Four-Frame Model - Reframing Organisations
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The document outlines Bolman and Deal's four-frame model that presents distinct perspectives—structural, human resources, political, and symbolic—used to understand and navigate organizational dynamics. Each frame offers unique insights and tools for addressing issues within organizations, emphasizing the importance of employing the right frame to tackle specific challenges. It concludes by encouraging reflection on the presence and application of these frames to facilitate change and problem-solving within organizations.
Four-Frame Model - Reframing Organisations
- 2. Reframing Organisations Bolman & Deal identify four distinctive ‘frames’ from which people view their world - Structural, Human Resources, Political, and Symbolic. Each frame comes with a range of concepts, metaphors and values which provide the scaffolding for organising raw experience of the world. No one uses only one frame all the time, although people often show a preference for one or two frames.
- 3. Frames Lenses – focus, filter some things and allow others to pass through, help us order experience.
- 4. Frames Tools – strengths and limitations. Wrong tool gets in the way, right tool makes the job easier. Possess a tool – but know how to use it well.
- 5. Structural Frame • Origins - sociology & management science. • Goals, specialised roles, and formal relationships. • Structures fit organisations environment and technology. • Responsibilities, rules, policies, procedures.
- 6. Structural Frame Problem arises when the structure does not fit the situation.
- 7. Human Resources Frame • Organisations as • Origins - psychology. extended family. • Capacity to learn – and • Individuals with needs, capacity to defend old feelings, prejudices, attitudes and beliefs. skills and limitations.
- 8. Human Resources Frame Challenge is to tailor organisation to people – find a way for individuals to get the job done while feeling good about what they are doing.
- 9. Political Frame • Origins - political science. • Bargaining, negotiation, c • Organisations as oercion, compromise, and arenas, contests, or coalitions. jungles. • Different interests competing for power and resources. • Rampant conflict – difference in needs, perspectives, and lifestyles.
- 10. Political Frame Problems arise when power is concentrated in the wrong places or is too broadly dispersed.
- 11. Symbolic Frame • Origins - social and cultural anthropology. • Organisations as tribes, theatres, or carnivals. • Culture – rituals, ceremonies, stories, heroes, and myths. • Organisation is theatre – actors play role while audiences form impressions.
- 12. Symbolic Frame Problems arise when actors play their parts badly, when symbols lose their meaning, when ceremonies and rituals lose their potency.
- 13. Overview of the Four-Frame Model Structural Human Resource Political Symbolic Metaphor for Factory or Family Jungle Carnival, temple, Organisation Machine theatre Central Concepts Rules, roles, goals, Needs, skills, Power, conflict, Culture, meaning, policies, relationships competition, metaphor, ritual, technology, organisational ceremony, stories, environment policies heroes Image of Social architecture Empowerment Advocacy Inspiration Leadership Basic Leadership Attune structure Align Develop agenda Create faith, Challenge to task, organisational and and power base beauty, meaning technology, human needs environment Organisational Excellence Caring Justice Faith Ethic Leadership Authorship Love Power Significance Contribution
- 14. Choosing a Frame Question Frame if answer is Yes Frame if answer is No Are individual Human Resource, Symbolic Structural, Political commitment and motivation essential to success? Is the technical quality Structural Human Resource, of the decision Political, Symbolic important? Are there high levels of Political, Symbolic Structural, Human ambiguity and Resource uncertainty? Are conflict and scarce Political, Symbolic Structural, Human resources significant? Resource Are you working from Political Structural, Human the bottom up? Resource, Symbolic
- 15. Reframing Organisational Process Structural Human Resources Political Symbolic Strategic Planning Strategies to set Gatherings to promote Arenas to air conflicts and Ritual to signal responsibility, objectives and participation realign power produce symbols, negotiate coordinate resources meanings Decision Making Rational sequence to Open process to Opportunity to gain or exercise Ritual to confirm values and produce right decision produce commitment power provide opportunities for bonding Reorganizing Realign roles and Maintain balance Redistribute power and form Maintain image of responsibilities to fit between human needs new coalitions accountability and tasks and environment and formal roles responsiveness; negotiate new social order Evaluating Way to distribute Process for helping Opportunity to exercise power Occasion to play roles in rewards or penalties and individuals grow and shared ritual control performance improve Approaching Conflict Maintain organisational Develop relationships Develop power by bargaining, Develop shared values and use goals by having by having individuals forcing, or manipulating others conflict to negotiate meaning authorities resolve confront conflict to win conflict Goal Setting Keep organisation Keep people involved Provide opportunity for Develop symbols and shared headed in right direction and communication individuals and groups to make values open interests known Communication Transmit facts and Exchange information, Influence or manipulate others Tell stores information needs, and feelings Meetings Formal occasions for Informal occasions for Competitive occasions to win Sacred occasions to celebrate making decisions involvement, sharing points and transform the culture feelings Motivation Economic incentives Growth and self- Coercion, manipulation, and Symbols and celebrations actualisation seduction
- 16. Reframing Leadership Structural Human Political Symbolic Resources Effective Leader Analyst, Catalyst, Advocate, Prophet, poet architect servant negotiator Effective Analysis, design Support, Advocacy, coalition Inspiration, framing Leadership empowerment building experience Process Ineffective Petty tyrant Weakling, Con artist, thug Fanatic, fool Leader pushover Ineffective Management by Abdication Manipulation, fraud Mirage, smoke & Leadership detail and fiat mirrors Process
- 17. Reframing Change Structural Human Resource Political Symbolic Barriers to Change Loss of clarity and Anxiety, Disempowerment, Loss of meaning stability, uncertainty, conflict between and purpose, confusion, chaos feelings of winners and losers clinging to the past incompetence, neediness Essential Communicating, Training to Creating arenas Creating transition Strategies realigning and develop new skills, where issues can rituals – mourning renegotiating participation and be renegotiated the past, formal patterns involvement, and new coalitions celebrating the and policies psychological formed future support
- 18. Four-Frame Model • How do you see the four frames in your organisation/institution? • What is the problem, and what is the situation in which it is embedded? • Which frames are in play? • Which frame(s) is most likely to lead to the desired change? • How can the concepts, metaphors, and values of that frame be used to reframe the situation to resolve the problem?
- 19. Reference BOLMAN, Lee G. and DEAL, Terrence E. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. San Francisco, Calif, Jossey-Bass.