Merger culture

Apropos ‘Post-merger blues’ (August 23), about 70-90 per cent mergers and acquisitions fail, according to a Harvard Business Review report, mostly because of the inability to deal with the cultural change management. M&As are managed by the surviving employees of the two organisations. No two companies have the same organisational culture, and a merger of competing firms leads to a conflict between competing cultures. Yet, no study is made about cultural challenges arising from M&As before formulating business strategies. This strategy fails, because as Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Pune

It goes without saying that having been granted protection from arrest by the Supreme Court in the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate in the INX Media case must have come as big ‘solace’ for Congress leader P Chidambaram and his colleagues.

However, due to the fact that Chidambaram will continue to be in CBI custody till August 26, the Supreme Court’s verdict on Friday could be construed as a ‘half-victory’ for the highly beleaguered Congress, whose top leadership had vehemently raised a lot of hue and cry over the ‘unfavourable’ judgment by the courts, squarely blaming the BJP for PC’s current plight and imbroglio.

Bengaluru

This refers to ‘Bountiful rains fill up reservoirs across the country’ (August 23). When negative news and pessimism create a smokescreen and the environment becomes uncomfortable, news about rising water levels in reservoirs across the country and signals of possible good news from farm sector in the coming months are reassuring.

Our country is blessed with adequate natural and financial resources, sufficient to ensure a decent lifestyle for the present population.

Let’s wake up and manage our resources, including water and other assets like real estate, gold and human resources, professionally.

Mumbai

Nearly 40 lakh people stood to be deprived of citizenship when the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft was published in Assam in July. With more than 30 lakh people having contested their exclusion, and the NRC threatening to be an exercise with a potential to deepen communal fault-lines in the State, the present BJP-led State government has decided to introduce a law to address the concerns of those excluded by the NRC.

While the decision to enact a law is welcome, care needs to be taken to ensure that it does not exclude people and create divisions on communal lines. Apprehensions about rampant communal prejudice against migrants in the NRC exercise needs to be addressed with a seriousness it truly deserves.

Sholavandan

The Bombay High Court has asked the RBI to file a reply on a PIL filed by The National Association for the Blind, seeking RBI assurance that sizes of currency notes will not be changed in future, as visually challenged people take time to get familiar with new-sized notes.

The subject arose after the size of currency notes changed gradually, as new ₹100- and ₹500-notes were circulated post demonetisation. The RBI should give an assurance that in the future, if notes are required to be changed, it will be done simultaneously for notes of all denominations.

The problem also extended to coins, when new ₹2-coins of exactly in same size, shape and weight of then prevailing old ₹1-coins were introduced few years ago. The RBI should also ensure that similar-sized coins in different denominations are not in circulation simultaneously.

Delhi

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