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.

This situation occurred while serving as a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. My mother
unexpectedly passed away and over the next few months, my performance at work was
negatively affected. During my semi-annual mid-term review, my leadership told me that
I was doing well and to keep up the good work. Six months later when it was time for my
official evaluation, the leadership told me that my performance had declined leading to
my performance scores falling from where they were the previous year. The reasons they
gave were poor and were not justified. This negative evaluation would make it so that I
could not advance for at least five years leading me to passionately arguing and
confronting my leadership.

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

The Navy does not have a human resources department to assist in situations like this.
Instead, leadership is expected to fill that role the best they can. The senior enlisted leader
failed to follow up with me or check in with me after my mother’s passing. He saw that I
was struggling and was too busy to take the time to care for one of his Sailors. Being
located in different buildings did lead to some of that lack of communication. But my
mid-term evaluation was held at my location, and he could have taken the time to be
honest with me about my performance. Or at least ask me questions about what he
perceived as problems. He chose to avoid it and told me that I was doing good and to
keep up the good work.

“Employees are hired to do a job but always bring social and personal baggage with
them” (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 184). My personal situation did not seem important
enough for my leadership to concern themselves with. I did not need any handholding,
but I could have used someone to push me to try therapy or any of the other programs
that Sailors have access to. In addition to that, there is a stigma against someone seeking

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 help who has security clearance. Even though the Navy has said that seeking help will no
longer be held against you, people are still concerned that it will. Instead of getting help,
people will suffer in silence.

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

The Navy is in the planning phases of developing a human resources branch. This is due
to all the personal and professional struggles that the average Sailor faces. For decades,
people in the military were basically told to “suck it up and move on.” That
recommendation never worked and now the Navy is finally catching up with the civilian
sector. If a human resources branch was in place at the time, I could have stated my case
and had it heard. This possibly would have changed my evaluation for that cycle giving
me a better opportunity for advancement.

Instead of staying upset about my evaluation, I could have waited a few days and
requested to speak to the commanding officer separate from the senior enlisted leader.
Stating my case and giving him the opportunity to change it may have led to my desired
result. But because of the culture of the command at the time, I felt like my concerns
would have fallen on deaf ears. That was an assumption, and I never actually gave the
commanding officer a chance to prove otherwise.

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

The first thing that I would have done differently is use the multiple resources the Navy
provides to deal with loss. I was not in the right head space or mature enough to ask for
help at that time. It would have been hard for me to do, but it most likely could have been
beneficial for me and my career. I would or should have relied on my fellow chiefs more
for their support. They could have helped me with things until I was in a good head space
again.

As mentioned above, I would have asked for a meeting with the captain so that we could
one on one. This would give him the opportunity to fix the wrong that had happened in
my situation. If he chose to fix it there, I would have considered the issue closed and
moved on. If that did not work, I would have then filed a grievance with his boss so that
he was aware of the injustice and hopefully be able to do something about it.
Unfortunately, back then they tended to side with what their captains said even with
evidence to say otherwise. I could have still given him the chance to prove that stereotype
wrong.

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 Reference or References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(7th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.