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.

I have worked for Target for about four years and have promoted to be a General

Merchandise Executive Team Leader. I oversee the store’s metric and operational

performance along with about half of the sales floor. With these areas, I also have five

Team Leaders that report directly to me and eighty team members who report indirectly.

When Covid-19 spread to the United States, it took a toll on every Target store location.

With the new safety restrictions from the CDC, it became increasingly hard for store to

deliver on Target’s core values and mission statement.

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

Target is a very well-known retailer in the United States that can be easily

recognized by their logo of a red bullseye. Almost everyone can recall a childhood

memory of jumping over one of the three red, concrete balls stationed outside of the front

doors. While walking through the doors, the small of buttery popcorn at the café makes

your mouth water and your stomach grumble. During your shopping experience, you’re

greeted by friendly faces asking, “are you finding everything okay?” When you have

1
 completed your shopping experience, you make your way up to the front to find a cashier

standing at the end of their lane waiting to check you. That is the fast, fun, and friendly

experience that Target aims to deliver with every guest. During the pandemic of Covid-

19, guest traffic within the stores increased by record breaking numbers. This made it

significantly harder for team members to deliver the full Target experience. The CDC

required social distancing, which required stores to only be able to use half of the

checkout lanes and avoid being down the same aisles that guests were shopping. This

made it extremely difficult for salesfloor team members to build a guest connection and

the guest felt the impact of the lack of service. Target took quick action to implement a

cleaning team member stationed at the front of every entrance. Not only did this team

member make the guest feel safe by providing them with a clean cart, but they also

provided a welcoming greeting. This gave the guest a piece of mind and new that help

was there if needed.

Although most guests did not feel that their shopping experience was too heavily

impacted, the team did not feel the same way. Many of the changes regarding safety

restrictions effected the daily operations of the teams. Prior to the spread of Covid-19,

stores often had team huddles. In these huddles, important company changes, the weekly

safety topic, and team member recognition were shared. Sometimes, leaders would play

tricks on team members or other leaders and the team loved it. Sweet treats and snack

were often provided, and the team was able to bond and laugh together for a couple

minutes. With the introduction of social distancing, these huddles were deemed as

potentially dangerous and were immediately stopped. Stores often catered food to

recognize their team’s hard work, especially around the holidays. This tradition was also

2
 halted because many restaurants were closed. Even when they were operational again,

store could not afford to pay for individually wrapped meals for a hundred team

members. The team began to feel as if their hard work was going unrecognized and

Target was not staying true to their core values of “Care, Grow, and Win together”.

3) Recommend how you would use organizational symbols for an alternative course of

action regarding your case.

I would have encouraged stores to stick to Target traditions of doing team

huddles. These huddles could have we done with smaller teams where everyone was able

to maintain a six-foot distance from each other. It is stated, “The power of ritual becomes

palpable if one experiences the emptiness losing it” (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 252) The

impact that these huddles had on the team’s culture was unmatched. It gave team

members who worked in different work centers a chance to spend time together and get

to know one another. It was also a great way to introduce new team members to the team

and help them feel included from day one.

Target is very focused on a team mentality, which meant a lot of the traditions

that stores had required the gathering of many people. Although there were safety

restrictions in place, stores could have found safe alternatives to continue the traditions.

“Managers who understand the significance of symbols and know how to evoke the spirit

and soul can shape more cohesive and effective organizations – so long as the cultural

patterns align with the challenges of the marketplace” (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 259).

Covid-19 changed market trends and the shopping experience almost overnight.

Continuing traditions would have brought the team a sense of normalcy and comfort.

3
 4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned

about this frame.

After learning about this frame, I believe that Target did everything right to

ensure the guests did not feel the impact of Covid-19. Although they were not greeted by

smiles, the team shared that same communication in their eyes. With the limited ability of

using cash registers, the company rolled out handheld devices that allowed team

members to “line bust”. Team members were encouraged to remove with small basket

from the line to privately check them out to deliver on Target’s guarantee of a fast check

out.

After learning about this frame, I would have engaged in collective bargaining. It

is described as, “… labor and management negotiate to forge devise standoffs into

workable agreements” (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 291). The lack of recognition took a toll

on the team’s culture and mental health. Combine that with the negative side effects of

being in a pandemic, and the team felt wore out and beaten down. I would have

encouraged my peers to stand up with me and argue to receive increased budgets for

recognition. Stores were making record breaking sales comps, but the spending budgets

did not reflect that increase. I would have dug into those number to find support for our

argument and taken it to the district leaders along with my peers.

4
 Reference

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

John Wiley & Sons.

Culture: Working at target. (n.d.). Target Corporate. https://corporate.target.com/careers/culture