Singapore Chinese Orchestra (A): Building A Sustainable 21st Century Arts Enterprise By Wee Beng Geok & Yvonne Chong

Publisher Ref No:	ABCC-2011-004	Pub/Rev Date:	2011
Industry:	Non-Profit Sector	Case Length:	20 pages
Teaching Note Ref:	-	Teaching Note:	-
Organisation:	Singapore Chinese Orchestra	Period Covered:	2001 - 2011
Country:	Singapore	Level:	Undergraduate/ Postgraduate

Publisher:

The Asian Business Case Centre, Nanyang Technological University

Abstract

The case discusses the development of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Company (SCO), since its incorporation in the mid-1990s. As one of three flagship arts companies under the Singapore Government's Renaissance City Plan, which focused on the role arts and culture could play in the country's national development, it had leveraged this support to build the only full-fledged Chinese symphony music orchestra in Singapore, as well as the region outside China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

To achieve its mission, the orchestra company had a structured strategic planning process involving the board members, Music Director, and General Manager of the company. As part of this process, in 2010, the SCO executive team set about the task of implementing the strategic plans that the Board had articulated a year earlier. These plans included: programming that reflected the core artistic values of the orchestra; audience development, talent acquisition and development, and corporate partnerships.

The key challenge was to ensure that the various parts of the strategy were aligned and that the strategies implemented would contribute towards the orchestra company's longer term goal of building a robust and sustainable arts enterprise for the 21st century.

Topics discussed: Managing an arts enterprise; Strategy planning and implementation; Board-management roles in a non-profit; artistic enterprise business models; and stakeholders' management.

Instructors may wish to follow this case with "Singapore Chinese Orchestra (B): Developing Corporate Partnerships". Case B discusses efforts by the SCO to review its fundraising and corporate sponsorship programmes. The orchestra's aim was to double contribution from sponsorships and partnerships in five years by leveraging on its brand name and services.

Issues:
Managing an arts enterprise; Strategy planning and implementation; Board-management roles in a non-profit; Artistic enterprise business models; Stakeholders' management

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