Current Remuneration Practices in the Multinational Companies in Malaysia: A Case Study Analysis (Case Study‪)‬

ABSTRACT The increasing globalisation of the marketplace combined with an ever increasing shortage of skilled staff and advances in technology has resulted in large scale changes to remuneration practices throughout the world. And as Asian firms are unlikely to be immune from these challenges, an exploration was conducted with four multinational corporations (MNCs) based in Malaysia to assess the potential for their strategic remuneration policies to attract qualified international staff. A key aim of the study was to establish if the remuneration policies of this sample of MNCs that operate in the important chemical industry, are aligned with global practices. Specifically, four MNCs in the chemical industry, which were selected based on equity ownership, were analysed to ascertain if remuneration policies in the MNCs in Malaysia are being aligned with global trends by providing an account of remuneration policies practised in these four MNCs. In addition to identifying the relevant HRM practices commentary is provided of current knowledge in terms of best remuneration practices that could be emulated by local organisations as well as other institutions in the Asia Pacific region. A salient focus of the study is to assess if globalised foreign owned MNCs are more likely to align their remuneration policies with global trends rather than with the practices employed by locally owned MNCs. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for HR practitioners, particularly those in Malaysian organisations.