Organizational Change : An Important Part Of An Organization

Our case study deals with Mass Merger. Since the 90s, together with the globalization of business, Mergers and Acquisitions have developed at an incredible pace. Thus, companies from all over the world can be lead to work together as one single corporation. Moreover, the world has become interdependent not only economically, but also culturally, that is to say one culture may influence another one or different cultures can be mixed. It is then obvious that intercultural issues have to be solved.

The modern business culture must, by necessity, be fluid if it is to succeed globally. There is interaction between employees, between stakeholders, and between global environments. In fact, this environment is formed through multiple interactions between the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities presented through the organization's unique culture. Since truly the one constant in business is change, it is how we adapt to such changes; as individuals and part of groups, that helps manifest behaviors as he culture evolves. Indeed, many believe that one of the templates that make up this fluidity is the concept, even more popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, of mergers and acquisitions (Horibe, 2001).

Every country differs in culture which has been there for centuries. The international market is growing rapidly, with more and more multinational organisations entering new markets each day. In this assignment I will evaluate how the difference in cultures affects the performance of international businesses.

Knowledge of other cultures is one of the keys to being successful in business dealings. This paper reports on real experiences in cross-cultural business interactions from three different perspectives. I interviewed three successful businessmen, one who worked with Iranians, one with Chinese, and one with Indians. I interviewed them independently, and my questions covered four different elements: cultural behavior in business negotiations, management as symbol of high power distance in the companies, knowledge of high context or low context culture, and finally knowledge of each of culture to have better business negotiation in future.

Due to the diversity of the cultures in the merged organizations, the management team has to facilitate a working culture in the new organization. Each organization

Making business abroad can be risky, but it can also be profitable for a company as well; thus the necessity to study in deep the country where the company will bring the business to. International companies are faced with many cultural challenges, when doing business across and inside of different borders. Identifying the significant cultural issues involved when evaluating the attractiveness of a particular location as a place for doing business can be crucial for a business. Aspects to consider when studying culture in a new place

Given this, the main target of this essay is to analyse the main approaches to understanding national culture and the way that this culture can manifest and make the difference in the entry of companies in new markets.

Change has become necessary for every organisation there is. World is moving rapidly towards better technologies, efficient systems, new techniques, compact profits, different friendlier environments and organisations are always in the race to reach new heights by thriving effectively in this competitive environment (Kotter, 1996).

Some businesses in America transfer into bi-cultured after starting out as monoculture. This typically happens when one company buys out the other or they join each other and sub-merge. Every now and then this happens globally. Companies face changes when a merger takes place such as how the business will operate, wages, and or if there will be interference from the government. Once the merger has begun the rules are changed to better serve the company whether people are with it or against it. Company success stories are sent over to a list which is created called the Globe Project list. This list gives pointers and advice for globalized managers to practice based on several key items and characteristics required during a successful merger. Daft states, “Some of the characteristics are assertiveness, performance, and human orientation” (Daft, 2013 ).

Globalisation has dramatically changed the international business landscape. Corporations are now presented with unprecedented opportunities for growth, development and multinational expansion (Dobbs et al, 2013). With increased market and technological integration also comes the immense movement of people; connecting different cultures and nationalities from across the globe. It is now widely considered that diverse organisations are the most successful organisations, with cross-cultural collaboration often improving overall work efficiency by ‘integrating collective wisdom and strength’ (Li, 2011, 114). However, cross-cultural collaboration can also generate an organisational challenge, as disparate cultural backgrounds can often cause unintended misunderstandings (Li, 2011). The primary aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of an organisational merger between an American and a Chinese healthy food company, which will be situated in China. The authors of this paper will be acting as consultants, aiming to identify the cross-cultural barriers between the United States and China. Both organisations have identified the international merger as beneficial to their strategic objectives, however certain cross-cultural differences must be acknowledged as a potential challenge. Therefore, using relevant cross cultural theories, models and literature, this paper will advise how cultural challenges could be minimised. The paper will focus on issues surrounding communication and

2. When a company grows in size and makes the decision to expand internationally, it is vital for its image among current and future customers to complete projects effectively and on time. Furthermore, it is also likely that such an expansion would entail the representation of more than one culture among the workforce. Indeed, while many employees will be relocated from the home country, a further proportion will be hired from the host country. To facilitate the relations and

Many companies emphasize a culture of continuous improvement. While never being satisfied with the status quo can drive

Culture across our globe varies greatly and affect every aspect of our lives from how we speak to the way we work. So when looking to do business internationally it is wise to take this into consideration and do some research on the host country’s ways of life to help make the process as smooth as possible and avoid miscommunication. By recognizing culture as well as the positives and negatives that cultural diversity bring to the situation it is possible to find an approach to the merger that combines aspects of both cultures to be mutually beneficial for all of those involved (Adler, 107.) This approach is often referred to as a culturally synergistic approach and it is most often a more logical approach than a parochial approach where the effect of diversity is not recognized or an ethnocentric approach where it is believed cultural diversity will only hurt the organization. I would recommend Mr. Stevenson take a culturally synergistic approach to convincing the Japanese executives to reopen the American plant.

Culture is the main determinant for companies, such as Toyota, that have operations globally. The American way of doing things differs with that of Japan and Toyota’s efforts to recall its cars created a negative perspective among the Americans (Valdes-Dapena, “Toyota Recall: 2.3 Million Cars”). Clearly, culture defines people and how they conduct operations in the global platform, thus, the need for collective participation in order to avert a crisis in the future.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are an established form of expansion for medium to large size companies, with the intention of creating more value by for example increasing competitiveness and transferring technology and innovation. In other words, it is assumed that “the combined company will have greater value than the two companies alone” (Marks & Mirvis, 1992, p. 69), It can even be argued that, with the globalization of business, M&As are needed to keep up (Hitt, Franklin & Zhu, 2006). Unfortunately, the failure rate in M&As is extremely high with 70% of worldwide M&A failing to increase stakeholder value (Mohibullah, 2009) and over 90% of European M&A failing to reach financial objectives (Hay Group. 2007). Although there may be many different reasons for an M&A not succeeding, failure is most often attributed to the incompatibility of the two (corporate) cultures (Uljin, Duyster & Fevre, 2010). In the last couple of decades, M&A has switched from being mostly a domestic phenomenon to an international phenomenon, initially caused by the integration of the European Union in the 90s, followed by a rise in “the international expansion of emerging market multinationals … be it by Chinese or Indian firms” (Reynolds & Teerikangas, 2016, p. 42), adding a new dimension to the cultural differences; national cultures. Consequently, with this rise in the number of cross-border M&A also came an increased interest in the effect of national cultural differences between