Question

Hi, I could really use some help with the below question. Thanks in advance!

Many organizations make use of Organizational Development in mergers and acquisitions, a growing area of OD. In what ways do you think the use of OD could help employees transition through an acquisition?

Answer 1

OD can help employees in different ways, as follows:

A. Use of  OD will make employees understand their new roles in the newly formed  organizational structure post M&A and start delivering the performance expected from them. Here, employees will go through, the counselling, negotiation and adequate training so that they fit in the change process. These activities take place under the OD.

B. Use of OD will make employees know the cultures of each other and get ready for the multi-cultural work environment. Here, two different organizations have their own work culture and practices. After M&A, employees of both the organizations come across each other and management has to be aware to prevent the conflict. To do so,  cultural and behavioral training can also be imparted  to the employees so that synergy is developed.

C. OD will help management work through the complete organizational re-engineering so that there is a balance between people, process and technology is reestablished. In this process, employees on the basis of their strengths and complementing nature, are put in different work groups and teams so that they can give collective performance.