A Case Study for Small Manufacturing in the Globalized Economy Using the Principles of Bolman and Deal

In any organization, proper management is the key to success. This concept is critical from the largest multi-national corporation to the smallest family-owned business. Understanding the principles and elements of management is necessary for any organization to survive a globalized economy. This understanding means appreciating the complexities of human interactions, information technology, and business systems. In their work Reframing Organizations, Bolman and Deal describe these issues as a series of mental models or “frames”; the structural, human resources, political, and symbolic. This paper demonstrates that even for a small U.S. manufacturing company, the ideas laid out by Bolman and Deal are relevant. This work attempts to use their “frames” model to analyze the management decisions of the small company as it attempts to merge its work forces to better serve its customer base both in the U.S. and globally. This case study takes the ideas of Bolman and Deal further in depth, demonstrating them not at a macroscopic level of the entire company, but by dissecting an event within the company, showing that even microscopically, the Bolman and Deal frames model holds validity.