Change always causes stress and anxiety. Employees will have many questions about whether they will have jobs, what their new roles and responsibilities will be, if they will be relocated, what happens with their salary and benefits, and many more other issues. They will also want to know about the other company in order to have a better understanding of the new work environment.

Of all the issues that will arise during the transition, the issue likely to jump to the fore is that of corporate philosophies. What will the philosophy of the new company be? This philosophy will set the tone for the merger and give employees a strong indication of what to expect after the merger has been completed.

To research this issue, a couple of approaches can be taken. This paper will discuss in more detail how gap analysis, case studies and benchmarking can be used to uncov

Step one in Kotter’s model is to create a sense of urgency. This sense of urgency, when focused on key players, can be used to rally the troops and produce action. Internalizing the situation so each team member can see the individual, as well as team, ramifications will influence their attitudes and drive motivation. With resources excited and motivated to act, the team is ready to move on to step two.

The fifth step, Empowerment is not about giving more power to employees. It is about removing barriers people might have to act more efficiently towards change. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate different types of barriers that may be encounter in individuals or groups of people that might be reluctant to do things differently. Once these barriers are recognized, they should not be removed all at once, they should be addressed one by one. If it is found that some middle management is an obstacle, individuals should be assigned to a new position. This will clearly send them a message of the need for change. People have to feel the power of expressing their ideas and the power of taking action without the fear of punishment in case of failure. Sometimes the biggest obstacle is people’s own mind; it is important to find individuals that had gone through successful changes in the past and encourage them to share their stories, to send the message that change is possible. Managers need to “take a wind in their faces and create a wind in their backs” (Kotter, 103).

Establishing the best communication for sharing the vision, strategies, and progress is the forth step of Kotter’s model (Kotter 4). Before a team can act, they must clearly understand what is being asked of them. The lines of communication must flow with a clearly defined message and set of actions for continued success. Honing the perceptions that employees have through continued educating can clarify various strategies relating to the production goals or acquisition strategies. The goal is to support a behavior that maintains production levels while progressing smoothly through the company transition.

Step two of Kotter’s model leverages the most important asset a company manages, its people. Pulling the right guiding team together in support of a major change program can mean the difference between success and failure. Just as a successful CEO would match experience project team members with a key product development effort, so would the driver of a major change management engagement. It would be professional suicide to staff a team of novice resources on a major change like an acquisition. Pulling these key players together also creates a team atmosphere reducing the sinking boat feeling where employees feel it is “every man for himself.” This solidarity will create a common focus for the group and positively affect the attitudes of the workers.

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