t the reality of culture and MTD at the transnational level. Next we propose some implications for practice and some additional directions for further research. The use of MTD to generate integrative norms and values, clearly has advantages over merely using culture alone or the more nebulous organizational commitment, since MTD has tangible and symbolic consequences for individuals. The differing perceptions of status and behavioural outcomes associated with the Centre and IPI suggest the need to vary training courses or assignments depending on the objective. This is especially important for MNCs and hybrid organizations struggling to achieve a sense of identity and synergy amongst geographically dispersed units in a multicultural world. For transnationals, the task of integration is not merely a question of strategic management and ensuring compliance with centrally- defined goals. It has to take into account the subjective aspects of managing people which we apprehend through 'interpreting' meanings embedded in social action; hence the management of symbols. Meanings and values are ideologically loaded, and people's actions consist of a complex process of enacting and reproducing the values and structures that in turn define and legitimize those actions. This recursiveness implies that a uni-dimensional approach to apprehending social phenomena is clearly inadequate. It is hoped that the approach adopted here offers a way forward. For example, research on career management might identify how career progression and promotion policies can be made more meaningful symbolically if treated as a rite of passage, and how they can be used to accentuate the importance of the responsibilities and roles at higher levels in order to develop confidence and a sense of belonging. Research might also examine how best to cultivate integrative mechanisms with totemic qualities which offer all organizational members (as opposed to a small clan) a sense...
