As a background I have “survived” three mergers and lived through the incompetence and misery of both the acquiring and acquired companies.
When acquisitions or mergers are announced there usually is an initial euphoria and stock prices of the acquiring and acquired companies usually rise. Many times the acquiring company increases their debt and brags about how they are going to achieve “synergies” and run the new merged company so much better and more efficiently. Financial folks and speculators are ecstatic and this instant elation lasts at least temporarily. Soon the hard cold miserable reality sets in especially with the acquired company.
Massive job cuts and layoffs are announced in the acquired company. Fear spreads like wildfire and the layoffs are usually executed quickly with little logic or understanding of the actual work that needs to be done. The employees that are spared layoff get assigned more work without much rhyme or reason. Because of this fear, any semblance of creativity or innovation is destroyed.
In the acquired companies’ “difficult” departments, the acquiring company sends a hatchet person to wreak havoc. This person usually rips the employes with trite statements like “You are doing everything wrong.”, “You need to adapt our work methods right away.” (acquiring company). “I am the most qualified person to straighten this department out.” Their performance and drops even more precipitously.
Unfortunately acquiring companies repeat this nightmare repeatedly. They are one-trick-ponies.
As an alternative approach, using appreciative inquiry, would be better approach in both the short and long term.
For more informative on appreciative inquiry see my YouTube video on it.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-almost-all-mergers-fail-miserably-try-inquiry-depaoli