OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Structural Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the structural frame
2. Apply the structural 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.

Starbucks has gone through a major culture change that is effecting the moral of the
organization. Starbucks has to figure out how to move forward as an organization with
the currrent culture and also change the culture. My role within the organization is a shift
manager leading baristas in day to day activities.

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

Starbucks is a household name built upon creating an experience for its customers and its
partners (employees). This means that a strong culture was built based on connecting
with people and welcoming all to its space. In fact, the organization has a name for the
space they create. It’s called the “Third Place” (Dollinger, 2012) This has been its staple
and what it has built its brand on for years. That would be until the organization went in a
new direction of reaching there customers through technology instead of interpersonal
contact.

The Covid pandemic really ramped up this new transition to a less person based and more
technology based customer experience. This competly changed the way Starbucks had
been treating there customers and gave new prioroties to their partners (employees). This,
along with a society wrecked by the pandemic, created a culture opposite of what the
organization was built on. This lead to a high turnover rate and a very uninspired
workforce. All of these factors led up to the issue of misalignment in culture.

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

When I first looked at how structural frame could help culture, I began to scratch my
head. It was hard to put those two things together. On further analysis, it seems that
structure had a big impact on the culture at Starbucks. Part of the culture problem was the

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 lack of communication with upper management. The operating core had a difficult time
being able to commute with the srategic apex. Starbucks will set up an away with the
operating core had multiple middle managers between the strategic apex, meaning the
middle line was extreamly long (Bolman & Deal, 2021).

We can use the structural frames look how we can restructure Starbucks to create better
communication between our operating core and strategic apex. This could mean cutting
out some of that middle management that could get in the way of communication. Part of
the issue was there were too many people making two little decisions. There was too
much friction to make a decision. One thing Starbucks is known for as an organization is
to learn is to move fast and learn fast. The middle management was getting in the way.

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

I would like to take the perspective as if I will see you. Moving forward I would want to
create a space people feel they can communicate their needs and they will actually be
heard. I said previously, this could be done by restructuring the organization by cutting
out some of the middle management getting in the way of decisions being made. This
could create culture change because our operating whore feel good feel that they could
trust people in higher places because of the clear pathways for communication. This
could be a step in the right direction.
Something I would not do is restructure the whole company. Starbucks is a large
company that has been built to be successful. There is change that needs to happen
structure wise, but that doesn’t mean the whole system is broken. We need to be able to
be adaptable to the environment around us, sometimes systems need to change. But that
does not mean a whole system is bad or needs to be completely changed at all. This is the
one thing I would try to avoid in the process of changing culture at Starbucks.

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 References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 

Dollinger, M. (2012, July 30). Starbucks, "the third place", and creating the ultimate customer
experience. Fast Company. Retrieved September 4, 2022, from
https://www.fastcompany.com/887990/starbucks-third-place-and-creating-ultimate-
customer-experience