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.

Happening after the initial lock-down of the pandemic, our building, a hotel and

conference center owned by Aramark, was vacant, everyone was on furlough, and we

awaited word to return. I was the pastry chef of the kitchen. During this time, managers,

and the only people having access to the building, decided to keep all staff paid their

regular average salary until further notice. However, several months later, we got a

message from our General Manager (GM) stating that a future of reopening sooner than

later looked dim. The decision of Aramark to terminate employment was decided.

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

Symbols are reminders of what the organization stands for. They reveal and

communicate the organization’s culture (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 255). The symbol of

Aramark is that of its logo. The logo was changed slightly and described to us in detail

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during one of our yearly corporate meetings. The words “Aramark” had a star before it

representing a person. In the new logo, the “person” switches sides, has more curves, and

the words are in lowercase. Although some of the description was vague, the part I

remember was the “person” is supposed to represent the experience in an Aramark

building always being there after the customer has left.

This shows how our culture represents the customer. In other symbols, they provide

reminders of compliance resulting from issues. For example, a sign near the service

elevator reads, “Please do not leave any food or dishes on these carts. Thanks!” and one

near the sink says, “PLEASE! Rinse out & dry Coffee Pots & Water Shuttles before

shelving!,” among many others. I see these as non-confrontational, recurring problems.

And then we have our uniforms (housekeeping, kitchen, and maintenance) that shows

which department we’re in. However, management and administration wear their own

personal, professional attire. Everyone in the morning is quite happy compared to people

at night. Finally, we had bi-yearly lunches with prize giveaways as thanks for everyone’s

contribution to the business. We are reminded that its’ success is because of the people

that work within. All these symbols tend to show that the people who worked in the

building prior to its closure were happy working there and eager to return.

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

action regarding your case.

One way I would use symbols is actually the lack of symbols. Take, for instance, the time

clock. We had to punch-in and punch-out at the same spot. At times I would see people

waiting near the clock for several minutes before clocking out. I find that to be

disrespectful and irresponsible of work ethics, not to mention I don’t like feeling my

hours need to be cut to save on costs (as they do in the summer). Instead, I would give

everyone a salary that would be representative of their time and responsibilities no matter

how busy or slow.

During my situation, when the business was closed, I would ask staff (assuming I am the

General Manager) to come to work only if they feel comfortable doing so and within the

confines of the state’s emergency orders. We would have many meetings in which we

would brainstorm ideas about plausible futures and what we can do to attract customers

when that time approaches. This could only be done by having salaried employees that

feel their time helping the business overcome the pandemic is better than sitting at home.

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

this frame.

What I would do different, while still being in the same kitchen position, would be an

advisor of the business on what I have learned from symbols. Although temporary, I

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would scour the building and give an organizational assessment with advice on changes

prior to everyone’s return. This would include tearing down all the reminders on the

walls, the billboards with massive amounts of corporate advertising, and offer requests to

make the employees feel more involved by having fun (like casual Fridays).

What I would not do regarding symbols is adding more signs into the mix. There are

already enough and it is daunting. Additionally, trying to control a space outside my area

is another no-no. I would offer an advice process in determining if other employees using

that area would agree to any changes. I would not offer segmenting areas for

responsibilities, but instead asking if there was a way to communicate to our almost-100

staff members on issues we would like resolved before implementing them. Therefore,

the symbols that dawn the building would be left to the employees that use the space

instead of the managers that oversee their productivity.

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 Reference:

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

(7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass