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Acquisitions, Buyouts and Mergers: Oh My!!

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Acquisitions, Buyouts and Mergers: Oh My!!
Acquisitions, Buyouts and Mergers: Oh My!!
Barriers and Solutions Paper
Raymond J Papke Jr
Concordia University
MBA580-Leadership and Organizational Behavior
10/11/12

Abstract
Acquisitions and mergers have become a staple in today’s economy. Whether on the acquiring end or on the receiving end, organizations experience all kinds of issues during these processes. This paper will highlight W.W. Grainger acquiring Imperial Supplies LLC in October, 2009. Imperial experienced and continues to struggle with changes to the very core of their existence. Processes that had been in place for 50 years were now about to change. Culture that created the dominant sales force was now being transformed. Both procedural and cultural barriers have challenged the management, employees and customer base of Imperial. We shall examine each of these barriers in detail and provide a solution to overcome the barriers.

The pounding force of today’s turbulent economy has spawned a whirlwind of mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructures. It is this tumultuous atmosphere that caused a deteriorating American Capital Ltd. to peddle Imperial Supplies LLC to W.W. Grainger in October of 2009. This acquisition, while proven successful for both Imperial Supplies and W.W. Grainger, hasn’t come without its share of transitional pains. In this paper we will document two such discomforts that have impeded the acquisition process for Imperial Supplies, procedural barriers and cultural barriers, and provide specific implementation strategies for removing these barriers during the transformation process. Merger and acquisition has proven to be a resilient force of change during economic upheaval for countless organizations. While acquisition can be extremely successful for an organization, unless handled delicately it can also create chaos. Culture, transformational processes and change strategies hamper a successful organizational transformation. We only need to


References: Blank, Chris (2012). The advantages & disadvantages of the acquisition of another company in the same industry, Chron. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-acquisition-another-company-same-industry-31362.html Dumon, Marv (2008). Biggest merger and acquisition disasters. Investopedia. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/08/merger-acquisition- disasters.asp#axzz290SWUKsS Matta, C. (2012). Why it’s important to feel valued at your job. Psych Central. Retrieved on October 11, 2012, from http: //psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/10/09/why-its-important-to-feel-valued-at-your-job/ Robbins & Judge (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Rubin, Gretchen (2009). Stop expecting to change your habit in 21 days. Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-happiness-project/200910/stop- expecting-change-your-habit-in-21-days
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