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'm a shift supervisor for Starbucks in Colorado. I've been working for the company for four
years, and I've been a supervisor for the past year. During the time of this study, I was a barista
in the process of promotion. During this time, I was responsible for upholding Starbucks
standards, supporting other partners, and maintaining its mission and values . I also took on a
lot of leadership roles in the team, like coaching and helping them achieve their goals because
my promotion was so close.

Because of our old manager's promotion, we just got a new manager. This new management
would be a big problem for our store. From the time he arrived until his departure, these
problems were going on for about three months. The new manager's lack of interest in the job
was obvious, and the trickled down throughout the team. Some people got preferential treatment,
as well. This would affect the team so much that we had to contact upper management, which
seemed to be going to take a lot of time. Eventually, he left the company.

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

Starbucks is known for its classic two-tailed siren logo. “Through his research, Heckler was
inspired by a Norse woodcut of a two-tailed siren from the 16th century. “It's a metaphor for the
allure of caffeine, the sirens who drew sailors into the rocks” (Staff, 2022).In this situation
described for the case study, I think that there is more symbolism, that is, who showed up and
who didn't. In this case, the person who didn't show up (The SM) 6 days out of the week was
symbolic of his morals and values. This is symbolic because it shows that our store was not a
priority, and we were there as a pawn in this game.

On the other hand, there are other symbolic factors that influence who shows up. It is
important to note the people who showed up for the team and filled the gap in that leadership
spot. Not only me but multiple people also stepped up and tried to fill in those gaps. The reason

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why these symbols influenced the situation is because they created a wedge between
management and the team. Because of this, when the SM left, and we got our current manager,
there was a major gap that had to be filled because the trust was lost.

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

In this case, the course of action that was used was the best way to handle it. This is because
using the team building part of the symbolism frame helps create motivation and care within a
team. This was important for this situation because the chapters described how the closeness of a
team like Seal Team Six has this closeness that represents more than the surface level of things.
It represents a brotherhood and care for each other that we needed in this situation. “My
relationship with Team Six has been more important than my marriage” (Wasdin and Templin,
2014). Having this relationship showed that we could rely on each other and didn't need him.
Because of this relationship, everyone was able to step up to the plate for each other.

I was able to use this symbolism when I went to our district manager about the issues. One of
the things that frustrated me the most was the attitude towards our partners. It seemed like an
inconvenience that we were there, and he had to come do his job. To me, this symbolized that he
didn't want to be here, and that his job was an inconvenience. He was also not willing to go
above and beyond to do the extra that you might need to do as a manager.

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

From my time in this world, I have learned that many things represent other things. In this
course, I have learned that anything from a logo to someone's tone can be symbolic of
something. While the Starbucks logo has a design that is alluring, like a sirin toward coffee, this
situation was very offputting for many people at Starbucks. It was unfortunate that people left the
company because of the stress that was brought upon the team during this time. Knowing all of
this, I don't believe that there is a different course of action regarding symbolism that I would
use.

My main reason for not wanting to use another course of action in regard to symbolic fame is
that symbolism is what I used to take the corrective path. As I said, attitude can be symbolic of
many things, especially value. When I first met this manager, his attitude did not sit right with
me, and it was shortly after that that the shenanigans. This symbolized to me the lack of care and
desire to be there and lead us. This told me that I needed to help fill that leadership gap and take
action to make it right by going to the DM.

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 Reference or References

Bolman & Deal, L. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John
Wiley & Sons.

Staff, S. (2022, November 14). The Starbucks logo: History and why it works.
https://www.shopify.com/blog/starbucks-logo