Jft2 Task 2
In analyzing the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera merger case study, it was obvious that many factors, finances, personalities, and even the community would be involved. The wide reaching affects of a merger between these two types of organizations was eye opening. At the time of the proposed merger, the Utah Opera had a stronger financial footing and was not in danger of closing. The Utah Symphony however, was sliding down a dangerous financial slope. The organizations were structured differently in their number of employees and financial compensation packages. These differences would prove challenging in a merger and could be the basis Bill Bailey would use to oppose such a merger.
Bill Bailey, Chairman of the Board of the Utah Opera Organization, could site Adam’s Equity Theory model in opposition to the merger. This theory basically states that an individual’s behavior is motivated by feelings of inequity or injustice (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). The inequity between the two organizations is vast. The opera is financially sound and has very few full time employees as compared to the symphony. The artists for the opera are hired for the individual performances and not contracted year round like the symphony performers. The symphony also has four times the number of employees and these are unionized contracts. So in Bill Bailey’s eyes, the opera is being used to bail out the larger symphony with it’s more financially sound budget. Also, the symphony performers will still expect this type of compensation after a merger and the opera performers would not receive the same benefits. This would be seen by the opera staff as negative inequity in that the opera is saving the symphony and not reaping the same rewards. The Utah Symphony is also a more widely known organization and this may also be negative in that the opera will essentially be immersed within the symphony. This could potentially be damaging to the opera leaving it overshadowed by the
Bill Bailey, Chairman of the Board of the Utah Opera Organization, could site Adam’s Equity Theory model in opposition to the merger. This theory basically states that an individual’s behavior is motivated by feelings of inequity or injustice (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). The inequity between the two organizations is vast. The opera is financially sound and has very few full time employees as compared to the symphony. The artists for the opera are hired for the individual performances and not contracted year round like the symphony performers. The symphony also has four times the number of employees and these are unionized contracts. So in Bill Bailey’s eyes, the opera is being used to bail out the larger symphony with it’s more financially sound budget. Also, the symphony performers will still expect this type of compensation after a merger and the opera performers would not receive the same benefits. This would be seen by the opera staff as negative inequity in that the opera is saving the symphony and not reaping the same rewards. The Utah Symphony is also a more widely known organization and this may also be negative in that the opera will essentially be immersed within the symphony. This could potentially be damaging to the opera leaving it overshadowed by the
References: Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (2010). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill