What are some of the key issues to be considered as you prepare for a merger or acquisition?

Mergers and acquisitions frequently cause major disruptions -- company cultural clashes, tension and distrust between managers and employees, downward slide in productivity, and loss of key people resources. Poor planning, inadequate processes, and lack of understanding of how to integrate different corporate cultures and value systems often result in massive failures of top managements' goal to achieve the desired strategic intent. The challenge is great; it has been estimated that even in a relatively small merger, over 10,000 decisions will be made.

People are not usually prepared for major changes in their lives, and certainly not like what they experience with major organizational change. Some employees will feel mentally disjointed, almost physically jarred. Others will struggle with intense feelings of worry or even fear. Still others will feel sorrow, anger, and/or regret. Employees with the most history of the company are certain to spend some time remembering the organization for how it started, how it has evolved, and what it has felt like to go through each step of the organization's evolution. Leadership needs to understand the subtle and not so subtle signs of what managers and employees may be experiencing. It is the job of leadership to deal with the changes imposed by the organization's transitions.

Joyner Strayer Consulting has identified a series of criteria that determine acquisition integration success. We have incorporated those success criteria into the Joyner Strayer Acquisition Success Model.

Mergers and Aquisitions
Our Model follows a Proven Process
Before You Decide to Merge or Acquire

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