ABSTRACT
For most of the twenty first century Westinghouse's international activities were managed through Westinghouse Electric International, a separate organization based in New York and maintaining only limited contact and interaction with the rest of the company. In the 1960s, Westinghouse tried to build its overseas strength by acquiring strong national firms and linking them to the US parent through its international division. The situation of Westinghouse provides a good illustration not only of the multiple strategic pressures that have confronted most companies as they have expanded abroad, but also of the typical structural responses in US based multinational corporations (MNCs). This chapter focuses on the findings relating to the five companies in the health care industry. In all five health care companies studied the development of strong, credible product and functional management groups appeared to be the first major sted in supplementing the country level geographically dominated decision process.
