Culture Clashes Case Study
Culture Clashes Case Study
CJA/473
March 14, 2011
Culture Clashes Case Study Culture clashes in businesses can differ in many ways, and it is not understood why some cultures make it through a merger, while others appear not to make it through a merger at all. The merger within different businesses can be a major situation for everyone to go through, and when dealing with two of America’s biggest companies, the difficulty of the situation can only increase. Once businesses decide to merge, quite often it seems as though one company gains all the benefits and the other loses out. However, this paper will illustrate that is not the situation when it comes to Bank of America and MBNA. Culture can be identified through ethnic background, religion, and simple beliefs. Since these two major corporations did not clash, reviewing how the business practices and operations relate would be more feasible to look at when relating to the form of culture. Bank of America was known for its conventional banking and not taking any risks. On the other hand, MBNA was known for glamorous lights, luxury, and all the amenities of fine buildings. Bank of America took pride in the way business was conducted with the fast growing industries, because they were on a task to be the world’s largest bank. Since Bank of America was the nation’s third largest bank, the merger with MBNA would help transform Bank of America into one of the world’s largest credit card issuers (MSNBC, 2005). However, with the merger, there would be an expectation of great rewards for each corporation and some disadvantages as well. According to Bank of America, “the acquisition is an opportunity to grow a business that has proven to be one of its fastest growing segments” (MSNBC, 2005). The companies did not have very much in common from one aspect, but if looked at from a different view, Bank of America and MBNA had much in common. The one thing that made them the most
CJA/473
March 14, 2011
Culture Clashes Case Study Culture clashes in businesses can differ in many ways, and it is not understood why some cultures make it through a merger, while others appear not to make it through a merger at all. The merger within different businesses can be a major situation for everyone to go through, and when dealing with two of America’s biggest companies, the difficulty of the situation can only increase. Once businesses decide to merge, quite often it seems as though one company gains all the benefits and the other loses out. However, this paper will illustrate that is not the situation when it comes to Bank of America and MBNA. Culture can be identified through ethnic background, religion, and simple beliefs. Since these two major corporations did not clash, reviewing how the business practices and operations relate would be more feasible to look at when relating to the form of culture. Bank of America was known for its conventional banking and not taking any risks. On the other hand, MBNA was known for glamorous lights, luxury, and all the amenities of fine buildings. Bank of America took pride in the way business was conducted with the fast growing industries, because they were on a task to be the world’s largest bank. Since Bank of America was the nation’s third largest bank, the merger with MBNA would help transform Bank of America into one of the world’s largest credit card issuers (MSNBC, 2005). However, with the merger, there would be an expectation of great rewards for each corporation and some disadvantages as well. According to Bank of America, “the acquisition is an opportunity to grow a business that has proven to be one of its fastest growing segments” (MSNBC, 2005). The companies did not have very much in common from one aspect, but if looked at from a different view, Bank of America and MBNA had much in common. The one thing that made them the most
References: Associated Press, (2005) Bank of America buys credit card giant MBNA. Retrieved on March 20, 2011 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8414809/ns/business-us_business/ Dash, Eric (2005) A Clash of Cultures: Averted. Retrieved on March 20, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/business/20bank.html?pagewanted=print