Assignment:
You have seven days to complete this examination, but it is expected that you spend no more than three times the duration of the original examination completing it. Each essay answer should be no more than 1000 words in length. You must not exceed the specified word limit.
This is a maximum word limit (+10% does not apply). In-text referencing can be excluded from the word count if you prefer so. Markers will
be instructed that they do not have to mark anything beyond the 1000 words limit.
Please list the word count after each answer.
Answer TWO questions
1. Ongoing international differences in employment practices have been explained by both Culturalist and Institutionalist arguments. Critically evaluate these arguments to discuss and explain some important differences in employment between specific countries.
2. Lynn Stout, former professor at Cornell University, argued that the idea that ‘corporations belong to shareholders and should be run to maximize shareholder value does not seem to be working out that well'. Critically evaluate this statement by comparing the impact of corporate governance on employment in a specific shareholder and stakeholder country.
3. Discuss the differences between countries in terms of vocational and educational training (VET) by referring to different forms of regulation and the distinction between occupational and internal labour markets. Include country specifics. Discuss whether strong VET systems are possible without involvement of the social partners.
4. Discuss the impact of welfare regimes on female employment by contrasting the impact of specific policies in three different countries.
5. Discuss the developments in Danish Flexicurity since the 2000s as changing policies have affected all three elements of the ‘Golden triangle'. Evaluate the lessons this can offer for the perception of Flexicurity as a model for labour market policies in other countries.
6. Under what conditions are multinational corporations (MNCs) likely to appoint parent country nationals (PCNs) to manage their subsidiaries? To what extent can strategies such as short-term and virtual assignment offer an alternative to this use of (long-term) expatriates?
7. Multinational corporations (MNCs) are argued to diffuse HRM practices across their subsidiaries. Why is this the case and what factors determine the extent of this diffusion?
8. Offshoring has often been considered a major threat to employment in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Evaluate these concerns by critically considering different contributions on the benefits and costs of offshoring.
9. Discuss both the development of international labour standards through the ILO and attempts by MNCs to regulate the working conditions of their suppliers through codes of conduct. In your view, to what extent have these approaches contributed to improving global working conditions?
Readings Session
• Session 1 - Globalisation and varieties of employment systems
• Session 2 - How corporate governance shapes employment
• Session 3 - International comparison of training systems
• Session 4 - How welfare systems shape employment patterns
• Session 5 - Flexibility and labour market regulation
• Session 6 - Multinationals, business strategy & international staffing
• Session 7 - The transfer of HR practices in multinational companies
• Session 8 - Offshoring, global value chains & labour markets
• Session 9 - Pan-national employment regulation