Abstract
In the 1970s major multinational companies are being forced to reassess their relationships both with stakeholders such as employees, shareholders and suppliers, and with society at large, represented by governments, pressure groups and international institutions. Education, affluence, mass communications and many other locally significant factors have combined to make the various publics with which a corporation interacts more aware of the ways in which it influences their lives. The. increasing significance of the operations of multinational enterprises for many national economies has made such firms a natural focus for those interested in the economic social and ecological future of their country. Advocates of a New International Economic Order see international firms as key mechanisms for the redistribution of global wealth. The domination of important industries such as electronics, chemicals, oil and motor vehicles by relatively few major international companies has resulted in internationally coordinated surveillance of company operations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Organising for Effective Public Affairs National Industrial Conference Board (New York, 1969).
C. Aguilar, ‘External Affairs at the World Headquarters Level of the US Based Industrial Multinational Enterprise, unpublished PhD dissertation, New York University, 1973.
For a discussion of these concepts see ‘From Strategic Planning to Strategic Management’, H. I. Ansoff, R. P. Declerck and R. L. Hayes (Wiley, 1976).
Social Science Research Council, The Social Responsibilities of Business (1976).
M. Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (University of Chicago Press, 1962).
The Responsibilities of the British Public Company (Confederation of British Industry, 1973).
Similar three-level models of social reponsibility are proposed by J. Hargreaves and J. Dauman in Business Survival and Social Change (Associated Business Programmes, 1975) and T. P. Rogers, The Social Responsibilities of Business-Policy-Yes, Audit-No, MBS-CBR Occasional Papers (Manchester Business School, 1974).
J. Humble, Social Responsibility Audit - a Management Tool for Survival (Foundation for Business Responsibilities, 1973).
This section draws on D. H. Blake, ‘Measuring the Socio-Economic Impact on a Host Country: Practical Approaches to Identifying Particular Company Issues and Impact, Public Relations Journal May 1976.
Published with a covering statement as a British Government White Paper, Cmnd 6525, 1976.
A full list of topics is given in Figure 11.6.
Other international bodies working on codes include: The International Chamber of Commerce (Paris 1972), the Non-Aligned countries (Group of 77), the Organisation of American States, and the ILO.
International Confederation of the Free Trade Unions, Eleventh World Congress, Mexico, 1975.
Gulf repairs image with no-nonsense code and staff internal controls’, Business International 14 May, 1976.
J. Smith, ‘The Management of Social Responsibility in Multinational Companies and its Effect on Corporate Planning’. Unpublished MBA dissertation, Manchester Business School, 1977.
W. McClelland, And A New Earth (Friends Home Service Committee, London, 1976).
J. Smith, op. cit.
E. M. Estes, ‘General Motors and South Africa’, in R. Jackson (ed.), The Multinational Corporation and Social Policy (Praeger, 1974).
‘Making Social Responsibility Pay’, International Management July 1977, pp. 18–21.
J. Smith, op. cit.
The Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility - Profiles of Involvement, Human Resources Network (Chilton Book Company, Pennsylvania, 1975).
‘A “Balance Sheet” that shows host countries what you do for them’, Business International, 20 June 1975.
See for example The Corporate Report (Accounting Standards Steering Committee, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 1975).
J. Smith, op. cit.
Self-Regulating Corporate Behaviour: Caterpillar’s New Code of International Conduct’, Business International 18 Oct, 1974.
J. N. Behrman and H. Wallender, ‘Transfer of Manufacturing Technology within Multinational Enterprises’ (Ballinger, Cambridge, Mass., 1976).
J. Smith, op. cit.
F. Harman and J. Humble, Social Responsibility and British Companies (Management Centre Europe, Dec 1974).
External Affairs: Blueprint for Survival’, Business International 1976.
I. Wilson, op. cit.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1978 Derek F. Channon with Michael Jalland, Manchester Business School
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Channon, D.F., Jalland, M. (1978). External Affairs and the International Corporation. In: Multinational Strategic Planning. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-02855-9_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-02855-9_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-02857-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-02855-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)