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.

I serve a dual role within the organization. I’m a principal information systems business
analyst and diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) program manager at the direction of our
Strategy Innovation and Change department. At their core, both roles are outwardly
service oriented roles with vastly different objectives. In my business analyst role, I am
tasked with managing a portfolio of key internal information systems projects that are
designed to improve efficiency in how staff can perform their work. My role in DEI is
constantly evolving, but at a high level the direction is to oversee equity initiatives within
my department of approximately 300 employees.

The situation that I will be analyzing for the remainder of the course is my role in driving
DEI initiatives within my organization. I was nominated for the DEI program manager
role by the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) due to my ability navigate and deliver
complex information technology (IT) projects with no prior experience leading DEI
projects. As a result, I have spent significant effort in increasing my knowledge on how
embark on driving diversity and inclusion initiatives within complex organizations. There
are several stakeholders (employees, leadership, oversight bodies/commissions) with
different perspectives and understanding of what diversity work means for an
organization and its importance.

My role is to align these stakeholders (some with competing interests) and be a leader for
change in the organization that improves the employee culture, enhances pathways for
career mobility, and increases equitable outcomes for employees and public rate payers.
A specific situation that I was tasked with in this leadership role was deciding on method
to track the various projects that the DEI program would oversee. Ultimately, I decided
on a change management, structured approach that included developing a program
charter, project planning forms, with scheduled report out meetings.

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

The bureaucratic structure of the organization guided my approach in developing a DEI

program structure that would align with approaches being utilized for significant
programs in other areas of the organization. Given that I work for a government
organization, an approach like Amazon’s singular focus simply would not apply
effectively. In government, there are nearly always dependencies consider.

I understood that there was an element of education that would need to be in place to
effectively integrate a potentially abstract program in DEI within the organization. So, I
worked to emphasize the value of the program by tasking each of the respective project
leads to identify goals that align with the agency’s stated strategic goals.

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

I would introduce a structural form like Amazon’s to the DEI program’s change
management, structured approach. A tighter structure with less bureaucracy would
benefit those that would like to participate in the program and consequently gain
momentum toward delivering equitable policies and programs to the agency more
rapidly.

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

I would find methods to mitigate or minimize basic structural tensions that occur within
structure design. While the DEI program has executive and staff support in terms of work
allocation, there are inroads that can be made in integration. The DEI program struggles
to integrate with the core processes within the organization. The program is significant,
has value, and support. However, there is still the perception of how it aligns and/or
supports with existing priority initiatives.

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 Reference or References
(Choose appropriate Title if Applicable and Delete the Rest)