Transnational Corporations & International Agency
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 8.2.2
Transnational Corportations & International Agencies
A wide range of organisations can contribute to development in different countries. These organisations include private businesses, charities and different agencies working collaboratively.
Transnational corporations
- Transnational corporations (TNCs) are companies that operate in several countries.
- You may see them referred to as multi-national corporations (MNCs).
- McDonalds is an example of a transnational corporation. According to www.mcdonalds.com, as of August 2020, they have over 36,000 restaurants in the world, operating in over 100 countries and territories. There are approximately 120,000 people employed by McDonalds UK and over one million worldwide.
- Other examples of TNCs are Vodafone, Pepsi-Co and Shell.
International agencies
- International agencies are usually funded by member governments.
- Examples of international agencies include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the United Nations (UN).
IMF and World Bank
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an agency set up to monitor the economic stability of its member countries. If needed, they provide support to help stabilise their economy.
- The World Bank has 189 member countries. They aim to reduce the poverty experienced by its poorer members by providing loans from its richer members.
Ha-Joon Chang (2007)
- Ha-Joon Chang (2007) suggests that organisations like the IMF and World Bank present themselves as altruistic organisations, wanting to help poorer nations develop, when in reality they exploit these countries by providing loans which inhibit their progress.
- Additionally, the way that votes are distributed means that smaller countries have little influence in decision-making.
John Pilger (2001)
- John Pilger (2001) argues that the World Bank and IMF exploit poorer countries by agreeing to loans on the basis that richer countries can have access to their raw materials. These raw materials are, in the long term, the country’s best prospect for long-term security and so they become reliant on richer nations for the long-term.
Test yourself on Transnational Corporations & International Agency
Complete the statistics about McDonald's (August 2020).