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Call for Papers- Special Issue of the OD Practitioner - Summer 2012
OD's Role in Improving Mergers and Acquisitions
Special Issue Editors: Jim Sanders and David Jamieson
The success rate for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continues to be a problem despite increased activity and awareness of the importance of human, organizational, and culture aspects of M&A in improving financial, organization, and individual outcomes.
Organization development provides a broad range of methods, practices, and approaches that are relevant to M&A and organization restructuring. However, the utilization of OD approaches and the understanding of effective practices are inconsistent.
This special issue is designed to respond to that gap with two intended outcomes:
1. Improve the practice of OD approaches in M&A by documenting specific methods and practices that have high impact.
2. Increase the utilization of OD approaches by documenting the value, roles, activities, and outcomes of OD approaches.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to the following areas:
Organizing the effort: How are OD approaches deployed in the M&A effort? Who provides the OD perspective? When are OD perspectives included in the M&A process? How is the OD perspective included across the functional areas involved in the M&A activity?
Strategy phase: What is OD's role in strategy and initial acquisition identification? How does the organization develop a strategy that provides a complete view of strategic fit? What are the characteristics of fit? How do you determine fit? What specific methods and practices improve elements within the strategy phase? How do you prepare the organization? What is the role of leader coaching, supervisor training, and organizational readiness?
Targeting and initial communications phase: How is initial interest established? What is the method to establish the benefit of a relationship? How do you decide who to involve? How do you manage the restrictions of public company disclosure while communicating with multiple levels of the organization?
Due diligence phase: What are OD approaches to due diligence? How do you assess culture, talent, and organization design fit? How do you work with the restrictions in access to data involved with competitive auctions and legal constraints on engagement pre-closing?
Closing and announcement: How do you communicate the M&A decision to stakeholders?
Integration: How is the transition team organized? What is the method of team member selection, composition, leadership, and operation? What interventions work best in building transition team effectiveness? How do you ensure access to the value offering which motivates the relationship? How do you make organization design decisions, talent retention or exit decisions, and determine new roles? How do you create long term motivation, alignment, and focus and reduce unwanted turnover?
Culture: How do you manage differences in organization culture, national culture, language, and organizational histories?
Organization learning and improvement: How do you create organization readiness for M&A, learning and improvement from M&A activities, organizational competence in performing M&A? What roles, skills, or practices improve effectiveness for serial acquirers?
Submission Instructions
Abstracts of proposed papers due date: January 31. Full papers due date: April 23.
Submissions to the special issue should be sent to the two special issue editors and the ODP editor (jvogelsang@earthllink.net). The submissions should follow the OD Practitioner manuscript submission guidelines; details at www.odnetwork.net/publications/practitioner/guidelines.php. The special issue editors will screen and provide feedback. Final papers will be reviewed by two members of the editorial board. General guidance: articles are usually 4,000 words with liberal use of graphics and charts. Case studies, OD intervention descriptions, new conceptual thinking, and interviews are encouraged.
About the Special Issue Editors
Jim Sanders is Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. Recently he was Director of Strategy and M&A for Harris Corporation and Honeywell International. He is currently Board Member and leader for the Best Practices in M&A Program for the Association for Corporate Growth. He has worked on more than 40 acquisitions in strategy, deal maker, and integration roles. Earlier he was an OD consultant. He can be reached at jsanders@rhsmith.umd.edu.
David W. Jamieson, PhD is Department Chair, Organization Learning and Development at University of St. Thomas, Practicum Director for the MSOD Program at American University and previously Adjunct Professor MSOD Program at Pepperdine University. He has nearly 40 years of experience consulting to organizations on leadership, change, strategy, design, and human resource issues. He can be reached at djamieson@stthomas.edu.