NATIONAL JAZZ HALL OF FAME (NJHF) CASE STUDY

CASE STUDYONNATIONAL JAZZ HALL OF FAME (NJHF)

SYNOPSIS
This case describes and presents the problems faced by Mr. Rutland,
Professor of History at the University of Virginia and founder of the
National Jazz Hall of Fame (NJHF), in his attempts to gain national recognition
for the organization. The NJHF has achieved moderate success at local level
but has not attracted the needed national recognition. Basically the NJHF was
established to maintain a jazz museum in an old Paramount theatre. For
doing that he needed funding around 600 000$. In addition to this problem,
there are other organizations attempting to form a "National Jazz Hall
of Fame". Mr. Rutland is faced with the dilemma of whether to abandon this
project or to use some marketing strategies to help succeed. Mr. Rutland
engaged an independent consultant to answer these questions who
conducted two national surveys and provided recommendations based on
the survey results.
SUMMARY OF THE CASE
Jazz is a popular type of music which combines Black Spirituals, African
Rhythms, and Cajun music. It began in
New Orleans in early 1900s and traveled to St.Louis, Kansas City, and
Memphis, Chicago and New York and these cities musicians developed local
styles of Jazz. Over the years different sounds emerged-swing, big band,
bebop, fusion and others. So, according to
Louis Armstrongs, Jazz is, If you have to ask what Jazz is, youll never
know. The origin of NJHF comes from a local Landmark of Charlottesville, the
citys historic district, the Paramount theatre. The Paramount was
constructed in 1930s used as per
Romance centre and movie theatre.
In 1970s it was in danger of dilapidated, in terms of saving Mr. Rutland
established a Jazz Hall
of fame- that would be used as a museum and performance center

Capitalize on the theaters Name. NJHF was incorporated by Mr. Rutland and
his several friends in Charlottesville. They formed board of directors in early
1983. The NJHF National Advisory board was consisted of Benny Goodman
and Chick Chorea. The purpose of NJHF was to establish and maintain a
museum,

1. What is the project Mr. Rutland is trying to manage? Has it stayed

the same?
The original project that Mr. Rutland was trying was to utilizing the existing
Paramount theatre in Charlottesville as the NJHF. After determination of the
cost of refurbishing the theatre, it was determined to continue work on
establishing the NJHF.

2. Identify the various stakeholders in the project, including the

competition.
The various stakeholders in this project were: NJHF National Advisory Board,
City officials, local merchants, the community, tourists, and jazz enthusiasts,
Harlem YMCA Jazz Hall of Fame & the International Jazz Hall of Fame and
inductees to the NJHF.

3. Of the skills mentioned in the chapter that a project manager

needs, which are most important here? Why?
Skills mentioned in this chapter that a project manager would need for this
project would be team building, to motivate the board as well as potential
stakeholders. Other skills included are communication skills for persuasion
and positive promotion of the NJHF and a high self-esteem would show
through as enthusiasm for the project and draw others to buy in.

4. What credibility does Mr. Rutland have? Is he a leader?

Mr. Rutland has credibility, but is not highly promoted. He would not be a
good leader since, the way I read this case, there were not good goals and
time frames set for launching the NJHF. The board did seem to have a project

scope in mind, but it seemed to creep at every obstacle, not a clear

understanding of what they needed to do and when to reach a project end.

Question 6 answer
In my opinion, Mr. Rutland has done a good job with compiling the research
necessary in order for the board to make a determination about which
direction to go in the future. He has also done a good job of keeping his
emotional attachment to the Paramount Theatre in check and not allowing it
to cloud his judgment. I believe this his next steps should include the
following actions:
A. Budget-With the organization only have $2500 in the bank, he cannot
afford to put the plan in action to grow the organization without securing
an outside source of revenue. I would scour the local area and try to find
a business interested in philanthropy that would sponsor the organization
with enough capital to get the mailing list project rolling. I would explain
the plan to launch the mailing campaign, with the final goal of securing
funding to sustain operations and hire a full-time executive director to
focus on future activities. I would also start trying to find the perfect
noted jazz figure that would be the centerpiece of our campaign. With the
money in hand, I would execute the campaign. If I could not find a
sponsor, I would have a myriad of options including an aggressive
donation campaign in the local area, maybe a series of small jazz concerts
aimed at raising money for our cause.
B. Budget Expenditures-I would hold off on the project with the Paramount
until there was a surplus of resources and we had enough to cover
anticipated construction cost and annual upkeep. I know it is the center
point of his plan, but it is too expensive to jump into arbitrarily.
C. Performance-These areas require resources, so once the budget is set and
the organization has an idea of how much money they will work with
annually, I would analyze which services (museum, artifacts,
concerts/performances, and newsletters) provide the most return on our
investment and provide what we could to our public. It is imperative to
try to include a national means of recognition to member not in the local
area, so they feel like they are still involved with the organization;
otherwise, their donations are liable to dry up.
D. Competition-The consultant felt that the competing organizations were
not an issue if they operated like other previous attempts. I think that the
only way to remain in the forefront is to be the best. If there is always
somebody out there that is better at your job than you are, you are likely
not going to be around very long. The NJHF needs to focus on being a
national organization rather than a local one in order to outlive the
competition.

E. Schedule- Deadlines, windows and milestones are an important aspect for

any organization. As a regional organization that is trying to go national, I
would use the fire out of these milestones to help us achieve our goals
and build the organization. I would have a series of quarterly, yearly and
long-term goals that we were working towards at all times. I think that this
plan allows the organization to have a goal at all times that they are
working towards and keeps the group from being stagnant and the
members feeling like they are wasting time and not accomplishing
anything.