A national media communications company acquires a regional communications compa
ID: 432471 • Letter: A
Question
A national media communications company acquires a regional communications company. As a result of the merger the regional marketing department is re-organized, combining the staff of the two organizations. Our Manager is overseeing the restructuring process and is having a lot of difficulty with people shifting roles, sharing assignments and adapting to new hierarchies.
The manager meets with two department members who are very displeased with the new changes. The employees eventually ask the manager to leave the company and head a start-up – funding is already in place.
1. The manager should have done a better job in balancing the need to improve operations with the need to
A. be stagnant.
B. be profitable.
C. gather information.
D. respond to new events.
E. be effective
2.The employees in the video complain about their new roles and duties in the new organization, which indicates that they did not participate in many of the decision making processes before the merger occurred, and the top managers made most of the decisions. This can be an example of
A.radical change.
B. top-down change.
C. bottom-up change.
D. stagnation change.
E. restructuring change.
3. If the manager in the video has identified the resistance of employees as an obstacle for this organizational merger, he could have taken actions to decrease the negative effects of it. In other words, the manager could have done a more effective job on which of the following steps in the change process?
A. Assessing the need for change
B. Identifying the source of the problem
C. Deciding on the change to make
D. Implementing the change
E. Evaluating the change
Click the ? button to watch the video. Then, answer the questions that follow.
transcript of the video:
Carlos: Rita, Juan, it's good
0:03to see you guys again.
0:05I know it's been hectic out there, and we've
0:07been trying to get this meeting
0:09together for a while. We are here.
0:12Perhaps the delay has given us - has, you
0:14know, put more issues on the table, things
0:16that have either progressed or regressed,
0:18so let's deal with those.
0:19Rita: So Peters comes in, and he starts
0:22to minimize my duties.
0:23I tell him that I'm the Director of
0:24Advertising, and I go down the list
0:26of things that I have to do.
0:27He sees me answering the phone, so he
0:29decides, "Oh, wow, you answer
0:31the phones pretty good.
0:32You'd make a good receptionist.
0:33Maybe that is an area in which we don't have
0:35to hire a receptionist."
0:36So I feel insulted, you know what I'm saying?
0:38I never got that from you when we were part
0:40of the company, and yet I can't connect with
0:42you to get the support that I used to get
0:44from you, so I feel like
0:45I'm out there all alone.
0:47Carlos: [Inaudible]
0:48Rita: I feel like I'm out there all alone
0:49dealing with some - I'm going to call him
0:51just as it is.
0:52He's an idiot, a moron, he's insensitive, and
0:55so I'm starting to feel like -
0:58Carlos: That's pretty nice [inaudible].
0:59Rita: No, I'm really starting to - no, no,
1:01I'm starting to feel like I'm going to rip
1:03through my sick days now, and I was never one
1:05to do that, because I loved coming to work.
1:07I was the envy of all my friends, because I
1:09loved my job, and now I'm not feeling that
1:10way anymore and I'm getting very angry about
1:12it, and I don't like myself in this position
1:14because it's not [inaudible].
1:15Carlos: Yeah, Rita - Rita,
1:16we love your job also.
1:17You know how valuable you are to me now and
1:19how valuable you have been.
1:20The most important thing here is that we
1:21communicate effectively and honestly.
1:22Rita: And that's why we're here.
1:23That's why we're here.
1:24Carlos: And I want more.
1:25I want more, so hit me.
1:26Rita: Okay.
1:27No. And I have a lot more for you.
1:28Juan: Things - things - it just
1:29isn't working with Jackson.
1:31All of a sudden he's my partner, you know,
1:35and his ideas are just, you know -
1:36they're just whacko.
1:40Carlos: Let's hold it for a second.
1:41Juan: You know, my - you know, my clients,
1:43you know, have been under my hat
1:44for five years.
1:45I know their tastes, I know what they like,
1:47and all of a sudden, you know,
1:49Jackson here is -
1:50Rita: They're not acting as team players.
1:52They're acting - they're coming in and they
1:54want to flex their authority and they just
1:56want to throw out,
1:57"You do this, you do that."
1:58Carlos: You're both effective communicators.
1:59Juan: It just isn't working out.
2:01It isn't working out.
2:02Rita: It's really - it's frustrating.
2:03It's degrading.
2:04Carlos: Would you agree that
2:05you're both effective communicators?
2:06Juan: Communicators -
2:07Rita: With this group, it's a little tough.
2:08Juan: Yeah.
2:09Carlos: All right.
2:10Two things come to mind straightaway.
2:11Number one, part of this is clearly an issue
2:16that's going to go along
2:17with any company that merges.
2:19No two personalities, no three personalities,
2:22no four personalities
2:23are guaranteed to get along.
2:24Rita: But I'm open to that, because -
2:27Carlos: Hold on.
2:28What we need to really, really focus on right
2:29now, number one, is you're all four
2:31at the exact level organizationally.
2:33Juan: Well -
2:34Carlos: You're going to have
2:35to take my word for it.
2:36Rita: Okay. No, no -
2:37Carlos: Okay? That's not
2:38an arguable point.
2:39Rita: Right.
2:40Carlos: However, personal issues you're going
2:42to - you're going to have
2:43to settle amongst yourselves. Okay?
2:47Juan: All right.
2:49Look, Carlos - Carlos, I think we are both at
2:52the point where I don't see any resolution
2:56with these two guys.
2:58Rita: Nor do I see a future.
2:59Carlos: Well, if you don't see a future,
3:03I'm sad. Okay?
3:05If you don't see a resolution, that says
3:07to me I also don't see a future.
3:10Rita: Uh-huh. Carlos: Okay?
3:12These are personal decisions. Okay?
3:15The fact of the matter is this, though.
3:17We are here.
3:18We understood ahead of time that we were
3:20going to be going through a transition.
3:21The transition is in place now.
3:24The transformation is in place now.
3:26It is not the finished product.
3:27Rita: I understand that, Carlos, and we went
3:28in knowing that.
3:29We went in knowing that, and yet again, as I
3:32said, they are not acting as team players,
3:36and I have kept my mouth shut, you know, and
3:39tried to be as diplomatic and professional as
3:42I can, and I'm just - I'm ready to bolt.
3:45Carlos: I would be saddened if you did.
3:47I'd be truly saddened if you did.
3:50Rita: Well, you know, and
3:51I think that it's not just me
3:52and Juan that is feeling like this.
3:54There are quite a few of us that are thinking
3:57along these lines, and we've been kind of
4:00bringing it to the table, of just maybe going
4:04off and doing our own thing.
4:05I don't know.
4:06Carlos: You're going to have
4:08to make decisions at this point as to -
4:12Juan: Well, how do you feel about this?
4:14Carlos: About losing two long-term -
4:17Rita: Or - I would say actually more.
4:18I would say more than two people
4:19at this point.
4:20Juan: Well, I mean, the way the company
4:21has been going, you know -
4:22Carlos: I see it - I'll be honest with you.
4:23I see it from a different - level is the only
4:28word I can think of, and it's not a -
4:31it's not a better or a worse level.
4:32It's from a different level.
4:33I see it from issues
4:35like internal rate of return.
4:38I have factored in losing employees,
4:40but I never factored in losing you two.
4:43Okay? In the end, the people
4:46who communicate the most effectively,
4:49the people who add - you
4:51know, add to the transformation going through
4:54are here for the final product.
4:55The final product is not here yet.
4:56This is [inaudible].
4:57Rita: Tell us something. Tell us something.
4:58Carlos: Sure.
4:59Rita: Are you not having difficulty with some
5:02of these new people that have come onboard?
5:03Because I'm getting a sense from you - I see
5:05a little bit of tension, you know -
5:07Carlos: I'm having difficulty -
5:08I'm having difficulty - Rita: Right.
5:09Carlos: - with people that have been with me
5:10for eight or ten years, that have been with
5:12me for longer than yourselves, and I'm having
5:14difficulty with - from - not necessarily from
5:20both sides, because there are not two sides.
5:23There's one side,
5:24so this is one company right now. Okay?
5:27Is there difficulty in the transformation?
5:29Of course there is, and I am here
5:30to listen to you, but you have
5:33to communicate effectively to me.
5:35Rita: Well, we're here doing that,
5:36Carlos. We're really -
5:37Carlos: But I have to be very, very, very,
5:38very concise in that this is not -
5:41this is not a - just, you know, a preference, that
5:46I'd rather have it some other way, that I'd -
5:49that I'm not happy right now.
5:52I know you're not happy.
5:53Rita: No. I'm very - I'm really unhappy.
5:55Carlos: Okay. You second -
5:56Rita: I'm really unhappy.
5:57Carlos: You second that?
5:58Juan: Yeah, I second it.
6:01Carlos: And to your, I mean - I mean, I
6:04really need to know this right now, and to
6:06your view right now, you don't want to see
6:09this all the way through to the end?
6:10Juan: I think we're ready to go.
6:11Rita: Yeah. Carlos: Uh-huh.
6:13Well, your challenge is, then, this time next
6:17week, if not sooner, to let me
6:21know what you want to do.
6:22Juan: Well -
6:23Rita: We know it sooner than
6:24later than next week. We're ready.
6:25Juan: We know what we want to do.
6:26Carlos: That's okay, though.
6:27Rita: Yeah, we know now.
6:28Juan: The thing is - you know, the thing is,
6:30you know - you know, we like you.
6:33Carlos: Uh-huh.
6:34Juan: You know, we've known you a long time,
6:35you know. Carlos: I can't go with you.
6:38I'd love to.
6:39You know, I mean, I'd love
6:40to work with you guys more.
6:41I'd love to and I'd be - I'd be really,
6:44really sad if you left, but this is a - this
6:49is a - you're both over 21, and this is a
6:52decision that you need to make.
6:54I will tell you ahead of time -
6:56Juan: Oh, come on. Come on,
6:57Carlos. Carlos: Come on what?
6:58Rita: I mean, do you really see yourself -
6:59do you see a future here for yourself?
7:00Juan: Come on.
7:01Do you really - do you really - do you really
7:02like the way things are going on now?
7:03Rita: I don't know, Carlos.
7:04We were like a great team before.
7:05Carlos: I don't have to like the way things
7:06are going. I have to -
7:07Juan: Well, of course you do.
7:08Carlos: I have to - no, I don't.
7:09Juan: Yes, you do. Carlos: I have
7:10to put my nose to the grindstone
7:11and see it through this transformation.
7:14Afterword by Carlos
7:19In my position in the company, in this
7:21transformation stage, it's a positive thing
7:27to have - to have come to at least one
7:30milestone, to know one thing that is certain,
7:33as I am pretty certain that they
7:35will be leaving the company.
7:38My next action with those two is to begin to
7:41draw a circle around their activities within
7:47the company, assuming that they're not
7:50leaving as they go out the door today.
7:55They need to be monitored.
7:57The risk that goes along with a departing
8:00employee under any conditions really needs to
8:04be managed from the - from the onset.
8:06There will be some fallout customer-wise, as
8:10they will - as they will try
8:12to take customers along with them.
8:14However, I can tell you squarely that that
8:17has been accounted for in determining
8:20the transformation of this company.
8:22I don't feel that their proposal to me was
8:28ethical in the context - in this context.
8:32They came to me under the pretense that they
8:36had problems within the company.
8:38I think that this sort of proposal or this
8:40sort of discussion is to be held outside the -
8:46outside the company, is my - is
8:47my preference, so that we can - so that
8:50the veil, the corporate veil that goes along
8:53with this sort of discussion, is removed.
8:56My reaction to their proposal, positive or
8:58negative, would not have been different.
9:01The only - the only thing that raises a flag
9:04to me about larger personnel issues is that
9:07they actually verbalized that, that there
9:10were a lot of people that were unhappy.
9:14Another concern that they voiced to me is
9:17that I didn't get to them in time, so my job
9:21is to make sure that even if I have vocalized
9:26that I want open communication and that
9:28everybody has an - has equal footing in my
9:32corporation as far as communication goes, is
9:35I have to make sure and galvanize that.
9:37I mean, I have to go individually and make
9:40sure that those channels are open.
9:42If it turns out that they're not the results
9:46that I want, I have to accept that.
9:49Managing the team at large is - that entire
9:55job is keeping my talent and to that extent
10:00being able to deliver the product that is
10:03based on that talent.
10:05Do I care to lose huge talent, large talent?
10:09No, I don't, but this isn't - this isn't a
10:12day-to-day stable environment.
10:17We knew ahead of time that we would lose some
10:20talent, so it's been factored in.
10:23No, I don't like
10:24to lose talent for any reason.
10:27I may have tried harder if I thought that
10:31their minds were not made up.
10:33It was very clear to me that their minds were
10:36made up to the point that
10:38they were inviting me along.
10:42I'm - I recognize that they're adults and
10:46that they're going to make decisions.
10:47I can't ask them to stay
10:51on a personal or emotional basis.
10:54I've done everything that I can to make this
10:58merger as smooth as I can.
11:01This is the unstable part of it.
11:03This is the unrecognizable - you know,
11:05unrecognizable, unstable part of it.
11:09Could I have made a bigger effort
11:11to keep those employees?
11:13I'm not sure.
11:18I'm not sure, but what they - I'm very
11:20convinced that they're - that they were
11:23leaving regardless of what efforts
11:26I could have made.
11:28What made part of the decision very, very
11:30easy is not to - not to struggle as far as
11:35their termination goes was that these folks
11:37were not going to be an effective - were not
11:41going to be effective operators in my
11:45operation to effect getting from where we
11:49were to where we want to be.
11:52They may walk in on Monday morning and say,
11:57"We've changed our minds."
11:59I can tell you statistically, however, that
12:02there is a 60 percent chance they will no
12:04longer be with the company 30 days later.
Explanation / Answer
1.The manager should have done a better job in balancing the need to improve operations with the need to
Answer:- D. respond to new events.
Reason:- The manager should respond to the new events in order to make a proper balance between the requirements of various events
2. The employees in the video complain about their new roles and duties in the new organization, which indicates that they did not participate in many of the decision making processes before the merger occurred, and the top managers made most of the decisions. This can be an example of
Answer:- B. top-down change.
Reason:- op down change is one which is being implemented by the top management and communicated or forced to the lower level employee to adopt.
Answer:-
Reason:- By better handling the objectives and resistance of the employees, the implementation of the change can be done easily.
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