Many on Wall Street expected Schrempp to use his new-found liquidity to make an acquisition.
It is worth noting that Schrempp always saw auto manufacturing as a global business. In addition to establishing an important beachhead in the U.S., he wanted to do the same in Japan. Shortly before the Chrysler merger he concluded a deal with Mitsubishi to acquire a significant minority stake in their stock. Schrempp must have realized that Chrysler's earlier cooperation with Mitsubishi would pave the way to a three-way auto colossus, led by Daimler enz.

CHRYSLER'S GROWTH and SUCCESS in the 1990S

Merger was the furthest thing from peoples' minds at Chrysler in the 1990s. ased on the strong growth of market share in minivans and trucks, Chrysler had regained some of its market share losses and remained consistently profitable. Chrysler was particularly helped by changes in American taste: while all the ig Three were impacted in….

Daimler-Chrysler
Daimler Chrysler Merger

hat was the stated rationale for the merger?

The potential benefits of the merger were roughly equal both sides of the two companies. First of all Chrysler had a significantly bigger presence in the North American market while Daimler-Benz had a much bigger presence in Europe. Therefore, both companies were eager for more market penetration in the others home-territory. However, the rationale extends far beyond the geographical market presence. At the time of the merger, both companies were profitable but were eager to expand in order to create a long-term orientation and be more competitive with the larger automotive manufactures.

Furthermore, the combined product mix would represent more of a full lineup than each on had separately. For example, Chrysler was more focused on lower cost cars and sport utility vehicles while Mercedes had deep penetration into the luxury market. Additionally, there were a large number of expected synergies that….

Daimler-Chrysler- Case Study
Corporate marriages have become so problematic in recent times that it no longer generates a shocking response from the analysts at Wall Street if a merger fails. We witnessed some of the classic merger downfalls in 1990s when many large companies decided to merge their businesses mainly because of poor economic conditions. Because of these failures and the many stories surrounding rapid collapse of corporate marriages, the public along with Wall Street analysts more or less has stopped reacting to such news. Still, the news that Daimler-Chrysler merger was facing deep problems generated a massive response from Wall Street observers who were keenly anticipating some positive news. Everyone had believed that it was a 'merger of the equals' since both companies ranked very high in their respective areas of expertise.

Things should have worked out well because there were apparent no clash of interests. Daimler Benz was basically a….

Daimler
A Long and Tangled History

The Daimler car company, under various different names and throughout various configurations, has been around almost as long as the history of the automobile itself. It has seen good times -- including some very good times -- as well as some very troubled times. While Daimler, like any other company, has been to some extent purely at the mercy of chance and external forces, it has also risen and fallen a number of times because of the company's internal culture. This paper examines that organizational culture and how it has both helped and hindered the company during its recent history, relying primarily on the theoretical model of the cultural web. While "culture" is most accurately understood as an element of an integrated human community rather than a corporation (which includes elements of a wider human community but is much narrower in function and scope), it is….

Behavior einforcement Theory

Use of behavior modeling advocated for in reinforcement theory tends to increase employees' commitment to a job and ensure job satisfaction obbins S.P. & Judge T.A., 2011.

In the organization, this level of behavior modeling was disregarded thereby, failing to encourage team members and managers to participate meaningfully. The theory of reinforcement sees the behavior of employees as one that is conditioned by the immediate environment. A tendency to reinforce behavior will resort in its recurrence. The performance of the employees immediately following the merger was reduced productivity. The behavior was reinforced by the management team taking no appropriate action to discourage the tendency of even encourage the contrary.

According to the reinforcement theory, people will avoid getting something they do not want as well as feel motivated to work in order to get what they want obbins S.P. & Judge T.A., 2011.

The failure by Chrysler is model behavior of….

The EVMI initiative will push the supply chain even more rigorously, requiring even greater financial investment. EVMI as a technology is an opportunity; the challenge for Chrysler is to transform their supply chain into a support infrastructure that can fully make this opportunity realizable. Additional opportunities for the company include the continual improvement of their quality management and compliance systems so they will be able to exceed CAFE requirement and create alliances with the NTSA, EPA and California emissions boards (Campbell, 2007). For the EVMI project to gain any momentum it would need to have the support of these three governing bodies. For Chrysler to realize the potential of the EVMI initiative it must also seek to transform its new product introduction process into one that can capitalize on low costs (Ibusuki, 2005) while also embracing innovation. This organizationally will be a very significant challenge for the company yet….

Chrysler, unlike Ford with its Focus, had no popular, fuel-efficient cars. In fact, even after the first government bailout, "Chrysler's big reveal at the International Auto Show was a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Not what the government wants the company to be spending time and bailout money on" (Gap, 2009, Key Splash Creative). As GM was planning a new line of cars, and formulating a prospective electric car, the Volt. Chrysler remained out of touch.
Chrysler was the first company of the 'big three' Detroit automakers to go into bankruptcy. It was forced to respond to direct pressures from the Obama administration to do so, despite protests that Americans would never buy cars from such a financially-tainted company. Chrysler's current CEO, obert Nardelli said that he had been pulling the flagging company back together, and that "the privately held Chrysler was flush with cash and leaner than at any time….

Fiat / Chrysler -- Leadership - Teambuilding
The Chrysler merger with Fiat was met with skepticism and doubts when it was first proposed. Chrysler had just recently emerged from near bankruptcy -- saved by a U.S. government bailout -- and Fiat is a strong internationally respected corporation building cars, earth-moving machines, and more. The merging of Chrysler and Fiat was seen as having a greater opportunity for success than did the merger between Chrysler and Daimler-Benz, but still there were doubters in the industry. However, as of May, 2012, the blending together of the two companies (Fiat and Chrysler) has produced a profitable situation. This paper examines the cultures -- and leadership -- shown within the two companies, a strong combination that has allowed success to be achieved. The paper also critiques the leadership styles in the dynamics of this merger, and delves into the concept of teambuilding when two companies….

Bias Critique
Thackery, John. "ybrid autos REV up: but will SUV-addicted buyers opt for an environmentally friendly car that saves on gas but commands a premium price?" Electronic Business: Automotive Electronics. Oct 2002 v28 i10 pp. 64(5)

Even before reading the article, "ybrid autos REV up" an informed consumer of the media should know that quite often automobile and electronics magazines are highly favorable of the industries they chronicle. The industry is essentially their 'bread and butter' of such magazines -- i.e. without cars, fancy car gadgets, and car aficiandos, there would be no audiences for such segmented magazines. The credentials of John Thackery, the article's author, are not immediately obvious, but the article's title "ybrid autos REV up: but will SUV-addicted buyers opt for an environmentally friendly car that saves on gas but commands a premium price?" suggests a highly positive slant is being given to the vehicles, for in….

Because of its hip European style, its environmentally-conscious image, its fuel economy, and its novelty, the Smart Car will appeal to a large segment of American consumers.

Proposals for marketing the Smart Car in the United States:

The Smart Car will appeal mostly to consumers in urban and semi-suburban areas. Therefore, marketing should be targeted at that segment of the population.

I have no recommendations for product adaptations to the two-seater Smart Car. However, I strongly recommend that Daimler-Chrysler introduce the SUV model of the Smart Car because of the American obsession with the SUV. The SUV Smart Car will appeal to Americans who don't want the stigma of driving an SUV but who at the same time need the extra space.

The Smart Car will appeal to all ages and genders but will be best marketed toward well-educated consumers, college students, and persons of a liberal political philosophy.

The Smart Car will not appeal….

Yes, the merger may have been a good idea in the beginning and would have allowed both companies to form a considerable economy of scale, but only if they could work out their differences and be able to make the changes necessary. According to Lewin's model they never even got past the first age, therefore they were never able to make the changes in the first place. A merger requires that both companies "unfreeze" of their business model and other elements of their company. Unless they can get past the first age, they will not be able to get to the second and third stage of the change model. This one the key lessons that is learned by the failed merger of Daimler-Chrysler.

In 2007, the failed restructuring attempt led to the decision by Daimler AG to sell Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management (Szczesny, 2007). One of the key reasons for….

.. business performance and long-term economic success; the responsibility for the sparing use of our planet's resources and for maintaining an intact environment for present and future generations, and the responsibility for the people involved in or affected by our company's business activities and for society as a whole" ("Chrysler Group," Internet).
Currently, Daimler-Chrysler is headed by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, appointed in 1998 and until the year 2010. His leadership style is wholly based upon the company's "Integrity Code," being guideline... which defines limits to the activities of employees worldwide... And contains rules of conduct concerning international transactions, conflicts of interest, the issue of equality, the role of internal monitoring systems (and) the right to the fulfillment of statutory standards." As to the company's ethics, it currently adheres to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act "which is applicable to board members and other senior officers" within and without the company. Also, Daimler-Chrysler "acknowledges its….

Generic Strategies
Porter's generic strategies began life as a matrix grid featuring low cost and differentiation strategies, which could either be mass market or niche in nature (QuickMBA, 2010). A fifth strategy, hybrid, has been hypothesized by some, noting that there are instances where a firm could be argued to practice some combination of differentiation and low cost.

The Swatch Watch has a differentiated strategy. While not a high end watch, it does have a strong brand, with a unique brand proposition.

The McDonalds Value Meal is essentially a hybrid. All McDonalds product is low cost by the definition of its industry, and the value meal accents the low cost element. However, McDonalds has a high level of differentiation within its industry. It has a healthy 20% net margin, which indicates that it does not follow a true cost leadership strategy -- it could cut prices quite a bit more than it does.….

Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger Process
Review of the Relevant Literature

Types of Mergers

Identifying All Stakeholders in a Given usiness

Strategic Market Factors Driving Merger Activity

Selection Process for Merger Candidates

Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations

The Challenge of Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger Process

Mergers and acquisitions became central features of organizational life in the last part of the 20th century, particularly as organizations seek to establish and maintain competitiveness in an increasingly globalized economy (Nevaer & Deck, 1996). Mergers are generally described as being the formal joining or combining of two corporations or business (Prichett, 1987), although both the framework and the method of merger vary greatly. The reasons for mergers are different based on what a company is trying to accomplish. The acquiring firm may seek to eliminate a competitor; to increase its efficiency; to diversify its products, services, and markets; or to reduce its taxes.….

Additionally, aside financial resources, they also used their assets. The most relevant example in this sense is the selling of part of its interests in Mazda. It as such transformed its assets into liquidities -- the 20% shares in Mazda were converted into $540 million (Murphy) -- that better allowed them to pursue their innovation objectives.
The matter of technological innovation is not only a core focus of Ford's, but of all players within the American automobile industry. The reasons for the rivalry in terms of &D are numerous, the most outstanding however being constituted by the desire to attract and satisfy as many customers as possible, managing as such to increase organizational revenues. "&D efforts in the U.S. Auto industry are channeled into a variety of processes such as stamping, casting, machining, and assembling. Within the time-frame of our investigation, &D efforts had to embrace sudden changes in taste….