Degree Name

MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management

First Advisor

Dr. Marla Solomon

Abstract

For the Love of Music: A Story of Organizational Culture and Change is an examination of culture and possibilities for change at an organization that manages one top-tier, U.S. classical music orchestra. The research was carried out for the purpose of making and refining meaning from collective employee experiences at a canon cultural organization whose practices reflect and influence our society beyond the context of music. The inquiry at the heart of the work is, ‘How does the organizational culture of the subject organization, Orchestra, Inc.[1], affect its readiness for organizational change?’ The research methodology consisted of organizational culture assessments provided by employees of Orchestra, Inc., and filtered through research and practice in the disciplines of organizational culture and organizational change, among others. Orchestra, Inc. was appraised to be highly hierarchical and marketplace-driven by employees who are inclined towards an ideal work environment where flexibility in the form of innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity drive organizational culture. A series of recommendations is provided in support of an organizational transition and followed by the concluding thought that Orchestra, Inc. is resistant to change because it has not yet adapted to modern-day practices of inclusion in its mission to protect and sustain the history and tradition of old-world musical masterpieces. The research provides transferable knowledge and insights for individuals and organizations around the ideas that drive organizational culture; strengths and liabilities of organizational culture; and, practical pathways to change that fairly represent the people who make up organizations.

For the Love of Music is written for an intended audience of Orchestra, Inc. employees; staff of other orchestral organizations across the U.S.; as well as professionals seeking to rightly understand and manage their organizational contexts, and pathways towards progressive, organizational change. Professional and amateur classical musicians invested in the endurance of classical music/ culture, and students and practitioners of intercultural management, organizational culture and/or organizational change are also included within the anticipated audience for this research.

[1] “Orchestra, Inc.” is an alias for the subject organization of this research.

Disciplines

American Popular Culture | Art Practice | Organization Development | Other American Studies | Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures | Other Music | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies

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