Al the Wrong Moves Case Study

"All the Wrong Moves" Case Study

Bolman and Deal defines the four frames of leadership as structural, human resources, political, and symbolic. Structural leaders define clear goals, assign specific roles for their constituents, and coordinate specific activities with specific policies, procedures, and chains of command. The structural leader tries to align the internal processes of the organization to the external environment while dealing with organizational dilemmas. Furthermore, the human resource frame focuses on needs of people. Leaders working within the human resource frame value the feelings and relationships of people. The political frame focuses on individual and group interests. Political leaders build power bases through networking and negotiating compromises. The symbolic leader develops symbols and culture to shape human behavior and reflects a shared mission and identity for the organization. Leaders working in the symbolic frame instill enthusiasm, a sense of charisma, and drama to the organization.

In the case study "All the Wrong Moves" by David Garvin the structural frame relates to Don's implication of what a clear organization structure is. He needs to provide information of what the organization should be like in order to provide a foundation for successful decision-making. The HR relates to this case because Don's strength is that he is caring and so he allows everyone to express his opinion. However, he may be too much of a "mother figure" because he asks for an input from "as many people as possible" (20) and this can allow too much debate to happen. Don values his employee's as well as their opinions. Furthermore, the political frame focuses on the decision-making process within the company and the debate and negotiations between the employees, especially for the new Charge Up product. Lastly, the symbolic frame relates to the value of their item Charge Up and how they want it to be seen as a good product, not one that is recalled. Most employees have the same mission and value to make this product successful with the added lipitrene.

I believe that the Human Resource frame is seen more times than the other three in this case study. This is because this frame focuses on the needs of people, and this is exactly what Don is doing too much of. He has strived to form a culture that takes into account the "Minnesota niceness" (20). It is hard to make tough decisions, which affects co-workers if Don is too emotionally attached to them. He needs to put some distance between him and his subordinates. He has much aversion to conflict. He believes that he keeps the process open and asks for input, yet he doesn't realize that his approach to building a friendly culture halts debate. He is trying to only build a "nice" culture and that causes trouble. Furthermore, rumors go unaddressed, opinions are