OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Political Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the political frame
2. Apply the political 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 was a Compliance Manager for USAA (United Services Autombile Association)

for six years. USAA had many issues towards the end of my time working there. USAA
underwent several major layoffs after they were fined for violations from the CFPB
(Consumer Financial Protection Bureu). This impact helped to create a very unstable
company with employees fearing for their jobs. A lack of information from upper
management helped cause uncertainty.

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

The politics at USAA were terrible. It felt very much that leadership cared very
little about their staff and it was a hostile workplace. After the first major layoff, the
Board of the company let go of the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) at the time. A new
CEO immediately started and then a whole new leadership staff was brought in. Once
this happened, another large layoff happened and that’s when the whole company shifted.

The political frame did not change with the new leadership and the choices being
made seemed to have stayed the same. Since the companies main office was in Texas, all
these drastic changes had made the news. It seemed that the companies primary interests
were to retain as much funds as possible and to show they were still in control.

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

Politics I feel can go well if there is more awareness as to what is happening. In

this scenario, I believe being upfront and honest with staff that there would be less of an
impact to the company, morale, and to the staff. As as company, no one was aware really
as to the layoffs until people began to realize some co-workers were not in there offices

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 or at their desks. We then all received an email advising a company wide virtual meeting
was to be held at a later time and at that time, we were all informed.
To do better for staff, I feel that a discussion could have been done prior allowing
everyone to know what the financial issues were. Giving more of a heads-up I think
would have kept the eyes on USAA at the time to be less. When ready to layoff, I would
think instead of meeting each person at the entrance of the company, we could have had a
more in-person, in-office conversation. It would make it feel less like you were being
fired and have been done more harmoniously.

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

As I had said in question 3, I feel being up front and honest would have been the
best way to have brought this news to the company. I like honesty, I feel being honest
with someone is a better feeling than to keep everything in the shadows and dropping
huge news on everyone. The stance upper management had at that time felt uneasy. All
employees were caught off guard and were scared. Employees at this time not only had
the pandemic to be concerned about, but they also had to worry about their jobs, and what
was going on in the office.

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 References

Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and
Leadership, Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Brand, San Francisco, 2021.