Utah Symphony and Utah Opera Merger Proposal Presentation

Utah Symphony and Utah Opera merger proposal

1. Companies’ cultures within the Competing Values Framework:
   1. Competing Values Framework;
   2. Utah Opera’s culture;
   3. Utah Symphony’s culture.
2. Message strategy for Anne Ewers:
   1. The main reasons for merger;
   2. The benefits of the merger;
   3. Specific arguments;
   4. Difficulties to overcome;
   5. New strategic goals.
3. Two technology tools to help the companies merge their administrative technology applications.

Competing Values Framework

The competing values map has four hierarchies:

• Hierarchy is a traditional structure where control flows from an organization’s chain of command.
• The market value framework is one that seeks control by venturing more into the markets and having controlled costs of transaction.
• Clan organizations place more focus on flexibility rather than structure. They are driven by a flexible vision and have no room for strict procedures.
• Adhocracy is a more flexible system than clan and is always ready to adjust to the changing markets (Herzog, 2007, p. 67).

Utah Opera’s culture

The main idea of Utah Opera’s culture is as follows,

“being forced to compete for funds and audiences by being more outward and market-focused, flexible in responding to change” (Delong & Ager, 2005)

Utah Opera exhibits a clan culture:

• Personal and close organizational characteristics
• Mentoring and nurturing leadership style
• Management of employees involves team work and participation
• Loyalty and trust are the organizational glue
• Strategic emphasis on human development and high trust
• Utah Opera has integrated a creative, competing and creative culture to open up to growth.
  • Competence through innovation and growth.
• Collaboration by investing in the team.
  • Creativity which is evident from the company’s innovation
  • Control through rules and regulations.

Utah Symphony’s culture

The main idea of Utah Opera’s culture is as follows,

“a strong identity derived from company’s high-powered conductors and professional approach to the art form and the business” (Delong & Ager, 2005)

Utah Symphony exhibits a market culture:

• Organizational characteristics are competitive and driven by market achievements.
• Leadership style is aggressive and result-oriented.
• Employee management is more driven by achievements.
• Goals accomplishments hold the organization together.
• Strategic emphasis is on winning and competitive actions.
• Utah Symphony’s is competitive and driven by market achievements.
• Utah Symphony is aggressive and result-oriented.
• Utah Symphony is more driven by achievements.
• Goals accomplishments hold the organization together.
• Utah Symphony has their strategic emphasis on winning and competitive actions.

Message strategy for Anne Ewers

• A weakening economy
• Decline in support for art
• The need for better products (Conrad, 2005).

There are a lot of different reasons why the key members of the opera contractors and the orchestra employees should be retained. These three ideas mentioned on the slide should be considered as the main reasons for the merge. The merger is supposed to help the companies economize on costs and replace lost revenues. A merger is also considered the best option for these two companies to expand their artistic potentials.

1. Control will give the business efficiency and quality
2. Creativity will enable it launch new into the global markets
3. Collaboration will be possible through long serving music directors
4. Competence will allow the business venture into international markets

The merger of these two companies will allow the companies to experience the following benefits:

• Control has given the business efficiency and quality through adhering to their budgets and persistent management.
• The company exhibits creativity by speculating and taking advantage of new markets every time there is an opportunity.
• Collaboration has been possible by having long serving music directors.
• Creativity is evident from the company’s ability to venture into international markets even when it was not a common trend.

It is important to remember that Anne Ewers may use the following arguments for retaining employees:

• Some employees are very critical for a company’s success. Retaining such employees from both company’s may simply require reassuring them that they are needed and are important to the business.
• Autonomy is the most treasured right of privilege by most managers. However, Anne Ewers should only allow this for those managers linked to highly valued company goals.
• Employees will many times identify with a company’s culture and may not longer be comfortable when it changes. Anne Ewer must ensure that the integration and culture changes do not leave employees feeling alienated.
• Increasing the pay of key employees will definitely attract their attention.

Anne Ewers shouldn’t hide the fact that the first years are going to be rather difficult for these two organizations, still, it is possible to overcome those It is impostant to be honest with the key members of the opera contractors and the orchestra employees and say hem that the following problems will occur, but, still, it is possible to cope with them:

• A merged management will ensure that executive teams from both companies are in agreement.
• Employees need to be educated and trained on the new business model, practices and changes.
• The new company will need to build a business reputation, based on the strength of each of the companies.
• A brand strength will be made possible by merging products to make one strong brand and avoid internal competition among products.

The new company’s strategic goals will include managing internal mobility and merging financial management through:

• Needs analysis
• Training
• Establishing responsible departments
• Merging stakeholders from both businesses
  • A human resource management technology will help the company establish responsible and well able departments through tools such as training.
  • The new company will need a harmonious system to integrate employees from both companies and their responsibilities. Managing human resources will be the foundation of the merger and its operations.
  • The business will need to merge and integrate other stakeholders from both businesses such as suppliers.
  • Available technology will help the new company easily identify and manage arising problems.
  • Managing a merger’s financial operations determines how well it can hold its stability in future. A financial management technology will help the merger manage its financial needs and operations such as revenues, salaries, purchases and other expenses.

Technology Tools

Human Resource Management Technology

• HR auditing
• Training and re-training facilities
• Leadership strategies
• Creation of the healthy environment
• Restructuring of the staff ()
• Certainly the business will need to integrate all the employees from both companies and manage their new responsibilities.
• A key goal for the new company will be to create harmony amongst employees and allow a smooth transition of cultures and responsibilities.

Financial Management Technology

Problems:

• Radical difference in scale and action
• The absence of the performing artists under continuing contract in opera
• Differences in organizational structure

The merger of these two organizations may lead to numerous problems. The financial one will suffer the most and to understand the tendency the analysis will have to be completed. Moreover, it is obvious that some employees will have to be retrained.

Solving:

• Merging their financial supply chains management
• SAP software implementation

The financial department is going to be responsible for the task. A financial management technology will enable the company achieve one of the most important goals, which is merging their financial supply chains management. A financial management software such as SAP will give the new business modular applications.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The business will need:

• Re-evaluation
• Research and consideration
  • Consultations
  • A competent leader
• Employee’s training
• Re-branding
• Advertising
  • A successful merger requires that both companies’ models be broken and be re-evaluated.
  • When a transaction has not been tried before, as is the case of Utah Symphony and Utah Opera merger, the risk becomes bigger and therefore needs more information and consideration.
  • Every stakeholder in both companies must be involved to reduce disruption of business after the merger is complete.
  • After the merger, the new business would require a leader who is familiar with the industry.

Reference List

Conrad, B.H. (2005). Five thousand concerts: A commemorative history of Utah Symphony. New York: Routledge.

Delong, T.J., & Ager, D. (2005). Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A merger proposal. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Herzog, P. (2007). Open and Closed Innovation: Different Cultures for Different Strategies. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag, 2007.

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2007). Human Resource Management. Stamford: Cengage Learning.