OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Symbolic Frame Worksheet

My Nguyen

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.

I am a shift supervisor at Starbucks. The organization highlights the importance of

leadership development. However, the pandemic has influenced the organization’s
priorities due to reduction in revenue. With each frame, I am evaluating the shifts within
the organization as related to the pandemic. Constraints of the pandemic placed on
leaders within the organization has changed how leadership is being developed today.

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

The company brand is represented by a siren symbol. As the organization is globally

known, the symbol is easily recognizeable from a distance within many countries. Seeing
the Starbucks symbol does not only remind people about a coffee shop, but it also
reminds people of an experience and the strong culture that exists within that experience.
Bolman and Deal remind us that symbols shape our thoughts, actions, and emotions
(2017, p. 241). Capitalizing on brand recognition, Starbucks puts forth an effort to create
a warm, welcoming place for consumers. This is part of Starbucks’s culture and the
culture is still strong during the pandemic.

Leaders in my store are still focuses on promoting inclusion and creating a place where
diversity is welcomed. We do what we can to serve those in the frontline during these
trying times by giving out free coffee to first responders or providing coffee to
neighboring businesses to uplift the community. Recently, managers have been
reminding partners about company values and store purposes. This is encouraged from
higher executives and this goes to show that organizational symbolism highly influences
the work environment. The organization maintains the importance of symbolism and
culture as it influences the current situation.

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

In using organizational symbols, I can bring people together by reminding my team about
the Starbucks culture. As “symbols mediate the meaning of work,” (Bolman & Deal,
2017, p.263) I can work on realigning our everyday tasks to creating a warm, welcoming
experience for customers and encourage other partners to do the same. However, I must
do so by example because Bolman and Deal have highlighted leadership by example as a
means for holding a team together (2017, p. 268). In holding the team together, we can
perform better during these trying times as the pandemic continues to create challenges in
the workplace.
Starbucks has seen a reduction in revenue and as such, store managers must manager
labor versus sales. This diminishes the spirits for leaders such as shift supervisors who
have to manage a smaller team and baristas who are required to work harder for their
earnings. Bolman and Deal highlight the importance of spirit for performance (2017, p.
267) and I will work on maintain the spirit of team members under my watch. This is
done by reminding partners of the meaning of work and how every member of our team
affects others.

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

The pandemic has created many challenges, but it does not need to negatively influence
the work environment. Leaders hold teams together and learning from the symbolic
frame, I am reminded of the influence that comes with my role. Rather than saying that I
would do something different, I would say that I will remind myself of why I chose to
become a leader. Reminding myself of values will help me become a better leader
through example. Although the pandemic does shift the company’s priorities in some
ways, I am reminded that the Starbucks culture is strong and executives have not
forgotten that.
As each store has a different purpose, we should not forget about the organization’s main
purpose which is to inspire the human spirit. There are many actions that show that the
company maintains its values and partners who forget the mission statement need to
realign themselves with the organization while at work. As the work situation is heavily
influenced by the symbolic frame, keeping it in mind will be only benefit my position in
it all. The biggest difference is within myself about what I would do differently and that
is to actively prevent the challenges of the pandemic from lowering my spirit and the
spirit of those around me.

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 Reference

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

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