ABSTRACT
The most important source of international economic exchange is no longer the flow of trade between countries but the multinational company or MNC (UNCTAD 1993). According to the influential views of Robert Reich (1991) —subsequently Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration in the USA-a global web of companies is replacing the nationally specific firm. Observers in the labour movement have expressed concern at the ability of the transnational to switch production between sites and to seek out countries with low labour costs. In addition to wellknown debates on the impact of the MNC, there has been widespread discussion of the internal organisation and dynamics of such firms. Key issues, again heavily discussed, include the ways in which integration and co-ordination are achieved and the degree of centralisation which is appropriate (Brooke 1984).
