Chase Blackwood

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

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 am a production technician III, for one of the largest oil and gas companies in
California. On a daily basis, I oversee production of the entire lease and safety of
employees and contractors.

My situation for the PCA revolves around how our organization was not entirely ready
for the economic down-turn that COVID-19 caused as-well-as the changes we have had
to make to our daily operation due to the virus. Because of COVID-19 business shut
down, planes were grounded, and people were not on the roads driving to and from work,
the oil and gas industry took a big hit financially which has caused massive lay-offs. Not
only has our organization had to lay off many employees, we have also had to readjust
how we conduct our field work and a daily basis.

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

I love the organization in which I currently work, but when they are not prepared for
economic down-turns and have to let a lot of good employees go, it makes it hard.
According to Bolman & Deal (2017) when organizations let employees go, they are
actually “dumb-sizing” because they are letting go of people who have the knowledge
and experience. This is exactly what happened in my organization’s case; my
organization packaged out a lot of the employees who have been grandfathered into the
organization due to their intimate knowledge of how that lese works. Luckily, I have
worked years with the older crew, so I know my way around the lease and know what
makes production increase or decrease.

Looking at this situation though the Human Resources frame, our organization did not do
its best to provide us with job security. The oil and gas industry is already a volatile
industry (especially in California), and it makes it really hard to do your job at your best

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when you are worried about if you’ll have a job tomorrow. I believe that during the
restructuring of our daily activities, the organization should have consulted with the daily
employees before making decisions. Then, once those decisions were made, we would
have been given clear and concise instructions of what do and what not to do, to avoid
confusion.

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

First, I would start by keeping the older individuals. Those are the people who make our
lease work, the older individuals are the people who have intimate knowledge of
production and are not afraid to put in the work. The younger less experienced
individuals are the employees who call out contractors for small tasks that they should
know how to fix. To compensate for keeping the older individuals on the team, I would
make sure that contractors were not getting called to fix small problems on a well (like
packing) that all operations should know how to fix. I would also put a stop to
“emergency” electrician callouts during after business hours unless it is a real emergency.
That alone should help compensate keeping some of the older more experienced
employees. I would also do my best to make sure my employees know that I am doing all
I can to give them job security in this volatile industry.

Even though we did not have a say in the new guidelines and regulations for conducting
our work on a daily basis, I would make sure that my employees knew exactly what was
expected of them. I would make sure that they were given the opportunity to “sit-in” over
ZOOM to listen and give feedback on the new regulations being imposed. After the
meeting, I would then send out specific directions of how work is to be conducted, that
way there is not confusion, and everyone is on the same page.

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

This might sound a little redundant, but after leading about the human resources frame, I
would approach this situation a few different ways. I would first start by letting my
employees know that their job security is at the forefront of my operation. If I had to let
employees go, (as in my organization’s case) I would start by cutting the non-essential or
the employees that have less of an impact on daily production and morale of the
organization. For those people who had to get packaged out, I would offer them some
sort of financial training, so their package could not only last them until they find another
job but so they can learn how to make their money work for them. Lastly, I would ensure
that my employees knew that we as an organization, are doing everything in our power to
make this industry’s market less volatile and more secure.

If I were to be making decisions of how daily operations needs to change due to the
COVID-19, I would include people and operators from the lease. After this small group

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devised a plan, I would then present it to all of the employees who are hired on,
contracted on, or who companies (like oilfield electricians) who are contracted to do
work on our lease. Everyone will be involved in the decision-making process as well as
allowed to make their concerns known. After we’ve talked the operations plan out, I will
then submit a hard copy to all the employees who work for our lease.

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Reference or References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass