Reward and motivation
Power and conflict is another problem that is faced during merger and acquisition. The HR is supposed to be vigilant when handling power and conflict issues. He should therefore bring conflicts out to the surface and deal with power issues very closely (Buono and Bouditch, 1986). He should figure out the role of each organization to prevent unnecessary conflicts between the two parties involved. The two parties should not be left to work in guesswork on who is to lead the other. Therefore communication should be done to all the parties and all the necessary information should be passed to the employees.
Understanding the correct organization culture will help the HR with some idea on how to go about encouraging people to form the new culture necessary for smooth transition in merger and acquisition. Employees in any organization will tend to work effectively when rewarded appropriately. The HR should motivate his employees in the work place. In merger and acquisition the HR needs to come up with effective strategies of sharing profits that is got by the combined company. Any good job should be rewarded to ensure that employees’ self esteem is maintained and increased.
Rewarding their employees promote positive relationship between them and their boss. They will feel satisfied since their interests are taken into consideration. The HR should therefore become positive when there is need for reward and motivation in the company (Datta,1991). For example individuals may ask for reward especially after innovating or inventing new things. Positive reinforcement and rewards always keep the company moving towards the required direction. The HR should not make the mistakes of fooling the employees by feeding them with sweet words without any action being taken.
He should keep to his promise, as this will make the new team develop some confidence in him. Building teamwork can also bring Rewarding and motivation. Productivity in team can be done through delegation and follow up. The HR should be well informed about the cultural background and experience of the employees to help him in assigning the right duty to the proper person. The HR need to know the project he is dealing with and people he has in order to find a suitable task for each member. When doing delegation fairness should be observed to keep team, morale.
Compliance to legislation Mergers and Acquisition raises a lot of legal issues that affect strategy deal structure, responsibilityand liability. Other legal issues required include compliance of the transaction with local, state and federal laws and conducting a diligence to unearth any potential lawsuits or potential claims. (Ashkensas, 1998). Intellectual issues must also be considered. Peoples issues such as job retention, recruitment, management, job security should also be considered by the Hr. As mentioned earlier the process of merger and acquisition is very complicated.
The HR should therefore take the responsibility of influencing the various activities so that each company comes out a head and satisfied. The two companies forming merger should ensure that law governing the process is observed. Different stakeholders should be consulted to ensure that proper understanding is achieved between the two organizations (Weber, 1996). Evaluation The HR should perform evaluation on the operations of the new company formed through merger and acquisition. Evaluation will help him make some adjustment on improving products and services offered by the company.
After selecting the key people to be retained and new companies to join the company, the Hr should then move to the evaluation of the core operations of the company. The HR should also evaluate the corporate culture, employee demographics current remuneration and unsettled labor and employee issues. An understanding of these issues will ensure HR stays ahead of the curve during the merger. Evaluating the needs of the new company will help the HR when it comes to selection of the new staff members. The structure of the company and the management style of those in charge should also be evaluated.
He should find out what the employees feels about the new merger to be formed, as this will determine whether the whole process of merger will be successful. It can be said that evaluation was not carried on merger between Glaxo and Welcome Burroughs in the year 1996. The differences that arose could have been solved if the HR would have done proper evaluation. The cultural differences of the employees should be examined since it will help the HR to identify what should be provided to the employees. He also needs to find out what the new staff thinks about the change (Ashkensas, 1998).
After acquisition a synergy of modes of operation is very important. The HR will be in the forefront t to ensure the whole take over is smooth. The concerns of the stakeholders of the two companies also need to be addressed and where possible their interest and demands should be satisfied. Conclusion Companies formed through merger and acquisition under a competent HR have been placed in a better position as far as is healthy competition in the business environment is concerned. The whole process therefore can only be effective if proper planning is done.
The HR should take the responsibility of bringing the two parties together to ensure smooth take over. A lot of benefits have been achieved through the process of merger and acquisition. New skills, knowledge, huge profits and low operation cost among others are some of the benefits brought as a result of forming merger and acquisition. Human resource managers therefore have to play a key role to ensure this transition process is effective and successful. Executive summary The HR issues that are involved in the merger and acquisition process should be addressed in order to ensure smooth transition of the process.
Many companies have expanded and realized increase in production through forming mergers and acquisition. Normally mergers and acquisitions provide the company with opportunities and hazards hence imposing a lot of challenges on the human resource manager (Brockner and Greenberg, 1990). Should the HR fail to perform his role the whole process night end up in a waste. The HR therefore needs to address issues such as cultural differences. He also needs to continuously evaluate all the activities taking in each step of merger process. Evaluation should be dome before and after the merger to ensure there is effective transition.
Since the process of merger and acquisition involve no parties the HR should ensure the legal framework is followed to avoid any conflict hat might arise. The interest of the new team should be considered to promote teamwork and morale of the employees. New Policies and strategies should be put down to govern the transition process. Recommendations Many changes have been identified as a result of merger and acquisition. It is the responsibility of the HR of the company to ensure that these challenges are properly addressed. This will ensure smooth integration process.
He will be responsible for the cultural integration leadership and communication of the merging firms. Power, cultural differences and communications are some the key issues that the HR should address to ensure smooth take over. Proper communication should be carried out to ensure that the information is passed in the right channel. Any changed introduced within the organization should communicated in time to the relevant people. Thorough assessment on the two companies to be merged should be done to confirm whether they are compatible or not.
Intellectual property issues should also be considered. A company can be better placed in production line of effective strategy is laid by the HR before the merger and acquisition process. Identification whether the merging or acquired organization has common culture or common values should also be considered.
Reference. Coffey, J. , Garrow, V. and Holbeche L. 2003 “Reaping the Benefits of mergers and Acquisitions” Butterworth & Heinmann, Oxford Deloitte & Touche (2001) “Solving the Merger Mystery”, Financial Times, Feb 12, 2002
