OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Choosing an Organization Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Identify an organization and situation you want to study over the remainder of the course.
2. Describe the organization and the 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.

1) Name and describe your organization.

The CEO of the organization had two separate, startup businesses: Smash Fitness
and StayStrong Nutrition Company. Even though they were technically separate, and
StayStrong Nutrition Company opened later than Smash Fitness, StayStrong was attached
to Smash Fitness. In addition to being physically connected, the two organizations had an
interrelated business plan, the same leaders, some of the same team members, and most
of the same customers. The two organizations were dependent on each other for success.
The organizations prided themselves on helping people reach their health goals and being
a small, close-knit environment of support.

The CEO and COOs, along with other senior management, were all working
alongside team members of all skill-levels. Everyone interacted with customers and
developed personal relationships with them; that was part of the organization’s appeal.
Behind this warm, friendly atmosphere, the work environment was extremely competitive
due it being a career that revolved around sales. Team members were either selling
fitness memberships, supplements, or meal prep. Overall, leadership was authoritarian,
even though leaders tried to present things as more democratic.

The highest-level leaders were all previous military personnel, and that was
demonstrated in how they ran the organization. The main motivator used for team
members’ long-term commitment was promises of quick growth and various rewards.
The mission for this organization is to help clients reach their health and fitness goals so
they can live a healthy lifestyle. The amenities the organization provides are all geared
toward accomplishing this mission. Smash Fitness offers personal training, fitness
classes, a 360-degree body scanner that tracks clients’ progress, brand new gym
equipment, hydrotherapy massage, red light therapy, and more. StayStrong provides meal

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 prep, a healthy smoothie bar that tailors to dietary restrictions, supplements, and
nutritional education for clients.

2) Describe your role in the organization (it can be an internal or external role).

My role began as one the first team members of Smash Fitness when it first
opened. The COOs were my direct supervisors, so I grew close to them quickly. They
appreciated initiative, which is something I demonstrated by asking questions and going
above my job description without being asked. Initiative was an extremely important
quality to possess in that environment because everything was new, so there were no
structured processes and plans in place really. Becoming closer and proving myself to
these leaders helped me move up the organization quickly.

I became the manager for Smash Fitness, and then, shortly after that, the CEO
asked me to help them open the first StayStrong location. Once that location was open, it
was just me, the manager of StayStrong now, and the COOs fulfilling all the
organizational roles. After establishing the location and working through all the kinks, we
hired more team members. In the meantime, the second location for Smash Fitness
opened, and we began planning to open the second StayStrong location. When each
location became functions, my role was regional operations manager. It remained that
way, since the next position, if available, would be as a COO.

3) Describe the situation, including information you think the will help the reader
understand the most important elements of the situation. (This will require
selectivity: part of the art of case writing is separating the essential facts from the
mass of information that might be included).
Even though I was a full-time student, taking 18 credits, I still dedicated more
than 40 hours a week, usually, to the organization. I truly believed in the shared purpose
and that the team was like my family, and I had a good support system. The hours did not
bother me because I was gaining insights and experiences very few people my age had
the opportunity to understand. The work I was doing as a leader in the organization was
making a difference, especially in team member’s lives since I was the leader who dealt
with anything related to team processes. For most of the time working there, I had a
scholarship that covered all my expenses for school, so even though I was not being
adequately compensated, I thought the position was worth it due to my long-term plans
with my supervisors.

I ended up losing my biggest scholarship unfairly, so I decided to request higher

compensation to afford tuition. I spoke to my direct supervisor, one of the two COOs, and
he told me the other COO needs to approve of any changes in compensation, but that he
was sure he would understand. I did a lot for the organization, and it seemed to be valued
by others, so my direct supervisor said the other COO should be willing to do what he

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 can to get me to stay with the organization successfully. My direct supervisor even met
with the other supervisor to give him a preview of what my concerns were, and he
seemed to be cooperative about adjusting compensation for me. A meeting was scheduled
for me to sit down with both COOs, explain my situation, and see what we could do.

The other supervisor seemed more irritated than usual that day. The meeting was
held in public, in the location I opened, and was in front of customers and team members
I brought onto the team. Both COOs knew what the meeting was about, but I respectfully
explained why I deserved to be compensated more, based on my work, and why I needed
the adjustment at that time. Previously, they kept promising a pay raise, but I never
received one. I was basically still working for minimum wage as a regional operations
manager.

All I wanted was fair compensation at this point. The other COO offered to give
me some sort of ‘personal loan’ to pay for the remainder of my tuition that I would have
to pay back. This did not make sense to me, and I expressed this. My direct supervisor
never said anything the entire meeting, even though he was sitting right there. My
questioning of this proposal led to him become extremely angry.

He felt that I was not appreciative of the opportunity they were providing for me,
and that I did not understand why they could not give me an official pay raise. I never
said anything, but he kept talking and it eventually turned into screaming. A lot of
unprofessional things were said, and it all seemed very random. He had never treated me
this way before, and we were close; the situation was not handled effectively. I ended up
having to get up, without saying anything, to get to the restroom to collect myself.

After I got back, only my direct supervisor was in the store and he told me to go
home for the day. I resigned shortly after because there was never anything addressed or
resolved about the situation. I was just one of many team members who were loyal since
opening the organization but ended up contributing to the high turnover rates the
organization faced. The way I was treated, a seemingly personal issue, reflects the
underlying, greater issues of what is causing high turnover rates at Smash and
StayStrong. This analysis will explore the root of this issue and how things could have
been done differently utilizing reframing.

Faulty and narrow thinking is at the heart of any failures in leadership. Some
perspectives are clearer than others, but each perspective has its own reality. Frames are
one way to explain these perspectives. Frames are mental models that people have so that
they can make sense of things. The quality of leader’s judgements depends on the
information composing their mental models and how they learn to utilize those models
(Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 13).
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 Leaders should have fluid expertise that allows them to navigate organizations
effectively. Reframing allows leaders to develop this expertise by finding ways to shift
their points of view by asking the right questions. There is a framework with four
perspectives that help explain how or why organizations work including a structural,
human resource, political, and symbolic frame (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 16). The
structural frame emphasizes the rational world and organizational structure, the human
resource frame focuses on people and relationships, the political frame centers around
power and conflict, and the symbolic frame highlights culture and spirit as being key to
organization’s success.

Leaders become limited and trapped when only placing attention on one type of
perspective. It makes it seem like things can only go one way, or that there is only one
solution. Looking at one thing from multiple frames or points of view helps individuals
and leaders find balance and clarity.

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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.