Four Frames Of Reframing Organization

A book that has been foundational for me trying to make sense of orchestras is Reframing Organizations, by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal. I'll be returning to their framework in later posts, so I'm taking a moment to sketch it out here.

In his book, Heraclitean Fire: Journeying on the Path of Leadership, Dr. Michael Cary (1999) introduces us to the theory of the five frames for effective leadership. Organizational life is filled with an abundance of unique challenges and conflict. The Five Frames model serves as a valuable tool to leadership by revealing the alternate perspectives of organization members. According to Carey (1999) “These five frames – rational, human, systems, political, and cultural – offer different angels for looking at organizational life, and each frame’s proposed outline of the key dynamics of situations does have value in understanding why things happen the way they do and what must be a part of any plan to make things better” (p. 91).

There are volumes written on leadership theory in nearly every discipline. Bolman and Deal sifted through the complex theories and literature and combined with their own analyses, theories and experience devised a four-frame model as a way of understanding organizations and leadership within organizations. Frames are described as being the lens through which anyone sees the world and places that world in order (University of Melbourne). Frames help individuals to filter out the things in the world they do not want to see, thus, frames are inherently inaccurate and skewed in terms of reality (University of Melbourne). But, people need

Organizational structures have changed greatly in the last fifty years. Whereas most organizations were once rigid and centralized, most organizations are now taking advantage of flexible and decentralized structures. These new structures have affected the standard relationships between employees and managers. Additional layers of management have been created which blur the lines between the functions of managers and the functions of employees. Employees have become decision makers, and some managers barely have any authoritative power. Subsequently, these changes to organizational structures have impacted organizational strategies. This too, expounds upon the increased power of the employee and the reduced authority of the manager. The changes in organizational strategies make use of the dispersion of power in order to reduce costs and enable additional safeguards within these organizations.

     Bolman and Deal organize their book around the idea of framing, and they give many metaphors, examples, and comparisons in defining this approach. It is compared to a paradigm or a map, a mind-set or a general approach to problem solving. Managers work best, they claim, when they use a holistic approach, reframing problems in four different categories: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. Leading a complex organization requires artistry to combine these approaches as well as an embrace of uncertainty. The best management needs a commitment not only to excellence but also to flexibility, dialogue, and open-mindedness. In this paper, I shall examine the general

The one concept that I believe affects me the most was the four-frame model. Specifically, the symbolic frame stuck out the most when thinking of my business model canvas. The symbolic frame creates culture, meaning, and significance. This frame is very accurate when thinking of the pharmacy trade association’s mission and the reason why I became a pharmacist. At the association, we pride ourselves on the fact that “pharmacists are the face of neighborhood care”. The significance and meaning of that mission statement is that when a patient thinks of a pharmacist, that patient is comforted by the fact that their community pharmacist is someone that they can trust and is highly trained and educated. At the association, we advocate and stand

For several decades health care has been tied to the economy and with the current downturn we see continued efforts to control and reduce over-head costs. Health care organizations in their effort to become more efficient and address changes in the industry have altered their strategic business plans. Lee & Alexander (1999) researched organizational change in hospitals and their survival, in this paper I hope to discuss their findings and add other examples to validate their conclusions.

Successful medical organizations have as their guiding principles a professionally stated purpose which encompasses and details their mission statement, vision statement, values statement, and broad strategic goals. The organizational structure is established on these statements, and the function of each department and the duties of each employee are based upon fulfilling the purpose of these statements. Additionally, these statements must encompass the various aspects of the organization and its stakeholders. As Moore, Ellsworth, and Haufman (2011) purport, “ Any organization planning as though it exists in a vacuum is ignoring factors critical for its survival” (p. 16). Without these guiding principles to serve as a direction for the

Under the leadership of Bruce Broussard, President and CEO since 2011, Humana have developed and integrated health model system that has continued to lower the cost of healthcare and enhanced quality along with improving member experience. Broussard’s specializations in his work history clearly steered Humana to inviting him to come aboard. He brought Humana an extensive variety of executive leadership experience such as publicly traded and private companies within an assortment of healthcare sectors, including oncology, pharmaceuticals, assisted living/senior housing, home care, physician practice management, surgical centers, and dental networks. However, in addition to Broussard meeting the corporate objectives, he also has executives who are experts in each of their fields. Each executive officer reports to him and each are incremental in setting strategic plans to carry out Human’s objectives. His ability to navigate and influence people credited his success as a leader at Humana. Also, while at a previous position at U.S.

These health care organizations have two types of planning to follow, and they are tactical and strategic planning. When tactical planning takes place, there is a short term goal in mind (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). The course of action for a tactical plan is to achieve a goal within a year or less time period (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). A tactical plan has a smaller scope and shorter time span than a strategic plan (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). It takes several tactical plans to achieve the strategic plan (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). Strategic planning differs from tactical planning, because in strategic plan, the course of action is to achieve goals for the long term (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). Strategic planning goals are usually wanted to be completed with five years (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). The organization’s mission statement purpose and direction are reflected upon strategic planning (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). Top management must view reports on operations, external environments and finances when looking to develop a strategic plan (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). The development of tactical plans are influenced by strategic plans (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102).

Memorial Hospital Case Study uses a series of communication between different level and functional hospital employees to paint a picture of how this hospital operates. This paper will analyze and summarize key characteristics underlining the organization structure, management style and leadership, identify major challenges and recommend workable solutions.

When looking back at all of the weekly written assignments there are a few things I should note. There were some questions like naming the ‘theories of rationality’ in the written assignments which I did not yet fully grasp at the moment of answering the questions. When I look back at the first assignment I now understand what was asked of me. To some degree, this also applies to some of the other exercises. What I have noticed is that my writing skills have improved hugely thanks to the Organization Theory course, which can be seen in the difference in quality between my first assignment and this final essay.

The view and metaphorical analogy of an organization as a machine was the result of the only frame of reference available at

In the early 1900’s, some of the first ideas were thrown together to allow an organization to flourish in the upcoming modern era. The first theories were known as scientific and classical management, which focused on three separate theories from Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, and Max Weber. The three theories have similar ideology in the fact that organization is driven by management authority, employees only source of motivation is money, and organizations are machinelike with employees making up the parts of the machine (Papa, Daniels, & Spiker, 2008). In the Prophecy Fulfilled case study, Mary Ann (senior auditor) takes on a management role with subordinates similar to that of Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory (Daniels 1987, pp. 77-78).