A Rhetorical Analysis of Corporate Merger Communication

Authors

Lou Anne Walker, First Union Bank
Roy Schwartzman, University of IowaFollow

Abstract

To many observers, corporate America appears obsessed with a "bigger is better" attitude. This sentiment exhibits itself in the unprecedented number of mergers occurring in nearly every American industry, often resulting in giant conglomerates. Sears, Roebuck and Company's procurement of Dean Witter-Reynolds and Coldwell Banker, Capitol City Communications' takeover of the American Broadcasting Corporation, and Texas Air's recent acquisition of Eastern Airlines are a few of the more publicized instances of the merger trend which has been called ''the restructuring of Corporate America.''¹

The desire for consolidation has not bypassed the financial industry. Recent changes by federal and state legislatures have allowed banks and savings and loans to increase their geographic market size and their product diversity. According to Arthur Burck, a merger consultant, these new opportunities have promoted a "mergermania" in the financial industry.²

Journal Title

Iowa Journal of Speech Communication

Volume

19

Issue

1

First Page

32

Last Page

38

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Walker, Lou Anne and Schwartzman, Roy (1987) "A Rhetorical Analysis of Corporate Merger Communication," Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 19: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol19/iss1/6

Copyright

©1987 Iowa Communication Association