Air Canada and Canada Airlines

Tyler Stanford 250588306 Air Canada Merger Wednesday March 26, 2013

When merging two separate organizations’ employees into one cohesive unit, it is very important for management to ensure that there is minimal conflict between the two organizations. When Air Canada and Canadian Airlines merged in 2002 interpersonal conflict arose very quickly. The main causes of these organizational discrepancies resulted because of a relationship and process conflict. How the two organizations identified themselves when the merger took place was also a large factor. The best way for Air Canada to resolve their newly found confliction problems is to adopt a collaborative management style. With the support of integrative negotiation tactics the company can develop an overall “win-win” agreement.

Air Canada and Canadian Airlines were formerly in strong competition. Therefore when the two companies merged, there was an increased probability that a relationship conflict would arise. The previously adopted competitiveness between the two companies played a large part in the initial reasons for conflict. Another encounter that is part of the root cause of the merger problems is process conflict. Both companies likely had different methods and processes in which they used to organize and accomplish tasks. These discrepancies can bring about drastic and unneeded disagreements between employees, as both sides will be likely be stubborn, and want to use their own methods rather then the opposing employee.

Group identification and intergroup bias is a well-known factor to cause many organizational conflicts. These conflicts tend to originate as a result of the tendency for employees to develop a strong attachment and positive view to those in their “in-group”, and a more negative and untrusting view on those on the “out-group”. The emergence of two distinct groups likely developed at Air Canada after the merger, because of the very...