Another basic rule of change management is that participation in the process—either
directly or by representation breeds support for decisions. Even when the endstate
is relatively clear in cultural assimilation, people can participate in transition
teams charged with planning how to move from the target’s ways of doing things to the
lead company’s ways. As with cultural integration integration, the dynamics of the planning process in assimilation have a huge impact on eventual results: if the teams from the two partners work well together, high quality decisions will emerge and so will confidence among the overall workforce that the combination is being well managed. Conversely, if politics permeate the process or if lead company staff
overtly dominate and otherwise make power plays, then low-quality decisions will prevail and people will develop pessimistic views about the deal’s potential to achieve its business objectives