Consideration of business strategy plays an integral role in the analysis of an organization’s activities and processes. The Mission Model Canvas underlines that the US Air Force as an organization is aimed at serving public and government interests. Additionally, the organization is goal-oriented, which means that it focuses on completing operations within national and international political agendas. The US Air Force depends on technical and financial resources from government and public sources. All these aspects limit growth capabilities as the organization is developing in order to comply with the requirements of particular operations. However, an analysis of the US Air Force’s application of the Four-Frames model and Morgan’s metaphor can help identify points of potential change and innovation.
The canvas illustrates that the organization is resource-driven as it depends on technical, financial, and human resources. Additionally, all its activities are related to a rigid structure that combines different departments. Although the US Air Force is engaged in research and development activities, the main focus of the organization is the operations and maintenance of the required technical and structural system for their completion. The strategy of the US Air Force is functional and operational as it is concerned primarily with task completion. The organization serves different powers and public groups, which bring strong political influence to all its activities.
The Four Frames provides organizations with extensive information on the organizational structure and appropriate managerial actions needed to better understand all the processes. Holmes and Scull (2019) underline that “it is important for leaders not to stand within one frame but to work within all Four in a cohesive manner” (p. 4). Thus, researchers note that for the development of the organization, it is critical for managers to apply multiple perspectives to consider the same situation. Based on the canvas, the US Air Force as an organization is best depicted by political and structural frames (Bolman & Deal, 2021). The political frame is the most important as the organization is concerned with the interests of different groups, including the public. Additionally, the US Air Force is limited in budgeting which can lead to the necessity to maintain the power hierarchies and building coalitions. The structure of the organization is rather rigid and focuses on setting and completing tasks, as well as creating procedures and systems with linear reporting and responsibilities. Thus, the US Air Force has limited capacity to implement change as there are many political and structural constraints.
Morgan’s metaphor allows managers to consider organizations and their components in relation to different contexts. Tohidian et al. (2019) note that in Morgan’s theory, organizations are represented “as machines, brains, organisms, cultures, psychic prisons, systems of politics, transformation, and tools of domination.” This approach helps analyze the organization from a different angle to better understand its processes and elements. As with the Four-Frames structure, it is important to apply multiple perspectives.
The US Air Force can be best depicted through an organism and a system of political metaphors. The metaphor of a tool of domination can also be applied as it is strongly related to the political dimension (Tohidian et al., 2019). An organism metaphor underlines that the US Air Force has a definite structure consisting of substructures that are aligned with each other. A system of politics metaphor focuses on power as the main tool to resolve conflicts and serve the interests of several groups. This is the case for the organization, as power and leadership are the core of the US Air Force. The metaphor of a tool of domination can be partially applied as it is related to the ethical and moral contributions that employees make while working in the organization.
Based on the Four-Frames analysis and application of Morgan’s metaphor, it can be assumed that the US Air Force has a functional and operating business strategy. The organization is goal-oriented and its parts are incorporated in the overall structure to effectively meet the objectives. While the overall organization is concerned with long-term goal achievement, its departments help to accomplish different short-term tasks. The perspective of interactivity within the model is limited due to significant political constraints. However, the structure of the US Air Force as a complex organization with the alignment of different departments provides a strong context for change and gradual innovation. In particular, research and development in the future can become a more significant part of the organization, which can make the US Air Force rather information-driven. At the moment, the organization relies heavily on financial, technical and human resources which limits the internal growth and transformation capacities.
References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations artistry, choice, and leadership. Wiley.
Holmes, B., & Scull, W. R. (2019). Reframing organizations through leadership communications: the four-frames of leadership viewed through motivating language. Development and Learning in Organizations, 33(5), 1-4. Web.
Tohidian, I., Rahimian, H., & Nisar, T. (2018). Bringing Morgan’s metaphors in organization contexts: An essay review. Cogent Business & Management, 6(1). Web.