JFT2 Task 1 A. Create an analysis document (suggested length of 3–5 pages) in which you do the following: 1. Illustrate how Bill Bailey, chairman of the board of the Utah Opera Organization, might use one theory of motivation to oppose or support the merger. It is understood that the merger of the Utah Opera and the Utah Symphony has several positive factors. However, Bill Bailey, chairman of the board of the Utah Opera, strongly opposes the merger. It is up to him to convince the remaining board members to vote in opposition as well. Mr. Bailey can use the Adam’s Equity Theory to accomplish this. The Adam’s Equity Theory, as a process theory of motivation, explains how an individual’s motivation to behave in a certain way is fueled by feelings of inequity or a lack of justice (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). This is especially true for give and take relationships, which Mr. Bailey feels is the situation at hand. There are two main components of any relationship, inputs and outcomes. The Utah Opera is financially stable and because they do not employ full-time musicians, can alter their schedule when necessary fund raising has not been accomplished. The Utah Symphony, on the other hand, has a large staff of contracted employees who are paid full salary for the entire year. The Opera owns their property while the Symphony’s theater is owned by the county. By looking at past financial statements, it is apparent that the Opera historically operates at a much greater surplus of funds than the Symphony. Mr. Bailey feels that the Opera will be offering a greater input than the Symphony while the Symphony will reap greater benefits in the way of financial assistance from the Opera. These statistics illustrate a negative inequity with the merger. A negative inequity occurs when, by comparison, another person or group of persons receives a greater outcome for less or similar input (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Using the equity theory, Mr. Bailey can convince the board that the Opera’s input (the financial stability and assistance) is greater than the outcome (to become a tier-one arts organization) while the Symphony’s input (the status of being the leading orchestra in the eight Rocky Mountain states) is less than the outcome (financial assistance).

2. Illustrate 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. While Bill Bailey might use the Adam’s Equity Theory to convince the Utah Opera board to oppose the merger, Scott Parker can use the same theory of motivation to convince Mrs. Abravanel to support the merger. Scott Parker is the chairman of the board for the Utah Symphony and completely supports the merger. Mrs. Abravanel is the widow of the previous music director who served 32 years with the Symphony. Mrs. Abravanel is opposed to the merger because she feels that her deceased husband would not approve of turning the reins over to another organization. However, by using the equity theory, Mr.

Parker can convince Mrs. Abravanel that the merger will mean positive things for the Symphony and without it, the Symphony could face closure. The discussion of a merger began due to the financial strains of the Symphony. While the decline in the economy is mostly to blame, the organizational structure of the Symphony has not allowed for financial stability. For starters, the symphony employs a large staff of musicians with annual contracts. This does not allow for schedule changes and is the Symphony’s largest expense. The Symphony does not own their theater, rather it is owned by the county. The Utah Opera owns their property and has a much smaller staffing expense due to hiring per production rather than full-time. Although the Symphony brings in much higher revenues, they also have much higher expenses resulting in a lower surplus of annual funds than the Opera. As previously stated, the equity theory operates under the assumption that the inputs and outcomes for each party involved should be equal in value. In this case, there is positive equity. Positive equity is when, by comparison, another person receives lesser outcome for greater or similar input (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Mr. Parker can use this theory of motivation to convince Mrs. Abravanel that the Opera’s input (the financial stability and assistance) is greater than the outcome (to become a tier-one arts organization) while the Symphony’s input (the status of being the leading orchestra in the eight Rocky Mountain states) is less than the outcome (financial assistance). 3. Describe Anne’s positional power in relation to her personal power. According to the text, power is the ability to get things done with human, informational, and material resources (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). The two types of power to be analyzed are positional power and personal power. Positional power is basically power that comes from a position of authority while personal power comes from a person’s charisma. A person can have one type of power without the other or they can interrelate, both in negative and positive ways. Anne Ewers is the current general director of the Utah Opera and is being considered for the CEO position of the merged company. Obviously, her positional power comes from her upper level position within the company, as well as, her vast experience with directing over 60 operas worldwide and her very successful fundraising abilities. However, Anne’s personal power is less than stellar. While she may have a reputation as being energetic and capable, she is also known to have poor people management skills and tends to make decisions without consulting with those expected to comply. She would rather be the person in control rather than having someone second-guessing her every move. Anne’s positional power could be very helpful in financially securing the merged company. She will be able to use her position within the company and her past experience to garner the needed funds to operate in the black. However, Anne’s personal power could possibly contradict her positional power to create a very negative situation. Coupled with her poor people skills, her positional power may be perceived as threatening or

demeaning. Her lack of people management skills will make it very difficult for her to retain trust and respect from the staff. Anne may be quite capable of raising money and managing the financial aspects of the company, however, financial stability cannot be maintained without a satisfied and supportive staff. a. Discuss how Anne could use her positional power to successfully lead the merger efforts. Individuals who obtain compliance primarily because of their formal authority to make decisions have positional power (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Anne is in a great position of authority as the future CEO of the merged company. Her history of successful fundraising and turning around financially unstable companies also contribute to her positional power. However, Anne’s position alone will not make the merger more successful. According to the text, a promising trend in today’s organizations centers on giving employees a greater say in the workplace (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Anne’s experience involves operas. She can use her position as CEO of the merged company to empower the entire staff to be involved in the decision making process. This can be done by delegating tasks down to others who can make competent decisions and asking for opinions and concerns from the staff expected to carry out the task in question rather than just instructing them on what to do. By involving the staff, they will feel appreciated and respected and will in turn offer a much better performance. b. Discuss how Anne could use her personal power to empower Keith Lockhart after the merger. Keith Lockhart is the musical director for the Utah Symphony and is very well respected by the board. The board wants to ensure that Lockhart is completely on board with the merger so that he will remain the musical director for the merged company. Symphonies are typically organized so that the music director reports directly to the board rather than the CEO as both positions are relatively equal in authority. However, with the organization of the merged company, Lockhart will likely report directly to Anne. Lockhart was upset that the organization chart was designed without first consulting with him and he was worried about giving up control to Anne, whom he had never worked with before. Going into the merger, Lockhart will understandably have some trust issues with Anne and her ability to ensure that the interests of the Symphony are not compromised. After meeting with Anne, Keith’s impression was that she was energetic and a good listener. Anne can use this as her personal power. Keith obviously wants to have some input so Anne can use her personal power of being an attentive listener to empower Keith by making him feel that his concerns and ideas are being heard and considered. 4. Present a potential issue with the Symphony musicians that, if not resolved, would jeopardize the merged organization's ability to perform. According to Keith Lockhart, the musicians represent the largest internal interest group in the proposed merger. The musicians are contracted as a collective unit and are

represented by The American Federation of Musicians. Because of they are unionized, they have some protection. However, due to past issues with the Symphony board and administration, the musicians fear that the merger is a ploy to renegotiate their contracts, especially since some members of the community feel that their wages are already too high. The musicians are probably aware that cutting salaries could be one of the first steps in trying to control overall costs. This theory is further worrisome due to the differences in the organizational structures of the two individual organizations. While the Symphony employs the musicians full-time with a full salary, the Opera hires on an as-needed basis for each production. Having Anne Ewers as the head of the merged organization could possibly compound this worry. The musicians might fear that she will try to restructure the organization chart to mimic the current Opera arrangement. The restructuring could be accomplished during any union renegotiations. a. Recommend how Anne could mitigate the potential issue. The musicians convened a committee to represent their concerns to the board. The committee presented a set of principles that they felt were essential for the survival of the symphony. Anne should focus on addressing those four principles to ensure that the musicians support the merger and to prove that she is listening and is addressing their concerns. The first principle involved creating an organizational structure that protected and enhanced artistic excellence. Anne should communicate with the musicians that she understands the needs between the Opera and the Symphony are different and require different structuring. The organizational structure should be developed with input from the musicians and included in their contract. The second principle is development of a strong collective bargaining agreement. In addition to the organizational structure mentioned above, Anne should convince the musicians that she does not intend to make significant changes to the contract without consulting with everyone involved, including the musicians. Involving the musician committee in deliberations will ensure they feel their concerns are being taken seriously and they are given a voice in the decision-making process. The final two principles involve effective fund-raising and a budget strategy that will continue to allow the Symphony to operate as a major 52-week orchestra. This is where Anne can draw on her past success at fund-raising and major financial overhauls. Before meeting with the musician committee, Anne should have a tentative financial plan, including examples of how she has managed prior organizations, to prove to the committee that she understands the serious need for funding and has the ability to obtain it.

5. Discuss at least two of the organizational influence tactics Anne could use to persuade the opera’s staff to endorse the merger. It appears that the Symphony has the most to gain from the merger, being that the financial difficulties of the Symphony are what prompted the merger discussions. Anne may run into issues when trying to convince the Opera staff to get on board with the merger if they feel that there is not as much for them to gain. However, for the merged organization to be successful, it will take the support and devotion of everyone involved. It is up to Anne to influence the Opera’s staff to support the merger. One influence tactic that Anne could use is the consultation tactic. The consultation influence tactic involves getting others to participate in planning, making decisions, and changes (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). According to the text, a promising trend in today’s organizations centers on giving employees a greater say in the workplace (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Anne can use her position as CEO of the merged company to empower the entire staff to be involved in the decision making process. This can be done by delegating tasks down to others who can make competent decisions and asking for opinions and concerns from the staff expected to carry out the task in question rather than just instructing them on what to do. By involving the staff, they will feel appreciated and respected and will be more likely to endorse changes that they helped to determine. Anne could also use the inspirational influence tactic, which involves trying to build enthusiasm by appealing to others’ emotions, ideals, or values (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Anne has been described as being energetic and enthusiastic about preserving and expanding the performing arts. This type of enthusiasm is bound to excite those that she comes in contact with as well. The Opera’s staff is just as concerned about preserving and enhancing the performing arts, and given the right motivation, could appreciate what the merger can offer to both the Opera and the Symphony. To appeal to their ideals and values, Anne should illustrate how the combination could potentially thrust the Opera into the tier-one status. Appealing to their emotions and values, she could also describe how, even though the Symphony was among the top 20 leading orchestras in the country, they were on the verge of financial ruin. Losing the Symphony would be a large blow to the performing arts community that they all hoped to preserve.

B. When you use sources, include all in-text citations and references in APA format.

Works Cited Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2010). Organizational Behavior (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.