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.

I am a middle-tier manager for the organization and am in charge of the mobility and
deployment function of my work center. My primary focus is to ensure my personnel are
trained and deployed across the Pacific providing logistics support in conjunction with
humanitarian/disaster relief efforts and military needs. While in garrison I also manage
the administrative actions for my work center to include disciplinary actions, personnel
actions such as engaging with the finance office for incorrect pay, and general personnel
paperwork.

The issue is that I have two bosses I report to, one located in Alaska with me and one in
Hawaii. My work center’s primary purpose is to support the deployments/work trips
tasked by my Hawaii boss but while at home my team provides parachute rigging support
to aircrews in Alaska on behalf of my Alaska boss. My Hawaii boss seldom notifies my
Alaska boss of deployments/work trips and my Alaska boss often finds out about them at
the last minute from me before heading on the road. Also, my Hawaii boss used to work
for my Alaska boss when he was of a lower rank and did not get along with my Alaska
boss. This further instigates conflict between the two bosses because of history and
personality conflicts. In addition, because I fall administratively under my Alaska boss,
my annual appraisal goes to them so if I make waves it can affect my future promotions.

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

Lack of communication has been the source of all the issues between my two bosses and
me in the middle. Moreover, it creates issues with my lower-ranking personnel because
from their perspective they are often given contradictory directions from the two bosses.
This division of direction also inhibits the development of personnel because the two
bosses have different focuses on job operations. When I allocate training slots, I have a
limited budget and need to prioritize the gaps in qualifications in my work center. If my

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 bosses have different focuses, either the mobility side or the parachute rigging side will
fail.

Another issue that arose is my Hawaii boss’ interpersonal skills are lacking and he comes
off as a blunt individual. So even if communication is initiated between my two bosses,
it gets contentious relatively quickly. Recently, my boss in Hawaii submitted a
restructure of how my career field is staffed in Alaska. He did this without my Alaska
boss being looped in and this change is now at a higher level for approval. This is
evidence of private and unilateral decisions from the human resource frame.

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

I think the first thing my two bosses need to do is develop common goals and emphasize
mutual influence for the personnel they are managing. They will continue to fail and
allow operations to fail if they continue down individual routes. At the very least they
need to agree on the basic groundwork moving forward with some sort of team charter or
likewise document. The document would help hold the two parties accountable for what
they agreed upon. While going over this document the two parties need to express
conflict productively rather than taking defensive postures when issues get brought to
light.

The key to all of this is open communication between the two bosses because without it
nothing will move forward positively. While in communication both parties need to not
only advocate for their stance but also seek to understand the perspective of the other.
With a better understanding of what each person is having to deal with, they can come to
a mutual point to move forward. While their communication is important, there also
needs to be input from the workers and middle managers on hows the dynamic is
affecting the team. I think with consideration from all perspectives both sides may be
more willing to make adjustments.

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

Given what I know now, I think I would have tried to get the two bosses together to
discuss the issues that were being presented due to their dynamic. It’s one thing for both
bosses to advocate for their stance but when the employee's voice their concerns issues
tend to get addressed sooner. I tend to be more understanding of situations and have a
hard time advocating for myself sometimes and this was an instance in which I needed to
advocate for myself and my team.

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 I would have also brought up the training and qualifications issue that resulted from the
split priorities of my bosses. This created issues not only in the present but has also
created project issues with personnel moving to their next base and the qualifications
going with them. Since this is not quite the type of information to share with the team I
would have still kept the Hawaii and Alaska boss struggle between myself and senior
leadership. While I believe transparency is important, this type of information would
only create issues in the work center.

References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.