A merger is not about one business dominated another. It should be seen more like a marriage where both parties involved should have an equal say in all matters. It cannot be stated enough that the merger must be seen as a win-win situation for all parties involved. If anyone is feeling slighted or uncomfortable, the situation must be brought to the manager's attention and addressed immediately. The main thing for the manager to understand is that staff wants to feel appreciated. They do not want to get lost in all the events surrounding the merger. Appreciation ranks high on the list of what staff members need in order to feel a sense of obligation to remain at the hospital after the merger has taken place. If there is a sense of appreciation and the staff members have a connection with the community in which the hospital is located, there is a strong change that they will remain with the hospital and work hard to be sure that the merger is a success (Cameron et al., 2010).

Not only do staff members need to feel of sense of community and that they are appreciated, they also need to have a sense of job satisfaction. If there was job satisfaction before the merger, the manager must work hard to let the staff know that they can expect the same level of job satisfaction they had after the merger as they had before. There need not be substantial changes made after the merger which could lead to job dissatisfaction among employees. The major factors in determining job satisfaction among hospital workers are pay, benefits and workload (Morgan et al., 2010). If workers are overworked, feel they are properly compensated and are happy with their benefits package the likelihood of job satisfaction will be high.

Thompson states that when the company she worked for merged with a similar company, training and development was not only provided for employees in order to strengthen the retention rate, special attention was also paid to managers to help retain them and to also help them help their employees. She states that managers were given special classes on how to coach and motivate employees which turned out to be a successful...

This is a prime example of how the needs of all parties involved in the merger should be addressed. Middle managers may have the same fears and concerns regarding the merger and their needs should also be address.
There are so many factors to consider when a merger happens. Employees can move past their fears and embrace the merger with the help and support of management. This scenario would create a positive environment where everyone is willing to have an open mind and willing to learn from each other so that the merger will be a success. Another scenario that could happen is alienation among the two sets of workers which creates a competitive environment among workers who are supposed to be on the same team. Any time a merger happens a new organizational culture is bound to take place. The new organizational culture should not mean that anyone is alienated and that the two hospitals can't come together as a team. Brannon and Peterson say that managers are responsible for aiding the workers in accepting and embracing the new environment they will be a part of (2009). Managers must work hard to keep everyone informed, properly trained and ensure that workloads will not increase because of the change. Keeping workers informed each step along the way is crucial to the success of the merger.