Dave Ellis Pro Seminar I

OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Structural Frame Worksheet
Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the structural frame
2. Apply the structural 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 worked as a maintenance supervisor in the maintenance and engineering department. The

facility houses over 200 individual pieces of equipment that are used five days a week 24

hours a day to produce our product. The department is responsible for the upkeep, preventive

maintenance, and repair of all assets on the production floor and around the facility. We are

also responsible for installing and integrating any new equipment into the current

manufacturing process. The department consisted of three shift supervisors a planner, a

buyer, and the maintenance manager and engineer. We worked together to improve the

department and work conditions for our mechanics. Each supervisor leads a team of five

mechanics.  A part of my job responsibility was to hire and interview candidates for new

positions within the department. As well as assisting new hires with getting through their

probationary period. My team consisted of five mechanics and an automation specialist. I

was also responsible for facilitating continuous improvement projects throughout the facility.

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The situation occurred after we recently hired a new mechanic to fill a slot on the team on the

third shift rotation. During the interview, the candidate seemed like a perfect match and the

department was more than eager to welcome him aboard. However, after the first few days of

training, we received reports from the human resources department claiming that they were

accusations made that he made some of the other employees feel uncomfortable. The situation

was quickly addressed, and the new employee stated that the report was simply a result of

miscommunication. A few days later we received even more complaints that resulted in him

getting an additional warning all within his first three weeks with the organization.

After those first two incidents, everything seemed to be going well, then the other mechanics

started complaining about his work performance. Hoping to avoid any long-term issues my

manager decided that it was my responsibility to keep a keen eye on him for any more

infractions as it would justify his termination prior to the end of his probationary period.

Avoiding the company, a lot of trouble in the future if his performance didn’t improve. Shortly

after, I began working with him to improve his performance. But when another employee found

him dozing off during his shift, I was instructed to terminate him the following week.

The thing that made it very difficult for me was that even though I had already developed a

performance improvement plan for him which was our policy and he seemed to have been

making strides and excelling in his work.  I had no choice but to terminate his employment with

the organization. My manager and HR both decided that it was best to terminate his employment

before the probation period ended. In order to ease the red tape that would occur if he made it

past that time. This was not in line with our policies and I felt that there were deeper ethical

concerns surrounding the decision. As his supervisor and leader, I felt directly responsible for his

failure even though I wasn’t responsible for his actions. 

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

The structure of an organization can have long standing effects on how it functions. Even

though it might seem like the solution to many of the problems plaguing organizations.

Restructuring should be done only when it’s absolutely critical to do so, “restructuring or

reorganizing is a powerful but high-risk approach to improvement”. (Bolman, 2017). Failure

to completely evaluated the different structural dependencies will almost always result in a

failed restructure attempt. The structure of the organization impacted the situation in several

ways. 

The first few incidents occurred while the individual was working on the first shift. He was

reporting to a different manager who had a different set of expectations for him than the

ones I had put in place. The structure of the organization allowed the partners the freedom

to contact human resources directly in the event there were any concerns. But this created

an issue where even the smallest gripes and problems were immediately escalated to the

highest level. Because of this, the management team targeted the employee before I was

able to spend time working with him. The decision to terminate him came from the top down,

even though decisions like these usually came from my recommendations up through the

human resources office and then through management.

3) Recommend how you would use structure for an alternative course of action

regarding your case.

Instead, I would have used the organizational structure the way it was designed originally to

work through me first, before going through human resources and management. I’m a very

hands-on leader and my style of leadership was exactly what this partner needed. In only a

few days I had already begun developing a performance improvement plan to catch him up to

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speed and meeting the organization’s expectations. His work ethic and skill were inline with

some of our best mechanics. His soft skills just needed some more work and he would have

been fine. 

The structure of the organizations was too flexible. Which allowed the partners to sidestep

the normal channels of communications within the organization’s hierarchy. I would simplify

the structure ensuring each department was responsible for the development and disciplinary

actions of the partners belonging to them. This would eliminate the opportunity for a

manager outside my department to have job influencing control over my direct report.

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

Given what I’ve learned I would approach the situation differently. From the onset when the first

set of problems became apparent, I should have taken the necessary steps to address them before

they got worse. My failure to act quickly was the biggest mistake made on my part. This would

have prevented someone from a higher level within the hierarchy from feeling like they had to do

my job for me.

The vertical structure of the organization is what created the confusion and slowness in my

response to dealing with the issues of my direct report. Usually, issues tend to flow in one

direction escalating as needed from the lowest level possible to the next lowest lever most suited

to the particular task or problem. Having a lapse in communication resulted in confusion about

the roles and responsibilities we shared within that organization.

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Reference or References

Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and
Leadership. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand, 2017.