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.

My role in this company is an Environmental Specialist, I would like to explore the

history, foundation, and culture of the company in terms of how it has positioned itself
as a global company and how it strives for innovation in the area of environmental
quality. My primary role in the organization will be working internally to continue to
further Apple’s strategic commitment to become a carbon-neutral environment by
reducing its carbon footprint in a major step for the company by the year 2030.
Currently, Apple is on its way to meeting that target goal by utilizing recycling strategies
and materials which are also a key focus of the company’s innovations and utilized as
another way to drive down emissions (Behind Every Apple Product, 2023).

In describing the situation, one of the structural goals of Apple is its commitment to
become a carbon-neutral company by 2030 as it becomes one of the largest companies
in the world and its size has set its high-standard goals to make it an innovative, policy
and social cause initiative that sets it apart from the rest creating an ambitious plan.

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

The way structure of the organization influenced the situation is that the HR structure of
Apple is led by Tim Cook who has a democratic leadership style that encourages all
employees at the company to contribute with their talents to make the company more
successful.The political problems that apple is currently experiencing are based on
restrictions on trade and investment and tariffs imposed on imports from other
countries such as China, a big producer of Apple products. These tariffs have made
Apple’s products more expensive in the United States.

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 Another issue is that products made out of silicon innovation have consistently over the
years slowed down production and have faced challenges (Apple's Challenges and
Opportunities medium, 2023). On the other hand, according to the medium some of
Apple’s products are starting to lack vision for Apple’s paid services. For instance, the
first-party services are critical to the sustainability and experience of using Apple
products. Also, some of them, like iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, are clearly successful,
thriving, and evolving fairly rapidly. Apple created many different products that did
farewell such as Apple News and are trending towards not getting enough subscribers
over the long haul. Currently, the plan designed for environmental progress is in
materials, product use, shipping, and recovery; noting that approximately 20% of all
materials shipped in products 2022 came from recycled and renewable sources
(Weinberger et al., 2023). Lastly, the symbolic areas include Apple’s culture which is of
innovation and inclusivity in the area of environmental quality, policy and social
initiatives that promise to reduce its overall carbon footprint in the years to come
making it a great example of a socially conscious company that sets an example for the
rest.

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

The way I would use the structure for an alternative course of action regarding the case
is by that I would continue the democratic leadership style in order to increase
collaboration between the different areas of the company and increase productivity.
However, I would also work on changing the business relationship with China to have
everything built in the United States as there are different guidelines followed for
sustainability and care for the environment that Apple would like to follow. The reason
being is that China has a high carbon footprint and does not follow the same guidelines
as the United States. In addition, changing to a more collaborative relationship will help
with fewer tariffs being placed on Apple products, thus helping Apple products be more
cost-effective for its customers around the world.

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

In reflecting on what I would do differently after learning more about this frame is
continue to be more collaborative in the management structure and utilize the
democratic leadership style framework to both motivate employees and outside
stakeholders with more efficient internal and external effective communication. At the
same time, also implementing a more organized approach to how the company achieves
its goals and also restructuring any areas that need improvement by conducting an
organizational assessment and utilizing the results to create a more cohesive

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environment. Overall, the organization and different groups would collaborate more
efficiently and in a more impactful way to create value for the company, employees,
stakeholders and the environment as a whole.

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Reference

Behind every Apple product is a plan for the future. (n.d.). Apple. Retrieved October 16, 2023,
from
https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Progress_Report_2023.pdf

Weinberger, M., Hartmans, A., & Varanasi, L. (2023, 9 10). Environment. Apple. Retrieved
October
16, 2023, from https://www.apple.com/environment/