international communicatio

CONSULTING PROJECT GUIDELINES

Mergers, when two or more organizations are combined, are large, expensive undertakings. Historically, 60-75% of mergers end in failure. One of the biggest reasons for failure is not operating-related, but rather culture related.

McKinsey & Company has supported half the top mergers completed worldwide since 2006 – many of them unprecedented in scope and complexity. McKinsey’s project teams work to help clients realize maximum deal value as quickly as possible by tapping the right sources of value; getting the new culture right; using the right tools and approaches to speed up integration; and building capabilities to execute future deals. Clients are supported from pre-announcement planning through post-close integration.

As one of the premier project teams for McKinsey’s Merger Management division, your specialization in global business communications and international business allows you to analyze mergers prior to announcement to assess viability, identify possible problems, highlight potential synergies, and recommend a course of action.

McKinsey has been contacted by a large international corporation. This corporation is considering entering into a merger with a corporation based in another country. Your team has been tasked with preparing a report regarding this potential merger.

Heineken International & Boston Beer Company

The following guidelines will help you organize your analysis and report:

1. Current Situation (4 pages, single-spaced)

 Provide a brief history and description of both corporations.

 Where are these corporations headquartered? Which country/culture is the primary influence?

 List potential sources of overlap/synergy (products, services, regions, etc.)

2. Language Strategy (3pages, single-spaced)

 Recommend a language strategy for the merger.

 What type of staffing do you recommend for the newly merged corporation? How will this fit with the proposed language strategy?

3. Cultural Analysis (3 pages, single-spaced)

 Analyze the respective cultures of each corporation (headquarters/countries/etc.).

4. Intercultural Negotiation Teams (2 pages, single-spaced)

 Discuss potential issues that will need to be navigated when forming a negotiation team.

 If translators are needed in your negotiation, discuss your strategy for hiring appropriate assistance.

5. Legal/Governmental Considerations (2 pages, single-spaced)

 Are there any specific legal or governmental considerations that need to be addressed during the merger?

6. Recommendations (7 pages, single-spaced)

 Would you recommend that this merger take place? Why or why not? Use your analysis to support this recommendation. Be sure to focus on the impacts of cross-cultural integration.

Additional information that may be helpful include:

1. This merger is in the initial stages, and all information regarding the possible combination of these two corporations is being held in the strictest confidence. As such, do not expect to find any information concerning the potential mergers in the popular press.

2. The focus of this project is on how intercultural communication and related issues may impact the success of the merger.

3. Expect to find research materials in the business press (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal, and The Economist), company websites, and any other materials. All materials used for your report should be documented in your report.

4. Professionalism matters. Misspellings and grammatical errors can get you demoted or fired in the “real world.” In this class, it will significantly impact your grade.

5. Be sure the document has internal consistency. In other words, it should appear as a document written, printed, and presented by a team — not several different individuals.

6. The document should be professionally creative.

7. Most business documents use numbers rounded to thousands. An example would be: that $1,234,567 becomes $1,235 with a column heading or note of (000's) or M or *all numbers in thousands.

8. If there are any other questions or concerns, please contact me before the due date and allow enough time for me to prepare a response.