Selected Views on the Organizational Culture of Multinational Corporations

In the European market, we often encounter companies that were purchased by multinational groups as operating companies with their own history, culture and traditions or companies with an exclusively local sphere of action. However this approach is usually not sufficient for larger multinational corporations operating in a diverse environment. For this reason, there is more intensive enforcement of the culture of the parent company, which seeks to establish its basic principles and values in the minds and behaviour of all its branches. The most frequently used approach is to apply uniform codes, particularly the Code of Ethics, in which elementary rules of employee behaviour in the workplace, for staff as well as for business partners are anchored. Codes of Ethics were found in 70% subsidiaries of multinational corporations in the Czech Republic. The aim of the research was to measure the impact of the headquarters' organizational culture on the culture of its branches in relation to potential conflicts that may arise between those two cultures. Influence on the culture of the branch related to the implementation of the Code of Ethics of the group was also investigated. The core set consisted of 2,509 branches of multinational companies operating in the Czech Republic and meeting the requirements for size (50 and more employees), legal form (joint stock companies and limited liability companies) and the origin of foreign capital (full or partial share of foreign capital in the corporate stock). The object of the research was a sample of 335 Multinational Corporations (MNC) subsidiaries self-selected from a core set. The companies filled in a questionnaire which covered issues related to the research. The results were verified in a set of 10 MNC branches by controlled interviews with the branch top manager and by processing the internal materials. Primary results indicate that a stronger influence from headquarters on the culture of a branch causes more conflict situations and it is also often linked with implementation of the unified Code of Ethics of the group.