Organizational Communication

Organizational Communication is illuminated through this scenario:

Durhan Rao is an assistant of management who specialize in management communication, corporate ethics, and global economics. Born in New Delhi, India, he came to the Unites States for college and never left. He became a U.S. citizen in 1995 and three years later took a faculty position at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

In 2001, Professor Rao was visiting family in New Delhi when India and Pakistan's long-standing conflict over the Kashmir region flared up. He was never physically in danger, but war rhetoric from both sides brought back terrible memories; his father had fought in two wars with Pakistan over the same issue, and he was angry that peace seemed so elusive. The fact that both countries had nuclear weapons only added to his thought about changing his plane ticket so that he could be with his parents in case things got any worse. Then, in June 2001, the sabre-rattling suddenly stopped. Parties on both sides were surprised and confused about what had led to the sudden de-escalation. Further investigation by Darshan turned up spme amazing information.

He knew, of course, that Indian companies provided critical support to some of the world's biggest companies, including Dell, Reebok, VF, Avis, Sony, and American Express. He also discovered that General Electric's largest research center is Bangalore, a city with over 1,700 engineers and scientist. When the U.S. State Department had advised Americans to leave India because war prospects with Pakastan had risen to serious levels, information technology ministers from every Indian state approached the government and warned them about the economic chaos that would be caused by a disruption oh this magnitude. One American journalist even concluded: :The cease-fire is brought to you by GE- and all its friends here in Bangalore" ( Friedman, 2003, p. 8A).

Professor Rao has mixed feelings about this situation. As one of his best students, you hope to understand his thoughts and feelings and perhaps even provided some counsel.

Questions

1. What are the social, political, and economic conditions that made this scenario possible?

2. Why is Prof Rao feeling conflicted over corporate influence in government matters?

3. What aspects of globalization are highlighted by this case, and how might they be applied to other situations?

4. What should be the relationship, if any, between multinational corporations and nation-states? Explain please.