Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

138 MARION B. EBERLY, BROOKS C. HOLTOM, THOMAS W. LEE, AND TERENCE R. MITCHELL
Finally, such analysis is not only important in operating an organization, but is also
potentially vital to successful merger and acquisition activity. According to research done
by partners at Bain Capital (Harding and Rouse, 2007 ), people issues are often at the root
of failed deals. In analyzing 40 recent merger and acquisition deals, the 15 that were classified
as successful, the acquirers had all identified key employees for retention during the
due diligence phase or within 30 days of the announcement of the deal. This task was
carried out in only one third of the unsuccessful deals.
Organizational types
Selective retention and workforce stability can be less critical in certain organizational
types. In particular, turnover is likely unimportant in temporary organizations whose sole
purpose is to create a given project or produce a certain service, and then, by design,
disband. Common examples include independent motion picture productions (e.g. shooting
a movie), political campaigns (e.g. winning an election), and joint ventures intended
to spread risk across the multiple participants (e.g. oil exploration). Similarly, bureaucracies,
which are relatively buffered from market forces (e.g. state and local governments,
public universities), may have limited concern with retention and stability because, for
example, of sufficient slack resources, adequate time to forecast accurately human resource
requirements, or de facto monopoly position. Finally, those organizations where creativity
and innovation are critical to survival might actually consider encouraging departures of
less creative or innovative employees (e.g. think - tanks, innovation centers, and advertising
fi rms).
“ The more things change, the more things
stay the same ”
Given that people will and do quit firms, how have companies begun to control the leaving
of these kinds of extraordinary and other less extraordinary (aka normal) people? Certainly,
there is no single magic bullet that all firms should follow. With increasing frequency, however,
many firms have (re)turned to the old fashion and followed the now counterintuitive idea
of proactively building loyalty via mutual company and employee commitment (Bernstein,
1998 ). In other words, they seek to prevent the seeds of leaving (e.g. shock, image violations,
and decline in job attitudes) before they get planted.
With these ideas in mind, Booz, Allen, and Hamilton implemented job rotation to help
their consultants balance family and work stresses. During periods of unusual family turmoil,
for example, consultants can be reassigned to jobs with stable hours and minimal
travel; as a result, it is easier for their employees to deal with the work– family stresses. At
International Paper (IP) and Citigroup, for instance, career development programs have been
implemented. At IP, 13,000 white - collar workers must meet annually (and separately from
their performance appraisal meetings) to map their long - term career strategies and their
next specific job move. At Citigroup, 10,000 managers are reviewed twice a year to identify
their next job placement. In short, labor market imperatives are driving fi rms to manage the
quitting process proactively, and the research in organizational behavior provides strong and
compelling managerial tactics.