course material

1. Scenario You are a business development manager reporting to the
ScenarioYou are a business development manager reporting to the vice president (VP) of
business development at one of the largest life sciences organizations in the Midwest. While
the organization has shown constant growth and profitability since its inception in 1999,
the owners have decided that it is time to sell. Given the current uncertainty in global
markets, the organization’s board of directors is not convinced that this is the right
approach.While work was underway to find a potential buyer, the VP called on you to join
the strategic planning team to assess the organization’s exit strategy and make
recommendations to its board of directors. You have been working closely with your
strategic planning team to make some initial analyses and recommendations to help plan
for the sale of the organization.As part of the planning team, your first task was to select
people from your organization to build a guiding coalition to help the organization
transition during and after the acquisition.Then, you were asked to analyze one of the
organization’s core strengths, its talented pool of employees. This included analyzing the
attrition data to understand why employees have left the organization and recommending
ways to ensure employee stability in the future. This essential information will be provided
to potential acquirers to assure them of the organization’s ability to retain talent.While
planning was underway, your first potential buyer started to get cold feet. So, you were
asked to research an alternative buyer and build a contingency plan. This contingency plan
is an important part of your exit strategy and your report to the board of directors. You and
your team were also asked to formulate an acquisition road map that lays out the action
steps and timelines for the plan.Now that the initial analysis and plans are complete, your
VP is ready to make the presentation to the board of directors. The VP has asked you to
prepare a formal report that you will send to the board prior to the presentation. This
report will include the analyses and plans you have developed over the last few weeks. It is
important to note that your report will provide a first impression to the board about the
upcoming presentation and meeting. You need to craft a compelling message that provides
insights based on all the work your team has done and substantiates your position with
data. In addition, as a part of your report, you will also outline a change management
strategy that will help ensure a smoother transition after the sale of the
organization.DirectionsWrite a merger integration report that includes your analyses and
insights and provides a change management strategy for moving forward toward a sale of
the organization in the course scenario.Acquisition road map: Develop an acquisition road
map as a tool for sharing the project with the strategic planning team and the guiding

2. coalition.Specifically, you must address the following criteria:Acquisition-related tasks
:Describe the tasks and steps that have already been taken toward an acquisition since you
were appointed to the strategic planning team.Recommend the tasks and steps that would
need to happen over the next one to two years to evaluate and complete an acquisition. For
each task and step, provide estimates for how long it will take to accomplish them, the
responsible parties, and any dependencies.Gantt chart: Using the provided template, create
a Gantt chart that visually illustrates the tasks and steps that you’ve indicated above
(Note:You can copy the chart to include it in the road map document). Your chart should
include the following:Indicate tasks and steps that have already been completed since you
were appointed to the strategic planning team. For example, be sure to include guiding
coalition, industry, and competitive research aspects.Indicate “in process” tasks and steps
that are currently being performed.Exit strategy recommendations and plan: Outline your
change management strategy for transition after the acquisition.Specifically, you must
address the following criteria:Change management strategy: Using Kotter’s change model as
a guide, explain each step of the change management strategy that you recommend. Your
response should address the following:How will you create a sense of urgency?How will the
guiding coalition continue to guide the change? Who will they impact? Identify which
critical tasks from the acquisition road map the guiding coalition should complete. Also,
determine the expected timelines for these tasks to be completed.What is your strategic
vision for the company, its operations, and its employees after the acquisition?What is the
plan for enlisting a group of employees to get other employees united around the common
vision?What barriers to change do you foresee? How do you plan to remove them?How will
you track progress?How will you communicate short-term wins?Summary: Summarize your
strategy and assessment of risks.Describe the overall strategy that you recommend for the
organization’s acquisition goals.Explain how the strategy will fit in the business
environment of the oncology market segment in the pharmaceutical industry. Consider
using an external business environment analysis to inform your conclusions.Risks: Identify
three potential risks that may be associated with your recommendation and explain steps
the organization can take to mitigate those risks.Summit a 4 page Word document with 12-
point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins. Sources should be
cited according to APA style.