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JFT2 Organizational Management|
Joseph Kissinger|

Joe Kissinger2/9/2012|

Mr. Bill Baily Mr. Bill Baily is chair of the board of the Utah Opera Organization (UOC). He seems to be supporting this merger with a sense of caution. Although the UOC seems stable at the moment, the financial stability could erode in years to come due to the decline of public as well as private support for their company. Mr. Baily has the desire to see that the opera become a tier-one arts organization and the merger has the potential to cause this to come to fruition. The UOC wants to expand its artistic potential. There is concern among the members of the executive committee. If Mr. Baily wants to gain any sort of support from the committee, he will have to implement V.H Vrooms Theory of Motivation to gain such support. This theory can be used since Mr. Baily has more than one alternative from which to choose. Vrooms Theory of Motivation is the theory of identifying internal factors that effectively influence motivation (Krietner & Kinicki, 2010). Motivation is based on the principle that it functions on a person’s perceptions, beliefs and thoughts and relies on extensive motivators that explain causes for such behaviors. Expectancy Theory has three components; Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valance. To put this theory in to action Mr. Baily would need to express that the merger would benefit both organizations by providing more revenue for the symphony and a way to market the opera (Expectancy). The ending reward for this merger would also stifle revenue issues for the symphony by adding the opera staff as well (Instrumentality). The merger would offer an increased amount of performances for patrons of both organizations (Valance). Vroom’s theory provides Mr. Bailey the realization of his leadership within the UOC and goals needed to direct the course of action; this in turn will encourage the board members to increase their self-interests.

Scott Parker Mr. Parker, Chairman of the Board of the Utah Symphony is in full and complete support of this merger of the USO. This support stems from his time as the chair of the symphony that was faced with financial devastation. He was also faced with musician’s salaries that were under contract with the symphony. The issue arose with in his tenure that the USO’s fund raising did not meet a projective number, this stems from private and public money being harder to come by, due low revenue and the demand for more money from contributors. Mr. Parker also tendered his resignation as CEO of the orchestra to be affective end of February, and faced the stress of finding a suitable and competent replacement. This new CEO would have to face the fire and have the capacity to lead a symphonic organization. Mr. Parker has had an extensive amount of experience with mergers in his career. He addressed the notion of cost advantages of merging the two Arts organizations. Mr. Parker was aware of Anne Ewers, who currently held the position of general director of the UOC. His opinion of her was that she would make a fine replacement due to her talent and impeccable business sense. His belief was that merging the two organizations would solve the problem of revenue of sales and approached Ms. Ewers about the position. Mr. Parker also has the job of convincing Mrs. Carolyn Abravenal, the wife of Maurice Abravenal, former head maestro and director of music of the symphony until his retirement in 1979. Mrs. Abravenal apprehensions about the merger stemmed from the personal loss of her husband and the fear that the symphony would take a back seat to the opera. Mr. Parker needs to motivate Mrs. Abravenal and the orchestra members to support the merger. To accomplish this, Mr. Parker would incorporate the theory of Goal Setting. Edwin Locke describes a goal as “What an individual is trying to accomplish; it is the object or the aim of an action” (Krietner & Kinicki, 2010). Mr. Parker’s motives are to convince Mrs. Abravenal and the orchestra to merge. Goal setting has four motivational mechanisms; goals direct attention, goals regulate effort, goals increase persistence, and goals foster the development of application of task strategies and action plans. In the theory of goals direct attention, his attention is focused on convincing Mrs. Abervanel the merger is a good idea. Goals regulate effort; since this is a bigger obstacle, his efforts are more persistent than a small goal would be. Lastly, Mr. Parker is going to set tasks and goals in his negotiations with Mrs. Abervanel and the orchestra. He will follow this to the letter as to not miss a step in terms of his strategy to influence her decision.
Anne Ewers Ms. Ewers gained her position by using five key factors of personal power. Centrality/Critically, this gives Ms. Ewers control of all work, information and structure elements of the job responsibilities. She will need to expand communication networks through both the intra and inter- organization. Flexibility will allow Ms. Ewers the ability to create some variety in tasks and the power to generate novel ideas and innovated projects within the organization. Visibility provides her the interaction between senior members to make imperative decisions and solve both internal and external problems. Relevance will provide her with the ability to provide services and information to all members of the chain of command, assesses all activities both internal and external, and prioritizes goals for the good of the organization (Krietner & Kinicki, 2010). Ms. Ewers ability to settle debt, build all funding, and increase number of performances, are all a great example of her personal power and control over her career. Over the course of her career, Ms. Ewers has instilled three important attributes associated with personal power:
· Knowledge/Information- this stems from her past and present experiences in her field of work,
· Personal Attraction- this is attributed from her cheery disposition, and attractive appearance and her agreeable behavior,
· Effort- Ms. Ewers puts her heart and soul into everything she does without fail, putting service before self. Because of Ms. Ewers attributes, it makes it easy to agree with her. This is in her favor because she will make the merger an easy transition. Her position allows her to make the merger a positive and rewarding experience for all involved. Her career success gives her the personal power to be seen as a strong leader in her prospective field. Ms. Ewers has the ability and opportunity to utilize her personal power to gain influence over Mr. Lockhart. She will involve him in all forms of decision-making, retaining control over the symphony. She is simply sharing information by assuring his place as the symphony leader and restricting all disruptions to his and the musicians professional progression. Lastly, she provides vision and focus for his and the artists’ success.
Potential issues with musicians Anytime an organization has contractual musicians in their employment, potential issues can arise. The issues that could arise in this organization would be their collective bargaining agreements and orchestra and board relationships involving organizational performance. The musicians have formed a committee that present their principles and strongly represent their interests. This committee tells us that the musicians have reached a consensus that their interests are in jeopardy and they are afraid their point of view is not being considered. Ms. Ewer’s first task should be to show interest in their perceived opposition. She could implement a win-win scenario by taking care in reading this early warning and taking action as soon as possible.
Influential tactics for full time and contractual musicians in order to endorse the merger An appropriate action for Ms. Ewers to take would be integrative negotiations to deal with this conflict. The ultimate goal for Ms. Ewers is to convince the musicians’ committee to abandon all notions that they are being opposed in any way and that they are an important part of the “team”. The action of integrative negotiations is a win-win philosophy. It makes all parties essential to the mission by considering all parties’ issues. The worst thing Ms. Ewers could do in this situation is to put her own interests first. Including all concerned parties in the resolution process and listening to their opinions is important. This is not a time for selfishness. People’s way of life and income are in the balance. The dissemination of information and not leaving anyone in the dark is the key to success in this situation. Ms. Ewers has to rely on her social power to smother the opera with charm in order for them to endorse the merger. She can employ one of five soft-persuasion techniques to succeed in this task. First, use a rational model of persuasion, which is a tactic that suggests that people think and behave in ways based on reasons, logic or facts, and are relatively predictable. This will accentuate her expert power. She can also use inspirational appeal, which is the ability to tap into the emotions of people and harness their enthusiasm using her referent power. Another tactic in the arsenal Ms. Ewers could deploy consultation. This involves the opera staff in all aspects including planning and decision-making. This is her legitimate power. A stronger tactic she could use is ingratiation. This is a way to praise and use flattery before asking the opera staff to endorse this merger. It highlights her reward power. Lastly, a powerful tactic in Ms. Ewer’s available battery would be to engage in personal appeals. This will allow her to petition their feelings and loyalties and most of all friendships. This uses both her referent and reward power. (Krietner & Kinicki, 2010)

Work Cited:
Krietner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2010). Organizational Behavior, 9th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Lawler, E. E. (1973). Motivation in Work Organizations. California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.