Free Essay on Japanese Multinational Corporations in the United States is published for informational purposes only. The free papers are not written by our writers, they are contributed by users, so we are not responsible for the content of this free sample paper. If you want to buy a quality essay paper on Free Essay on Japanese Multinational Corporations in the United States at affordable prices please use our essay writing services offered by EssayEmpire.

The present research focuses on the management/labor interface within the context of the foreign direct investor in the United States, especially the Japanese. It has been conducted at the "micro" (firm) level where the interests, actors and environment all come together and where decisions are made. From the industrial relations perspective, the research examines both the effects of Japanese multinationals on U.S. workers' interests, and the effects of the U.S. work environment on Japanese multinationals. Findings in both regards are compared to similar effects at other foreign, non-Japanese multinationals and at U.S.-owned firms in similar industries.

U.S. workers, and the institutions which represent them, are vitally concerned with the environment affecting their interests -- interests which encompass employment opportunities (i.e., the availability of jobs); conditions of employment, such as employment stability and the potential for advancement, income and the determinants of income, fringe benefits; and the employer/employee representative structures responsible for negotiation and administration of employment contracts. American managers, and the institutions and enterprises in which they function, share similar concerns. Since the passage of the Wagner Act some 50 years ago, U.S. public policy has articulated substantial concern and influence over workers and their representative organizations, employers, and the structure and substance of employer/employee interactions. Also, the U.S. national interest has been consistently and clearly identified with workers' other interests such as in the implementation of economic policies that foster employment stability and growth, establishment of minimum wages and other conditions of employment, and implementation of "structural" manpower policies including retraining, relocation and income allowances for the unemployed.

Many elements interact to define the environment which, in turn, affects employment opportunities, conditions of employment, and the necessity and substance of specific public policies. Dunlop categorizes these elements as market, technological, power and cultural contexts which together determine the characteristics of specific industrial relations "systems." The actors in each system -- managers, workers, unions, or government agencies -- operate within the limits of these contexts, establishing specific system outputs or industrial relations "rules," about wages and other working conditions. The historical development of industrial relations in the United States has heretofore almost wholly reflected the practices and interests of domestic firms owned by U.S. citizens, with product and process technologies incorporating U.S. market structures and preferences, and were responsive to comparative, internal resource cost patterns. It also exhibited a national and cultural homogeneity among employees and employers, proximate and accessible company decision-making structures reflective of each party's mutual interests, and, significantly, a desired and tolerable balance of power between labor and management.

The emergence of a world economy characterized by international trade, foreign competition, direct foreign investment, and multinational enterprises, implies substantial change in the environment determining industrial relations. The jobs issue alone has received considerable attention in recent years -- first, as regards allegations that U.S. multinationals export jobs when establishing foreign-based production to serve foreign markets that were initially developed by exports from the United States; and, more recently, by negotiated "Orderly Marketing Agreements" (OMAs) that limit foreign imports into the United States and encourage expanded domestic production, including that resulting from new direct foreign investment in U.S. manufacturing, such as in color television sets. Local content legislation for the U.S. auto industry, presently under Congressional consideration, is another current illustration of the ubiquity of the jobs issue. In contrast, perhaps, to these job protection measures, the Reagan administration's official policy on international investment is that "foreign investment flows which respond to private market forces will lead to more efficient international production and thereby benefit both home and host countries."

Data on the extent of direct foreign investment in the United States reveal that total assets of foreign-owned U.S. affiliates were $292 billion in 1980, up from $134 billion in 1973 -- an increase of 119 percent. Total foreign-owned assets in the U.S. manufacturing sector grew from $21.8 billion in 1973 to $81.7 billion in 1980 -- an increase of 275 percent. This comparatively recent and substantial growth of foreign direct investment in the United States, especially in the manufacturing sector, has not only meant new jobs, but also has implied substantial change in the environment determining industrial relations. This investment has often been motivated by the quest for enhanced profitability based upon company-specific product and process innovations, and the ability of the foreign multinational to develop production and marketing strategies within the United States that put these innovations to work. The implications here range from new production systems and work methods to new forms of workforce organization and potentially expanding or more secure employment and income. In addition, with foreign direct investment, substantial cultural differences among workers and ownership and management can conceivably complicate communications and otherwise frustrate the interests of all parties. The fact that foreign direct investment in the United States functions within the context of a foreign-directed multinational system also implies significant shifts in the power balance between management and (U.S.) labor.

Additionally and equally importantly, the U.S. industrial relations environment potentially affects the ability of foreign multinationals to implement competitive, successful business strategies. Whether positive or negative, this effect then invariably relates to the foreign direct investment decision itself -- the jobs issue -- and potentially affects U.S. workers' interests in a fundamental, substantial sense. In this regard, the jobs issue and the industrial relations environment are interrelated.

Japanese direct investment in U.S. manufacturing has grown considerably during the decade of the 1970s. As of early 1981, there were 225 Japanese-owned U.S. manufacturing subsidiaries compared to just 12 in 1970; and by 1983, there were 309 operating 479 plants employing over 70,000 U.S. workers. Gross book value of property, plant and equipment of Japanese-owned U.S. affiliates grew from $1.0 billion in 1973 to $5.3 billion in 1980. At the end of 1980, Japanese direct investors accounted for 9.5 percent of the total U.S. assets of all foreign investors -- a position nearly equivalent to that of France and West Germany, and about one-half that of the United Kingdom. Mainly because of Japanese successes in manufacturing high-quality, price-competitive products which have displaced large portions of U.S. production both domestically and abroad, and because of the unique style of labor-management relations practiced in Japanese firms, U.S. labor, especially, has developed substantial interests in the presence and operating styles of Japanese direct investors. For the same reasons, these same investors have developed substantial interests in U.S. labor -- both workers and unions.

The present research focuses on the management/labor interface within the context of the foreign direct investor in the United States, especially the Japanese. . .

Free essays are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can order a term paper, research paper or custom essay on Free Essay on Japanese Multinational Corporations in the United States at our site which offers professional essay writing services. Get your high quality custom paper at affordable price. EssayEmpire is the best solution for those who seek help in essay writing related to Free Essay on Japanese Multinational Corporations in the United States and other relevant topics.