OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Political Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the political frame
2. Apply the political 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.

The organizational event that I am choosing to write about is my accounting firm’s spring tax
season working for two very different partners. I joined the firm in the middle of February and
was extremely overwhelmed by the madness of tax season. This made it incredibly challenging
but offered great gain in my professional skills. Tax season is our busiest time of the year, and
the high point lasts from mid-March until approximately April 15th. Though this year it was
April 18th, due to the tax deadline falling on a Friday before a holiday. For my role as client
services coordinator, the high point always means a consistent flow of clients & appointments in
the office. It also means constant phone calls, lots of mandatory overtime, and an endless number
of returns to be delivered. Essentially, I am responsible for all client interactions and office
functions that are not directly tied to an accounting process. I coordinate schedules for every
employee, handle technical issues with our software provider, assemble all hard copies of returns
into personalized client folders, etc.

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

The recognized people of power are the two partners at our firm. Though each partner draws
their power from a different source. Our founding partner draws power from the information and
expertise he has to offer, while the second partner draws strictly from her position of authority
(Bolman & Deal, 2017, p. 193). This can be shown in the separate ways they choose to influence
others with relatively little power within our firm. The founding partner is more relaxed in his
approach, as he is confident in his ability to lead and is granted mutual respect. He will use
persuasion techniques that acquaint to Liking whereas the other partner chooses to clutch her
power a bit more tightly choosing to persuade with her Authority (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p.
195).

During our tax season, the founding partner would take time each morning to visit briefly
with each employee. He would ask about how we were spending our free time and praise us for

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the work we were doing for the firm. He tried to relate to all employees and make it known that
he appreciated their contribution. This was a big compliment coming from a man with so much
expertise and wisdom. He would sometimes end the conversation, by asking for a task to be done
as a priority or in addition to the already heavy workload. Though at times, the request seemed
impossible everyone always moved mountains to get the task done because it was him asking.
The other partner’s approach was much less appealing to deal with. The heavy workload felt
even more impossible when she would waltz by and demand something to be done. It put a lot of
excess stress on everyone to be ordered around while we were all being pulled in so many
different directions. There was no negotiation possible, and no excuses for not completing the
task. She was the boss, and when she said jump the only correct response was to ask, “How
High?”

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

The manner in which the other partner wields her authority created a lot of unnecessary stress
for employees of the firm during our tax season. I would recommend that she reframe her
approach to leadership to incorporate the four key skills of a politician (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p.
205). The first step in this approach is to define an agenda. A lot of the tasks that were demanded
by this partner were short term, and hindered progress toward organizational goals. Realizing
that she was acting in a manner against the agenda that the firm has established, would reduce
the urgency of her requests as well as the frequency. She would also be able to recognize when
the timing was appropriate to ask for more frivolous things to be done. After aligning herself
with the firm’s agenda, she could take time recognize informal lines of communication and
identify ways to mobilize internal players (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p.207).

At the time, everyone despised her for being so demanding. She did not realize that towards
the end when the work became too much to bear for some, there were a few veteran members of
the tax preparation team that urged the less senior members to only do what they could. Some
tasks fell through the cracks as the veterans with clout shook up norms. The other partner could
have recognized this and adapted her approach to mobilize these veterans to be agents of
empowerment and motivation to support her agenda. Going along with this step is the third,
networking. The veterans were her strongest opposition as they know what aligns with the firm’s
agenda and what does not. Networking with this group could provide a larger benefit if wanting
to make changes to the firm’s standards of work. Finally, the other partner should negotiate
more. Time is a scarce resource during tax season. Instead of assigning tasks as all or nothing she
could have conversations with employees to determine what is mutually beneficial and possible
to complete.

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

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 What I would do differently giving what I have learned about this frame is to negotiate more.
As I previously stated, time is a scarce resource during tax season. For my role, much of the day
is filled with countless interactions with clients and fulfilling their immediate requests. I
constantly must change gears with each person I speak with. Only after hours is when I have
time to complete the administrative work that I am responsible for. I was spending 12 hours each
day at the office and working half days on Saturdays just to keep up with my work.

When partners come to me with additional work, more time is lost or added to my day rather.
I can use this fact to negotiate for an increase in salary, or in vacation days outside of the tax
season. I can also negotiate to earn a higher status as I do so many extra tasks. Though the
reward may not be immediate, it aligns with my interests. Additionally, the work would be
getting done either way so I could come away from the negotiation with much less than I
originally stated and still be satisfied.

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 Reference
Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal. Reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and
leadership. 6th ed., Jossey-Bass, 2017.