Global Acquisitions: Strategic Integration and the Human Factor

309 Pages·2003·0.98 MB·English

by  Stan Lees

GLOBAL ACQUISITIONS
Strategic Integration and the Human Factor
Stan Lees
Global Acquisitions
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GLOBAL ACQUISITIONS
Strategic Integration and the Human Factor
Stan Lees
© Stan Lees 2003
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as
the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
First published 2003 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
Companies and representatives throughout the world
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St Martin’s Press LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Macmillan®is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom
and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European
Union and other countries.
ISBN 0–333–77629–1 hardback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by
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To Laura,
who playfully taught her dad
the Game of Golden Lemon
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Contents
List of Tables and Boxes viii
List of Figures x
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction xiii
PART 1 Acquisitions in Perspective
1 Acquisitions: The Promise and the Problem 3
2 The Human Factor and Strategic Integration 13
PART 2 Value Destruction
3 How Unsuccessful are Acquisitions? 27
4 Strategy and Acquisition Performance 45
5 Twelve Ways to Destroy Value 66
PART 3 Integration Strategy
6 The Integration Agenda 83
7 Forecasting Models and Value Probing 90
8 Due Diligence or Shrewd Diligence? 95
9 Essential Controls 109
10 Integrating Structures 114
PART 4 Human Resources
11 People and Human Resource Strategies 141
12 Three-Stage Commitment Building 151
13 The Implementation Environment 169
PART 5 Culture
14 The Culture Concept 187
15 Mergers and the Dynamics of Culture 196
16 Culture and Global Mergers 215
17 Global Integration Managers 249
18 In Conclusion 265
Notes 273
References 277
General Index 283
Corporate Index 287
vii
List of Tables and Boxes
Tables
5.1 1998 mega-deals: impossible hurdles? 73
16.1 Culture dimension index scores and ranks
for 52 countries and 3 world regions 220
Boxes
1.1 Porter on paper synergy 9
2.1 The Game of Golden Lemon 23
3.1 Seven obstacles to efficient size 35
3.2 Complexity in piggy banking 37
3.3 Swell Dell 38
3.4 Drugs and celibacy 40
3.5 Daimler–Chrysler driver warranty 43
4.1 The de factomessage of conglomeration 49
4.2 1960s conglomeration and P/E ‘magic’ 51
4.3 Seeing double 54
4.4 Managing by numbers 55
4.5 Brandy and cigars 58
4.6 The three value disciplines 60
4.7 The ten largest mega-mergers 63
5.1 Twelve ways to destroy value 67
5.2 Forecasting wonderland 72
5.3 Delegating up the wire 75
7.1 A boardroom scenario 91
7.2 The Six-Year One-Third rule 94
8.1 Long shadowing 98
8.2 The tale of the deadwood ship 100
9.1 Eight essential controls 110
9.2 Move over, darling 110
9.3 Irritation technology 113
10.1 Boeing’s Phantom Works 124
10.2 In debt to a curate’s egg 127
10.3 Dixons’ fast Curry blender 130
10.4 Mergers and transplants 136
viii
List of Tables and Boxes
ix
11.1 People as a bulk buy 141
11.2 Smoke and glass 147
12.1 Asian tango 157
12.2 Telling the truth: the realistic merger preview 161
12.3 How not to win friends 167
12.4 Lone Ranger bites the bullet 168
13.1 Digging a hole to the future 173
13.2 Big hat, no throttle 179
15.1 Cock-eyed culture 196
15.2 Five levels of culture 199
15.3 The ethics of debt 202
15.4 Twelve basic assumption areas of organisations 203
15.5 Personnel sings the blues 209
16.1 Steel and fudge, Scandinavian style 223
16.2 Decoding Soviet management 236
16.3 A raft of graft 238
16.4 Oriental strategic thinking 244
16.5 How Japanese see Americans 247