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.

The One Dream Team, a local non-profit organization has been around for six years now.
The original team of volunteers has seemed to lose their momentum. Each year there is
less participation than the last with fundraising activities to get money for the annual
Unity Walk and activities. The owner of the non-profit, Kerry is not sure what caused the
lack of moral and if she should let them go and find replacement volunteers that will
bring more initiative.

My role is the organization is handling all the social media accounts. I post about the
walk and promote the Non-profit through networking. We don’t have formal titles with
the organization being so small, but I would equate my role to be being a social media
coordinator.

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

Due to the nature of a local non-profit the One Dream Team did not have very much
funding for creating a work or office space. There was a lack of organizational overhead
where many organizations come together. The team would meet up at local coffee shops
and parks to discuss new ideas and set dates for the upcoming fundraisers. This could
negatively impact the situation because it makes it harder to meet up with conflicting
schedules. It could also be distracting to brainstorm and come up with ideas with a lot of
outside influence going on during team meetings and discussions.

On the positive side of the symbolic frame, I can see how the logo used by the One
Dream team brought the team together and could also potentially spark the interest of
individuals walking by or in the same café when they see the logo on the teams’ shirts. A
concertation could start and possibly bring in additional team volunteers or bring new

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 commers to the annual event to support the cause. The One Dream Teams logo consisted
of an earth with many different colored hands around it to symbolize unity. Each year the
logo has a spin off logo on the participants t-shirts that has the logo on it.

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

I would recommend highlighting the uniqueness and attributes of being a smaller local
non-profit. I would make it a point to organize team meetings in different cafes and we
workspaces to spread the message and awareness of the One Dream Team and the overall
message and goal of the organization. I think putting the effort into meeting up in a
centralized location should be shown on the social media accounts to, it gives the public
an opportunity to come out and meet the team and get involved. Not having a set
workspace can be seen as a hinderance for the team but it can also be a positive thing.

When the One Dream Team is out and about together, I would also recommend telling
the story of the organization, how it got started, what their values are and who each of the
members and volunteers are. I think it’s important to make the volunteers really feel
valued and a part of the team. It would make an even bigger impact for them to share
their own personal stories and why they got involved with the One Dream Team in the
first place.

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

After learning more about the symbolic frame I would put more effort into showcasing
the values of the organization and the volunteers that serve it. I would use going out and
utilizing shared spaces, such as cafes as a platform. This allow the team of volunteers for
the one dream team to be able to tell their stories, while telling the stories of the one
dream team and how it was started.

I would make sure to communicate with the team the symbolic message that sharing their
own personal values and beliefs help create the one dream team to be what it is today. I
believe that making the volunteers feel more valued and allowing them to share their own
personal message will help not only display the teamwork in a symbolic way for the one
dream team but also helped to rebuild the morale that has been lost over the last couple of
years. For the one dream team, the volunteers and members that have taken time out of
their personal lives to serve the organization symbolize everything the one dream team
stands for. While reading through the chapter the book talked about “the values that count
are those an organization lives, regardless pf what it articulates in mission statements or
formal documents” (Bolman & Deal, 2021).

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 Reference or References

Bolman, L.G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(7th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey - Bass