Module 2: PCA Structure

Christine Kim

OGL-481 Pro-Seminar I

Professor Willmott

October 24, 2021

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

The specific situation that I can describe is the development of the company’s website for
its new cosmetic brand. Since the organization was unfamiliar with how to start a new
cosmetic brand, the beginning of the brand creation was very rough. The team started off
small with individuals who were not very experienced with brand creation, marketing, or
website building. Even the management team seemed a little lost at times. We were all
thrown into projects here and there, and when it came to the website, things felt unstable.
Luckily, I had previous experience with graphic design and website development, so I
didn’t feel as overwhelmed as the other team members. However, the whole process of
the website’s development was rushed and managed very poorly. These problems mainly
arose due to poor management, an inexperienced team, and disagreement issues. The
manager and lead graphic designer were unable to take initiative and properly explain to
each team member what they expected them to accomplish. They had ineffective ways of
communicating and left the team to figure out a plan amongst themselves. With the team
being inexperienced, the members felt confused and had to take extra steps to research
ways to set up an appealing website with easy user functionality. The confusion and lack
of management support created disagreement between the team and managers.

2) Describe how the structure of the organization influenced the situation.

The structure of the organization was not solid. The CEOs of the organization started the
company with close friends, and it seemed like the friends were automictically placed in
positions to manage others solely because of their relationships with the CEOs.
Regardless of their poor abilities to be effective leaders within the organization, their
roles stayed stagnant. The management team may have succeeded earlier on in the
organization’s journey, but their leadership eventually began to plumet the company’s
growth.

This influenced the situation that I mentioned because the base of the problems was due
to poor management. The leaders of the organization became careless of employees and
were only focused on their gains. They didn’t realize how much employees were
struggling, and that employee morale was dangerously low. The team that was assigned
to building the new cosmetic website was stressed and didn’t know where to start and
how to execute tasks. Even as the assistant product manager, I didn’t have much power
and was confused with what exactly I needed to do with product description and
placement. The managers would get upset when team members explained their hardships
because it only meant that there would be less progress made with the website.

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

The organization could have used structure as an alternative course of action to resolve
the situation by developing certain boundaries and expectations among leaders. The
managers were unprofessional, and their close relationships prevented them from truly
focusing on the company and its employees. I think that if the managers saw that the
structure of the organization was not stable and discussed with each other the
expectations of good leaders, the project of building the new website would have been
less disastrous.

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

I don’t think I would have been able to change much with the position I was in at the
time. I was younger and knew that I could not afford to lose the job. Standing up to the
managers would have been a mistake because that action would have gotten me fired or
left me with little responsibilities and value left in the company. However, I would have
done everything differently if I could go back and be a manager or in any leader position.
I would try to create more structure by establishing clear boundaries and expectations. All
the managers at the time have been friends long before the creation of the company, but
friends should still be professional with one another at the workplace. Setting boundaries
and understanding what is expected of each leader would have helped the mangers be
more organized, professional, and focused on work. These actions could have helped
managers fulfill their responsibilities as leaders and focus on leading employees instead
of neglecting them.