Structural sources of personnel problems in multinational corporations: Third-country nationals

The paper examines the extent to which multinational corporations (MNCs) whose staffing policies approach the genuine multinational model are free of the dysfunctions found by the authors in earlier studies of ethnocentric MNCs. The findings are based on comparative research in 51 MNCs, and intensive diagnostic studies of seven subsidiaries of MNCs operating and headquartered in four continents. The findings may be summed up as follows: (1) certain, but very few, morale problems have indeed been eliminated; (2) others are still present; (3) others are still present and their effect has intensified; and (4) new problems have appeared which are unique to the staffing policy approximating to the genuine multinational model. These findings shed new light on several of the assumptions underlying this model. The general conclusion is that each prevalent type of staffing policy has several sources of morale problems—some inherent in its uniqueness, and others shared by the alternative staffing policies—irrespective of the personal qualifications of the managers. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect that a change toward the genuine multinational model would solve the basic morale problems prevalent in the dominant type of MNCs.