OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Human Resource Frame Worksheet

1) Describe how the human resources of the organization influenced the situation.

The human resources that represented the higher-level management of the organization
were the reason that this entire situation occurred. Vice Presidents, along with the CEO,
decided that they needed to make a change in order to combat declining membership
revenues. Upon their decision to restructure, they consulted with the head of Human
Resources and their team to learn how to best go about implementing this change and
what the timeline would look like. Human Resources told them that all the changes were
acceptable and how the restructuring would take place. The structure at some locations
varied, so this looked different at some locations versus others and senior management
left it to the Executive Directors to decide on what would work best for their individual
locations.

Unsurprisingly, this quick decision was not viewed very positively by those that were
directly affected. Human Resources essentially told those whose jobs were changing
that we did not have a choice in the matter and that our compensation was not going to
change. In most cases, HR does exist to protect the better interests of the company,
however, Human Resources exists as an entity to support employees as well. The
overall decision seemed to be a "quick fix" type of solution to address a long-standing
problem that was going to take a much more thorough type of answer to really be
effective enough to make a lasting difference in the organization's revenue streams. We
as employees felt more like chess pieces rather than people, which demoralized even
the most dedicated and tenured staff. The idea that we were people first seemed to
immediately face into the background and we then understood that senior management
cared only about the money and not about the people.

2) Recommend how you would use the human resources for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

A misuse of human resources is why the issue became such a problem for myself and my
counterparts. Leadership decided that they needed to reallocate the human resources they
had in order to address our lack of revenue but it simply did not work out the way they
had intended. The first thing that should have happened was a broad discussion with
myself and my counterparts within the organization to identify what the best course of
action was going to be. In larger organizations, this would not even be something that
would be considered, but from my perspective, this would have been the best starting
point. This was a complex problem that involved a multitude of factors - there was no
one thing that was causing us to lose revenue and no one static solution was going to

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 solve the problem. There needed to be a considerable amount of collaboration from all
levels of operation in order to really see a success plan and implementation of that plan.

Once a strategy had been chosen, this would have been the optimal time to look at the
current human resources and decide if any reallocation would benefit the strategy and
overall goals. No individual disagreed that change was necessary (which we ultimately
know may me structural change) but how it was done did not work and left us feeling
unappreciated and disconnected from the organization. By integrating the leader directly
responsible for getting the work done, they would have instilled a much larger sense of
connection in all of us to our mission and our goals. This would have re-energized a
number of people, including myself, as a collaborative effort involving higher
management gives us opportunities to engage in leadership development. The correct
allocation of human resources was going to be critical to the success of the given plan
and what could have been something great turned into something lackluster and costly
(the exact opposite of the intended outcome).

3) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about this frame.

Learning about the human resources frame has given me a better understanding of the
allocation of the human resources you have, as well as how to go about doing so in a way
that benefits both the humans and the organization. Ideally, any change an organization
wants to go about making has to take the needs of both sides into account so that
everyone can benefit from the expected success. Knowing this, I would have
immediately connected with my own to understand what they thought would be the most
beneficial way to move forward. The best type of change starts from the bottom and
works its way up the ladder, not the other way around, and the people doing the frontline
work would probably have the best chance at identifying ways to help improve our
financial situation. I did not involve my team until later on in this change and I see that
as a missed opportunity to really take advantage of the resources I had.

I think the other thing I would have tried to focus on would have been to instill more of a
sense of meaning in the work that I was doing, especially with my team and my
counterparts. There were so many moving parts that I had to deal with as a
manager/director and I found myself lost at times because I practically for the “why”
behind what I was working towards. I know that I was not the only person with this type
of mindset and that did tend to take away from the quality of the work we were able to do
at times. Bolman shares “when individuals find satisfaction and meaning in work,
organizations profit from their effective use of their talent and energy” (2017). This rings
true for me, as the biggest drive for me to do my best is to have a significant reason for
what I’m doing. I want to help people as much as I can in my community and it would

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have been important to instill a sense of pride and meaning in the change we needed to
make in order to provide the best services possible for our members.

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 Reference

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass