The Symbolic Frame

Front 1

What is the focus in symbolic frame?

Back 1

How humans make sense of the chaotic, ambiguous world they live in.

Front 2

What is the main point of symbols?

Back 2

They mediate the meaning of work and anchor culture.

Front 3

Which three components are central?

Back 3

Meaning, belief and faith

Front 4

Shortly describe the five basic assumptions.

Back 4

1. What is most important in not what happens, but what it means
2. Activity and meaning are loosely coupled, events and actions have multiple interpretations as people experience life differently
3. Facing uncertainty and ambiguity, people create symbols to resolve confusion, find direction and anchor hope and faith
4. Events and processes are often more important for what is expressed than for what is produced
5. Culture forms the superglue that bonds an organization

Front 5

Shortly explain myths.

Back 5

- They express, legitimize and maintain solidarity and cohesion
- Often originate in the launching of an enterprise

Front 6

Shortly describe four characteristics of values.

Back 6

1. They characterize what an organization stands for - qualities worthy of esteem or commitment
2. Unlike goals, values are intangible and define a unique distinguishing character
3. Convey a sense of identity, they help people feel special about what they do
4. The values that count are those that an organization lives, regardless of what values it articulates in mission statements or documents

Front 7

Shortly describe vision.

Back 7

- A vision turns an organization's core ideology, or sense of purpose, into an image of the future.
- A shared fantasy, illuminating new possibilities within the realm of myths and values
- Seen as vital in contemporary organizations

Front 8

Shortly describe herion/heroines

Back 8

Living logos, human icons, whose words and deeds exemplify and reinforce important values.

Front 9

What benefits can stories have?

Back 9

They grant comfort, reassurance, direction and perpetuate values.

Front 10

Name 8 functions of stories.

Back 10

- Sparkling action
- Communication who you are
- Communicating who the company is - branding
- Transmitting values
- Fostering collaboration
- Taming the grapevine
- Sharing knowledge
- Leading people into the future

Front 11

What is rituals?

Back 11

- A routine that has a statable purpose, but invariably alludes more than it says and has many meanings at once
- The power of ritual becomes apparent if one experiences the emptiness of loosing it
- Rites of initiation and passage reinforces existing culture while testing the newcomer's ability to become a member

Front 12

What is ceremonies Name the four different functions.

Back 12

Where rituals are more everyday, ceremonies are more episodic - grander and more elaborate - and convened at special occasions
Ceremonies serve four major functions: they socialize, stabilize, reassure and convey messages to external constituencies

Front 13

Briefly describe metaphors, humor and play.

Back 13

Metaphors compress complicated issues into understandable images, influencing our attitudes and actions.
If Play is viewed as a state of mind, any activity can become playful
- Relaxes rules to explore alternatives and encourage experimentation, flexibility and creativity
Culture can be defined as “the way we don things around here”, and anchors the organization’s identity.

Front 14

What is Hofstede's four dimensions of national culture?

Back 14

1. Power distance
2. Uncertainty avoidance
3. Individualism
4. Masculinity - femininity

Front 15

Explain power distance.

Back 15

A measure of power inequality between bosses and subordinates. High power-
distance countries (Philippines, Mexico, Venezuela) display more autocratic
relationships between bosses and subordinates than low power-distance ones (Denmark, Israel, Austria)

Front 16

Explain uncertainty avoidance.

Back 16

The level of comfort with uncertainty and ambiguity. Countries high on uncertainty avoidance tend to make heavy use of structure, rules and specialists to maintain control. Those low on the index are more tolerant of risk taking.

Front 17

Explain individualism.

Back 17

The importance of the individual vs. the collective. The importance of the individual versus the collective. Countries highest on individualism (the United States, Australia, Great Britain, and Canada) put emphasis on autonomous, self-reliant individuals who care for themselves. Countries lowest on individuality (Peru, Pakistan, Colombia and Venezuela) emphasized mutual loyalty.

Front 18

Explain masculinity - femininity.

Back 18

The degree to which a culture emphasizes ambition and achievement vs caring and nurture. In countries highest in masculinity (Japan, Italy), men tend to feel strong pressures for success and relatively few women hold high-level positions. The opposite is true for feminine countries (Denmark, Sweden)

Front 19

Name nine sources of success.

Back 19

1. How someone becomes a group member is important.
2. Diversity supports a team's comparative advantages
3. Example, not command, holds a team together
4. A specialized language fosters cohesion and commitment
5. Stories carry history and values and reinforce group identity
6. Human and play reduce tension and encourage creativity
7. Ritual and ceremony lift spirits and reinforce values
8. Informal cultural players make contributions disproportionate to their formal role
9. Soul is the secret of success

Front 20

What is the tasks of a group's "priest"?

Back 20

He/she ministers to spiritual needs. Informally, these people hear confessions, give blessings, maintain traditions, encourage ceremonies, and intercede in matters of gravest importance.

Front 21

How does the structural frame approach structure?

Back 21

The symbolic view approaches structure as design: an arrangement of space, lightning, props, and costumes that make the drama vivid and credible to its audience.

Front 22

Explain one dramaturgical role of structure.

Back 22

Reflection and conveying prevailing social values and myths.

Front 23

Explain meetings from the symbolic view.

Back 23

Meetings are magnets attracting managers looking for something to do, problems seeking answers, and people with solutions in search of problems.

Front 24

Explain planning from the symbolic view.

Back 24

An organization without a plan can be labeled as reactive, shortsighted, and rudderless. Planning, then, is an essential ceremony organizations conduct periodically to maintain legitimacy. Symbolic roles that plans play:

Front 25

Explain performance appraisals/evaluation from the symbolic view.

Back 25

Major undertaking in organization, even though few believe that the procedures are closely connected to improvements. Evaluation assures spectators that an organization is responsible, serious, and well managed.

Front 26

Explain collective bargaining from the symbolic view.

Back 26

Labor and management meet and confer to forge divisive standoffs into workable agreements. Pits to sets of interests against each other:
Unions - want better wages, benefits, and working conditions for members
Management - aims to keeps costs down and maximize profits for shareholders.

Front 27

Explain the exercise of power from the symbolic view.

Back 27

You are powerful if others think you are!! Power is often attributed to certain performances - people who talk a lot, belong to committees, and seem close to action. Successful leadership is having followers who believe in the power of the leader.