Southwest Airlines and Airtrans Airlines Merger and Acquistions

Assignment 2: Mergers and Acquisitions

Due Week 6 and worth 200 points

Use the Internet to research a publicly traded company in the United States that has undergone a merger or acquisition within the last three (3) years. Take note of the circumstances surrounding the merger or acquisition.

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

1. Examine the circumstances that resulted in the merger or acquisition for the selected company. Speculate on two (2) reasons why the resulting decision to merge or to acquire / be acquired was made.
2. Assess the significant positive (or negative) effects of the merger or acquisition. Provide at least two (2) examples of those effects now that the merger or acquisition has been completed.
3. Examine the organizational structure that has resulted from the merger or acquisition. Analyze the major differences between the resulting company and the original two (2) organizations.
4. Determine whether or not the human resources management practices of the company were modified to reflect the outcome of the merger or acquisition. If no changes were necessary, speculate on the reasons why they were not. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. Use at least four (4) academic quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia does not qualify as an academic resource.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Evaluate the different forms of business ownership to determine the optimal structure in different scenarios and the process for a business start-up.
• Integrate the core human resource management functions and considerations into viable recommendations to meet the organization’s operating requirements.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in contemporary business.
• Write clearly and concisely about contemporary business using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric found here.