Case: Should Labor Practices of Multinationals be Judged by the Standards of their Home Country or the Country of Operation?
A group of representatives from one of Germany's largest labor unions, marched on one of Amazon's eight German distribution centers. Armed with 37,000 petition signatures, the group demanded a meeting with Amazon executives to negotiate a union wage contract for its German workforce. Amazon, which employs 8,000 people in Germany, has refused to communicate with union officials, emphasizing that it already pays above the union rate. The union has protested the "Big Brother" atmosphere where "everything is measured, everything is calculated, everything is geared toward efficiency." The union is also protesting the treatment of the 10,000 temporary workers that Amazon buses in from Spain and Romania to meet Christmas demand, citing German legislation, introduced in 2005 that lowered labor regulations, as a main contributor to the problem. Amazon is quickly becoming despised for personifying the qualities of American-style management that Germans despise. "People want to be treated with respect," argues the union leader.
1. Should Amazon insist on American-style management in Germany?
2. In general, should firms adopt local customs in its operations?