In twelve pages this paper examines the problems that result from merging companies that espouse different and perhaps conflicting cultures. Eighteen sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: CC6_KSmergCul10.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
the banking community has entered a moratorium phase, though many industry observers expect consolidation to continue in the future. In other industries, merger activity still is healthy and continues
to combine companies that formerly were competitors in the same industry sectors, either in the same or different segments. As example, Kellogg recently announced that it would buy Keebler
to add a snack component to its existing breakfast business (Stempel, 2001). Many authors note that consolidation of businesses will continue and that
the merging organizations often are greatly disparate in their operations. The primary consideration in finding a good "fit" in mergers and acquisition is that of corporate culture, of the
two organizations approach to business and their workforces. This internal culture generally is seen as the most likely to cause a failure of the merger, which is not greatly
common but has happened in the past. At best, conducting a merger without regard for the sellers culture creates a tension often visible in the bottom line.
Integration McCoys (1998) suggestion is that the two merging organizations undergo systems integration, an activity most often
used within internal systems: One grocery industry marketer notes, "In an industry that seems to be consolidating at an hourly rate, systems
integration enables companies to get the most efficiency out of all information systems - from store level through the supply chain ... Systems integration allows us to squeeze our [investment]
dollars as much as we can, but still use our systems to their maximum, and generate revenue and as many sales as possible" (p. 9).