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Organizational Culture in the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center 1

Organizational Culture in the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

October 25, 2011

Communication 660

Kenyon Stanley


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With 115 full time employees and over 500 volunteers. The Blumenthal

Performing Arts center is a complex organization that feeds the Charlotte region energy,

education and theater. Prior to visiting the Blumenthal corporate center, I imagined that

the office would be cluttered, and unorganized. After all, my experience in the nonprofit

world has taught me that a lot of agencies operate informally and tend to cut corners

when it comes to administration. Imagine my surprise when our class walked into an

immaculate office space and all of us were given a folder that contained a detailed

organizational flow chart and promotional material from past events. The office space

was very corporate and resembled a bank. Not surprising since the space itself is owned

by Bank of America. Although I was surprised to see a nonprofit organization embrace

so much structure, it immediately made sense to me. After all, the Blumenthal is a multi-

million dollar organization with donors that demand stability. The office space at the

Blumenthal screamed stability and surety. If I were a donor to the Blumenthal, I would

feel very secure that the Blumenthal was using my money in a wise manner. Judging

only from the office space, I would tend to believe that the corporate culture at the

Blumenthal is strong.

Our class met with the President of the Blumenthal, Tom Gabbard. Tom has an

incredible resume and has worked in the arts for decades. Tom has been President of the

Blumenthal for 8 years. Tom admitted that as soon as he took the job, he realized that the

culture of The Blumenthal needed to be changed. Prior to Toms tenure, the Blumenthal

was known as a childrens theater and wasnt received very well by the community. Tom

sought to change the culture by engaging the community and getting involved by getting

others involved. The tagline of the Blumenthal was changed and messaged out to the


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community as, The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Where Charlotte Comes

Together. The Blumenthal began sponsoring slam poetry sessions, High School

Musical award ceremonies and many other programs that would show the community

that the Blumenthals efforts to engage new and diverse audiences was sincere.

According to Driskill, G.W. & A.L. Brenton (2011), organizational rituals are planned

and unplanned events that are carried out through social interaction with explicit or

implicit purposes and have multiple social consequences (p. 58). Judging by the

significant increase in contributions, the Blumenthals effort to engage new audiences by

enacting and repeating rituals like award ceremonies has resonated with the community

and has reified the strong culture that Tom hoped to bring.

At first I was struggling to find artifacts that exemplified who the Blumenthal is.

However, tonight after watching Dr. Condoleeza Rice speak at the Blumenthal, I realized

that artifacts are everywhere. One of the points that Tom made was that he invites

controversy. Tom will not shy away from putting a controversial show or speaker on

stage. That takes courage and strength. Simply booking a dynamic speaker and former

Secretary of State brought protesters and supporters to the same place. By bringing

diametrically opposed viewpoints to the same location invites dialogue and showcases

the wonderful freedoms we have in America. Therefore, essentially every show is an

artifact of the Blumenthal and the audiences they attract reify The Blumenthals message

Where Charlotte Comes Together. Another artifact I analyzed was the packet that Tom

handed out which contained a detailed account of how the Blumenthal operates. I

imagine that every employee has one of these and can message out the contents to

whoever asks. According to Driskill et al. (2011), organizations with strong cultures


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have surface cultural elements that are tied to employees beliefs and assumptions

(p.43). If I were doing an in depth cultural analysis of the Blumenthal, I would be

interested in interviewing other employees at various levels to compare their views with

Toms. However, judging by what I saw at the office during the interview and the

following week at Dr. Rices event, the Blumenthal does bring Charlotte togethereven

protesters and employees know and embrace this feature of the Blumenthal.

Changing the culture of an organization isnt easy. The change needs to be

strategic and should start with examining and possibly changing what the organization

values. According to Driskill et al. (2011), organizational values tell organizational

members what is most important, what to pay attention to, and how to interpret

meanings (p.45). Clearly Tom made several fundamental shifts when he took over 8

years ago. Tom has transformed an organization that was previously known for

childrens theater into a multi campus mecca for the arts. Furthermore, Toms efforts to

engage new audiences and invest in the community have paid off. I would imagine that

the employees and supporters at the Blumenthal were very uncertain when Tom took

charge and began making huge changes. Again, if I was doing an in depth cultural

analysis, I would interview some of the employees that were part of the Blumenthal

during the transition and see if I could get their point of view during the period of time

when Toms new changes hadnt produced tangible results. However, considering that

Tom has brought millions and the communitys perception of the Blumenthal is generally

positive. It would be fair to say that Tom has established himself as an organizational

hero.


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Although Tom is now an organizational hero, I submit that he wasnt always a

hero at the Blumenthal. In fact, when Tom first came on, he was an outlaw. According

to Driskill et al. (2011), an organizational outlaw are individuals who seem to be

paradoxes in the organization, who defy organizational practices or values yet remain as

valued members of the organization because they exemplify countercultural values that

the organization wishes to cultivate (p. 50). Prior to Tom taking control, the

Blumenthal didnt make sincere efforts to reach out to the community. Charlotte was not

on the radar of Broadway productions, nor was there an effort to invite controversial

shows. Toms out of the box thinking and transformational mission must have

heightened uncertainty and anxiety amongst the Blumenthal stakeholders. However,

once the money and vision began to take shape, I assume that Toms outlaw status began

to change. Now the Blumenthal is an organization that brings Charlotte together and

engages multiple audiences. Toms vision is displayed in the productions, rituals and

messages of the Blumenthal. According to Driskill et al. (2011), an organizational hero

is someone that is respected by a large number of individuals within the organization

because they embody group values (p. 49). After interviewing Tom, its clear that he

embodies the values that the Blumenthal currently espouses. This is evident by the

emphasis on engagement, openness and transparency to the public and other

stakeholders.

In conclusion, I am not a theater guy. Sure, from time to time, I will go to a play,

or listen to a speaker. However, I am not the kind of guy that will visit the Blumenthals

website to get the scoop on whats coming to town. However, after listening to Tom and

watching the events both inside and outside the auditorium at Dr. Rices event, I may


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become more involved with the arts in Charlotte. Tom is an amazing leader. He has

brought millions of dollars to Charlotte and has placed the Queen City on the map in the

eyes of the arts community. In order for Tom to achieve all that he has accomplished, he

needed to change the culture, mission and values of the Blumenthal. Judging by the

revenue and quality of productions, he has done just that. The Blumenthal Performing

Arts Center is an organization with a strong culture. At first, I wondered what would

happen to The Blumenthal after Tom leaves. However, in retrospect, I imagine that Tom

has thought of that as well and his board of directors has a plan that will maintain the

Blumenthals mission of engaging the community for years to come.


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References

Driskill, G.W. & Brenton, A.L. (2011). Organizational Culture in Action: A Cultural

Analysis Workbook (2nd

edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

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