merger. In order to alleviate the chaos that had just grown even larger, Levin believed the best way to organize was to "impose a tougher but simpler structure" in which he believed would "be very streamlined and focused". (Hofmeister, D1)Although Time Warners top management had good intentions in addressing these problems, they failed to take control and get involved in divisional problems. Critics and supporters have often said that CEO Jerry Levin would let divisions fight it out among themselves instead of taking control and smoothing out the differences.(Okren, 42) In addition, the upper management of the company has always been considered extremely passive.The Merger of AOL and Time WarnerHaving covered the individual histories and background of AOL and Time Warner, the historic merger of these two companies on January 10, 2000 posed a question to the world. Will the largest merger in history prove to lead the world into the digital age? Or will the difference and tendencies of the past hamper the merger to be largely ineffective? No one can deny the fact AOL Time Warner has amazing potential to influence the future of the Internet. Even as this research is being done, the details of the merger is unfolding. Therefore, only a speculative analysis could be done to predict how the merger will unveil. Based on the research that was done through this paper, the merger was analyzed through a couple different observations. Mergers in history have always come together because there were always some advantages that could be gained through the combined resources of the two or more firms. However, there were also always some disadvantages or drawbacks to the mergers. Undoubtedly, the merger of AOL and Time Warner would have certain advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of the Merger One of the advantages of having these two companies merge is the great potential for the combined asset of these companies. The combined company ...
