Role of Corporations as Global Citizen

-Sher Singh Parmar,

Pune , India.

1.Introduction:

Corporations or to be more specific the MNCs/Enterprises as

an organized organic entities appear to be fast emerging as
Global Citizens ( GCs) in their own right.These GCs don’t
seem to be cent per cent loyal to any particular political
ideology or government authority of any any single and
particular nation state.Rather , these GCs are more loyal to
their Monetary Benefits (MBs) accruing from their
Transnational Transactions(TTs).Therefore, this MBs peculiar
approach compels these GCs to think globally so as to plough
back to their mother countries(MCs) the fruits of their Global
Commercial Operations (GCOs).In this whole MBs game ,
these GCs wittingly or unwittingly cater to some extent atleast
to the needs and aspirations of the people of the Host Political
Regions (HPRs) in which these operate.Without some
perceptible aforesaid catering and sensitization to the issues
prevalent in HPRs , these GCs can never hope to gain a solid
foothold or local favours/permission to operate therein.The net
result is that these Corporationss with the passage of time are
likely to display a propensity to become GCs cutting across the
broad spectrum of all political barriers (PBs) like political
boundaries ,etc.

2.BACKGROUND:

Corporations have since ancient times been playing the vital

role of GCs , though not as all pervasive , all embracing and
more powerful as in present times.For example, in a restricted
sense of the term GCs , the various Guilds of merchants acted
as a binding factor across the length and breadth of the Indian
Subcontinent during ancient and medieval era.Such Guilds
operated in the then numerous small principalities and states
of the region.But , these could not have a profound and a long
lasting impact on the contemporary political events and the
scene.Later, we see the British East India Company , a giant
MNC , overrunning the Indian subcontinent with equanimity
and impunity , and facilitating the transfer of political power
from Indian hands into the then hands of the British
Monarchy.It is only during and after the world wars I &II that
we witness these Corporations acquiring a cumulatively
increasing role as GCs with both positive and negative
implications to both the HPRs and the MCs.For example , IBM
. the international computer giant based in USA has recently
been accused of having connived with Hitler by providing
statitistics on Jews which ultimately helped him exterminate
Jews in Germany.Of course , it on a more positive note did help
Allied Forces during world war II by furnishing information
on Germany that had been collected by it during its operations
in Germany.In a way ,IBM seems to have double- crossed with
protection of its MBs being its only sole goal .

3.PROCESS:
An individual all by oneself is helpless and does not have
enough political power to influence the political process in the
world today.But , a group of individuals in the shape of a
Corporations can manage to exert tremendous pressure and
influence both in the MCs and HPRs.The HPR reconciles to
the Global Outlook(GO) of a Corporation , since a
Corporation brings in through international trade the
necessary fresh doses of monetary,technical , managerial and
other numerous forms of assistance to the HPR.The HPR
acquiesces in the presence of these GCs in its territory because
of the perceived benefits as mentioned above , whether rightly
or wrongly.These GCs are able to influence the policies of the
HPR in exchange for above mentioned benefits doled out by
them to the HPR.In fact , consciously , subconsciously or
unconsciously these GCs come to be viewed as its own citizens
by an HPR with unwritten mutual understanding on this score
between these GCs and the HPR.

4.IMPORTANCE:

With cold war era having been a thing of past history and an
emergence of the Internet and other fast means of
communications , the present world has become a witness to
the ever shrinking influence of the political boundaries (PBs) ,
notwithstanding the intentions to the contrary of the Political
Authorities in a given Political Region(PAPR) .People residing
in all Political Regions(PRs) have suddenly seem to have come
into fast contact with each other to the surprising extent never
seen earlier in history.

It is being increasingly realized by all people all over the globe

that it is futile to live in self-imposed isolation and narrow
shells called nation states or the PRs .Further , it is becoming
obvious that there is a glaring gap between the perceptions of
those enscosed in political power and the ruled ones in any
PR.Thus,PBs in a sense are crumbling each passing day.

Still, these ruled ones as individual entities are too feeble to

force their ruling classes to go in for integration of all PRs into
one single Global Political Region(GPR) .Also , it is crystal
clear that survival of any PR is mainly a function of its
Economic Strengths (ESs).But, it requires favourable
International Commercial Transactions(ICTs ) to achieve
ESs.These ICTs are now in the powerful control of GCs.As
such ,these GCs as the representative of numerous groups of
individual people have come to have a solid bargaining power
vs a vs the the political instrument of the PAPRs.

It is indeed ironic that the visible and well structured edifice

called the U.N.O. has frankly speaking failed in accomplishing
the task of the global integration of disparate PRs.In future , it
shall be the perceptibly invisible winds of change blown by
GCs that shall cause the strengthening of the people to people
contact on a global scale and weakening of the parochial
narrow PBs such as loyalty to one’s nation state or the PR.
These GCs shall become instrumental in accomplishing the
objectives of a truly Globally Balanced Economic Landscape
both in terms of regions and sectors of the economy.

I HAVE BEEN TO ABLE TO SUBMIT TO YOU THIS

PAPER ONLINE instantly SITTING IN INDIA SIMPLY
BECAUSE OF THE GREATER FREEDOM OF
COMMUNICATION SHOWERED ON US BY GCs like
Microsoft.
Finally , Although utopian an idea it may seem at this point of
history , yet these GCs in times to come are likely to supplant the
role of the PAPRs which shall ultimately culminate into a truly
integrated Global World or the “VASUDHEVA
KUTUMBKAM”( THE CONCEPT OF THE WHOLE WORLD
BEING A FAMILY AS PROPUNDED IN SANSKRIT
TEXTS)where human mind and spirit shall be without fear of
any political retributions from any parochial PR.