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.

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

Before constructing its newest site addition to the already robust facility, Switch

intended to verify that all of its buildings met the same standards, materials, and

technology. The company's overhaul required a different method. Research, requirements

collecting, development, and testing took a year. 15% of the requirements put us in a

dilemma, putting us in danger of not completing the TSCIFs promised to the clients.

TSCIFs may hold 20 to 24 server cabinets. The client needs to determine cabinet size and

server count. Climate, pressure, and electricity are regulated to standard setpoints in a

TSCIF, and certain materials and equipment are needed.

We visited with the procurement director, vendors, and sales manager. As Co-

Manager, I was responsible for communicating with the team, ensuring commitments were

met, and serving as a co-escalation point. As customer service liaison, I had to attend all

meetings to educate clients on our policies and processes. I'd go through the scope of work

with subcontractors who performed TSCIF's electrical work and provided materials to the

manager. We discussed our strategies, such as the hours and resources needed to finish the

project and the consequences of a resource and equipment deficiency. We recommended

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 delaying the project. The contractors, procurement director, and other management teams

failed to spot the critical pieces required to rectify the 15% technical deviance. My

department and other sources completed the project on schedule. However, the budget

needed adjustment due to the extra expense of using external sources to expedite the

process.

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

The organization's daily operations were managed by a simple hierarchical structure, while

a dual authority structure directed the project team. The project team included technical

analysts and third-party vendors, who were helping expedite the already behind-schedule

project, and team members from other internal support departments such as productions

were selected to join the team to increase resources. Once delays were present, upper

management would be involved with the project deliverables and tasking assignments to

different departments, each of which was responsible for a unique business component.

Each team had a technical and management head who reported to my department manager

and me; my manager would then contact the Vice President of Switch headquarters, who

ultimately would be in contact with Switch's creator.

Each team's varying sizes and levels made information flow "slower and more

complicated, which may eventually undermine team morale and performance" (Bolman &

Deal, 2017, p. 99). The structure of the teams resulted in the loss of crucial knowledge,

such as non-compliant requirements. Consequently, "important jobs slip through the

cracks," resulting in the gap versus overlap structural dilemma (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p.

74).

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

A project of this sort would need to have defined goals and priorities and transparency

regarding unachievable deliverables. Moreover, direct and frequent contact with all

departments concerned may have prevented problems and the involvement of unneeded

politics, such as my department's encounter with the sales director flexing his company

title. Constant obstacles rise due to the absence of the proper structure and the daily strain

of operating such a massive organization as "One Million Square Feet."

Various project scope components failed to account for construction materials and

equipment implications. Bolman & Deal suggested that "there is no such thing as a perfect

structure," but "any organization must respond to a universal set of internal and external

parameters" (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 63). The size of the project, the organization's

current environment and how it would support the project, its intended strategy, and

objectives, and the communication structure would have been essential considerations in

this particular instance.

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

The size of the project and the number of organization personnel and third-party resources

combined create a massive team effort. The information provided within this team was

crucial to the project's success; hence, all communication must be fluid and swift. I would

have proposed moving forward with a simple hierarchy for this reason. Making the

aforementioned decision would have resulted in only one level of communication,

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as "a middle manager who reports to the boss supervises and communicates with others"

(Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 99).

Given the importance of communication to this project, it would have been essential

to adhere to a predetermined structure. Involving other departments would help the

individuals realize the specificity of constructing a TSCIF. In turn, other departments

would recognize the project which my department was striving to complete, with stringent

criteria, could not be satisfied on time with a lack of communication and transparency.

Ensuring each member comprehended their responsibilities. Strong coordination would be

essential to advance the project on schedule, and the leadership would need to agree on

vertical and lateral coordination. In this project, lateral coordination would have been

"more effective but more expensive," but it would have ensured that the team met regularly

enough to identify and resolve problems (Bolman &Deal, 2017, p. 61).

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 Reference or References

Reference or ReferencesBolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry,

choice, and leadership (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass3