Institutional affiliations:
Leading and Managing Individuals
1) How Bill Bailey, chairman of the board of the Utah Opera Organization, might use one theory of motivation to oppose the merger
As the chairman of Utah opera organization’s board, Bill Bailey can use the Adams equity theory of motivation to oppose the merger and base his arguments on fairness to Opera in the merged organization. The theory explains the satisfaction of different groups in terms of fair and unfair sharing of resources between the groups (Spector, 2008). The different groups will try to uphold equity between what they bring to the group and what they receive in return (Spector, 2008). Groups will co-exist in harmony when they are treated fairly by their peers. Utah symphony usually has no flexibility when it is allocating funds for concerts while Utah opera makes key decisions on spending based on the funds raised in advance.
Based on fairness to each other concerning finances and the merger, there could be animosity between the boards of the two organizations. The board of trustee of Utah opera may turn against the board of trustees of Utah symphony in regards to how they allocate their finances. The issue affects both organizations in relation to the possible merger.
The questions of negative and positive equity also arise from the merger proposal for both the operas and the symphony. The question which arises is whether symphony will gain some flexibility that will help them work with opera or whether the operas will have to follow symphony’s rigid schedule when both are performing their arts. These issues have to be dealt with so that there is stability when discussing the merger. The question of equity arises because both parties will have to evaluate whether they are receiving enough returns for what they have contributed to the organization (Spector, 2008). The question of whether symphony uses its own funds or those raised by opera raises a big fairness question for both organizations when discussing the merger.
2) How Scott Parker, chairman of the board of the Utah Symphony Organization, might use one theory of motivation to convince Mrs. Abravanel to support the merger.
One of the theories of motivation that the chairman of the board of Utah symphony, Mr. Scott Parker can use to convince Mrs. Abravanel to support the merger is Vroom’s expectation theory. According to the theory, a person behaves in a certain way due to the attractiveness of the expected outcome (Guerrero, 2007).
The chairman, Mr. Scott Parker will be able to gain her support if he only manages to convince her that there is no other way of keeping symphony in operation. He will also have to convince her that the symphony will maintain being at the top of the opera as far as billing is concerned. If he is able to convince her of these two issues, then Mrs. Abravanel will be more than willing to support the merger.
Mr. Scott Parker can use the knowledge of the fact that expectation theory can be used to deduce the motivation and behavior of an individual in a position in which a selection between two or more options have to be made (Guerrero, 2007). We can tell from the comments by Mrs. Abravanel that she thinks her late husband would rather see Utah symphony disbanded than be overshadowed by another group. If Scott Parker convinces her that Utah symphony would be getting first priorities as a more accomplished group when it comes to performance after merging with opera, Mrs. Abravanel would be more than willing to support the merger between the two organizations. This is because she will also understand that the financial stability of the two organization will be stronger to face even the tough economic times being experience by the organizations.
3) Anne’s positional power in relation to her personal power
The power that an individual yields can either be positional or personal. The positional power is external to an individual. This power is gained from possessions and status and it can be taken away from the person (Montana & Charnov, 2008). The positional power can be gained from a job title, impressive degrees, houses and the car that one drives. On the other hand, personal power is something within an individual and it cannot be taken away from an individual (Montana & Charnov, 2008). The personal power is gained form the skills that an individual possess. Personal power includes the driving spirit that an individual used to gain positional power. Anne Ewers holds both personal and positional power. The positional power is derived from her position as the general director of the opera. Ann has authority over other directors and also has direct access to the chairman of the board and therefore she can influence how the merger takes place. The fact that she is able to persuade people to solicit fund through donations for opera means she has good personal power which she uses to convince the donors. Anne is known to be energetic, enthusiastic and capable among members of the executive of both the opera and the symphony. She can therefore use her personal power to influence the merger.
a) How Anne could use her positional power to successfully lead the merger efforts
As the CEO of Utah, Anne Ewers has the ability to beyond doubt lead the merger between the Utah symphony and the Utah opera organizations. From her documented background, she has proved to be very accomplished in organizations of similar nature. Anne has proven ability to handle the finances of the organizations that she has led. She managed to pay off the $450,000 debt at Boston lyric opera that she had found when she took over as the boss and also helped them increase their reserve funds. She has also improved the financial position of Utah opera finance even when the budget is increasing paying of debts and increasing the financial reserves. She is also accomplished at raising funds from donations for the organization. Since financial stability is an important factor being considered when evaluating the merger, she can use a success to make the merger work during this time when the economy of the United States is not doing well.
Since Anne is good at budgeting and fund raising, she would be very helpful in enabling the organization to build up towards both the opera and symphony. The position she would hold within the organization is very important in motivating members of both organizations to unite around the merger. These would enhance the morale of members of both organizations hence easing the discomfort of the members. The financial information provided by Utah opera show that Anne would be very valuable in keeping the merged organization in a good financial position and standing within the society.
Anne can get the middle managers more involved in the merger process as they are more close to the employees. The information the managers communicate and how they pass it over can affect greatly the success of the merger. Ann could use the manger to improve productivity and maintain a positive attitude towards the merger and the future.
Anne can use her positional power to deal with human issues more decisively by developing a plan for the employees to deal with the emotional side of the change and getting aware of what’s happening. She can use her power to empower the employees to handle the change.
Anne can also use her positional power to identify the leadership requirements of the new organization. The merged organization will require a new leadership structure. Anna can identify and do away with the redundancies, define the roles of each position and identify the people to occupy these positions so that the stakeholders will feel assured that organization will have good leadership.
b) How Anne could use her personal power to empower Keith Lockhart
The personal power that Anne possesses would be very useful in gaining the support of Keith Lockhart during the merger process. Anne understands how a conductor feels through her experience as a director and also knows that Keith has as much power to reject any idea that arises as she has. Anne can use the balance of power in her favor by using the persuasion skills gained at different organizations to empower Keith and work with him to help him retain control of symphony while she retains control of opera. By bringing Keith on board Anne will boost his morale and self worth and make him feel like he is also involved in the merger.
4) A potential issue with the musicians that, if not resolved, would jeopardize the continuing organizational performance
One of the most important issues that, if unresolved, would put at risk the continued good performance of the organization is the issues of salaries and contracts of the musicians. The musicians in both organizations are likely to demand for negotiating of yearly contracts with a yearly contract. This will be new for Utah opera as they do not offer contracts to their performers. If the musicians feel that they are being short changed by not receiving proper deals, they are more likely to move to other organizations which will pay better for their performance.
a) How Anne could deal with the issue salaries and contracts
If the two organizations merge, Anne, as the CEO of the organization has to deal with the issue of musicians and performers salaries and contracts. To find a solution to these issues, Anne would have to first consult Keith and try to work out a plan that is agreeable to all the parties involved. The musicians contracted by symphony would most definitely like to know whether they would receive the same treatment as operas performers while operas performers would also like to know about the same issue.
Anne may work out an agreeable solution by offering yearly contracts and salaries to both parties and ensuring that the contracts do not stretch the budget unreasonably (McManus, 2006). The salaries would also be dependent on the amount of work that each individual performs to ensure that the individuals are only paid for work done. By offering yearly contracts with salaries the employees will be assured that they will be paid for the year they are under contract and can leave after that if they are not being paid enough. For the company negotiating yearly contracts will make salaries flexible yearly according to the budget. These will ensure the organization does not have budget deficits and ensure its financial stability. This is good for both parties involved in the contract.
The musicians are unionized and therefore the dealings would have to be through the union leaders. Any attempts to circumvent the union would result in unwanted consequences such as musicians going on strike and even leaving Utah symphony for better places. Therefore, the union leaders would have to be consulted before any deals are made.
5) The influence tactics Anne could use to persuade the opera’s full-time staff and artists under contract to endorse the merger
There are a few influence tactics that Anne could use to persuade opera’s fulltime staff and artists under contract to endorse the merger (Roger, 2007). First, she can use consultation to influence the staff. She will put down her proposal on what she thinks is important about the merger and get feedback from the staff. By the staff getting consulted about the merger they will be influenced to remain in the company because their views are being sought. The second tactic she can use is through rational persuasion. She has good people skills she has gained through experience working in various organizations and she can use these to engage the staff in an informed discussion about the benefits the merger. Through these she can convince them to remain in the organization and support the merger. The other method of influence is through inspirational appeal. By raising the enthusiasm of the employees they will be willing to support the merger. The other influence tactic for Anne is exchange where she exchanges support for the merger with a reward of a better terms in the new organization (Roger, 2007).
Guerrero, A. (2007). Close Encounters: Communication in Relationships. New York: Sage
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McManus J. (2006). Leadership: Project And Human Capital Management. Boston:
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Montana, P. J., & Charnov, B. H. (2008). Management . New York: Barron's Educational Series.
Roger, H. (2007). Leading work with young people. London: SAGE.
Spector, P. (2008). Industrial and Organizational Behavior. Hoboken: Wiley.
