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.

I was a collection unit manager at Viking Collection Services, so I held an internal role. I
managed 22 direct reports who were required to hit monthly targets. Those targets added
up to our required monthly goal for the client. The client placed new accounts with us
monthly and left them with us for three months. We were required to liquidate a
percentage of each batch every month. We competed with 4 other organizations every
month. The other organizations couldn’t out-liquidate my team on the newest batch, but
they beat me every month in the older batches. This caused many issues for the client; they
were frustrated that we only focused on the current month. I will be attempting to view the
organization and its difficulties through an external role throughout this PCA.
2) Describe how the symbols of the organization influenced the situation.

The organizations symbol was a ship sailing on the waters, and the office joke was that
people who had been there for a long time were staying and going down with the ship.
Everyone always joked about Viking closing because it always felt as though it was
failing in so many ways. This is bad optics, if employees don’t look at their organization
as stable, they have very little reason to commit to being there and giving their best effort.

Money was the biggest symbol that the organization had. The organization believed that
everyone was money motivated so on the 15th of each month when commission checks
were paid the operations manager would have everyone huddle up on the floor and he
would shout out everyones name who made commission and say how much it was, often
he would ask them what they were going to spend it on. Bolman & Deal said, “Stories
are deeply rooted in the human experience. It is through story that we can see into each
other's souls and see the soul of the organization. The stories that both individuals and
organizations tell about themselves anchor identity and hope.” (2021, pg. 260) This
huddle would often create a buzz on the floor because just like winning the lottery people

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 like to think about what they could do with more money. However, that buzz wouldn’t
last long.

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

Employees like to work for winning organizations. I would recommend that the
organization build the floor to feel like winners, to get them excited and want to be part
of the organization. Humor and play could play a role in being a symbol for the
organziation. Bolman & Deal say, “Humor releases tension and helps resolve issues
arising from day‐to‐day routines as well as from sudden emergencies.” (2021, pg. 260)
If the collectors felt more like team members, they would be more willing to contribute to
the company goals of hitting all the requirements from the client instead of only looking
out for themselves. “Team building at its heart is a spiritual undertaking.” (Bolman &
Deal, 2021) this organization didn’t have any team spirit. Nobody felt that they were part
of something, instead they felt that they were a machine required to hit a number and if
they didn’t, they were not worthy of being part of the organization.

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

I would have lead by example, if I had team/company/organizational spirit and cheered

for our successes and planned after failure then my team would be doing the same thing.
A lot of what I did in the organization was going similar to going through the motions, as
Bolman & Dean (2021) suggests many managers are marking the stage and going
through a script instead of problem solving with actual solutions.

I also would have doone more evaluations with my collectors on a consistent basis.
Touching base with them and remindng them of where they are at, and where they need
to be. “Evaluation as drama assures spectators that an organization is responsible,
serious, and well managed. It shows that an organization takes goals seriously and cares
about performance and improvement. The evaluation process gives participants an
opportunity to share opinions and have them recognized publicly.” (Bolman & Deal,
2021) The organization had very little structure when it came to rituals like evaluation. It
was acknowledged that you didn’t achieve your goal and then it was basically – do better.

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