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Research Paper

Name of Author

Institutional Affiliation(s)

Authors Note
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Abstract
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Step One

Background of CIBC Bank USA

The American commercial bank CIBC Bank USA has its main office in Chicago, Illinois.

Originally established in 1989 as The PrivateBank and Trust Company, a division of

PrivateBancorp Inc., the organization changed its name to Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

(CIBC) in June 2017 following a US$5 billion acquisition. The Canadian bank has currently

entered the American retail and corporate finance markets. One of the biggest banks in the

United States is CIBC Bank. Executives from PrivateBancorp and CIBC started talking about an

acquisition in 2013, and CIBC's acquisition was finalized in June 2017. In September 2017, the

subsidiary incorporated CIBC branding. The second time CIBC entered the American

commercial banking market was with CIBC Bank USA. CIBC National Bank and Amicus

Federal Savings Bank, two of its earlier unsuccessful ventures, were established in 2000 to offer

co-branded banking services for supermarket chains. Both ventures entered voluntary liquidation

in 2003. The largest acquisition in CIBC's history was of PrivateBancorp.

Brief Summary of the Organization

The CIBC, formally known as privatebancorp in the US, officially began to advance after

receiving funding, acquiring a building, hiring qualified personnel, and carrying out its core

banking services. In attribution to their prior banking experience, which enabled them to engage

with the neighborhood and customers, they were able to start making money in just a few short

months.

As the financial institution prospered, it grew to include more institutions that were struggling

and in jeopardy of being forced into bankruptcy. Two banks that were once active and successful
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were closed. The group took over all the banks and made an effort to help the staff implement

the necessary adjustments to avoid reverting to the same failure-prone behaviors. The institution

had to make several difficult decisions, which was harder than it sounds. As a result, trust and

community engagement issues arose. The community had supported the insolvent banks and

seemed duped when the financial institutions took over, displacing people who had assisted in

establishing them. The bank wanted to remain trusted in the community and ensure the

engagement and growth of the brand.

With time, the organization restored community trust and grew by acquiring sound banks

and integrating them into the pack. The investors were drawn to the company's ongoing

expansion and profitability and were looking for a profit. It resulted in the organization being

bought out by another company. Privatebancorp, formerly based in Chicago and founded in

Delaware in 1989, now operates in 13 states, mostly along the East Coast. Middle market

commercial banking, small business, consumer banking, private banking, and investment

management services are the main areas of business focus. It was rebranded in September 2017

as CIBC Bank USA.

Organizational Challenges and Key Players.

Retaining and engaging talented employees is one of the major challenges brought on by this

merger. Identifying the issue is the first step in Kinicki and Fugate's (2018) three-stage

methodology. Most of the time, problems cannot be anticipated before they occur. This situation

might describe the issue based on the organization's past. As evidenced by the acquisition of

healthy firms, employees typically oppose transformation initiatives within their organizations.

They prefer to make a career change to another organization that appears to be standing still. In

turn, it forces the consideration of every element in the context of the results. What is the
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intended result? Retention and participation What if the outcome was entirely the opposite? It

will be more challenging for other employees to remain dedicated if key individuals decide to

depart amid this transition. For instance, the top management of a particular division might

recognize that it is the ideal time to resettle and leave office. Genuinely, it might be a great time

to stop working. It will spare that person the struggles of having to go through challenging

adjustments and training for innovations and operational responsibilities. Business-wise, the

change renders the team without direction and necessitates the intervention of another leader.

The team is peculiar with the replacement, and they have no clue how their usual working

environment would alter under their new administration. Destabilization at work results from a

lack of retention. An important problem in mergers and acquisitions is typically communication.

The loss of employment opportunities is the second cause of worry. Other people within the

organization must push for participation throughout the process. In this situation, the executive

of financial services and the rest of the team must devise a plan to keep each manager motivated

and advance their workforce.  Managers are crucial in maintaining people's enthusiasm. The

resilience of the entire branch may suffer if the leader cannot set a practical example and

maintain interest. Unexpected psychological effects of acquisitions include employees losing

confidence in the leadership team and possibly experiencing negative emotions.

Step Two

During mergers and acquisitions, Sherra Buckley demonstrates how theories of

motivation are used to engage employees and maintain their buy-inIn light of the notion that an

individual's interests influence their motivation, according to Kinicki (2018),  these could be

physiological or psychological requirements. Responding to such necessities leads to behavior.

For instance, staff will be anxious and worried if a firm starts a merger as the acquired entity.
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Workers may seem uncomfortable and irrelevant when unsure of their role in a new company.

The ability to explore reflexes created in a foundational time frame when a change in

circumstances may imply a detrimental shortage of food, water, shelter, and safety (Buckley

2016) is inevitable.

Although it isn't always the scenario, individuals' irrational fears of transformation might

occasionally manifest and drive them crazy. There are a minimum of two behavioral hypotheses

at play here. The first is Maslow's need hierarchy motivational theory. The philosophy is

conceptualized as a pyramid, with safety, affection, dignity, and consciousness at the top and the

most basic physiological needs at the base. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, the

urge to meet a person's basic needs is unquestionably the most crucial factor. It is indeed crucial

to give workers the impression that their basic needs will be met and unaffected. Restoring order

by outlining the what, why, and as much of the when as practical for the employees is the first of

four phases in engaging and keeping employees during this uncertain time.It aids in laying the

foundation for effective communication. Some tension is reduced when a company combines

with or buys another business with similar principles and practices. A crucial first step is

defining the mission and communicating it to everyone in the organization (Buckley, 2016). The

second theory at play in this situation is McClelland's acquired-needs theory. According to the

acquired-needs hypothesis, the three wants of achievement, affiliation, and power primarily

influence employees' behavior (Kinicki 2018).

The second of the four strategies is empowering managers, according to Buckley (2016).

The organizational structure of the CIBC financial institution includes executives at all levels.

The organizational hierarchy was altered due to an acquisition, with some staff having advanced

to new leadership roles and others being moved into more or less equivalent positions.
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Administrators can satisfy one of the three acquired needs when given the power to do so. A

worker who performs as anticipated or even better than anticipated deserves recognition. An

individual working through an acquisition must have resilience. When one individual is resilient,

everyone around them may turn to them as a solid foundation. If such an individual is a manager

with the power to recognize constructive, passionate, and useful comments, the move might go a

little smoother. For instance, many executives in the CIBC answer to a single middle-level

figure. Some managers will inevitably have trouble mobilizing people or allocating resources. As

previously stated, the leader who opted to leave during an acquisition is an excellent example of

management quitting and abandoning his team without such proper leadership to proceed

effectively. The complete opposite is a manager who was promoted to assistant manager after

previously holding the position. Due to the district manager position elimination, the manager

resigned to take the assistant manager position. 

No matter the position, the newly appointed assistant manager understood how important

it was to keep the entire CIBC team together. In turn, it contributed to the solid base the business

established by choosing to remain rather than look for employment elsewhere. It is intimately

connected to the fourth tactic, encouraging gratitude. The affiliation requirement of McClelland's

theory is met by these strategies collectively. When someone is complimented, they feel like they

belong, whether in private or public. It is appropriate to applaud or recognize employees who

"embrace or embody the company's essential principles and behaviors" (Buckley, 2016).

The leaders thus feed the desire for connection by doing this. A powerful want that could be

connected to Maslow's affection, confidence, and consciousness criteria, correspondingly, is the

desire to connect with others and be a part of something bigger. Family and friends meet

affection and social needs. These are handled at work through the intimacy brought on by the
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purchase and the desire to attach to something comfortable. Employee recognition encourages

regard or confidence in one's abilities, accomplishments, and self-worth. As long as each staff

member knows their worth and value, it is not essential to shout their accomplishments from the

rafters. One of Maslow's most crucial requirements is also his last one. Consciousness can be

found in two different domains, including creativity and problem-solving. Each of these is

necessary when working with "scared" employees. These workers are scared that they won't have

access to their basic needs if their contract is terminated. This worry is real, and mergers and

acquisitions more often recognize it.

The parent and acquired companies(CIBC and Privatebancorp. Inc.) recently had a

teleconference that all its employees were obligated to attend. The head of the bank addressed

the entire staff and gave an overview of the company. While not all positions, such as those for

backend activities workers, remained open, he continued by saying that he was pleased that these

people were available, alone and as team members. He sounded genuine in his thanks and his

worry that there were not adequate positions for each employee who required work. If you have

the impression that the individual at the apex is sincere, sympathetic, and empathetic, it will be

relatively easier to shift. Like recognizing a high performer, Buckley warns that complimenting

someone "may have an enormous impact." During times of fear and uncertainty spurred about by

significant organizational adjustments, the emotion of getting gratitude may soothe and unify

employees.

Step Three

Giving options for action, if they are appropriate, is the third step of an organization's

three-step problem-solving process. There are four ways to resolve a problem: absolution,

resolution, solution, and dissolution. Haley Campbell, co-host and digital strategist for Human
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Current, wrote an article about Dr. Russell Ackoff. He believed that humanity dealt with

challenges using these four strategies. The first is absolution. In absolution,  we typically ignore

issues hoping they will go away. Although it seems ineffective, this is the typical approach used

on challenges, treating them as though they don't exist.

The second is problem-solving or resolution, which is employing prior knowledge to find

an answer to a problem. Building a remedy around the issue is a more effective strategy. The

third skill is solution, which is how all are taught to behave. Recognize the problem and seek a

fix. Research, nevertheless, is futile. As per Campbell (2016) [Cam16], "No problem ever stays

in a dynamic setting" and is therefore unique from all other problems. Therefore, even though

problem-solving research may seem the perfect solution, it is probably just a stopgap. The best

method for achieving long-term transformation is the dissolution of an issue. Redesigning the

system that contains it, this tactic "makes the issue go away" (Campbell 2016).

As a result, both the problem and the individuals are transformed. The third method,

dissolution, appears to be the best choice. Although problem fixing and problem resolution seem

viable approaches to the issue, they both serve as temporary fixes for more serious issues.

Personnel may be concerned if the challenges are not resolved as soon as the process has been

completed. This method will result in a more pleasant workplace where employees are

encouraged to establish and uphold a setting where they can express their creativity, be heard,

and thrive. There are three types of staff: highly disconnected, not engaged, and engaged

(Anithra 2014). Engaged workers are those that consistently give their best effort. Workers who

are not engaged concentrate on their assigned tasks rather than the company's goals. The third

group, which includes people who are purposefully disconnected, is the most dangerous. The
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underperforming individual "does not only not perform well, but also demotivates the

organization's performance" (Anithra 2014).

Employee engagement is influenced by various elements, including the office

environment, management style, connections with coworkers, possibilities for professional

advancement, compensation, organizational rules, and workplace safety. These factors must be

thoroughly addressed as the company moves toward an acquisition. At CIBC, we organized a

company competition that brought everyone together for the same goal. This contest started as

soon as the acquisition was made public and lasted for around a month until the deal was

finalized. By including staff in the contest, we improved several indicators of organizational

commitment. We found that intrinsic rewards are more inspiring than external motivators, even

though some workers are uninspired by almost anything. Maintaining employee enthusiasm and

long-term value would be the first suggestion for such a challenge.

Although the many divisions were 'against' each other, such healthy competition worked

to keep or bring the different teams together as new suggestions were made to help them

accomplish their objectives. From the lowest rung in the organizational hierarchy to the summit,

every individual should be eligible for the competition. When the lowest-paid workers are

involved, it spreads like wildfire.

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References