Utah Symphony Case Study #1 Like Many

Utah Symphony Case Study #1

Like many artistic endeavors, opera and symphonic organizations are facing increased budgetary pressures. Consumer spending on the arts has decreased, some say because of access to the Internet and other media, others a decline in public and foundational support coupled with increased costs. Such has been the case for the Utah Symphony and Opera, both of whom have been hindered drastically since 2001. One solution would be to merge both organizations and reach an economy of scale for musicians, audience, human and other resources, advertising, and thus would result in an economy of scale that might help save both organizations (Delong & Ager, 2005).

Baily and Motivation: Bill Bailey was Chairman of the Operatic Board and had some initial concerns about the merger. The Opera was actually financially stronger than the symphony and had its own identity. Bailey was concerned that this identity might be subsumed by the symphony. However, from a motivational standpoint, Bailey needed to use both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational techniques to ensure that the best solution was made for the overall artistic community in Utah. First, his intrinsic motivation should be focused on educational factors within the community -- allowing the skills already in house to help reach the desired goals (self-efficacy) and in mastering the paradigm of spreading the arts to the public. Extrinsically, the outcome of the merger was a broader topic -- not just positive for Bailey, the Opera, or the Symphony -- but instead for a larger cast of stakeholders and the community. Proving this overall benefit to a larger number of stakeholders would be critical for Bailey (Thomas, 2009).

Question 2 -- Parker and Motivation -- The orchestra's history is tied inexorably with Maurice Abranavel, who led the orchestra for almost four decades, made numerous recordings, and really put the orchestra on the international map as a serious orchestra. Abranavel died in 1993, and his wife Carolyn opposed the merger because she felt the legacy of her husband would be tarnished and the Symphony might play second to the Opera. Scott Parker, Chairman of the Symphony Board, would need to use incentive theory to convince Mrs. Abranavel of the viability and efficacy of the merger. He would need to point out the economic reality, and show her that the rewards coming out of the merger (e.g. greater fiscal health, more national exposure, potential for more money for the musicians, etc.) would outweigh any of her concerns. In addition, he could use incentive theory to assure her that her late-husband's legacy would be enhanced, not diminished through greater exposure of the orchestra to the national stage (Gollwitzer, 1999).

Question 3 -- Anne's Positional Power/Personal Power: In general, power to influence or affect a decision may be either personal or positional in nature. Personal power is internal -- skills and acumen learned, knowledge of past events and issues, and the abilities learned and gained based on a particular type of personality of character. Positional power is external -- a job title, something given to the individual by others, and as such, may be taken away. Positional power describes a hierarchical ability to influence -- authority in a position that has subordinates or respect given to a title (CEO, President, etc.) (Collier, 2008).

Anne Ewers is the General Director of the Utah Opera, a described as being energetic, bright, capable and enthusiastic, was one of the driving forces in favor of the merger. Anne's positional power was focused more on the Opera's Board and contributors, while her personal power was directed at using her skills and personal enthusiasm to help convince others of the need and viability of the merger. Anne had already shown that she was committed to the arts, growing the budget of the UOC from $1.5 to $5 million; quite successful at fund-raising and keeping the operatic budget solvent. Her positional power would be useful in convincing those who felt the two entities should be separate that a merger would be both fiscally and artistically effective and would benefit all the stakeholders, especially the arts community in Utah. Anne's personal power, in effect, would be of use in buttressing her professional abilities by remaining optimistic, excited and positive about the merger.

Question 4 -- Issues with Musicians: The musicians represented the largest internal interest group of stakeholders and a part of a collective union who bargain and act as a unit. Some of the musicians worried that the symphony would become an "appendage of the opera" much like in Vienna, Austria. The musicians, in fact, formed an ad hoc committee asking for their concerns to be addressed within the merger focusing on protection of enhanced artistic excellence, improving pay and budget to reflect 52 weeks of service and a strong collective bargaining agreement. The issue could become volatile if the musicians used their collective bargaining position to boycott the merger, or to use public relations to paint the merger negatively. Anne certainly has the power to mitigate this issue; again through a combination of personal excitement and professional acumen, to show the musicians how, in effect, they would move from performing one or the other (opera or symphony) to a full-fledged musical community with events almost every week of the year; thus actually creating more opportunities for both artistic and financial success for the musicians as stakeholders.