Merge Human Resource Management
Assignment
Two individual Canadian organizations (Green Company and Orange Company) have decided to merge their operations and become one new organization (this is a merger, NOT an acquisition). Both companies are in the manufacturing field; they have some identical products and some different products (from the point of view of this merger, the product lines make sense together). Both companies are family owned and have been in operation for over 50 years through good and bad economic times. Neither organization ever thought they would merge with someone else but the economic environment has changed; both companies are at risk of being acquired by a large, national organization and neither one wants to be taken over by a “bunch of corporate people”. They are both fiercely independent and proud to be so. If they merge their operations, they will be big enough to survive the immediate takeover threat and will also be big enough as a single organization that they will no longer be in danger of someone else coming along and gobbling them up. Neither wants to join with the other but they both realize this is a necessity – they don’t like it but they see this is as the lesser of two evils. By merging, they will now become Blue Company. Both Green Company and Orange Company realize that merging will cause some problems so they have hired you, as an external HR Consultant to help them through this process.
Pick one of the following topics and then create a plan to help Green Company and Orange Company work through this merger so they can become Blue Company.
- Succession management
- Corporate culture
- Corporate strategy
- Downsizing
Thoroughly explain the following (these are the 4 headings you must use in your final report):
- What is the plan you have developed?
- What problems will you face in implementing the plan – both immediate and long term?
- What are your solutions to those problems?
- How you will “sell” this plan to both Green Company and Orange Company
What is the plan that you have developed? 15 marks
What are you suggesting?
What does the plan look like?
What are the details?
What problems will you face in implementing the plan – both immediate, and long term? 15 marks
What could go wrong now, what could go wrong in the future? What metrics should Blue Company look at to determine if the plan is working? What are the warning signs that they should look for?
What are your solutions to those problems? 15 marks
What can be done to fix the problems, both short term and long term?
What are the details of “the fix”?
How you will “sell” this plan to both Green Company and Orange Company? 15 marks
How can you help the owners of Green and Orange minimize any negative effects of this merger? How will you help the employees transition to the new’The specific details for both organizations are as follows:
Organization #1: Green Company
- Head office is a small town in Western Ontario
- English speaking
- Family owned with all senior positions being held by members of the family
- About 100 long term employees (not including the family members) who all live in this small town or close to it
- They are a major employer for the region
- The labour market is a bit tight but Green Company is a very popular place to work so they generally don’t have problems recruiting and retaining staff members
- Green Company prides itself on building and maintaining long term relationships with their customers; they realize immediate sales are not always the best – sometimes you have to put in the time to get the best results. This philosophy is consistent with how they treat their employees; they want people to stay and they work hard to make Green Company a popular place to work.
Organization #2: Orange Company
- Head office is a medium size town in central Quebec
- French is the main language spoken but the senior administration team are all fluent in English
- The majority of the workers speak French (a few may know English)
- Family owned with all senior positions being held by members of the family
- About 100 employees of which 30 are seasonal and work only over the summers and specific busy times throughout the year. The labour market is very favourable and Orange Company rarely has any problem filling vacant positions.
- Orange Company is all about volume: quick, frequent sales and if the customer comes back again, well that is just a bonus.
New Organization #3: Blue Company
- While both locations (Ontario and Quebec) will remain open for now, the eventual plan is to close one location and move all operations to the other within the next 2-3 years. No decision has yet been made about which location will stay and which will close.
- Blue Company will need to merge operations, product lines, employees, and administrators.
- Blue Company can’t afford to have 2 sets of everything/everyone so some tough decisions will need to be made; the owners of Green and Orange understand this fact and that is one of the main reasons they have hired you. They need to focus on the best decisions for the new company and not get caught up in the emotional issues that may come with this process.