OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Symbolic Frame Worksheet

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

Volkswagen has been a prominent automobile manufacturer for years. In 2015

they unfortunately were caught up in the midst of a nasty scandal. Volkswagen decided to
add devices to their diesel engines called defeat devices, these devices allowed for the
cars to beat emissions test in the United States by reducing emissions out puts when the
device senses that it is in a laboratory test. This scandal ended up costing the company
millions in legal fees, pay outs, and fines.

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

When it comes to the symbolic sie of things, Volkswagens culture was the
number one identifier in the scandal. During the investigation, there seems to be about
nine managers who were directly involved with the scandal (Thompson, 2015). This is
something that culture allowed to happen. Volkswagen has always been a more
aggressive brand of automobiles, in 2005 they launched a big chunk of their efforts into
diesel cars. Due to the strict U.S. emissions limits they used these devices in order to rush
production and pass tests. Their old motto used to be “Das Auto” Meaning “The Car.”
The symbol of this motto in it of itself breeds pride. It isn’t a motto that says “I put the
customer first.” The culture allowed for pressure to create a bomb instead of creating a
diamond (Hagel & Sun, 2020).

When it comes to Volkswagen, it used to have a name synonomous with people in

their 20’s who want to live life. I think about the Jetta, which has been a staple in the
home of every 20 something year old. Volkswagen as a symbol has forever been changed
since the scandal. Now the car manufacturer will be labled as a liar, cheater, and selfish. I
think the best way to see this is how every other frame connects with each other. Due to
the political frame of competition the symbolic frame molded into what the company
thought was needed, the culture didn’t have accountability. Managers had total authority.
As we see now, manay managers within the scandal were under investigation and may of
them either stepped down or retired.

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

Managers in themselves are symbols for the way that the company operates.
When nine managers or higher up employees who hold a lot of influence are linked to a
scandal such as this, it shows the world that the company justifies this behavior.

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 “Organizations often rely on CEOs or other prominent leaders as exemplars.”(Bolman &
Deal, 2017) First what I would have done would have been created a cultuers of
accountability. In this case the managers wouldn’t have had total power. The change in
culture would have allowed for managers who saw other leaders making poor ethical
choices to be reported. Then from their, investigations could have taken place. If we start
with this, the end result would be leaders who are able to be symbols of purity.

Next if we look at the old motto “Das Auto”, we can see that they want to be
known as the prominent car manufacturer. Taking this into account, we can use the
Human Resource Fram in order to hire the people who fit the Volkswagen motto, then
from their this would be an easy fix to management. It’s easier to hire someone who is
closer to the mold of what you want you leaders to symbolize rather than to change your
current leader to fit the mold. If I look at Starbucks motto it is “To inspire and nurture the
human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” This is a symbol of
what the organization want to be known for, so we hire management who will fit into that
mold. This is what Volkswagen needs to do.

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

In the symbolic frame I learned that culture is everything. Managers create the
culture and become symbols for the culture and the organizations. For Vokswagen rule
breaking was tolerated and encouraged for years. Now they are making strides to fix
these issues and improve culture in other ways such as a improved whistle blower
program allowing for employees to hold managers accountable and so on. Negative
culture enforces negative behavior. So the biggest change needs to be in the culture that
Volkswagen operates under.

Leaders can be the agents of that change. If we look at they way they are currently
attempting to change, we can see that they are focusing on the culture that allowed the
scandal to happen. They are moving towards pride into humility, and from cheating to
accountability. Once this change is cemented the next step is to enforce thre new culture,
hire people who fit the cultures needs. They need to live out the culture. Their reputation
is already tarnished, but If they allow for themselves to show the culture that they have
built now, they can rebuild their reputation from the dust and ashes of the previous team.

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 References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing  organizations: Artistry, choice, and

leadership (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Sun, M., & Hagel, J. (2020, September 30). Volkswagen tries to CHANGE workplace culture
that FUELED emissions scandal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 21, 2021,
from https://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-tries-to-change-workplace-culture-that-
fueled-emissions-scandal-11601425486.

Thompson, M. (2015, December 10). Volkswagen suspends 9 managers Over diesel scandal.
CNNMoney. Retrieved September 21, 2021, from
https://money.cnn.com/2015/12/10/news/companies/volkswagen-scandal-
investigation/index.html.