Theory of Motivation Used by Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is a chairman of the board at the opera; so, he can use one of the motivation theories to oppose or support the merger because he has sufficient power and authority to motivate other members of the board as well as staff members to oppose or support the merger. In this respect, one of the most effective theories of motivation that can fit this situation can be considered Herzberg’s two-factor theory (Davies, 2007, p. 81).
This theory presupposes that employees can be motivated with the help of two factors that influence their behavior. In other words, this theory can be similarly successful for support and opposition of the merger when used by Bill Bailey. As two factors include motivators such as challenging work and hygiene factors such as status and salary, it is necessary to encourage employees and the board to the merger.
On the contrary, two factors can be used to discourage employees to support the merger. For example, if people are offered higher salaries, they would not quit though this does not mean that they would voluntarily support the merger; at the same time, employees can support the merger if reported that they can succeed in more challenging work or obtain more recognition.
Theory of Motivation Used by Scott Parker
Scott Parker, chairman of the board of the Utah Symphony Organization, might use one theory of motivation to convince Mrs. Abravenal to support the merger. This can be rather challenging but effective if Mrs. Abravenal supports the merger and shows an example for the community, media, employees, and the board to follow. In other words, the role motivation theory can be applied by Parker to ensure that Mrs. Abravenal supports the merger.
As reported by Miner (1994), this theory has “…special advantages because it possesses a clearly defined domain, a carefully developed and consistently used measuring device with standardized scoring, and includes multiple values and motives” (p. 39). Thus, Mrs. Abravenal is sure to value the merger as an opportunity to increase the stability of the organization. She, in this case, is perceived as one of the most influential individuals that can support the merger on behalf of the deceased founder of the organization. The role of the organization will be changed and Scott Parker can persuade Mrs. Abravenal that this change will positively contribute to the image and reputation of the organization as it bears the name of its founder.
Positional and Personal Power of Anne Ewers
Anne Ewers is a powerful leader in terms of the positional and personal power she possesses. Her power includes her ability to work with people and it is granted to her by her subordinates, as reported in the study by Crandall (2006). This also demonstrates that her high position does not presuppose personal power, respect, or trust. As her approach and skills helped her obtain knowledge and experience, it can be seen that she has good expert personal power.
Her positional power gives her sufficient authority to gain more personal power as she can be a leader for more employees in case these two organizations merge into a single one. In other words, she can exercise her positional power hence increasing her power if her employees considered her an expert in their field and trust her; on the contrary, Anne Ewers can lose her power if she does not show enough knowledge and experience to operate as a CEO for the merged organization.
Positional power to lead the merger efforts
As Anne Ewers is the General Director of the Utah Opera Organization, she has sufficient authority within her organization and the positional power entrusted to her by the board to ensure that the organization is run by an experienced person who is knowledgeable in the major field the organization operates in. in other words, Anne Ewers can fail to become a leader for the merged organization because the positional power is limited to the organization that entrusted her with this power. On the contrary, she has enough authority and positional power if she operates as a CEO for the merged organization hence being authoritative for employees within both organizations. The merger efforts can be challenging for Anne Ewers though she has sufficient competency to operate as a general director for both organizations.
Personal power to empower Keith Lockhart
Though Anne Ewers’ positional power can be considered sufficient for her to empower Keith Lockhart, the Music Director of the Utah Symphony Organization, she should use her power mostly. In this respect, she is perceived as an expert and her employees trust her and her ability to make sound decisions that are sure to contribute to the overall success of the organization positively.
So, she can use her power to ensure the board of the Utah Opera Organization and its employees that Keith Lockhart can be a Music Director of the merged organization and that he can be her partner rather than a subordinate as he is not satisfied with obtaining a position lower than he used to obtain before the merger efforts. Thereby, she has to use her authority entrusted her by her subordinates to ensure that the Music Director of the Utah Symphony Organization can be an effective leader.
Potential Issue with the Musicians
The potential issue with the musicians concerns the full-time employment of the Utah Opera Organization staff that is not signed contrasted to contracts signed for the staff of the Utah Symphony Organization. This can be a serious hazard for the merged organization’s operation and continuing performance. The difference in the involvement of staff in two separate organizations can become the reason for the ineffective continuing performance of the merged organization.
This is the issue that, if not resolved, can jeopardize the continuing performance of the merged organization. Every open opposition can result in ineffective performance and a failure concerning the merger of these two organizations. Besides, the number of non-salaried occasional workers that deal with the Utah Opera Organization is sufficient for employees to get worried; the part-time job, in this respect, is the most serious issue concerning the musicians as chorus, accompanists, ensemble, and orchestra are not full-time employed.
Recommendation for Anne concerning the issue
Anne Ewers can deal with the issue of partial employment with the help of the board approval to sign contracts with these employees so that they could work on a full-time basis. Another recommendation that can be used is that Anne Ewers can persuade the employees that they will be engaged on the same basis as before and nothing would change concerning their involvement as employees value stability. In this respect, Anne Ewers should find supportive evidence of the stability of the merged organization so that the employees believe her and could work on a stable basis. Moreover, if she persuades the board to sign full-time contracts with musicians, she can increase the costs of the merger thus leading to the losses that were expected to be overcome with the help of the merger.
Influence Tactics to Endorse the Merger
Anne Ewers could use influence tactics to persuade the opera’s full-time staff and artists under contract to endorse the merger because they would lose nothing contrasted to the musicians of the Opera organization who face serious difficulties as they do not know if their involvement would be as stable as before the merger. In this respect, Anne Ewers can use one of the theories of motivation to persuade the employee to endorse the merger.
Thus, she can make the employees strive for a higher status within the organization and an opportunity to gain more recognition. Moreover, challenges and responsibility levels that will increase since the merger of the organizations are fulfilled, hence it is a perfect motivating force for the employees to perform more effectively. As Anne can use influence tactics, she can use her power entrusted to her by her subordinates; so, employees of the merged organization are likely to support her authority as well due to her power. In other words, she can effectively persuade employees to endorse the merger of these two organizations by describing the opportunities and perspectives that would open for the merged organization.
Reference List
Crandall, D. (Ed.). (2006). Leadership lessons from West Point. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Davies, S. J. (2007). Security supervision and management: The theory and practice of asset protection (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Miner, J. B. (1994). Role motivation theories. New York: Routledge.