Merger Proposal free essay sample

The symphony on the other hand, was a 52-week orchestra with no flexibility. † The merger may devastate the financial stability that Utah Opera currently enjoys. With the current financial state of the Utah Symphony, very close to being in a deficit situation, the merger will bring about a reallocation of funding from Utah Opera. For the employees, supporters, and members of the Utah Opera, this is a case of inequity. The business models of the Utah Opera and Utah Symphony are also opposites. Utah Opera has flexibility with regards to staging a show while Utah Symphony has a year-long timetable. William Bailey’s other concern is while the symphony would become a tier-one arts organization, this will be at the expense of the opera losing its identity. This is again an instance that will cause a feeling of inequity with the members and supporters of the opera. William Bailey could use Adam’s Equity Theory of Motivation to oppose the merger. We will write a custom essay sample on Merger Proposal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"Feelings of inequity revolve around a person’s evaluation of whether he or she receives adequate rewards to compensate for his or her contributive inputs† (Kreitner Kinicki, 2010). Based on this, William Bailey should oppose the merger considering how the opera employees, members, and supporters would perceive the outcome to be unfair. Members and supporters of the opera may result to reducing efforts and becoming disgruntled, difficult, unmanageable or even troublesome. This merger, its objectives, and possible results will cause people on the opera side to feel unfairly treated and will be highly inclined to feelings of disaffection and demotivation. People will be striving for fairness. At the moment, the merger seems to be for the benefit of the Utah Symphony. Looking at the financial viewpoint, the opera is currently stable and with better fund-raising results. If the merger transpires, the balance of effort and reward, and also the ratio of input and output, while the effort and input will be provided by the opera, the benefits will be enjoyed more by the symphony. Based on William Bailey’s comments, he weighed the possible benefits and disadvantages of the merger and the result seems to be reasonably unequal. The balance lies too far in favor of the Utah Symphony. Scott Parker Being the mastermind and initiator of the proposed merger, Scott Parker, Chairman of the Board of the Utah Symphony, will need to get the support of Mrs. Carolyn Abravanel to bolster public support of the proposed merger. Mrs. Abravanel is the widow of Maurice Abravanel, the long-time music director of the symphony who took it from a part-time community ensemble to a world-class symphony, and for whom the symphony hall was named after. Mrs. Abravanel’s true motivation in opposing the merger was based on her comment during an interview: â€Å"Maurice [her husband] would never take second billing to anyone. He would be hammering the inside of his casket [about the merger]† (Delong T. Ager, D. , 2005). She is possibly objecting to the idea of the merger due to the possibility that her late husband’s position and standing with regards to his contributions to the success of the symphony will become second fiddle to the prominence of what the merger may bring. Her comment may also convey that the importance of the symphony will become secondary to that of the opera if a merger transpires. Either her concern is her husband’s standing or the symphony’s stature, but there is definitely a need of hers to preserve a reputation, prestige, and recognition from others. Scott Parker should use Maslow’s Need Hierarchy (Content Theory of Motivation) to dissuade Mrs. Abravanel’s opposition of the proposed merger (Kreitner Kinicki, 2010). In relation to persuasion, how will Maslows theory apply to this situation? This question is especially difficult because so little is known about the reason why she is opposing the proposed merger. Persuading Mrs. Abravanel to change her mind about the merger will rely on Scott Parker to appeal to her needs. In applying Maslows theory to appeal and persuade Mrs. Abravanel, Scott Parker must decide what would be effective. This include predicting the needs level of Mrs. Abravanel. A person in her standing may not have to worry about basic (physiological), security or safety needs. These needs should have been reasonably met; however, she is anticipating the potential pressures of the other levels of needs. The basic needs are of low ¬ importance and are not motivations for her to oppose the merger. However, some individuals are motivated primarily by social, esteem, and self actualizing needs. The needs to be loved, to be accepted, and to belong are fulfilled when people join clubs, churches or temples, organizations, etc. These needs must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly or in the case of Mrs. Abravanel, to change her mind and support the proposed merger. Maslow (1943) indicated that people â€Å"attempt to seek safety and stability in the world in the very common preference for familiar rather than unfamiliar things, or for the known rather than the unknown†¦. eaction is often to unknown, psychological dangers in a world that is perceived to be hostile, overwhelming and threatening. Such a person behaves as if a great catastrophe is impending. † Mrs. Abravanel is a supporter of her husband’s work. Her husband’s success earned her the right to belong to the symphony community. The Utah Symphony is her social club as well as a fraternit y or network of people with the same interest and passions. The merger may put an end to this intimate group. A merged organization will bring in new focus, new people, and new ideas that will put an end to the familiar and comfortable. Maslow (1943) stated: â€Å"†¦ the absence of friends, or a sweetheart, or a wife, or children. He will hunger for affectionate relations with people in general, namely, for a place in his group, and he will strive with great intensity to achieve this goal. † This is the current situation for Mrs. Abravanel. Her husband is no longer around and she finds that affectionate relationship with people in the symphony group. Her affectionate needs are being fulfilled in the symphony group. She shares common experiences within her peers in the symphony community. She is against the proposed merger in fear of losing that affectionate group. She belongs to the symphony group. In Maslows hierarchy, there are esteem needs that are a step higher than social needs. In addition to social acceptance and belonging, people want to be heard, appreciated, and wanted. Some examples of esteem needs are recognition, reputation, attention, social status, accomplishment, and self-respect. Mrs. Abravanel stated that her husband â€Å"would never take second billing to anyone. † Would her husband, who is no longer alive, really be concerned about his billing? Is her statement about saving her husband’s importance or is it more for her own personal importance through her husband? Esteem needs include feeling important and the need for status. The merged organization will dominate individual standing within the symphony organization. Mrs. Abravanel indicated that her husband will be eclipsed in importance (â€Å"second billing†) if the merger occurs. The highest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy is the self-actualizing needs. This is the need for people to seek and achieve their significance through professional, philanthropic, organizational affiliation, educational, and artistic means. Mrs. Abravanel may be a self-actualized person. She may have achieved it in her involvement with the symphony and is concerned with the potential problems that the proposed merger may create. As a self-actualized person, she is involved in helping others and finding solutions to problems. This may be another reason that she is against the proposed merger. She may be motivated by a sense of personal responsibility and ethics to do whatever she can to preserve the symphony. According to Maslow (1956), self-actualized people are spontaneous in their internal thoughts and outward behavior. Self-actualized people are not embarrassed or guilty concerning their human nature and its limitations, imperfections, frailties, and weaknesses. They are honest, open, and genuine without pose or facade. Self-actualized people are not conformists. Mrs. Abravanel may be thinking and acting impulsively when she expressed her opposition to the proposed merger and as a self-actualized person, she was neither ashamed nor apologetic of what she thinks. Mrs. Abravanel is not hung up on what others think that she should be and she does what feels good and natural to her. Being self-actualized she has deep interpersonal relationship with others and very selective of friends. Despite being social-minded, her circle may be small, such as the Utah Symphony. Her opposition to the merger is to protect her circle. Scott Parker has to consider Mrs. Abravanel’s social, esteem, and self-actualizing needs. According to Maslow (1943), the character of social, esteem, and self-actualization needs are â€Å"unconscious† in most people. Based on logic, unconscious motivations are more important than the conscious motivations. Scott Parker needs to understand her motivation to meet those needs. By knowing the motivations behind those needs, he will then develop the desired actions that he will use to persuade or would satisfy those needs. Sometimes those who seem to be indifferent to changes are those who have their needs met and are currently comfortable where they are. A change, such as a merger, is immediately opposed because of the disruption it brings. Scott Parker has to convince Mrs. Abravanel to think differently and do something different from what she has vocalized. The most critical thing to consider is whether she requires a little prompting to change her mind or she is completely hostile to the idea. He may need different strategies for these two different possible situations. Mrs. Abravanel is unhappy about a major change that will ultimately improve the situation of Utah’s symphony. Scott Parker may try a simple method to get her to buy in. † He can start by preparing a list the reasons or benefits of the proposed merger. When talking to her, he should state the reasons, beginning with the least important ones and then the strongest. He has to build momentum on his discussion, ending his case with what she will perceive as the very best reason. The social need or the need to belong is a major force in the influence of human behavior. Scott Parkers should assure Mrs. Abravanel that the symphony will maintain its own identity and individuality. The symphony is a different type of organization to that of the opera. The merger will bring organization and financial strength and stability to both organizations. Belonging is essential for the development or improvement of self-esteem and self-confidence. This is the reason why Maslow presented social need below self-esteem in the hierarchy of needs. Fulfilling the social need is critical context because it will be used to validate a persons perceived worth. Validation of social identity maintains emotional engagement and enhances attachment to relationships and group affiliations. Scott Parker needs to focus on Mrs. Abravanel’s esteem or the need for reputation, prestige, and recognition from others, and self-actualization or the desire for self-fulfillment to persuade her to support the proposed merger. Satisfaction of self-esteem needs can lead to self-confidence, worth, strength, capability and adequacy of being useful and necessary in the world. Hindrance or elimination of these needs can produce feelings of inferiority, weakness, and helplessness. Mrs. Abravanel, most likely, is feeling that her self-esteem is sinking. The symphony which was a source of self-esteem is about to become a â€Å"second billing† to the opera. Scott Parker must assure her that the merger is an opportunity for the symphony to attract world-class artists and in turn further the prominence of the symphony that her husband had worked so hard to establish as a world-class symphony. Scott Parker needs to recognize Mrs. Abravanel’s achievements to make her feel appreciated and valued. Another esteem booster is offering her designation that conveys the importance of her involvement. Scott Parker should recognize that Mrs. Abravanel is trying to maintain the notability of her husband’s work in the Utah Symphony. This notability is also her status in the symphony community. Mrs. Abravanel is trying to preserve her husband’s legacy and at the same time maintaining her footing. In considering Mrs. Abravanel’s possible motivation, Scott Parker must handle the situation with the utmost regard and sensitivity. He must uphold and guarantee to preserve Maurice Abravanel’s respect, status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention within the symphony community even if the merger transpires. This approach will also take care of Mrs. Adravenal’s esteem. Maslow (1943) did not consider that self-actualization determines a person’s life. Instead he believed that it provides a person the desire and motivation to achieve promising ambitions. Mrs. Abravanel’s self-actualization emanates from her husband’s success and reputation. She may be who she is because of her husband’s own self-actualization or success. Scott Parker will need to assure Mrs. Abravanel that her husband’s work, success, and contribution to the Utah Symphony will be continually affirmed. Scott Parker needs to make Mrs. Abravanel realize that the merger has a potential of advancing the work that her husband started. The proposed merger will bring in diversity to both performing arts organizations. This is diversity with regards to talents, ideas, fund-raising, endowments, groups, individuals, etc. He can appeal to her being self-actualized, who does not discriminate on the basis of class, education, race, or color. As self-actualized, she will be able to recognize the necessity of a merger, and she will be ready and willing to learn. She will realize that everyone as potential contributors to the growth of the merged organization. Self-actualized people are least likely to conform but not anti-conformist. They tend to maintain privacy as it helps in discovering their inner potentials and recognizing their strengths and weaknesses. The merger must be seen as an invasion of privacy. Scott Parker must assure Mrs. Abravanel that the merger will bring enterprise inclusion. The merger is an integrated method to effectively way to ensure the continuance of Utah’s performing arts. This is an opportunity to draw from the strengths of both organizations. The merger is a very concrete and manageable step that can be taken in to ensure a collective commitment of staging the best performances. Scott Parker must maintain a reciprocal and trusting relationship with Mrs. Abravanel to create an effective alliance. He needs to consider her apprehensions about the merger. As a self-actualized person, Mrs. Abravanel motivation in preserving the symphony is rooted in her desire to find meaning through the community. He must use his communication skills to persuade her that there are valuable and important roles for her that the merger will bring. He needs to build a bridge of collaboration with her by sharing the vision of the merger. He must ensure that she understands how her contributions will fit into that vision. He must also integrate her perspectives of her role. Collaboration and alliance will allow him to control the environment surrounding the proposed merger. For an effective collaboration, he must put together their shared vision of what needs to be carried out during and after the merger. Mrs. Abravanel may just need to know and to understand. Acquiring knowledge about the merger and the reasons behind it may all she needs. Freedom to inquire and freedom of expression are at times necessities in satisfying needs. Maslow (1943) stated: â€Å"The fact is that people are good, if only their fundamental wishes are satisfied, their wish for affection and security. Give people affection and security, and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and their behavior. † Anne Ewers Anne Ewers’ positional power within the performing arts community in Utah started when she was hired in 1991 as the General Director of the Utah Opera. In December 2001, she was offered the leadership (CEO) of the new organization as a result of the proposed merger of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera, for which she was interested. Her positional power was granted by the board of directors. What will enable one person to influence others? Or what make the public open to be influenced by Anne Ewers? In this case, it will depend on her personal characteristics, such as charisma and reputation, and her use of influence tactics. Anne Ewers’ personal power was a result of her behavior and accomplishments. People follow and admire her because of her deeds. Anne Ewers has a reputation of being â€Å"energetic, enthusiastic, and capable. † People of such personality are often popular and well-liked. She has been successful in her position with various opera companies. She is also known as business savvy improving the financial outlooks of the different opera companies that she has worked at. This is somewhat a â€Å"rewards power† because of her ability to influence others by providing something of value to her admirers. She is very successful at fundraising therefore she must also have that â€Å"connection power. † Large donations often come from influential and affluent people. As the future leader of the proposed merged organizations, Anne Ewers has a great deal of challenges ahead of her. For the merger to transpire and be successful she must bring two different organizations as well as cultures together, and she needs the support of both the symphony and opera communities. Anne Ewers must use her positional power, the authority and influence bestowed by her position as upcoming CEO, to lead the merger endeavor. The proposed merger requires influence situations where positional power issues are important. For Anne Ewers to be successful, she needs to handle these situations well and requires some careful consideration of the issues involved. The impact of positional power depends on how it is used. There are different situations that a person in Anne Ewers’ position needs to influence. First, she needs to influence those that have more positional power than her. This can be the members of the Board of Directors from both sides who are not totally agreeing with the proposed merger. She needs them as allies in this endeavor. Since she has managed various opera companies before and a success in business side of the performing arts, she can present them a business case stressing both the positive and negative aspects of the proposed merger. Second, she needs to influence those with current equal positional power. Influencing equals can be sensitive due to possible responsibility or function conflicts, authority issues, and the possible territorial protection or possessiveness. People of equal positional power may get caught up in defending their position instead of focusing on the positive aspects of the proposed merger. Anne Ewers needs to win over her peers by treating them with respect. Third, she needs to influence those who have less positional power, such as the permanent staff, seasonal staff, and contract staff. Anne Ewers’ personal influence skills can help use her positional power more constructively. She needs to build constructive elationships with those that will be reporting to her after the merger is completed. This is also a fundamental way of motivating and developing her reports. Her employees (and potential employees) support of the proposed merger depends on her giving them assurance that the merger will benefit all including employees. Anne Ewers should not rely to o heavily on her positional power to her direct reports (and additional potential direct reports). In order for her to gain positive results, she must balance her positional and personal power. This can be done by exercising her positional or personal power according to the situation. Emphasizing more on her positional influence attempts may be misinterpreted as domineering, authoritarian, intimidating, or coercive. It is already recognized that she was given the positional power to run the merged organizations. In this situation, she needs to step back from her positional power by applying more of her personal influence and enhance the staff’s personal power. She also needs to rely on the personal power of the opera and symphony members. A group discussion may help the members understand and influence each other to support the merger. Rational arguments may occur but with factual information. The success in influencing her subordinates will depend on the way that she will exercise her power. It must be subtle and careful that it minimizes status differentials. At this stage of the merger, Anne Ewers, the announced CEO of the new merged organization, will be under scrutiny. What she says will be critical. Before responding to any unfamiliar comments, she must have amount of time to deliberate or think over the implications of different potential responses. She must contemplate which response will be appropriate. Her personal influence skills need to support the positive use of her positional power. She can use her positional power to build public relations in order to achieve public support of the merger. Her positional power is a legitimate power that was authorized to her by the board of directors. Anne Ewers need to use her personal power is used wisely. This can increase her positional power. The same with using her positional power wisely, it can increase her personal power. However, when either one of them is used improperly, it reduces both her personal power and positional power. There must be a balance that requires influence, judgment, and insight Influence is the ability to affect a person’s thinking or actions. Deutsch and Gerard (1955) described two psychological needs that lead people to conform to the influence of others: the need to be right and the need to be liked. Anne Ewers should not focus her energy trying desperately to defend that the merger is the correct solution or that those who oppose got it all wrong. Instead of proving those who are opposed are wrong about the merger, she just needs to be clear about the advantages of the proposed merger. As indicated by her track record, Anne Ewers has the passion, charm, and great intellect. Her success in fund-raising, there is no doubt that she has outstanding oratory skills. These elements within her personal power, in combination with her positional power, will be essential in providing the public clarity about the advantages of the proposed merger. This proposed merger is fundamentally about change. It is a major direction choice that requires change. A change is telling people to shift from something familiar to something unfamiliar. Anne Ewers should approach this to encourage people to think about the advantages of a merger and trust her and the board of directors that they are creating something good for the opera and symphony. People (public, staff, etc. ) need to understand the decision and how performing art companies all over the United States are trying to operate with limited funds. Data can be presented on which the board of directors based their decision to propose a merger. There will be disagreement. This is fine as long as there is clarity on which path is the one that the opera and symphony will travel together in order to survive. Some people oppose the proposed merger due to the fear of losing esteem or acceptance. In organizations, there is a subtle popularity contest that pursues to amass the quantity of fans and followers and seeks approval that satisfies self-esteem. A merger of the two organizations will minimize people’s significance. Anne Ewers will encounter complaints and oppositions about the proposed merger. This will be a true test of her likeability. She needs to put her best foot forward and treat everyone with respect and consideration. She must protect people’s feelings at all times and make them feel good about continuing on supporting the performing arts, whether as a merged or separate entities. The stronger her emotional relationship with opera and symphony communities, the more successful she will be in gaining support for the merger. Likeability in her part is also an extremely important part of selling the proposed merger. If people do not like who she is as a person, they will not buy-in into the proposed merger. Empowering Keith Lockhart, Anne Ewers should approach it delicately. Her attempt of empowerment can be misconstrued as an authoritative command. Her nomination to be CEO and having bestowed authority over the proposed merged organization may create uneasiness with Keith Lockhart, who currently holds a prominent position in the Utah Symphony and is a celebrated and world-renowned primary conductor of the Boston Pops and has conducted orchestras from the eastern United States to Singapore. Even with her upcoming high positional power in the proposed merger, she needs to step away from her positional power in the circumstances by exerting more with her personal influence and enhance Keith Lockhart’s personal and positional powers. Anne Ewers needs to earn and maintain a positive influence towards Keith Lockhart. She needs to respect Keith Lockhart’s position and prominence within the symphony community and treats him with equal positional power. Keith Lockhart has authority and influence with the Utah Symphony members and staff, and the symphony community. She must avoid striking Keith Lockhart’s self-esteem. Losing Keith Lockhart’s support of the proposed merger will also incite an opposition from the symphony community. Her approach should require that neither person lose total power or perceive of losing it. At this early stage, her role as CEO and Keith Lockhart’s role as the head of the symphony is still something to be clarified. Keith Lockhart is used to performing organizations having a separate business and artistic leaderships. The organization for the proposed merged performing arts groups has him reporting to her instead of the board of directors. A misstep with this issue may trigger a mutiny on Keith Lockhart’s part. However, she must also avoid power struggles and internal or intra-organizational strife. She must use positive personal power and influence that will involve meeting both of their personal objectives and at the same time building up a productive relationship. In discussing empowerment, Honold (1997) points out, to be successful, each organization must create and define it [empowerment] for itself. Empowerment must address the needs and culture of each unique entity. Understanding that Keith Lockhart is a great artistic leader, Anne Ewers should focus his empowerment in this area. As he had indicated, his priority is â€Å"the interests of the symphony. † It will be best for him to maintain control of the symphony. He understands the musicians and they have a great respect for him. He is valid in presupposing that once the trust that the musicians have in him is broken, this will render him ineffective. Empowerment is a benefit both to Keith Lockhart and the symphony organization. Employees who work in empowered jobs have increased motivation and job satisfaction (Ford Fottler, 1995). Empowerment will maintain Keith Lockhart’s confidence in his ability to head the symphony. For both Anne Ewers and Keith Lockhart, the merger is rational and sensible for the survival, maintenance, and furtherance of both the Utah Opera and Utah Symphony. Their needs and values are relevant to this endeavor. To validate her empowerment of Keith Lockhart, Anne Ewers needs to delegate all the artistic responsibility tasks and grant him the authority to carry out his leadership, and clearly and distance herself appropriately. Potential Issue with Musicians A possible issue that may arise with the musicians, especially on the symphony side, is causing the conductor, Keith Lockhart, ineffective, and as a result the symphony will be unproductive. As Keith Lockhart stated, â€Å"an orchestra has the collective power to render a conductor ineffective if they so choose† (Delong T. Ager, D. , 2005). A conductor is to have the cooperation of the orchestra to be able to have the freedom and flexibility to create a great performance. Everyone, whether they are soloists, principal musicians, section players, etc. must follow the conductor’s every move. To render the conductor ineffective, the orchestra members will no longer cooperate . In this case, the conductor will lose control of the orchestra. Keith Lockhart indicated that it is crucial to maintain trust with the orchestra (Delong T. Ager, D. , 2005). If that trust is broken, it is possible that the orchestra will collectively render him ineffective. If the symphony orchestra members feel that they are not fairly treated, they will decrease their inputs or even become disruptive. Service, T. (2010) of The Guardian wrote about some examples in which conductors were made ineffective by their orchestra. Some of the conductors were even subjected to abuse, rudeness, and disrespect. Musicians of the Utah Symphony are full-year employees with full salary. The symphony musicians are represented by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). One of the guiding principles was for the symphony orchestra to have a strong collective bargaining agreement. As with any other organization, the symphony resolution to petition improvement working conditions (issues of wages, hours, vacations, and working conditions) is unionism. Unions also look after the special needs and interests of the orchestra. The musicians at this time are thinking that the merger is a ploy to renegotiate current collective agreement since their wages are â€Å"considered too high given the size and status of the Utah Symphony. In response to the news of the proposed merger, the musicians started an ad hoc committee to present their â€Å"guiding principles† or demands to be included in the merger (Delong T. Ager, D. , 2005). It is possible that the complaints coming from the symphony musicians are triggered by Anne Ewers appointment. The orchestra is concern that the symphony will become an add-on to the opera given that the proposed CEO of the m erge organization is the current general director of the opera. Adams Equity Theory will be an appropriate motivation theory for Anne Ewers to use. This theory requires for a fair balance to ensure a strong and productive relationship is achieved with employees and resulting with the employees being contented and motivated. According to Kreitner Kinicki (2010), managers will benefit by employees participating or having a voice in decisions concerning their occupation. This will result in improved employees’ perceptions of procedural justice. The symphony orchestra wants fairness and involvement when the members organized an ad hoc committee to represent their voice to the merger committee. The list of guiding principles that the ad hoc committee listed are to ensure the protection of the symphony and its members. Additionally, following the Equity Theory, Anne Ewers should provide the symphony orchestra members an opportunity to appeal decisions that affect their welfare. When people are able to appeal a decision, this will promote a perception that there is distributive and procedural justice within the organization (Kreitner Kinicki, 2010). Increasing musician involvement in the institution’s artistic matters should mediate the stress associated with the musicians’ perceived lack of control over their careers and working environment. The musicians must see that the proposed merger is for the future of both performing arts organizations not Anne Ewers pursuing a personal agenda or a calculating way of dealing with musician contracts. Through the participative nature of consultation, a sponsor invites members’ â€Å"buy-in† to their leaders’ initiatives, particularly when the members are likely to have a role in implementation (Yukl, 2002). Consultation provides employees with a sense of voice and input into leaders’ decisions. Voice has been shown to be especially important to employees’ perceptions of fair treatment and respect (Dulebohn, 1997; Lind, Kanfer, Earley, 1990). There is just process when employees participate in the decision-making process, perceive unbiased decisions, and see consistent application of rules. Deutsch (2000) stated, â€Å"People feel affirmed if the procedures that are adopted treat them with respect and dignity, making it easier to accept outcomes they do not like. Just process will not necessarily prevent the symphony employees from having a perception of inequity or unfairness with regards to the merger but Anne Ewers can prevent repercussions from perceptions of inequity, such as the possibility of the orchestra rendering Keith Lockhart ineffective as a conductor. Anne Ewers can promote cooperation and agreement from the symphony group members by treating them equitably. When people are treated fairly, they tend to be more cooperative and motivated. When they feel unfairly treated, they are more prone to feelings of dissatisfaction and demotivation. The symphony orchestra is forming perceptions of what they believe constitutes as unfair, such as the symphony becoming just an extension of the opera. They also provided a guiding principle to ensure a budget strategy be established to improve the position of the symphony as a 52-week-season orchestra. Involving the orchestra to ensure that their guiding principles are addressed during and after the merger is one behavioral process to restore the perception of equity in the merged performing arts organization. Ensuring that the guiding principles are addressed is to increase the input of the symphony members to the organization during and after the merger. Behavioral approaches can also cause a person to change the input or outcome (Adams, 1963). The perceptions of justice can be intensely inspired by the leadership behavior exhibited by their superiors. Anne Ewers need to pay attention to the symphony organization’s mood with regards justice. The symphony organization’s climate for justice may be the significant influence in their opposition of the proposed merger or any collective action that may occur after the merger. Anne Ewers needs to be transparent concerning the objectives of the proposed merger. This will prevent speculations on the musicians’ side. The interests of merger should be clarified. She should discuss with the musicians the current needs of the performing arts community in Utah and present the proposed merger as the best option. One of the guiding principles that the symphony listed is effective fund-raising. Currently, the opera has a very good fund-raising program that Anne Ewers established. A merger will incorporate the symphony into a well-established and effective fund-raising program. The needs of the musicians must also be identified. Anne Ewers negotiation skills need to resolve the terms and conditions that the musicians union presented. She needs to present the options that were considered and the reasons why those are not being pursued. She also needs to present the underlying interests and needs why the merger is the way to go. She should listen to the musicians’ ideas. Those just may be variations of the same idea. As with Keith Lockhart, she must be also be perceived as trustworthy by the symphony orchestra members, and that she is sincere about improving the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera. Anne Ewers can also use cognitive approaches cause the orchestra members to change perception. However, cognitive processes involve developing justifications for the inequity to make it seem equitable (Adams, 1963). This involves distorting perceptions of inputs and outcomes. This is not recommended due to its potential appearance of being deceptive. Anne Ewers can also use Keith Lockhart to reach out to the symphony orchestra members. Conductors are very aware of the character of their musicians. Since he is their music director/conductor, he has a strong relationship with them. As he indicated, the orchestra members look up to him to protect their interest. He is the person responsible for the well-being of the orchestra. He interacts with them on a regular basis and ensures that they are playing well. He is responsible for the image the orchestra project as an ensemble. Maintaining Keith Lockhart’s autonomous administration of the artistic part of the symphony will uphold his leadership and esteem amongst the symphony orchestra members. For him to be effective with the orchestra, he must maintain the trust established with the orchestra members. Anne Ewers need to reinforce this trust as she herself seeks their trust. As he has indicated, his success in his leadership position â€Å"depends on maintaining a trust relationship with the orchestra† (Delong Ager, 2005). During and after the merger, Anne Ewers need to use her personal power to persuade by doing a series of â€Å"townhouse meetings† or â€Å"fireside chats† with just the orchestra members. This will enable her to discuss issues openly without the fear of recrimination. This informal meeting will be a very open way of addressing the musicians’ questions and concerns. This a time to answer questions heard from the public or media. She can also share her issues and concerns. In performing consultation tactics, Anne Ewers needs to wants to assess the extent to which the musicians will disagree with the proposed merger or the status of the guiding principles that the musicians demanded. This will also enable her to initiate a discussion of the musicians’ concerns and determine how the approach or language of the merger might be modified to gain support during and after the merger. This will prevent the possibility of the orchestra reprisal of rendering the conductor ineffective. She must pay attention to how she communicates. Any distortion of truth or attempt to mislead will cause any trust that she earned to evaporate. Negotiation involves interpersonal relationship. The success of the merged performing arts organization goals depends on the buy-in of the musicians. Eliminating or at least easing the perception of inequality will suppress the possibility of a collective action, such as rendering the conductor ineffective. The players will execute their responsibilities as professionals and management should treat them as such. But no matter the outcome, whether the merger occurs or not, the most important is how well the relationship emerged from the process. Opera Staff and Artists The article concerning the proposed merger included different responses from the community. Some were in agreement and some were opposed. There was one direct comment from the Utah Opera staff of 23 people. The daughter of the opera founder Glade Peterson, resigned from her position as director of operations due to her disagreement with the proposed merger. One retired artist, a dancer and critic, provided a remark that agreed with the proposed merger from a business standpoint (Delong Ager, 2005). It is not known how the opera staff is reacting collectively, it can be assumed that there are members who agree with the merger and there are members who are against the merger. Anne Ewers has to convince those who are against and maintain the loyalty of those that agree. An important determinant of leadership effectiveness is the ability to influence people. How leaders communicate with people has a huge impact on the success of getting to the goal or what is being achieved. Leaders must adapt their communication approach to different individuals or groups to be able to persuade or influence them. A person or a group may respond to a direct approach, while others will respond better to humor and casual way. Leaders tend to use different tactics and to have somewhat different objectives depending on the person or person that she is trying to persuade. Anne Ewers may have to modify her approaches to get people on board. There is not one correct way to influence people. Anne Ewers must simply have to discover the best approach in specific situations to achieve a positive result. Listening to those around her will help her identify the best approach to use. A leader’s effectiveness includes being able to influence others to support and implement decisions that are perceived to be necessary. The absence of influence indicates no leadership. Simply put, leadership is evident in influencing outcomes. The success of Anne Ewers influence tactics can be distinguished by the opera staff commitment to the organization or resistance to the proposed merger. As discussed earlier, she has a relatively large amount of power. She can employ a variety of influence tactics. Below are the common influence tactics categorized into soft tactics and hard tactics (Falbe and Yukl, 1992): Soft tactics: considered friendly or non-coercive and perceived to be fair. †¢Rational persuasion: use of reason, logical arguments, or factual evidence. †¢Inspirational appeal: use of request or proposal that tries to build enthusiasm by appealing to others’ emotions, ideals, or values. †¢Consultation: use of invitation for others to participate in planning, making decisions, and changes to obtain buy-in with the leader’s initiatives. Ingratiation: getting others in a good mood before attempting to influence them, often taking the form of flattery. †¢Personal appeal: referring to friendship and loyalty when making a request. Hard tactics: involve more overt pressure, generate resistance, and are perceived as being unfair. †¢Exchange: use of implied promises and the act of trading favors to gain support or compliance from people. †¢ Coalition tactics: enlisting the assistance of others as a way to influence people to do something. †¢Legitimating tactics: the use of authority or right, organizational rules or polices, or directions from superiors. Pressure: using demands, threats, scrutiny, or persistent reminders to influence people to do something. The success of an influence tactic can be differentiated by the people’s or intended target’s commitment, responsiveness, or resistance to the desired result. According to Falbe and Yukl (1992), â€Å"leaders with a relatively large amount of power may successfully employ a wider variety of influence tactics than those with little power. For example, leaders who use referent power have the widest range of influence tactics from which to choose (e. . consultation, ingratiation, exchanges, inspirational appeals, personal appeals, and coalition tactics) while those who have legitimate power are limited to using only coalition, legitimizing, or press ure tactics. † Due to her personal and referent power, Anne Ewers will be able influence the opera staff using soft tactics: consultation, rational persuasion, ingratiation, inspirational appeals, and personal appeals. These are considered while those who have legitimate power are limited to using only coalition, legitimizing, or pressure tactics. These are called soft tactics or those considered as friendly or non-coercive and are perceived to be fair. Because of her positional or legitimate power, she can also use hard tactics: exchange, coalition tactics, legitimating tactics, and pressure. However, these tactics may have damaging consequences in this situation. Hard tactics involve more explicit pressure. This is sometimes perceived as being unfair and may generate resistance. By assessing the situation and Anne Ewers’ history with the Utah Opera, the appropriate influence tactics to employ with the opera staff and contract artists should be soft tactics. These tactics, such as inspirational and consultation, will be effective due to her high standing and respect within that group. Hard tactics, such as pressure, will not simply work. These tactics will cause the members to implicitly question her motivation and will result to her losing her standing and may cause a lack of respect by the group. For the Utah Opera staff of 23 people and the artists hired for specific productions, Anne Ewers can use inspirational appeals. According to Falbe and Yukl (1992), inspirational tactics involve the leader’s explicit appeals to the member’s values, goals, and aspirations. Yukl and Falbe (1990) had determined that inspirational appeal is one of the most frequently used in downward (leader to staff) influence tactics. This conclusion coincides with the research results of Schriesheim and Hinkin (1990), who found that inspirational appeal has significant positive relationships. The opera organization may feel that this proposed merger is just to bail-out the symphony from its financial woes and the symphony organization may feel that this is to put them under the control of the opera. The supporters of each organization will have their own speculations and biases concerning the proposed merger. Recognizing Anne Ewers’ great ability to raise financial support, it is obvious that she has social power and the ability to influence others in order to further her interest of keeping the opera financially stable. She may need to translate this social power to influence public opinion and motivation to support the proposed merger. People oppose an idea when they lack awareness or have limited information about the idea. The disagreements and oppositions can quickly disappear when the differing views become common knowledge. This is because the public will realize that the opposition is due to the private or personal information of other people, which is relevant in their own judgment but not may be that pertinent to the proposed merger. According to Falbe and Yukl (1992), inspirational appeals have been associated with favorable member responses to the leader’s requests. However, the effectiveness of Anne Ewers’ inspirational appeals will depend on how the opera employees understand her intentions. If the opera employees share her values and goals, there will be no difficulties. By affirming the opera employees’ worth in the organization, Anne Ewers use of inspirational appeals will be understood as a confirmation of employees relationship and standing with her. This will likely to hold high among members who enjoy the respect of their leaders and share values with them (Ashkanasy O’Connor, 1997), and as applicable this case, it can result to the opera staff and contract artists to support the proposed merger. In contrast, if members see their relationship with their leaders as only a needed exchange between employer and employee, and their obligation extends only to what is specified in the job description or contract, appeals to shared values, goals, or objectives are hollow pleas. Anne Ewers has history and familiarity with the members of the Utah Opera and can appeal to their ideals and values. The members may have admiration and confidence in her leadership. They have seen the progress and improvements that Anne Ewers had carried out with the opera. She needs to tap into their emotions and enthusiasm by displaying her feelings about the proposed merger. Inspirational appeals are known to be an effective tool to raise subordinate’s enthusiasm towards a request (Yukl, Falbe, Youn, 1993). Several studies on the inspirational appeal tactics also show consistent results in subordinates’ satisfaction with supervision (Schriesheim Hinkin 1990). The effectiveness of Anne Ewers’ inspirational appeals will depend on how the opera employees interpret her intentions. However, with Anne Ewers’ history with the opera staff, they may share similar values and goals. Anne Ewers may need to determine the common desires of the opera staff and connect it to the vision of the proposed merger. She needs to inspire them to reach beyond their own self-interests and foster a mutuality of interest (a win–win situation). The opera employees may be the easiest group for Anne Ewers to convince. They may have already bought-in with the proposed merger and all she needs to do is confirm of her relationship with the opera staff. She needs to continue articulating the visions of the future of a merged performing arts organization. She must talk optimistically and enthusiastically about future improvements and projects that will be made possible because of the merger. Anne Ewers can also use consultation tactic. Through the participative nature of consultation, Anne Ewers will invite the buy-in of the opera members. She will solicit the members input concerning the proposed merger and likely request their support in the implementation. Consultation will provide employees with a sense of voice and input into their leaders’ decisions. As mentioned earlier, voice has been shown to be especially important to employees’ perceptions of fair treatment and respect (Dulebohn, 1997; Lind, Kanfer, Earley, 1990). Consultative influence tactics provides members the opportunity as participants in â€Å"planning a strategy, activity, or change for which the target’s support and assistance are desired† and through participation, members will gain â€Å"a sense of ownership† (Falbe Yukl, 1992). Consultation is particularly effective in determining the extent of members’ agreement or to what extent of which they will not agree with the leader. This tactic also facilitates an open discussion of member’s concerns. This is beneficial in resolving the concerns of members and in deciding how to modify the goal or the approach to the goal in order to win support. To promote the merger to those that cannot be won through inspirational or consultation tactics, especially those that ask â€Å"what is there for me† Anne Ewers can use exchange tactics. This will involve propositions of future benefits that are conditional on the members supporting the proposed merger. This tactic will create a commitment to reciprocate on the part of Anne Ewers in return the favor to the members for their support of the merger. This may include a guarantee that the opera will present a certain number of productions in a year or a guarantee that the opera will maintain its autonomy from the symphony. Falbe and Yukl (1992) criticized exchange tactics as â€Å"relying on extrinsic enticements and impersonal transactions,† and therefore concluded that their effectiveness is limited. However, members who enjoy high quality exchange relationships with their leaders, exchange tactics will be interpreted within the context of that trusted relation. For this type of tactic, Anne Ewers may have to use it only with those with whom she has consistent on-going social exchange relationship. Anne Ewers understanding and use of the interconnection of her power, influence tactics, and leadership is instrumental not only in persuading members from both sides to support the merger but also in integrating the two performing arts organization and maintaining an effective unit. Her effectiveness in this situation depends on the combination of her power, her influence tactics, and leadership. How she uses this combination is dependent on her flexibility, her audience, the situation, and the envisioned result.