Planning Successful Mergers and Acquisitions: Culture Change Through Kaizen

Mergers, acquisitions and takeovers are prevalent throughout the business world, including the private and public sectors. They comprise a critical activity for these organisations with considerable risk and reward attached to the outcomes. The research investigates a method for successfully implementing such mergers, based on an example from practice. The improvement techniques of Kaizen were used to facilitate the merger, identify and instigate improvement and reset the culture in the organisation being taken over. Recommendations are made to assist in facilitating mergers, based on the activities identified in the example of a successful merger. The objective is to provide guidelines for organisations to utilise in order to conduct successful mergers. The research comprised a review of key articles in a selection of the principal journals and several interviews with practitioners, one of whom played a central role in a major merger. A thematic analysis of the research data was then enacted, using inductive methods. A diagram illustrating the critical activities in a successful merger was then constructed, using a systems perspective. Recommendations were formulated from the research results. Organisational culture was a major theme of this work, in respect of the merger. The attempt to introduce the culture from the main organisation to the partner was viewed as a vital element for a successful merger. The terms of the merger are also considered, in respect of the operating conditions for the organisations. A set of guidelines were compiled, for potential use by companies engaged in merger activities. KEYWORDS: Mergers; Acquisitions; Merger Terms; Merger Guidelines; Organisational Culture; Kaizen.