Ouest – EEST Merger: Plans, Changes and Expectations

Essay by leshhhh September 2007

download word file, 8 pages 4.2

In this culture and atmosphere, organizations are unlikely to succeed by simply trying to pick the best organizational structure 'off the shelf’--Vanessa RobinsonCIPD Organization and Resourcing AdviserGiven the impending merger of Ouest and EEST, it is the senior management’s responsibility to cascade all relevant information down to the affected departments and employees. And in turn, it is theemployees’ responsibility to give feedback to senior management. Reorganization is to be expected and this major change will have corresponding effects to the company’s current state. As much asthis wanted change is to benefit both Ouest and EEST, several things still need to be taken into consideration to ensure its success. In the three-year research study, Organizing for Change (as cited inPaton, 2005), seven factors were identified for change to be successful. Basically, the seven factors cover top management support that ensures strategic agenda alignment with businessobjectives through communications and substantive involvement and development of the employees.

This is driven by a strong reorganization team skilled in project management.

With Robinson’s statement here, we seek to fully understand that all aspects have to be put into play with this change – a change which cannot be managed with a pre-conceived, fixed set of plans toserve as a silver bullet.

Being the Director of Order Fulfillment Applications, it is now a task to ensure that change is properly introduced before the merger pushes through. And the first step to introduce change is to explainthe change. As Director, it is your duty to INFORM.

Things to be expected in the merger are as follows: the move from having in-house developed software to having vendor-written software, team restructuring and the future plan of convertingfrom the existing order fulfillment application to the Ouest Order Fulfillment Package. With the onset of these changes, employees cannot help...