Perception Of Acquisition: The Case Of Barclays Bank Of Kenya Employees

Abstract

Time and agam change programs fail to achieve their objectives because organizations fail to address the people side of the process, yet it is people who will deliver the program. Organizations have different types of resources; the most complex and important are the human resources. Machines and employees both complete tasks on the job. However, unlike a machine, an employee also has at.titudes, perceptions and self-concept. These aspects of psychological make up are important to managers during times of change in their organizations. This study was primarily aimed at achieving two objectives namely; to determine how Barclays Bank of Kenya employees perceive the Barclays Bank PLC acquisition of Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA) and to identify the factors that influence the perception of employees regarding acquisition in the banking industry. Regarding the first objective, the study confirms that majority of the employees perceived the acquisition as value creating whose overriding objective was the attainment of profitable growth by acquisition. Employee's direct experience of the acquisition will differ depending on where they are placed in the organization, age, sex, marital status and educational background. For many employees their perception will be built on what they hear and how they see management act. The conclusion drawn from the research is that understanding how staff view the organization can be an important aid to the decision making process both through identifying issues that need to be addressed and through its use to monitor how staff view acquisition as the acquisition itself is implemented. Organizations are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of their human assets in meeting their business goals and achieving competitive advantage. There is growing evidence that people matter when organizations undertake acquisitions. Managed communication during the acquisition will inform employee's attitudes towards the process and provide consistency of perception. Well-executed communication becomes critical during periods of change since employees go through a well defined process that can lead to anxiety, despondency and anger. Communications can help employee through this cycle by providing a 'route map' of the process; recognition of how they are feeling and explanation of how they will be affected. The major limitation was the target respondents were all employees of Barclays Bank of Kenya but due to scarcity of resources in terms of research funds and time only employees based in Nairobi were considered. This may therefore give subjective and biased results. The study recommends a replica study be carried out targeting employees in a country where Barclays Bank PLC and ABSA operations existed such as in Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Alternatively, a replica study can be carried out in a country where only Barclays Bank PLC operations existed such as in Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Uganda, Seychelles and Zambia. Last but not least, a replica study in countries such as Namibia, Angola and Mozambique will reveal the employees perception of acquisition in a country where only ABSA existed.