Mergers and Acquisitions - Confronting the Organisation and People Issues

Overview

The employment law and personnel management issues that arise when businesses are bought and sold are of great concern not only to the employees but also to the management of both purchaser and vendor. This Report will help you to understand the key practical and legal issues, achieve consensus and involvement at all levels, understand and implement TUPE regulations and identify the documentation that needs to be drafted or reviewed within the context of a merger, acquisition or disposal.

Content

1 Why a merger or acquisition?

• The challenge of the event
• What stimulates merger and acquisition activity? Where the problems begin!
• Why are we buying in the first place?
• So who is at fault?
• Mergers and acquisitions – the seven deadly sins
• The issues of ego and personality

2 So what needs to happen?

• Ensuring success in M & A activity – key action points
• The change agenda – understanding the context
• To integrate or not?
• The operational challenges

3 So what must be managed?

• Culture, organisation, people and systems

4 Developing a post-merger or acquisition integration plan

• Key action areas
• A merger or acquisition going wrong – the classic symptoms
• Pre- acquisition or merger planning
• Managing culture, organisation, people and systems in detail
• Corporate culture
• Organisation
• People
• Systems

5 Corporate identity – a special consideration

• Using visual identity to develop the new organisation

6 Conclusion – some final thoughts

Appendices

• Merger and acquisition planning checklists
• The strategy behind the deal
• Finances
• A quick review of your organisation and people management orientation in mergers and acquisitions
• Organisation and people issues – due diligence

The author

Mark Thomas is an international business consultant specialising in organisation development and human resource management. Prior to becoming a Partner with Performance Dynamics he worked for several years with Price Waterhouse Management Consultants where he advised on the organisational issues arising out of strategic change. His experience has included major organisational changes including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring initiatives and privatisations. He currently manages a wide range of consultancy projects and assignments from business planning facilitation to organisation and process reviews.