OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Symbolic Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:

1. Describe the symbolic frame

2. Apply the symbolic frame to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

In Module 1, I talked about how the pandemic has affected not only the
customers, but the partners working at Starbucks. The company decided to hold a series
of “Third Place” meetings that allowed partners to talk about their concerns and
uncertainties about their role in the company. In these meetings, we had the opportunity
to express our feelings; what we feared, how we can feel safe, and concerns about what
Starbucks is doing in regards to handling the situation. It is my role, as a shift supervisor,
to supervise shifts and ensure safety for all customers and employees. I assign roles and
responsibilities, and reinforce a positive work environment. During this pandemic, I
provided comfort and information to customers and partners that have questions about
what Starbucks is doing to ensure safety throughout the store. It is my role to represent
the company when managers aren't present and secure a safe place for both customers
and partners

2) Describe how the symbols of the organization influenced the situation.

The symbols of the organization influenced the situation by one of the symbolic
forms: heroes and heroines. According to Bolman and Deal, organizations often depend
on the CEOs or other leaders to lead and deliver results, especially under uncertain events
(2017, p. 246). In this case, the pandemic was an uncertain event that no one saw coming
and was unprepared for. They took and embraced a role of a “hero” to lead the
organization and helped each store cope with what was happening around the world. For
Starbucks, the CEO and other leaders worked together to come up with a solution to keep
operations running, while keeping customers and partners safe.

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 Ordinary people would often times step out of their role in order to perform outstanding
deeds (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 246). Due to the unexpected events and demands of
shield guards, it didn’t get to our store in time in order to practice social distancing as
early as possible. When the shield guards did arrive, it wasn’t enough to cover parts of
the store to separate customer and partner interaction. We had a partner who went out of
his way to build shield guards all around the bar area and through the drive thru. He
measured the area that needed the shields, bought the materials, cut, paint, and set it up.
No one asked him to do it and did so out of his own free will, the only thing he had to do
was ask the manager permission to put it up. When I asked him why he did it, he said
that if he could do anything to make it easier and safer for partners, he’s willing to go the
extra mile to do so. For the store, he was the hero that stepped out of his role in order to
create a safe “Third Place” for everyone in the store.

3) Recommend how you would use organizational symbols for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

I would use organizational symbols for an alternative course of action regarding my case,
by applying one of the functions of stories, fostering collaboration. According to Bolman
and Deal, storytelling can encourage people to understand what the company believes in
and what needs to be done (2017, p. 249). Fostering collaboration is one of the eight
categories of stories, among those functions include: sparkling action, communicating
who you are, communicating who the company is, transmitting values, taming the
grapevine, sharing knowledge, and leading people into the future (Bolman & Deal, 2017,
p. 249).

I would use fostering collaboration as a strategy to encourage people to come together

and come up with ideas to help their individual stores. Everyone has a talent and partners
could have skills that they use outside of working at Starbucks, like the partner I talked
about. The only way to know this information is through storytelling and communicating
with partners about their strengths and their skills. With this strategy, Starbucks would
be able to use the help from partners, not just management, to create a space that would
be safe for both customers and workers.

1) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about this frame.

Based on what I learned about this frame, I would use my role as a shift supervisor to
communicate more with partners I work with about ideas that would help the store feel a
lot safe for customers and partners. By doing this, I’ll be able to learn more about the

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skills and strengths, and possibly use that towards creating something that would benefit
the store.

Next, I would talk to management and see how we could foster collaboration in the
workplace, not just for the pandemic, but for future events. It’ll encourage partners to
step out of their role and inspire them to do something that would highlight their skills.
This would show workers that they are heard and valued in the company, encouraging a
positive work environment in the store.

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 Reference or References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership

(6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass