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.

The situation I am discussing is working for Key Health Medical

Solutions which was acquired by a competing entity, Movedocs. The acquisition
occurred five months amidst a global pandemic when tensions were high, and
communication was low. My role was a department supervisor, and I was privy
to information my other teammates were not, such as upcoming layoffs and
dissolution of departments, including my department. Departments were at odds
with each other as we tried to determine who would pick up the slack of the
terminated departments as well as butting heads when we were duplicating work.

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

The two companies each felt employee’s needs were being met and once the
merger took place we suddenly felt out of touch with our companies. We became
suspicious of each other especially when layoffs started happening. What started as
rumors quickly became a reality. New executives from Movedocs tried their best to
soothe us and quiet our nerves by ensuring us layoffs would not be happening. I
happened to be privy to that information that my manager shared with me. I participated
in “weeding out” my coworkers and defending their positions, even though that was
outside of my role. I fought extremely hard to keep some people and while it was not my
duty or job to lay off my coworkers, I felt responsible because my manager asked my
opinions on who should or should not be on the list. Before the merger, we had a happy
office. Departments mingled with each other during working hours and after-work happy
hours. We enjoyed holiday parties where we could meet each other’s families and
children. While conflicts were rare, our managers oversaw them with confidence and
privately.

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 After the merger, some of our managers were laid off and the others that lasted
were asked to move to our new headquarters, in another state. This lack of supervision
with high suspicions of more layoffs, and rightly so, each other led to conflicts that could
not be controlled. Interpersonal conflicts were managed virtually and not as private as
before. Our staff in the “old office” was treated less than and we felt like an afterthought.
It was hard to have one on one conversations with our managers due to needing to
schedule meetings with them instead of just sticking your head into the office to say,
“Hey, do you have a minute?” Our team that was left behind started to experience a jump
in absenteeism and a definite lack of enthusiasm for our work. Our pride lagged and
turnover spiked. Our new bosses accused us of being lazy when in reality we were just
burned out and tired of being taken advantage of. I think our new executives saw my
team as in the way, a tool that could be used for grunt work. We were being treated like
we did not have any rights beyond our paycheck. When we questioned issues, we were
told to be grateful that we survived the layoff. In alignment with the human resource
frame, our companies should have been a good fit that benefited everyone (Bolman &
Deal, 2021, p. 122). Our human needs were no longer being met and instead of thriving
we wilted as employees.

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

Following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs would have helped a lot of us feel

motivated to push forwards with this new company. What was once fulfilling where all
of our needs were met we were almost suddenly stripped of them. We had sufficient pay
with bonuses, safety in our jobs and we cared for each other. Additionally, we were
challenged every quarter to meet goals that played a role in our esteem and self-
actualization. Our textbook explains it quite well: “If you manage solely by carrot and
stick, you’ll get only a part of the energy and talent people have to offer” (Bolman &
Deal, 2021, p. 128). In this scenario, the carrot was keeping our jobs.
Our new company tried to control costs with downsizing and outsourcing. Our
textbook shows these concepts can look like a great idea, however, the lower costs caused
our job security to suffer along with our morale (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 137). On the
other hand, our company should have prepared us to adapt to our new roles by investing
in us. Proper training would have helped us feel included and in turn, allow us to be
more committed to the changes. Investing in the current staff could have improved
conditions as well as motivated us to be more productive but as Theory X managers can
be, they did not see the time and effort could be worth the trouble.
.

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

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 There are many things I would have done differently now that I am reflecting on
this past scenario and am no longer with this company. The first thing I would do is
engage with our corporate human resources department to let them know of the discord
we were feeling. I don’t think they had a grasp or even an inkling of the troubles we
faced. I feel the managing staff treated us as ungrateful and were told many times we
should be happy to still have a job. This sentiment should have been reported. This
would also let our HR department know our needs were not being met and would allow
them to implement a strategy instead of our team quietly quitting. Additionally, this
would help keep the good employees.
The second thing I would suggest is to have management in the old office. If the
department heads needed to be moved to the new corporate headquarters, there should
still have been some sort of supervising party in our office. Even though our local HR
rep had been laid off, one of the remaining employees could have been appointed to help
staff feel like there is someone to turn to when issues get out of hand. Again, I think
being upfront and informing our HR department of this lack of supervision would have
helped prevent our problems.

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 Reference

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
Jossey-Bass.