Imagine that Anchor Hospital, a 250-bed medical center, is merging with the similar-sized Saint Mary's Hospital to better serve the needs of its metropolitan community. An administrative board has been formed to guide all aspects of the merger. They have asked all departments to submit an executive brief that states their roles, intended model of operations, and initial steps to build interdepartmental relationships.

The board's primary concern for HR is how it will manage the merging of the workforce into a single, cohesive, and effective team. They want to understand HR's primary role, guiding principles, and application of current practice. Specifically, they want your vision for the following:

• A merger-related current best practice or trend that is being successfully employed by HR departments.
• HR's primary role in assimilating the workforces for the two hospitals.
• The HR management model is to be followed.
• How to foster relationships between HR and department managers.