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.

My situation was at the company Life Time. This situation involved the Personal

Training Leader (PTL), Chief Financial Officer, the General Manager, and Human

Resources (HR). The company went from a privately owned business to selling publicly

and being traded on the stock market in April of 2021. In January of 2023, the Personal

Training Leader’s significant other, posted an inflammatory comment on the Chief

Financial Officer’s social media post after positional changes occurred within the

organization and department. The inflammatory post happened when the PTL left for

vacation in January of 2023. The vacation time was an exception made due to the change

in type of employee the position required, this change was specifically from salary to

hourly and commission. In response to the PTL’s significant other’s post, the Chief

Financial Officer (CFO) called the General Manager and HR proposing a discipline to the

PTL. My role has no direct relation to the situation.

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

According to Bolman & Deal, organizational politics are “the realistic process of

making decisions and allocating resources in a context of scarcity and divergent interests”

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 (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 186). This means that politics are not inherently bad but a

series of decision making to influence and achieve organizational goals. In the context of

Life Time, politics of the organization heavily influenced the situation. The organization

made substantial changes to structural and human resources frame with a top-down

political initiative in mind that created additional barriers for employees. According to

the text, top-down initiative relies on executives or authorities’ abilities to influence

subordinates (Bolman & Deal, 202, p. 231). This was shown in the organizational

changes to department leader roles, financial goals, and disrupting implemented

processes for work completion. The actions and changes taken developed a quandary

within the organization with additional opposition to the changes from the base of the

organization. The cause of these changes was ultimately because of the new board

controlling expectations on performance to avoid the current executive team from being

replaced. We saw an example of this in Bolman & Deal’s writing about Ross Johnson

through mergers and ousting Tylee Wilson as CEO from R.J. Reynolds (Bolman & Deal,

2021, p. 230).

Throughout the situation, there were instances of managers as politicians. The

CFO utilized sources of power to influence the organization’s agenda. The sources of

power used by the CFO, compared to the writing of Bolman and Deal, was his position of

authority, coercion, control of rewards, reputation, and the access and control of the

organization’s agenda (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 200). The CFO influenced this power

through his position within the organization by creating positions with unclear payment

metrics, determining if clubs and club leadership would receive their monthly or

quarterly bonus checks, and decide with influence over HR, if specific leadership would

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 remain in positions within the club. The sources of power were also utilized by the

General Manager through information and expertise, reputation, and framing (p. 200-

201). Information and expertise in conjunction with their reputation was used through the

General Managers ability to problem solve by bargaining and maintaining a workable

space. The General Manager also utilized framing in an attempt to “shape meaning and

articulate myths that express identity, beliefs, and values” (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 201)

to both the CFO and the PTL. This was ultimately unsuccessful as the PTL has left the

organization as of this week.

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

I would recommend utilizing organizational politics differently through the

restructuring and communication processes. According to Bolman and Deal, “[Managers]

launch a new initiative with little to no effort to scout and master the political turf”

(Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 216). The organizations overlook of how the new key

initiatives would ‘play out’ in the organizational setting concluded to upset and

misalignment. According to the text, Pichault suggests organizations to develop a map or

agenda that would avoid failings (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 216). These steps include

“[determining] channels of informal communication, [identifying] principal agents of

political influence, [analyzing possibilities for mobilizing internal and external players,

[and anticipating] counterstrategies that others are likely to employ” (Bolman & Deal,

2021, p. 216). Throughout the restructuring, the organization failed to communicate

goals, reasonings, and answering questions properly with key political players within the

organization. In an effort to utilize Pichault’s strategy, it would increase the ability to

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 understand goals, create autonomy, and increase innovation to drive towards

organizational success.

Another recommendation for an alternative course would be to develop new

coalitions to provide additional support and lessen resistance. When the restructuring

occurred, many middle managers like regionals and area leads were moved to department

positions which lessened the ability for the PTL and other department leaders to gain

understanding or communicate with the network of like-minded people and positions.

According to the text, “as a manager, you need friends and allies to get things done. To

sew up their support, you need to build coalitions” (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 219).

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

Given what I have learned about this frame, I would do a few things differently. I

would evaluate the political landscape of the organization prior to change, ensure proper

support through positive coalitions for middle-management, and evaluate that morale is

maintained top of mind throughout the bargaining between the new board and

organizational goals. The ability to openly defend choices has been something that has

changed in recent changes.

I would also have developed a well thought out plan that is communicated clearly

and fairly among every coalition. This would have created less resistance to the changes

within the organization and created a personalized environment for feedback, negotiation,

and bargaining. Using this method would also create a deeper meaning and motivation to

the changes.

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 Reference or References

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

leadership (7th ed.). Jossey-Bass.