T
HE USE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
IN OPERA PRODUCTION AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION
IN THE OPERA HOUSE
A
CASE STUDY OF OPERA HOUSE IN
E
UROPE
Master Thesis
Final version, 18th August 2017
MSc Business Administration: Entrepreneurship and Management in the Creative Industries University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Business School
Martyna Matyjek Student no. 11375299
Word count: 13065
Supervisor Dr. Alexander Alexiev
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Statement of originality
This document is written by Student Martyna Matyjek who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.
I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it.
The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.
Table of contents
ABSTRACT ... 4
1. INTRODUCTION ... 5
1.1. Research question ... 7
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 8
2.1. Organizational management theory and innovation development ... 9
2.2. Management innovation in professional environment ... 10
2.2.1. The role of the leader ... 11
2.2.2. Change management as a tool for innovation implementation ... 11
2.2.3. Project management as an alternative for traditional organization management ... 12
2.3. Project-based organization in cultural industries ... 14
2.3.1. Opera productions as project-based organizations ... 15
2.3.2. Business and artistic logics of practice ... 15
2.3.2.1. Tensions and conflicts ... 16
2.3.3. Dual leadership dynamics ... 17
2.4. Conceptual framework ... 17
3. METHODOLOGY ... 18
3.1. Research design ... 18
3.2. Data collection ... 19
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3.3.1. The implementation process ... 21
3.3.1.1. Timeline and reasons of the implementation ... 22
3.3.1.2. Development process and implemented solutions ... 24
3.3.1.3. Obstacles and tensions ... 25
3.3.2. The Project Model ... 26
3.3.2.1. Project-driven organization of work ... 26
3.3.2.2. Project-steering groups ... 29
3.3.2.3. The role of producer ... 30
3.4. Data analysis ... 31
4. RESULTS ... 32
4.1. The impact of the Project Model on the artistic work ... 33
4.1.1. Conflicts and tensions arising from the Project Model ... 38
4.1.2. Producer as a guardian of artistic work ... 42
5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ... 44
5.1. Main findings ... 44
5.2. Theoretical implications ... 47
5.3. Limitations and recommendations for further research ... 48
REFERENCES ... 50
APPENDICES ... 54
Table of figures and tables
Figure 1 Conceptual framework ... 18Figure 2 Implementation timeline ... 24
Figure 3 The Project Model ... 27
Table 1 Respondents categorization ... 20
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ABSTRACT
The aim of this thesis is to understand how the project management approach functions in the opera productions and what is its impact to the artistic outcome. The exploratory research presented analyses a single case study of one European opera house and aims to answer the main research question of this thesis: “How does the project management model influence the production process and artistic outcome in opera production?”. The analysis is based on the 9 interviews conducted with the members of the opera house and the freelance artists who are hired for the time of production process. There is also a respondent who worked at the model implementation process and is an external consultant. Therefore, the research scope is broad and engages several areas of the opera organization: the innovation implementation and the opera production process. Moreover, great emphasis was put on the role of the producer who plays a significant part in the production process. This research can contribute to the popularization of project management approach across creative industries and encourage professional executives to implement project-based thinking in their organizations.
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1.
INTRODUCTION
Performing arts are one of the creative industries in which the management of people and their cooperation are significant when it comes to delivering the artistic outcome with its greatest results. Artists with their moves and voices convey the artistic expression. Artistic performance requires deep understanding and strong collaboration between the people in order to present their emotions and show the artistic vision of the director. The main feature of performing arts is the artists perform live in front of the audience.
Performing arts can be divided in several disciplines. However, within three kinds of performance artists are able to perform most of the types: theatre, dance and music. Furthermore, within those types there is a more detailed distinction, e.g. ballet, performance dance, circus, magic, mime, concert performance, opera, musicals, puppetry, theatre play.
The history of performing arts has its beginnings in the pre-historic times where moves and voices were the way of communication with other members of tribes. Later Greek and Roman empires developed the theatre as a way of people’s entertainment. Through centuries more and more exquisite types of performances appeared. However, in the recent years performing arts had adjust their services to nowadays lifestyle and come up with new business models.
This change is strongly visible in the theatre industry which had to face an era of digitalization and growing popularity of motion picture industry. With the technological revolution, the growing popularity of TV, cinemas and the Internet, theatres became more niche, not understandable for the mass audience even though it is accessible for more people than it was in the past.
Theatres became more and more competitive and came up with new business models and ideas in order to attract new audiences and retain old one. Theatres among other creative institutions had to develop and grow their repertoire as well as additional services. Also the way of
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functioning has had to change. Public venues such as national theatres had to face to funding cuts from the governments. Also the digitalization era has influenced the current trends in the theatre industry – both in a positive and negative way. The positive impact of digitalization can be observed in automation of designing processes but also in the merchandising. It can be noticed by online platforms of the theatres where people can buy or book tickets as well as read about performances and artists. However, the main drawback and threat of digital solutions for the theatre is the Internet and the ease to access numerous sources with movies and ballet or opera performances videos so the potential audience would resign from experiencing performances live but only watch them online. Due to aforementioned challenges the managers and executives of the theatres had to seek for innovative solutions how to solve and mitigate the effects of these issues, especially in order to retain good working conditions of the organization which includes budget and the quality of productions.
One of the solutions is the implementation of the project-based organizations which are broadly discussed by scholars among various creative industries, such as theatre productions (Eikhof and Haunschild, 2007; Goodman and Goodman, 1976; Uzzi and Spiro, 2005) and motion picture industry (Cohendet and Simon, 2007; DeFillippi and Arthur, 1998; Jones, 1996; Sydow and Staber, 2002; Ebbers & Wijnberg, 2009) orvideogames (Ayoama and Izushi, 2003; Cadin, Guérin, and DeFillippi, 2006) and music industry (Lorenzen and Frederiksen, 2005). The phenomenon of project-based organizations derives from the need of establishing temporary organizations like theatre or movie productions which fit in the definition of business projects.
That is why the project management plays significant role in managing performing arts nowadays. Project management has numerous benefits such as more organized structure, more transparency in processes and flows, clearly defined roles in teams, adjusted schedules, improved structure and more control over project which means a possibility to react in case of failure or any problems. The final result of actors performing in front of live audience derives
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from efforts and devotion of the artistic, technical and business teams who cooperate in order to deliver a breath-taking show. It takes a lot of resources, e.g. time, money, space and people.
However, implementing innovative solutions within teams who are used to steep hierarchy and structure and force them to change the old habits and processes can cause tensions among teams. From the sociological point of view, people are usually change-averse (Eidelman et al., 2010) and are not willing to participate in any change if it diminish their position. Also more organized way of working can affect the work of artists. Artists usually need space for their creativity to boost and flourish in the greatest way. This space can allow their imagination to grow and develop into creative ideas and beautiful performances. Being outside of the organization can bring additional creativity as the artists have freedom to observe and use their imagination.
Project management with its rules provides more organization to the company. Despite its advantages of more transparent process flows, it can trigger some chaos and incomprehension as not everybody can differentiate project-based approach from the traditional management approach. There is a need of deep understanding of the philosophy of project management first and stepwise implementation of this approach within any organization.
To conclude, there is a possibility that project-based organization can visibly constrain the creativity of the artists and consequently lower the artistic outcome of the production. However, it can also work other way round and be the reason of creativity boost in the organization.
1.1.
Research question
Due to broad scientific interest in project-based organizations in the theatre production process, there is also a need to research how does this phenomenon work in other types of performing arts. Therefore, the main focus of this study is to research the production process in opera
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houses. The opera industry was not quite of a subject of a broad interest by scholars and that is why it is interesting to get a deeper insight on how opera houses function.
In order to attain the desired knowledge on opera production a number of sub-questions have to be asked:
• How does the project-based organization work in opera houses?
• Is it a general trend in opera industry to work with project-based structure?
• Is project-based approach influence the opera production is a positive or rather negative way according to members of the organization?
However, the main research question of this study is: How does the project management model influence the production process and artistic outcome in opera production?
The reason why I find this research significant for the creative industry is that project-based organization grow more and more in popularity and therefore it is vital to research the validity of its use among different industries. The answer to this question can either encourage or discourage top managers and executives in opera houses to implement this kind of organization or even develop it with more sophisticated project management tools.
2.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This section will introduce the theoretical background for the organizational management and innovation adaptation as well as it will review the knowledge on change management as an important tool of implementing new working organization in the company. Moreover, the phenomenon of project management will be discussed and the philosophy and rules of project approach will be addressed. In the following sections reader can find the detailed description
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of the current knowledge of project-based organizations in creative industries with a stress on opera productions and tensions which can derive from this way of organization culture.
2.1.
Organizational management theory and innovation development
More and more businesses today are complex systems that require more than just overall management of the organization. Businesses need vision and competitive advantage to outstand on the market. This is why the traditional management approach had to evolve so executives were forced to seek for new solutions and innovations.
The definition of the traditional organizational management goes as follows: “Management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources” (Daft & Lane, 2012). The fluent cooperation between four functions of management leads to consistent functioning of the organization as a whole. However, the dynamic changes in the business environment caused a significant shift in the competencies that effective managers should have. Management in the traditional model can be distinguished by presence of strong, almost authoritative leadership with a focus on controlling, evaluation of individual results and maintenance of standardized procedures. While current trends in organizational management show the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Amabile, 1993) and leadership that encourages team working and personal initiative.
Aforementioned functions of management are the core foundation for the smooth work in the organization as planning stands for goals identification for future performance of the organization and giving directions for the further development, including the planning of allocation of resources.
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Secondly, organizing engages task division, and delegation of responsibility among different departments and the actual allocation of resources. While leading uses the soft skills of leaders to motivate employees to achieve business goals of the company and creates a personalized culture of organization, sets values, goals and standards for the future. The last function of organizational management is controlling. There is a variety of tools used in controlling employees in the organization such as monitoring of performance, checking the progress in attaining goals and reacting in crisis situations.
However, as it was mentioned the global economic situation has changed so the new business models has to emerge. Companies had to introduce innovative solutions to their organizations. Schumpeter (1983) started the discussion of innovations’ influence on economic development. According to Baregheh, Rowley and Sambrook (2009) there are multiple definitions of innovation. However, the one proposed by West & Anderson (1996) that “Innovation can be defined as the effective application of processes and products new to the organization and designed to benefit it and its stakeholders” seems to explain in the greatest way the significance of this term.
2.2.
Management innovation in professional environment
Damanpour & Aravind (2011) defined management innovation as “new approaches in knowledge for performing the work of management and new processes that produce changes in the organization’s strategy, structure, administrative procedures and systems”. According to this definition there is a specific kind of innovation that can bring new sets of standards to the organization and force the change in employees behaviour.
Nonetheless, innovation implementation can be more or less difficult depending on the professional industry in which the innovative solutions are provided. There are some strong
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professional environments in which it can be hard to implement change on the daily basis. Reay et al. (2013) state that in such environments like health care industry, the managers role and providing their understanding of the innovation can positively influence the implementation of new procedures.
2.2.1.
The role of the leader
This is why, the strong leadership skills are significant these days. Organizations need champions who are able to emerge to promote the idea with commitment, persistence and energy (Howell, 2005). However, rather than authoritative leaders, motivating ones are more desired. There are two main responsibilities that leaders should fulfil.
As proposed by Vaccaro et al. (2010) leaders can play significant role in innovation implementation within the organization. They play a role of internal agents (Volberda, et al., 2014), who have real power to influence the process of change of practices and procedures. The clear understanding of change by the managers can support the implementation so it can proceed smoothly.
Leader also play a role of mediator and can take precautionary measures to solve problems and mitigate stress factors (Diebig et al., 2017). In a relation of leader-follower, the leader has to take the responsibility for the staff and tasks he coordinates and with greatest care should present the good practices.
2.2.2.
Change management as a tool for innovation implementation
Change management can be described as a set of processes that lead to introducing a new product, structure, role or rule in a company (By, 2005). Change management is an inevitable part of organizational management on both operational and strategic level (Burnes, 2004). According to this definition it should be considered as a fact that change management is one of
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the most important areas of running a business in order to identify flaws and be able to respond to either unexpected or expected changes.
Change management can be divided into four phases in accepting the innovation implementation: denial of change, resistance to change, trial of the change and acceptance of change. While in the first two phases there is usually no positive attitude towards change among employees, but in the other two, employees start to perceive beneficial aspects of innovation and usually slowly accept the new order. As aforementioned, the crucial role is played by the leader who has to act as an example and be able to solve any doubts or tensions while innovation implementation.
2.2.3.
Project management as an alternative for traditional
organization management
In order to set basis for discussion in this section, two definitions have to be provided. First of all, the definition of a project. There are multiple approaches how to define a project. Wysocki & McGary (2005) conceptualize project as sequence of unique, complex and interrelated with each other tasks, which has a common goal to be done in a certain period of time (with distinguished beginning and the end of the project) within the budget frames and set requirements. The actions planned in the project should be done in the right order. However, Pawlak (2006) narrows this definition down. He defines project as new venture for the organization, which is unique and different from the previous daily routines. In project management theory, quality of the project is determined by the project triangle (the Iron Triangle) and three different factors: costs (resources), time and scope (Atkinson, 1999).
Secondly, the project management definition has to be set. The most simple definition would be to say that it is managing of the project. And this definition is correct. However, it can be extended to the point that project management is a set of tasks put in the logical order which
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are connected to basic functions of organizational management such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The application of these tasks leads to goal fulfilment defined by the project owner.
Wysocki & McGary (2005) divided project management according to their purposes and the way of realization of the goal:
• Traditional Project Management (TPM) – the fulfilment of the project is done in a common, known before way with a specified plan,
• Adaptive Project Framework (APF) – the project execution is preceded by the thorough analysis and clear definition of structures,
• Extreme Project Management (XPM) – the execution of the project is done in a swift, agile matter, where there is a lot of ambiguities and complex issues.
The management of the project can be divided into specific phases. This division is called a project life cycle (Duncan, 1996). The purpose of this division is the regular evaluation of the project progress. There is a typical distinction of the project phases:
• Initiating – the assessment of the validity of opening the project • Planning – the planning of resources allocation and setting schedules • Executing – the actual work on implementation of planned actions
• Monitoring & controlling – the evaluation and reaction in any unusual situation • Closing – the final evaluation and finishing all the actions connected with
implementing the purpose of the project. Also creating conclusions and lessons learned.
What is more, usually projects are realized within the project teams. Project teams are unique and consist of team members from different departments with different field of expertise in order to reach a particular goal.
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The leader of the project team is the Project Manager who is in charge of the overall project. His main responsibility is to control the progress within the project and in case of any deviation, he is the one to take steps to counteract (Trocki et al., 2011). The Project Manager has the full knowledge of the project as he receives regular reports from different departments and is in charge of the budget and resources. He has strong leadership skills and be able to set smart goals and lead the team in a way to complete these goals (Kisielnicki, 2014). Usually, a Project Manager is not the same person as the project owner. However, he is responsible for either success or failure of the project.
The project management approach can be applied in many industries as projects can be defined in a various ways, crafted to fit in the specific conditions of industries, timeframes, budget and other resources. This is one of the main reasons why recently project-based approach grows in popularity among different groups and industries. However, it is vital to carefully introduce this approach in a gradual manner as implemented irresponsibly can cause serious chaos and incomprehension in the organization.
2.3.
Project-based organization in cultural industries
According to DeFillippi (2015), theatres are considered to be project-based organizations (PBO). A theatre usually works in the organizational structure. However, every theatrical production is constructed as a project. It simply fills the definition of a project. Theatrical productions are unique projects set within a fixed timeframe and limited resources (e.g. budget, production team, director and actors) and, what is the most important fact, it has a goal – to deliver a theatrical play to fulfil the artistic need of audience and artists.
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2.3.1.
Opera productions as project-based organizations
Opera is a kind of theatrical performance. However, the actors are singers which together with the orchestra perform a dramatic piece combining text (the libretto) and music. Opera performances usually take place in opera houses which are adapted for the singers and the orchestra.
As mentioned in the previous section, theatre productions are considered to be project-based organizations. The purpose of this study is to prove that opera shows are produced in a similar way and can achieve similar results in terms of artistic work.
It can be assumed that the production process of theatre and opera production is the same. The process of planning, budgeting and assigning teams to projects are the same. Also the roles within teams are similar – there is a technical manager, stage manager, production manager, director, artists (actors vs. singers and choirs). In opera the additional part of the team is the orchestra.
2.3.2.
Business and artistic logics of practice
Eikhof & Haunschild (2007) describe the tensions between artistic and economic logics of practice on the example of German theatres. It is vital to understand that exploring this issue reveals a paradox of creative units production – economic logics are significant for the theatre managers to maintain profits. However, economic logics of practice can decrease the importance of artistic logics which are crucial for the purpose of theatres – to convey the expressions and emotions of artists and to fulfil cultural needs of the audience.
Every producers’ main goal is to deliver a performance which will be financially successful and interesting for audience. Such a scenario would allow to retain or even increase their market share and create new opportunities for development. On the other hand, the main purpose of the director is to fulfil his artistic needs and show his artistic spirit to the audience. Due to these
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prominent differences, it is hard to follow a simple path which leads to simple solutions. It is extremely difficult to satisfy both parties. The dissent between producers and directors causes the tensions and conflicts which are not easy to solve. Especially when the producer implements strict rules in planning phase.
2.3.2.1. Tensions and conflicts
There is a variety of studies provided on the topic of conflict on the group level and its’ influence on the creative outcome (Kurtzberg & Amabile, 2001; Jehn, 1997; Jehn et al., 2008). There are especially three types of conflicts, which are relevant to the subject of this research:
• Relationship-based conflict
o Interpersonal interaction among group members • Process-based conflict
o Strategies, plans, division of roles and responsibility • Task-based conflict
o Discussions and debates about the way how the work should be done
Among these types of conflicts only task-based conflict has positive influence on group-level creativity as it can bring an factual outcome of such a conflict. The relationship-based and process-based conflicts have negative impact on the creativity because of their non-business nature which is does not develop any structural positive changes but only bring chaos and negative emotions to the team.
The presence of all types of conflicts in unavoidable in creative teams and is always expected by the project manager. Again, his role in managing and mitigating these tensions is crucial for the success of the whole project.
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2.3.3.
Dual leadership dynamics
The phenomenon of dual leadership discussed by Bhansing, Leenders & Wijnberg (2012) where the struggle of business and artistic leaders in their approach to the selection systems can cause serious problems and can influence the final success or failure of the project. In opera productions we can distinguish the silhouettes of the business and artistic leaders: the producer (project manager) and the director (responsible for directing the performance).
The tensions deriving from the nature of work of these two leaders are considered to be inevitable. The clash of two opposite goals and their opinions on the artistic outcome can cause serious problems for the final result of the production. Taking into account the project-based organization of work and keeping the artists within strict organizational frames can additionally constrain their expression.
2.4.
Conceptual framework
The outlined theory results in the conceptual framework presented below (Figure 1). This framework summarizes the propositions for artistic outcome in project-based organization, especially in opera production. Firstly, there is a need to answer how project-based organization influences the tensions and conflicts described in the theoretical framework. Secondly, the role of the Project Manager has to be explained as it can be crucial factor for the diminishing the effects deriving from the ongoing conflicts.
18 Figure 1 Conceptual framework
3.
METHODOLOGY
In this chapter the methodology of proceeding the research will be explained. Research design will provide the explanation of validity of the research. While data collection and case description will present detailed information on the case study. Data analysis section contains information how data was analysed in order to answer the research question.
3.1.
Research design
This research addresses a single case study of opera production process in one specific European opera house. The design of single-case study is embedded as two different groups appear in the analysis (Yin, 2013). In order to answer the main research question “How does the project management model influence the production process and artistic outcome in opera production?” this thesis employs a qualitative research as it is more appropriate for its exploratory nature (Yin, 2013).
This study consists in semi-structured interviews and a model drawing which explains how the discussed model work in the particular organization.
Project-based organization (opera
production)
Tensions and conflicts between business and artistic
teams Relationship-based conflict Process-based conflict Task-based conflict The role of Project
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3.2.
Data collection
While searching for a proper case study to answer the research question, several opera houses among Europe was taken into account. The main criteria was to have implemented a project-based organization of production process. The researched company was able to present fully implemented project-based performance production system. What is more, the company plans to expand this way of work on the operational level.
Data gathered was in 9 interviews with both people from the business (organization) and artistic side (Table 1). By business side it can be understood the people who work on fixed terms in the theatre or have business background (as the external consultant – RI4). The business interviewees are researched in the interviews: RI1, RI2, RI4,RI6. As it is shown in the table, the researched business people are holding positions of producers (RI1, RI2), external consultant (RI4 – who conducted professional workshops during the implementation of project management approach in the company) and administrative director (RI6). Moreover, both producers and administrative director are inside the organization. However, external consultant (RI4) comes from outside of the organization.
On the other hand, there are interviewees from the artistic teams who mostly work as freelancers and are hired by the theatre for the particular opera production. The interviewees hold different positions and represent different importance of position in the artistic team. The positions held by artistic interviewees are as follows: director (RI3, RI7), lighting designer (RI5) and scenographer (RI8). All these respondents come from the outside of the organization (RI3, RI5, RI7, RI8).
What is significant, there was an opportunity to appoint a former artistic director (RI9) of the particular opera house who both has experience from the business side as he held the artistic director position in years 2000-2011 and from the point of view of a member of artistic team as
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he directed several production after he left the company. His insight is considered to be a linking point of the results of the research as he is able to present his experience from both sides of the production process. As presented in the table he functions both inside and outside of the organization.
All interviews were conducted via Skype and held in English. The approximate time of interviews was 45 minutes. However, the shortest interview lasts 25 minutes and the longest one 64 minutes. The questions for the interviews were semi-structured which allowed the interviewer to get more information and have insight on the emotional aspects of work in such an organization. Each interview was recorded and afterwards transcribed. All the respondents agreed to record their interviews.
Research interviews abbreviation Interviewee’s position Business/Artistic side
Inside / outside the organization
RI1 Producer Business Inside
RI2 Producer Business Inside
RI3 Director Artistic Outside
RI4 External consultant Business Outside
RI5 Lighting designer Artistic Outside
RI6 Administrative
director Business Inside
RI7 Fight choreographer/
Director Artistic Outside
RI8 Scenographer Artistic Outside
RI9 Former Artistic
Director / Director Business / Artistic Inside / Outside Table 1 Respondents categorization
However, the collected data valid for this research are not only interviews. The company provided a drawing of how their project-based model works in the organization. The original
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model was set in Danish. Nonetheless, the translation into English was done. The model sketch is available as a picture in the case description section as well as an appendix to this thesis.
As a proof of reliability of this research, transcripts of the interviews and model drawing are attached (they can be found in separate document with appendices). What is more, a computer-supported analysis tool (Atlas.ti 8) was used in order analyse data and organise it into a code book (which can be found as an Appendix 2) (Yin, 2013).
3.3.
Case description
This case study regards one of the European theatres and especially focuses on one of the units of the organization – the opera house. The theatre consists of three units:
• The Playhouse, • The Ballet, • The Opera.
In this thesis the main focus is put on the opera house and its production process.
3.3.1.
The implementation process
The implementation of the project management approach is usually connected with serious changes in the whole organization. It is a matter of a proper adoption of new processes and rules and employee acceptance of the new way of working.
In this particular case the initiative of changing the organizational culture and management in the organization was held by the artistic director and the top management. In the Opera the adoption of project management in the show production was done step by step by implementing groups of new processes and roles.
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In order to support the implementation of new way of working, the company hired an external consultancy professional (RI4) who helped the employees to understand project management philosophy and facilitated them with the knowledge. During various trainings external consultant helped to develop and formulate the model of work in the theatre as well as pointed issues that company was not able to objectively recognize.
3.3.1.1. Timeline and reasons of the implementation
The consideration of changing the recent system started in years 2003-2004 altogether with the fact of moving to the new location. The awareness of the location change partially forced the top management to rethink the way that theatre was working. They knew that the development and expansion of the theatre will force the reorganization of the general system as all the units were moving to different locations. Concurrently with the moving to the new location additional state funds were given. So the theatre had to also consider how wisely allocate these extra subsidies.
The switch to project-based organization was proposed by the artistic director (RI9). As he mentioned, he was inspired by the way of work from another opera house while he worked there in 2001.
With the moving to the new location in 2005, the top management started to redesign the way how the productions are done in the theatre. They introduced the project-steering groups which were controlled by the producer – the project manager. In 2006-2007 some leadership trainings organized by the external consultancy company took place in order to introduce the idea of project-steering groups and explain how to work in such a working environment.
However, the change was not consistent as within years 2007-2016 there was no clear formulation of ongoing changes. Even though the opera productions were project-organized with characteristic features of the recent Project Model, there were no documents available and
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no official job descriptions. Employees were working in the way that project management theory assumes but no specific model was ever formulated and introduced in the organization. The implementation process started to run again in 2016 and it is moving on until this day. This implementation model can be considered to be similar to one presented by Kurt Lewin – Unfreeze, change, refreeze model (Lewin, 1947) as the idea of change started to happen, then it was stopped in the middle of the process and ran again later.
In 2015 the administrative director (RI6) started the discussion about going back to formulation and organization of the project-based production system. In 2016 and 2017 a series of professional workshops took place with the same external consultants. As the interviewed consultant observed, the employees were working in the project-based system however they were not aware about it. She pointed that no documents were available for them and no milestones were set.
The breakthrough had happened during one of the workshops where the administrative director drew the project model. This drawing became the basis for each production and it concluded their previous way of work. As one of the producers interviewed mentioned – it was not later than at the beginning of 2017.
What also the interviewed respondents pointed is that for the last 10 years the opera experience regular budget cuts from the state. It means that the refreezing of the system and putting stress on more organized way of work is dictated by the need of more efficient use of limited resources.
Based on the data gathered, the conclusion can be derived that the implementation process is finally on its final stretch as the processes of production are documented and project team roles are clearly described.
24 Figure 2 Implementation timeline
3.3.1.2. Development process and implemented solutions
As it was pointed in the previous unit, the implementation process can be consider as slightly inconsistent. The three-step implementation model presented by Kurt Lewin highlights the breakpoint of the process where from the frozen point of process the change starts to revive again. In case of the researched opera the process was developed step by step.
The change started with the simple organization of creation project-steering groups who were mainly responsible for the production project from the very beginning until the last performance. What is significant, the project steering groups consist of employees of the opera and their main task is to mirror the artistic team which comprises artists such as directors, scenographers and designers who design the performance. These teams are built only for the purpose of the production of the particular show.
Another solution which was implemented was the leading role of the producer whose main task is to lead the project. The role of producer is now more pressured as the producer is the main person to contact with when it comes to any questions and doubts.
20032004 -The idea of changing the production system 2005 - moving to the new opera house building 2006 -developing the new system of work 2007 - first professional workshops and productions done in the project-based way 20152017 -revival workshops and development of the project model in the theatre 2017 - Official formulation of the Project Model with the documentation
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What is interesting is that most of the implemented solutions were used on a daily basis. The only fact is that they were not recognized by the team which leads to non-standardized use and lack of information for some team members. However, workers from different levels of management were able to find solutions and work out transparent descriptions of their work during the workshops and trainings conducted by the external consultant.
In the later phases of the implementation process, the process of the production was standardized. By the standardization one understands the clear division of meetings which are, respectively to project management theory, treated as milestones for the project.
3.3.1.3. Obstacles and tensions
However, implementation of innovative solutions in companies is usually related to arising tensions, conflicts of interests, especially ones on the hierarchical level, and numerous obstacles deriving from external environment. The implementation of the new production system brought a lot of tensions among team members in the organization.
First of all, the limited resources caused number of obstacles to resolve such as lack of information or unequal access to information among the project team members, ineffective planning and no control over the budget. These factors were unacceptable for the company in the light of annual state funds cuts and growing expenditures.
Secondly, respondents pointed conflicts connected with the steep hierarchy where the artistic director had the most power and everything was dependent on his final decision. The switch to empower the producer who gained huge amount of responsibility and power caused incomprehension among other team members such as stage manager or production manager who felt that their position is downgraded. There was no clear understanding who a producer is and what is his role in the production process.
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What respondents also mentioned is that there were conflicts connected with bypassing the producers’ decision and going to the artistic director in order to gain his approval of the decisions which were rejected by the producer, e.g. expensive props or elements which were over the budget for different departments.
3.3.2.
The Project Model
During workshops on recognizing the model of work and explaining the new roles and structures in the organization the Project Model (Figure 3, also can be found as an appendix 3) was drawn by the administrative director of the opera house. All employees who participated in these workshops agreed on this way of work and confirmed that they were familiar with such a way of work, however, it was never officially presented by the top management and the information about the Project Model were not gathered in one place so everybody had equal access. Some respondents pointed that nobody knew where to look for the documentation, templates and lessons learned from the previous productions.
Currently, the employees are fully aware of the Project Model scheme and have access to document templates. They are also obliged to use these templates and follow the rules of the Project Model (including meetings, communication scheme, budget control).
The Project Model contains a set of rules, patterns and different roles and responsibilities for the team members. In the following units a detailed description of how the Project Model works, what are project steering groups and the explanation of the role of producer is going to take place.
3.3.2.1. Project-driven organization of work
The whole project is divided into six main phases: • The idea phase,
27 • The design phase,
• The production phase,
• Sample and settlement period, • Premiere.
According to the official drawing of the Project Model there are 8 milestones which are meetings during which the summary of work is provided as well as plans and schedules for the next period of time.
Initially, the Artistic Director has to come up with the idea of the show to produce. It is usually his initiative, however, it can come from any employee who has an idea. Still, it needs the approval of the Artistic Director. Immediately after the idea is approved and the artistic team (e.g. the director is chosen) by the Artistic Director, the project is launched and the producer is assigned with the project team. The idea phase can occur even 2 years before the premiere.
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The next phase is the project phase where the producer has to contact the director and other members of artistic team, carefully plan the project schedules and resources. It is a significant part of the production process because of the process design, budget planning and dividing tasks between team members. This is also the time to negotiate and sign contracts with the artistic team members. The producers’ responsibility is also to invite the artistic and the project team for the welcome meeting. This meeting is a kick-off meeting for the whole project. On this meeting all the team members from both artistic and project teams are able to meet and set the general rules. All the explanations according the proceedings of the project are provided. The artistic director and top management staff are also invited as during this meeting the Artistic Director – the owner of the project – hands the mandate of responsibility and power to the producer. It is a very symbolic act but a powerful one because from now on the producer is in charge of the project. This meeting usually takes place around 1,5 year ahead of the premiere.
In the further phase called design phase everybody gets to work on sketches and propositions on their artistic idea for the show. The general concept is created and presented on the sketch delivery meeting. This sketch delivery meeting takes place around 1 year before the premiere. The ideas and rough models are presented and usually they are over the budget. Producers interviewed pointed even 200% over the budget. During the meeting the artistic director approves or rejects the idea. Continuously the team knows what is the direction of work, they try to downsize the sketch. The producer is planning and approving the budget. and the ongoing work with downsizing and making adjustments. There is a possibility to make additional meetings in between with particular departments such as costume department or stage department in order to work on detailed versions of the model. Usually, after 2 months there is a revised model meeting on which the detailed model is presented and everybody in detail can tell about their work with specific notes according to budget and the way of producing their models. After this meeting producer asks for the final budget approval in the financial
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department with respect to the top management opinion and the production process strides into the production phase. This is this period of time where the costumes, props, scenography and lighting is produced and installed on the stage. So there is finally a space for the rehearsals for the artistic team.
The premiere is the official last day of work for the artistic team as they are able to fully pass the directions for the show to the theatre staff and performers. However, the project lasts until the last performance date. Then it is evaluated, closed and lessons learned are made.
3.3.2.2. Project-steering groups
The idea of introducing the project-steering groups was the first step to change the working system and re-organize the structure in the organization. According to interviewed producers, project teams are divided into two sub-teams: project (managerial) team and artistic team. The project team consists of five fixed roles, i.e.
• Project manager/producer, • Stage manager,
• Production manager/scenographer, • Head of costumes,
• Head of lighting.
While the artistic team consists of director, scenography designer, lighting designer, choirs, soloists etc.
The aim of project-steering groups is to coordinate and cooperate with the artistic team. Each project member should be a co-working partner for the artistic team member and should mirror their work on the technical-artistic level. The employees from the opera should guide and be able to support the work of artistic team members. With their co-creation the production process should go more smoothly.
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Project-steering groups are established when the idea for the new opera performance is approved by the Artistic Director. From that day the work in close cooperation to one specific production. Project teams are led by the producers who act as a project managers in the production process.
As one of the interviewed producers said: “We started by implementing project groups. So that was the first step, as far as I remember. We said that we start working in this way, working in teams so we will have a head of stage, costume supervisor, producer, head of lighting and stage manager. So these five people will now stay on the project and they will be on the project from day 1 until last performance.”
3.3.2.3. The role of producer
The interviewees both from the artistic and theatre teams provided a broad description of the producer. Most of them highlighted their role as project managers. Producers are responsible for almost every aspect of the performance production including decision making, schedule controlling, financial responsibility, communication between theatre and artistic teams and finally mentoring and guidance for the artists as they have full information about the organization. In the following paragraphs the detailed description of each aspect is provided.
Producers point out their ability to make 97-99% of decisions within the given project. Other 1-3% have to be discussed with the Artistic Director. Because of the mandate and empowerment given from the Artistic Director they are fully in charge of the project. They are able to make decisions in every aspect – giving the direction for the idea development process as well as the props or rehearsals. They control the overall progress in the project.
As they act as a general managers for the project they control the schedule and check if it is on track and there are no delays. He also organizes meetings which stand for milestones in the
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project so he can constantly evaluate the production progress. In case of any delay or problems he is able to make swift decisions and get the project on the right track.
Also the financial responsibility is the producers’ main task as he is in charge of the overall budget the production gets. He has all the information about costs from different departments and their needs. He can also approve or reject some decisions. However, usually a producer tries to negotiate in order to keep the balance between the budget frames and artistic vision. However, in case of overspending the budget by one department, he is able to move some resources from one department to another. The financial terms usually are the ones which escalates tensions, but the producers’ task is to damp them down as much as possible.
What is more, interviewed producers described their broad responsibility in terms of communication with organization and constant support for the artists. They are point of contact for the artists and the theatre. Also the top management respondents see producers as a connection point between the organization and artists. The producers are the ones that every artist can come with any questions, doubts or objections. They can answer all the concerns connected with the contract conditions, stage capability and can react if any tensions occur.
In general, producers coordinate the whole production process and control the schedule as well as budget. He has full information on the organization of the production as well as he has the deepest insight on the artists’ work which means that they are extremely important for the organization as the source of information.
3.4.
Data analysis
Case study analysis relies on theoretical assumptions and the proposed solution presented in the conceptual framework. The data collected has to by researched by content analysis (Gremler, 2004). Afterwards it is categorised into two main categories which are divided into more
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specific sub-categories. According to Yin classification of analytic techniques, there are two techniques appropriate to analyse this case: explanation building and logic model at the organizational level (Yin, 2013). The search for codes and patterns was supported by the computer-assisted qualitative analysis tool – Atlas.ti 8. The code book is attached to this thesis as an appendix 2 .
The main two categories touch upon the Project Model itself, how does it work and what is the structure. The other category is devoted to conflicts that arise from the use of the Project Model. The second category is more important in case of looking for an answer to the research question. This study therefore analyses the potential tensions during the production process in this particular model.
The general analysis will rely on explanation building which is understandable for the single case study with embedded structure (as it contains two different groups of stakeholders). Explanation building technique seeks for process tracing, explanation of phenomenon and basis for further research.
On the other hand, the organizational-level logic model technique focuses on tracing events in single organization that lead to improved business performance. This approach has been used to follow the implementation process of the model in the organization as well as the concept of the Project Model itself. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a detailed description of how does the Project Model work and what are potential risks of using it for the final product.
4.
RESULTS
This section presents data collected in the research and conclusions coming from it. To answer the research question in the most fully and detailed way, various sources of information were
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used: research interviews and documents provided by the company (such as the drawing of the Project Model). The Internet sources were also useful and gave additional information about the company profile. For analysis in both sections which focus in general on the impact of the Project Model on the artistic work, all 9 research interviews were used. In order to attain the insight on both conflicts and tensions that potentially can arise from the work in project-based approach as well as on the image of the producer across different groups of interests the interviews will be a significant source of information.
4.1.
The impact of the Project Model on the artistic work
After thorough analysis of the collected data conclusions can be drawn and the research question can be answered. As the respondents are parts of two opposite teams – project/business and artistic teams, there are two different perspectives on the Project Model working in the opera house.
To start with, the respondents tagged as business side pointed that the Project Model is highly beneficial for them and this change brought more organization of work. They also highlighted the transparency of structure, clear division of roles and responsibilities, e.g. producers know who are they working with – as mentioned below by both producers RI1 and RI2
Producer RI1: “…the project group around the project so I have a head of stage with me, and I have a production manager who is in charge of the scenography and then I have a head of costume who is in charge of the costumes. And these three guys are with me all the time. But I coordinate everything.”
Producer RI1: “It’s getting more and more common because it’s very efficient when you have a project manager in each project from the beginning to the end.”
Producer RI2: “People are happier to have one person as a contact point. The was the point of the project group. That a set designer will have a head of stage
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to talk to and a lighting designer will have a head of lights, the director talk to me. So we sort of mirror the artistic team. We follow the show from the start to the end so all the time they have one person to talk to. In terms of flexibility and communication, it’s an amazing way to do things. But it does take a lot of communication.”
Producer RI2: “We’re developing the project model. For the last 6 months we’ve been on a long process of wanting to really emphasize the structure and the importance of the producer – towards inside the house. So to cover some things I’ve been talking about earlier, about having your own pride about the work and not accepting the decisions of others. We’re working a lot on mandate of the producer/project manager as the one in charge. There’s a huge project going on, we’ve just finished the first leg which is reemphasizing and educating project teams on how we actually work and what we actually do and what we need to do.”
The quotes above surely confirm the statement that project management can be successfully used and be effective in project-based organizations like opera productions. The main idea of project management is to organize the way and the structure of organization in order to reach the set goal (Kisielnicki, 2014). In this case, it can be said that this goal is attained as producers themselves see their work as important and relevant. While even artists perceive the Project Model as a well working structure (Scenographer RI8):
Scenographer RI8: “Actually, I have a feeling right now that it's working pretty well in a project management level.”
The purpose of this research was to examine how does the Project Model affect the artistic work. Based on the abovementioned quotes, it can be concluded that artists do not complain or have no negative opinions about the work organized in the researched opera house.
Secondly, project-steering groups with the producer as a group leader are able to gather more relevant information and share it with all interested parties - the stakeholders of the project – both top management level and artistic teams. Particularly, the producer plays a role of the entry
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point for the artistic teams as he shares all the relevant information about the processes, structure and technical parameters in the opera. He also provides feedback to the top management about the progress of the production project. What is more, he is exchanging knowledge with other members of the project-steering group. According to Duncan (1996), the communication role of the producer supports the purpose of the project life cycle where every phase has different goal and sharing information can significantly help with a smooth delivery of the project. The administrative director RI6 describes the perspective of the top management when producers are able to share all the information about the project.
Administrative director RI6: “And you have the producers always having contact with the artistic team and planning everything around. And they have different milestones in the process before they start actually producing the scenography. So that we keep track up the triangle between money, quality and time.”
Moreover, the use of the Project Model allows to have more efficient use of resources as the budget is planned ahead of the main production process while the sketch model is presented by the artistic team. Producers RI1 and RI2 highlighted their role of keeping the budget in its frames and the significance of their ability to make decisions – both stated that this ability can reach 97-99% of all decisions. Their decision-making responsibility can be related to Diebig et al. (2017) who claims that this kind of responsibility is one of the main features of the true leader. What is more, the effectiveness in resource allocation is especially important because of the government subsidies cuts the company has to face recently.
On the other hand, there is a broad perspective from the artistic team point of view. First of all, all the artists agreed that opera production is a project-based organization and this kind of organization is common in the opera industry. Therefore, they indicate that there is nothing unique about the model used by the researched opera house. Director RI3 mentions “So in a way, it's not even a new thing. Because in the way you were presenting it in your document -
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what surprised me - is that 'oh you know, we want to talk about this because it's like a new concept' - it's not a new concept. I mean it's been done for decades.” and continues with the specific description of the researched opera -“it's a very clean model. In many houses you don't understand who does what. In the opera house, because it's a bit of a factory, because they're making shows all the time, they come to a very clean methodology.”.
Moreover, the Project Model is a set of organizational guidelines of how the production process is going to proceed. The project-steering groups are obliged to inform and stick to deadlines and arrangements made, based on the schedule they worked together with the artistic team. The deadlines and evaluation meetings are typical milestones for the project (Kisielnicki, 2014). So both teams need to be prepared when it comes to the deadline. Getting prepared means that both teams are extrinsically motivated (Amabile, 1993) because of the deadlines set. The lighting designer RI5 provided a very short description that confirms that deadlines are informed beforehand so the artistic team has to be prepared.
Lighting designer RI5: “And at the point of the contract I get a certain deadlines as when I have to deliver lighting design, when I have to be there at the rehearsals, when I have to be there for production week when we actually make the show in the theatre.”
However, the most important aspect of the use of the Project Model is the principle of leaving the artistic team to work in a complete isolation from any disturbing factor that can harm the artistic outcome. This principle is mentioned both by the artistic and business interviewees and cannot be related to any theoretical basis. All interviewees highlighted the importance of being left alone and try to work on the creative output. Artists explained it as a “vulnerable period of time”. While people from the inside of the organization pointed that they are aware of this creative period. It is a matter of mutual understanding because the top management is aware
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how the creative process work and does not push the artists to come up with ideas and models immediately. This is why the deadlines are given beforehand.
Three different perspectives can be drawn on leaving the artists to work in isolation. They are presented in the table below (Table 2) with the relevant quotes as a proof.
Artists’ preference to work in isolation
The organization prevent artists from any unnecessary information that could disturb the artists’ creativity.
The organization leaves artists in isolation in order not to disturb their creativity
Director RI3: “But you're working in an isolation. So the creatively there kind of zero collaboration needed. I mean the attitude in the opera company is particularly that they hire you because the like your work and they trust you and it's an artistic endeavour so they hire you to be creative and to do what you do.”
Scenographer RI8: “So for us it's always a very vulnerable period of time because we need to be sort of secluded a little bit.”
Director RI3: “While in the opera, there is an overall budget, you have no idea how one thing is going from one place to another. As long as overall, they don't spend more money than they have. They're ok. It doesn't matter really how the things are done. “
Scenographer RI8: “I have to be honest, I have no idea what's going on a financial level, from that point on. When we have the budget approved I have no idea what the cost of things is and I can always rely on the fact that if I bring a new idea, I will be told if I can or not do it but we never hear how much things cost and that's a great
Scenographer RI8: “...they don't interfere at all with the next phase of my production. I will meet with the director and basically it will only be with the director.”
Administrative director RI6:
“I think the essence of this is that we leave them to themselves. Nobody interferes as long as they stick within the project frame and as long as they meet the milestones and they can sort of check out that time, quality and money is still sort of valid.”
Former artistic director / director RI9: “The creative part of the process is in a way a separate part that happens
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privilege of working like this because I have no responsibility to sit down and say what if this costs a lot, I can get some other thing there.”
Scenographer RI8: “…usually they are very good at not showing us their problems with organization. There is this culture that they try to spare us of all the details. I don't hear a lot of bit**ing about the house because they are very professional and they meet us with their customer-friendly face. They are there for us and they know that we don't have to know everything about what's going on behind the scenes.”
with my creative team somewhere else in the world apart from the house but where the system helps the creative process when it's best is that if we have a producer, we can sometimes go back in that process quickly and have an answer to some things…”
Table 2 Artists' isolation
4.1.1.
Conflicts and tensions arising from the Project Model
According to the distinction made in the theoretical framework, three types of conflicts (Jehn, 1997; Jehn et al., 2008) can be listed:
• Task-based conflict,
• Relationship-based conflict, • Process-based conflict.
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It was expected that tensions between the artistic and business leaders (Bhansing, Leenders & Wijnberg, 2012) will appear. It was surprising that none of the artistic respondents mentioned anything about some serious artistic conflicts. The minor tensions mentioned can be categorized as task-based conflicts are considered to have a positive impact on creativity among groups (Kurtzberg & Amabile, 2001), because they pertain to technical aspects of the production. Scenographer RI8 described one of the task-based conflicts which can occur in the artistic team:
Scenographer RI8: “I think that it's very healthy because what happens always is that there is a lot of pressure within the rehearsal space or the people working together, it's a very vulnerable work process and in the playhouse you have people arguing on stage in a way that you would think that is unhealthy but it's healthy people to disagree in an artistic level within the production, so it's a very delicate selection of people usually where there is a lot of tension and a lot of emotion and it is something else than a spreadsheet of numbers it's a different kind of process.”
Nonetheless, these tensions can be easily resolved by the producer who negotiates the production costs as he is able to reject an idea but propose another solution instead. There is no direct pressure put on the artistic team to force them to make a certain element. It is rather the freedom of the artistic expression and any idea, which is too big for the production, is negotiated. Producer RI2 sees himself as a mediator (Diebig et al., 2017) who can be the voice of a reason in any tense situation.
Producer RI2: “There is an inherent pride in working with your craft so telling the costume designer or costume supervisor ‘no, you can’t use that much money because we don’t have that much money’ and when they say ‘but the theatre strategy says that we should produce the excellent every time’ – that’s one of the main rules in the strategy that we need to produce excellent every time. And ok, that’s true, but excellence also means that you use little money in an excellent way.”
