Change Management Impact When Acquiring a New Business - Rio Tinto Group - Case Study Example

The paper "Change Management Impact When Acquiring a New Business - Rio Tinto Group" is a perfect example of a business case study. The growth and expansion of organizations are associated with tremendous changes in their leadership and management styles. This is because changes in the organizations’ structures and compositions after acquisitions and mergers require a complete shift in the leadership qualities adopted by the management of the resulting mergers. For instance, it is common that smaller organizations would tend to have fewer numbers of employees and also a smaller organizational structure.

Such simple and less formal structures make such smaller organizations vulnerable to other larger organizations. The challenge usually comes in when larger organizations acquire smaller or medium ones and they have to incorporate the employees into their systems. As Lewis, Schmisseur, Stephens, & Weir, (2006) records, larger organizations have complex and rigid structures and infrastructure to be managed effectively and efficiently. This makes it hard for the employees of the small companies to transition easily from the small companies into the larger acquiring ones.

According to Lewis, Schmisseur, Stephens, & Weir, (2006), most acquisitions fail just because they lack proper guidelines for integration. Based on Lewis, Schmisseur, Stephens, & Weir, (2006) analysis of the obstacles that hinder effective acquisition and integration after acquisition are poor financial performances, loss of proper productivity, cultural differences, poor turnovers of crucial talents, poor integration mechanisms adopted by the management of the two companies and poor integration properties adopted by the merging companies.

Leadership changes are a common occurrence in various entities, especially where mergers and acquisitions have taken place. Following such acquisitions and mergers, the company management and leadership are expected to change not only their styles of leadership but also their views and perceptions about entirely all aspects concerning the manner in which the company processes are run. This paper looks at the impacts of change management when acquiring a new business. Specifically, the paper shall base its focus on the Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian multinational company with its headquarters in Westminster, London, UK and the city of Melbourne, Australia.