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Case Study: Central City Museum

A. Problem Statement
 Facts of the Case
i. A central city museum was built on a land provided by the adjacent private
university with the understanding that the museum would provide a resource for
student education.
ii. The museum was financed by the generosity of local donors.
iii. The governing board includes donors, selected university administrators, and
faculty members
iv. Upon the interview of various stakeholders, it was found that they all have different
ideas about the future direction of the museum in its new relationship with the
university
1. The major donor wants the museum to be a community resource and wants
to promote visits to those who don’t have access to art exhibits.
2. The university administrator wants to attract both university students and
community adults and provide new insights and dialogue about current
events. She is interested in traveling exhibitions which could help save
them administrative costs and overhead of producing their own exhibits
3. The head of the art history department doesn’t believe that it should be a
community resource but rather a teaching institution where it can be a
major resource for undergraduate and graduate students with courses
related to art.
4. A faculty member in the art history department wants to concentrate on
training Ph.D.-level students in the art history and to support scholarly
research. Her goal is more on increasing exposure and stature of the
university so that their graduates will be sought after by art history
departments nationally.
v. A position for the museum director is opened and the interviewer is tasked to pick
one given the statements of how the stakeholders view the museum should be.
 Key problems or issues to be analyzed; or statement of the ethical dilemma
i. How should I, as the museum director, lead the future direction of the museum
such that it considers both the views of the local donors who financed the museum
and the private university that donated the land?
 Which projects would best be pursued considering that funds are limited and
that the museum cannot finance all the suggestions by the stakeholders?
B. Key Objectives
 To be able to build a direction for the museum with the stakeholders in mind.
 To be able to collaborate with the stakeholders regarding possible projects and activities
for the museum.

C. Analysis of the Causes

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 Framework, methodology, principles, or tools used or applied (decision-making models;
ethical principles, chapter concepts)
o Levels of Goals and Plans
 Since the museum is newly opened and there is no structure yet, a formal
mission defining the purpose of the organization but be drafted by the board
of directors and finalized by the museum director. Only then will goals be
established. This mission could be either to have the museum be open for all
or for the museum to serve solely as a teaching institution for the benefit of the
university’s students. It could also include what the museum wants to offer its
guests and how they want the museum experience of the guest to be.
o Goal Setting in Organizations
 Regarding the museum’s strategic goals, it should be focused on what they
want the museum to be like and who it should cater to. Following the strategic
goals will be strategic plans set by the managing director with the help of the
art department heads so that there would be goals for both the museum and art
education. Since budget is limited, operational planning must be done so that
resources may be allocated for all the desired activities for each week or
month. Management-by-objectives system may also be used to define the
goals for every department.
 Regular meetings may be done by the board of directors and departments to
see if goals are being met. For easier tracking and to provide a visual
representation of progress, a strategy map may be made. With a strategy map,
it will be easier for everyone to see the key problems and find ways to improve
on it.
o Organizational Performance
 A manager’s responsibility is to be effective, efficient but at the same time,
achieve high performance. This means that the museum director will have to
be able to cater to as much projects the stakeholders want while ensuring that
there is proper allocation of resources for each.
o Management skills
 Since the museum is new, management skills such as conceptual, human and
technical have to be used. It is important for managers to have good conceptual
skills to be able to think strategically regarding decision making, resource
allocation, and how each step will affect the future of the museum. Human
skills will be important when dealing with the stakeholders/investors that have
various ideas for the museum and resolving conflict. Lastly, technical skills
would be needed to be able to see how the museum is doing overall.
o Management in Nonprofit organization
 Since the museum isn’t privately owned but built through donations, it should
be nonprofit. Therefore, keeping costs as low as possible is highly important
as well as keeping an innovative mind to ensure be able to think of creative
ways to maintain the operational funds of the museum.
o Decision-making model

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 The decision-making model that the museum director may adapt would be the
political model as there are groups with different interests and goals in mind.
Through a political model, the donors and the art department can resolve
conflict and come to a compromise through bargaining and discussion.
D. Analysis of the Problem
 Personally, my views are similar to that of the major donor’s and the university administrator’s.
I would like the museum to be accessible to all and that anyone who is interested in art can
enter and learn from it. The intention of the school that the museum should be provided as a
resource for student education is also a great idea for the museum as it can add specialized
programs for those interested in learning art or to supplement those who are taking art as a
course. As a director, I would make sure that I would be able to come to the best compromise
between the ideas of each stakeholder and draft a proposal. After which, I would propose my
plan to the board of directors and settle it through votation instead of implementing it on my
own.
 The conflicts are between opening the museum for everyone as a community resource or to
privatize the museum and solely focus on making it a resource for university students. While
it is impossible to appease both parties, it is possible to have a balance between the two. As
much as possible, the museum should be open to all since the university isn’t the sole
contributor. Major donors have voiced out that they want it to be a community resource.
However, the head and faculty members of the art history department can work with the
museum to give more exposure and experience to their students. This may be through some
talks, exhibits, or internships.
 I think that yes, coalitions are important in working out stakeholder differences since it provides
an avenue for people to talk and resolve conflict. If managers handle the situation on their own
without addressing the conflict, more conflict may arise which may make the problem more
complicated. A manager should always act in the best interest of a company.

E. Development and Selection of Alternatives (Advantages and Disadvantages)


1. Open the museum and ask for a minimal entrance fee/”donation” which will be used to fund
research and materials needed by the undergraduate and graduate students of the university.
University and public school children may enter for free.
Advantages:
 The fees will be able to fund the whole museum and its activities.
 More stakeholders may be appeased since there is money to fund the projects
that they want.
 The plan still caters to the children who don’t have access to art exhibits as the
entrance fee/”donation” could be used to subsidize for them.
 There is still audience diversity as it caters to different kinds of people.
Disadvantages:
 May lessen the goers who will be interested since there is a fee.
 The fee might defeat the purpose of it being a community resource

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2. Use the museum as a teaching institution where the students of the university train, learn and
showcase their talents. At the same time, they could hold workshops and free admissions to their
exhibits for children and adults who are interested in learning more about art.
Advantages:
 The students of the university could use the museum as a resource. The
museum could be an avenue for them to showcase their talents so that they
could be sought after by art history departments throughout the country.
 People interested in art can still learn about art from the university students.
 The university will have a unique feature that other universities don’t have
thereby increasing possible enrollees into their program.
Disadvantages:
 It would be quite unfair for the major donors who envisioned the museum as a
community resource. The museum will be seen more as a university museum
rather than a community museum.
 Benefits the students of the school more than anyone else.
 There is no income to sustain the activities of the museum.

3. Open the museum to the public while holding exhibits and auctions of artworks by the students
during the weekends
Advantage:
 The museum is free for everyone to enjoy.
 Auctions will generate income to sustain the activities/exhibits of the students
and could potentially be used to fund scholarly research and art education.
 Exhibits could provide an avenue for exposure for graduate students to
showcase their work and eventually be recognized by audiences.
Disadvantage:
 Exhibits and auctions might be delayed for a while since the budget won’t be
able to handle both at the same time
 It will be a slow progress for the undergraduate students of the university
compared to what the art department envisions to happen.

F. Recommendations and/or conclusions


The alternative chosen will be alternative number 3 since it is the plan that could cater to
majority of the stakeholder’s interests. Since the museum is new and will just be built
with no structure and vision/mission, here are my suggestions as to how I would lead if I
become the museum director.

 Meet with the board of directors regarding the vision, mission and goals. The vision, mission
and goals must consider both the museum as a whole that caters to the public, as well as the
partnership with the university regarding its art program. An example of an organizational
mission would be “The museum seeks to inspire and connect people through various art
exhibitions and programs.”

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 The museum director will meet with the board of directors and the heads of the art department
to know their individual goals and plans for their department. The director will then align the
goals using a strategy map which will be followed weekly.
o A timeframe for each department will be given along with their budget and proposed goals.
The goals will span from learning growth goals to financial performance goals.
o Possible goals:
 Learning and growth goals: to be able to train the museum staff regarding how to
treat museum guests since there will be a variety of guests.
 Internal business process goals: To be able to sustain the operational funds of the
museum.
 Customer service goals: To be able to maintain a loyal set of audiences that will
go to the museum’s events and auctions.
 Financial performance goals: To be able to increase revenue so that there will be
more funds for succeeding projects.
o These goals will be reviewed for progress and if ever the goals are met, proper credit will be
given.
o Single-use plans will be made at the start with the help of the board of directors and standing
plans will be made to guide the middle managers attain overall goals.
 Contingency plans will be made by each department (especially those with events like exhibits and
auction) to ensure that they are prepared in case any unforeseen circumstance happens.
 Meet with all the investors/museum staff regarding projects they want to propose and schedule
them accordingly.
 Since the budget is limited, there will be priority to the museum and the public over the art
department. However, funds coming from the exhibits and auction will be used to help fund art
research and education.

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