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

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

In 2022 Daikin merged with Goodman to expand business in North America. The

business units struggled with aligning with direction and process outlined to complete

projects. The Goodman business unit did not prioritize the value in training and did not

follow Daikin standards for training development. As the Senior Instructional Developer

my role is to develop, implement, and manage technical training materials for Heating,

Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) products.

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

The organization symbolizes a global leader in the heating ventilation and air

conditioning industry. They utilize this symbol in order to provide the community with

healthier and more comfortable living conditions, while reducing the impact made on the

environment. The company culture is diverse and believes in its people. the company's

management, being people-centered, allows for the employees to have a voice which

brings out a level of motivation and understanding of the organizations mission in order

to strengthen and increase the potential of the organization’s growth. By incorporation of

individuals and abilities the organization can tap into other markets and increase its

efficiency.

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 The symbol and culture of the organization allowed me to update and develop

additional processes that would define the roles and responsibilities of the personnel

apart of a development team without hindrance since it aided the in achieving the

organizations mission. I started identifying within the channels what individuals were

responsible for initiating a project. The culture enabled me to meet with all of the

product sponsors to get agreement on what their involvement in development was. After

gaining a conscience of what their duties were, I developed a flow chart of who the

sponsor needs to include in a statement of work to receive proper documentation and

information for best practices to maintain our status as a global leader.

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

course of action regarding your case.

I would start off by removing any myths about the processes and time it takes to

develop a project and collaborate to create a new meaning. since “meaning is not given

to us, we create it” (Bolman &Deal, 1994), It would develop a better understanding of

the process and work culture. This would require having a meeting and being

transparent about potential conflicts amongst the groups and outlining realistic

expectations regarding delivery times and involvement.

I would also promote a positive, supportive, and fun work environment so the

members of the team felt more relaxed. I would introduce some light humor to “express

skepticism, contributes to flexibility and adaptiveness, and lessen status differences”

(Bolman &Deal, 1994). I would do so by highlighting Daikin employees as they

portrayed us, know it all’s, then ask for their feedback for improvement. I would then

recapture the improvements that were made and thank them for their effort and inform

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them that this is Daikins culture and welcome them to the team so that they feel more

motivated and engaged in their roles.

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

In this situation, there is not much that I could have done differently given their

understanding of the situation. The time frame in which the projects needed to be

developed did not allow for the flexibility to have discourse on the process. However,

after the initial roll out of the process, I would have continued to reach out for feedback

to make adjustment if reasonable. Additionally, I would maintain regular communication

with both business units and engineers to closely monitor and oversee the development

while updating and encouraging them through the process. Overall, it seemed like the

approach was suitable given the limited support in this scenario.

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 Reference

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1994). Reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and

leadership. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 47(2), 342.

https://doi.org/10.2307/2524435