Promise and Problems of the Multinational Corporate Organisational form

Before World War II, several very large companies operated production and sales activities under their own corporate name in many different countries in the world. Their number was small and their operations, though large absolutely, were neither so large as to create concern with possible dominance of a domestic industry nor were their various activities so integrated and so interdependent as to cause apprehension and mistrust in national unions and governments. Since World War II, the number of multinational corporations, and the breadth and depth of their operations has increased many times and the development pattern could continue until a relatively small group of titanic firms holds the centre of global commerce. Current multinational corporations differ from the earlier vintage because their vision is so much greater and their communications are so much more advanced. New managerial techniques, the harnessing of computers and the rapid advances in transportation have made it possible for multinational corporations to achieve a degree of integration of production and production scheduling among different nations, and of financing and marketing activities that completely alters their potential impact upon the global economy.