Investigating the issue of employee representation in multinational companies (MNCs), this book sets out to systematically conceptualise the modes of articulation between different action fields. While previous studies have focused on forms of employee representation that have emerged throughout recent decades, rather little is known about the interaction and coordination of representational bodies and actors, such as trade unions and European or World Works Councils. Given the growing importance of transnational restructuring in MNCs, understanding the conditions under which employees are able to participate in company decision-making is a crucial issue. Based on empirical case studies and interviews with employee representatives from ten countries across Europe, the authors investigate the role of representational bodies in periods of company restructuring. Proposing a shift in perspectives in research on transnational labour relations and bringing new insights into structures and practices of employee representation in MNCs, this book will be a valuable read for both scholars and practitioners.

While acquisitions and expansion strategies are understood as exciting in the business world, contraction activities are received less enthusiastically. Nevertheless, portfolio restructuring constitutes a strategic tool to increase the strategic focus of firms and achieve economies of scale and an efficient control of multiple business units. This restructuring thus has distinct implications for companies and units. The Handbook of Research on Corporate Restructuring and Globalization provides emerging research on the theoretical infrastructure for portfolio restructuring in a single piece of work and explores important topics in the field including the implications on foreign and domestic units and the degree to which increasing globalization influences restructuring practices. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as emerging markets, risk assessment, and global business, this book is ideally designed for corporate managers, government officials, scholars, researchers, and students.

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: Companies in today's business world are under a constant pressure: they have to get as close as possible to the customer, they have to become ever more flexible and they need to reduce costs. In order to face these challenges, some organisational structures are more likely to promise success than others. The characteristics of these structures are no secret, but companies often have the problem that they don't know how to put them into practice. The present work is intended to give an answer to this question. Having analysed what had been written about putting organisational change into practice 1 tested my ideas by a series of ten interviews which took place in companies of the German production sector. Six points were identified as essential: 1. The problem and the objectives of the project should be clear for all participants. 2. The company should dispose of enough time and financial resources as well as a trusting working climate and a supportive top and middle management. 3. Borderless communication is necessary, especially concerning the evolution of the change project and the personal consequences for each person. 4. The employees should be able to participate actively in elaborating the change project, in decision-making and in identifying possibilities to stimulate motivation. This participation should be reflected in an adequate bonus system. 5. Continuous training for all (laying special attention an group leaders) is important an such areas as group work, communication and motivation. The mentioned recommendations could be useful for the managers of companies which are thinking about a reorganisation. That would enable them to avoid mistakes made by other companies. The following mistakes were the most important ones: Impatience and the expectation that there will be a 'magic solution' (it might take up to five years to reach the desired state). The non-implication of the workforce in introducing the change process (result: the project is being blocked from their side). Lack of communication which creates rumours about the coming change process (result: anxiety is created and the best workers will try to find another job). Out of date bonuses which are not favourable in order to reach the company's global objectives (such as individual bonuses and 'competition stimulators' between groups). Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: FOREWORD5 EXECUTIVE [...]

The paper provides a review of features of restructuring strategies, indicating that distress may limit the choice available. It then introduces the decision theory to show that the final choice may be influenced by objective criteria and by subjective or non-rational criteria as well as by social interactions. The authors propose a framework in which organizational and environmental variables, along with restructuring methods, influence the decision-making of restructuring strategy selected for declining companies.. The authors provide a multidisciplinary point of view in which they consider such metrics as social and psychological variables in the study of decision in sick companies.A more recent adaptation of this paper has been published under the title Behavioral Influences in Selecting Restructuring Strategies for Sick Companies in ICFAI Journal of Behavioral Finance, December 2007.