Managing Human Resources in Multinational Companies in Ireland: Autonomy, Coordination and Control

Abstract

This report addresses patterns of influence and control in multinational companies (MNCs) in Ireland, with particular emphasis on policy and practice in the areas of human resource management (HRM) and employment relations (ER). It seeks to establish the degree of influence and the extent of discretion of the Irish operations within the overall corporate framework of multinational corporations (MNCs). It also, uniquely, focuses on Irish-owned MNCs that have established international operations and the autonomy afforded to these foreign subsidiaries by the Irish headquarters. The data are drawn from the most representative survey of HR in MNCs in Ireland. The findings indicate that, overall, managers of foreign MNCs in Ireland have quite high levels of discretion across core HR domain activity HR areas. However, this discretion varies according to the particular aspect of employment practice examined. A similar picture was reported from Irish-owned MNCs. We also present detailed findings on the level of monitoring of HR activity by senior international level management and on the use of expatriate assignments.

Keywords: multinational companies, Ireland, control, autonomy, human resource management, expatriate human capital