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.

My situation is that of Spotify and the backlash it has received for supporting the spread
of misinformation. The controversial podcast that is the Joe Rogan Experience has caused
boycotts towards the website including major artists taking their music off the platform.
My role is that of a consumer with the choice of multiple streaming services.

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

One of the largest impacts from the Joe Rogan Spotify scenario has been that of
the retention of Spotify employees. “Spotify is much more worried about employees
leaving than subscribers leaving,” and it is evident through the apology email that was
sent out by the CEO. He states that Spotify is an open platform despite the exclusivity
deal that Joe Rogan received, doubling down on his support of this controversial opinion.
Despite the fact that employees had offered concerns regarding Joe Rogan and his brand
being on the platform before and when he was contracted with the exclusivity deal, the
company decided to stick with Joe.

The problem with this situation from a human resource perspective goes back to
employees potentially leaving due to workplace misalignment. Right now would be a
great time for other businesses, who better reflect the values of employees to offer those
employees a better opportunity in terms of alignment. Given that these alternatives offer
similar benefits, Spotify could see competition in terms of employment of employees.
Their company values might ‘scare off’ the potential new hires and alienate the old ones
to the point where there is a lower application pool and thus lower quality employees.
While this would have to happen over the course of years, I feel as though this could very
well be the catalyst for change in Spotify.

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

I feel as though all Spotify needed to do was communicate with their human
resource department. Spotify’s human resource department should have seen or heard
about the misalignment in regards to Joe Rogan’s exclusivity deal. If they hadn’t, it is on
the human resource department for not being as proactive as they should have been
during this controversy. If they had however, that would mean Spotify chose to ignore the
concerns of employees. Due to the fact that they chose to double down on supporting Joe
Rogan, the company is at higher risk for employees leaving than ever, costing the
company a lot of capital.

In order to create an alternative course of action for Spotify all one would do
would be to ensure that employee concerns are heard and dealt with by the management
of Spotify. The company should have spent more resources listening to the concerns of
potentially misaligned employees. Understanding and listening to the concerns of those
who work for you will allow for the work to be done better and more efficiently --should
the issues be dealt with.

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

In this frame, I feel as though Spotify did not value the importance of a team by
alienating employees. I would do what I stated in the last paragraph. I feel these are
similar questions to be honest. Putting employees first will almost certainly benefit the
team as a whole due to the fact that these employees will work and interact more
effefctively. In this case, it is evident that the concerns of employees at Spotify go
unnoticed. In order to reach a different outcome, I would want to put the employees first
and respect their wishes.

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Reference
https://www.marketplace.org/2022/02/07/spotifys-apology-to-staff-over-joe-rogan-scandal-
sends-a-broader-message/