Successful
transnational companies see themselves as separate, non-national entities.
Most companies doing international business today are still
organized as traditional multinationals.
But the transformation into transnational companies has begun, and it is
moving fast. The products or services
may be the same, but the structure is fundamentally different. In a transnational company there is only one
economic unit, the world. Selling
services, public relations, and legal affairs are local. But parts, machines, planning, research,
finance, marketing, pricing, and the management are conducted in contemplation
of the world market. One of America’s
leading engineering companies, for instance, makes one critical part for all
its forty three plants worldwide in one location outside of Antwerp, Belgium –
and nothing else. It has organized product
development for the entire world in three places and quality control in
four. For this company, national
boundaries have largely become irrelevant.
The transformational company is not totally beyond the
control of national governments. It must
adapt to them. But these adaptations are
exceptions to policies and practices that are decided on for the worldwide
markets and technologies. Successful
transnational companies see themselves as separate, non-national entities. The self-perception is evidenced by something
unthinkable a few decades ago: a transnational top management.
ACTION POINT: Ask the
foreign technical-support centre for your U.S-purchased computer or printer a
question about the operation of your equipment.
How does the quality of this support compare with that of your local
cable company?
“The Global Economy and the
Nation-State”, Foreign Affairs, 75’th Anniversary Edition
Quoted from The Daily Drucker, page 42
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