Industrial relations in foreign and local firms in Asia

Abstract

The authors report their findings of an exploratory, comparative study of industrial relations in eight Asian f i n s. The study sought: (1) to assess the differences in the practice of industrial relations between MNCs and local firms; (2) to explain any differences that might be observed; (3) to verify if a monolithic MNC model of industrial relations exists; and (4) to understand the nature of change in national systems that can be attributed to MNCs.

Local, yet global: Implications of caste for MNEs and international business

“…Connected to this point, some scholars reported views expressed by the participants that some upper-caste individuals claim to belong to lower castes to avail themselves of the quotas in educational institutions that are reserved for lower castes (Ananthram & Chan, 2021). Bhatt and Miller (1984) Traditional society may not look at education, skill, or prescribed training as a determinant of work assigned, but rather base it on caste or family linkage Garg and Parikh (1986) Caste influences the roles adopted in family, caste, and community, and these roles also extend to organizations Becker-Ritterspach and Raaijman (2013)…”

“…Scholars have also speculated that caste might influence the adoption of occupational roles in organizations (Garg & Parikh, 1986) and that work may be assigned based on caste rather than education, skill, or training (Bhatt & Miller, 1984). These practices and the resultant inequalities appear inconsistent with scriptural teachings that emphasized the equality of all living beings, i.e., they are part of the unity.…”

“…Further to this point, because the caste system attributes lower value to physical labor and delineates norms about professions and professional distances, it can also shape interactions among employees who perform various roles in organizations (Becker-Ritterspach & Raajiman, 2013). In addition, since caste also operates through beliefs and ideologies, such as through stereotypes and meritocracy, it can also create inequalities in the workplace in ways that are unintended by rules and formal culture (Bhatt & Miller, 1984;Combs & Nadkarni, 2005).…”

“…Additionally, studies on caste can shed light on whether and how informal institutions of one type (e.g., caste system) interact with another (e.g., class or race) in MNE contexts, including how individuals raised within one system respond to another system (Harvey & Buckley, 1997). Finally, studies on caste may help researchers shed further light on how informal institutions can influence ethical decision-making and actions (Ananthram & Chan, 2016) as well as how they influence equality, diversity, and inclusion efforts in MNEs (Bhatt & Miller, 1984;Sparrow & Budhwar, 1997).…”