OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Human Resource Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the human resource frame
2. Apply the human resource 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.

There are annual reviews going on within my organization. For context, I am in the
United States Air Force and these reviews are called Enlisted Performance Boards (EPBs).
This process can be tense since your results can determine whether or not you get a
“promotion statement”. These statements allow members a certain number of points, extra,
for when they go to test for promotion.

The EPB is a new system since the previous rating forms we used last year. However,
there has been some disconnect as to what is the most important information to capture from
the previous year. Certain people, such as my superintendent, feels as though it should be
direct work related to the mission. For example, how many jobs you completed. Whereas
“Big Air Force” feels we should be still capturing the extracurriculars to include volunteer
activities and education. This has left people at the shop level, such as myself, in an odd
position since we are at the mercy of the superintendent’s corrections to our EPBs even if this
will render them non-competitive at the squadron level.

This has left me and two fellow Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) in a weird place
where I wasn’t considered due to a preexisting reputation regardless of my strong paperwork,
another member was told to leave off his extras and became non-viable, and the third was
competitive and was mainly extra stuff.

2) Describe how the human resources of the organization influenced the situation.

Much like the negative examples we learnd in this module, the mid level
leadership in my flight (between my work center and command staff) tend to think the
people work to benefit the organization. Therefore, they consistently try and mold people
within their perview to match what they believe to be the ideal candidate for a promotion
statement. This has left people feeling as though they are a bad fit for the Air Force.

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 Also, in our readings we went over emotional intelligence which seems to be highly
lacking and working against us as a team. This scenario has sewn discord between my
peers and I as we try to navigate the truth.

My peer, we’ll call him noncommissioned officer A (NCO A) was told to leave
off his volunteer and educational activities of the year because my superintendent
believesthat work should be the primary focus. This is an action that the superintendent
is allowed to do legally, albeit not ethically. For me, I wasn’t even considered
competitive due to a standing reputation amongst the flight leadership. However, when
the results came out, NCO A was not competitive at the squadron (command) level since
his review was all work, and my review was regarded as much more highly competitive
by my direct boss (just beneath the superintendent but participated in package reviews).
This lack of EI and seeing how these choices would affect members, or how they would
misalign with the higher vision, left all of us confused and frustrated.

This lack of regard for how the decisions would impact our performance and buy-
in has created a large set back. Although myself and NCO A are still colleagues and
friends, we both lost a lot of motivation to try an go above and beyond. We feel like we
make efforts for them to just be disregarded and our leadership would rather go with gut
feelings on people. We must remember, “Organizations exist to serve human needs, not
the inverse” (Bolman, 2021).

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

“But there is broad agreement that people want things that go beyond money, such as
doing good work, getting better at what they do, bonding with other people, and finding
meaning and purpose” (Bolman, 2021). With this in mind, I would push the leaders in the
organization to focus more on how their decisions affect the team members. For instance,
the lack of transparency on individual versus organizational perpsectives has left me and my
peers confused and unmotivated to pursue recognition. Therefore, knowing that fnding
meaning and purpose should be at the forefront when dealing with people in a workplace that
inherently makes you feel more like a number rather than a person. I would utilize a feedback
system where we could anonymously share our thoughts in the hopes that higher echilons
would adapt and adjust their strategy.

Knowing that the second highest tier on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is esteem, one
would think that it would be crucial to maintain this element. Personally, I was beyond
deflated to hear that I was not considered competitive without a proper reasoning. It is
unacceptable to have that sort of feedback, or lack there of, in regards to an annual review
that will have implications on the rest of my career. As for my peer, he was told he was the
most competitive amongst my work section and two others without any proper feedback as to

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 why he was not competitive once he reached higher levels. We needed to pressure our direct
supervisor to get any sort of inormal insight. So, moving forward, if I were to use the frame
of HR, I would key in on transparency as to why decisions were made, and what the
ramifications were.

4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about this frame.
I must look at this from a perspective that I am unable to make large,
organizational changes from my level. However, I can make a difference that may
eventually spread to higher tiers. I would first realize that I am able to influence the
motivation and attitude of those around me. I would like to say that I have a very high
EQ, and therefore would use this to my advantage. We learned about empathy and how
building relationships can be risky, yet rewarding. I would lean on this to develop a
stronger bond to build emotional resilience amongst myself and peers to he uncertainty
and careless decisions of our leaders.
“Argyris believed that organizations often treated workers like children rather
than adults” (Bolman, 2021). This sentiment doesn’t ring anymore true than in the
USAF. With this knowledge, I would work to give my troops the support needed to have
autonomy, and also support my peers’ decisions and recognize their accomplishments.
This way, we can alleviate this weight on our backs that we may be micromanaged or not
trusted regards of the feats we display. This is about all I ca do at my level for the current
moment and I know that the human dynamis aspect of the military is lacking. Yet, I am
going to persever by utilizing my knowledge of human interactions and how empathy can
inspire change in mindsets by developing a sense of purpose and support.

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 Reference

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