OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Structural Frame Worksheet

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

In Module 1, I described a situation that involved how tips were divided between

servers and sushi chefs at the restaurant I worked in. Team members sensed a lack of

fairness as sushi chefs received a significant percentage of tips, though their hourly pay

was higher. Similarly, hostesses did not receive tips from these dine-in orders despite

playing a large role in the efficiency and productivity of the shift. I worked as a hostess

before being promoted to a server, where I was expected to take orders, run food, pay out

tabs, and bus tables.

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

The structure of the restaurant was mostly organized through vertical coordination

where “higher levels coordinate and control the work of subordinates through authority,

rules, and policies, and planning and control systems” (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 59).

Vertical coordination is commonly seen in organizations, though it is becoming more

popular to have organizations that are structured to encourage the input from people from

all levels of an organization. However, at my previous place of employment, this rigid

structure that did not encourage input from team members contributed to the high

1
 turnover rate as servers and hostesses became frustrated and often decided to pursue a

different restaurant job where tips were not pooled and split in this manner.

The structural frame is the most significant frame to consider when analyzing the

situation I faced within my previous job. The way that the tips were separated is directly

related to the structure of the organization. Many companies in the restaurant industry

follow a completely different structure when it comes to the distribution of tips that

includes individual servers tipping out various team members on their own, usually

giving less than 10% of their total tips away. As I previously mentioned, the structure in

which tips were distributed was often questioned and this structure played a large role in

the turnover rate, since servers were not used to allocating such a large percentage of

their tips to other team members.

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

While I do believe vertical coordination could be effective for this situation, the

structure in terms of positions in a restaurant tends to be flatter. At the restaurant I

worked in, the manager was often working alongside team members to complete tasks,

contributing to the flat appearance of the restaurant. With many team members playing

equally important and challenging roles, consulting these individuals when deciding

seems like the best choice. However, when it came to decision-making, the team effort

and importance as well as the necessity of the many roles was not considered. Allowing

for a more lateral structure with “formal and informal meetings… coordinating roles…

[and] matrix structures” would have a huge benefit (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 62).

2
 An alternative course of action for this situation would be taking a significant

amount of time to organize team members together and devise a solution. This

restructuring would require a lot of consideration and the organization would benefit

from looking to other companies for an example of how to split tips in a different way. I

believe it would be difficult for team members to decide alone since the power held by

these individuals is not enough to put in place the changes that would need to be made for

the structure to be effective. I believe the best option would be to have sushi chefs receive

a higher hourly way and less percentage of total tips, however, getting this new structure

approved by manager would be a challenge.

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

Before learning about the different structures of organizations it would be

challenging for me to determine what was creating the problems surrounding equality at

the restaurant I was employed with. While I could see that there was a lack of cohesion

after the shift was complete and felt that the manager did not consider the attitudes of

those in all roles, I did not understand that one main issue the organization was facing

was its structure. Despite the restaurant appearing flatter with its roles, I still struggle to

see how having a lateral structure would work, though I have been surprised to learn of

many organizations much larger than the one I was employed with having great success

with a lateral structure. I would suggest the manager find ways to first incorporate lateral

behaviors such as meetings and better coordinated roles to begin making the structure

less vertical. After this, a matrix, where we all report to each other and are accountable to

those in different positions, could be created.

3
 If I could go back to the days where I sat with new employees and explained to

them how to count and divide tips, I would first ask as many questions as I could. Having

an outside perspective from someone who had not been directly affected by this structure

could help me create perspective. When answering the questions from this trainee about

why such a large percentage of the tips went to sushi chefs I could consider other

solutions to the problem, ones that were not just giving servers a larger percentage. I

would think of the possibility of servers receiving a similar hourly pay to the sushi chefs,

possibly having the option for a free meal each shift or having the sushi chefs do some

preparation before the shift for servers. After considering alternatives, I would privately

discuss these with my manager and encourage planning a team meeting where we could

all discuss job satisfaction and making changes.

4
 Reference

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership

(7th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.