1. Reframing Organizations, 5th ed.

2. Integrating Frames for Effective Practice
Chapter 15
Integrating Frames for Effective Practice

3. Integrating Frames for Effective Practice
Life as Managers Know It
Across Frames: Organizations as Multiple Realities
Matching Frames to Situations
Effective Managers and Organizations
Managers’ Frame Preferences

4. Life as Managers Know It
Myth:
Managers are rational, spent time planning, deciding and controlling
Organized, in control, unruffled
Reality
Management life is hectic, frantic, constantly shifting
Too busy to read or even think
Rely on intuition and hunches for many of the most important decisions
Hassled priests, modern muddlers, wheeler-dealers

5. Across Frames: Organizations as Multiple Realities
Four Interpretations of Organizational Processes
Doctor Fights to Quit Maine Island

6. Organizations as Multiple Realities
Process
Structural
Human Resource
Political
Symbolic
Strategic planning
Create strategic direction
Meeting to promote participation
Arena to air conflict
Ritual to reassure audiences
Decision-making
Rational process to get right answer
Open process to build commit-ment
Chance to gain or use power
Ritual to build values, bonding
Reorgani-zing
Improve structure/ environment fit
Balance needs and tasks
Reallocate power, form new coalitions
Image of accountabili-ty, respon-siveness

7. Organizations as Multiple Realities
Process
Structural
Human Resource
Political
Symbolic
Evaluating
Allocate rewards, control performance
Help people grow and develop
Chance to exercise power
Occasion to play roles in organiza-tional drama
Approaching conflict
Authorities resolve conflict
Individuals confront conflict
Bargaining, forcing, manipulating
Develop shared values, meaning
Goal setting
Keep organization headed in right direction
Keep people involved and informed
Let people make their interests known
Develop symbols, shared values

8. Organizations as Multiple Realities
Process
Structural
Human Resource
Political
Symbolic
Communica-tion
Transmit facts, information
Exchange information, needs, feelings
Influence or manipulate others
Tell stories
Meetings
Formal occasions to make decisions
Informal occasions to involve, share feelings
Competitive occasions to score points
Sacred occasions to celebrate, transform culture
Motivation
Economic incentives
Growth, self-actualization
Coercion, manipulation, seduction
Symbols, celebrations

9. Matching Frames to Situations
Choosing a Frame
Commitment and motivation
Technical quality
Ambiguity and uncertainty
Conflict and scarce resources
Working from bottom up

10. Question If yes: If no: Table 15.2 Choosing a Frame
Are individual commitment and motivation essential?
Human resource, symbolic
Structural, political
Is technical quality of decision important?
Structural
Human resource, political, symbolic
Is there high level of ambiguity, uncertainty?
Political, symbolic
Structural, human resource
Are conflict and scarce resource a significant factor?
Are you working from the bottom up?

11. Effective Managers and Organizations
Characteristics of Excellent/Visionary Companies
Embrace paradox
Clear core identity
Effective Senior Managers
Highly complex jobs requiring diverse skills
Political dimension is critical
Effective middle managers
Structural and human resource skills help performance, but political skills help you get ahead

12. Table 15.3 Characteristics of Excellent or Visionary Companies
Frame
Peters & Waterman
Collins & Porras
Collins
Structural
Autonomy, entre-preneurship, bias for action; simple form, lean staff
Clock building, not time telling; try a lot, keep what works
Confront brutal facts; best in world; economic engine; technology accelerators; “flywheel”, not doom loop
Human Resource
Close to customer; productivity through people
Home-grown management
“Level 5 leadership”; first who, then what

13. Frame Peters & Waterman Collins & Porras Collins Political Symbolic
Table 15.3 (continued) Characteristics of Excellent or Visionary Companies
Frame
Peters & Waterman
Collins & Porras
Collins
Political
********
*******
Symbolic
Hands on, value-driven, loose-tight; stick to the knitting
BHAGs; cultlike cultures; good enough never is; preserve the core, stimulate progress; more than profits
Never lose faith; deeply passionate; culture of discipline

14. Table 15.4 Challenges in Managers’Jobs
Frame
Kotter (1982)
Lynn (1987)
Luthans, Yodgetts, & Rosenkrantz (1988)
Structural
Keep on top of large, complex set of activities; set goals and policies under conditions of uncertainty
Attain intellectual grasp of policy issues
Communication (paperwork, etc.); traditional management (planning, goal-setting, controlling)
Human resource
Motivate, coordinate and control large, diverse group of subordinates
Use personality to best advantage
Human resource management (motivating, managing conflict, staffing, etc.)

15. Table 15.4 (Continued) Challenges in Managers’Jobs
Frame
Kotter (1982)
Lynn (1987)
Luthans, Yodgetts, & Rosenkrantz (1988)
Political
Allocate scarce resources; get support from bosses and other constituents
Exploit opportunities to achieve strategic gains
Networking (politics, interacting with outsiders)
Symbolic
Develop credible strategic premises; identify and focus on activities that give meaning to employees

16. Manager’s Frame Preferences
Research shows ability to use multiple frames is consistently associated with effectiveness.
Effectiveness as manager – structural frame is key
Effectiveness as leader – political and symbolic frames are central

17. Conclusion
Managers’ daily reality is messier, less rational, more conflict-filled than is often realized
Choice of frame depends on circumstances
Managers need multiple frames to survive