Cadbury Takeover
Case Study: Cadbury Takeover
Introduction:
In the beginning of 2010 the US food giant took-over one of the most famous British confectionary companies, Cadbury, affectively making Kraft the largest food confectionary company in the world (Smith, 2010). According to Rigby and Masters (2010) the takeover “was one of the biggest – and most hotly contested – acquisitions in the UK”. The process was exhaustively followed by media, which criticized inability of British Government to limit takeovers of such famed British brands in the future – as it is part of the British identity. Moreover, during such process a large number of employees have suffered, not only through a large number of redundancies, but also through the change in management and overall organization of the company, which has affected employees values amongst the other factors. This assignment will be looking into various details of changes in employees values as well as relationships and overall changes of the work ethics.
Comparison of employment values before the takeover:
Quakers found Cadbury in 1824 in Birmingham. Quakers, also known as “Religious Society of Friends”, is a Christian movement that believes in equality of people, this creates strong moral ethical behavior, social justice and community (BBC, 2009). Beliefs associated with the movement directly influenced employment values in Cadbury, known for its ‘benign paternalism’ (Lucas and Rappeport, 2011), as it has been placing importance on sociable values, participating and friendly environment since its beginning. According to Evening Standard (2009): “For most of its 185-year history Cadbury has been viewed as one of the most paternalistic and socially aware employers in the UK”. For instance, recreational, training and education facilities were added into factories (Rose, 1986; Katsoulakos and Katsoulakos, 2006). Furthermore, employees have had access to medical care as well as good welfare system (ibid). According to Leggett
Introduction:
In the beginning of 2010 the US food giant took-over one of the most famous British confectionary companies, Cadbury, affectively making Kraft the largest food confectionary company in the world (Smith, 2010). According to Rigby and Masters (2010) the takeover “was one of the biggest – and most hotly contested – acquisitions in the UK”. The process was exhaustively followed by media, which criticized inability of British Government to limit takeovers of such famed British brands in the future – as it is part of the British identity. Moreover, during such process a large number of employees have suffered, not only through a large number of redundancies, but also through the change in management and overall organization of the company, which has affected employees values amongst the other factors. This assignment will be looking into various details of changes in employees values as well as relationships and overall changes of the work ethics.
Comparison of employment values before the takeover:
Quakers found Cadbury in 1824 in Birmingham. Quakers, also known as “Religious Society of Friends”, is a Christian movement that believes in equality of people, this creates strong moral ethical behavior, social justice and community (BBC, 2009). Beliefs associated with the movement directly influenced employment values in Cadbury, known for its ‘benign paternalism’ (Lucas and Rappeport, 2011), as it has been placing importance on sociable values, participating and friendly environment since its beginning. According to Evening Standard (2009): “For most of its 185-year history Cadbury has been viewed as one of the most paternalistic and socially aware employers in the UK”. For instance, recreational, training and education facilities were added into factories (Rose, 1986; Katsoulakos and Katsoulakos, 2006). Furthermore, employees have had access to medical care as well as good welfare system (ibid). According to Leggett
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