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.

This situation occurred while serving as a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. My mother
unexpectedly passed away and over the next few months, my performance at work was
negatively affected. During my semi-annual mid-term review, my leadership told me that
I was doing well and to keep up the good work. Six months later when it was time for my
official evaluation, the leadership told me that my performance had declined leading to
my performance scores falling from where they were the previous year. The reasons they
gave were poor and were not justified. This negative evaluation would make it so that I
could not advance for at least five years leading me to passionately arguing and
confronting my leadership.

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

In line with the description Bolman and Deal (2021) provide, my command can be
described as a simple hierarchy. There is a commanding officer, an executive officer, and
senior enlisted leader that make up the triad. There are four locations throughout San
Diego that fall under the triad's responsibilities. Each location has an officer in charge
that is responsible for leading their group of instructors.

Where the problem lies with my scenario is that I was the one in charge at my location.
Being the one in charge, there was not any leadership physically present to see how my
mother’s passing affected my daily life and work ethic. The structure in place was loose
which helped lead to a lack of accountability. Additionally, the one who was ultimately
responsible for giving me the poor evaluation, primarily stayed behind his desk at the
headquarters building. With the structure in place, it was normal for us to rarely see any
of the triad at our building.

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

Restructuring the layout of the command would’ve helped to prevent this situation from
happening. Assigning a higher-ranking official to be present, at least a couple days of the
week, at my location could have provided the oversite that may have helped get me back
on track. If that were not possible, relying on more lateral coordination between the
leadership and the four locations would enable great coordination and transparency.
Something as simple as a weekly in-person meeting that allows everyone to interact
would keep all parties on the same page.

I would also rely on the Chief’s Mess more than I did. This is a group of senior enlisted
leaders that work together in an all-channel network type of team. I am a person that does
not like to talk about their problems. If I had used them for support, I may have been able
to better deal with the situation. This could have helped prevent this from ever happening.

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

The structure that was being used worked during the previous year while I was in a good
headspace. It took the death of my mother for the structure to need to be updated. The
biggest thing that I could have done differently is not take advantage of the structure in
place. I was not actively trying to do that, it just happened because I had problems
processing my loss. Using the Chief’s Mess and asking for help is something I should
have done, but I could not bring myself to do it.

Looking at my situation through structural lenses let me see that there were all kinds of
support opportunities in place. I would go to our medical treatment facility and ask for
help. It is easy to schedule therapy, but I was resistant to the idea. Fleet and family
services also offer grief counseling sessions to help service members deal with trauma. If
I had used any of these suggestions, I could have possibly prevented this situation from
occurring.

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 Reference or References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(7th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.