Human resource and industrial relations practices of UK and US multinationals in Germany

Most of the research about HRM and IR practices of MNCs in their host country has been conducted in deregulated countries such as the UK and the US. Host countries with relatively weak institutional arrangements facilitate the transfer of home-country practices. In contrast, those with institutionally strong systems, such as Germany, impose stronger pressures for adaptation. This paper reports research about nine US and four UK subsidiaries operating in Germany. It examines how their HRM and IR practices are shaped by German labour and IR institutions, how they differ from a control group of indigenous firms and what room for manoeuvre is left for the introduction of home-country practices. The main conclusions are that small and medium-sized subsidiaries in particular can to some extent avoid the pressures exerted by German labour and IR institutions. This facilitates the transfer of home-country practices. However, even larger affiliates that comply with the German institutions can transfer practices from their parent company. The highly regulated German system leaves some room for flexibility. Nevertheless, the institutional environment prevents large companies from following a unitarist HRM and IR approach

Human resource and industrial relations practices of UK and US multinationals in Germany

Most of the research about HRM and IR practices of MNCs in their host country has been conducted in deregulated countries such as the UK and the US. Host countries with relatively weak institutional arrangements facilitate the transfer of home-country practices. In contrast, those with institutionally strong systems, such as Germany, impose stronger pressures for adaptation. This paper reports research about nine US and four UK subsidiaries operating in Germany. It examines how their HRM and IR practices are shaped by German labour and IR institutions, how they differ from a control group of indigenous firms and what room for manoeuvre is left for the introduction of home-country practices. The main conclusions are that small and medium-sized subsidiaries in particular can to some extent avoid the pressures exerted by German labour and IR institutions. This facilitates the transfer of home-country practices. However, even larger affiliates that comply with the German institutions can transfer practices from their parent company. The highly regulated German system leaves some room for flexibility. Nevertheless, the institutional environment prevents large companies from following a unitarist HRM and IR approach

Management und Quantenphysik. Das Beispiel TELE

Die Managementpraxis ist immer noch stark vom Weltbild der klassischen Physik und damit von Reduktionismus, Determinismus und Positivismus geprägt. Ziel dieses Beitrages ist am Beispiel der Wiener Firma TELE zu illustrieren, wie das Paradigma der Quantenphysik in einer Zeit, die durch schnelle Veränderungen und unvorhersehbare Unternehmensumwelten gekennzeichnet ist, Management inspirieren kann. Nach einer kurzen Einführung in die klassische Physik, werden am Beispiel der quantenphysikalischen Phänomene Welle-Teilchen Dualismus, Heisenbergsche Unschärferelation und Feldtheorie Aspekte eines daran orientierten Quantenmanagement illustriert

Unitarism, pluralism, and human resource management in Germany.

This paper discusses the convergence thesis using the example of human resource management in Germany. Convergence theories dominated social sciences in the 1950s and 1960s. Arguably the most influential contribution to this discussion was Kerr et al's "Industrialism and Industrial Man" (1960). They suggested that technology will, over an extended period, lead to the development of similar economic, political, social and organizational aspects in all industrialized societies. It assumed that there is a link between the development stage of an economy and its dominant managerial practices. Kerr et al. saw technology as the driving force behind convergence. Today competition and globalization are more often given as the main reasons for a convergence of managerial practices

THE POLICY OF PRICES AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN SUBSTANTIATION OF PENETRATION STRATEGY IN NEW MARKET SEGMENTS

Pricing policy aims to determine the price of goods and services sold by the organization. These figures have an impact over the turnover that must be higher to the total expenses for the enterprise to make profits. Therefore, it is important to know thecorporate strategy, accounting information, the need of information, users of accountancy’s products

Changes in academic work and the chair regime: the case of German business administration academics

Today universities around the world are becoming subject to audits and evaluations that not only open them to outside scrutiny, but also force them to compete with each other for students, staff and funding. This development is supposed to lead to radical changes to academic work in business schools. Whereas there is an intensive debate about this issue in the UK, much less is known about changes in higher education in other European countries. This paper will show through the example of German business administration academics that similar pressures might not lead to similar outcomes. In the German system, hierarchy will remain more important than the market for academic work. Although role conflicts seem to increase for academics at all hierarchical levels, the traditional regime is likely to resist any far-reaching changes