Reference no: EM132912260

Question

A Tale of Two Cultures: Vocon and Conant Architects

Organizations use mergers and acquisitions as a way to reduce expenses, break into untapped markets, reach out to new customers, and/or diversify their business plans. In a perfect world, integrating business operations would be an easy and fluid process, but many times the reality is very different. Companies often find it difficult to mesh varying business cultures because employees in the merging companies have grown accustomed to how business is conducted in their different worksites. Consequently, as many as half of all mergers and acquisitions fail, and many more of them don't really help companies improve their overall worth. Merging firms must focus their efforts on creating a positive cultural fit

A good example of how to effectively manage these processes involves the recent merger that took place between the Cleveland-based architectural design company Vocon and New York-based Conant Architects. Vocon acquired Conant to diversify its offerings beyond interior design to include workspace development. Yet, the HR group was concerned about how to make employees feel good about the merger, particularly because the culture in Vocon was considered to be "fun," while the culture in Conant was thought to be "traditional." So, they had to find ways to help reduce employees' fears.

Vocon's Chief Human Resources Officer Susan Austin first looked for any differences in the companies' employee handbooks so that she could describe to workers the changes that would be needed. She also grouped individuals from the two firms together so that they could interview each other in a fun and dynamic way. Finally, the Conant employees were flown to Cleveland for a holiday party at Vocon's headquarters to build morale.

HR professionals need to develop sound strategies for managing mergers and acquisitions. Consider the following questions about cultural fit:

(Adapted from Susan Milligan, "Culture Clash!" HR Magazine, August, 2014, pp. 19-24)

1. What specific cultural challenges do companies face during mergers and acquisitions?

2. What unique strategies could be used to reduce the anxiety experienced by employees during mergers and acquisitions? How could an HR department help with these efforts?

3. Why do you think HR needs to have proper planning before executing any business-related strategies for this case scenario?