Tài liệu Corporate Reputations, Branding and People Management 28 pdf

Conclusions

In this chapter we have discussed the added complexity experi￾enced by MNEs in creating strong corporate reputations and

brands and the importance of HR in that process. MNEs follow

different strategies with respect to their global ambitions; these

we discussed at length and illustrated with some of our case study

research. They include ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric

and geocentric strategies, all of which present a different answer

to the perennial problem of balancing the corporatist integration

agenda and the more responsive, local differentiation agenda.

Although current thinking suggests that the geocentric response

is the most appropriate, there are plenty of examples of success￾ful organizations following the other agendas. Moreover, most

organizations seem to move through four stages en route towards

geocentricity; though, as we suggested, this is more of an ideal

than something achieved in reality.

One of the other main themes of the chapter has been the

added complexity of national cultural and institutional differ￾ences in transferring practices across borders. While the cultural

difference school has been the most discussed in the literature, it

is increasingly recognized that institutions and institutional dis￾tances often provide the best explanation of why practices remain

‘sticky’ and do not transfer well. We have made the point that any

organization wishing to fully understand the potential for trans￾ferring practices should have a thorough understanding of these

institutional differences and of business systems. The Mars case

254 Corporate Reputations, Branding and People Management

The role, philosophy and activities of HRM within the Mars Corporation

aim to develop, define, communicate, maintain and enforce the parent

company culture across all units. This status may be the reason why the

Personnel Director in Poland was the only expatriate HRM manager in

the Mars Corporation encountered during the research. Mars placed

great emphasis on entrusting the HR function of a foreign unit to an

expatriate manager. By so doing the company seeks to ensure its parent

culture is diffused. The Mars Corporation seeks to operate a geocentric

strategy by overlaying national differences with a strong corporate

identity, but to what extent has it got the balance right?