Module 4: PCA Symbolic

Christine Kim

OGL-481 Pro-Seminar I

Professor Willmott

November 16, 2021

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 CONFIDENTIAL

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

The specific situation that I can describe is the development of the company’s website for
its new cosmetic brand. Since the organization was unfamiliar with how to start a new
cosmetic brand, the beginning of the brand creation was very rough. The team started off
small with individuals who were not very experienced with brand creation, marketing, or
website building. Even the management team seemed a little lost at times. We were all
thrown into projects here and there, and when it came to the website, things felt unstable.
Luckily, I had previous experience with graphic design and website development, so I
didn’t feel as overwhelmed as the other team members. However, the whole process of
the website’s development was rushed and managed very poorly. These problems mainly
arose due to poor management, an inexperienced team, and disagreement issues. The
manager and lead graphic designer were unable to take initiative and properly explain to
each team member what they expected them to accomplish. They had ineffective ways of
communicating and left the team to figure out a plan amongst themselves. With the team
being inexperienced, the members felt confused and had to take extra steps to research
ways to set up an appealing website with easy user functionality. The confusion and lack
of management support created disagreement between the team and managers.

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

Symbols are an important part of an organization and can often represent the unification
of it. These symbols can come in different forms like myths, vision, and values that help
create an organization with deep purpose and resolve (Bolman, 2017, p. 243).
Unfortunately, the organization that I was a part of lacked the symbolization of vision
and value. Those who ran the organization focused solely on their gains of money and
popularity. The company’s vision and values were neither clear nor motivating. A vision
that is shared within an organization is supposed to encourage spirit, resolution, and
enthusiasm (Bolman, 2017, p. 245). However, since there was no shared vision in my
organization, it was extremely difficult for employees to stay motivated and see their
purpose. This is why the team that was tasked to work on the new website was frustrated
and lost. The managers discussed what they wanted to see on the website but didn’t
explain why they wanted things to look a certain way and what they wanted the customer
experience to be like when using the website. There wasn’t any genuine thought about
the customers who would be using the website and the managers mainly thought about

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 what they like and want to see for the website. Because of this, it was challenging for the
team to feel any real excitement or connection towards the website.

The values of an organization allow for the clarification of how people should behave and
treat others. Values can create a healthy organizational culture and lead others to
accomplish tasks and cooperate with one another. In my organization, it was difficult for
employees to feel valued by the managers because the management team was more
focused on themselves succeeding and gaining profits. It seemed like the employees were
just working to satisfy the needs of the company, which was to produce and make profits
out of the production. This low sense of value even applied to the team working on the
company’s new website. The managers meant to lead the team on the website project did
a poor job at showing value towards team members and mostly disconnected themselves
once they communicated what they wanted to see on the website. The team was left to
feel unvalued, unmotivated, and helpless.

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

The two most impactful symbols that were lacking in my organization were vision and
values. Without those two symbols, it was clear that the organization was struggling to
keep its employees driven and connected to the company. Inspiring vision and values can
“bring cohesiveness, clarity, and direction in the presence of confusion and mystery”
(Bolman, 2017, p. 263). I believe that the project of building a new website could have
been increasingly more successful if the managers imbued a better sense of vision and
value towards team members. A great vision would have allowed the team to feel less
lost about their purpose and goals for the website. The managers were not specific about
their vision for the website and left the team to create an impressive website out of just a
few details on what the mangers wanted to see.

A stronger presence of value between the mangers and team members would have helped
improve cooperation and motivation. The managers were very disconnected from the
team and poorly expressed their appreciation towards them. Because of this, the team
members did not feel valued by the company, and it was incredibly difficult for them to
maintain good morale throughout their work. The decrease in overall happiness and
motivation from the team caused hardship in cooperating with one another and they
began to make less progress on the website.

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

From this frame, I learned how beneficial symbols can be to an organization. I am more
interested in the vision and value symbols because those are what were needed the most

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 in my situation. The company in the situation did not have a clear, inspiring vision or
strong values that kept a healthy organizational culture. There was no change to this issue
and the management team continued to overlook the fact that the company had no
inspiring vision or values.

Something that I would have done differently is to speak up about issues with the
company’s vision and values. I would have spoken directly to the management team
about my thoughts on how there is a lack of genuine vision for the company and value
towards employee. This is a serious matter to discuss because vison and value are what
help an organization succeed and offer the best opportunities for employees.

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 Reference or References

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

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