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.

The subject in question with this Personal Case Analysis is a close acquaintance
of mine who I decided to interview. For the sake of privacy reasons, my applicant will be
known as Lara. In the early 1990s, Lara was a well-respected employee for two different
Sam’s Club locations. Lara’s role was the floor’s team leader, where her responsibilities
consisted of employee scheduling, maintaining the organization’s policies and standards,
product displays, and encouraging the team members.

Lara was presented with the opportunity to become an assistant manager for a
new location if she complied with the upper management’s plan to have her work at a
different Sam’s Club location, which was originally PaceClub, to promote their values
and express the partnership that they have with their employees. At this location, the
workers were actively trying to create a union, as they were concerned with their job
security, given the new ownership. Sam’s Club did not want any of their locations
unionized, as it could have negatively affected the organization’s profit shares. It was
Lara’s job to encourage the employees to stay with Sam’s Club and vote against the
union. Unbeknownst to Lara, the company was using her to get information about the
employees to see who was for or against the union, so that they could have them
reprimanded, and eventually, fired. “An administrative judge for the NLRB ruled in the
spring of 1995 that the Sam’s Club store at Landover Crossing had violated the National
Labor Relations Act by the way in which it encouraged employees to vote against
unionization in 1994” (Fercho, 2016). In other words, Lara was used as a corporate spy to
inform upper management of the employee’s behaviors, intent, and beliefs about the
union.

1
 2) Describe how the symbols of the organization influenced the situation.

Sam Walton, the founder of Sam’s Club and Walmart, aimed to create an
environment for his employees that was synopsis to a family unit that valued teamwork,
mutual support, integrity, and to be prideful in your work. For years, this positive
mentality of the workplace was evident throughout every Sam’s Club location, including
Lara’s original location. To the employees, Sam Walton was a hero that bridged the gap
between the standard associate and upper management. There were multiple symbols
within Sam’s Club that celebrated inclusivity, diversity, organizational rituals, specialized
language, and playful practices. Upper management referred to employees as partners
and coworkers, to emphasize the familial culture within the store by not undermining
anyone; everyone was a part of a huge team. In addition, any ‘issue’ that was notated,
was considered an opportunity to better the store; this subtle change in verbiage went a
long way in terms of having a positive mentality/attitude about the partners’
contributions. The team leaders were there to motivate and energize their coworkers and
boost team morale across the floor. Every morning, before opening, these team leaders
would gather the associates together and perform their organization’s cheer/ritual to uplift
the team’s spirits. Upper management would host a one-hour meeting every Friday
morning to establish the goals and mission for that day; they wanted to end the week off
on a high note by providing employees the chance to evaluate their department and see
what they could do to increase their sales. These meetings would not only provide
breakfast for the employees, but the associates would also be paid to attend the meetings
or review the meeting notes.

Management made sure that their employees took two 15-minute breaks and a 30-
minute lunch during their shift, to avoid burnout and low morale/productivity. If their
sales percentage were high, managers would host cookouts once a month and provide
meals for their employees and families. Food was offered for coworkers around the
holiday season, so that they could save money on food to apply towards holiday
festivities; this helped a lot of employees whose budgets were low. Some Sam’s Club
locations even encouraged demonstrators and cashiers to dress up for fun on the holidays
to implement more humor and playful practices into the store. Overall, Sam’s Club had
provided a fun-loving work environment that not only boosted team morale but also
brought in more profit. These symbolic gestures and traditions invoked hope and
happiness in the coworkers that made them feel supported and, overall, good about
working for Sam’s Club. However, in the Landover Crossing location, the setting of this
case analysis, these fun activities were not implemented, and the employees did not have
a lot of team spirit for their organization. After a few years of Sam Walton’s passing, it
was evident that the corporation only cared about their profits and not their employees.

2
 3) Recommend how you would use organizational symbols for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

An effective organization will implement elements of authority and structure

(strategy) with fun and engaging activities (culture), so that their employees can enjoy
their time at work. Prior to Sam Walton’s passing, Sam’s Club was a strong proponent
for their employees and believed in regularly implementing more strategies to uplift their
associates. “[Culture pairs] people together in common beliefs, values, and purpose and
represents the basis for authenticity of experience for both team members and customers”
(Bolman & Deal, 2021). However, in Landover, the employees and upper management
pushed against these traditions and believed that they were a waste of time and money.
The environment of Landover was dull, and, for lack of better words, depressing. A poor
sense of culture can bring an organization down due to a lack of direction and internal
support. Therefore, an effective alternative course of action for this scenario would
include implementing more symbolic and fun activities to uplift the employees so that
they could witness the authentic culture of Sam’s Club and dismiss unionizing the store.

I would aim to create the original environment that employees under Sam
Walton’s management experienced, where everyone, no matter what department you
worked under, would be apart of a team – a family. I would seek out strategies that would
benefit our professional endeavors of achieving our mission and vision statements, along
with creating a culture where enlightening stories, rituals, and ceremonies are performed
to satisfy the needs of my employees. These activities would “spark action, communicate
who you are, communicate who the company is, transmit values, foster collaboration . . .
share knowledge, and lead people into the future” (Bolman & Deal, 2021). I would
provide an essence of togetherness for the newly acquired employees so that they can
gain a glimpse of what it’s like to be a true Sam’s Club partner.

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

According to Lara, she would have taken a similar approach to the matter and
implement more of the original spirit/culture to the Landover club. Since Lara had held a
general associate position with Sam’s Club for many years, she understood the average
employee mindset of wanting to be a part of a supportive team that was innovative and
would be effective in the world. Therefore, she was knowledgeable of what the
employees wanted from their workspace and what would be beneficial in boosting their
spirits. For example, maintaining the organization’s tradition of announcing their cheer
every morning would have helped motivate the employees and reinforce the company’s
values and policies. Furthermore, Lara would have shared more opportunities for
employees to learn from examples of previous stores that she had worked in to help her
coworkers understand the climate of Sam’s Club.

3
 If I had been in Lara’s position, I would share more stories about the organization
and what Sam Walton advocated for when it came to his employees. “Stories carry
history and values and reinforce group identity” (Bolman & Deal, 2021). I would ensure
that the team was culturally diverse as this would have provided the organization with a
competitive advantage, as well as extending our reach to people from various
backgrounds and levels of experience. It is important to understand that the average
human psyche strives to get tasks accomplished; meaning, it’s essential to implement
strategies that not only invoke a high level of team spirit and entertainment, but also
techniques that will produce better customer service, a higher sales percentage, and
overall, a better reputation as an organization. These symbols would convey the
fundamental values that are cherished and expressed in Sam’s Club, whilst developing
critical and creative thinking skills and creating an environment that can maintain a high-
spirited manner in the face of conflict.

4
 References

Bolman, L. G. & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and

Leadership (7thed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass

Fercho, T. L. (2016, October 7). Appeals Court sides with Sam's Club Store in union dispute.
CNS Maryland. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from
https://cnsmaryland.org/1998/11/18/appeals-court-sides-with-sams-club-store-in-union-
dispute/