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Debate over the transfer and adoption of industrial models prompted by the globalization of Japanese manufacturers continues to draw attention. Most discussion has concerned issues of work and employment relations, where the new multinationals have interacted most directly with host societies. Theoretical issues are addressed in a case study of operations, organization and employment relations at the Honda factory at Swindon in southern England, Honda of the UK Manufacturing. The analytical approach adopted in this paper is based on the following proposition. The relationship between Honda's global corporate strategy and the local operating environments of its factories is mediated by a nexus consisting of the production system, the organization of work, hiring and training processes, organizational processes and philosophies, and employment relations frameworks.