OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Human Resource Frame Worksheet

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

My situation that I found to be a challenge was when I was coaching a barista as a

shift supervisor at Starbucks. This barista had recently transferred to our store and was
struggling to have a good relationship with everyone. This barista had some issues with
talking over authority figures who were relaying information to her, misgendering her
coworkers, and an overall attitude problem. One day, this barista chose to be rude to one
of her coworkers which resulted in me asking her to step to the back so I could discuss
her behavior with my assistant store manager (ASM). I was trying to coach her on her
behavior and attitude but she began to loudly talk over me and state that she’s only had
issues with this store and that it was leadership’s fault. Shortly after, we sent her home
half an hour early and she never returned.

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

There isn’t a lot of autonomy in the organization Starbucks as each barista has an
assigned position that is delegated by the shift supervisor or store manager. I have
experienced many days where baristas have expressed frustration with often being stuck
in the same position for multiple shifts in a row with no sign that they will get the chance
to do something else. I believe this builds frustration and causes negative feelings
between shift supervisors and baristas. This event occurred during a change in position
for this barista. From my observations, taking away a barista’s choice of which position
to work is the opposite of empowering our employees and discourages any autonomy that
a barista may desire. Starbucks implements the use of Theory X approach which is when
the managers make all the decisions and employees are merely expected to follow
commands (Bolman & Deal, 2021).

Starbucks promotes diversity and inclusion as a part of their policies and

practices. Starbucks supports LGBTQ+ workers with their policies such as gender
transition guidelines, benefits for gender affirming healthcare, and multiple heritage
months (Riccardi, 2023). Choosing to implement a diverse workforce is an intelligent
decision that helps to boost productivity and make your employees feel welcome
(Bolman & Deal, 2021). Starbucks allows partners to use their chosen name on official
paperwork and encourage the use of pronoun pins for partners. As such, I had multiple
pronoun pins on my apron and for the most part felt comfortable expressing myself at
work. However, with this employee I often felt disregarded as she constantly

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 misgendered me and shrugged it off whenever management or I would gently remind her
to be more aware of others and respectful.

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

I think it would have been smart for me to address this barista’s habit of talking
over other people when they are speaking in a curious manner not accusatory. Finding
out if she had a motive behind the behavior or discovering that she never noticed the
habit could have eased some of my personal frustrations surrounding the situation. I
should have communicated openly about how I felt regarding her disrespecting my
pronouns in a clear and concise manner and hope that we could have found a way to see
eye to eye. Similarly, I should have addressed her behavior and attitude towards the
other baristas by asking why she felt out of place at this location. This is part of the
Model II theories for action by Argyris and Schon which places emphasis on integrating
advocacy and inquiry together (Bolman & Deal, 2021).

Another alternative course of action would be to have expressed conflict

productively. This would have looked like addressing any issues as soon as they came up
instead of waiting for the barista to acclimate to the new environment. Conflict is
managed best when it is expressed directly but not in an oppositional manner (Bolman &
Deal, 2021). I won’t deny that I am a little conflict avoidant due to my upbringing but
this instance helped me to realize that conflict can be a good thing. How will you know
that your actions are unacceptable if no one is confident enough to have conflict with you
regarding your actions? This instance was a good life lesson for me to learn regarding
my fear of conflict.

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

One thing that I would keep the same is addressing her behavior of disrespecting
another barista immediately in the moment. I believe that doing so helped me prove to
the rest of the team that I will stand up for them whenever needed. But that is probably
the only thing I would keep the same in this scenario. I wish I had addressed her
behavior regarding speaking overs much sooner than this. In an ideal situation, I would
have nicely inquired about her habit of speaking over others and asked if she noticed that
she had that habit. I also could have explained to her how that might make others feel to
have their words drowned out by the person they were speaking to.
Additionally, I would have taken more time to address the misgendering habit of
hers. She often explained that she “just wasn’t really into all that” but that wasn’t really a
great excuse or reason. I could have connected with her about how it’s similar to when
someone refers to you by the wrong name and how it can make you feel unseen or

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 unimportant. I think that could have made the issue more relatable to her and may have
helped her understand. She didn’t seem to be intentionally rude or cruel but more so just
disconnected from the reasoning behind the importance of referring to people correctly.
Lastly, I could have explained that even if she doesn’t understand it’s still company
policy and should be respected and reinforced at the bare minimum.

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 References

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

Riccardi, G. (2023, June 23). Starbucks, take note: LGBTQ+ employees want to work for more
inclusive employers. Quartz. https://qz.com/starbucks-employees-lgbtq-strike-
1850571188