The Utah Symphony and Utah Opera merger involves significant changes. This analysis document is for Anne Ewers’ use. Presented are potential solutions to five situations for which Ms. Ewers requested research. These topics include motivation theories and suggestions of their use within the context of the merger, different types of power and how to use them strategically, potential conflict due to the merger, and utilizing influence to build additional support.
One of the methods Mr. Bill Bailey can utilize to persuade the Utah Opera to support the merger is by using McClelland’s Need Theory, the need for affiliation. This theory states that these individuals have a strong need to spend time continuing social relationships, belonging to groups, and wanting love (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2010, p 215). The opera members will be able to build additional associations with individuals supporting additional art forms through additional interactions available with the symphony members. This means that their social circle will expand to include members who support the symphonic arts, and the social relationship need will be met. The opera will also belong to a bigger group of individuals by adding in the orchestra members, fulfilling the second need within the theory. With the budgets combining, the opera will be part of a tier-one symphonic organization. This can create an even larger social circle for the opera members, as there is a potential for a larger reach of interested contributors to see the performances. Fulfilling the third need, to be loved, the opera members will have the symphonic supporters appreciating the opera members in their joint effort to keep both groups financially sustainable. With Mr. Bailey addressing all three of the needs within McClelland’s theory, the likelihood of the opera being supportive of this merger will increase. As each member shifts to support the merger, other members will change their opinion as well, since McClelland’s theory assumes that each one wants to belong to the group as a whole. Using this theory can assist Mr. Bailey in shifting the opera to support the merger.
By using Adam’s Equity Theory, Mr. Scott Parker could motivate Mrs. Abravenal to support the merger, focusing on Mrs. Abravenal’s main concern that with the conductor reporting to the CEO, he is taking second billing. The negative and positive inequity concept revolves around an individual’s perception of receiving compatible compensation for their input (Kreitner et al, 2010, p 219). If Mr. Parker were to explain how, with the merger proposition, Mr. Lockhart has more influence than that of which Mrs. Abravenal might be aware. By including the current conductor in the decision making process for the merger, and by granting him a veto capability on the final organizational plan, he has been given influence over the outcome of the merger. This is contribution that Mr. Abravenal did not have in the past and is being given to Mr. Lockhart for this merger. He, in essence, is controlling his desire to move from being a renowned Pops conductor to, not an orchestra conductor, but a conductor of a tier-one symphony. Mr. Abravenal would aspire for all conductors of to become a maestro of a tier-one symphony, to which Mrs. Abravenal should be aware and supportive. This shows one aspect of positive power that Mr. Lockhart has assumed. Mr. Parker can continue explaining how the conductor may not have the highest-ranking title, CEO, in the new organizational structure, this role is not being undersold as a lesser ranking individual, which is what Mrs. Abravenal is assuming with her comments. With a veto capability, he is being entrusted to make the best decision, not only for himself, for the orchestra’s future. Mr. Parker should be able to show, with the use of the positive equity theory, how the current conductor is being treated similar to other orchestra, and symphony, conductors. By showing this analogy, Mrs. Abravenal should be able to see how conductors are not being made a lesser individual within the orchestra organization, but they are empowered by this merger, which is what her original intent was. Mrs. Abravenal should also be able to see that the current conductor is now assuming more power throughout this merger than other conductors have in the past. Individuals in leadership roles have multiple forms of power. Ms. Ewers can utilize two forms of her power, positional power and personal power. As the name implies, positional power is related to the designation held within the organization. Personal power is based off one’s own desire for success. Ms. Ewers’ positional power lies in her role as the CEO, or head, of the merged organization. Her personal power is in her energy, enthusiasm, and fund-raising ability.
Ms. Ewers can use her position to lead the merger efforts. She can recognize those who support the merger and use their enthusiasm to build additional support. She can also have meetings, mandatory if necessary, to discuss the merger. By keeping members of both the Opera and Symphonic communities aware of the status of the merger, it is possible for them to better appreciate Ms. Ewers’ leadership capabilities. In times of change, individuals within the organizations need to understand what is going on and continue to be reassured that these changes are for the positive. Ms. Ewers can tap into the symphony’s organization structure and request the Director of Marketing and Communications to create a communication plan in order to keep all individuals up-to-date on the merger. This individual should also consider the advantages and disadvantages of creating a forum for organization members to ask questions. Ms. Ewers’ should use her position to empower other leaders within the merged organization to actively participate in action items necessary to complete the merger. By showing her future leadership team that she trusts them to complete tasks and not direct them in how to accomplish them, Ms. Ewers is showing her trust in her new team members, and this trust will have an impact on others within the organization structure.
Ms. Ewers can use personal power to energize Mr. Lockhart. By focusing on her successes, fund-raising for example, she can demonstrate to Mr. Lockhart how she is able to build support from the arts community. Ms. Ewers has been able to garner successfully funds from unexpected places, for instance international support, and eliminating a deficit in the Boston Lyric Opera. Her fund-raising skills are going to be needed for the continued success of this endeavor. The projected needs for successful contributions needs to increase in the next fiscal period, and in times of nationwide job instability, more individuals are being conservative in their donations, and even unpaid pledges are expected to increase. Ms. Ewers can explain to Mr. Lockhart how the symphony is increasing their expenses and without additional income, the financial stability of the symphony is uncertain and potentially may have to be dissolved. Ms. Ewers should also speak to Mr. Lockhart about how the executive committee approached her for this position; she did not seek it out. She can expand on this point with her enthusiasm for being selected and making this a success. As she has invested 11 years of her career with the Utah Opera, she should explain to Mr. Lockhart why she chose to stay here, what her greatest challenge was, her biggest defeat was, and her most satisfying event was. By sharing this information with Mr. Lockhart, he can see the growth that Ms. Ewers has obtained in the years as well as her leadership capabilities. These points should help sway Mr. Lockhart’s position on the effects of the merger. The musicians created an ad hoc committee to address their concerns to the board. The concerns were artistic excellence, effective fund-raising, budget strategy, and collective bargaining agreement. The committee felt these points to be essential to further the symphony in the following years. The committee might have felt the need for artistic excellence to ensure their growth and success as a tier-one symphony. As can be seen from the financials, the symphony does not have a strong surplus of funds and it is estimated to decrease their reserves in the current fiscal year. This needs to be resolved in order for the symphony to remain functional. Both fund-raising and budget strategy apply to this issue. The symphony, and union representation, is concerned that the merger is another way to renegotiate the musicians’ salaries. By addressing their collective bargaining agreement concerns, Ms. Ewers will be able to alleviate their apprehension. If Ms. Ewers does not address these four key points, the merger could be in jeopardy of failing. To address the artistic excellence, she can demonstrate some of her skills in successfully growing the Boston Lyric Opera from one production to three. She should focus on how the increase in productions built the skills of the operatic artists. An explanation of how she feels the growth and development of the musicians is essential to the success of the symphony would also benefit this conversation. Ms. Ewers can request Mr. Lockhart address the fund-raising point based off a successful conversation from the points mentioned above. She could request that he speak of her past successes and how he perceives this to benefit the symphonic revenues. By using a third party to address this point, she is showing her faith in Mr. Lockhart’s communication and leadership abilities to address a concern. If he presents his knowledge of Ms. Ewers’ fund-raising experience, the musicians can see how she can assist their financial success in this area.
Ms. Ewers should address the budget strategy to improve the symphony. In this conversation, she should address her goals for increasing the financial stability of the orchestra. One of her goals in this conversation is to demonstrate that she understands the differences between the cost of a symphonic production and an operatic production, which can be cancelled should it not reach the fund-raising goals. By showing her goal of building a stronger reserve fund for the symphony, she can demonstrate her goal of financial success for this merger company. The final concern of the musicians is that this merger is to renegotiate lower salaries, stated with the collective bargaining concern. Ms. Ewers should take a proactive listening role at the start of this meeting to ensure that she can clearly understand the musicians’ needs and does not assume she understands exactly what their points are. By taking this approach, she can build a better rapport with the committee and start to be seen by the musicians as a concerned leader. She should discuss with the ad hoc committee how she is involved with the success of the symphony, and how the Opera depends on their success as well. If the symphony were to fail, the Opera, most likely, will not succeed, as they would be unable to present any operas that were not a cappella. She needs to remain focused on the benefits that the symphony brings to ensure that the committee does not feel she is focused solely on the Opera, from where her skills originate. She should praise the musicians for being members of a leading orchestra in eight Rocky Mountain States and among the top-20 in the country. By addressing this point, she can demonstrate her interest and knowledge of the musicians’ concerns. There are several different methods to influence individuals. Some will create a positive long-term effect, some have a short-term impact, and others create a negative outcome. In order to create additional support for the merger from the staff and artists within the Opera division, Ms. Ewers should consider the use of three different tactics, which result in long-term commitment. She should first work to communicate to the members the future vision that she is creating with the new organization. Use all of the energy and enthusiasm that she can bring to this conversation, so others will see her inspiration and passion and want to commit to this future. Also, she should request participation from key members for the project. By having an active role in the merger, individuals can better understand the changes that are occurring and feel proud that they helped it to come about. Finally, Ms. Ewers should consider using a logical approach for the merger, in case any of the artists or staff respond better to this method. Each tactic can build a long-term commitment to the merger and should all be used to ensure that as many individuals’ motivation factor can listen to the message she is communicating. Reference
Kreitner, Robert and Kinicki, Angelo (2010). Organizational Behavior, 9th edition, McGraw-Hill publishing. Retrieved April 28, 2011, from http://wgu.coursesmart.com/ 9780077333881