OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Symbolic Frame Worksheet

The situation I am going to be covering is from when I was transitioning from a
barista position into a shift supervisor. It was a tough transition because not only was I
learning a new position, but I was also transferring from my home store to a completely
new location. It was a trying time for me, I struggled getting my team to support me and
my new role and I often found myself as the odd man out. A little background to my
situation is I had been with my company for only a year and I had another store manager
approach me and ask me to apply for her shift position. I had met this store manager
because she was having a hard time keeping her store staffed and I had been going over
and helping at her store on my days off. She wanted me to take on this new position in
her store and to help her build structure within her store and also get her team behind
following procedures. I decided to apply for the position and got the job. I shortly
transferred to my new store and began helping my new manager achieve her goal.

In my new position as a shift supervisor I was in charge of many new things than
I had previously been. I now had the responsibility of deploying my new team and getting
to know their strengths and weaknesses. In addition to this my role also changed to
helping build structure and enforce procedures to ensure that everyone was meeting the
company’s standards and selling quality products. I worked hard to slowly make
transitions for not only myself but also getting my team on board with certain procedures.
At first my team was very hesitant and resisted following the rules I was enforcing, but
after a couple of weeks they began to see that what I was doing was helping them and not
making their jobs harder on themselves and they slowly started to accept the changes.

Symbols are a huge part of my company. We use a wide range of different

symbols to ensure that we are making the correct items and also putting a positive name
behind our company’s logo. In addition to this symbol hold a certain meaning and carry
memories and traditions that people are familiar with. For starters my company’s logo is
something that is recognized by many people around not only the United States but in
certain parts of the world as well. The siren is a symbol to people that while it may mean
something different to each individual it represents the name my company carries and the
products that they sell. When people see the siren symbol it makes them think of
Starbucks and the coffee that the company sells. It also represents a sense of feeling
welcomed and valued. In my company we strive to make people feel as if they are at
home. Often times people come into our stores to not only get coffee, but to also feel as if
it is a home away from home. We have a lot of people come to use our cafes while they

1
 are out traveling for business because they know we offer WIFI, they can get a drink they
are familiar with, and they are going to have a positive experience while visiting stores.

Symbols carry powerful intellectual and emotional messages; they speak to the
heart and the soul (Bolman & Deal). People rely on symbols to give them a sort of feeling
that they have created around a particular symbol. For each individual a symbol can mean
something special and unique, but it can also have the same meaning for many others.
Symbols are expressed in unique and individual ways while also shaping our thoughts,
emotions, and actions (Bolman & Deal). I have found that symbols have made it easier
for people to have a connection to something than if it didn’t have a symbol. I have found
that symbols can tend to bring up past emotions that hold a certain story for an individual.
For a lot of our customers the siren symbol represents a place for them to come and feel
welcomed. We have regulars that I see on a daily basis and they are always so excited
when they finally get their coffee in their cup with the siren on it.

Another way my organization can use symbols for an alternative course of action
would be to tell more stories. I find that stories are a great way to get to know people
better and understand some of the experiences they have encountered throughout their
life. I also feel that stories help to form a deeper connection between people because it is
making one vulnerable to tell the other their stories. Stories like folk or fairy tales offer
more than entertainment or moral instruction, and instead they also grant comfort,
reassurance, direction, and hope to people of all ages (Bolman & Deal). Stories are what
makes us the people that we are. We are unique because of the stories we have. Stories
allow us to create memories and be able to recall on a time where something was highly
rememberable to us. In addition to this I feel that stories can be both positive and
negative. While a lot of people think of stories as being a happy memory this isn’t always
the case because stories can also bring up bad experiences that people have had. With my
company we want people to have positive stories to tell. We have a lot of guidelines and
procedures put in place to ensure that our customers are receiving a positive experience
each visit.

In addition to this I also feel that my company provides a sort of ritual for the
majority of our customers. For most of our customers it is in their daily routine to come
and get their coffee before heading off to school, work, or running errands for the day.
Some even go to the extreme and say that their days are thrown off if they aren’t able to
come down and get their daily coffee. Enacting in a ritual connects an individual or group
to something mystical, more than words or rational thinking can capture; at home and at
work, ritual gives structure and meaning to each day (Bolman & Deal). In my role I feel
that I am always trying to ensure that my customers are receiving a good experience each
day. I want them to be able to come back knowing that they will be receiving a good
quality product and also be able to a positive connection with my employees each visit.

2
 My company helps to ensure that people are able to carry out their daily routines and
rituals and be able to create their own positive memories and stories.

After having learned about the symbolic frame I don’t feel that there is too much I
would change or do differently. I would say if anything I would want to keep doing what
I am doing but simply get better at doing so. I want my customers to be able to have a
positive experience and be able to have a good story to share when they see my
company’s symbol. In our text it asks the question “Do leaders shape culture, or are they
shaped by it (Bolman & Deal)?” I personally think it is a mixture of both. I think leaders
play a significant role in shaping culture, but at the same time culture also pushes back
and helps shape the leader as well. I think the two work off of each other and help to
shape a positive culture. I have experienced both sides to this question. I have been in the
position where I have allowed culture to help shape me, and there have been times when I
have found my actions to help shape culture and show my employees behind why I am
doing so.
One thing that really stood out to me from this week’s learning is how to compare
organization as a theater. This was a completely different idea for me, and I found it to be
very effective. In theater what appears on stage is draped in perception which is the same
for organizations because we judge them by how they appear and how well they follow
the script we expect (Bolman & Deal). People use theater as a way to express their
feelings and to allow themselves to become someone who they may typically not be in a
regular setting. I think using the comparison of theater and organizations is a strong
concept and makes it easy for people to understand. When people use symbols or relate
an experience to a symbol it is a way that they are expressing themselves and how they
felt about a particular situation for that moment in time.

3
 Reference

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

leadership (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass