OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Politcal 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.

The situation that I discussed in Module 1 was my past employment need to change the
curriculum to qualify for the new branch of governmental funding for mental health and
behavioral health in child needs. This was a compliancy issue that changed the entire
structure of the framework that was built years prior. My role was working closely with
the program director to develop the new curriculum and implement it directly with the
children in my class.

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

The organization faced several challenges due to political influences. There was a lack of
clarity in defining the job roles and responsibilities of the employees. This led to
confusion about who had the authority to make final decisions and approve plans before
they were implemented. The organization also had to rely on governmental approval and
specific criteria set by the mental health institute to develop the testing, such as calocus.
This meant that we needed to retest all of our students and see where their mental health
was on the updated scale. With the rankings we were able to classify what jurisdiction of
funding they'd receive as well as if they would be able to continue being a part of our
program.

The organization faced challenges in implementing various changes within the required
timeframe, as they were unsure which partner had the updated information for outsource
testing and behavioral health evaluations. This was further complicated by the lack of
communication regarding the updated behavioral health curriculum. Additionally, the
organization encountered financial changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and had to
wait for new financing to be approved. While they knew they had to make changes to
meet the required criteria, they had to rely on multiple external organizations to

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 understand what was needed, which made it difficult to determine who had the correct
information.

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

In order to bring about an alternative course of action for the Greatness Kids Club
curriculum and funding change, I would utilize organizational politics in the following
ways. Firstly, I would establish a team that would have an open line of communication
with all of our partners, as well as connect on the state level with the Board of Mental
Health to see what new implementations are needed. Instead of continuously working
through the new propositions and updates we were receiving from the board during the
development process of the updated criteria for behavioral health needs, it would have
been beneficial to wait for the final statement to be released. Due to the need to make the
changes immediately, as we were already at risk of losing funding entirely due to the
pandemic, our director was panicking and not appointing proper advisors who would be
able to hold the decision-making power and determine what areas we could all be utilized
to help make this process smoother.

In addition to addressing the hierarchy structure within the organization, I would leverage
organizational politics to fully understand the strengths and capabilities of all employees.
We had a diverse team of therapists, behavioral health coaches, attorneys, and social
workers who were all dedicated to the well-being of the children. By tapping into
everyone's resources, we could have established closer connections to the source and the
individuals on the board of mental health, especially in the youth mental health section.
Although our founder was not directly involved with the Greatness Kids Club, I believe
she could have used her power to connect with the board and make a greater effort to
help our department. While our focus was on continuously helping the children, the
board's focus was more on how we could fund our efforts and teach the curriculum
needed to be a state-recognized mental health program.

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

After exploring the political frame, I gained a new perspective on power and how it
influences decision-making. It became clear that those in positions of power not only
make decisions but also use their influence to sway others around them. We learned how
Walmart employs over 3 million people, how Microsoft was forced to change its
operations despite being the leading smartphone seller, and how many successful
organizations use their political power to inspire innovation and impact areas beyond
their specific brand. In light of this, I now realize that our nonprofit's founder could have

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 better utilized her skills by making a greater effort to understand the organization and its
employees' roles, rather than simply focusing on the overall goal.

During my time working with the organization, I came to realize that The Greatness Kids
Club was a significant source of funding for us. While it's essential to bring in funds to
support our operations, we also needed to focus on using the resources to help the youth
we work with directly. Looking back, I believe that if our founders' focus had been more
on meeting the mental health needs of the youth, we could have made a more significant
impact and kept our department within the organization open, even during the pandemic.
Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we had to close down the department. Although it
came as a shock, there were some signs that we were heading in that direction.

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 Reference or References