- How do people feel here about being merged/acquired?
- What would be your (or others’) major concerns about being acquired or merged?
- What are the defining characteristics of your company? (What’s distinctive? What differentiates you from other organizations in general? From the competition?)
- Describe the company’s core values. (What does it believe in?)
- What do outsiders not know/realize about this company?
- What are its idiosyncrasies? (What are the most peculiar
- What are the unwritten rules around here?
- What aspects of the culture are most important to people here? (What do they hold sacred?)
- Where in the organization do the dominant subcultures exist? • What are the company’s negative or undesirable cultural attributes? (What aspects of the culture need to change?) • What are the cultural strengths? (What aspects of the culture should be protected/ sustained?)
- Is the company getting stronger, weaker, or just holding steady? What trend lines do you see? (What do you feel?)
- What do you see as being key to the future success of this company?
- What are the biggest problems facing the company today?
- How does the organization need to change?
- Considering the culture of the acquirer/merger partner, what do you see as the most salient differences? (Where would the friction or flashpoints be?)
- In what ways do the two cultures seem to be a particularly good fit?