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.

2) When I first started with the company I was employed as a Staff Accountant. My initial
duties were to assist the controller by getting all the transactions into accounts payable
and receivable. The Controller asked me to investigate multiple customer accounts that
were millions of dollars behind in payments due to misbilling or inaccurate well names
(AFE’s). I had not been in the industry prior to but dug in and worked out all the billing
issues and after several months had all the accounts corrected and caught up with
payments. This was in addition to my staff accounting tasks. I continued to help
operations to get the information in a timely manner for billing. It seemed the more I
helped the less the Operations Managers would do. This left me working very late almost
every day and still covering the staff accounting duties as well. After issues with the
Operations Manager yelling at me repeatedly, I put my notice in and left. I helped the
Controller from home so that she had time to fill my position for about 30 days. One day
I received a phone call from the CFO asking if she, the CEO and COO could meet me for
coffee when they were in town. I agreed to return but to a different position as the
Operations Accounting Manager. They informed me that they had no idea that I was
doing all the work that pertained to billing but after 60 days and accounts falling behind
that they realized what had happened.

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

Politics in the organization influenced the situation by interdepartmental dynamics,

conflict with the operations manager, and management oversight. The imbalance in
workload between the Finance department and the Operations department caused an issue
with interdepartmental dynamics. Helping in the operations department may have
inadvertently created an imbalance and led to tension between departments. The repeated
conflicts with the Operations Manager, including yelling, contributed to a toxic work

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 environment. “The management challenge is to recognize and manage interface conflicts
(Boleman and Deal, pg. 202).” Such conflicts can negatively impact job satisfaction,
morale, and overall well-being, ultimately leading to resignation. “More important than
the amount of conflict is how it is managed. Poorly managed conflict leads to infighting
and destructive power struggles (Boleman and Deal, pg. 204).” The fact that management
became aware of the situation after a significant delay raises questions about managerial
oversight effectiveness. The issues could have been mitigated sooner if workloads and
interdepartmental dynamics had been monitored more proactive. To foster a healthier
workplace, organizations should foster transparent communication, manage workloads
effectively, and address conflicts.

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

As Bolman and Deal explain, the political frame emphasizes understanding organizations
as arenas of power, interests, and conflicts. Applying the political frame involves
recognizing stakeholders' diverse perspectives and interests. An alternative course will
recognize the diverse perspectives and instill a sense of reciprocity in the Operations
Manager through the use of influence tactics. "If I do something for you, you'll feel you
should do something for me (Boleman and Deal, pg. 201).” Identifying who holds formal
and informal power, and identifying how power is exercised and negotiated. This
understanding will help in navigating potential sources of resistance or support for the
alternative course of action. Identifying stakeholders and working on an alliance as
friends and allies will make things alot easier (Boleman and Deal, pg. 201). Position
myself in an alternative course of action through the political lens of eprsonal power and
use influence tactics to make the situation better and resolved without a resignation.

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

If I had to reflect on what could have been done differently, it would have been to
establish a personal power base in order to align myself with others so that the Operations
Manager would participate in the workload. Establishing alliances to facilitate the
completion of tasks in both departments. Understanding influence tactics for getting the
Operations manager to commit and remain consistent. Contact the C-executives so that
they are aware of the situation and the conflict can be managed in a more positive
manner.

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 Reference

Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and
Leadership. Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Brand, 2021.