A frame audit includes several sub steps, to include a personal frame audit, understanding the frames of others, and to take note of any emerging frames. A frame audit is likely one of the more time consuming parts of this technique, as the prescribed method involves creating a visualization of your own frame. This would, ideally, identify factors and points of interest at the core of your frame, as well as those that are important but not core, and any optional factors (Hoch et al., 2001). From there, the issue of understanding the frame of others and any emerging frames is a matter of actively listening and being open to different modes of thought. Understanding others can be better accomplished by asking what might matter to other parties, and what they might not be considering. Appreciating new frames can happen by embracing changes and working with new means of doing business. (Hoch et al., 2001) In my own experiences, I would say the frame audit process is something of a daily occurrence for my unit. When I first arrived, there was a strong tendency for our IT maintenance oriented unit and our client unit to clash frames. Our focus was on getting regular maintenance done and done right. Our client unit didn't want to stop working for any reason if they could help it. Eventually though, through a lot of conversation with each side vocalizing what their interests were, we were able to agree that we all wanted to be able to get the mission done. We also had to admit to ourselves that we didn't always have the best insight into what was on our client's radar, and that they likely weren't asking IT oriented questions when dealing with certain issues. The working relationship is now, thankfully, much more fruitful.
The identification and change of inadequate frames is more a series of questions that can be asked of oneself when they are doing a critical self examination of how they're looking at a situation. This can include the initial question of, are your frames effective? Are you asking the right questions, are they adaptable, are there any failures in your frames? (Hoch et al., 2001). It also involves cognizance of any symptoms of frame misfit, which can include anything ranging from surprise difficulties and poor results to having difficulties communicating. One also needs to be prepared to question the reference points they're working with in order to gauge what constitutes good or bad performance within your frame, and they need to work to understand any key assumptions about themselves or their organization that can influence their frame. (Hoch et al., 2001) This particular process is another ongoing matter for me, particular when new projects come up. Most recently, I've had to work several projects that involved procuring decorations for our front hallway, and kept being surprised by the number of regulations involved on what we could buy with certain funds, what could be bought with or without paperwork and so on.What became even more frustrating was explaining the project and any difficulties to people I had to work with (and with whom I wasn't necessarily expecting) to have to work on the project with, to include the supply shop in charge of storage spaces, the unit financial manager, the facilities manager for installation issues, so on and so forth. Its been a good hard way to learn about getting as much information as possible upfront to coordinate.
Finally, one needs to eventually work towards mastering techniques for reframing, a culmination of the previous two frame management techniques. This includes using multiple frames, where one can operate with multiple perspectives on the same problem be it from different levels of management and execution or from the perspective of different fields of expertise. It can also be beneficial for one to align their frame to that of others, that is, work together to capitalize on the strong points of each others frames. Having said that, one also needs to be open to asking questions of the reference points of others, prompting a stretch of a frame to include different aspects, or even building an entirely new frame for a situation. In short, one needs to only not understand their own frame and any deficiencies, but they need to be able to work with it and redefine it as necessary for a given situation (Hoch et al., 2001). Coming again to the workplace, we're encouraged to learn about our clients jobs and where it fits into the big picture of Air Force operations, not only so we have an answer as to whats important to them but so we can adjust the frames of our technicians to understand why an issue might be getting worked with a high level of urgency. We've also been able to work with our clients to understand where we fit into things, improving not only our working relationship but also leaning on each other to find better ways to get the job done, or help each other document our accomplishments for awards packages and performance reports.
Overall, the reading and the enclosed exercise make an excellent point that in a given situation, not only are there numerous variables to be considered, but there are different ways in which to view the variables that, in themselves, create further variables for how we look at an idea and how we discuss it with other stakeholders. Complex decision making, it seems, isn't simply a matter of making a choice but it also involves analyzing how you come to a decision and asking if there's anything that was missed either by imperfect processes or due to a frame related bias. I can say in the decision making and the projects I've dealt with, I would benefit from some of these frame management tools in more efficiently focusing efforts on an objective and collecting necessary information. Knowing some of these techniques and the inherent issue of frames in individuals may have saved me some time in the school of hard knocks, and perhaps some frustration in project execution. At this point in my career, I haven't been at a point where there was any great deal of risk involved in my recommendations, nor could I say I've had a high level of influence with any of my frames, but regardless, knowledge of frames and frame management is certainly useful to bear in mind.
Works Cited
Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C., & Gunther, R.
E. (2001). Wharton on Making
Decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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