Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox Company | company_name = The Reynolds and Reynolds Company | company_logo = [[Image:EarlyReynolds.png|200px|1939 Headquarters]] | company_type = Private | foundation = [[Dayton, Ohio]] (1866) | location = Dayton, Ohio - Worldwide Headquarters | key_people = Bob Brockman, Chairman/CEO<br> Rob Nalley, Vice Chairman<br>Ron Lamb, President<br>David Lowe, Data Centre Operator| products = Automotive dealer software and services | num_employees = 4,300 | homepage = [http://www.reyrey.com www.reyrey.com] }} '''The Reynolds and Reynolds Company''' is a private company headquartered in [[Dayton, Ohio]]<ref name="profile">{{ cite web | last=The Reynolds and Reynolds Company | title=Profile | url=http://www.reyrey.com/company/index.asp }}</ref>. Founded in 1866 as a business forms printing company, the company started serving automotive dealers in 1927. It has approximately 4,300 employees worldwide, and it primarily develops and sells [[Dealership Management System|dealership management systems]] to automotive retailers. In addition to dealership management systems (DMS), Reynolds also offers hardware and networking services, business consulting, data archiving, pre-employment screening, and Web solutions. Reynolds also provides document solutions and retailing supplies to dealerships across North America. Reynolds serves automotive retailers and manufacturers globally through Reynolds Canada, Kalamazoo-Reynolds, and Reynolds Europe. The Reynolds and Reynolds Company has a long history as a private company in the Dayton, OH area - from 1866 to 1961. Reynolds and Reynolds operated as a public company from 1961 to 2006. In 2006, Reynolds and Reynolds merged with Houston-based [[Universal Computer Systems]] Inc.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://houston.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2006/08/21/story6.html| title=Local reaction mixed over Reynolds' deal| work=Dayton Business Journal| accessdate=2009-01-05}} {{Dead link|date=December 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref> ==Company history== ===Early Years=== Gardner & Reynolds was founded in 1866 in Dayton, Ohio, by Lucius D. Reynolds and his brother-in-law, James R. Gardner. Their small manufacturing company was one of the first to print standardized business forms. The firm became Reynolds & Reynolds in 1866 when Gardner sold out to Ira Reynolds, Lucius Reynolds's father. Eventually, the firm was incorporated as The Reynolds and Reynolds Company in 1889. Subsequently in 1927, Reynolds created the first standardized accounting forms and a paper-based accounting system for Chevrolet and its retailers. From that early work with Chevrolet, Reynolds evolved to become a major business forms and systems provider to the automobile retailer market in North America. ===Modernizing=== Recognizing the opportunity to advance the growth of the forms business, in 1960 Reynolds entered the electronic data processing (EDP) field when it purchased Controlomat. Throughout the 1960s, Reynolds became the first form company to offer computer services to automotive retailers throughout the nation – a key step in transforming the way individual retailers and car companies managed their businesses. The software offerings and products eventually evolved into the Reynolds "ERA dealer management system", which integrated all business office functions. The company expanded further in April 2000 with the acquisition of Cyber Car and Automark under the holding group named [[HAC Group]], two companies valued at US$200 million;<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.theautochannel.com/news/press/date/20000417/press013180.html| title=Reynolds and Reynolds Acquires HAC Group| work=The Auto Channel| accessdate=2009-01-05}}</ref> later in 2003, Reynolds moved into the global automotive retailing marketplace when it acquired German software provider Incadea AG. ===Merger=== In September 2006, The Reynolds and Reynolds Company and Universal Computer Systems, Inc. completed a merger. The merger transaction was valued at $2.8 billion, and included the assumption of Reynolds’s debt with Reynolds and Reynolds becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Computer Systems,<ref name="Schedule 14A">{{cite web| url=http://ccbn.10kwizard.com/xml/download.php?repo=tenk&ipage=4394311&format=PDF| title=Schedule 14A| work=United States Security and Exchange Commission| accessdate=2009-01-05}}</ref> and the new company coming to be known as The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. According to press releases and company claims, support for all existing services, products and contracts will continue to be honored indefinitely. Bob Brockman, CEO of UCS is currently the Chairman of the new combined company. ==Merger Issues== Five months after the merger was completed, the new ownership of the company began to make broad changes to the daily operations of the business.<ref name="worker departures">{{cite news| url=http://houston.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2007/03/26/story1.html| title=Reynolds' overhaul spurs worker departures| work=Houston Business Journal| accessdate=2009-01-05}} {{Dead link|date=December 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref> As the Houston Business Journal reported, "the blending of the two firms has created a culture clash that's led to the departure of Reynolds employees, from executives to field technicians, both through lay-offs and of their own volition, since last August [2006]. Reynolds' local employee base has shrunk at least 10 percent since January 2006."<ref name="worker departures"/> In October 2007, pre-merger CEO Fin O'Neill left the company. Newly implemented workplace policies, such as a tobacco-free campus and a four-month waiting period for insurance benefits created concern and discord among existing Reynolds employees. About 45 employees left the company after refusing to sign a new employee agreement which contained a three years non-compete clause.<ref name="worker departures"/> In January 2008, vice president of finance Carolyn Wall filed a lawsuit against Reynolds claiming that "it breached two contracts with her and engaged in fraudulent misrepresentations and concealment of facts meant to deceive her."<ref name="officer seeks $570k">{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2008/02/11/story7.html| title=Reynolds' officer seeks $570k from company| work=Dayton Business Journal| accessdate=2009-01-05| first=Jacob| last=Dirr| date=2008-02-11}}</ref> Wall claimed that as a result of the merger the organization is struggling with low employee morale, low pay and an exodus of employees; the lawsuit also alleges that Wall was demoted as a result of her complaints.<ref name="officer seeks $570k"/> ===Workplace Desirability Improvement=== In December 2008 the website glassdoor.com used employee feedback and ratings to rank The Reynolds and Reynolds Company as the third worst place to work in the United States.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/who%E2%80%99s-the-lowest-of-them-all-glassdoor-reports-companies-with-lowest-ratings//| title=Who’s the Lowest of them All? Glassdoor Reports Companies with Lowest Overall Ratings| accessdate=2010-01-07}}</ref> However, the company was no longer on the site's list of 25 lowest rated companies in December 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/glassdoor-reveals-lowest-rated-companies-united-stays-grounded-gibson-guitar-strikes-cord-employees/| title=Glassdoor Reveals Lowest Rated Companies; United Stays Grounded as Gibson Guitar Strikes A Cord With Employees| accessdate=2010-01-07}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.reyrey.com Reynolds and Reynolds's Official Web Site] *[http://www.reynoldswebsolutions.com Reynolds and Reynolds's Web Solutions Web Site] *[http://www.kalamazoo.co.uk/its Kalamazoo-Reynolds UK IT Services Official Website] {{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds And Reynolds Company}} [[Category:Automotive companies of the United States]] [[Category:Companies based in Dayton, Ohio]]'