Expanding Overseas
...ere are always ups and downs. The new DaimlerChrysler stock began losing value, and the company was not even expecting to see a profit until 2003. “Still, while much has gone wrong, the task of tying the two former companies' technologies together in a push to cut costs and boost efficiencies has marched forward.” (Eisenstein, 2002 pg.1) Cultural Differences DaimlerChrysler executives can now look back and see that the biggest obstacle to overcome was the cultural differences between the two companies. At first it was hard for one company to be completely open with the other company. Expanding Overseas 3 American executives were more apt to make quick decisions and then work through the problems as they arise. While the German executives were much more patient and once they did come to a decision they wanted to run that decision by many experts to get their opinions. The way DaimlerChrysler overcame this cultural difference was to implement an international IT program so both of the company’s employees could communicate more easily. Ideas were more easily shared between the German company and the American company. As more technology began being shared, the companies were able to work more side by side than actually working against one another. Legal and Political Barriers Along with the cultural differences that had to be dealt with, there were also the legal and political barriers that needed to be taken care of. Any joint venture between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler would require regulatory approval in both the U.S. and Germany, along with approval from shareholders. The legal issues that needed to be addressed were the international tax laws, and both the U.S. and Germany accounting practices. Daimler-Benz did make steps previously to this merger to come into closer compliance with U.S. accounting practices. The merger between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler took an expansive legal department to handle both parties’ interests, and also looking at the shareholders interests as well. Expanding Overseas 4 In the beginning the cultural differences and the business differences were not handled correctly. All aspects of joining these two companies together were not addressed before hand. These companies have come a long ways since the beginning, and they now have the understanding that this venture will continue ...