Strategies involving mergers and acquisitions are particularly vulnerable to cultural problems. Mergers between two organizations often are easier to accomplish on paper than in reality. Reality may reveal that the cultures of the organization fail to mesh as easily as corporate assets.

Research the history of the Daimler-Chrysler merger on the Internet. Learn as much as you can about each original company’s organizational culture. In addition, there are numerous other mergers within the same industry that have occurred over the last 10 years. In fact the automobile industry is an industry of recent consolidation. It might add to your understanding of things if you add some research about the industry and the mergers within the industry. There are only about 12 to 15 global automobile car manufacturers in the world.

What problems have the companies experienced in combining their cultures?

Have these problems affected their execution of strategy?

What has been done to overcome these challenges?

What role do ethics play in the culture and leadership of an organization?

Why is it so difficult to change the culture of an organization?

Is it worth the effort? Why or Why not?

Give some actual example(s) from your work experience in organizations.