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. Bolman and Deal offer four frames with which to break down organizations: their structure, their human resources, their political environment and their symbolic meaning. They offer a metaphor to capture the essence of each frame (translated for orchestra here): The metaphor for the structural frame is 'the orchestra as a factory'. Looking through this frame reveals an orchestra's systems of roles and relationships and how the work gets made. Problems arise when the structure is not suited to the situation
The book focuses on the impact of individuals within organizations and how organizational efficiency or rationality is getting deep into our individuality. The author states that the modern organizations and the way their administration work are the results of heavily borrowed principles of rationality and objectivity from the sciences. It has resulted in a one-sided focus of placing the rational goals of the organization above, and often in place of, those of the individual members of the organization. Denhardt relates science and administration by putting examples of many scientific theories which relate to the human and natural aspect of everyone’s lives.
• The Symbolic Framework draws on social and cultural anthropology. The organization is thought to be akin to tribes or theater; they are cultures that operate based on ceremonies, rituals, rules, myths, policies, stories, heroes and managerial authority (Bolman and Deal 1991, p. 16). Everyone in the organization is an actor who is basically playing a prescribed role (Bolman and Deal 1991, p. 16).
Bolman and Deal (2013) stated that there were four-frame models that governed organizations, and the models were structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. Lightcap (2014) discussed the entrepreneurial model that was a
Following Bolman and Deal’s organizational structure and human resource frames, the third frame could arguably be the most impacting on an organizations employee’s sight and reference regarding their organization’s culture. Symbolic framing views organizations as theaters (Bolman & Deal, 2008; 2015), where its employees are acting out their duties and responsibilities grounded in the organization’s myths, values, ceremonies and rituals (Bolman & Deal, 2008; Henderson, 2015). In this regard, organizations are often judged more on their performance in a theatrical sense, than the product outcomes themselves, as the performance creates alignment in its employees (Smith, 2012). In the structural frame, we understood that organizations obtain efficiency through proper alignment in departmental and communication lines, identifying excess in order to streamlining processes. The human resource frame encouraged us to conceptualize that organizations achieve success by focusing on who is in the right or wrong position and acknowledging the needs of the employees, certifying that both employee and organizational needs should be met to promote organizational success. The symbolic frame challenges us to view the organization from a different perspective, looking deeper into the organization’s culture as the answer for alignment and unity toward a common goal. Symbolic framing aims to capture the hearts and minds of all those involved in the organization, as symbols are often the
Organisations must organise a structure so that their objectives can be achieved. A company will have different departments and procedures with each one having a special function. All of these organised departments and procedures are linked so the company can run efficiently. For many organisation this can be very complex has they will have offices in international countries around the world.
The book The Heart of Change shows the practical side of the theories that are taught in the course textbook. It presents stories of successes and failures based in the application of concepts discussed in Organizational Behavior and Management and in class. Although we talked about several different concepts the ones that are evident in the examples in The Heart Of Change are the more progressive and individual centered approaches. The leadership characteristics that are important to successful change in an organization are those that are espoused in the transformational theory of management. It makes sense that ideals in line with the transformational management theory
The symbolic frame focuses on symbols and meanings. Understanding the symbolic frame of an organization can help shape a culture that gives purpose and meaning to work. There is a definite relationship between organizational culture and successful project management. For example, the IMS project at company XYZ failed mainly due to low risk tolerance due to time constraint, weak unit integration within the team and inadequate support for any work related conflict.
The structure of the orchestra is made of external factors, organizational factors, and an internal structure. Economic pressures would be a key factor because of the amount of pay is very important the employees. Strategy
The ways in which the aims of this mission are going to be achieved will be specifically outlined in the vision statement provided. The importance of hitting our mark is paramount, for our children are our future, and making sure that they are successful, competitive citizens should be our highest concern. Sometimes this process can be more challenging when put into practice.
Organizations are social entities that are goal directed, are designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems, and are linked to the external environment (Kirst-Ashman, 2011). The four main parts of that definition are social entity, goal directed, deliberately structured, and link to external
According to Miles et al. (1978, p. 547), an organization is both its purpose and the mechanism constructed to achieve the purpose. It means that the concept of organization is embracing both goals and all the elements that represent unique combination. Miles et al. (1978, p. 553) draws the conclusion that structure and the processes taking place inside the organization are closely aligned; it is hard to speak about one without mentioning the other. It is important to understand the conclusion drawn by Miles et al. (1978). It illustrates how the
In the early 1980s, Henry Mintzberg’s, constructed the organizational archetypes. In this model Mintzbeg introduces five types of organization structure and how they influence the functions of organizations. On the organizational model there are five categories which are: Entrepreneurial, Machine (Bureaucracy), Professional bureaucracy, The Divisional (Diversified), and Adhocracy. Entrepreneurial organization consists of one large unit with one or a few top managers. The organization is relatively unstructured and informal compared with other types of organization, and the lack of standardized systems allows the organization to be flexible.
In order for one to evaluate and identify with the diverse business structures, he/she must be aware of the meaning and standards that makes that structure. Various businesses functions in different ways as the world is full of technology and new structures, company cultures and new ways in which companies are run. In order to fully grasp the concepts of Organizational structure and culture in the movies, I will use the Movie Up in the Air and The Devil Wear Prada movies to analyze a business scenario from them.
The first introduction to the model of the organization frames (pg. 19) my initial thoughts were solidly in line with the Structure frame. This makes sense in the way I think and maneuver within organizations. As we have progressed through the text, awareness of other approaches has widened. The realization that it takes multiple methodologies to be successful as an organization is very clear now. This is something that most people grasp intuitively; however being able to apply definitions to provides the deep appreciation of what they can offer.
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.