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Reframing
Organizations
Artistry,
Choice and Leadership
Jossey-Bass Publishers – 2nd Edition 1997 (424 pages in paperback)
Authors Lee G. Bolman &
Terrence E. Deal
ISBN 0-7879-0821-5
Reframing Organizations is considered by many
to be a modern masterpiece. Today it is used as a class textbook by some major
universities in their management and leadership classes. Bolman & Deal
encourage leaders to step back and re-examine the operation of their
organization through the use of various frames or windows. These different
lenses can bring organizational life into a different or clearer focus. They
allow the leader to view the workplace from different images to make judgments,
gather information and get things done. The authors label four windows and name
them the structural, human resource, political and symbolic frames. The purpose
of the book is to examine the elements and advantages of the four frames
presented by Bolman & Deal. The end result is that we learn the importance
of stepping back and looking at a situation from more than a single pane of
glass. This is vitally important because most of us have the tendency to look
at situations or problems from a limited narrow perspective, and this hinders
our ability to be effective and visionary leaders.
The Structural Frame attempts to look at the social context of work and not
simply at the individual. Once an organization designates specific roles for employees,
the next decision is to form or group them into working units. Coordination and
control of these various groups are achieved either vertically or laterally.
The best structure depends on the organization's environment, goals and
strategies. Bolman & Deal list six assumptions behind the Structural Frame.
1) Organizations exist to achieve established goals and objectives. 2)
Organizations work best when rationality prevails over personal preferences and
external pressures. 3) Structures must be designed to fit organizational
circumstances. 4) Organizations increase efficiency and enhance performance
through specialization and division of labor. 5) Appropriate forms of
coordination and control are essential to ensuring that individuals and units
work together in the service of organizational goals. 6) Problems and
performance gaps arise from structural deficiencies and can be remedied through
restructuring.
The Human Resource Frame is
another window to bring an organization into a unique focus. It views an
organization like a large extended family. From this perspective, an
organization is inhabited by individuals. These individuals have needs,
prejudices, feelings, limitations and skills. The goal of the leader is to mold
the organization to meet the needs of its people. The leader will seek
to merge the peoples’ need to feel good about what they are doing with the
ability to effectively get the job done. Bolman & Deal state that the key
to this window is a "sensitive understanding of people and their symbiotic
relationship with organizations."
The Political Frame is a
window that looks at the workplace as a jungle. This may not sound pretty but
the reality is that “it is a jungle out there”. It is a competitive environment
or contest in which different people compete for power and limited resources. Reframing
Organizations recognizes the work environment is one of rampant conflict immersed in
negotiation, bargaining, compromise and coercion. Bolman & Deal offer five
propositions as a summary of this frame. 1) Organizations are coalitions of
various individuals and interest groups. 2) There are enduring differences
among coalition members in values, beliefs, information, interests, and
perceptions of reality. 3) Most important decisions involve the allocation of
scarce resources and what gets done. 4) Scarce resources and enduring
differences give conflict a central role in organizational dynamics and
typically make power the most important resource. 5) Goals and decisions emerge
from bargaining, negotiation, and jockeying for position among different
stakeholders. Unfortunately, this is truly the business and social world most
of us live in.
The Symbolic Frame is a
powerful window that builds on cultural and social anthropology. It views organizations
as carnivals, theaters or tribes. An organization is a unique culture driven by
stories, ceremonies, rituals and heroes. This is in contrast to an organization
being driven by rules, authority or policies. The organization is analogous to
a theater. With this theater, various actors play their respective roles in the
drama and the audience forms its own impressions of what is seen on the stage.
The Symbolic Frame also looks at team building in a different light. It views
the development of high-performing teams as a spiritual network also enhanced
by rituals, ceremonies and myths. One does not need to look far to discover
these symbols. They exist from the proverbial “corner office”, to corporate
seals, to the camaraderie of military units.
The four windows or frames presented by
Bolman & Deal allow a leader to see events in new ways and to shift
perspective. The use of the multiple frames can assist the leader to see and
understand more broadly the problems and potential solutions available. It
encourages the leader to think flexibly about their organization and opens
various opportunities to the leader to view events from multiple angles. Reframing
Organizations is the kind of book that forces you to view organizational
life from a different viewpoint and new reality.
weLEAD rating highly recommended
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