Managing Organisational Culture in a merged General Further Education College in England A Case Study
type: CreativeWork
description: There has been a significant level of merger activity in General Further Education Colleges (GFEC) in England in recent years. GFEC mergers are of critical importance to understand and to inform the academic literature, policy and leadership professional practice. The need to understand how mergers impact on the experiences of key personnel has human, financial and practical implications for GFEC. This case study considered, in detail, the impact of a merger in a GFEC in England on key internal stakeholders: teachers, curriculum managers and senior leaders. It explored, through interviews with the Principal and the Chair of Governors, nominal group technique (NGT) and focus groups with eleven teachers and eight managers and through participant observations, the impact of the merger experience on them. The study analysed and reported on the lived experiences of participants to enable a detailed assessment of the impact of merger on the alignment of organisational culture between colleges during merger. This study explored the interrelatedness of the different strands that impact merger such as leadership action, merger management, communication, policy and pace, to develop a deep understanding of their impact on staff morale, emotional wellbeing and trust in leadership. The importance of this study emanated from the need to build a college community of practitioners who subscribe to one goal and strive towards achieving that goal. This was important as it builds resilience and enables organisations (colleges) to make sense of reality, empowering them to meet the needs of their localities, communities and businesses. This study contributed to filling the knowledge gap by providing a detailed analysis of the different perspectives of internal stakeholders; teachers, curriculum managers and leaders, on the ways in which they have been affected by merger. It found that leadership decision making, communication, merger management and pace, have considerable impact on staf…
abstract: There has been a significant level of merger activity in General Further Education Colleges (GFEC) in England in recent years. GFEC mergers are of critical importance to understand and to inform the academic literature, policy and leadership professional practice. The need to understand how mergers impact on the experiences of key personnel has human, financial and practical implications for GFEC. This case study considered, in detail, the impact of a merger in a GFEC in England on key internal stakeholders: teachers, curriculum managers and senior leaders. It explored, through interviews with the Principal and the Chair of Governors, nominal group technique (NGT) and focus groups with eleven teachers and eight managers and through participant observations, the impact of the merger experience on them. The study analysed and reported on the lived experiences of participants to enable a detailed assessment of the impact of merger on the alignment of organisational culture between colleges during merger. This study explored the interrelatedness of the different strands that impact merger such as leadership action, merger management, communication, policy and pace, to develop a deep understanding of their impact on staff morale, emotional wellbeing and trust in leadership. The importance of this study emanated from the need to build a college community of practitioners who subscribe to one goal and strive towards achieving that goal. This was important as it builds resilience and enables organisations (colleges) to make sense of reality, empowering them to meet the needs of their localities, communities and businesses. This study contributed to filling the knowledge gap by providing a detailed analysis of the different perspectives of internal stakeholders; teachers, curriculum managers and leaders, on the ways in which they have been affected by merger. It found that leadership decision making, communication, merger management and pace, have considerable impact on staf…
author: Hadawi Cbe, Ali
language: eng
keywords: Further Education Mergers, FE College mergers, College Mergers, Human Side of Merger, College Merger Leadership
date published: 2020-10
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:26:52Z
provider: University of Northampton
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Northampton