With it already being halfway through the semester, it is time to really get going on my final project. To begin gaining an understanding of how I want to tackle this project, I am going to use this week’s Reaction post as an opportunity to apply an organizational framework to Greek Peer Advocates. This week’s readings from Bolman and Deal (2013) addressed the symbolic framework.
I will begin by introducing Greek Peer Advocates (GPA). GPA is a sexual assault awareness and prevention training program sponsored by the Office of Greek Life at Ball State. Two years ago, the office launched this program to address issues of sexual assault within the fraternity and sorority community. The immediate success and excitement it experienced, however, was not sustainable. As trainee retention dropped and enthusiasm waned, the program needed to refocus and redirect. This is what it is spending this semester doing, through the work of the student directors and support of the professional advising staff (the Assistant Director of Greek Life and three graduate assistants, including me). By examining GPA through the symbolic framework as described by Bolman and Deal (2013) in this week’s readings, I can gain insight into how various elements of the program and organization may have led to its decline and identify opportunities to help it rebuild. Bolman and Deal (2013) wrote of cultures, vision, values, languages, and ceremonies as part of the symbolic framework. The culture created by the GPA directors and lead trainers is one of determination to prevent sexual assault, a strong understanding of the various elements of sexual assault, a voice of advocacy, and a drive toward activism. This is displayed in the way they interact with each other, the articles and news they share, and the stories they tell. The vision for GPA is to create a trickle down effect of awareness and education; those who go through the training are meant to take the information back to their chapters and share it with other members perhaps through formal presentations but moreso through informal conversations. Some of the values related to GPA are a commitment to justice for victims, an ownership of intervening not just being a bystander, and an education of how to end sexual assault. Members of GPA speak a language riddles with words from Title IX policies, such as “consent,” “sexual harassment,” and “gender-based discrimination,” and words very tailored to the structure of the program. Finally, the only ceremony that really exist are selections of the directors (and that is even a stretch to consider this a ceremony). Although most of this sounds great, there are many hidden issues with GPA related to these various elements of the symbolic framework. To begin, the culture of advocacy and activism is exhibited in the leaders of the program and in their daily lives, but they struggle to extend it toward those who go through the trainings. The vision of a trickle effect is good, but is not being effectively enacted; trainees are not taking the messages back to their chapters as intended, so this must be rethought in how the program facilitates that. Honestly, I do not see issues with the values. But, I do see issues with the languages used; for those unfamiliar with the program (as another grad assistant and I were at the beginning of the semester), the program-specific language is difficult to grasp; this also is applicable to the Title IX language for those who are unfamiliar with it. Finally, I see an opportunity for ceremonies to be introduced to enhance the organization. An end of training ceremony where people’s achievement of finishing the training could aid in retention by formally recognizing their efforts. Overall, the symbolic framework can be applied to a variety of organizations to identify their areas of strengths and weaknesses. I enjoyed applying it to GPA and look forward to doing similar work for the final project.
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Kristin KreherMy happiness comes from meaningful interactions, the outdoors, thrift shops, and saying "thank you." Archives
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