Section 1: Mergers and Acquisitions.
“It would appear that chaos rules in the world of mergers and acquisitions. But our
analysis reveals that these trends are not a matter of happenstance. On the contrary
when we take a deeper look, it becomes evident that industry consolidation conforms
to a set of laws”(AT Kearney, Merger Endgames 2002)
In their article ‘The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers’, Ghemawat & Ghadar
believe that many international firms follow a ‘herd’ behaviour and jump on the
merger bandwagon, that often leads to failure. In contrast, AT Kearney argue that global mega-mergers are an inevitable part of the industry life cycle and the need to consolidate on a global level.
a)Critically debate the arguments for and against global mega-mergers and whether you think they are beneficial or not.
b)Discuss the measures firms should take to reduce the risk of failure in both the pre-merger and post-merger phases.Section 2: Knowledge Management
“Global business or product-division managers have one overriding responsibility:to further the company’s global-scale efficiency and competitiveness.This task requires not only the perspective to recognize opportunities and risks across national and functional boundaries but also the skill to coordinate activities and link capabilities across those barriers.The global business manager’s overall goal is to capture the full benefit of integrated worldwide operations. “
In light of the above statement, discuss the role of knowledge management in international business and the resultant benefits it can produce for internationalising and globalising firms.