Corey Gallinari

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 organization I’ve been talking about in my situation is R&N Supply. They are a one-
stop shop for contractors and homeowners to get all their plumbing, heating, and HVAC
needs. My role at the time was a Branch Manager, which meant I dealt with all customer
complaints about my store. This situation included a worker of mine, Tim, who is also a
good friend, and a customer Pat whom Tim does not care for. While on the phone with
Pat, Tim was very rude in his responses, causing Pat to be very unhappy. Pat’s
unhappiness led to a phone call, that I as the manager had to handle. While I handled the
disgruntled customer, I had to deal not just with an employee who was out of line, but a
good friend of mine. I struggled at first to find the fine line between boss and employee,
and boss and friend. I was able to find a common ground to talk with Tim to make him
realize what he had done, and the position he put me in as the boss.

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

Chapter 12 of Reframing Organizations states that “a symbol is something that stands for
or suggests something else; it conveys socially constructed meanings beyond its intrinsic
or obvious functional use” (Bolman & Deal, 2021). R&N Supply used the symbol of the
customer comes first, and the customer is always right, which is a term many of us have
heard before. I believe R&N Supply took that saying and made it a part of it’s company
culture. The problem with this type of culture was that R&N forgot about its employees,
and did not think about how it could affect them.

Bolman and Deal stated that “symbols can divide as well as unify” (Bolman & Deal,
2021). This symbol that R&N instilled in its culture is what divided many workers, which
is why I partly blame the for the situation between Tim and Pat. R&N made it okay for
customers feel that they can speak up when something was wrong. But what happen with
this was negative. Customer took advantage and spoke down, spoke negatively to the
workers and there were no repercussions to their actions. Pat in this situation was not

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wrong for being mad because of how Tim spoke to him. The issue was, prior to this
situation Pat was constantly rude, forcing them to have a short leash with him.

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

I would use one of the three symbolic forms of organizational symbols mentioned in
Chapter 12 of our reading. I believe “Values” is the key to an alternative course of action.
In our reading, values “characterize what an organization stands for” (Bolaman & Deal,
2021). Values “are intangible and define a unique character that helps people find
meaning and feel special about what they do” (Bolman & Deal, 2021). Feeling special
about what you do is lost at R&N Supply.

Everyone wants to have a purpose and feel appreciated for the work they are doing, and
that’s where a company's values come into play. R&N established that the customer
comes first, regardless if they are respectful or not. When the employees time after time,
have to feel put down by a customer and see that this is acceptable, you feel small. You
feel as though you are not important to them. I believe R&N has to re-evaluate its values
and reshape its company standards, so not only do the customers come first, but your
employees are just as important.

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

What I have learned in this frame, I would not do anything differently than I have already
mentioned. I have spoken about reacting quicker in the situation to put a stop to Tim and
Pat’s conversation. I should have been more active than reactive. What I would of have
done differently based on this frame is create new values within my store sooner rather
than later.

Following this situation I did make changes at my store. Besides talking with Tim and all
employees to express they cannot talk to a customer in a disrespectful way. I made sure
to talk with customers that I knew were rude to my employees. Any time a customer was
out of line with my employees, I spoke up and defended them. I always told them, let me
handle these situations, and I will worry about upper management. This allowed my
employees to feel more comfortable in their day-to-day work. I wish I started this earlier
at my store.

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Reference or References

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