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.

Southwest Parking Services is a large valet and parking management company that does
business in six states across the southwestern United States. It provides valet and shuttle
service at restaurants, malls, hospitals, nightclubs, stadiums, hotels, and casinos and manages
parking structures. The situation involved losing a client that generated several million
dollars of revenue for the company. Overall, the client accounted for about 40% of the
company's business. With the loss, the company faced the prospect of laying off multiple
account managers as well as over one hundred valets and parking attendants. Solving the
situation required a major strategy shift and rethinking the management structure to allow
more lateral coordination and empowerment of different members of the management team.
My role was as an account manager, but as the longest-serving manager, I had long-standing
relationships in the organization. Because of this, I was given a voice in the planning and
decision-making.

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

There are several symbols for the organization. There is the uniform that all valets and
managers wear. There is the symbol that we all stick together and help each other out.
Another symbol is that everyone works hard and runs as fast as possible until the job is
done. The biggest symbol is John, the company's founder and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO). He symbolizes success in the face of adversity. The one ritual the company had
was its annual managers' meeting and awards ceremony, where the year's
accomplishments were recognized. I do not believe that any of the symbols influenced
the initial cause of the situation. However, they may have influenced the response.

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 John stood as a symbol of success and confidence. He had built the company from one
account with two employees into a multimillion-dollar business. When he stood before
the company, there was a reassurance that he would guide it through the storm caused by
the situation. His presence and words provided calm confidence. The symbol of a diverse
group of managers coming together, working as a team, and running until the job was
done provided a sense of resolve. Everyone believed that by pulling together as a team, a
plan could be developed and implemented. This belief provided confidence that success
was inevitable. The uniforms were recognized as a symbol of service in the community,
and seeing them allowed clients to rest assured that Southwest Parking was not going
anywhere.

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

Because the situation came from the loss of a major client, I don't think it could have
been avoided; however, alternative actions could have been taken to hasten the recovery.
The first thing I would have done is use the group's diversity to work on a solution.
Because the management team consisted of individuals ranging from college students to
those retired from other industries and a combination of men, women, and different
ethnic and cultural backgrounds, there was much diversity that, of course, could be used
to give the team a competitive advantage (Bolman & Deal, 2021).

I would also have used John in a way where his presence was felt without him always
being there physically (Bolman & Deal, 2021). John's presence was needed, but in a way
that would not stifle the teams' creativity. I would also have used more play time between
meetings to help the teams bond. Many enjoyed golfing and playing softball, so arranging
times to go do these activities would have helped forge a sense of camaraderie.

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

One thing I would have done differently would have been to take a page from
Starbucks' playbook and spend time finding the soul of the company (Bolman & Deal,
2021). Finding the company's soul would remind everyone from the executive offices
down to the traffic directors exactly what it was that helped the company grow to be one
of the leaders in the industry. Once everyone was refocused on that, it would be easier to
see the company growing again. In addition, this would help everyone to see that the
company already had what it needed to overcome a seemingly dire situation.

One other thing I would do is tell the entire company the story of how it came to be.
After all, "It is through stories that we can see into each other's souls and see the soul of
organizations, The stories that both individuals and organizations tell about themselves

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 anchor identity and hope." (Voush and Caza (2017), as cited in Bolman & Deal, 2021.
p.261). Telling the story of how John started the company with just two employees and
grew it into an industry powerhouse would give hope and encouragement to employees
that this was a company that could overcome any adversity. John's story would also
encourage the management team that they could find a way out of the situation.

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 Reference

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