Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By: Alex Osborne, Vivian Songonuga & Mphasto Chibwana: 20 April 2010
By: Alex Osborne, Vivian Songonuga & Mphasto Chibwana: 20 April 2010
“Cadbury has been in Kraft's sights for a while, but the merger took on new
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urgency after last year's $23-billion purchase of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. by Mars
Inc.” (Waldie, 2009)
Group Approach
Perspective: Cadbury
Culture
“….key factor for make or break in M&A deal: Culture clash” (Accenture, 2000)
“Cultural fit between an acquirer and a target is one of the most neglected areas of
analysis prior to the closing of a deal……Without it, the chances are great that
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) will quickly
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Types of culture
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Participation
Friendship & Networking
Networked Networking throughout the organization
Helping others
The primary driver for mergers and acquisitions is revenue gain, however
this approach rarely takes account of cultural differences which may
inhibit successful adaption.
The analysis shows that Kraft needs to change the culture of Cadbury to
take better control of the organisation and strengthen its brand.
However, to achieve this it will require strong leadership, good
communication and a well thought out strategy and plan.
One of the most complex and difficult hurdles to overcome will be ‘staff
resistance’, however a long term impact of the change could be more
profound to consumer brand loyalty.
Kotter, J (1995) Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review [Online] Available at:
http://www.power-projects.com/LeadingChange.pdf [Accessed 17th April 2010]
References
Power, H. (2010) ‘Comment: bitter taste for Cadbury staff’. TIMESONLINE. 19 January, 2010 [Online]
Available at:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article6993652.ece
[Accessed 13 April 2010]
Reuters (2009) ‘Cash not culture to decide Cadbury fate’. [Online] Available at:
http://blogs.reuters.com/columns/2009/11/30/cash-not-culture-to-decide-cadbury-fate/ [Accessed 13 April
2010].
Reuters (2009) Can Kraft CEO pass on Cadbury chocolate? [Online] Available at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5A54O020091106 [Accessed 13 April 2010].
Rigby, E., & Cohen, N. (2010) ‘Cadbury staff issues with pension ultimatum’. Financial Times. 2 April, 2010
[Online] Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67512e72-3e87-11df-a706-00144feabdc0.html?
catid=2&SID=google [Accessed 13 April 2010].
Thomas, R. (2000) Mergers & Acquisitions: Irreconcilable Differences. Accenture [Online]. Available at:
http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Alphabet/DespiteClash.htm [Accessed
13 April 2010]
Virani, V. (2007) Mergers and Acquisitions - A Case of System Failure.[Online] Available at:
http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC632/fc632.html [Accessed 12 April 2010]
Waldie, P (2009) ‘Candy wars: Why Kraft wants Cadbury's secrets. The Globe and Mail News. 9 November ,
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2009 [Online] Available at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/why-kraft-wants-cadburys-
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secrets/article1279793/ [Accessed 12 April 2009].