Case study on organizational restructuring in a post-merger integration

Abstract

Three years ago, the Business Division Products of TÜV Rheinland in Germany integrated two newly acquired companies which were operating as competitors in the same market. One of these companies offered basically the same services only differentiated by its brand name. This project is an explorative case study of this merger using results of workshops with senior management key players to establish the factors that would help overcome the difficulties of the current market strategy. Emphasis has been given to the business processes as well as the organizational structure as key elements to reporting and hierarchy. First, the current situation of these former competitors was evaluated. Second, the design of a new organizational structure was developed. To get the new structure going, an extensive framework is essential. The detailed requirements were then matched and blended with the latest research literature. The result is a new organizational structure for the Business Division Products in Germany based on a "virtual" one-company which was developed as part of this project work. Due to contractual limitations, the four existing legal entities cannot be merged into one company. Therefore, a different innovative approach had to be taken which is described in this case study in detail along with the necessary steps for implementation.<br />