If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Frame of reference. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Frame of reference paper right on time.
Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Frame of reference, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Frame of reference paper at affordable prices!
Executive summary
" A manager's frame of reference is his/her most enabling asset"
This writing critically discusses the validity of the above statement in relations to organisational reframing.
Bolman & Deal's four frames of reference are used in discussing the statement Structural Frame; Human Resource Frame; Political Frame and Symbolic Frame. Each frame is explained in detail and applied to the statement to discuss its validity. Two approaches are used with one focusing on the beneficial impact of a manager's frame of reference on his/her managerial performance, followed by a discussion on how the frame of reference could adversely impact a manager's performance.Order custom research paper on Frame of reference
It is concluded that the use of multiple frames, images, and metaphors not only complicates how managers and leaders think about organizational development but also unlocks the human creative potential and critical thinking ability to develop new ways for organizing because managers and leaders consider alternative viewpoints (Bolman & Deal, 17). Knowing that no single frame, image, or metaphor is consistently more effective than another, successful managers and leaders are adept at using multiple frames, images, and metaphors to develop scenarios about how to approach organizational problems.
Introduction
Our experiences (values, beliefs or assumptions) forms our frame of reference for the world. As we grow up, we learn things from people around us and believe in them. All these judgments sum up as our experiences. Paraphrasing the old proverb, "As a person frames, so he or she is", we see that frames have that much influence in our lives over our perceptions, creativity, and ability to operate at peak performance in business.
A manager's frame of reference describes how he/she might think, present information, use language and create meaning in their management positions. With this recognition of the governing power of frames, questions such as "what frames to operate from as a manager", and "how do frames help or hinder in terms or one's own creativity" may arise.17 L. Michael Hall
The statement "A manager's frame of reference is his/her most enabling asset" can be objective depending on the types and coordination of frames of reference a manager has, they could be his/her enabling assets or disabling ones. When applied in different situations, the same type of frame of reference may lead to very opposite outcomes. In discussing the validity of this argument, we firstly examine the four frames which are used by managers/leaders in complicating their understanding about how organistionas functions as suggested by Bolman and Deal (17)
Frame of Reference
1.The structural frame
Structure reframing plays a very important part in organisational reframing under which managers and leaders set goals and policies to achieve a "delicate balance" in allocation of scarce resources across organisational entities. Many organizations focus on the structural frame as most people understand what organisational charts are. Through the three basic organisational structures of functional, project and matrix, Manager and leaders motivate, coordinate and control large, diverse groups of subordinates.
.The Human Resource Frame
most organizational theory in the early- to mid- 0th century focused primarily upon the human factor as it impacted the work process functionally (e.g., Taylor, 111) and the need for human beings to collaborate to achieve shared organizational purposes (e.g., Barnard, 18). The core assumption for this frame as Bolman and Deal state
Organizations exist to serve human needs rather than the reverse. People and organizations need each other organizations need ideas, energy, and talent; people need careers, salaries, and opportunities. When the fit between individual and system is poor, one or both suffer; individual will be exploited or will exploit the organization- both will become victims. (17, p.10)
From a human resource point of view, managers and leaders help individuals and groups develop a shared sense of direction and purpose. They endeavor to make group work both satisfying and efficient by balancing task and process goals.
. The Political Frame
The political theories of practice argue that politics abound any time human beings come together to create order out of diversity. There is a simple reason to explain this phenomenon human beings are different. Their task interests, career interests, and extramural interests (Morgan, 17, pp. 161-16) are different.
Political frame can be seemed as power and leadership in an organization. There are many types of different kinds of power exist in an organization. These include position power, expert power, network power, reward power, agenda power and coercive power. All of these power or polities exist in all organization.Polities can influence the choice of business partners, and can also determine business associates. In addition, politics can determine and influence who gets what. For example, women are under represented in positions of authority within corporations. People see organization as jungle, competition and conflict. (Bolman and Deal 17) Politically, managers and leaders confront workplace politics, apply ethics in the decision making process and wield their power effectively.
4. The symbolic Frame
The symbolic frame, drawing on social and cultural thropology, treats organizations as tribes, theatres and carnivals. It abandons the assumptions of rationality more prominent in the other frames. (Bolman and Deal 17) Using symbols, managers and leaders attend carefully to socialising new members into the organization. Under this frame of reference, managers tend to emphasize diversity in ideas and approaches to problem solving. A strong organisational culture enables people to identify themselves and their aspirations with the organization's transcendent purpose and it can heighten people's faith and confidence in the organization in the midst of environmental turbulence and adversity.
In adopting each of the four frames, managers may encounter problems as a result of narrow mindness. Each frame by itself has both sound impacts and limitations when applied to different situations.
For Bolmand and Deal, the goal is, for managers and leaders to give appropriate emphasis to the positives associated with each frame. (Bolman and Deal 17)
In evaluating the statement "A manager's frame of reference is his/her most enabling asset", how each frame can give manager enabling or disabling power in an organization is discussed below.
How each frame can impact positively on manager's performance (enabling asset)
In adopting the structural frame theory, manager posses rational and objective direction of the organization by using logic to shape policies, procedures, division of labour and span of control. The structural frame promotes action oriented management approach and provides for accountability. Effective managers and leaders include scientists, planners , social architects whose primary concerns are good data, honest analysis, creative designs, the best process.
Strength of the human resource frame to a manager lies in his ability in addressing fundamental human needs and interests. With this frame of reference, manager views people as the heart of an organization. When people feel the organization is responsive to their needs and supportive of their goals, managers and leaders can count on their followers' commitment and loyalty. the human resource manager and leader works on behalf of both the organization and its people, seeking to service the best interests of both. Managers and leaders that are passionate and warm, thoughtful and kind whose primary concerns are challenging growth, providing support, expanding roles, engendering and sustaining good will are enabled by this frame of reference.
With political frame of reference, managers and leaders act realistic and practical. they distinguish in addressing the reality of mixed motives, conflict and power struggles present in the workplace. This frame of reference highlights the need for principled reflection and ethical action. This frame of reference most enables managers with concerns of coalitions building, negotiating gray areas and upholding the common good.
A personal approach reflect symbolic frame as it illuminates the importance of creating and sustaining belief and meaning. Managers with symbolic frame of reference work around inspirations, meaningfulness and motivations. They focuses on the bonds uniting individuals into cohesive groups that pursue a shared goal.
How each frame can impact negatively on manager's performance (disabling asset)
Contrarily, each of the four frames of reference has certain limitations in influencing manager and leader's performance and can be used negatively, thus contradicting the argument.
Structural frame may result in a manager being self absorbed, self interested and bureaucratic whom views workers as functionaries. It also results in overly simplicity and pessimistic view about human nature. As a result of all these, managers can be inflexible and rigid in decision making and overestimates the power of authority which then neglects fundamential human, political, and cultural variables.
In a human resource frame of reference, limitations exists its assessment of human nature. Opposite to the structural frame, managers can be overly optimistic about integrating people, process and technology and not think realistic for a fast changing environment. Often, they may neglect the power of structure and the realities of conflict and scarce resources. Having political frame dominant in referencing, managers can be impersonal in dealing with people with a cynical view of human nature. They may assumes conflict and power struggles and reinforces conflict and mistrust. Managers with political frame of reference could also sacrifices opportunities for rational discourse, collaboration toward shared goals, and hope in a positive future. With symbolic frame of reference, managers performance can be hindered by an overly abstract, vague and elusive concept which can be impractical for use in the workplace. People with symbolic frame of reference could be easily be manipulated.
Additionally, successful managers and leaders strive to avoid what most people innately dislike, that is, the power of negative politics. Rather than utilizing multiple avenues to exploit people through dominance over the disenfranchised, they attempt to navigate these complex moral mazes (Jackall, 188) and maintain their credibility by doing right things in the midst of all of the organizational conflict and the political maneuvering that people will use to effect their individual and group self-interests.
Conclusion
By analysing the ways how each of the four frame of reference could impact managerial decisions favourable and unfavourable, it is concluded that the statement "" can be both relevant and irrelevant in different situations. A manager's frame of reference can be his/her most enabling asset as discussed in section II where the frame resulted in positive actions. However, the frame of reference could lead managers and leaders decision to be undesirable where the frame of reference plays a role as prejudice or makes the manager narrow minded. By best utilising benefits and avoiding limitations of each frame of reference in certain managerial process, managers can achieve an overall success.
In reorganising, structural frame may be used in realigning roles and responsibilities to fit task and environment where human resource frame used in maintaining balance between human needs and formal roles, political frame will contribute to redistributing power and form new coalitions and symbolic frame can create a ritual confirming core values and providing opportunities for bonding. For McWhinney et al. (17), managerial/leadership effectiveness, then, has more to do with ones ability to work with others in the group through which organizational change is to be created than it has to do with ones particular leadership style. At the same time, however, managing/leading people becomes an increasingly more cognitively complex and difficult task because people view the organizational reality from a variety of perspectives.
It is evident that managers and leaders need a means to integrate the frames, images, and metaphors depicting organizational reality and the challenge is to develop an organizational portrait rather than merely to rely upon a snapshot of the organizational reality.
People in organizations possess pluralistic not unitary views about organizations
Intuition not rationality proves to be of greater value in the decision making process
The Magic You Can Perform With Reframing Reframing for Creatively New Managing Options - L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. 17
http//www.neurosemantics.com/Articles/Management-by-Reframing.htm
Morgan, G. (17). Images of organization (nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA Sage.
Jackall, R. (188). Moral mazes. New York Oxford University Press
McWhinney, W., Webber, J. B., Smith, D. M., & Novokowsky, B. J. (17). Creating paths of change Managing issues and resolving problems in organizations (nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publication, Inc
Barnard, C. I. (18/168). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press.
Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (17) Reframing Organizations Artistry, Choice and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Garud, R., Dunbar, R.L.M., & Raghuram, S. (16) "Run, rabbit, run! But can you survive?" Journal of management inquiry 5(), pp. 168-175.
Morgan, G. (1) Imagination The Art of Creative Management, Sage, Newbusy Park, CA.
Palmer, I. & Dunford, R. (16) " Reframing and organizational action The unexplored link" Journal of organizational Change Management (6), pp. 15.
Raynor, M.E. & Bower, J.L. (001) " Lead from the center How to manage divisions dynamically" Harvard Business Review (May) -100.
Senge, P.M. (1) The Fifth Discipline The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Sydney Random House
The Memo
To The CEO
FromEmily Liu
Date 08-Apr-0
Re Organizational reframing
It has been suggested that "Organization reframing is a technique that engages the use of different metaphors for understanding and taking action in the organizational world." (Palmer and Dunford 16, p.1) Basically if manager needs to reframe an organization, she must overcome narrow-mindedness. As Bolman and Deal state, " To reframe an organization we have to view the same situation from multiple vantage points." (17, p. 80) Normally it's very hard to do so, because we all have our mental models. These images, assumptions and stories deeply lock into our minds. Our mental models determine how we make sense of the world, and how we take action. Therefore it is important that leaders and managers need to get out of their fixed mental models and try to determine varies ways to reframe an organization. Reframing can be viewed from at least 4 different perspectives. These are structure frame, human resources frame, political frame and culture frame. These can be also seem in another way using metaphors such as machines, families, jungles and symbols.
Structure frame
An organization's structure is the pattern of how its people and jobs are grouped. The structure frame is therefore emphasizes organization goals, specializes each employee' roles, and the relationship between them. Organization structure will affect the whole organizational growth, efficient, and profit. Structure reframing is therefore playing a very important part in organization reframing.
Human frame
This frame is about the relationship between organizations and human nature. The core assumption for this frame as Bolman and Deal state
Organizations exist to serve human needs rather than the reverse. People and organizations need each other organizations need ideas, energy, and talent; people need careers, salaries, and opportunities. When the fit between individual and system is poor, one or both suffer; individual will be exploited or will exploit the organization- both will become victims. (17, p.10)
Political frame
Political frame can be seemed as power and leadership in an organization. There are many types of different kinds of power exist in an organization. These include position power, expert power, network power, reward power, agenda power and coercive power. All of these power or polities exist in all organization.Polities can influence the choice of business partners, and can also determine business associates. In addition, politics can determine and influence who gets what. For example, women are under represented in positions of authority within corporations. People see organization as jungle, competition and conflict.
Culture frame
Organization culture is what the employee perceives and how this perception creates a pattern of beliefs, values, expectations, and inspiration. Thus this inspiration given people something that they can believe in.
The advantages and limitations
Through reframing managers are able to gain useful knowledge and enhance their managerial skills in many of ways. It also opens up people's mind and view situations with fresh eyes. The following will be discuss varies advantage and limitation of reframing.
Creativity
It will improve managers' creativity hence they are able to consider multiple perspectives to frame and reframe organizational. Thus fresh and new idea will be merged.
Effectiveness
It is through reframing managers able to increase the effectiveness to solve problems. Normally people are lock in to their mental models and are unable to generate new ideas or solutions. With reframing it allows and encourages managers to seek multiple solutions to single problem.
Adapt to changing environment
Changes have become an inherent part of business. The rapid changes warps organization and bend the shape of the enterprises. Therefore it is important for manager to have the ability to adapt and over come the changes. It is through reframing that managers are able to develop strategic planning, decision-making and evaluating skills. This can be viewed from at least 4 different points. In structure frame is to set the goal and obtain or organize resources. In human resource frame strategic planning involves gathering the correct people to participate in it. In political frame managers need to realign power to implement the plan and in culture frame it produce symbols. These skills enable managers adapt to the fast changes in the organization environment.
Simplicity and freedom
Reframing seems complex but it can be simple depends on managers' knowledge and understanding. The center idea of reframing is to develop a skill that encourages people to use their imaginative to view or change organizations using fresh ideas. Thus create freedom for both manager and the organization.
Of course like every single technique, reframing has its constraints. Managers need to fully understand the concept of reframing and start interpret the organizations using these new ways of thinking.
Slip back to single frame thinking
Reframing involves ones to view and change their organization in varies ways. However in the process of reframing an organization, managers tend to slip back to the most ideal frame, which again reducing it to the single frame thinking. This happens because reframing can be not a straightforward process; it highly depends on managers' ability and how they are able to overcome their long-term dominant mental models. In this case reframing can be complex.
Influence by others in organization
The limitation is that managers are easily to be driven by majorities in the organization. Therefore it is important for managers to use this technique start from themselves. As Morgan argues that " if people want to change their world, they have to start with themselves.'(1, p. 75) Therefore managers not only need to start thinking in this new way but most important to use this and implement in the organizations.
The power to switch
The level of knowledge drove ones' thinking. How people reframe their organization is highly depend on how much knowledge they have. Thus the interpretation of the organization is also depending on managers' knowledge.
The limitation of the four frames as an example
In the beginning of the memo, we have determined the four most popular frames in an organization. These four frames all have their own limitations.
The limitation of structure is it only concentrate on the roles, policies and responsibility and can drive manager to a narrow way of thinking. Traditional organizations have been highly concentrated on this frame only. For instance the State Rail Authority structure. It has a highly machine bureaucracy structure and ignore all other frames in an organization.
The limitation of human resources frame is that it can be concentrated just on employees feeling and ignore the rest.
Political frame also has its own limitations. People normally see organizations as jungle under this frame. People or different departments completes for resources.
With culture frame the limitation is that it is hard to interpret and has great complexity to conduct in an organization.
Conclusion
Although reframing organizations has several limitations, it is still a valid and is a useful way to view and transform organizations. To do this, training has to be done, it riches managers knowledge and start viewing organizations in varies ways. Managers need to learn how to interpret different possibility to change and to reframe an organization. Garud and Dunbar have suggested that " to do this manger need to discredit their beliefs in their retained understandings and approach problems using different frames. (16, p.174)
Using four frames as example in below.
To reframe an organization using the structure frame, the most important thing is to determine the strategy and goals, and then managers need to ask themselves series of questions. Such as how many tasks should each position have; what kind of skills does certain position need to have; what kinds of structure that best suit the company environment, etc. Managers also need to be aware of the size of the organization, because the problem of coordination increases as the size of the organization increases. On top of that managers need to be aware of the technology and the environment.
Using human resources frame, mangers need to redesign employees' job for enrichment and change the reward system. It has been suggest that "Changing reward systems to reflect the importance of interdivisional cooperation." (Raynor and Bower 001, p5) Thus it will motivate employees. Surveys also need to be conducted regularly to verify whether employees are happy to work for the organizations.
From political point of view, decisions need to be made for the allocation of scare resources, so managers have to ask themselves of who gets what. Also they need to be aware of the different powers exist in the organizations.
For culture frame, it is important to give a meaning to the organization, including the symbols, ritual and myths, however managers need to be aware about the true meaning of the symbols for an organization. A classic example is the well-known family restaurant McDonalds. The symbol is family restaurant and it dominates the fast food business. Therefore managers need to determine which symbol best suits the company.
All of the above points suggest that reframing is a technique that improves managers' thinking, perceptions, creativity, freedom, effectiveness, thus upgrade their management skills. Lets consider Royal Dutch and Shell for an example. They are the first large corporation to discover the potential power of the different mental model or frames through learning. The managers have been altering their ways of thinking from dominant models to others, and thus they can quickly adapt and overcome the fast pace of changes in the market environment. As Senge found that "during the OPEC time, Shell signaled a shift in basic of pattern of supply and demand interactions such as high prices, instability. These signals gives Shell's managers a long term perspectives in which to consider their strategic options, and it let them to policies which could serve for the rest of the decades." (1, p. 04) Bolman and Deal suggest " We have sought ideas powerful enough to capture the subtlety and complexity of life in organizations yet simple enough to be useful." (17, p1) This is true and can be worked if managers can overcome the limitation which mentioned in this memo and be aware of the problems exist in the organizations.
References
Please note that this sample paper on Frame of reference is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Frame of reference, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Frame of reference will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!