This paper reports some preliminary findings from my Doctoral study into the similarities in the processes of stepfamily formation and of organisational mergers. The study incorporates my experience as a non-resident parent for almost twenty years, a stepfather for seventeen years, a stepgrandfather, and a facilitator in a stepfamily education programme for the past eight years. It also draws on some fifteen years experience in personnel management.

Management literature uses metaphors of marriage and family to explain the merger process, with some writers advising that the stepfamily provides merger managers with a useful model. Other similarities emerged which suggested that by examining stepfamily formation from a different perspective, this study might identify issues and strategies which could inform stepfamily education programmes and perhaps assist in the prevention of stepfamily breakdown.

The first difficulty was to identify the ingredients of both stepfamilies and mergers as the terms are not definitive. There is an acknowledged absence of a vocabulary in which stepfamilies can be discussed and definitions are variously based on structural descriptions, parental figures, or residency patterns.

Euphemistic structural descriptions such as ‘restructured’, ‘blended’, ‘reconstituted’, ‘recycled’, or ‘reformed’ have not gained widespread usage or acceptance (Batchelor et al., 1994; Gibson, 1994). Definitions based on the new parental figure become convoluted. When a man joins a mother and her resident children (about 85% of stepfamilies according to Weston (1992)) , they form a 'stepfather stepfamily'. A woman who joins a father whose children live with him (about 10% of stepfamilies) forms a 'stepmother stepfamily' - the classic fairy tale setting of wicked stepmothers. A stepfamily which includes resident children from both parents creates a 'stepfather-stepmother stepfamily' (about 5% of stepfamilies). Alternatively, stepfamilies may be defined as 'residential', 'non-residential', or 'post-residential' depending on where the various children live.

Similar definitional difficulties are evident in the literature of organisational mergers. The process is described as 'acquisition', 'consolidation', 'takeover', 'joint venture', 'strategic alliance', or 'partnering' - all of which are used interchangeably and are open to different interpretations (Kay, 1997). The indexes in management texts frequently exemplify this conceptual nexus. For instance, Burns and Dewhurst (1996) cite "Mergers see Takeovers" with the first reference discussing mergers and acquisitions, while Kanter (1989) cites "mergers see also acquisitions".

Therefore as with stepfamilies, mergers are not a homogeneous form of business reconstruction, but each in their own way seeks to describe the process of "blending and melding" some form of corporate culture (McManus and Hergert, 1988:4). Kanter (1989:122) notes that although strategic alliances are often compared to marriage, they are "really more like living together". Duff (1994:32) provides an insight into the difficulties of mergers and questions whether to achieve success "might we need marriage counsellors or, heaven forbid, divorce lawyers?".

Some attributes of the various forms of business merger seem applicable to stages of stepfamily formation - are the early stages of a relationship a 'strategic alliance' which leads to a 'joint venture' before there is some form of 'consolidation'?

A composite definition might be:

I developed the conceptual framework of my thesis from a comment in Levinson’s analysis of the reasons for merger failures (about 60% within five years) where he stated that relationships in a merger are often "akin to getting a new stepfather" (Levinson, 1970:141). This analogy has been supported by other management writers. Fulmer and Gilkey (1988) contended that during a merger, employees experience many of the same fears and conflicts which children face when a parent repartners. They also suggested that the "perspective of a teenager in a blended family provides insights into some of the traumas of coping in a merged corporate environment" and that understanding these conflicts and dynamics can assist in facilitating the management of the "blended corporate family" (Fulmer and Gilkey, 1988:278).

Having identified a link, I then sought to develop a conceptual framework which would incorporate both the 'structural' and 'process' elements of the two types of merger.

Borwick (1986) identified the common characteristics of organisational and family systems. His model is presented as Table 1 and summarises and compares the structural issues that people face as they try to identify various expectations and establish their roles in a merging organisation (either business or family). These structural issues are: boundary definition, tasks, roles, authority, and power.

Borwick contended that family relationships are unique, permanent, irreplaceable, and are severed only in death. In contrast, he argued that organisational relationships are temporary arrangements which may be revoked at any time, and are inevitably severed by retirement. However, the familial relationships upon which Borwick based his contention are the consanguineal "biology of flesh" which he considered ensure permanent membership. (My data produced some contradictions to this view.) However, Borwick does concede that:

The impermanency of stepfamilies is well documented. Gottlieb (1993) suggested that historically a stepparent was regarded as neither kin nor family. Other studies (Amato, 1987; Bray et al., 1994; Funder, 1991; Ochiltree, 1990) have indicated that children often do not regard a non-resident stepparent as part of their family.

Some of the participants in this study who were stepchildren reported that once they left home, they had little or no contact with their stepparent. In three situations where their parent and stepparent had subsequently separated, or their parent had died, there was no continuing contact or relationship with the stepparent. This is consistent with findings in other studies (Arendell, 1995; Barnes et al., 1998; Stacey, 1990).

Based on Borwick’s measure of permanency, many stepfamilies would appear to be more akin to an organisation system than to a family system.

Other structural similarities between stepfamilies and organisations are evident in an analysis of roles and tasks. The difficulties which a new stepparent faces in seeking to determine whether they are a replacement or an intruder, what roles and tasks they are expected to assume, their authority, and issues of power (especially in relation to stepchildren) are central issues in stepfamily literature (Chase-Lansdale, 1994; Conolly, 1983; Funder, 1996; Ganong and Coleman, 1994; Kaufman, 1993; Kelley, 1995; Priest, 1993; Robinson, 1991; Webber, 1991; Whelan and Kelly, 1986). The difficulties that children face in adapting to stepfamily life are also well documented (Barnes et al., 1998; Briggs, 1994; Funder, 1996; Ochiltree, 1990; Webber, 1996).

Both Friedman (1986) and Fulmer and Gilkey (1988) contended that many of the emotional processes in work systems replicate and function like those in family systems. Buono and Bowditch (1989) identified seven stages in the organisational merger process, while Goetting (1982) suggested very similar stages in her model of the "Six Stations of Remarriage". The stages identified by these theorists were correlated in Table 2 to provide the process elements of the conceptual framework.

Other management writers identified similar stages in the merger process (again, using marriage and family metaphors) namely: 'conception', 'gathering intelligence', 'public courtship', 'consummation', and the 'honeymoon' stages. Astrachan (1990) also hinted at a further stage as the reality of a merger sets in (the 'merger syndrome') - when employees become unsettled, rumours abound, disenchantment and dissatisfaction deepens, chaos begins, and unplanned consequences emerge. Elements of this 'merger syndrome' would be recognised by most stepparents.

Notwithstanding the apparent sequential nature of the two processes, theorists note that each stage in the merger process may not necessarily occur in all situations, or with the same intensity, or indeed in the same order. The emotional baggage which people bring to stepfamilies is not acknowledged in Goetting’s model - my data suggests this is not only important for stepfamilies, but is increasingly so in mergers - especially where there have been a rapidly occurring series of mergers. Some management writers (Bengtsson, 1992; McGee, 1992) suggested that, once a merger has been decided, it is best to implement it as soon as possible so that employees have little time either to consider the implications for their current position or to seek new employment. However, others such as Robers (1994) and Senn (1994) contended that the more slowly the early stages are undertaken, the more likely the merger is to succeed.

This conceptual framework formed the basis of the fifty in-depth interviews which I conducted with various stakeholders: couples in the process of forming a stepfamily, established stepparents, adult stepchildren, stepfamily educators / counsellors, managers, employees, merger brokers, consultants, and a marriage broker. Although commercial interests limited my access to information in sensitive pre-merger situations, many managers, brokers, and consultants were quite forthcoming with retrospective accounts of mergers. This enabled some reconstruction of the various experiences of organisational mergers, thereby allowing some broad comparisons with the stepfamily formation process.

Preliminary results suggest that (not surprisingly) there is a huge variation in the way both couples and managers approach the merger process. The experiences of the people in stepfamilies were generally consistent with the literature. This discussion concentrates on the data relating to business mergers in order to highlight issues which might inform re-analysis of the data from the stepfamilies.

In general, managers held the view that "the less that employees knew about merger negotiations, the better" in order to maintain the value of the business (employees were an integral part of that value). There was little concern for (or even acknowledgement of) the impact of new organisational cultures. Many managers considered that the merger was completed once the documentation was signed.

Managers often seemed to overestimate their ability to control details - a situation which Roll (1994) describes as the "Hubris" effect (where managers consider they have more sophisticated knowledge and expertise, and so defy criticism). The finer details of implementation are almost invariably left to a lesser tier of management.

Unfortunately, couples in the process of forming a stepfamily do not have the luxury of delegating the implementation of their decisions to repartner!

Some consultants reported attempting to alert managers to the effects of post-merger syndrome, only to be greeted with comments such as:

Some managers accepted that a plethora of details would need to be carefully managed, while others relied on their power and authority to achieve change. A consultant compared this latter attitude to "stomping in like an occupying army". Other managers acknowledged that, in terms of continuity and productivity (and keeping out of the Industrial Arbitration Commission), it would take some time for all the issues to emerge. One Human Resources Manager explained the type of detail that had to be addressed:

Managers in sporting and social clubs reported that they had faced similar issues with their members:

The collective power of this emotion has been demonstrated in members’ opposition to merger negotiations in major Australian sporting codes over the past two years.

None of the employees recalled the merger process as a pleasant experience. They recounted experiences such as being assembled during a Friday morning tea to be informed that a merger had been agreed and that as from Monday, they would be employed by a new organisation. Ten minutes later, after assurances that there would be no redundancies, they were then dismissed to return to work.

Other employees reported reading of their company’s merger in the newspaper two days before they were formally advised by management. One woman was on leave watching a cricket match when she was contacted on her mobile phone and informed that she would have to reapply for her position by noon on the following day if she wished to remain with the new company. Another woman (also a stepmother) compared her experience of a merger to that of children in stepfamilies:

Even when employees were informed of an impending merger, the threat of redundancy (and often the suspension of funding for current programmes) resulted in a significant reduction in both company morale and work quality during the months preceding the formal merger. In this instance, the formal merger announcement included details of the new logo and company restructuring. The ‘first wave’ of redundancies commended six weeks later. A subsequent series of redundancies occurred within twelve months. One employee described his experience as:

Adult stepchildren reported experiences that were consistent with the literature. Most recalled that the new parental figure was presented as a fait accompli. They reported feeling excluded from major decisions which were affecting their new family life.

Many consultants made the point that management seemed unaware that their decisions concerning the merger did not necessarily translate into action merely because they had decided to proceed. They reported managers thinking the merger was complete once the decision was made, formal paperwork was in place, a new logo / letterhead commissioned, and an official announcement made.

Some consultants recalled that they had to remind managers that this was only the beginning of the process:

There was almost no acknowledgement by managers that the merger process might take more than a few weeks to settle. A number of managers (and some brokers) expressed surprise and a sense of disbelief that employees might take as long as five years to adjust to the merger and to attain their previous levels of production.

The consultants were generally cognisant of the long term aspects of the merger process; including the need to grieve for the old organisation (another aspect which few managers acknowledged). Some consultants knew of situations where employees had been deliberately misled:

Not surprisingly, the consultants were almost unanimous in their observations of the impact that this aspect of the merger process has on employees:

The consultants conceded that few managers sought external assistance and relied on either "counselling" employees, or the threat of redundancy, to ensure their complicity. Stepfamily counsellors and educators reported that a major part of their work was encouraging parents to involve the children in as many aspects of the decision-making process as possible.

In view of the types of attitudes and experiences outlined above, it is hardly surprising that almost two-thirds of mergers do not realise the anticipated benefits or synergies. Although ‘failure’ of a merger is seldom openly admitted, symptoms include further post-merger 'restructuring', 'reorganisation', or 'staff rationalisation' and, in some cases, 'de-merger', 'spin-off', or sale of portions of the merged organisation.

Compared with the management experiences, most of the participants involved in either the process of forming a stepfamily (or living in one) seemed very aware of the long term nature of the process in which they were engaged. People advised that they sought personal help or support services when difficult situations arose with either their partner or the children.

The following tentative conclusions in relation to mergers are presented:

- Despite the management rhetoric emphasising that "people are our greatest resource", this factor does not appear to inform merger practice. The majority of management texts seldom offer more than a few pages of advice on the merger process.

By contrast, the body of literature on (and advice for) stepfamilies seems far more extensive, practical, and realistic.

- Although most organisations established some form of "merger management team", its terms of reference rarely extended much beyond the first month after the merger. As soon as office space was reallocated and the new personnel structure implemented, the need for any ongoing change management or personnel support disappeared.

Couples in stepfamilies seem more willing to accept that they have engaged in a lengthy process.

- The long term impact of the "clash of two tribes" and difficulties of enforcing cultural change do not appear to be widely understood or accepted by managers.

Couples in stepfamilies are acutely aware of the differences in the way their 'families of origin' operated, with most seeking to amalgamate (or at least accommodate) differing views and ways of doing things.

- The data suggests that being involved in a merger can be just as stressful as being involved in the divorce and repartnering process. However, the stress of the merger process (and its long term implications for individual employees) does not appear to be appreciated in management literature.

The stepfamilies represented in my study appeared to be managing their merger more sensitively and with greater flexibility than was evident in the mergers described by the managers, employees, and consultants who participated.

My preliminary findings suggest that, contrary to my original hypothesis, the accumulated body of knowledge in the study of the various processes in stepfamily life may have more to offer management theory and practice than vice versa.

Could there be career opportunities emerging for industrial therapists?

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