OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Structural Frame Worksheet

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.
My father, Scott Lenzmeier, is a program manager for a Mesa-based company named
Intercoastal Electronics (ICE). ICE is an engineering company that designs and builds telemetry
and test equipment for US Army helicopter training. ICE also writes the software so that
training simulation information can be viewed on computers.
Currently, the most important situation impacting ICE is that of COVID. Mr. Lenzmeier
believes that for the past two years, his company is trying to uphold contracts with the US
Government “while dealing with partial plant shutdowns, supply chain delays, changing
requirements for employees to become vaccinated and the ethical challenges of working from
home while still remaining productive for many administrative employees” (S.Lenzmeier,
personal communication, January 23, 2022). No one really knew how COVID was going to
impact corporations, but it’s clear now that it has been detrimental in several areas of the project
management process. Mr. Lenzmeier’s contracts have all experienced setbacks due to COVID
and its far-reaching impacts.

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

During Mr. Lenzmeier’s time with the company and his background knowledge from the Project
Management Training Institute, ICE falls under the Matrix organizational structure. According
to Chapter 3 of Reframing Organizations, the author states, “Matrix structures provide a lateral
linkage and integration but are notorious for creating conflict and confusion” (Bolman & Deal,
2017, p. 61). With the Matrix structure, Lenzmeier states that “in the execution of my projects, I
am allocated team members from various functional departments” ((S. Lenzmeier, personal
communication, January 23, 2022). For example, he mentions that he is assigned a systems
engineer, a mechanical engineer, a software engineer, and a contract manager. None of those
individuals directly report to him, which can be very frustrating. Mr. Lenzmeier states that “he
doesn’t manage their daily schedules, complete their evaluations, or set their work priorities;
those functions are performed by their first-level managers” (S. Lenzmeier, personal
communication, January 23, 2022). To excel as a project, he must successfully lead a team that
he cannot directly influence.
Being a project manager in a Matrixed organization is already difficult in his opinion. It’s even
more difficult in a COVID-challenged environment. Lenzmeier believes the COVID situation
has further impacted his ability as a project manager to lead his team at ICE. He states that the
option to work from home “reduces his productivity and collaboration when portions of his team
are constantly not at the office” (S. Lenzmeier, personal communication, January 23, 2022). It
reduces the ability of interpersonal communication which can lead to brainstorming and
problem-solving. Lenzmeier believes “it puts more pressure on suspense dates and timelines for
deliverable products; it also creates conflict among the team because some employees are not
able to work from home like assembly technicians versus computer-based team members” (S.
Lenzmeier, personal communication, January 23, 2022). His challenge is to successfully
complete projects in a situation where he often doesn’t know when he will see his team members
in-person to coordinate several complex tasks.

3) Recommend how you would use structure for an alternative course of action
regarding your case.
According to the author, “The central beliefs of the structural frame reflect confidence in
rationality and faith that a suitable array of roles and responsibilities will minimize distracting
personal static and maximize people’s performance on the job (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 48).
Lenzmeier’s projects performance certainly haven't been optimal the past two years of facing
COVID related setbacks. He believes the structure should be aligned with a Projectized
organization structure based on the information from the Project Management Training Institute
(Project Management Training Institute Exam Prep Book, p. 30). A Projectized structure
“creates a team of various experts that is led and managed exclusively by the project manager”
(S. Lenzmeier, personal communication, January 23, 2022). This seems similar to the one-boss
arrangement from Chapter 5 where one person operates a team but the team members
communicate with the leader and not each other (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 98). Lenzmeier
believes a Projectized situation would create a more efficient, motivated, and successful team
with clear expectations and outcomes.

Lenzmeier believes that a team with a clear leader who is dedicated to the overall success of the
project and team members will be more productive than a team whose leader has no direct
control over the team. Chapter 4 mentions that “if employees are unclear about what they are
supposed to do, they often tailor their roles to fit personal preferences instead of shaping them to
meet system-wide goals” (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 75). This statement seems to describe
what’s happening at ICE where team members have first-level managers that are not the project
manager. Currently, the company continues to follow the Matrix structure. A few weeks ago,
guidance was given that those who can work from home should work from home. This has made
even the easiest of tasks more difficult to complete. Lenzmeier states that “rather than talking to
my project team members in person, I have to rely on email and phone communication which
can cause confusion” (S. Lenzmeier, personal communication, January 23, 2022). Tasks are not
getting done in a timely manner, and he feels like he is constantly asking his team for the same
information over and over with no results. This can cause frustration for the project manager, the
team members, and the customer who is expecting a high level of performance.

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

Reflection:
Chapter 3 mentions a few companies like Whole Foods and Starbucks who do well with the
Matrix structure with the size and international aspects of their companies. It’s possible that
many companies use a mixture or hybrid of different structures, and it’s possible that some
companies may use different organizational structures depending on the type of projects they are
supporting. When it comes to Mr. Lenzmeier’s company, it sounds like during regular operating
conditions in pre-COVID times, the Matrix structure was working. The ability to see the
members of your project face to face every day has many advantages. Communication and
collaboration with the company’s departments should be relatively easy. However, the Matrix
structure doesn’t appear to work during a time where team members are not at work in person.
Without the ability to hold his team members accountable, Mr. Lenzmeier is frustrated with the
lack of communication and collaboration regarding his multi-million dollar projects.
I can also think that the Projectized structure that Mr. Lenzmeier is suggesting could be more
successful during this time when his team members are working from home. One downfall of
this structure might be during the evaluation portion. In the Matrix structure, a team member’s
evaluator is not the project manager. In the Projectized structure, the evaluator of the team
member is the project manager. It’s possible that if one of the members received a poor
evaluation, the overall project could be at risk if that team member holds grudges and stops
performing at high levels. The project manager could be stuck with a grumpy employee.

Reference

Project Manager Training Institute. (2018). Pmp Exam Prep Blue Book Certification
Training (Vol. 2018-2023).
Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E Deal. Reframing Organizations. John Wiley & Sons,
2017.