Learning from the politics of a merger: when being merged is not a choice.
Organizational mergers have poor track records for success. Success usually refers to financial success, and little or no evaluation is planned to determine whether the merged partners have a good cultural fit. Therefore, the social and psychological costs of mergers and acquisitions are high. One factor that is part of every merger and acquisition is politics. Politics is both a positive and a negative force in organizational life. This article discusses the ways politics affects the process and outcome of a merger, using the reorganization of the campuses of a large university as an example, and presents lessons learned from managing around the politics of this merger.
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.
J G
JG
Bruhn
D009935:Organizational Affiliation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011057:Politics; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities