Human Resource Management
4. How well does Wind River Systems after the merger with ISI facilitate the development of talent and the exchange and sharing of knowledge?
!
After the merger between Wind River Systems and Integrated Systems, Inc. (ISI), Wind River
Systems faced multiple complications need to be taken care of. ISI also sold commercial embedded software just as Wind River Systems, and were due to their similar product offering and size Wind
River Systems’ main competitor. Thus, some products were similar, while others were complementary to each other. In reality Wind River Systems acquired ISI, but considering the size of ISI at that time, which was as big as Wind River Systems’ size, the employees were asked to use the term “merger” instead of “acquisition”.
!
With the merger came a change in human resources (HR), shifting the focal of Wind River Systems employees’ skill requirements from a more task based approach to a customer oriented approach.
Before the transition, the sales unit was in charge of connecting the potential clients with the company, while the field application engineers (FAE’s) provided customers with the necessary technical knowledge. These were often former product engineers who's aim it was to increase their customer interaction skills. At last, there were the product developers, who had to develop most after the transition. The literature does not provide in detail how Wind River Systems facilitated the development of talents, but exhibit seven and eight in the case show the before and after transition job requirements for the position of a senior software engineer. Before the transition, the company put great emphasis on the experience and technical knowledge of the applicant. Afterwards, less experience but more soft skills were required, such as experience in customer interaction and managing ore leading teams. More evidence can be found in the the way of compensation for product developers changed. Before the transition,
!
After the merger between Wind River Systems and Integrated Systems, Inc. (ISI), Wind River
Systems faced multiple complications need to be taken care of. ISI also sold commercial embedded software just as Wind River Systems, and were due to their similar product offering and size Wind
River Systems’ main competitor. Thus, some products were similar, while others were complementary to each other. In reality Wind River Systems acquired ISI, but considering the size of ISI at that time, which was as big as Wind River Systems’ size, the employees were asked to use the term “merger” instead of “acquisition”.
!
With the merger came a change in human resources (HR), shifting the focal of Wind River Systems employees’ skill requirements from a more task based approach to a customer oriented approach.
Before the transition, the sales unit was in charge of connecting the potential clients with the company, while the field application engineers (FAE’s) provided customers with the necessary technical knowledge. These were often former product engineers who's aim it was to increase their customer interaction skills. At last, there were the product developers, who had to develop most after the transition. The literature does not provide in detail how Wind River Systems facilitated the development of talents, but exhibit seven and eight in the case show the before and after transition job requirements for the position of a senior software engineer. Before the transition, the company put great emphasis on the experience and technical knowledge of the applicant. Afterwards, less experience but more soft skills were required, such as experience in customer interaction and managing ore leading teams. More evidence can be found in the the way of compensation for product developers changed. Before the transition,