Question

You are brought in as the new Director of HR for a company in the distribution industry which is the merger between Company A and Company B. Company A began as a family business which acquired a number of small companies over time. As a result of all of these acquisitions, the company was less standardized and more decentralized internally and was somewhat of a combination of cultures to begin with. The culture of Company A is quite varied. Some areas of the company are focused on metrics and quality, others are focused on job satisfaction and employee attitudes, and still others are not focused on either. Generally, the company strives to produce a range of high quality products and services, but the way that this occurs is unstructured throughout the company. Company B was a large company which was standardized internally with a strong culture surrounding processes and procedures. Company B has a centralized structure with clear employee policies. Company B is focused on quality control. They stress standardized processes and procedures across all business units. They have a clear mission and goal that emphasizes one thing: productivity. Company B has been successful with strategy monetarily, but its employees are often overworked and overwhelmed. Both companies have fears regarding losing desirable aspects of their current culture. What strategy would you use to

resolve the culture differences between these two organizations to create a new organization with a cohesive culture?

Answer 1

The strategy that I would use to resolve the cultural differences between these two organizations to create a new organization with a cohesive culture is Sharing. Sharing is not only concerned with the resources and materials in the organization but values, norms, and culture. there is a need to impart knowledge in employees of both companies that are now working as one that they must follow the concept of shared beliefs and culture. this will ensure better management and a clear authority responsibility relationship tree in the organization. When there are shared norms, culture, and methods in the organization, the top authorities can follow a centralized way to supervise, manage, train, and evaluate performance.