The Political Frame

To utilize the Political frame, organizations must have a steady grip on the four key elements and skills that the frame is compose of. Those four components are agenda-setting, bargaining and negotiating, networking and building coalitions, and mapping the political terrain. Setting agendas is a crucial aspect of the political frame because they are the expression of the organizations desired direction. According to Bolman & Deal "Politically, an agenda is a statement of interests and a scenario for getting the goods" (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p.213). Essentially, through the agenda organizations express what they want to accomplish and where they want to be and propose a theoretical path to get there. Within this frame, it is crucial to identify principal agents of political influence and plan which internal and external players you may be able to mobilize. It is also very important to determine which players within your network or coalition may resist and how strongly they will resist. Organizations that utilize The Political Frame must thoroughly research their environment, its players, their power, and their overall influence within the environment.

The Political Frame Case Analysis

Reflection

To understand the political influence of a corporation like Starbucks, you must have a grasp on the four elements of the political environment. Those elements being bargaining and negotiating, agenda-setting, mapping the political terrain, and networking and building a coalition. In this case I believe that Starbucks partners are outmatched in the political environment, but that has not stopped them from fighting for what they want. A key element of utilizing The Political Frame is knowing which players may resist and how strongly they will resist. This unionization movement could have likely been stopped in Buffalo, New York, if Starbucks had been more willing to hear out key players and find a way to satisfy their needs. However, Starbucks underestimated how strongly partners were going to push back and it has left them backpedaling. Starbucks partners were mildly successful in setting an agenda, but I don't think they were properly prepared for the other aspects of this environment. When you are going up against a corporation that has a majority stake in their respective industry, you must be more prepared because you have little to no bargaining power. Once their agenda was set, bottom tier Starbucks partners were forced to use a bottom-up communication approach to express their discontent. We often see bottom-up approaches used in political movements like the Black Lives Matter movement, but unfortunately this approach typically takes much more time to create any lasting change. Understanding the political frame from an organizational leadership perspective is crucial because it could help you solve the issue where it starts and understand how to avoid situations like this one in the future. 
References:
​Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership (7th ed.). Jossey-Bass.