Using International Corporate Communication Theory for the Strategic Practice of Merger Communication - Why the Globally Oriented DaimlerChrysler Deal Had to End Up in Conflict Because of a Failure to Take Communicational Issues Into Account
The paper analyses intra-corporate conflict, based on the case study of the DaimlerChrysler merger. This analysis is then broadened to compare PR and its contexts in Germany and the USA. The authors apply the International Corporate Communication Compass to the DaimlerChrysler deal to show what advantages could have been gained by using PR theory to map out areas of conflict and harmony in a cross-cultural corporate merger, showing how such theory could be applied to similar situations in the future.
The Daimler/Chrysler Merger: The Involvement of the Boards
On May 7, 1998, at a press conference in London that had been called on very short notice, the CEOs of Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corporation, Jurgen Schrempp and Robert Eaton, announced that their two companies had decided ‘to get together in a merger of equals.’ The combined company would have $132 billion in annual revenues; it would be the fifth largest automaker in the world, employing 428,000 people – about one-half in Germany, one-third in North America, and the rest spread across 200 countries around the world. Although it was the largest industrial merger the world had seen to that date, the announcement took most observers by surprise. Negotiations had been conducted under strict secrecy, with only a very limited number of persons from each company involved. At the London press conference, both CEOs explained the rationale for the merger. In their opinion, both companies were too small on a global scale to prosper in the long-term. This handicap, they felt, could be overcome by joining forces; their product ranges and geographical reach made the two enterprises near perfect partners (refer to Figures 1 and 2). At the press conference, the CEOs also publicly announced as one of their guiding principles that this move would be ‘a merger of growth; there will be no layoffs.’ They also stressed their determination to increase shareholder value, to obtain $1.4 billion in savings during the first year of the merger, and to complete the integration process within three years. After the dust of this ‘big bang’ had settled, some of the details of the merger’s secretive preparation became known. The marriage had indeed had a most interesting courtship.
Application of the Kano Model for a Better Understanding of Customer Requirements in Higher Education—A Pilot Study
Various pieces of information and knowledge turn into “know-how” simply by their application in the market. This applies to all spheres of activities. It is therefore important to know and understand the requirements of customers already in the stage of making a product, and to confront these with the possibilities of a producer. In this article we are exploring the possibilities of a better understanding of the requirements of customers and stakeholders in the process of the creation of products in educational services. In particular, we examined seven general requirements: practice orientation, ethical orientation, research orientation, quality resources, innovation orientation, skills orientation, and quality staff. We use the Kano model on a pilot sample of respondents at an institution of higher education. Our results showed that “practice orientation” and “quality resources” are the most stable requirements, while “quality staff” is the least stable. The most linear requirement (the same effect on satisfaction and dissatisfaction) is “innovation orientation”. “Research orientation” belongs to attractive requirements and we also found that in the case of “ethical orientation” there are weak relations between positive and negative responses in our survey. The “skills orientation” proved to be too general, and our research shows that it could be indifferent. It is therefore advisable to specify the investigated skills when investigating requirements on educational services. The main contribution based on the proposed research procedures is an effective linking of customers and producers already from the beginning of constructing a value chain. Investing in sophisticated management approaches when modelling products and processes can thus become a significant source of the competitive advantage of an educational institution. At the same time, it is a contribution to better placing of its graduates in the labor market.