What to Keep in Mind During a Merger or Acquisition
At some point, three percent organic growth, although perhaps respectable in your industry, will become less than attractive for the organization. As such, the senior leaders or the board maypropose a more aggressive, inorganic growth strategy thatincludes a strong spring of deal flow, pre-acquisition, due diligence, and post-acquisition integration, typically driven by the project management office.
Make no mistake – there is seldom a merger. Instead, there is typically an acquisition and often, the integration ofdifferent and contrastingemployee teams into an expansive geography. Separate functional groups working in different locations drive incredibly inefficient and often dysfunctional redundancies in their implementation of various programs and initiatives.
Information Technology, though a broad-reaching shared service, is often a good but unfortunately painful example of this scenario. Infrastructure, large projects, pockets of unique expertise, mandates by business units, and the critical nature of the organization’s operational efficiency based on a consistent and productive IT strategy makes matters worse. After any acquisition, IT leaders often recognize that a reorganization and reprioritization is not only necessary, but critical to seamless continuity. The goal is often to break down us-versus-them silos and get people in Europe, Asia, and the Americas talking to one another not only to improve IT services, but to create efficiencies in the desired output. So, how do you break down silos and get people talking? First, map out social networks of intra-company relationships to reveal who is most overworked, most isolated, and most connected without alienating any particular employee or teams. Then, convey the painfully clear value of collaboration or lack thereof.
You would be amazed at how many people are disconnected across functional lines by physical distances or even with those working on key projects. Some are to be expected, but others can cause enormous pain and redundancy in an organization. Often, reorganization is needed based on functional groups as opposed to teams of experts. For example, if the enterprise resource planning deployment team does not fully understand the critical steps in the process, nor do they develop the relationships with the frontline users of that technology to extract candor regarding what is really broken and how to fix the process before implementation is sure to fail.
Many cross-functional social networks often become enablers to more effective communication and unity in their respective parts of the bigger picture. Geography creates a very real disconnect, which team-building sessions can help overcome. Last, strategic knowledge communities in areas such as project management, process reengineering and client services previously unknown to the senior staff, can emerge.
About the author: David Nour is a social networking strategist and one of the foremost thought leaders on the quantifiable value of business relationships. In a global economy that is becoming increasingly disconnected, David and his team are solving global client challenges with Strategic Relationship Planninga, and Enterprise Social Networking best practices.
David is the author of Relationship Economics (Wiley, 2008), The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Raising Capital (Praeger, 2009), ConnectAbility (McGraw-Hill, 2010), and the Social Networking Technology Best Practices Series. He is a contributor to The Social Media Bible (Wiley, 2009) and is currently researching and writing his next commercial book on Listen Louder .
David’s unique perspective and independent insights have been featured in a variety of prominent blogs and print publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Association Now, Entrepreneur and Success magazine. http://www.relationshipeconomics.net/
Should the U.S.A have a Distributed Bio-Diesel Reserve? Tuesday 17 June, 2008 HEADLINES
Mugabe does it again print friendly version author/source:News24 (SA) published:Fri 16-Nov-2007 posted on this site:Fri 16-Nov-2007 Article Type : News Critics say turning around the economy will not be that easy Chris Muronzi
Harare – Zimbabwe has launched its first ever commercial bio-diesel plant amid high hopes the project could ease diesel shortages, reduce the country’s imports bill or eventually lift the troubled nation’s economy out of recession. According to state daily, The Herald, the new plant will save the foreign currency squeezed government US$80m annually in diesel imports. The bio-diesel plant, according to the paper, has the capacity to produce 100 million litres of diesel annually if fully operational according to the government mouthpiece. The plant, which processes jatropha, cotton seed, sunflower and soya, among others, to produce bio-diesel, is a joint venture between the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Youn Woo Investments of South Korea. Zimbabwe also scored big by being the the first country in the world to produce bio-diesel with a bio-purity level of virtually 100%. Germany has a bio-purity level of 75% while other European countries range from 2% to 20%.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who officiated the plant heaped praises on the central bank and commended the two partners for coming up with such a genius innovation. The achievement, Mugabe claimed was a “derivative of government’s far-sighted land reform programme.” Zimbabwe, according to the Herald “would now be cushioned against exogenous threats relating to fuel supplies, particularly in terms of pricing and availability when the plant is at full capacity”. Mugabe said: “The strategic importance of this bio-diesel programme is its symbiotic integration with Government’s thrust in agricultural productive activity. I am informed that once wholly customised, this plant will, at full capacity, yield a production level of 100 million litres of diesel per year, meeting virtually all the agricultural sector’s diesel requirements for our strategic crops and other farming activities.”
“As a people, we have demonstrated that the dark clouds of our hard times, particularly those sown by Western destructive forces, have their silver lining by way of not just strengthening our resilience, but also of deepening our scientific research and stimulating our innovativeness,” he said. Zimbabwe is also planing to install similar plants in all provinces of the country within the next three years to meet the country’s agricultural and industrial productive sector fuel demands. Mugabe also called on resettled farmers to produce enough oil seeds to meet both consumptive and fuel production needs. At least 500 tonnes of seed oil would be required annually to produce the targeted 100 million litres of bio-diesel. “Within this context, therefore, it is once more necessary to challenge all beneficiaries of the land acquisition exercise to ensure that every inch of allocated land is put to good use,” said Mugabe.
Government hopes the 2007/2008 agricultural season will be the turning point in the country’s economic fortunes, with agricultural production providing the lead in the transformation process. But critics say turning around the economy will not be all that easy as suggested by Mugabe. At the same event, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe chief Gideon Gono announced a Z$1trillion finance facility for each province for the production of jatropha, the major oil seed for the bio-diesel processing technology. He said the facility was meant to stimulate the growth and propagation of jatropha as feeder stock for bio-diesel projects in each province. The launch of the bio-diesel plant is part of a two-year strategy towards energy production, self-sufficiency and import substitution. Jatropha had the highest oil content ahead of other vegetable oil seeds. More farmers have been growing Jatropha after government mooted the idea three years ago.
The jatropha facility would augment efforts to encourage production of the crop, which has a 35% oil content, much higher than other seeds that average 17%. It took two to three years before jatropha seeds could be harvested and, in the meantime, Zimbabwe is said to have excess capacity in terms of pressing other oil seeds such as sunflower, cotton seed and soya. Zimbabwe needs a least a billion litres of diesel annually. “Your Excellency, the declared and undeclared sanctions against us as a country as well as the hardships our people are experiencing, coupled with the continued rise in the price of oil internationally, demands that we reconfigure our lives and our economy in a manner that eases the plight of our people and reduce dependency on those externalities and exogenous factors which we cannot influence in our favour,” said Gono. Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world now close to 8 000%, but economic experts say the figure will come out higher this month.
How to get data on Jaguar and Land Rover? Actually i’m working on my dissertation..Its about Post-Merger Integration.. I’m writing a chapter on Jaguar-Land Rover’s History and context..I searched it on google but I’m just getting the History(about its cars and product launches) not about the company and how they carry on the day to day activities, the challenges they faced during different acquisitions and also Corporate Strategy. Please help me, I’m worried its very important or else I’ll lose marks.. It would be helpful if you suggest some websites..
These links should help. The Edmunds items are brief but factual. The other two go into much more detail about the corporate strategies involved in the brands’ histories. Good luck.
Which of the following topics are usually covered by management consultants? a. Revenue growth b. Restructuring and business optimization c. Legal advisory d. Mergers and acquisitions and post merger integration support
What is post-acquisition integration and consolidating benefits? Can anyone define this terms or tell them what they mean in the most BASIC sense aka no big or complex sentences in explaining!!
Help with bracketing commas please!? OK, my trusty Penguin guide to punctuation tells me only to use a bracketing comma when the information between the brackets is non-essential, i.e. can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. So what do I do in this situation?:
Many companies continue to struggle with the complex element of integration from pre-acquisition due diligence, to integration, to post-integration solidification.
There were no commas in this at all when I got it (I’m reading someone else’s paper) but I found that very difficult to read. Should I ignore Penguin and leave them in? It’s not a case for listing, joining or gapping commas either so what is it??? Help!!! Thanks very much for the advice – I have more to think about now! I can’t reply to my own posts, hence the addition to the original…
I assume the context in which the writer writes is that of challenges in the merger-and-acquisition process.
At first glance it is the writer’s use of the word element that bothers me the most. First, the author mentions three elements of integrating the M & A process, yet uses the singular form of the word. Second, the elements are less likely to be complex; I assume the integration is complex.
In using the words from and to in order to delimit the three elements, the writer is describing a spectrum of elements, rather than a sequential process. However, use of terms like pre-acquisition and post-integration suggest a sequential order.
Moreover, is it that pre-acquisition due diligence is the only complex element of integration? If so, set pre-acquisition due diligence off by itself, rather than string it in series with two other higher-level concepts, integration and post-integration. Otherwise the list of three concepts is of the form element, followed by two incongruent, higher-level concepts.
Thus, I’d write the following: Once the merger or acquisition has been executed, many companies continue to struggle with a complex element of integration, lack of sufficient pre-acquisition due diligence. Furthermore, they face the usual challenges to integration and post-integration solidification.
October 30th, 2011 
jvremec
Posted in 
Should the U.S.A have a Distributed Bio-Diesel Reserve?
Tuesday 17 June, 2008 HEADLINES
Mugabe does it again print friendly version
author/source:News24 (SA)
published:Fri 16-Nov-2007
posted on this site:Fri 16-Nov-2007
Article Type : News
Critics say turning around the economy will not be that easy
Chris Muronzi
Harare – Zimbabwe has launched its first ever commercial bio-diesel plant amid high hopes the project could ease diesel shortages, reduce the country’s imports bill or eventually lift the troubled nation’s economy out of recession. According to state daily, The Herald, the new plant will save the foreign currency squeezed government US$80m annually in diesel imports. The bio-diesel plant, according to the paper, has the capacity to produce 100 million litres of diesel annually if fully operational according to the government mouthpiece. The plant, which processes jatropha, cotton seed, sunflower and soya, among others, to produce bio-diesel, is a joint venture between the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Youn Woo Investments of South Korea. Zimbabwe also scored big by being the the first country in the world to produce bio-diesel with a bio-purity level of virtually 100%. Germany has a bio-purity level of 75% while other European countries range from 2% to 20%.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who officiated the plant heaped praises on the central bank and commended the two partners for coming up with such a genius innovation. The achievement, Mugabe claimed was a “derivative of government’s far-sighted land reform programme.” Zimbabwe, according to the Herald “would now be cushioned against exogenous threats relating to fuel supplies, particularly in terms of pricing and availability when the plant is at full capacity”. Mugabe said: “The strategic importance of this bio-diesel programme is its symbiotic integration with Government’s thrust in agricultural productive activity. I am informed that once wholly customised, this plant will, at full capacity, yield a production level of 100 million litres of diesel per year, meeting virtually all the agricultural sector’s diesel requirements for our strategic crops and other farming activities.”
“As a people, we have demonstrated that the dark clouds of our hard times, particularly those sown by Western destructive forces, have their silver lining by way of not just strengthening our resilience, but also of deepening our scientific research and stimulating our innovativeness,” he said. Zimbabwe is also planing to install similar plants in all provinces of the country within the next three years to meet the country’s agricultural and industrial productive sector fuel demands. Mugabe also called on resettled farmers to produce enough oil seeds to meet both consumptive and fuel production needs. At least 500 tonnes of seed oil would be required annually to produce the targeted 100 million litres of bio-diesel. “Within this context, therefore, it is once more necessary to challenge all beneficiaries of the land acquisition exercise to ensure that every inch of allocated land is put to good use,” said Mugabe.
Government hopes the 2007/2008 agricultural season will be the turning point in the country’s economic fortunes, with agricultural production providing the lead in the transformation process. But critics say turning around the economy will not be all that easy as suggested by Mugabe. At the same event, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe chief Gideon Gono announced a Z$1trillion finance facility for each province for the production of jatropha, the major oil seed for the bio-diesel processing technology. He said the facility was meant to stimulate the growth and propagation of jatropha as feeder stock for bio-diesel projects in each province. The launch of the bio-diesel plant is part of a two-year strategy towards energy production, self-sufficiency and import substitution. Jatropha had the highest oil content ahead of other vegetable oil seeds. More farmers have been growing Jatropha after government mooted the idea three years ago.
The jatropha facility would augment efforts to encourage production of the crop, which has a 35% oil content, much higher than other seeds that average 17%. It took two to three years before jatropha seeds could be harvested and, in the meantime, Zimbabwe is said to have excess capacity in terms of pressing other oil seeds such as sunflower, cotton seed and soya. Zimbabwe needs a least a billion litres of diesel annually. “Your Excellency, the declared and undeclared sanctions against us as a country as well as the hardships our people are experiencing, coupled with the continued rise in the price of oil internationally, demands that we reconfigure our lives and our economy in a manner that eases the plight of our people and reduce dependency on those externalities and exogenous factors which we cannot influence in our favour,” said Gono. Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world now close to 8 000%, but economic experts say the figure will come out higher this month.
back to top
Why bother if we just harvest the oil offshore, shall in the west and Alaska we are independent for like 75 years.
How to get data on Jaguar and Land Rover?
Actually i’m working on my dissertation..Its about Post-Merger Integration.. I’m writing a chapter on Jaguar-Land Rover’s History and context..I searched it on google but I’m just getting the History(about its cars and product launches) not about the company and how they carry on the day to day activities, the challenges they faced during different acquisitions and also Corporate Strategy.
Please help me, I’m worried its very important or else I’ll lose marks..
It would be helpful if you suggest some websites..
These links should help. The Edmunds items are brief but factual. The other two go into much more detail about the corporate strategies involved in the brands’ histories. Good luck.
http://www.edmunds.com/jaguar/history.html
http://www.edmunds.com/landrover/history.html
http://www.jaguar.com/nl/nl/jaguar_ownership/company/heritage/overview.htm
http://www.lrfaq.org/FAQ.3.history.html
Which of the following topics are usually covered by management consultants?
a. Revenue growth
b. Restructuring and business optimization
c. Legal advisory
d. Mergers and acquisitions and post merger integration support
Answers:
a+b
b
a+b+d
a+c+d
b+d
Thank you
to Raluca T: muhaha ha ha ha
What is post-acquisition integration and consolidating benefits?
Can anyone define this terms or tell them what they mean in the most BASIC sense aka no big or complex sentences in explaining!!
WILL CHOOSE BEST ANSWER!!!
Help with bracketing commas please!?
OK, my trusty Penguin guide to punctuation tells me only to use a bracketing comma when the information between the brackets is non-essential, i.e. can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. So what do I do in this situation?:
Many companies continue to struggle with the complex element of integration from pre-acquisition due diligence, to integration, to post-integration solidification.
There were no commas in this at all when I got it (I’m reading someone else’s paper) but I found that very difficult to read. Should I ignore Penguin and leave them in? It’s not a case for listing, joining or gapping commas either so what is it??? Help!!!
Thanks very much for the advice – I have more to think about now! I can’t reply to my own posts, hence the addition to the original…
I assume the context in which the writer writes is that of challenges in the merger-and-acquisition process.
At first glance it is the writer’s use of the word element that bothers me the most. First, the author mentions three elements of integrating the M & A process, yet uses the singular form of the word. Second, the elements are less likely to be complex; I assume the integration is complex.
In using the words from and to in order to delimit the three elements, the writer is describing a spectrum of elements, rather than a sequential process. However, use of terms like pre-acquisition and post-integration suggest a sequential order.
Moreover, is it that pre-acquisition due diligence is the only complex element of integration? If so, set pre-acquisition due diligence off by itself, rather than string it in series with two other higher-level concepts, integration and post-integration. Otherwise the list of three concepts is of the form element, followed by two incongruent, higher-level concepts.
Thus, I’d write the following:
Once the merger or acquisition has been executed, many companies continue to struggle with a complex element of integration, lack of sufficient pre-acquisition due diligence. Furthermore, they face the usual challenges to integration and post-integration solidification.