Frames at My Organization I

¶ … Frames at My Organization

I work at a construction management company which is a medium sized venture but has been highly successfully for years. However with economic slowdown torturing every business in the country, our firm also faced serious challenges and this is what forced them to introduce some concrete changes. Using the four frames explained by Bolman and Deal in their book Reframing Organizations; I will look into these recent changes aimed at making the organization more cost effective and efficient.

Structural Frame:

According to Bolman and Deal (1997) "The structural frame emphasizes goals, specialized role, and formal relationships…commonly depicted by organizational charts" (p. 13). At our organization, we knew that some structural changes in the form of expanding job description, flattening the hierarchy and improving communication were needed. From the onset the firm decided there was no urgent need for layoffs and hence all personnel were assured of job security. However they were told their job responsibilities may expand which means people will be handling additional tasks and some job titles may also change. The first step was removal of assistant supervisor title. John Crane, who was previously our assistant supervisor, was made chief supervisor of any department that had an opening. This was done so employees could directly speak to chief supervisor without going through the assistant. It was believed that this would improve communication by removing layers of management. But additionally chief supervisor's responsibilities increased and he took over half of the responsibilities of assistant supervisor. Junior supervisor was then promoted in a way that his duties expanded to take over other half of assistant's responsibilities.

A Human Resource Frame: this frame provides a looking glass through which organization is seen as "much like an extended family, inhabited by individuals who have needs, feelings, prejudices, skills, and limitations…the key challenge is to tailor organizations to people -- to find a way for individuals to get the job done while feeling good about what they are doing" (Bolman and Deal, 1997, p. 14). This was the most important thing for us because we were truly concerned about people's reaction to change. For this reason, management invited employees from every department to give their comments and input on changes that were being planned. Especially people whose jobs had been changed or expanded had to be consulted prior to any implementation. This was indeed a very positive step and one that helped people feel more in control and more like an integral part of the organization. It allowed people to express their views and make suggestions where appropriate. By engaging people in this process, the company could minimize risks associated with sudden changes. Most importantly we could keep resistance at a minimum with the help of these measures.

A Symbolic Frame: The symbolic frame is unique in what it offers. Bolman and Deal (1997) believe that symbolic frame "treats organizations as tribes, theaters, or carnivals…propelled more by rituals, ceremonies, stories, heroes, and myths than by rules, policies, and managerial authority" (p. 14). It was important for people to know what the company stands for, what are its values, who are its heroes and what direction it plans to take based on its core beliefs. But this was not something management could feed its employees. Hence it was found that the best way to accomplish this would be to allow employees to give their views on the subject. A questionnaire was sent to everyone in the firm and this intended to find out how people viewed the firm and its values. People came up with many interesting responses which were later discussed in a meeting presided over by our CEO. The Chief executive had been given a chance to study those responses and he together with other people in senior management developed a comprehensive yet short document that illustrated company's beliefs, its myths, its heroes and the stories it cherished.

Over the years we have often heard this story about Joseph Ralph, the senior supervisor, at our firm back in 1990s. The firm considers him a hero and his story is told and retold many times to help people see what we believe in and who they should look up to. Joseph Ralph had once found himself in a deadlock with few members of his team who threatened to stop working on an important project which could mean serious losses for the firm. Ralph did not lose his temper and instead looked for ways to get through to these people. It took him some time but finally he came up with a plan that everyone agreed upon. The deadlock not only ended, but Ralph's team was able to complete the project in record time. Such stories of heroic actions are symbolic tools used to inspire people in an organization.