Merger and acquisition activities have become an integral part of today’s business world. They are considered as strategic component to gain market shares and extend product portfolios. Still, these transactions have a huge impact on an organization. This paper looks specifically at the MandA impact on company culture. Based on an analysis of identified key elements, which drive a MandA process, a cultural integration toolkit will be developed to solve identified cultural problems. Secondary data serves as source data for an inductive approach. Cultural problems and key drivers will be identified based on systematic research. The implantation of these key drivers in existing integration models will be further studied. Findings prove that not all of the identified key drivers are implemented in the models. Therefore, existing models solve the identified cultural problems semi-efficient. This leaves the need for a basic integration tool, which implements all key drivers, serves as guideline through an MandA process and provides specific instruments for realization of single steps. This paper develops such a basic integration toolkit in chapter five. The toolkit meets all these requirements and proves that ‘managing culture clashes in MandA’s’ is possible.

Merger and acquisition activities have become an integral part of today’s business world. They are considered as strategic component to gain market shares and extend product portfolios. Still, these transactions have a huge impact on an organization. This paper looks specifically at the M&A impact on company culture. Based on an analysis of identified key elements, which drive a M&A process, a cultural integration toolkit will be developed to solve identified cultural problems. Secondary data serves as source data for an inductive approach. Cultural problems and key drivers will be identified based on systematic research. The implantation of these key drivers in existing integration models will be further studied. Findings prove that not all of the identified key drivers are implemented in the models. Therefore, existing models solve the identified cultural problems semi-efficient. This leaves the need for a basic integration tool, which implements all key drivers, serves as guideline through an M&A process and provides specific instruments for realization of single steps. This paper develops such a basic integration toolkit in chapter five. The toolkit meets all these requirements and proves that ‘managing culture clashes in M&A’s’ is possible.

This new eighth edition provides a leading edge text that provides insight for interacting with other cultures, working on cross-cultural teams and provides a framework for building long-lasting relationships in a diverse global business environment.

Publisher Description

Earlier editions published as: Managing cultural differences / Philip R. Harris, Robert T. Moran.

Preface, Section 1: Culture and Communication, Section 2: Managing Diversity, Section 3: Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Section 4: Education and Counseling, Section 5: The Mass Media, Conflict, and National Images, Section 6: Intercultural Aspects of Conflict and Negotiation, Selected Bibliography, Names Index, Subject Index.

Cultural Impact on Conflict Management in Higher Education shares information regarding conflict management and resolution in higher education from a global perspective. In this book, we introduced many conflict resolution methods from different regions in the world. You can borrow some successful strategies and examine the differences and similarities between contexts. The book shares a conflict resolution model which may direct the reader to start thinking about addressing and managing conflicts from different levels of organizations. This book is a collective work of authors coming from all over the world. We chose higher education as the context because it is a place where diverse thoughts, perspectives, and people come together. Because of the potential richness of diversity on a college campus, the opportunity for conflicts occurs. Managing conflict does not work when there is a “one-way only approach/model” for addressing conflict. Some conflict resolution encompasses multiple dimensions: (a) one’s personal beliefs or beliefs about an issue; (b) an individual’s personal history in terms of how the conflict was perceived as something to be discussed or not; (c) work culture of the conflict where if ‘one has a conflict,’ the person or unit is messing up or there is a problem person; (d) the unconscious strategies of ‘face saving’ (trying to maintain one’s image) present; (e) social hierarchies or relationships; and (f) the diversity dimensions and issues that may be present.