OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Choosing an Organization Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Identify an organization and situation you want to study over the remainder of the course.
2. Describe the organization and the 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) Name and describe your organization.

The organization I have chosen for the case study is The Home Depot. The Home
Depot is a big box retailer specializing in home improvement supplies for the
individual that wants to do their own home repairs. Some of the products they
carry are building supplies, hardware, electrical items, kitchen and bathroom
products, paint and flooring products, appliances, and lawn and garden products.
The business provides installation services, home delivery, e-retail, and payment
card services. The Home Depot has become one of the largest home
improvement retailers in the United States and has over 500,00 employees.
(“About us” 2024).

2) Describe your role in the organization (it can be an internal or external role).

I spent thirteen years working for The Home Depot. I began working as a sales
associate in the appliance section part-time. I worked in a variety of departments
over my 13 years of employment, holding several roles and receiving promotions
at three different stores. Ten of those years were spent working in my
neighborhood store; I began as a part-time employee, progressed to full-time
employment, became a department supervisor, a Human Resource manager, and
eventually became an assistant store manager. I was going to keep going until I
became the manager of a big-box store of my own.

3) Describe the situation, including information you think the will help the reader
understand the most important elements of the situation. (This will require
selectivity: part of the art of case writing is separating the essential facts from the
mass of information that might be included).

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 One of the main principles of The Home Depot that I really liked was the value
system which consists of nine values of behavior. The one that resonated most
with me was the “Taking Care of Our People” value. This value states, “The key
to our success is treating people well. We do this by encouraging associates to
speak up and take risks, by recognizing and rewarding good performance and by
leading and developing people so they may grow” (“Our Values,” 2024). I believe
you should treat all people with mutual respect and do your best to take care of
them.

The situation that caused me to lose faith and trust in my superiors was at the
onset of the Covid19 pandemic. In March of 2020, as the world was learning
about the severity of the illness and how to conduct business in a health-conscious
manner, my son contacted the illness. At that time, the CDC mandate was that
anyone who tested positive or had someone in their home who tested positive was
required to isolate for ten days. I immediately called my manager who was the
store manager and explained my sons test results and the need for me to isolate.
He was not happy as this would leave the store even more understaffed than it
already was. He advised me to come to work but not to tell anyone that I was
exposed. This bothered me immensely as I felt it was not ethical for me to be in
proximity with people not knowing if I could be carrying the illness and passing it
to them. After several days, I reached out to my District HR Manager and asked
for advice regarding my manager and being concerned for the safety of others and
if there was anything I should do. She asked me if anyone heard the conversation
with my manager and I explained that no one did. She advised me that there was
nothing I could do since no one heard the conversation that it would turn into a he
said, she said situation. She also informed me to continue to work until I showed
symptoms.

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 Reference

Our Values. (2024). The Home Depot. Retrieved March 16, 2024, from

https://corporate.homedepot.com/page/our-values

About us. (2024). The Home Depot. Retrieved March 16, 2024, from

https://corporate.homedepot.com/page/about-us