I was out shopping for some cupboards … just two extra ones, in exactly the same color, size and style as the ones I currently have. So I went back to the same shop where I went to some seven years back to purchase the original ones. Of course, the guy had my record of purchase, in good old style – my paper invoice, in a file, at the back of the showroom. He pulled it out and showed it to me. Looks like we were doing pretty well, without excel sheets, and AI … no?! … or I am being foolish and sentimental … I can tell you though, the pleasure I got when someone in a small town, in a small shop, was able to pull out a record of my purchase at his shop. I felt a little bit of immortality. I did not just disappear from the reality of this shop …
Well, anyways, so that line of products I was informed, was discontinued. Two separate furniture production companies had merged and it meant that this shop now got only the lines of products which were continued post-merger. A problem for me …
As I was talking to him, I started thinking about the graduation thesis I had been reading for a couple of weeks – on mergers and acquisitions … specifically the problem/challenge of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, the coming together of companies from two different countries and cultures.
The key thing about any merger and acquisition in the business world, is that it must result in some form of synergy through the coming together, instead of going on existing as separate entities. Sometimes, the synergy is expected but never materializes, and in that case the businesses were better off never coming together. Due diligence is hence an important aspect of any merger and acquisition, to assess the potential risks, and to take a deep dive into the many factors at play. To make sure that synergy that is being strived for, is there …
For students, I think, these are two important concepts to apply to their lives – due diligence and synergy. As we head towards the close of the year, it is time again to read all the graduation theses, and plan for those who will graduate and leave the Fontys-nest and fly away.
As they shake out their wings, spread them out, and get ready to take flight, we hope that the next plans in their lives will bring them synergy, and that they will not forget to do their due diligence on the much larger mergers and acquisitions activities they are about to undertake; in finding further education, in finding jobs, in finding partners, in finding places to merge into …
Vind ik leuk
Over Kiran Aswani
Exploration of human nature has been a lifelong interest, and gathering the knowledge and deeper understanding of the world, a constant pursuit. Having lived on four continents and having been exposed to so many places and persons, I find myself even more curious, and with a heightened awareness. In Fontys, I teach finance and accounting in the International Business program. My blog is an exercise in critical thinking, looking at the intersection between finance-education-life.