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

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

I work as an assistant general manager for a quick-service restaurant. When we

hired Nick and Tina, they were dating. They had been working at another franchise
location of the same quick-service restaurant. Nick and Tina had been dating and working
together for a few years. We knew that they were dating when we hired them at my
location, and we hired both as managers. The situation in question arises when Nick ends
the relationship with Tina. This caused some drama within the store as employees began
to choose sides. Within a week, the situation got worse. Employees found out that Nick
had a new girlfriend. She was a woman named Megan, who was a newly promoted
manager at our restaurant. Once the employees discovered this, there was even more
drama, gossip, and slander towards all three people involved.

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

The human resources of the organization, or the employees, were the source of
the problem. No equipment or customers were involved in the situation; it all had to do
with employees. One major human resource issue was that there was hostility between
two of the company's human resources, Tina and Megan. Not only that, but the hostility
was between two resources with influence and authority in the store. If there is a
significant problem with a piece of equipment, we generally replace the equipment.
However, human resources could not just be replaced because of the issue. The issue
instead needed to be dealt with on the human level.

The second issue with the human resources in this situation is that the problem did
not stay localized to only the three human resources involved. It affected most of the
human resources in the restaurant. As the news spread, employees began to take sides and
talk about it amongst themselves. This distracted employees from their work, making
them less productive. Some employees did not want to work with some of the original
three employees involved. Because human resources are not machines, the decisions and
outputs can be unpredictable. In this situation, the upper management and I did not know
how all the employees were going to react. This introduced a level of risk, as something
could negatively affect the restaurant. Or even worse, start a chain reaction of adverse
events for the restaurant.

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

Nothing operates in a vacuum; organizations operate in relation to human resources.

Human resources does not refer to a department; it simply refers to those working for an
organization. "The human resource frame highlights the relationship between people and
organizations. Organizations need people (for their energy, effort, and talent), and people
need organizations (for the many intrinsic and extrinsic rewards they offer)" (Bolman &
Deal, 2021, p.138). If there were no human resources to work for an organization, there
would cease to be an organization. On the other hand, without organization, no one
would pay the human resources. Organizations need human resources, and human
resources need organizations.

One alternative course of action I could have taken would be to sit down with every
employee and have a short conversation with them about the situation. I would ask them
to share how they felt about the whole situation. I would assure them that the
organization cares about them and does not want this situation to cause them to leave. I
would also take time to explain how we, as the organization's leaders, would like the
situation to dissolve, which would be for every human resource to move forward from the
situation rather than dwelling on or gossiping about the situation. I would lastly open the
floor up for any questions they may have. By having these meetings, I could
communicate our organization's genuine concern for each human resource.

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

One thing I would do again was sit down with Nick, Tina, and Megan
individually to talk with them. The general manager and owner did this for these three
managers. This is because we saw all of them as an asset to the business. When they sat
down, they were able to use their emotional intelligence to sympathize with each of the
human resources individually. These meetings also gave them an opportunity to explain
what we wanted to do about the whole situation. The general manager and owner talked
to the three about the risk to the business because of the other employees' reactions. This
was an opportunity to get on the same page with the managers and lay out a plan to
mitigate the ensuing drama.

One thing I would have done differently would be to keep two or three of the
involved employees out of the store for a week. Either by them volunteering to take the
week off or by just not scheduling them to work. I would not look at this as a disciplinary
measure but rather as a way to let the three human resources take care of their personal
lives before they come to work. I would do this because there was a lot going on in all
three of these employees' lives during this situation. Even though it would be hard for the
business to run short of three managers for a week, I think it would be worth the loss. The
employees would come back more engaged in their work, this time away would decrease

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the number of employees involved in the situation because the three involved would not
be at work to tell others about what happened. The other reason this would be beneficial
is because employees should not be viewed only in light of what they can do for the
company but also in view of what they need or what would be helpful to them. And a
week to get their lives in order would be helpful.

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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