ABSTRACT
News of an acquisition is an event in the life of a company, which inevitably stirs uncertainty, anxiety, and often loss of motivation amongst the personnel of both companies involved. There is no magical formula to avoid these side effects totally; however there are tools to significantly reduce them and to mitigate their effects. Integration manager need to take the time to master the differences and similarities of each company's products, clients, marketing tools, objectives, processes, challenges and, of course, corporate identity. It is one of the key tools without which gaining credibility; attention and respect from the employees of the acquired company will be a difficult undertaking. Responsibility for integration must be clearly defined and not moved from one executive or consultant to another. Integration managers must have the authority for decision-making within a clear scope of their assignments, and integration streams must have stable and coherent reporting lines.
