Identify the MOST relevant Chapter 11 staffing and directing concepts in the case below about a corporate acquisition. What can senior management do to in order to make this acquisition successful? Answer these questions by

1. Identifying the relevant concept and briefly discussing it, 

2. Identifying the relevant information from the case, and

3. Linking them together in an argument, e.g., such and such concept is applied because in the case such as such is discussed and this concept involves such and such.

CASE:

The acquiring company and the target company were very different in decision-making style. In one company, the boss made the decision, and the employee’s job was to execute. In the other, the style was more democratic. Debate was encouraged on all topics, even outside your area of functional expertise.

“So, you get the situation where the head of finance—who is used to having decisions simply followed—is suddenly challenged by someone from HR who wants to debate the issue first. The head of finance feels criticized and can’t understand why. Half the people watching this incident feel the challenge from HR is normal and appropriate, while the other half can’t understand why HR wants to have a debate over something that has already been decided and is none of their business anyway.

“People feel uncomfortable, and they don’t understand why. Leaders from the acquiring company, whose ways of working are typically adopted by default, don’t realize how uncomfortable the people from the target business are feeling. No one is recognizing their concerns, their worries, and their fears over this new style of decision making, because executives from the acquiring business don’t understand that this is a new style for people from the target company.

“This discomfort can unfortunately develop into unhappiness and to people choosing to leave. This unhappiness can also permeate throughout the organization, particularly if key leaders start to leave. It can have serious implications and affects your ability to both maintain your base business and deliver the value expected from the deal