Remote work at international enterprises

The aim of the chapter is to initiate discussion on the positive and negative aspects of remote work in Polish branches of international enterprises. In 3 short case studies presented in the text, situations that made organizations’ managements allow their employees work remotely are discussed. In each case, different reasons initiated a decision: plant relocation, hiring a specialist living far from the plant and a threat of pandemic. There is a common opinion on employees in many countries (including Poland) that they are not flexible enough when searching for a job, they expect it to be “round the corner”, whilst it is not only them but also employers that should present a more flexible approach, also in terms of remote working. On the other hand, it must be stressed that such solutions have both advantages and disadvantages and sometimes cannot be available for certain roles in an organisation.

Land Recycling in China and its Implication for the Regional Economy

Since 2000, many cities in China have moved their large-scale manufacturing plants from urban to suburban or other less-developed regions. This inter- or intraregional plant relocation not only leads to changes in land use patterns but also affects institutional, socioeconomic, and environmental issues both at the local and regional levels. We call this regional restructuring process land recycling, which creates critical energy, environmental, financial, social, and political implications. Using Beijing to illustrate the impacts of land recycling, we also discuss the land pollution-related changes and their implications for land and environmental policymaking.

Multinational Firms' Responses to Integration of Latin American Markets

This paper discusses how MNCs reacted to NAFTA and MERCOSUR in terms of their investment and operations patterns in three sectors - automotive, electronics, and apparel - and assesses the likely impact of the upcoming Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). It shows that NAFTA functioned – at least in its first years - as an investment relocation engine, while MNCs' reaction to MERCOSUR was significant only in the automotive sector. The emergence of China and other Asian economies, with their low cost and vast markets, and the progressive enlargement in the scope of MNCs operations, seem to diminish the economic relevance of NAFTA and MERCOSUR. FTAA may provide a new impetus to the integration of the automotive industry in the Americas, and a stronger rationale for a slowdown of plant relocation to Asia in light industries such as electronics and garments. But it is unlikely that it will reverse current trends which point to Asia – with China at the epicenter – as the global magnet for manufacturing and exports.