OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Politcal Frame Worksheet

Olivia Schutt February 8, 2022 OGL 481

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

I have an internal role with Starbucks as a shift supervisor. A shift supervisor is in

charge of the floor while they are in the store, meaning it’s my job to give barista
breaks, have enough product for customers through pulling food and entering store
orders, and make sure baristas have the resources they need to do their job. It’s
important for me to know my fellow partners (employees) because it’s my job to
put them in a position on the floor that they enjoy and can succeed in.

Starbucks has been experiencing a lot of scarcity with products due to supply chain
shortages that the world has seen during the pandemic. These shortages arose
because COVID-19 caused many manufacturing facilities to shut down, the
transportation of goods was more difficult throughout the pandemic, and the labor
shortage that resulted from uncertain times left many jobs needing to be filled
(McCarthy, 2021). Most of Starbucks’ distribution centers were low or completely
out of everyday products that we use in-store. Distribution centers also felt the
effects of the labor shortage and had trouble finding employees to fill the open
roles in our hubs. Starbucks didn’t even have truck drivers to deliver our product if
the distribution centers had it. This resulted in many difficult day-to-day
interactions with baristas and customers. Starbucks’ mission is to nurture the
human spirit, but this shortage oftentimes caused people’s spirit to become
disheartened. Starbucks was once a reliable place to get coffee, breakfast, and a
smile. But throughout the pandemic, we saw this notion change and customers felt
frustrated with partners because they weren’t able to get their favorite menu items.

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

The situation described above is at the center of the political frame. Scarce resources,
power struggle, and incompatible preferences all influence this situation. Distribution
centers didn’t have important resources that Starbucks stores rely on everyday. This made
it difficult for baristas to do their job happily, which is an important part of upholding
Starbucks mission and values. Scarce resources caused baristas to feel powerless in their
work and interactions with customers.

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 The biggest influence on this situation from the political perspective is the enduring
differences in values, beliefs, interests, and perceptions among constintuents (Bolman &
Deal, 2017). Top management believes these issues are out of their control, but still value
the organization’s missions and goals. Baristas at the bottom believe management isn’t
doing enough about the issues at hand, and don’t value organizational missions and
values as much because of the diminishing quality of their work. This has resulted in a
power struggle where not everyone can get what they want. I believe this is a big reason
many store across the country are attempting to unionize.

3) Recommend how you would use organizational politics for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

Scarce resources and incompatible preferences cause needs to collide (Bolman & Deal,
2017). Starbucks should have realized this would happen when they first heard of the
supply chain shortages. Using knowledge of the political frame, decisions should have
been made to lessen the blow of scarcities we’ve seen. Baristas and top management had
incompatible preferences. Finding ways to meet in the middle with the limited resources
we did have would have been an alternative course of action. Rather than doing nothing,
collaboration would have been a better option. Baristas are mobilizing power through
unions across the country because of these unmet needs. Alliances from because
members have common interests and believe that they can do more together than apart
(Bolman & Deal, 2017).

Meeting every individual need is unreasonable, but I believe Starbucks could have done a
better job in their attempt. Organizational change and effectiveness depend on a
manager’s political skill (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Investing time into this skill as an
organization is another alternative course of action for this situation. The world has
changed a lot throughout the pandemic, and handling change can be difficult, especially
without knowledge of the political frame. Investing in training hours or holding seminars
to teach managers about being effective in these changing times would have been a better
option.

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

Something I would do differently in this situation is anticipate counterstrategies that

others are likely to employ (Bolman & Deal, 2017). With the pandemic going on for two
years and constant changes to the workplace, counterstrategies could have been created to
handle the changing flow of Starbucks stores. The political frame emphasizes strategy
and tactics rather than conflict resolution (Bolman & Deal, 2017). With this in mind,
Starbucks could have had a strategy on the back burner. Resolving this conflict is out of
their hands, but creating a tactic is something within their reach.

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 We see baristas across the country forming alliances for power through unionization
attempts. The political frame tells us that conflict is normal and inevitable. Conflict can
also be a way for an organization to be innovative because it encourages new ideas
(Bolman & Deal, 2017). Starbucks didn’t allow this to happen and new approaches to
problems didn’t prosper. Rather than being innovative, partners are attempting to take
power into their own hands.

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 References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing Organizations (6th ed.). John Wiley &

Sons. 

McCarthy, B. (2021, October 17). Here's Why the Supply Chain is a Mess - and Will Be

For a While. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2021/10/17/heres-why-the-supply-chain-

is-a-mess-and-will-be-for-a-while/