OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Structural Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the structural frame
2. Apply the structural frame to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

• Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

The situation I described in Module 1 had to do with my store's operational adjustments

during the CoronaVirus pandemic and my role as a Supervisor during it as it pertains to
guiding my team through an uncertain terrain trying to balance their needs as humans
with the needs of the business.

• Describe how the structure of the organization influenced the situation.

In all honesty, it took the company I work for a little bit of time to find the correct
approach. We were operating rudderless the first couple weeks. This is not the fault of the
company as the situation was incredibly dynamic early on. However fairly quickly after
that, and continued up until this point, information and direction have been streamlined
and new standards and operating procedures have become normal. This new operating
structure was based on "an organization's circumstances...goals, strategy, technology, and
environment" (Bolman, Deal, p. 43). Every one of those criteria changed earlier this year.
I noted in my Module 1 submission that early on in the pandemic stores were given a
degree of freedom in how they modified their operations as the company actually put an
emphasis on the mental and physical well-being of their employees. But soon after
vertical coordination, where "higher levels coordinated and control the work of
subordinated through authority, rules and policies, and planning and control systems"
(Bolman, Deal, p. 56), became more focused as the company had a better understanding
of what they needed to do to stay afloat. This vertical authority of course mirrored the
company's approach prior to the virus, it just became refocused (at least in our eyes.)
New rules, policies, and standard operating procedures were implemented with special
attention paid to local health guidelines, planning and control systems like forecasting
and measuring were adjusted (p. 57) to give more realistic expectations in this new
environment and a high degree of lateral coordination took place. The network of closely
 knit stores in our district were engaged in a high degree of communication as were each
store's staff up and down the totem pole.

• Recommend how you would use structure for an alternative course of action
regarding your case.

My experience during all of this, having covered shifts at half a dozen stores since this all
started, is that everything is so fluid and dynamic right now and that a blanket approach for every
store is not appropriate. I think that the overall structure should more or less remain the same, but
be decentralized a little bit. I think the stores should be able to essentially operate as little mini
company's and tailor their approach to their needs. Granted, the normal operational structure
would still be intact but as counties and states weave in and out of this, how the businesses
within them operation is going to change. My store, for example, is a stone's throw from the
beach. You wouldn't have known there was anything adverse going on this summer in San
Diego. Yet I had to provide full lobby service instead of taking orders at the door and keeping
my customers outside and the full store staff thought that wasn't right. Some of them legitimately
second guessed their safety.

While maintaining the Simple Hierarchy that the company operates in, I think that it
would have been welcome for the District and Area manager, who my boss was in direct contact
with the most, to engage in more of a Circle Network, "where information and decisions flow
sequentially from one group member to another" (Bolman, Deal, p. 100). I think that given the
situation, the wealth of information, and the company's vocal commitment to putting our needs
and concerns first, this approach would make sense. It would allow everyone to vocalize their
thoughts, insights, and observations while also allowing everyone to hear them, equally. I
shouldn't be the one addressing my staff's concerns to my boss, only for her to tell hers, and on
and on, until now.

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

I honestly do not think there was a better approach that what actually transpired. Once
everything got streamlined, and the ambiguity removed, things have returned to a "new
normal." The Simple Hierarchy we operated under, from the CEO down to the
new-hire-in-the-store, proved to be effective from a business standpoint. The company is
still standing and share prices have rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels. While the
majority of storefronts aim to comp at 90%, with some reaching sales numbers exceeding
their pre-pandemic targets already, drive thru locations have seen a drastic increase in
business, an increase that has helped offset the lacking sales elsewhere.
 Reference or References

Bolman, L. G. (2017). Reframing Organizations. Artistry, Choice, and Leadership (6th ed.). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.