A Transatlantic Merger

Résumé du document

The world is divided by a multitude of civilization having diverse cultures and traditions. These disparities have brought wealth to the world in which we are living today, and the exchanges with the foreign cultures are often very enriching. For a company, mixing dissimilar culture by operating in different markets could be profitable, but also very complex to manage. The following study is based on two pharmaceutical companies who have merged together. Both CEOs expected that just saying 'Good morning, you work for a new company' was sufficient to inform the employees of the situation. But an in-depth analysis has been realized and has pointed out several problems. This case talks about the merger of two large corporations specializing in the pharmaceutical industry. One is headquartered in the US whereas the other is located in the United Kingdom.

Extraits

[...] Of course this behavior limits the risks, but it also slows down the initiatives taken by the employees. Indeed, they are less autonomous and they are constrained to use their talent by respecting the rules. Furthermore, innovation and creative achievement is insufficiently rewarded and employees are not encouraged to use their knowledge and know- how as much as they can do it. The conclusion is that these problems lead to an under-exploitation of the talents: people are not motivated to give the best of themselves. [...]

[...] The first step to solve this issue is to relax the rules and the procedures. It will increase the speed of the information circulation inside the company what will make closer the talents of each employee. In addition, it will give more leeway to the staff who will have the feeling to be more autonomous and considered by the company. It is clear it is a big effort because US and UK cultures attach a lot of importance to the regulation. [...]

[...] Thus, the following part will define key resolutions to adopt in order to solve singly the detected problems. - Solving the mission and internal communication problems The merger involves mixing two different mission statements along with two different internal communication methods. Thus, the merger will lead to incomprehension in the mind of the employees who may have trouble to integrate the new organization concepts. To attempt solving this problem, one method coming from the International Human Resources management could be helpful: the organizational alignment. [...]

[...] What is relevant in the Trompenaars analysis is the manner to address the time notion. Americans are future oriented and the past has a few influences on their life; in the other hand, the present of the English is impacted by the past what means that English workers will be more affected by the merger than American. That's why, to make successful this process, the idea is to invite the Britannic team who will have to collaborate with the American team in USA. [...]

[...] These people are quite monotone and does not express what they feel (and sometimes what they think). The emotions are often hidden and it leads to feeling explosion situation (in France, the score is only 30, and it becomes more and more common that employees commit suicide in their companies suicides have occurred in the two past years in the same company: France Telecom[7]). In neutral cultures, people who have cool or self-possessed behaviors are often admired. - Specific versus diffuse United States and United Kingdom are both very specific regarding the equilibrium between private and business life. [...]