Multinationals and Developing Countries

DIFFERING VIEWS OF THE CHARACTER OF THE MNC IMPACT ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

"The owners and managers of global corporations view the entire world as their factory, farm, supermarket, and playground" (Sklar, 1984, p. 8). An alternative view was expressed by former American Undersecretary of State (and, now, investment banker) George Ball (1967), who refers to MNCs as cosmocorps, and defends their activities, which he described as "taking the raw materials produced in one group of countries, transforming these into manufacturing goods with the labor and plant facilities of another group, and selling the products in still a third group . . . with the benefit of instant communications, quick transport, computers, and modern management techniques" (p. 26). Agreeing with Ball, Peter Drucker (1981), American management and organization analyst and theorist, said that, "to the developing country . . . , the multinational is both highly important and highly visible" (p. 63). On the other hand, Eric Williams (1970), former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, said that the psychological dependence of developing countries on the industrial countries was born of colonialism, and is foste

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, 1988). In his proclamation, he "informed the Dominican congress that he would recognize no president who was not sympathetic to the customs controls and a constabulary directed by the Americans" (Fagg, 1965, p.154). Within weeks of the American invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1916, "the Central Romana Sugar Refinery (under the Puerto Rico Sugar Company), and the Grenada Fruit Company, both controlled by American interests, were established" in the country (Wheaton, 1984b, pp. 420421). The American political, military, and economic occupation and domination of the country remained in effect officially through 1924. Between 1924 and 1930, however, the American created and controlled Dominican National Guard remained to "safeguard American interests after formal military withdrawal" by American forces (Wheaton, 1984b, p. 421). General Rafael Trujillo, commander of the American supported National Guard, siezed power from the elected president in 1931, because of "excessive democratic tendencies" exhibited by the president (Wheaton, 1984b, p. 421). In spite of the repressive political measures imposed by the Trujillo government, and inspite of the fact that all economic control, and most of the country's asset base
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Approximate Word count = 2965
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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