Financial Struggle of the Utah Symphony Prompt a Merger with the Utah Opera

Due to the weakening of the economy, low ticket sales, Utah Symphony financial struggle and the collapse of the stock market. The senior board members of the Utah Symphony and the Utah opera are considering merging the two organizations to economize costs, expand the artistic potential, and ultimately prevent a total collapse.

Bill Barley should utilize the Adams’s equity theory of motivation to oppose the merger. Adams’s equity motivation theory is a process theory which deals with people’s perception of fairness in a social exchange relationship (kreitner R., Kinicki A, 2010). People seek to maintain equity between the inputs brought into a job or a project and the outcome attained against the perceived inputs and outcomes of relevant others. In equity theory, individual behavior towards a situation or action is fueled by feeling of equity or inequity. Meaning, a person's reaction to the outcome of their inputs depend on the perception of whether or not they were treated fairing compared to others in the same situation. Negative inequity is perceived by an individual when a relevant person receives greater rewards for the same amount of work. Positive inequity is perceived by an employee when a relevant worker receives lesser rewards for the same amount of work (Kreiter R., Kinicki A., 2010).

Mr. Barley should oppose the merger for several reasons. He should inform the board that Utah opera has been financially responsible with funds in reserve, therefore the organization is financially sound while Utah Symphony are not. The opera employees might perceive the merger as a punishment for the shortcomings of the symphony. It will seem that the board is using the opera’s fund to save the symphony from shutting down. This will res...

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... toward helping oneself (Kreiter R., Kinicki A., 2010). There are five basis power identified by Kreiter and Kinicki and it includes reward, coercive, legitimate, personal, and referent.

Reward power is obtaining compliance by promising to reward an individual or group. The reward may be in the form of bonuses, raise or extra time off from work.

Coercive power involves the use of threat to obtain compliance; it forces people or an individual to submit to authority in fear of losing something important.

Legitimate power, also known as positional power is power derive from occupying a formal position in an organization such as a CEO or being a key member of a leadership team

Expert power comes from an individual’s experience, skills, attribute, and expertise.

Referent or personal power involves obtaining compliance through one’s charisma and personal characters.