Analyzing Mergers and Acquisitions: HR Planning and Employee Impact

This report explores the multifaceted impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) on various aspects of Human Resources (HR), including planning, selection, compensation, performance appraisal, training and development, and labor relations. It delves into the factors that contribute to the success or failure of mergers, emphasizing the importance of cultural integration and effective communication. The report also addresses the specific issues that U.S.-based companies should consider when merging with international entities, highlighting the potential impact on employees, including job security and changes in pay structures. Furthermore, it examines how M&A activities affect HR planning, selection processes, compensation strategies, and the management of labor relations, providing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities presented by organizational mergers.

Running head: MERGER AND ACQUISITION
Merger and Acquisition
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1MERGER AND ACQUISITION
Success of merger or acquisition
The success of merger takes place due to the fact that it helps a larger firm in reducing
the average costs. The lower average cost helps in providing low prices to the customers.
Merger helps a firm in increasing in size and it helps an organization in dealing with threat
from the multinationals (Belcourt & McBey, 2016). Merger helps a firm in surviving in the
global market. Mergers can help a firm in gaining profit that helps it in financing the risky
investments.
Causes of failure of merger
There are various factors that lead to the failure of the merger and the acquisition.
Poor communication is another factor that leads to the failure of the merger. Communication
can help in facilitating the execution of the business strategy and improper communication
can cause a merger to fail. The competitors can take the advantage of the uncertainty
prevailing in the environment which can cause an acquisition to fail (Greve & Man Zhang,
2017). The mergers fail because of the element of poor governance. There can be lack of the
clarity regarding who would decide what that can cause a merger to fail.
Factors to be considered by US company while merging
There are certain issues that the US companies should take note of in the event of
merging with an international company. The companies based in US should understand
cultural dynamics of that of acquired organization that can help the company in the case of an
acquisition. The US companies before making the acquisition should be able to make
business case that can help the company in understanding the reasons for carrying out the
deal.
Culture and merger

2MERGER AND ACQUISITION
The culture of a company is of great significance in the case of a merger as it
influences the performance of a company. Cultural aspects of the merger should be properly
managed that can ensure the success of a merger. There are many organizations who cannot
effectively manage the process of cultural integration that acts like a barrier in the path of a
merger. In the event of a merger, there should be a similarity pertaining to the vision of the
companies that can help a company in going ahead in the long run.
Impact of merger on employees
The merger of a company has an effect on the employees working in a company.
Organisational merger upsets status quo of company that can create stress among the
employees. A merger would have an impact on the job responsibilities and the pay structure
that would create insecurities among the employees of a company (Brueller, Carmeli &
Markman, 2018). The employees of an organization feel threatened in the case of unfamiliar
approach that creates anxiety of employees of company.
Effect of the merger on the HR planning
The merger and the acquisition poses challenges for the HR of a company. The HR
managers face problems in providing guidance to the upper management that makes them
face challenges pertaining to HR planning and the selection. The performance appraisal
should be considered from the point of view of change management that can help an
organization (Hsu, Wright & Zhu, 2017). In the event of a merger, the employees should
learn principles pertaining to the new system that can help in educating the individuals in an
organization. The training along with development should teach the employees about the
practices of the new country that can help a company after a merger. The act of the
acquisition would raise the cash compensation by around 10.5 % (Greve & Man Zhang,

3MERGER AND ACQUISITION
2017). A merger would have an effect on the labour unions and questions would be raised in
relation to obligation of employees along with unions after the incidence of merging.

4MERGER AND ACQUISITION
References
Belcourt, M., & McBey, K. J. (2016). Strategic human resources planning. Nelson
Education.
Brueller, N. N., Carmeli, A., & Markman, G. D. (2018). Linking merger and acquisition
strategies to postmerger integration: a configurational perspective of human resource
management. Journal of Management, 44(5), 1793-1818.
Greve, H. R., & Man Zhang, C. (2017). Institutional logics and power sources: Merger and
acquisition decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 60(2), 671-694.
Hsu, K. C., Wright, M., & Zhu, Z. (2017). What motivates merger and acquisition activities
in the upstream oil & gas sectors in the US?. Energy Economics, 65, 240-250.