Choose ONE of the following discussion question options to respond to:

Six Deadly Sins of M&A

• Review Jack Welch's article "The Six Deadly Sins of Mergers and Acquisitions"
• Locate and post a link to an article published in the last 5 years in The Wall Street Journal, or another reputable source, about a merger or acquisition that did not go as planned.
• Which of these "sins" were committed, what issues arose as a result, and what behaviors could the organization have employed to prevent these errors?

-OR-

Strategic Alliances

• Under what circumstances should an organization seek a strategic alliance?
• Provide a specific example of a company where a strategic alliance was preferential to a merger or acquisition and summarize some of the unique challenges faced by the alliance leadership team.
• What worked well and what did not?
• How could the strategic alliance have been managed differently to be more beneficial to the organization(s)?
  Support your response with references to this week's readings.