Measuring the Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions

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Measuring the Impact Of Mergers and Acquisitions

"Mergers and acquisitions impose a new reality upon organizations. Often they enable companies to streamline business activities, but frequently they create many problems that result in lesser productivity, market share, and proffits." So began a four-page American Management Association (AMA) questionnaire mailed in the spring of 1988 to selected companies recently engaged in mergers and acquisitions. Its emphasis: the impact of mergers or acquisitions on the newly formed organization's human resources and information systems functions.

The questionnaire, designed with the help of Control Data Corporation's Business Centers and the accounting firm KPMG Peat Marwick, drew 109 responses (see Table I, this page). The data showed the degree to which problems were …