Southwest Airlines

First, you might want to read the one page article on Southwest Airlines. The focus on the paper tells us about the organizational culture at Southwest. Then you want to do a brief google search and look for Southwest/Air Tran merger. Develop a background on the merger.

Mergers present opportunities and hazards for both the company and the HR manager.

When one company merges with or acquires another, some changes to both organizations may occur, such as eliminating redundant positions or combining teams and departments. The process of altering the two organizations so they work together as one can take months to complete and human resources plays a vital role in the changes. Human resources communicates to employees changes in who they report to within the company, what team or work group employees are assigned to as well as any changes to different positions’ roles in the organization. Human resources may work with management and employees to alter the job descriptions of various positions, ensuring everyone understands his role in the newly altered organization.

The HR manager has an opportunity to influence events so that each company comes out ahead but, in order to do that, the HR manager must preserve their own position before, during, and after the merger. HR should make them self responsible for assuring that cultural issues do not derail integration; for increasing innovation; for keeping communication going in all directions, across departments and throughout the organization; and for lessening the impact on those who have been reduced.

Even at the highest level of the company, HR can have a role. The new leadership team will need to work together on a daily basis, despite cultural and personality differences, power issues, and other barriers. HR can act as a facilitator, and also as a coach to individual executives. Personal and team assessments can be helpful in enabling team members to work together constructively. The opportunity for HR lies in...