Premium
The Underpinnings of ‘Bureaucratic’ Control Systems: HRM in European Multinationals
Author(s) -
Ferner Anthony
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6486.00192
Subject(s) - bureaucracy , multinational corporation , argument (complex analysis) , control (management) , german , power (physics) , software deployment , value (mathematics) , management control system , economic system , business , law and economics , industrial organization , political science , economics , management , computer science , law , politics , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , machine learning , history , operating system
This paper explores the relationship between the operation of management control systems and the mobilization of power resources in multinational companies. It argues that formal ‘bureaucratic’ controls depend for their effective operation on informal systems and the power relations they embody. In particular, bureaucratic control systems rely inherently on the deployment of ‘social’ control mechanisms relating to the creation of common value systems, understandings, and expectations about the ‘rules of the game’ among corporate actors. The argument is illustrated by material from case studies of HRM in British and German multinationals.