Organizational Management

WGU
JFT2 Task 1
June 4, 2014

Task 1A1
Adam’s equity theory stresses the importance of maintaining a balance between an employee’s inputs and outputs. Common inputs can include hard work, tolerance and enthusiasm and common outputs can be salary, benefits and recognition or rewards. The maintenance of this balance between inputs and outputs results in more productive, efficient and content workforce. A good way to look at this is that a worker will feel equal if he or she perceives that the reward received for their hard work is the same as that of an employee of the same level. If the reward received by the second employee ends up being greater or if the second employee receives the same reward for less work, the first employee may feel neglected and may even become less productive to match the second employee’s performance level.
Looking at the merger scenario between the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera we can see that Bill Bailey, the chairman of the board of the Utah Symphony organization should use the Adam’s equity theory to stress his opposition to the merger. Currently the opera is financially stable while the symphony is not. The opera has also been utilizing funds wisely, while the symphony has been acting to the contrary. If a merger should occur, the opera employees may perceive that this is an inequality and that the symphony will be making out since the merger will surely put the symphony in a better position financially. Opera employees; having endured cutbacks to maintain profitability, will see that those with the symphony will be getting rewarded for mismanaging their funds and business strategies. Although the opera stands to be part of a higher tier organization with the merger, Bill should argue that if this merger occurs the opera would become part of the symphony and not the other way around. This merger could possibly result in a weaker financial position for the opera and affect the opera employees into believing that again they are receiving less for the efforts they put into doing their jobs. With the perception of inequality by the opera employees, there will be resentment between the two organizations. This can result in reduced performance and even employees finding other places of employment.

Task 1A2
Goal setting can be defined as a motivational theory that establishes Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-targeted goals (SMART). Goal setting is an effective tool in that everyone in a particular group is cognizant of what is expected of them. Personal goals also help individuals achieve their own objectives. Scott Parker, chairman of the board of the Utah Symphony Organization should utilize the goal setting theory to help convince Mrs. Abrvanel to support the merger between the Opera and Symphony. Scott should describe to Mrs. Abravanel that the main goal for the symphony is to remain viable as a company. Due to recent downturns in the economy and a steep decrease in ticket sales the symphony is bleeding money and has a large possibility of going bankrupt without this merger. The goal of continued operation should be clearly expressed to Mrs. Abravanel and an explanation of the alternatives should be mentioned such as bankruptcy or possibly even a takeover due to the symphony’s weak financial situation.

Task 1A3
There are 2 types of power that Anne Ewers possesses are:
1. Positional Power – Also known as Legitimate Power, this is power that is obtained through a position of power within an organization. An example would be a Boss or CEO and the power of decision that both of these positions possess.
2. Personal Power – Also known as Referent Power, this is power that is usually secured through trust, respect and charisma. An example would be a Supervisor who ensures workers are treated fairly and sticks up for those who are not. This simple act bestows power to the supervisor from his or her workers.
If Anne relied solely on her positional power she may receive positive results, but not as positive as she would if she utilized both her positional and personal power as a whole to accomplish tasks or goals. Although Anne’s position gives her the right to make decisions, her charisma and the trust and respect her employees have makes her a more effective leader. Anne’s personal power strengthens her positional power in that the trust her workers have in her allows for a stronger relationships with her employees which will cause them to perform to a higher degree not just because she is the boss.

Task 1A3a
Positional power can be defined as power that is obtained through a position of power within an organization. An example would be a Boss or CEO and the power of decision that both of these positions possess.
Anne Ewers is the general director of Utah Opera. This position gives Anne an exorbitant amount of power over companywide decisions and decisions relating to employees within the company. With her positional power secured by her position as director Anne can lay out expectations to her management team and direct them to ensure everyone is onboard with the vision of obtaining one company out of the two that are currently present. Her position gives her the power to really tell her employees what she wants them to do (within the bounds of the law and company policy) whether they agree with the orders or not. Once the merger is in place, Anne will be taking over as CEO of the new company. As CEO, Anne will have the positional power to direct her management team in the direction that she feels is necessary to make the merger a success. Based on her experience as director for 10 years and her extensive experience in the arts the board can be assured that she is the best candidate to lead the merger efforts and this will solidify her positional power.

Task 1A3b
Personal power can be defined as power that is usually secured through trust, respect and charisma. An example would be a Supervisor who ensures workers are treated fairly and sticks up for those who are not. This simple act bestows power to the supervisor from his or her workers.
As CEO of the new company Anne will have a considerable amount of positional power, but it is also important to realize that she needs the same if not more level of personal power to direct the new company to be successful. Keith Lockhart, the current music director of the Utah Symphony has a large amount of both positional authority by his job title and personal authority by the trust felt by his musicians. By listening and being supportive of Keith’s goals as head of the symphony, Anne can empower Keith to become fully committed and supportive of the merger. On decisions affecting the new company, Anne can consult with Keith for ideas before making a final decision on what is to be done which would show him that she is truly sincere about taking his opinions into consideration. This will further empower Keith to be more fully onboard with the merger and successful in his new role. It is important that Anne reiterate that even though she has the final say in business matters, Keith has just as much input in the decisions being made. Over time by gaining Keith’s trust, Anne will gain the trust of the symphony’s musicians and the new company will see overall success.

Task 1A4
One of the bigger issues of the merger that should be of concern is the fact that there will be a melding of a union shop with a non-union shop. In other words, the merger will be combining an organization containing a bargaining unit operating under a collective bargaining agreement with an organization that is not operating under a collective bargaining agreement. This can pose many concerns to those that are “protected” by the contract in place in the Utah Symphony. Unless there is specific language within the contract prohibiting, there may be a necessity to renegotiate a new contract with management. There may also be a possibility that the union may become void since the merger will in fact create a totally new company from the two existing. Some concerns that the bargaining unit personnel may have are:
1. Salary changes – will they be receiving a lower wage now since their new counterparts are not being paid an equal amount.
2. Benefit changes – are the benefits to be offered by the new company equivalent, better or worse? An example would be how the merger would affect health care benefits.
3. Pension changes – Will there be any changes to the pension benefits or 401k?

Task 1A4a
These concerns can pose a detriment to the overall performance of the symphony and should be address immediately after the merger. Probably the simplest way to mitigate the union’s issues is to sign an extension for the current contract for a specified period of time, say 2 years and operate the two organizations separately, but under one CEO. This will allow the merger to settle and management can renegotiate a new contract when the time comes. Another option would be to bring the orchestra into the union if they voted to do so, and operate as one organization with a 2 year contract extension. Both of these options would be acceptable and can be used by Anne to mitigate any concerns that union employees may have.

Task 1A5
Two organizational influence tactics that Anne could use to persuade the opera’s staff to endorse the merger are:
1. Rational Persuasion – This technique would appeal to the staff’s reason and logic and utilize facts to persuade. Anne could mention how other mergers have been successful in the past such as the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the Madison Opera to form the Madison Civic Music Association. Also the union of the Chattanooga Symphony and the Chattanooga Opera to form the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association. Both of these mergers proved successful and were beneficial to organizations with the same characteristics so mentioning these facts would be very persuasive.
2. Inspirational Appeals – This technique would appeal to staff members’ emotions, ideals and values. By bringing up the fact that the symphony is in dire straits and that it is in a downward spiral, Anne can effectively appeal to the opera staffs emotions to persuade them to buy off on the merger. Anne can also appeal to the staff’s values by mentioning the fact that merging is the right thing to do to benefit the arts community and that the opera would want the symphony to do the same thing if the roles were reversed.