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 ship, the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, was undergoing an extended shipyard

phase to replace the reactors onboard. There were over five hundred Sailors broken into
three duty sections, which meant that each section would be “on duty,” or working 24-
hour shifts in addition to the six-day work week, every three days. During this time, there
were a wide range of factors that contributed to an overall negative working environment
and widespread employee dissatisfaction; poor management, ineffective strategies, and a
toxic culture created an environment that was largely unproductive and led to high
turnover. While specific statistics are not available, a substantial portion of Reactor
Department Sailors either chose not to reenlist or left the program due to mental health
challenges. I was a lower-tier enlisted sailor in this situation, which meant that I had little
authority to work or seek change beyond my primary duties.

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

Politics played a key role in this situation and had a significant impact on how
leadership was conducted. Given the highly structured and hierarchical nature of the
chain of command, power was concentrated primarily in those in higher leadership
positions. These leaders held a high degree of several forms of power beyond positional
authority. They were able to distribute rewards, serve punishments, implement new
strategies, and control the flow of information (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 200). Because
of this, those who were at the lower rungs of the hierarchy were severely limited in their
ability to improve conditions and enact change.

One of the main reasons that politics were not used effectively in this situation
was in the agenda setting by leadership. Ther overarching goal of the ship at this time
was to finish the reactor overhaul period and bring the ship back to full operational
capabilities. However, the personal agendas of leadership at this time created a conflict of

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 interest; to ensure favorable evaluations and promotion, they would often impose
incredibly unsustainable working expectations on the crew. Widespread mental health
challenges were ignored in a futile attempt to expedite progress, but the only real result
was fostering dissatisfaction and resentment. The crew, as a result, became detached from
the goals of the ship and significantly less committed to the organization as a whole.

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

I feel that the most effective way to change this situation would be to attempt to
change how power was earned. While the positional power and control of rewards and
punishments are an unavoidable element of the Navy’s structure, they could have sought
to use methods that would foster greater commitment and motivation from the crew.
Leadership could have sought to use personal power rather than coercive, which would
have likely yielded much different results. Elements of personal power such as liking,
reciprocation, and commitment and consistency would have seen a more committed
response from the crew than coercion had achieved (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 202).
Employing referent power would have strengthened the relationships between the crew
and leadership and ensured a higher degree of commitment to the ship’s goals
(Taxonomy of Social Power, 2023).
Beyond this, leadership should have placed a higher focus on the needs of the
crew in creating their strategies. An effective leader creates an agenda that conveys
direction while addressing the concerns of major stakeholders (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p.
214). As the crew and their performance played a key role in the success of this situation,
leadership should have taken into account how their strategies were to the detriment of
their well-being, as well as their productivity. The working conditions did little to
expedite progress; the twelve-hour days and 3-section duty rotation were unnecessary and
only resulted in widespread burnout. They should have instead found solutions to
maximize productivity while ensuring that the needs of the crew were met.

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

One perspective to help understand this situation is how different groups in the
organization had competing goals and preferences. Leadership wanted the overhaul to be
completed on schedule, while the crew wanted a healthier work-life balance. Pfeffer
posed the question of whose interests the organization sought to serve, and in this case, it
was the Navy as a whole and not the individuals tasked with the work (Bolman & Deal,
2021, p. 230). If they focused on the needs of the crew and even marginally reduced
working hours, it would likely have seen a massive rise in productivity and commitment.
The conditions were woefully inefficient, so the working expectations could have very
reasonably been reduced with no impact on schedule.

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Additionally, one way to improve the situation would be to distribute power more
appropriately at lower levels in the chain of command. As it was, leadership seemed to
reap all of the benefits of the situation while the crew was left feeling exploited. A better
power distribution could have created the opportunity for the crew to create alternatives
that would benefit both parties, increasing the chances of better outcomes (Bolman &
Deal, 2021, p. 221). One of the four principles of moral judgment could also be applied
here: caring (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 225). The strategies used by the leadership
showed little regard for the well-being of the crew and focused entirely on their
reputation. By affording more power to the crew and showing more consideration for
their needs, they would likely have experienced significantly better outcomes.

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 References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Introduction: The power of reframing. In Reframing
organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (pp. 17–17). essay, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Pennsylvania State University. (2023). Taxonomy of Social Power. Penn State World
Campus.
https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/welcome/psych485/001/content/07_lesson/05_page.h
tml