OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Human Resource Frame

Worksheet
Worksheet Objectives:

1. Describe the human resource frame

2. Apply the human resource 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.

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

My case involved a buyer and sellers' agent who work for the same real estate company and
reside on the same team. Their clients entered into a transaction full force offering a very clean
offer including nonrefundable $10,000 earnest money. Their offer was strong given that the title
company had early on disclosed that no CC&Rs were found on the property, allowing for the
buyers to build a second story to their home. Fast forward, after earnest money was deposited,
the title company did locate CC&R’s attached to the property in the commitment report which
would inhibit a second story to be built. Naturally, the buyer’s backed out of the contract and
asked the sellers to return their earnest money stating that they made it nonrefundable based on
the earlier information and disclosures given to them. The sellers felt they shouldn't have to and
had the support of their agent and my boss who also is part owner of that particular title
company. Furthermore, the buyers had the support of their agent, who has the same boss as the
seller’s agent, and our headquarters broker, who knew very little about the complex situation.
Ultimately the sellers returned the earnest money to the buyers after they threatened lawsuits and
freezing the money, which would tie the sellers into that transaction inhibiting them from placing
their house back on the market to receive additional offers. While there was a result, tension is
still running high in the office and there is animosity from different parties towards the title
company and the broker alike.
My role in this situation is to initiate the title search for any CC&Rs and HOA’s attached to the
property. Once I receive this information, I upload it onto the MLS for all potential buyers to see.
Once under contract, in addition to the search, I send the title prelim commitment package to the
buyer or seller, in this case, both parties received the same commitment. This allows them to
review in case there are any additional findings.

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

In this situation, an organizational structure is slightly different from your traditional top-down
organization providing a dedicated Human Resource department to intake formal complaints
with a structured checklist. The agents, in this case, are licensed agents who work under a broker
that carries the responsibility of the licenses with errors and omissions insurance for a small
monthly fee. However, they are all self-employed so the risk involved when complex legal
matters arise is high and could potentially affect the good standing of an agent’s license. The
agents aren't highly incentivized like most human resource departments that positively offer
employee perks (Bolman & Deal, 2021) but rather are infiltrated with monthly desk fees,
insurance, and advertising fees creating entry barrier risks into the industry.
If there is a problem, however, our main broker is the first point of contact for mediation and
initial advice as in this situation. With that said, the communication of this problem from the
buyer's agent was lost in translation via his explanation confusing all parties further. If the
resolution was never found, the next step would have been the real estate commission's attorneys
attached to high legal fees.

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

Our main office consists of several hundred agents with some forming their teams which in this
situation, complicated each party and caused tension within our team, leaving the agents
frustrated, with no one to turn to. My Recommendation would be for the main brokerage to put
individual team, administrative representatives, in place as a non-bias party and first point of
contact the moment an issue arises.
I feel this will take away the overwhelming pressure the main broker and team members feel,
creating more organized chaos and problem-solving structure. This is the first way to try and
mimic an actual human resource department by bringing a process to the organization and even a
potential decrease in issues that are caught early on.

4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned about this
frame.
Although all processes were done correctly in the CC&R search and relay of information to each
party, I would prefer that title take an extra step in their each to cross-check any missed and
crucial information we are asking for. I also feel the agents could have handled their process
more smoothly and effectively. The buyer's agent going to the broker, I understand, as he felt the
seller's agent had more support from our boss. However, I feel the buyer's agent should have
included the boss to assist in meeting with the broker to assist in the translation of information
and the elimination of rumors and reactionary actions that took place.
An additional change I think should have occurred is the separation of each agent while the
situation reached its peak. This would have provided confidentiality for each party and rid of any
tension between the two agents who were backing their very different, yet strong arguments for
their clients. The small office they share with desks 4 feet apart was not an ideal setup with such
proximity on all levels, including communication.
 Reference or References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing Organizations (7th Edition). Wiley Professional

Development (P&T). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781119756842