Final answer:
Transnational Corporations (TNCs) organize their manufacturing operations through global assembly lines and just-in-time delivery systems to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve quality control, while also coordinating their activities for profitability.
Step-by-step explanation:
Two ways that Transnational Corporations (TNCs) organize their manufacturing operations are through global assembly lines and the adoption of just-in-time delivery systems. The emergence of global assembly lines allows TNCs, like Apple, to have different aspects of production take place in various countries, optimizing cost and efficiency. For example, Apple may design a product in the United States, manufacture components in peripheral nations, assemble these components in another nation such as Malaysia, and provide tech support from India.
The use of just-in-time delivery systems, as exemplified by American car manufacturers in the 1980s, reduces the need for warehousing by having parts delivered daily, close to the time they are needed for assembly. This system not only cuts warehousing jobs and costs but also improves quality control, as defective parts are identified quickly, minimizing the risk of mass-producing products with defects. This approach necessitates that suppliers are located within a one-day drive of the manufacturing plant, contributing to the establishment of parts factories in towns surrounding the main assembly plants.
These strategies show how TNCs coordinate activities between various stakeholders and utilize advanced production technologies to maintain profitability and competitiveness in the global market. For example, one production technology might involve 10 workers and 2 machines while another only needs 7 workers, showing the variability and adaptability within these organizations' operations.