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 had an internal role within Crabby’s Crab Shack (an anonymous name is being
used). I was a server, bartender and a certified trainer for all the front of house roles. I
played a major role in onboarding and training new staff. At the time I had been with
Crabby’s for about six years, was well respected and often traveled to other locations to
assist in training.
Late one Saturday night, the Crabby’s Crew was ready to go out together and
unwind. I was invited, but declined because I was not feeling well. Leslie was a trainee
who was promoted to server and often went out with everyone. Gloria and Tanner were
new to Crabby’s and excited to join in. Monday came along and I went in for my night
shift. As I clocked in, the manager, Tony, found me and said he needed to talk to me in
the office. I followed him back through the kitchen to the office and Debbie, another
manager, was there waiting. Tony closed the door, he asked what had happened on
Saturday night because something awful had happened to Leslie and he was told I was
there and did nothing to protect anyone. I told Tony and Debbie that I was shocked, as
everyone seemed to get along fine and they left the restaurant to go together with some of
the other staff , when we were done closing. I told them that I was sorry, that something
bad had happened but I was at home, so I was not sure what they needed from me. He
told me that I need to go to the police and give them the information that I had, and that
he extremely disappointed that I would be a part of something so heinous. I told Tony
and Debbie that I had no information to give, because I was not there. Whoever had told
them different was lying. Tony told me to go get to work.

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

Bolman and Deal (2021) describes organizational symbols as a tool to help us humans
make sense of the chaotic world around us. At Crabby’s Crab shack we we very customer
service oriented. We had lapel pins that we wore that signified many things. For example,
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number of guest compliments got you a bronze, silver, or gold pin. Number of years with the
company would get you another set of pins. These lapel pins served almost like status symbols.
The more you had, the more you were taken seriously. I had more pins than I would like to
admit, and up until this situation, my credibility and reputation were spotless, my many, many
beautiful pins were a visual representation of this. I believe that the credibility I had, is what
allowed me to recover from this situation.

When Tony and Debbie came on the management team, the team dynamics of the
restaurant changed. They brought a level of toxcicity that we had not experienced before.
Bolman and Deal (2021) discuss a unique case of teamwork and team comrodity that surpasses
anything one talented individual could have done. Before Tony and Debbie, our team was like
that. We had incredible talent that worked very well together, and everyone benefited. The new
management brought distrust, and it was almost like they enjoyed bullying people. When they
were added to the team, teamwork went away. The fantastic experience of being an employee
went away.

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

I believe I could have used the previous culture (before Tony and Debbie) to my
advantage in a better way. The old culture had rituals, like a before shift meeting. During this
meeting all members of that shift would get together to celebrate wins, discuss opportunities and
anything else that needed to be discussed. When Tony and Debbie started, these meetings did not
happen on their shifts. Rituals like the before shift meeting, could have kept the teamwork alive,
and not allowed for gossip and bullying to take a hold on the team.

Without the rituals like the before shift meetings, we had no more stories to tell. Stories
have morals to teach us (Bolman and Deal, 2021). Who knows, maybe after I left my situation
became a story. The meetings we held, allowed us to tell our stories everyday. We celebrated
great compliments, we had pin ceremonies, we discussed the not so great, like why we should
not gossip.

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

I do not believe I could have done anything differently utilizing the symbolic frame. The
culture of the individual restaurant was very toxic under Tony and Debbie’s leadership, it was
not reflective of the organization as a whole. The organization enjoyed celebrating our team
members, the organization enjoyed the symbolism of the lapel pins and basking in great guest
compliments. I do not think I alone could have brought the organizational culture back to our
individual store while under Tony and Debbie’s leadership. I would have had to eventually bring
everything to the attention of the General Manager or the HR department, like I ended up doing.

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 It was a shame that the influence of two bad managers changed the culture of the
store so dramatically. We lost quite a few great team members during the Tony and Debbie era.
It was not until after they both were transferred to other locations, were we able to bounce back
to the original organizational culture.

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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