No abstract

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are becoming a strategy of choice for organizations attempting to maintain a competitive advantage. Corporations spend billions of dollars annually in pursuit of this strategy; the success rate, however, is less than commendable. Research offers a number of potential determinants for this success rate. Receiving increased attention and research, organizational culture is one factor identified as a potential catalyst to M&A success. This article reviews related literature to identify some underlying reasons why organizational culture is an important factor in regard to the success rate of M&As. Specific emphasis is placed on cultural implications to consider prior to the merger or acquisition (event) and implications to consider subsequent to the event. Strategic alternatives suggested by researchers in organizational change, organizational strategy, and organizational development/ management research are also synthesized in an attempt to offer a comprehensive perspective on ways that organizations might improve the success rate of M&As.

Previous research has shown a positive relationship between job satisfaction and various dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior. These studies, however, have focused almost exclusively on civilian sector organizations. While insight gained from these studies is instructive, it remains to be seen if these relationships also exist in the context of military organizations. The relationships between job satisfaction as well as cynicism (as moderated by psychological contracts) with organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) are explored. Data were collected from military officers (n = 151) attending a 10-month professional military education school. As an improvement over other similar studies, control measures were incorporated to address potential confounds associated with self-reported attitudes. Results showed job satisfaction was a strong predictor of OCB, cynicism was negatively related to the altruism dimension of OCB, and the relationship between cynicism and the altruism

Purpose -To provide two possible approaches for enhancing organizational culture awareness and promote cultural change in public sector organization. These approaches include training and leading by example. Design/methodology/approach -Literature outlining fundamental aspects of organizational culture is summarized, serving as a foundation for reviewing the potential value of training as a method for enhancing public managers' awareness of organizational culture. This is followed by an illustrated example of how the culture was changed in major department of a public organization through leading by example. Findings -Training and leading by example can serve as effective methodologies for promoting culture awareness and brining about culture change in organizations. Practical implications -The article highlights some interesting similarities and differences between cultures in public organizations and cultures in private sector organizations. The differences, in particular, reinforce the importance of training and leading by example to guide public sector employees through the complex dynamics often embodied within culture transformations in organizations. Originality/value -While there are some important similarities between cultures of private sector and public sector organizations, the differences existing in public sector organization cultures create unique challenges for managers trying to evoke change. The article provides a unique perspective on applying training and leading by example to the context of public sector organizational culture.