Act as role models Managers need to act as role models. They will need to model the new values but also support individuals and teams through a period of upheaval. This can be done through using some of the strategies outlined ... [full story]

Generate enabling mechanisms It is important to generate enabling mechanisms such as reward systems and planning and performance management systems that support the objectives and preferred behaviours of the new culture. For example, this means ensuring that teams have clear objectives ... [full story]

Build on the old, and step into the new If you want to shift the organization from one way of doing things to a new way of doing things then you will need to see and do things from a variety ... [full story]

Remember that the how is as important as the what Culture is about the way you do things around the organization. So if your organization has a set of core values, and of course it does explicitly or implicitly, then you ... [full story]

Attend to stakeholder issues When you want culture to change you have to put yourself into the shoes of the stakeholders. Address the issues of the people who need to change by involving them as much as possible. Change brought in ... [full story]

Create a sense of urgency and continually reinforce the need to change The introduction of a foreign element into the organizational system is a good way of making change happen (see Satir’s model in Chapter 1). This can come from an ... [full story]

Always link to organizational vision, mission and objectives Culture change as an isolated objective is meaningless. Organizations should only involve themselves in culture change if the current culture does not adequately support the achievement of strategic objectives. Start from the business ... [full story]

GUIDELINES FOR ACHIEVING SUCCESSFUL CULTURAL CHANGE Here we draw together some of the key themes arising from our experience which we hope will help you to address the issues of culture change in your own organization. Specific themes are reflected in ... [full story]

Cultural change OVERVIEW If you were asked to give a new recruit some words of encouragement on how to be successful within your organization, what would you say? You might give some formal advice about carrying your ID at all times, but ... [full story]

Managing the organization It is important to select and agree a change process that matches the challenges posed by the specific merger and acquisition. If the most important challenge is to achieve cost-cutting goals, then project management techniques can be applied ... [full story]

Handling difficult appointment and exit decisions Mergers and acquisitions often involve a restructuring process, which in turn involves managers in making difficult appointment and exit decisions. These decisions need to be fair, transparent, justified, swift and carried out with attention to ... [full story]

Managing yourself There are many challenges ahead for managers as they enter a merger or acquisition. Managers may be uncertain about their own position, while attempting to reassure others about theirs. They may even be considering their options outside the organization ... [full story]

Managing the team Endings and beginnings are important features of mergers and acquisitions, and these are most usefully addressed at the team level. The ideas of William Bridges (Chapter 3) provide a useful template for management activity during ending, the neutral ... [full story]

Managing the individuals Mergers and acquisitions bring uncertainty, and uncertainty in turn brings anxiety. The question on every person’s mind is, ‘What happens to me in this?’ Once this question is answered satisfactorily, each individual can then begin to address the ... [full story]

APPLYING THE CHANGE THEORY: GUIDELINES FOR LEADERS Which elements of the theory discussed in earlier chapters can be used to inform those leading merger and acquisition activity? We make links with ideas about individual, team and organizational change to help leaders ... [full story]

Use a clear overall process The pitfalls associated with planning and successfully executing a merger or acquisition imply that it is important to have an overarching process to work to. GE’s Pathfinder Model is summarized in Table 6.2. It acts as ... [full story]

Keep customers on board Customers feel the effects first.… They don’t care about your internal problems, and they most certainly aren’t going to pay you to fix them. (Feldmann and Spratt, 1999) ‘It’s very easy to be so focused on the deal that ... [full story]

Tackle the cultural issues Issues of cultural incompatibility have often been cited as problem areas when implementing a merger or acquisition. Merging a US and a European company can be complicated because management styles are very different. For instance US companies ... [full story]

Get the structure right THE IMPORTANCE OF DECISIONS ABOUT STRUCTURE At the time we thought it best to keep everyone happy and productive. Both the merged companies had good production managers, so we decided to ask them to work alongside each other, ... [full story]

Communicate constantly In the excitement of the deal, company bosses often forget that the merger or acquisition is more than a financial deal or a strategic opportunity. It is a human transaction between people too. Top managers need to do more ... [full story]

LESSONS FROM RESEARCH INTO SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS The following quote from Selden and Colvin (2003) gives us a starting point: 70% to 80% of acquisitions fail, meaning they create no wealth for the share owners of the acquiring company. ... [full story]

Pressure to do a deal, any deal There is often tremendous pressure on the CEO to reinvest cash and grow reported earnings (Selden and Colvin, 2003). He or she may be being advised to make the deal quickly before a competitor ... [full story]

Integration to achieve economic gains Another motive for merger and acquisition activity is to achieve horizontal integration. A company may decide to merge with or acquire a competitor to gain market share and increase its marketing strength. Vertical integration is also an ... [full story]

Diversification Diversification is about growing business outside the company’s traditional industry. This type of merger or acquisition was very popular during the third wave in the 1960s (see box). Although General Electric (GE) has flourished by following a strategy that embraced ... [full story]

Synergy Synergy is a familiar word in the mergers and acquisitions world. If two companies are thought to have synergy, this refers to the potential ability of the two organizations to be more successful when merged than they were apart (the ... [full story]

Growth Most mergers and acquisitions are about growth. Merging or acquiring another company provides a quick way of growing, which avoids the pain and uncertainty of internally generated growth. However, it brings with it the risks and challenges of realizing the ... [full story]

THE PURPOSE OF MERGER AND ACQUISITION ACTIVITY We begin with a short history of mergers and acquisitions. It is useful to track the changes in direction that merger and acquisition activity have gone through over the last 100 years to achieve ... [full story]

Mergers and acquisitions OVERVIEW This chapter addresses the specific change scenario of tackling a merger or an acquisition. We pose the following questions: Why do organizations get involved in mergers and acquisitions? Are there different aims, and therefore different tactics involved in making ... [full story]

Addressing team change during restructuring   Forming Storming   Task (orientation) People (dependency) Task (organization) People (conflict) Team purpose Establish purpose of change and team objectives in relation to change Ensure understanding and commitment from team around change purpose on an intellectual and ... [full story]

ENABLING TEAMS TO ADDRESS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Teams are often strongly impacted by restructuring processes. Their composition changes, or they have a new leader, or maybe they have a new purpose. There needs to be a process for quickly establishing individual and ... [full story]

Dealing with redundancy: Noer’s model Noer sees interventions at four different levels when dealing with redundancy in an organizational context. Most managers only progress to level one, whereas Noer suggests that managers need to work with their people at all four ... [full story]

Disclosed and undisclosed feelings about redundancy Feelings Disclosed Undisclosed Held in Fear, insecurity and uncertainty. Easier to identify and found in every redundancy situation. Sadness, depression and guilt. Often not acknowledged and hidden behind group bravado. Acted out Unfairness, betrayal and distrust. Often acted out ... [full story]