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.

As a member of the Nash Powersports Internet Department, my role is to be the

first form of contact for potential customers looking at the new or used powersports

machines. My goal is to reach out to people who submit their information to the Nash

Powersports website in an effort to set up an appointment. I utilize the current customer

management system to document my interactions with every customer and provide

helpful information throughout the buying process. This organization has grown quickly

over the past few years, and with recent growth there have been some issues adjusting to

the higher volume of customers coming in.

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

The politics of the organization have made it difficult for some proposed changes

to be utilized. Nash Powersports has a large number of employees at five different

locations. The organization utilizes many different departments that work together to sell,

buy, or provide service to powersports vehicles. With so many people providing feedback

about potential changes, it can be difficult for management to choose a solution that

everyone will agree with. Bolman & Deal stated (2021), "Organizational resources are in

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 short supply; there is rarely enough to give everyone everything they want" (p. 203).

Everyone has their unique perspective regarding the situation. This can led employees at

Nash Powersports to have different opinions on what the proper plan to improve

customer communcation will look like.

Due to the overwhelming amount of feedback provided at times, management

may decide it is easier to talk directly to more influential members of the company. This

has lead management to implement plans that are preferred by a limited number of people

who have high political influence within the organization. In the past when the company

was smaller, this type of decision did not cause a noticable impact. Now that the stakes

are higher, workers are noticing how each change to the sales process affects daily

operations and can have a far-reaching impact on how all employees perform tasks at

work. Political pressure is the main reason Nash Powersports has not decided to upgrade

the cutomer manegement database despite knowing most workers agree it would increase

the amount of potential customers the company could serve. Having the ability to interact

with customers more efficiently allows the organization to get more people to visit the

store and produce additional revenue.

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

My recommendation is to limit the effect politics has on the organization when

making impactful decisions. Many of the systems that are currently in place work

effectively. There are only a few aspects of daily operation that are clearly in need of

attention. With this in mind, I believe the most effective course of action is to have

managers speak with each department about their unique perspective on the situation.

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 Whether it is a high level manager or entry level employee, everybody must rely on the

company processes to earn high quality results.

Allowing managers to gather feedback from the employees (when appropriate),

while giving the management team necessary information can help managers make the

best decision available when having to plan potential changes. Having more information

will enable management to make high quality decisions that will create a positive impact

in the future. After having the opportunity to speak with over thirty different employees, I

learned most of them have been working in the industry for a few years and they all have

a geniune love for the products Nash Powersports sells. Every day I am amazed at the

different ideas people come up with that have a possibility to produce a positive impact

on the company. Bolman & Deal (2021) mentioned that, "coalitions have enduring

differences" (p. 191). Giving people in the organization power to share and use great

ideas can help promote growth while reducing the alienating effects politics can have on

employees.

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

Politics can be difficult to navigate for members of any organization. More often

than not, it seems like politics tend to have more of a damaging rather than empowering

effect on organizations. I realize it is impossible to fully eliminate politics from the

workplace, but I would reccomend emphasizing the organization's family friendly

working culture instead of allowing political influence to dictate important plans. The

powersports industry is a highly competitive environment. Everyone in the organization

can feel more comfortable if the decision-making process involves using the best

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 potential plan rather than the plan that garnered the largest amount of support from those

with high political influence.

Thankfully, Nash Powersports does not experience a high level of political impact

on the decision-making process. With this in mind, more expensive plans that have the

potential to significantly alter the decision-making process will almost always be made

by upper management. In situations that involve high level meetings it may be

unavoidable that politics will play a role in the decision-making process. Although many

of us would prefer things to be handled in a different manner, it is hard to argue that key

decisions should not stay secret and only involve specific high level members of the

company. Overall the current political climate is reasonable and has only been evident

regarding the potential customer management system upgrade. Even though a decision

has not been made in regards to upgrading the system, many employees including myself

refuse to stop advocating for a program that we know will help the entire organization

operate more efficiently.

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