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Zack Peterson

Professor Willmott

OGL 481

9 September 2020

PCA: Human Resources Frame

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

Tracing back to Module 1, the situation I had been involved in was that of an interview

process, which later turned into another job opportunity that was affiliated with the organization

I had interviewed with. The organization being Urban Outfitters, which is a popular retail

clothier under the URBN conglomerate of other retail brands and clothiers. Having been

contacted by a senior talent recruiter for URBN in early January of 2016 and told I would be a

“great fit” for the available position of Social Media Coordinator for Urban’s Men’s division, it

then came as an upsetting surprise the following month that I would no longer be pursued as a

qualified candidate due to the fact that I did not have a college degree to validate my work or

experience; a quality in which was pointed out in my resume that all seven interviewers had

during our one-on-one interviews. Nevertheless, from that situation arose a new situation, where

I found myself working at an Urban Outfitters store, located in the downtown area of Nashville,

Tennessee. During my nine-month journey there, I went from being a Sales Associate to the

store’s Women’s Accessories Team Lead in only a few months. In the end, however, I left my

role with the store due to a situation which involved myself and the management team.

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

The human resources of the organization influenced the situation where I was considered

as a potential candidate to fulfill a role within the organization in that the fit between myself and
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URBN, as a whole, was extremely poor. Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal, the authors of our

textbook Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, explain this concept in

relation to the frame of human resources, stating, “When the fit between individual and system is

poor, one or both suffer. Individuals are exploited or exploit the organization – or both become

victims” (Bolman & Deal 2017, p. 118). Because URBN had standard requirements for all job

applicants – perhaps, the main requirement being that each individual possesses a college degree

– and because I did not meet their requirements, I suddenly became ineligible for the role. I

initially thought, since I had been specifically approached by this senior talent recruiter, then

maybe URBN was willing to make an exception with me or even meet me halfway if/when the

time came to make a deal. However, what I thought is not at all what happened. After more than

a month of interviews, where I was praised for the talent I had presented to each interviewer and

had been repeatedly asked what I would do to create change in how Urban Outfitters digitally

presented itself, I felt exploited in the end. I had confided in them all of my ideas, concepts, and

possible projects I would want to pursue if given the chance to be the Social Media Coordinator.

The information I had confidently provided them was now, essentially, theirs to use for any or all

upcoming work for the organization, which only furthered the feeling of exploitation I felt at the

time.

The human resources of the organization, or shall I say the lack thereof, influenced the

situation in that there was not a human resource personnel or department. Working in a store for

a large clothing retailer, like Urban Outfitters, more often than not there is not an actual human

resource put in place to stabilize the many goings on in the store. And because of the lack of

human resources, the management team in the store attempts to double their individual duty as

being both a manager and human resource, which can work against me when caught in the
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situation I was in. Near the end of my time at the store and after the situation had blown up, I

found myself to be in a constant state of self-protection, which Bolman and Deal illustrate in our

textbook, stating, “When managers feel vulnerable, they revert to self-defense. They skirt issues

or attack others and escalate games of camouflage and deception. Feeling inadequate, they try to

hide their inadequacy” (Bolman & Deal 2017, p. 164). Since the visit to the store by the brand

representative was unexpected and a total surprise, it made my store manager vulnerable to a

situation in which he was not prepared for. Therefore, he placed the responsibility onto someone

else who was not completely familiar with how to conduct a brand representative meeting, yet

knew specific information about the products’ performance in our store in which the brand

representative was coming to learn about. My store manager’s inadequacy resulted in an

outcome, on my behalf, that was not favorable to him, nor the rest of the management team.

Because there was not a human resource to act as the mediator in this case, my work ethic and

inexperience of conducting a meeting was being negatively criticized against and nearly caused

me to get fired.

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

regarding your case.

Regarding my case, I would use the human resources for an alternative course of action

by working for me rather than against me. Because I did not possess a college degree, which was

a standard requirement set by human resources at URBN, I became ineligible to hire. Instead,

what I would have done was use the particular situation I was in as an opportunity for human

resources to create a partnership or grant program for upcoming college graduates on behalf of

URBN. It would be a partnership or grant program similar to that of what Starbucks has done

with Arizona State University; provide employees the potential to earn a college degree while
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using their labor. If URBN had utilized this course of action around the time of my case, if not

sooner, the possible outcome of my situation could have been much different than that of the

actual outcome. For human resources to acknowledge this alternative course of action, it would

show to other potential job candidates, who may be in a similar situation to the one in which I

faced myself, that URBN believes in the talent they internally seek out or hire and want for them

to have a promising future. This alternative course of action would also increase their likeliness

of acquiring more employees and give them a more beneficial advantage amongst their

competitors.

What I would recommend to the human resources for an alternative course of action

would be to expand upon the multiple opportunities that could be given to Associates and Team

Leads, which could broaden their skillset and strengthen their level of expertise within the store’s

environment. Bolman and Deal wrote about this type of action in a similar manner, noting,

“Organizations that invest in people, by contrast, often reinforce participation and job redesign

by replacing symbols of hierarchy with symbols of cooperation and equality” (Bolman & Deal

2017, p. 152). The situation I found myself in was mostly due to a lack of training – knowing

what to do and say – which ultimately derived from the hierarchy which exists within roles of

retail. Instead of only allowing Associates and Team Leads to execute a limited number of duties

and responsibilities in the store, organizations could further invest in Associates and Team Leads

by providing them with newly redesigned, in-depth training modules to enhance their knowledge

about the role they hold and its place, as well as its importance, within the organization. This

newfound knowledge could likely spark more involvement and equalize the dynamic between

Associates and Team Leads to that of managers.

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

this frame.

Based upon the knowledge I have gained from learning about this frame, I would not

have done anything differently regarding my situation. When I reflect upon why I would not

have done anything differently then, a sentiment from our textbook comes to mind, where it is

written, “organizations struggle to find people who bring the skills and qualities needed, while

individuals with yesterday’s skills face dismal job prospects” (Bolman & Deal 2017, p. 129). At

the time in which I had experienced this situation, I was enrolled in courses at a local community

college and anxiously looking for new work. Because I did not have a college degree, I faced

what is described in our text as being an individual who has yesterday’s skills and faces limited

job opportunities because of them. Even though I may have had enough talent to fulfill the role I

was sought after for, on paper, I did not have the skills it took to really fulfill the role. While it

was the job of my dreams at the time, and even though the outcome I received was the outcome I

did not completely expect, I would not do anything differently given what I have learned about

this frame.

Reflecting on what I would do or not do differently, given what I have learned about this

frame, I do not think there was much else for me to do other than leave my role at the store.

Because there was not anyone in the store who came close to resembling human resources, that

lack of a valuable resource left me with very few options in terms of how I would go about the

rest of my time with the company if I had chosen to stay. From my departure at Urban Outfitters,

I was able to reconfigure what I prioritized most in life and what I wanted my next step to be,

which led me back to working at Starbucks and enrolling in their College Achievement program

with Arizona State University. So, while the reason for my situation was unfortunate and rather
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unfair, what came from the situation was the start to an opportunity I could not find anywhere

else.
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Reference

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing  Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and

Leadership  (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass