similar patterns of change in race speed over a 10-year period, the extent of change in performance was greater in younger than in older runners.