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 work as Business Analyst at The Boeing Company on the 777 program. Recently there was
a quality and safety incident that occurred on a 737 Alaska airlines flight bound from
Portland Oregon to Ontario California where a mid fuselage door plug flew off the plane.
This has lead to multiple company wide changes, but most drastic was a complete quality
stand down happening across the entire enterprise completely stopping production to engage
in conversation about quality and how we get better.

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

One of the symbols that directly influenced the situation that negative effect the Alaska
Airlines flight was a direct symbol of Boeing thinking they are still in a place to provide
products at the same pace and quality that they once achieve prior to the pandemic.

Without the cultural change they continued down the path that they knew best which was
keeping the production line always moving even when things aren’t going well. That is a
direct connection to the incident that occur on that Alaska Airlines 737 MAX flight. They
then brain stormed ways to show the flying public, their customers, and the FAA which
lead them down a form of Organizational theatrics of hosting Quality Stand Downs on
every program.

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

I would utilize the cultural shift from on-time delivery, shareholder value, and production
never stops to quality, safety, and engineering excellence first. We know that in the past
Boeing has been seen as the King of Manufacturing aircrafts in the United States, but

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 they are clearly lost their way. Shifting the culture of the organization to be more focused
on delivering products are safe, quality, and engineered to the best of their abilities. I
think showing the public that you are no longer comparing yourself to the competition
and that you are going to base your schedules on what the people in our factoring on
saying then you will show that a cultural shift has occurred and you can continue to build
planes.

I think the organizational theatre that is taking place with the quality stand downs is a
great approach if they are truly going to stick with their words and shift the tides towards
manufacturing excellence instead of out the door production. “Most of our organizational
life is carefully scripted; we play out our scenes in organizationally approved dress codes
and play the game by acceptable rules of conduct” (Bolman & Deal, 2021, PG 295) I
think having cameras all around during the stand down was not the appropriate touch,
however, if it was truly meant in the manner it was presented, then we are on the right
track

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

What I would do differently after what I have learned in this frame is that I wouldn’t
engaged in Organizational Theatrics to appease the masses. I would go to work directly
with my employees to get our factories where they need to be. I wouldn’t do this work
with cameras rolling and new headlines written. I would do our best work in our factory
and show it in the products that we are delivering. This would lead to a slow down in
deliveries, but in a recommitment by our team, to the public, that we are ready to be taken
serious again and that we are coming back to take our crown as the best aerospace
company in the world.

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 Reference
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(7th ed.). SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass