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.

In summer 2023, Starbucks launched the Oleato line of beverages in partnership with a

Sicilian olive oil brand (Starbucks Corporation, 2023). Although marketed and said to be

“the biggest thing to happen in your Starbucks career,” the launch met intense criticism

from both Starbucks employees (partners) and customers. Both parties felt it missed the

mark. Skeptical customers agreed to taste a sample and tired baristas tried their best to

sell a product most customers did not want. Only a few gung-ho coffee connoisseurs

dared to try the drinks and even fewer incorporated them as a part of their regular order.

As both a coffee enthusiast and a shift supervisor for Starbucks, I felt the disconnect

between the Starbucks company and two of their top stakeholders.

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

The Symbolic framework relies on the unique, allegorical structure that an organization

develops over its lifetime. The framework’s base assumption is that organizations are

living, and they are in a constant state of flux (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 254). They

change, grow, and evolve into a unique set of characteristics that we call symbols as a

part of their natural lifecycle. The most common symbols we would recognize are brand

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 images, in-office traditions, and other characteristics that reflect the organization’s

culture. The Oleato product poised expectantly, ready to launch as a new symbol of the

Starbucks brand.

Starbucks symbolically brands Oleato as a coffee ritual (Peiper, 2023). The products are

designed to inspire, develop, and connect with coffee culture in ways that previously had

not been achieved by Starbucks. Oleato is the symbol of Starbucks’ coffee culture. It is

innovative, it is unmatched in the coffee market, and it invites customers to try something

new. Perhaps the organization even hopes customers will connect olive oil, a staple in

nearly every pantry, with their brand. The ritual hopes to permeate through rational

thinking and into a deeper, even mystical, realm (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 264). It is a

kind of marketing and connection that Starbucks’ team is more than capable of handling.

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

Starbucks is known for its brand. The Siren is still one of the most popular and influential

images known to organizational culture across history (Jansen, 2022). It is symbolic of

what the organization has become and where it started. Even the story of the Sirens

comes from deep, mythological stories from the Ancient Greeks. The brand is so well

established, there is not even a need for the company name on the logo. Starbucks has

built and maintained the brand and it testifies of the company’s experience with symbolic

products and images. As a result of their experience, I do not think there is much to

change about their methods with Oleato. They want to symbolize the product as an

example of Starbucks’ coffee culture, and they subtly integrated it into the Oleato

vocabulary.

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 One observation about Oleato and its proposed symbolic identity is that these rituals and

traditions come naturally. I would recommend the company chose to build a symbol

already established by the partners and baristas. Oleato is outside, knocking on the door,

begging to be let inside; however, if you look at each store’s coffee culture, you will see

certain common denominators across the company. A common ritual I see and could be

built as a symbol of the culture, is the Coffee Master program. Coffee Masters must pass

a course on coffee history, roasting, brewing, and serving. Although not perfect, the

program enhances the individual’s coffee knowledge and skills. They make all kinds of

coffee in all kinds of ways. Their reward is the coveted black apron. The company could

even initiate levels of progress with different colored aprons. The program is already in

place within the company, baristas like it, and even non-Starbucks partners can take the

course to become a Coffee Master. It is a way for anyone to celebrate coffee culture and

renews a passion for the craft and history of the drink in ways that Oleato may never

achieve.

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

Symbols do not magically produce themselves. They are not something that appear,

produce themselves, or are otherwise engineered. We discover them. The subconscious,

which is a realm still yet not understood, creates these traditions and to fully integrate a

symbol into the culture of a company, it must come as a surprise. There can be no

expectations. The addition of symbols comes as a reaction their current impact on the

company, so they integrate when they are recognized for what they are. As a leader in an

organization, I would strive to find and elaborate on what rituals already exist in the

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 company. My goal is not to create a symbol but to either enhance or revitalize one that

already occurs.

I would also like to recognize that a story is hard to kill. Myths, legends, and symbols

trickle down through history regardless of their moral or ethical status. The symbolic

frame reflects both the good and the bad in an organization. My role as a leader is to

ensure that the stories that last are ones that reflect my organization most positively.

Stories are powerful, but I must remember that, as the wise Uncle Iroh puts it, “History is

not always kind to its subjects.” Lead in a way that culture remembers you for only the

truest and best stories.

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 References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.

Jossey-Bass.

Jansen, M. (2022, September 12). Iconic Starbucks logo - origin, history, Evolution & meaning.

The Design Blog by DesignBro. https://designbro.com/blog/industry-thoughts/starbucks-

logo-meaning/

Peiper, H. (2023, February 21). Coffee meets olive oil: The story behind Starbucks New Coffee

https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2023/the-story-behind-starbucks-new-coffee-ritual-

oleato-olive-oil/

Starbucks Corporation (2023). Starbucks Oleato. Starbucks Stories & News.

https://stories.starbucks.com/starbucks-oleato-olive-oil-meets-coffee/