Question: EDUS's Acquisition of MCU

The Situation:

The CEO of EducUS Corporation (EDUS), in conjunction with the EDUS board of directors, has decided to increase the corporation's footprint and expand its international operations. After identifying global opportunities, the EDUS board of directors decided to explore the possibility of purchasing the Mekong Cham University (MCU) located in downtown Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This university is a small academic institution which has a strong technology school but is short on resources. Specifically, the Mekong Cham faculty members are highly acclaimed technologists who are widely published in the field of information technology and enterprise software application. However, while MCU enjoys an exceptional local reputation as an educational institution, it has difficulty in recruiting students outside the Southeast Asia region. One reason is that MCU has no capability, due to lack of funding, to provide online course offerings. Another reason for the low enrollment at MCU is the poor physical condition of the university building complex. EDUS Corporation also enjoys an excellent reputation as the third largest provider of nontraditional education in the U.S. EDUS is the parent company of 26 universities located throughout the U.S. and Canada. It has a strong international business and management program offering in most of its holdings and is known for its exceptional online delivery capability.

You have been selected to work on the EDUS research team in support of the steering committee for this acquisition. You are part of a high performance work team which will focus its research in 5 separate areas. The EDUS CEO has briefed the team and expressed the need for comprehensive research to ensure that the acquisition of MCU will be right for both organizations. She tells you and the team that acquisitions, like this, are often unsuccessful because of incompatible cultures, clashes in management styles, poor integration strategies, and inadequate communications. So she has requested that you particularly focus on these areas of inquiry. The EDUS CEO also informs you and the team that although she understands that this project will take some time, it is imperative that preliminary recommendations be presented within the next eight weeks. To meet the guidance of your CEO, you will lead the project team in a presentation of the team's findings within this designated period.

In this assignment, you will research information related to the marketing and promotion of the acquisition by EDUS and provide an assessment. Click here to review the EDUS case and consider the following:

Topics for Research and Analysis

Promotional Goals: Identify specific objectives related to the promotion of EDUS's acquisition of the institution. In addition, identify specific objectives related to informing potential students of new capabilities and offerings resulting from the acquisition. (Promotional goals vary. Some organizations need to create awareness of their product's benefits compared to competitors. Other promotional goals may involve communicating new uses for an item, or informing customers or lower prices.)

Business Environment: Identify cultural and legal factors that might influence promotional decisions - both in announcing the acquisition within the region and recruiting new students to the institution. (In some countries, certain information is required in television commercials selling products aimed at children.)

Media Plan: Analyze media availability to determine cost-efficient methods of communicating with potential students within the country and within the geographic region. (While television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet may be common in industrialized countries, developing economies may require other different media. In some countries, advertising messages are broadcast through large speakers mounted on moving trucks.)

Promotional Strategy: Compare the benefits of push-and-pull promotions for acquiring new students at the institution. Devise a promotional strategy that will help EDUS expand the student body and also inform potential students of increased capability of the institution resulting from this acquisition.

Economic, Cultural, and Political-Legal Environment: Investigate the economic, cultural, and political-legal environment that might affect promotional messages and media relevant to this acquisition.

Recommended Actions: Recommend EDUS actions related to promotional goals, needed adaptations due to cultural or legal factors, and a media plan. Provide evidence to support your recommendations.

Conclusions: Draw conclusions about the material you have presented. The opinions or judgments you present should be supported by your research.