JFT Task 1
Lisa R. Green

A1. Bill Bailey Inspiration is the mental fortitude that drives one to succeed at a targeted objective. Inspiration is derived socially, behaviorally, and physiologically. Mr. Baily can employ a goal setting theory during the proposed merger between the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera. Edwin Locke, who is a leading authority on the goal setting theory, along with his associates defines a goal as what an individual is trying to accomplish. (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010) Goal setting has four motivational characteristics which are the following:
1. Goals direct attention- Goals direct one’s action toward objective relevant activities instead of activities that would delay you from reaching your goal. Goals force you to set priorities.
2. Goals regulate effort- Goals force us to meet deadlines and at accordingly within time frames established.
3. Goals increase persistence- Goals motivate people to work harder and pay more attention to the objective ahead. Goals encourage acting according to priorities set.
4. Goals foster the development and application of task strategies and action plans- Goals encourage you to make decisions, plans, and priorities based on meeting certain established objectives. . (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010)
Mr. Baily can view the merger as a goal and persuade the remaining representatives that the merger will have a positive end result rather than a negative one. Mr. Baily needs to put a specific plan in place that identifies priorities for the merger to be successful. This plan will need to ensure that staff knows that their jobs are not in jeopardy. Mr. Baily needs to set a time frame for the merger to occur with small deadlines to be reached along the way. Mr. Baily must take into account that the Utah Opera already has a working internal structure that demonstrates fiscal solvency. Mr. Baily will be able to employ the goal setting theory to establish regional zones for the merger. These zones would include recruitment, payroll, and public concerns. Mr. Baily will meet his goal where the merger is concerned and be able to use the same internal structure already present within the Utah Opera, if he addresses the various zones set forth. As far as concerns go, Mr. Baily will be able to address specifically whether there will be lay-offs or payroll changes, which will allay employee apprehensions about job security, public concern over rising ticket prices, and whether or not trustees will be incorporated with the merger as well.
A2. Scott Parker Scott Parker should employ the theory of Frederick Herzberg’s helper. Helpers target objectives aimed at fulfillment and the goal at hand is persuading people to support the merger. With all of the decisions that have to be made based on the many choices available and attempting to persuade people on the newly established regions, Mr. Parker will need to exemplify trust, affirmation, and distinguishment. Scott Parker will be able to draw on the experience that he has gained from working many years with unions that also had internal structure regions. Mrs. Abravanel is deeply concerned about the fact that her husband has focused so much of his time, energy, and talent in the composition of new shows throughout the years and is now possibly facing cut- backs and even possibly job loss. Herzberg’s theory focused on work fulfillment and disappointment. Work fulfillment is often associated with accomplishment, distinguishment, obligation, and headway. Mrs. Abravanel is concerned because her husband currently holds a distinguished position due to the quality of his work. Mr. Abravanel carries a reputation of protecting his performers and it is imperative that the new chief Lockhart follow his lead and do the same. Mrs. Abravanel needs to be assured that that all of the hard work that her husband has put into the orchestra will not be undermined by the merger. Mr. Abravanel has further distinguished himself by securing the orchestra’s performers full time status once the merger has concluded. Mrs. Abravanel is being reassured via the Herzberg theory because conclusions are tied to the expert execution of assignments that are solidly based on the substance for which they are acclaimed. Scott Parker can also promise Mrs. Abravanel that Ewers will continue the superb work her husband maintained by supporting the musicians’ full time status. Even with the merger taking place, the ensemble performers will maintain their full-time status and become part of the union as well. CEO certification and Scott Parker’s certainty over how positive the merger will be, will influence people to support the merger overall and reassure everyone that Mr. Abravanel’s hard work has not been in vain.
A3. Power Anne has great respect by the group for being a fantastic fund-raiser. The group also immensely respects Anne for her dedication to the group and her years of experience being a fair-minded supervisor both now and in previous years with different ventures. Anne is also a pleasant person to be around with many enjoyable attributes that will benefit both the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera once the merger has concluded. Anne personal power is drawn primarily because she is highly esteemed by her colleagues because of her long-standing history heading up musical drama venues; however, there is a few that feel Anne has a dictator style of leadership and that her decisions are one-sided. Anne’s positional power can help bring her personal power up to snuff and in the end, the result could be a better conjoining of the Utah Opera and Utah Symphony. Anne’s positional power influencing her personal power can be likened to that of a totalitarian style of leadership and through the two separate power sources blending will effect a more powerful change and acceptance performer wide within both organizations. Anne’s experience provides her with a stable foundation with which she can use as a powerful guide through the transition process of this merger. Her positional power is driven through her accomplishments. Anne’s personal power is the underlying drive itself to see that the merger is successful and positive. Her positional power is fueled by her personal power and has been the determining factor throughout her successful career.
A3a. Positional Power Anne’s positional power has been built mainly because of the experience she has gained through the years of dedicated positions she has held. Anne is navigated by triumph and the fact that she is regarded as a resource person. Influencing others as to the positive aspects of unionizing will be a great task, but Anne is well suited for the mission based on her experience, knowledge level, and eagerness to persuade others. Anne can employ her positional power to help the two separate organizations consolidate into one with a positive end result. Anne is the current director of the Utah Opera and has been asked by the board to accept the title of CEO of the merged organizations due to her experience and leadership strengths. Wearing the hat of CEO, Anne can then make decisions that do not require the support of all senior leadership. She will be responsible for things like financial matters, staff, and the process by which entertainments are suitable for the merged organization. Anne will also be able to influence others’ decisions to support the merger and guide the newly formed organization. She will be able to use her legitimate role to make a huge impact. Her positional power will empower her to make sound decisions that positively impact both the organization and the performers. Anne will need to explore ways of creating an agreeable work environment during the merger by naming directors for separate regions within the whole. Anne’s positional power exemplifies her expertise which will in turn motivate others to do what she wants them to. This power will also help Anne guide the newly formed organization to success and profit. Anne, not only maintains a reputation of respect from her time spent overseeing the Utah Opera, but also her business victories with Boston Lyrics where she was an executive. Anne was able to successfully terminate the $450,000 obligation held by Boston Lyrics and expand the number of processes from one to three. While with Utah Opera, Anne has enhanced the organization’s plan from 1.5 million to 5 million and was very instrumental in soliciting support and gifts from outside entities. Anne proved that she was worthy of the task and confronted challenges head-on. Furthermore, Anne has also assisted other organizations to build back up successfully. Anne has earned the respect of stakeholders, staff, and the community due to her ability to create strong and efficient strategy. Anne’s willingness to accept challenge and implement strategic processes makes her a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the merger. Anne Ewers is definitely a viable candidate for CEO of the newly formed organization once the merger has gone through due to her positional power developed of an n accomplished career.
A3b. Personal Power Anne can employ her personal power to motivate Lockhart. Anne is a demonstrated leader with strong management skills in spite of the fact that she is a female and some would feel that a female may be weaker in a leadership role than a male. Anne’s experience and accomplishments have molded her well to take on leadership types of tasks and influence and motivate others. Anne will need to maintain an open-door policy with effective communication techniques. Anne will be able to take a team approach with Mr. Lockhart, leaving him in his current position, and together they will demonstrate to staff that the merger will be positive and a great success. Mr. Lockhart has a viable record as well with his leader qualities. Mr. Lockhart and Anne will be a formidable team that carries an extensive amount of influence due to their history, accomplishments, experience, and dedication thus far. The staff affected by the merger will come to see that this venture will be successful and actually a very positive outcome will be the result. Anne and Mr. Lockhart together, using their own respective personal power will not only motivate others to see the potential within the merger, but will enable staff buy-in for support of the merger itself.
A4. Issue and Negative Impact The positions that the performers will hold is a decision that needs to be addressed quickly in order to provide and maintain a stable atmosphere free from worry and stress about whether or not the musical performers will be retained or lose their jobs. Reassurance over salaries, job titles, benefits, and job security will be paramount with this group. Both organizations separately and combined are funded by the performing staff and the musical programs that are performed. Income is driven by these performances and without performers there will be no revenue. The performers belong to a union and these matters need to be addressed rapidly, so that the union does not urge the performers to strike in order to gain clarity and security when it comes to their jobs. A strike needs to be avoided at all costs. Transparency by senior leaders will go a long way in satisfying apprehensions that the performers and the union have concerning the merger and its outcome. The performers developed a group to represent them with some guidelines to be provided to leaders. Anne Ewers will need to meet with these performers and take a look at the guidelines that they came up with to see if their requests can be met and to see if they fall in line with the strategic goals that have been set in place for the merged entities. Anne will be able to provide stability and allay fears that the performers have about their positions. Anne can take this opportunity to discuss with the performers the plans for the consolidated entities, so that can have a clear picture that things will be okay and actually better. The plan a 52 week season can be addressed and concerns and questions can resolved at this time. Anne will need to solicit input from this group at this time so that they feel like they are a working part of the merger and that their feelings and beliefs matter and will be taken into consideration while this merger takes place. The performers just need to know that they are important and actually integral to the overall success of the venture, because after all without performers, there are no performances, and then there will be no revenue for any one.
A4a. Recommendation Anne will mitigate concerns and help create an atmosphere of trust by maintaining transparency throughout the merger process and beyond by remaining attentive to the performer’s concerns. Anne will make a guarantee to the performers that there will not be any changes to positions within the performing groups for at least the next two years. Anne can also promise that any changes that need to be made or are proposed will be brought to the union’s attention and detail will be provided in the same manner. Anne can also allow the union to add both the opera performers and workers, which will provide a calming sentiment and allow the performers to settle some, since they see that positions are not being cut and lay-offs will not be occurring.
A5. Influence Tactics One influence tactic that Anne could employ is rational persuasion. This tactic, in particular could sway the full time opera staff and performers to support the merger. Rational persuasion happens when logical acts are performed in order to illicit a following. Anne needs to provide a statement that shows where the staff is currently and then a visionary outline for the future that details all of the benefits post-merger. When this is done, the performers will be able to see that their own personal circumstances will actually be improved and they will then be persuaded to support the merger. Anne will also need to employ inspirational appeal as a tactic to gain support for the merger. Inspiration appeal involves using emotion and value to persuade someone to follow your lead. Anne can appeal to the sense of attachment that staff and performers have to the separate entities and prove to them that this is the only way that the separate entities can survive and remain viable is by joining and becoming one. This will also be something that they and the community will be proud of. The consultative tactic can be utilized as well. Consultative persuasion is allowing others to participate in the planning and decision making processes in order to gain buy-in. Using this tactic will also provide the staff and workers with a sense of ownership that they have worked from the ground up to build into something much better and bigger than they dreamed possible. Anne can also pull out a personal influence tactic where she gains support for the merger because of friendship or loyalty. Anne could ask the opera to trust her and follow her in support of this merger because throughout the years they have seen that she has been a proven leader and still wants to see the opera be a success and not just fade away. Anne will need to maintain an open-door policy, so that all staff concerned can come directly to her and voice the concerns so that she can address them rapidly with the correct information. A strategy that Anne can also employ to get the job done is to utilize her social impact or enhance the interpersonal communication between the administration and staff, engage influence tactics that also provide reasoning to staff about why the merger needs to happen, what the benefits, and what the future looks like. Anne also needs to welcome any feedback that might benefit the merger process. Anne can confirm all things that are in play as far as the merger, keep staff and performers up to date, and continue to reassure that while there are some big changes taking place, the outlook is bright and the two separate entities as a whole will profit more, and be a better venue for talented performances that solicit revenue. Anne will lead a successful merger as she employs the preceding strategies and uses her personal power as opposed to her positional power to make sure that the adventure is profitable, enjoyable, and viable.

B. Sources
DeLong, T. J. (2005). "Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A merger proposal." Harvard Business Review, 5- 406-027. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Publishing.
Kreitner. (40). Organizational Behavior, 10th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/1259234185/epubcfi/6/42