In this task, you will analyze the “Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal” case study. You will develop a proposed action plan for the new leader, Anne Ewers, to help her in the development of a new strategy to measure the success of the ongoing merger process. The strategic goals for the first year of the merger include the following:

•  Integrate the business processes of the two companies
•  Reduce overall expenses as a percentage to profit
•  Retain key employees
•  Maintain audience base for both the Utah Opera and the Utah Symphony
•  Identify and pursue synergistic opportunities between the two companies

A.  Develop an action plan for Anne Ewers by doing the following:
1.  Analyze the financial and leadership strengths and weaknesses of the Utah Symphony before the merger.
a.  Recommend the key steps Anne should take to address these weaknesses.
2.  Analyze the financial and leadership strengths and weaknesses of the Utah Opera before the merger.
a.  Recommend the key steps Anne should take to address these weaknesses.
3.  Analyze the four aspects of the scorecard from the attached “Business Scorecards” for each company.

B.  Develop a balanced scorecard for the merged company based on the specified strategic goals.

Note: The response must include all components of the balanced scorecard: vision, business model, 4 aspects (customer, financial, internal process, learning and growth). Each of the 4 aspects must include strategic goal, critical success factor, and measure.

C.  Analyze both the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed merged company, for each of the four aspects of the scorecard you developed in part B.

D.  Identify one highly probable issue that could arise during the merger process for each of the following areas:
•  Finance
•  Human resources
•  Customer satisfaction
1.  Recommend actions that the new merged company executive could take to mitigate each of these identified issues.
Introduction:

In this task, you will develop a presentation with recommendations to the combined board of directors on key aspects of the merger process in “Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal” case study. The presentation will encompass the coming year’s strategic goals, assuming the merger happens.

The strategic goals for the first year include the following:
•  Integrate the business process of the two companies
•  Reduce overall expenses as a percentage of profit
•  Retain key employees
•  Maintain audience base for both the opera and the symphony
•  Identify and pursue synergistic opportunities between the two companies
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Task 2:

Prepare a multimedia presentation (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote) (suggested length of 12–15 slides) in which you do the following:

Note: The slides in your presentation should include only the main points you wish to make, with more extensive information included in the presenter notes section of the presentation. Include slides that explain the objective of the presentation and lead the audience to the desired conclusion.

A.  Compare the cultures of the two companies using the relevant values in the attached “Competing Values Framework.”

Note: It is not necessary to address each value or culture individually. Rather, use the relevant values and cultures from the framework to draw a contrast or comparison between the two companies.

1.  Compare how the organizational structure of each company differs in terms of distribution of authority and decision making.
2.  Discuss what key factors will be critical in the new company’s culture to best ensure it supports the first-year strategic goals.

B.  Propose an audience strategy for Anne Ewers to use when preparing to speak with the opera contractors and orchestra employees.
1.  Prepare a message strategy for Anne to use to best ensure key members of the opera contractors and the orchestra employees are retained.

C.  Recommend two technology tools that can be used after the merger to help the companies merge their administrative technology applications.
1.  Discuss how each of these tools will help the company achieve one or more of the first-year strategic goals.