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.

Our team has a lot of great people, but we're missing one thing: good leaders. It
seems like our team members are more worried about their own reputation than the good
of the business. They do not want to be seen as gossipers or backstabbers. They do not
want to lose their jobs because they are not following any rules or policies set by
management. I am responsible for making sure that we have enough staff on hand to
manage the flow of customers through the store. I make sure that we are running
smoothly by taking a look around at how things are going in the store.

Our team is made up of hard-working individuals who care about each other and
our customers. We have many different personalities and backgrounds, which means we
need someone who can take charge and lead us through these difficult times where the
store is being affected creating a hostile and difficult job environment for partners.

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

The politics of the organization influenced the situation in the Starbucks

workspace of leaders who need to step up and work on the environment of the store and
following standards. The leaders at Starbucks have a great vision for their company and
what it should be like for their customers. They want to provide a place where people can
feel comfortable, relaxed, and enjoy some coffee while they're there. Unfortunately, due
to some recent events at our local Starbucks, this has not been possible lately. The leaders
of the organization should step up to fix this issue because they are following standards
and they have the power to change things.

The leaders are following standards because they are required to follow standards
by law. If they don't follow these standards then it could lead to problems for them in
court if someone gets hurt by not following these standards. The leaders also have power

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 over how things are done in their store so if something is wrong with how things are done
then they can change it so that it's better for everyone involved in the organization. The
leaders need to step up and work on this environment because if they don't then people
will get hurt or killed due to not having enough safety equipment at their job site which
could lead to lawsuits against them as well as fines being paid out by them as well which
could cause major problems throughout their entire company's budgeting process over
time if not addressed immediately."

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

The current state of the Starbucks corporation is a mess. They have been
struggling to maintain their leadership position in the retail coffee market and are facing
fierce competition from both traditional and non-traditional competitors. At this point, it
seems that they have lost their touch with their customers and are unable to connect to
them in a meaningful way. The company also needs to develop a better understanding of
how customers want to interact with them. This is where I come in. I would recommend
an alternative course of action for Starbucks' leaders, which includes:

1) Revising the company's mission statement to include more focus on customer

satisfaction

2) Creating an internal marketing department dedicated exclusively to studying customer

behavior and developing strategies based on that information.

I would use organizational politics to make sure that the leaders of Starbucks are
able to lead with great intention and direct support. “Managers can, however, learn to
acknowledge, understand, and manage political dynamics rather than fearing them or
being overrun by them.”(Bolman & Deal, 2021, p, 191). This is something that should be
worked on at this location to be able to lead a team with value. Starbucks has been
struggling to find a way to be successful in the future, so I believe it is important to really
examine what makes them unique and what will help them achieve their goals. The
leaders of Starbucks are trying to create a culture that supports their employees, but they
have not done a good job of communicating what this means. The leaders need to get out
in front of their employees and talk about the importance of creating this culture within
the company. They should also explain how it will benefit them as individuals and how
they can contribute towards its success. This is one way that organizational politics can
be used for an alternative course of action regarding starbucks struggling for their leaders
to be able to lead with great intention and direct support

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

I think I'd be more effective as a leader if I had spent more time learning about
organizational politics. I would also try to implement some of these changes: Always be
on time (even if you're running late) - It shows that you value your employees and their
time. This will make it easier for them to trust you. Listen more than talk - You need to
understand where people are coming from in order to create a good working
environment. Otherwise, they'll just feel like they're being judged rather than understood
“Organizations are coalitions of different individuals and interest groups. Coalition
members have enduring differences in values, beliefs, information, interests, resources,
and perceptions of reality.”(Bolman & Deal, 2021, p, 192). The leader of an organization
is responsible for building consensus on how to achieve the organization's mission and
objectives. “Pfeffer's list of key political attributes includes “sensitivity”—knowing how
others think and what they care about so that your agenda responds to their
concerns”(Bolman & Deal, 2021, p, 214). The organization will make decisions that are
more efficient than any individual could make alone. Another thing would be to say no
without thinking about it first - Sometimes you have to say no when things get
overwhelming or too much for one person alone; however, this can lead to resentment if
people feel like they weren't heard enough or respected by leadership.

This seems like it would make employees more likely to stay at Starbucks longer
and would likely increase profits as well! Encourage diversity within the company by
making sure that all employees feel comfortable working with different genders,
races/ethnicities, religions or sexual orientations (e.g., LGBT). This is important because
if all workers feel comfortable working with one another then they will be able to work
together better which will lead directly into increased productivity!

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 Reference
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Chapter 15. In Reframing organizations: Artistry,
choice, and leadership (7th ed., pp. 315–316). essay, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.