Intergroup Relations at Atlantica's Flight Centers

Abstract

In this case, a new director of flight operations for a global firm growing by acquisition must manage a series of problems in both its West- and East-coast flight centers, which were reorganized following a recent merger. Problems include new computer systems, jealousies, intergroup conflicts, weak leadership, and the need to manage change.

Excerpt

UVA-OB-0682

INTERGROUP RELATIONS AT ATLANTICA'S FLIGHT CENTERS

Rick Oberweis stood on the observation deck of the Prudential Building, gazing through the plate-glass windows at the city of Boston spread below. It was a Sunday afternoon, in the fall of a year which proved turbulent for Rick, and he came to the top of the Pru as he often did to gather his thoughts and take stock. Though he worked at a desk now, Oberweis was a commercial and corporate pilot for many years, and so it didn't surprise him when—of all the landmarks to look at—his absent gaze came to rest on Logan International Airport, visible in the gray distance of Boston Harbor.

Oberweis was director of Flight Operations for Atlantica, Inc., a Boston-based technology firm. A St. Louis native, he came east to Boston a year ago to take this position, which Atlantica just created as part of an acquisition-driven restructuring.

The last few years were good ones for Atlantica. Two years ago the company, flush with cash, acquired Pacific Industries, a high-tech company based in San Diego, which Wall Street analysts deemed an excellent “fit” for the Boston firm. The two companies' product lines meshed nicely, and their areas of expertise were complementary. The only possible clash, the pundits worried, was culture: how would a free-thinking California company get along with its more conservative adoptive parent?

East Versus West

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Keywords: change implementation, change, management of, computer systems management, conflict management, interdepartmental relations, leadership