Importance of Corporate Culture in Corporate Mergers Assignment 1 Shanae Robinson Global Human Resource Management Bus325 Professor Sandy Hughes 14 January 2016 Introduction This research work presents role of corporate culture in the success of corporate mergers. Overview of Merger Company Octagon – A popular name in life sciences industry providing regulatory services to partnered organizations. Octagon merger with a multinational overseas company "Accenture". Training and proprietary technology were pivotal components for every engagement and developmental process. Overview of Merged Company The Global Management and Consulting giant "Accenture" completed its acquisition with Octagon on August 16, 2014. The merger is expecting to enhance the portfolio of Regulatory services of Accenture. Its six core values - Stewardship, Best People, Client Value Creation, One Global Network, Respect for the Individual and Integrity ensures that it will respect and give value to the culture of its merged partner, "Octagon." Discussion As a HR manager, it is my responsibility to bridge the corporate cultural gap between the two organization and I hope the below pointers will help me in achieving my goal (Jones, 2010). 1. Demographic Study of Merging Organizations Demography reflects the pulse of population dynamics. Hence, a demographic model should be developed taking into consideration of factors like growth rate of firms, hiring processes selection criteria, type and extent of socialization in the merged company, employee turnover rates and the extent of alienation felt by employees. Hiring selectivity ensures proper scrutinization in selection of newly hired candidates. Socialization measures the psychology new workers from the merger company who got fit into the new culture recently. The alienation approach assists in measuring the degree of employees who do not fit into the new model and hence should be removed in a diplomatic way. 2. Set-up of cultural integration agenda The shared values, beliefs and behaviors of a Company are the main cultural components which determine the people interest in an organization. The three elements which help in developing a perfect blend of cultural integration are • The senior leadership behavioral approach towards the frontline employees • The critical capabilities and decisions about market competition defined as a part of company's strategy. • The Company's operating model to make out the blue print of the work to be done. 3. Involvement of all entities It involves all the factors to do the cultural assessment of both the companies - Octagon and Accenture. It prevents to bridge the gap between the operating entities. The determinants of this testimony are geographic customs, labor practices, and organizational structure of both the companies to ensure efficient change management. 4. Diagnosis of cultural differences Every opportunity should be utilized to unify the culture of both Octagon and Accenture as increasing cultural differences would not benefit Accenture in any way. Open and frequent communication between both the groups should be promoted through the use of seminars, retreats and small group functions to increase the comfort level. The diagnosis of cultural differences can be done through the following tools • Management interview with Octagon employees to pass on the managerial styles and priorities of Accenture • Video and Audio recording of working environment of both the companies • Accountability for each facet of key decisions through Decision X-rays and accountability mapping • Identification of disparate customer perceptions of each organization through design of customer interviews • Employee surveys to detect the pulse of their accepted behaviors, attitudes and priorities 5. Retention of the best practices, policies and systems of the two cultures In this context, Accenture should give respect to the core values and cultural aspects of Octagon. One of the best ways to incorporate confidence within the employees is to merge systems and policies both thereby establishing a true merger and not a hostile takeover. The employees from both the companies should be engaged to decide on the policies to be retained and the policies to be eliminated. These policies in turn should help in setting up of final goals which can financial and nonfinancial issues, human resources, and overall culture. 6. Developing, sustaining and measuring progress of the cultural change plan Accenture is famous worldwide for its customer service reputation. On the other hand, Octagon is well known for its indifference attitude. The new merger group does not want to blend these two but aims at developing a culture throughout the company that fosters great customer service. As an example case, Front desk staffs can be considered as a key group where Accenture wants to develop or nurture the newly adopted culture. Accenture needs to define the customer-centric culture with proper antecedents and consequences fostering such behavior. A robust training program may be introduced describing a zero tolerance policy for violation from its principles. In the final step, evaluation is done to check the success of the culture change plan (Rosinski, 2010). 7. Hiring Professionals to assist with integration As unifying two mergers company's culture is always a sensitive and critical action, so in order to complete the assimilation work, help and assistance should be taken from people with extensive knowledge and experience in this field. Factors like employee morale if not handled properly, and then it might lead to a big failure for the merger. 8. Involvement of the employees in the process Cross-functional and post-integration teams should be created that consist of employees from both Accenture and Octagon to work on logistical details. This strategy gives ownership of process to the employees and creates a bonding between both the groups of employees. 9. Build Trust, Build a Unified Culture The suggested route of transition of culture should reflect the best for the business model as well as should do justice with the employees of both Octagon and Accenture. A trust driven open minded policy will incline the employees to accept new ideas and protocols. Conclusion Embarking on post-acquisition journey to unify diverse corporate cultures is a herculean task. Cultural bonding nurtures with time. A more successful business model, dedicated staff, and focused management team can be achieved by Accenture if it uses the tool of open communication, accountability, and trust to successfully integrate the best of what each party offers. To sum up, Cultural integration holds paramount importance for the success of any business model (Meglio, & Risberg, 2010). References Jones, G. R. (2010). Organizational theory, design, and change. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Rosinski, P. (2010). Coaching across cultures: New tools for leveraging national, corporate & professional differences. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Meglio, O., & Risberg, A. (2010). Mergers and acquisitions—Time for a methodological rejuvenation of the field?. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26(1), 87-95.