Change and culture case study analysis

¶ … Culture Case Study

It is fairly common to have mergers and acquisitions in the business world. But this can also happen in the medical field where hospitals merge. In order for a merger such as this to go smoothly, managers must work to ensure a smooth transition ahead of time. There may be animosity and ill will between the merging hospitals, especially if they are a short distance apart from each other. Each facility's employees may feel that the other hospital is competition and once a merger takes place, it will not be easy to turn off those feelings like one turns off a running faucet. Now that the two hospitals are one, management must devise ways to make the work environment a cohesive one where all staff members are working together as a team and not against one another.

One of the first things a manager can do before the merger happens is to have several meetings with the current staff to get a feel for how they feel about the merger and dispel any myths and to also calm any fears. As with any merger, there may be a risk of some positions being duplicated, so managers need to be upfront with staff members on this issue. The manager also needs to meet with management from the hospital which they will merge with. All parties need to sit down and discuss what strategies have worked well for their organization and which ones haven't. After this has been determined, all managers involved should come up with new strategies with input from both organizations.

Change is not always easy. Some people adapt easily to change, but for many it is an uncomfortable process. However, in order to grow there must be change. Given this, staff members from each hospital will have to learn how to adapt and adjust to the impending changes once the merger takes place. All parties involved should understand that the relationship is no longer competitive, but that they now form a team that must work together to ensure the success of the hospital. Mergers do not always have to mean layoffs, job dissatisfaction or fearing the unknown. They can be a blessing in disguise opening the door to new ideas and possibilities that didn't previously exist.

Employee retention might become a problem as staff members may want to leave the hospital altogether because of fear of the union. In this case managers can present retention packages to existing employees well before the merger happens. This should be done soon after the merger is announced, or better yet, simultaneously in order to curtail employees from jumping ship even before the merger takes place. The one thing that the manager does not want to have to deal with is a staff shortage before the merger takes place. If this happens, managers will not only have to deal with the merger, but also the recruitment and training of new staff which can slow things down a bit.

In order to provide quality care without the staff members taking a competitive stance, the managers must be sure to keep the lines of communication open at all times and communicate all pertinent information to employees promptly. They must do this so that employees feel that they have sufficient access to information regarding the merger and that they are not being kept out of the loop or left in the dark. If employees are informed each step along the way, they are more likely to be cooperative and motivated to participate in the success of the newly merged hospitals.

Management should strive to create an environment where employees let go of the competitive nature and begin to want to share ideas and services among each other. Valuable information can be passed along between the hospitals regarding what works well and what doesn't. Management should also provide training and development opportunities to all employees. If employees know that their company is willing to invest in their education, they get a sense that they are valued which could greatly improve job performance.

It is important that the manager meets with the new staff coming on board as a group and also individually. What is expected of them should be communicated thoroughly, but the existing hospital's culture should not be crammed down their throats or force fed to them. 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 program (2010). 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.