| Mergers and acquisitions affect the integration of human systems. When designing the new organizational structure, the new firm's leaders should address the integration of organizational cultural identities, allowing collaboration and cooperation to achieve business continuity for the new organizational culture. Because of the degree of decision-making required, the methods leaders use to structure the new firm's internal organization during the merger or acquisition play a primary role in either blending different cultures or designing a new culture. During the planning of the organizational structure, specific problems surface after the merger or the acquisition. These problems are (a) attrition of each organization's identification, (b) emergence of behavioral changes within the employee population, (c) duplication of roles that creates an excess of employees, and (d) lack of proper planning in the harmonization of processes and resources. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to investigate the phenomenon of leadership decision-making process and its effect on designing new organizational structures after the mergers and acquisitions that occurred within pharmaceutical companies in the United States of America from 1996 to 2006. Six themes emerged from this qualitative study. First, leaders must demonstrate communication competencies. Second, leaders must take the time to merge the cultures of the two organizations. Third, leaders must align de facto strategies from both companies. Fourth, leaders must manage technology integration during mergers and acquisitions. Fifth, organizational leaders must develop managers' competencies through experience and training. Sixth, organizational leaders must guide employees to achieve the new organizational goals and strategies. |
