The Human Side of Mergers and Acquisitions

Book excerpt: This eye-opening study, based on the authors' direct and personal observation of a bank merger, has three basic analytical focuses: the human issues presented by mergers at both an individual and a cultural level, the organizational issues that these human concerns raise, and the resulting implications for managing the merger and acquisition process. With keen insight the authors delve into a complex web of reactions. The intrigues, cultural clashes, hostilities, and tensions that emerged from this friendly merger are mind-boggling. The dynamics that characterized the dual nature of the merger run the gamut of human responses to a stressful situation: trust and betrayal, openness and deception, hope and despair, support and retaliation - all driven by nascent opportunities or restricted options. This impressive study has many lessons to teach about the role that human resource considerations should play in any large-scale organizational change.