Company Mergers and Unifying Culture After Mergers
Company Introduction
Delta Force Airlines
Delta Force Airlines is an American airline company with its headquarters in San Diego, California. It was formed on April 15, 2004, following a merger of two small airline companies, Delta Airline Inc. and Great Force Airlines. During its operation, Delta Force Airlines was considered the fourth largest airline company operating within the state of California with more than 5,000 flights daily to different cities and towns within the state. Besides, the company had an operating revenue of about $25 billion, slightly over 80,000 employees, and had plans to initiate international flights after four years of operation. However, an expansion of the local and regional airlines industry saw a dip in its profitability prompting its merger with the Great North Airlines on January 10, 2015, to form the D&G Airlines Company. The merger between the two was completed following the attainment of a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on February 13, 2015.
Great North Continental Airlines
Great North Continental Airlines was an airline company based in San Francisco, California. It was formed on March 10, 2005, and operated for ten years before its merger with Delta Force Airlines on January 10, 2015. During its operation, Great North Continental operated within California with an operating revenue of $10 billion. Towards the end of 2009, stiff competition in the local airline industry saw the company record huge losses that prompted a high employee turnover. The company later merged with Delta Force Airlines, and the combined business began operation under the new name of D&G Airlines on January 10, 2015. The company formed after the merger became one of the largest airline companies in California given its huge operating revenue and the large number of employees, which stood at over 120,000 employees.
Company Overview
Delta Force Airlines
- Before its merger with the Great North Continental, Delta Force was based in San Diego, California.
- Filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2006 to correct its financial problems that resulted from increased competition in the local and regional airlines industry.
- To boost revenue generation and profitability, Delta Force diversified into other industries and sectors such as catering, airport services, tour operator, and engineering operations.
- Its primary focus was to deliver superior customer service.
- It provided employees with benefits including health plans, sick leave, and paid maternity leave to retain its employees.
- It had an impressive environmental record because of lower emissions of its fleet.
- Its vision was to provide the best airline service to customers within the airline industry in California.
- It was one of the first airlines in California to introduce personal entertainment systems on their commercial aircraft.
Great North Continental Airlines
- Before its merger with Delta Force Airlines, the Great Continental Airlines was based in San Francisco, California.
- Its operation was characterized by significant financial problems, especially in 2007 following an increase in the number of airline companies operating within California.
- It served up to 40 destinations while operating from airports such as San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.
- During its operation, the airline company had developed three slogans: Working To be Your Airline Partner (2005-2007), The Only Airline that Can Make a Difference (2008-2013), and The Airline That Meets Your Needs in The Air (2014).
- It made efforts to minimize the adverse effects of commercial aviation by investing approximately $3 billion for the purchase of a modern fuel-efficient aircraft.
- Offered slightly over 2,000 daily flights within the state of California.
- Domestic First Class was offered on all flights.
- Free meal and drink services were offered on all flights.
Steps taken to unify company culture
Companies, such as Delta Force Airlines and the Great North Continental Airlines, often face problems after mergers or acquisitions. To solve these problems, it is important for managers and other key stakeholders to define and unify their workforce and company cultures. Some of the steps that can be taken to unify company culture are as follows:
- Assessing all entities involved in the merger or acquisition- this will ensure that existing gaps in the way the two companies operate are identified, and these may include cultural differences, geographic customs, organizational structure, and labor practices.
- Identifying and defining end goals- this will ensure that both companies are on the same page when it comes to the future direction of the company resulting from the merger.
- Merging vision and values- this will ensure that the new vision or values create a more meaningful and memorable impact on employees and everyone involved.
- Embracing early and frequent communication- this helps address any cultural problems that may develop among staff. Besides, it is important as it makes people understand why the acquisition or merger was necessary.
- Building trust- this will ensure that people are more open and inclined to accept a new culture, ideas, and other protocols.
- Forming teams that include people from both companies- This will ensure that people from both companies are provided with accountability and expected cultural metrics.
- Surveying employees on current job satisfaction- job satisfaction among employees would mean that they have a common organizational culture.
- Coming up with a strategic program to track success- this would ensure that the progress of the merger of the two cultures is tracked to ensure that the workforce is working together.