RWC 1: Cogent Communications, Intel, and Others: Mergers go more smoothly when your Data are Ready

Case Study Questions 1. Place yourself in the role of a manager at a company undergoing a merge or acquisition. What would be the most important things customers would expect from you while still in that process? What role would IT play in meeting those expectations? Provide at least three examples.
Role: Customers expect the same or better service than they are currently receiving-though they likely fear a service disruption. IT plays a significant role if not as a service provider than at least as a vehicle for communications between the organization and its customers.
Examples:
Banking, telecommunications, and Internet service providers.

2. Focus on what Andi Mann in the case calls “tribal knowledge.” What do you think he means by that, and why is it so important to this process? What strategies would you suggest for companies that are faced with the extensive presence of this issue in an acquired organization? Develop some specific recommendations.l
Tribal Knowledge: Is the organizational knowledge maintained in the minds of its employees. In many cases, only experienced employees possess information about who does what, when, and why. While these employees may be redundant following a merger, losing them would mean losing information critical to maintaining the acquired organization’s systems. This loss could result in a disruption of critical services.

Strategies: 1) Identify and retain employees critical to maintaining key systems. 2) Retain critical employees long enough to hand off key knowledge. 3) Thoroughly document the new systems and processes.
Recommendations:
1) Evaluate the impact this situation will have on the value of merger. 2) Evaluate maintenance logs, help-desk logs, and even emails for