Sydney Theatre Company's Financial Difficulties, Total Quality Management, Open Systems Thinking - Case Study Example

Sydney Theatre Company Student’s Name Name of Institution What the group knows about the Sydney Theatre Company Initially, the group hardly knew a lot pertaining to Sydney Theatre Company. However, on reading the articles about the company, the group attained immense knowledge about it. Thus, they are acquainted with the actuality that the company is a non-for-profit organization that deals with arts. It is the largest theatre company within Australia under management of Cate Blanchett, the Australian film star as well as two businessmen who play the roles of general manager and co-chief executive. Prior to emergence of the three managers, Sydney Theatre Company faced some financial difficulties. However, the three persons, though from diverse backgrounds, share a common passion, which is aiding the Sydney Theatre Company into an opulent enterprise and superior commodity. Accordingly, the three persons namely Cate Blanchett, Patrick McIntyre, and Andrew Upton work in collaboration to enhance massively the company’s landscape. Moreover, the group has attained knowledge that via investments as well as financial aid through numerous avenues, Sydney Theatre Company has grown into an affluent venture. The company has attained financial aid from sponsors, generous subscribers, young theatergoers, philanthropists, and the government. As evidenced in Uncle Vanya, the group has realized that young theatergoers have a tendency of spending their money in purchasing entry tickets to the shows. Moreover, the group learnt that the company has diversified its operations, thus attaining a turnover of approximately $30 million. 65% of the company’s income emanates from box office, which incorporates overseas ticketing and subscriptions, 12% emerges from philanthropic and corporate support, 9% from Australian Council and Arts NSW, government funding is 9%, and 5% is from auxiliary income. Among the numerous aspects that the group has learnt about Sydney Theatre Company, is the significance of relationships to the future of the theatre. Just like any other organization and business, healthy relationships form the basis for maintaining continuous success of the company. Hence, the company has maintained affiliations with highly regarded sponsor companies such as GIO, Goldman Sachs, and Commonwealth Bank. Moreover, Sydney Theatre Company has established close alliances with schools, universities, and cultural groups with the aim of augmenting their exposure. The group has learnt that Sydney Theatre Company is committed to total quality management. Upton, McIntyre, and Blanchett work in unison in offering the theatre’s total quality management. In this context, they look into the long-term thrive of the business, which enables them to know where they are headed. Ultimately, the group is acquainted with the company’s strive for quality. They know that Sydney Theatre Company is quality driven and thus it aims at meeting the customer needs. Through its well established affiliations with the stakeholders, Sydney Theatre Company enjoys ingenious inputs that allow it to endow its customers with quality services and goods. Besides, the company’s lucid policies in addition to the core skills of the manager have enhanced the inimitable characteristic of the company. Moreover, Upton, McIntyre, and Blanchett posses the managerial functions, including leading, controlling, planning, and organizing the way the company is run. Accordingly, these facets have led to the company’s massive exposure, accumulation of vast wealth, and a steady support from corporate entities, sponsors, and consumers. In what ways does the Sydney Theatre Company display open systems thinking? When analyzing an organization, it is vital to make a distinction between open-system and closed-system thinking. Closed-system thinking tends to regard a company as sufficiently independent, thus allowing problems to be evaluated from the internal structure with no reference to the external environment (Haines, 2007). On the other hand, open-systems thinking endorse logical proposition that the systems can spontaneously reorganize to attain greater complexity and heterogeneity. Organizations embracing open-systems thinking tend to interact with their environment with the aim of maintaining themselves in existence (Jackson, 2007). Sydney Theatre Company portrays open systems thinking through encouraging numerous investors to the business. As Birkeland (2012) highlights, companies endorsing open systems thinking make fertile affiliations that enhance investment as opposed to setting parameters and subsequently selecting among alternatives that investors propose. Sydney Theatre Company does not rely on policy pulley and levers to incentivize individuals and organizations to invest in the company. However, the company encourages overall investors who encompass of young theatergoers, philanthropists, generous sponsors, loyal subscribers, and the government. Sydney Theatre Company is not merely after sponsorship. However, the company’s open systems thinking is manifest where STC maintains effectual relationships with its sponsors. The managers assert that business affiliations are fundamental for STC’s thrive. Given that approximately 12% of the company’s revenue emanate from philanthropic donors and sponsors, effectual relationships are vital to STC’s funding base. In this context, STC maintains profound associations with some of its sponsors, such as GIO, UBS, Commonwealth Bank, and Goldman Sachs. Equally, CBA, with which STC has maintained good relations, is resuming back to them. Sydney Theatre Company maintains an open systems thinking by extending its operations to incorporate global customers. As Suchan and Dulek (1998) explicate, an open systems thinking within an organization encompasses of a universal marketplace. In fact, STC’s vision statement is “Theatre without borders” (Mobbs, 2011). Hence, the company does not limit its operations to the organizational level. Blanchett establishes that their chief interest is making the organization’s creative presence and business sustainable internationally, nationally, and locally (Mobbs, 2011). For instance, it is evident from the case that Uncle Vanya, which performed exceptionally well at the box office, realized an excursion to the United States in 2011. Moreover, a robust domestic box office as well as tremendously successful international touring that included 52,000 seats vended within Washington and New York had a say in the healthy outcome realized in 2009. Open systems thinking enable organizations to interact with their overall environments while responding to changes outside and inside the systems (Naaldenberg, Vaandrager, Koelen, Wagemakers, Saan & Hoog, 2009). The system is capable of adapting to the environment, evolve toward novel behavioral patterns, and create learning (Pan, Valerdi, & Kang, 2013). Accordingly, the actors within the social scheme contribute from diverse backgrounds, thus making distinct explanations of the present problems, and as well set activities and goals in the system. In this perspective, STC has set long-term goals, which it strives to achieve. However, to attain these goals, the company has realized the need to incorporate contributions from diverse backgrounds. Hence, the managerial team encompasses of McIntyre, Upton, and Blanchett, who posses diverse and imperative views. They understand the complexities associated with arts but they are certain that the field produces great output as it progresses. This is evident where Upton establishes that within the artistic practice, one can discard lengthy lines while knowing there will most likely not going to be a fish for long. However, when the fish comes, it is a superior one. This is allied to vision. The company has a long-term vision, which keeps it focused on where it is headed (Mobbs, 2011). Sydney Theatre Company acknowledges that the environment permeating and surrounding it has significant implications on organizational structure and behavior. In this milieu, it focuses on both environmental and cultural sustainability (Mobbs, 2011). Moreover, STC embraces an interest in making its creative presence and business sustainable at a local, national, and international level. This is manifest where the company has adopted the program named ‘Greening The Wharf’ (Mobbs, 2011). Their chief endeavor is to green the Wharf, green their sponsor and supply chains, and establish long-term sustainable relationships. Blanchett understands that the company’s greening facet is a great achievement for both the present and the future generations (Mobbs, 2011). The green cultural precinct, according to Blanchett, forms a basis for future foundations improvement of a cultural precinct. By laying substantial considerations to environmental and cultural endorsement and protection, STC has managed to maintain effective partnerships with its stakeholders. For instance, being a member of Transport and Tourism Forum has granted STC numerous associations with the City of Sydney (Mobbs, 2011). Equally, the aspect of greening has enhanced novel relations with the City of Sydney. Another successful environmental allied relationship is manifest where the Shi family foundation bestowed STC with a Suntech solar power system worth $2.1 million, which DCM Solar has recently installed. Besides, this act depicts STC’s affiliation with technological innovation, which is part of their open systems thinking. By accepting the solar system donation, STC portrays not only its concern for environmental conservation but also its passion for technology. Besides, STC, concern for the environment is evident whereby the company transformed the surrounding town. On arrival at the Wharf, STC found it as a ghost town, surrounded with barbed wire. However, adopting an open systems thinking, STC has created economic, cultural, and social benefits out of the ghost town. Accordingly, STC has transformed the region to be a community. Organizations using open systems thinking tend to reorganize themselves into smaller sectors or subdivisions (Pan, Valerdi, & Kang, 2013). Subsequently, these subdivisions strive to attain their ideal form of existence. However, the favored form of existence ought to be in accordance with the goals of the overall organization. In this context, STC has diversified into distinct operations. Surrounding the theatre experience includes the music nights, programs pertaining to children’s education, the Greening The Wharf program, associations with the University of Sydney, and technological interactions (Mobbs, 2011). In general, the company embraces three streams, explicitly business, community, and arts. Hence, STC is not merely constrained into theatre but the general theatre experience. References Birkeland, J. (2012). Design blindness in sustainable development: from closed to open systems design thinking. Journal of Urban Design, 17(2), 163-187. Haines, S.G. (2007). Strategic and systems thinking: the winning formula. New York: Systems Thinking Press. Jackson, M.C. (2007). Systems thinking: creative holism for managers. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Mobbs, R. (2011). Sydney Theater Company’s great revival. In Malley, A. ‘In high Places’, 12- 16. Naaldenberg, J., Vaandrager, L., Koelen, M., Wagemakers, A., Saan, H., & Hoog, K. (2009). Elaborating on systems thinking in health promotion practice. Global Health Promotion, 16(1), 39-47. Pan, X., Valerdi, R., & Kang, R. (2013). Systems thinking: a comparison between Chinese and Western approaches. Procedia Computer Science, 16, 1027-1035. Suchan, J. & Dulek, R. (1998). From the text to context: an open systems approach to research in written business communication. Journal of Business Communication, 35(1), 87-110. Read More