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.

SD Electrical, is an electrical contracting company founded five years ago by my

husband. I started working for the company a year after its inception, in 2020. We focus
on commercial projects comprising 80% of our business. We prioritizes quality
craftsmanship and customer satisfaction, relying heavily on word-of-mouth referrals. My
role within the organization encompasses both human resources and finance
management, overseeing employee onboarding, account management, and strategic
planning. Challenges arose due to my husband's disconnection from the team and
clientele, stemming from his need to still work another full-time job as the business was
in its infant stage. This led to employee dissatisfaction, misconduct, and a lack of
accountability both from employees and staff. This specific situation I'll be analyzing
pertains to an absentee boss and how it effected the beginning stages of the business, as
well as put the long-term success of the business in jeopardy.

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

SD Electrical was and still is a small, family-owned company, this had a significant
impact in shaping the structure. It also impacted the situation concerning an absentee
boss. The company started with one vehicle, two part-time employees, with my husband
taking on the role of owner, admin, and master electrician. We operated everything from
a very simple structure, “with only two levels: the strategic apex and an operating level”
(Bolman & Deal, 2021). As the company grew, this small organizational structure started
to stretch everyone thin. I stepped in at this time to take over account management and
human resources. This decision helped alleviate some of the administrative burdens, but
my husband still found it very challenging to lead and manage our small crew, while also
maintaining his full-time job. My husband's position as a master electrician and co-
founder placed him in a central leadership role within the organization. We were running
the business together, but he was the brains and heart of the company. However, his
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 simultaneous engagement in a full-time job outside of SD Electrical led to a
disconnection from the day-to-day operations and employee interactions. The absence of
his direct involvement in managerial tasks and employee engagement fostered a void in
leadership that affected the whole organization.

While my husband tried to stay engaged with the crew, as the company continued to
grow, this issue compounded. We added additional employees, consisting of two full-
time crewmembers, three part-time crewmembers, and an additional administrator. We
lacked designated managerial structure which meant that operational responsibilities were
distributed informally, often leading to overlaps or gaps in accountability. We all felt
disconnected from one another, and at times we felt like we were navigating in the dark,
with a small flashlight. Bolman and Deal explain that “effective teams typically have a
clear purpose, measurable goals, the right mix of expertise, a common commitment to
working relationships, and collective accountability” (Bolman & Deal, 2021), with that
knowledge, we were far from where we needed and wanted to be. With my husband
predominantly focused on technical aspects and myself overseeing administrative tasks,
there existed a disconnect in leadership cohesion and a lack of centralized authority.
Employees found themselves navigating an ambiguous organizational landscape, lacking
clear channels for communication, guidance, and accountability. This structure not only
impeded effective decision-making and coordination but also fueled employee
dissatisfaction and misconduct. The business was at a standstill, and something had to
shift.

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

We were operating within a simple structure during the first two years of business,
coordinating everything ourselves, “operating in a small mom-and-pop operation”
(Bolman & Deal, 2021). Not only were we handling all aspects of the business ourselves,
we were also suffering from my husbands absence. Something needed to shift. The first
course of action was to create an opportunity for my husband to come on full time,
allowing him to fully operate as a present CEO. I applied for a full-time job to replace his
steady income and he was able to focus full-time on our growing business. This transition
changed everything. We went from a disjointed company that lacked vision and direction,
to a company with new energy. This change didn’t come without challenges. Some of the
damage that was done during the time of my husband’s absenteeism, took time to repair.
This resturcting also took a toll on the company for awhile as we all learned how to
function within our new roles. “Although restructuring is one of the most popular
management strategies for improving performance, and more than half of new CEO’s
implement a reorganization in their first two years on the job, more than half of
companies rate their reorganization initiatives as unsucessful” (Blenko, Mankins, and

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 Rogers, 2010). This was an exciting, but also challenging time. We knew this move to
restructure was necessary for the success of the company, it was also full of challenges to
overcome. We were determind not to fail.

Within the first few months of transition into a new structure, we lost two of our full-time
employees, moved locations and hired additional administrative help. With my husband
working full-time at the company, he now had time to dedicate to defining specific goals
and an overall vision, “a key ingredient of a top-notch team is an appropriate blueprint of
roles and relationships aligned with tasks and goals or missions” (Bolman & Deal, 2021).
We became very clear on what our mission was, and the path we needed to take to get
there. We were proud of the culture we had built, but with the restructuring, that shifted
as well. Instead of a soley family feel operation, we shifted to more of a duel authority
model, “creating a management level below the boss” (Bolman & Deal, 2021). This
model works well in the construction industry, where job site managers oversee jobs and
report to the head boss. Restructing this way, created accountability for our
crewmembers, instilled confidence in our job site mangers and gave the necessary space
for my husband to focus on scaling the business to the next level. While this restructing
had its challenges, it was a necessary step for our specific situation. It’s what we needed
to do, in order to succeed.

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

Gaining a greater understanding of the importance of structuring, I would have structured

appropriately from the beginning. SD Electrical was started as a side business, a way for
our family to earn extra income while still working our full-time jobs. The demand for
high quality electrical service was high in our community, which lead to an organic
growth we didn’t anticipate. Word spread quickly and we found ourselves with a constant
flow of work, all by word of mouth. A few small jobs, quickly turned into larger
remodels and small commercial projects. Had we planned for growth, with better market
research, we possibly could have planned better for the growth we experienced. If we
could have anticipated our rapid growth, I would have liked to structure our company
with my husband fully present from the beginning. This would have solved so many
complications, from employee disatifaction, budget constrants, and jobs not finishing on
time, resulting in dissatisfied customers.

With my husband present, he could have implemented better hands-on training to our
apprentices, which would have helped with quality control. With him present at the shop
and on the job site, he would have better understood our employees complaints, helping

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 to rectify those issues and possibly help avoid losing valuable employees. He would have
also been able to implement processes to keep our employees accountable, helping to
encourage integrity on the job. With my husband present he was able to implement
helpful processes and have keep a pulse on the morale of our team. He was able to
consistently communicate the common purpose and goals of the organization, a mission
to serve the Phoenix area with top notch service with integrity. “High-performing teams
hold themselves collectively accountable” (Bolman & Deal, 2021). With a present boss,
the team felt cared for and respected for their hard work. Appreciation was shown
through consistent individual conversations with my husband, team meetings to start the
day connecting to the mission, as well as daily incentives through meals, drinks and
affirmations to communicate value. This shift changed the entire trajectory of our
business shifting towards success and away from failure.

References

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Blenko, Marcia W, et al. “The Decision-Driven Organization.” Harvard Business Review, 5 Nov.
2014, hbr.org/2010/06/the-decision-driven-organization.

Bolman, L. G. & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass