The Acquiring Or Dominant Firm Does Not Pay Attention To Issues At The Local
Level
In a merger or acquisition there is so much to do and the
work falls on the shoulders of too few people. Thus, attention falls at the
headquarters level. People often do not want to go out to the field offices
because of the fear of being left out of the communications loop.
Impact
If the dominant firm is not paying attention, then they
really don’t feel that it is important. The employees in that office don’t need
mind readers to determine what is going on—they get the message. They tend to
leave. Then suddenly, the headquarters starts to wake up—too late.
Prevention
You should begin out in the field where the work is done.
Then you can work back into the headquarters. There are often many issues that
require attention. During the merger or acquisition process, the work on issues
is frozen. The problems build up.
Action
Issues will begin to
surface at the local level. They may be dealt with ad hoc responses. This is not
systematic. In many cases, the issues are ignored due to the press of other
matters.