The Human Resource frame takes the point of view from looking at the people in the organization. It emphasizes the work environment and empowering employees to promote the organizational goals. The frame looks at whether employees have the necessary resources to perform their job. It strives to create a culture of teamwork and collaboration. As the top asset in a company, the frame reviews key players and how they affect the situation. Making sure people are in roles that align with the company to achieve success.
1. Briefly restate your situation and your role.
In 2008 the housing market crashed. At that time, I was the Office Administrator and co-owner of the business BC Constructing LLC. The business was new with under ten employees, and we operated like a family. The business had been driven by public works projects that were in abundance because of rapid growth in the state and housing market. After the housing market crash, the number of jobs decreased and large companies who had never looked at smaller, low dollar jobs, were bidding on every job posted. Work was scarce and companies were scrambling to cover payroll to keep employees working. BC Constructing was also bidding on all jobs possible to keep its employees working. The company process was that all jobs were started after the contract was signed with the customer. The job involved in this situation was now the only job BC Constructing was working on and started on time. One of the subcontractors notified BC Constructing that the delivery for the main pump was not going to be on time. This created a situation with a domino effect on the schedule. The other trades that followed could not perform their part sequentially and in a timely manner causing the project to be in breach of contract with the city. BC Constructing was faced with having to determine whether to hold payment from the subcontractor and enter litigation or move forward and deal with penalties for breach of contract with the customer/city.
2. Describe how the human resources of the organization influenced the situation.
BC Constructing LLC was a small company and in the first 3 years of its inception. The Human Resource model for the company was that the employees would be treated as a top asset. This was a main component of our company, much like the Wegmans Markets chain. We liked the self-management style, which I still endorse personally, as a good human resource model when implemented correctly. We believed we had employees that were aligned with our organizational goals and we wanted a team that would eventually be self-managing with less oversight. We employed people who had the skills and training needed for the jobs we were bidding on. At some point we knew we would have to hire more people when we started running several jobs at a time. We believed that the basic human resource strategy we had in place was a good start to build on. We were committed to investing and supporting our employees as the company grew. We promoted diversity in our hiring practices and instituted opportunities to prepare employees for moving up within the company.
I do believe the human resource frame we were working with did influence the situation in a negative way. Because we valued our employees and wanted to keep them working, knowing that everyone had families to feed and bills to pay, we chose to continue scheduling them as much as possible. This was not the sole reason for the closing of the business, but it contributed to the direness of the situation financially. We could have scaled back with just a crew of 1 or 2 to save money. Had the business laid off most of the employees immediately, there would have been more options financially to utilize in the breach of contract situation.
3. Recommend how you would use the human resources for an alternative course of action regarding your case.
An alternative course of action that might have helped with the situation could have been altering the human resource frame to a hierarchical organizational structure with leadership on top of the pyramid and entry-level employees at the bottom. This type of organizational structure sets the authority at the top with no opportunity for discussion on decisions. This is very different from the self-management style. This might have ben easier to lay lower level employees off sooner but would not have solved the situation.
Another strategy that would have been beneficial would have been a review of the structure through the scope of emotional intelligence. Updated by Salovey and Mayer (from Thorndike), emotional intelligence is a “label for skills that include awareness of self and others and the ability to handle emotions and relationships” (p. 171). This skill would have benefited the management at BC Constructing to be able to sit down and talk with the employees and discuss the situation at hand and allow employees to understand the business predicament. Then listen to the input and feelings of the employees in regard to the situation and how they would be impacted.
4. Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned about this frame.
Of course hind sight is 20/20 when reflecting on a major event that changed the course of your life. There are always things to be learned in any situation, good or bad. No one knows the future, otherwise different choices would have been made from the beginning. I believe that setting up our company with a self-management style would have been a good choice after the company had grown more. I think the company was too small to start that way from the beginning. We did not have the employee base to actively have teams that could manage different areas of the business and we should have utilized a more structured approach to management initially. This could have made the tough decisions more formal and less personal in the midst of the crisis.
When I reflect on the situation with the business the bottom line is that the housing market crash was the main catalyst for the final results of the situation. Most smaller companies could not weather the loss of work and closed their business like we did. The breach of contract by the subcontractor did not relate to a human resource problem and would have been more costly to litigate than pay regardless of the human resource frame. Reframing this situation through the human resource lens would not have altered the outcome of the situation in my opinion.
Reference
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
In 2008 the housing market crashed. At that time, I was the Office Administrator and co-owner of the business BC Constructing LLC. The business was new with under ten employees, and we operated like a family. The business had been driven by public works projects that were in abundance because of rapid growth in the state and housing market. After the housing market crash, the number of jobs decreased and large companies who had never looked at smaller, low dollar jobs, were bidding on every job posted. Work was scarce and companies were scrambling to cover payroll to keep employees working. BC Constructing was also bidding on all jobs possible to keep its employees working. The company process was that all jobs were started after the contract was signed with the customer. The job involved in this situation was now the only job BC Constructing was working on and started on time. One of the subcontractors notified BC Constructing that the delivery for the main pump was not going to be on time. This created a situation with a domino effect on the schedule. The other trades that followed could not perform their part sequentially and in a timely manner causing the project to be in breach of contract with the city. BC Constructing was faced with having to determine whether to hold payment from the subcontractor and enter litigation or move forward and deal with penalties for breach of contract with the customer/city.
2. Describe how the human resources of the organization influenced the situation.
BC Constructing LLC was a small company and in the first 3 years of its inception. The Human Resource model for the company was that the employees would be treated as a top asset. This was a main component of our company, much like the Wegmans Markets chain. We liked the self-management style, which I still endorse personally, as a good human resource model when implemented correctly. We believed we had employees that were aligned with our organizational goals and we wanted a team that would eventually be self-managing with less oversight. We employed people who had the skills and training needed for the jobs we were bidding on. At some point we knew we would have to hire more people when we started running several jobs at a time. We believed that the basic human resource strategy we had in place was a good start to build on. We were committed to investing and supporting our employees as the company grew. We promoted diversity in our hiring practices and instituted opportunities to prepare employees for moving up within the company.
I do believe the human resource frame we were working with did influence the situation in a negative way. Because we valued our employees and wanted to keep them working, knowing that everyone had families to feed and bills to pay, we chose to continue scheduling them as much as possible. This was not the sole reason for the closing of the business, but it contributed to the direness of the situation financially. We could have scaled back with just a crew of 1 or 2 to save money. Had the business laid off most of the employees immediately, there would have been more options financially to utilize in the breach of contract situation.
3. Recommend how you would use the human resources for an alternative course of action regarding your case.
An alternative course of action that might have helped with the situation could have been altering the human resource frame to a hierarchical organizational structure with leadership on top of the pyramid and entry-level employees at the bottom. This type of organizational structure sets the authority at the top with no opportunity for discussion on decisions. This is very different from the self-management style. This might have ben easier to lay lower level employees off sooner but would not have solved the situation.
Another strategy that would have been beneficial would have been a review of the structure through the scope of emotional intelligence. Updated by Salovey and Mayer (from Thorndike), emotional intelligence is a “label for skills that include awareness of self and others and the ability to handle emotions and relationships” (p. 171). This skill would have benefited the management at BC Constructing to be able to sit down and talk with the employees and discuss the situation at hand and allow employees to understand the business predicament. Then listen to the input and feelings of the employees in regard to the situation and how they would be impacted.
4. Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned about this frame.
Of course hind sight is 20/20 when reflecting on a major event that changed the course of your life. There are always things to be learned in any situation, good or bad. No one knows the future, otherwise different choices would have been made from the beginning. I believe that setting up our company with a self-management style would have been a good choice after the company had grown more. I think the company was too small to start that way from the beginning. We did not have the employee base to actively have teams that could manage different areas of the business and we should have utilized a more structured approach to management initially. This could have made the tough decisions more formal and less personal in the midst of the crisis.
When I reflect on the situation with the business the bottom line is that the housing market crash was the main catalyst for the final results of the situation. Most smaller companies could not weather the loss of work and closed their business like we did. The breach of contract by the subcontractor did not relate to a human resource problem and would have been more costly to litigate than pay regardless of the human resource frame. Reframing this situation through the human resource lens would not have altered the outcome of the situation in my opinion.
Reference
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Using the human resource frame lens when reviewing a company problem provides a more comprehensive understanding of the issue. By examining the problem through this perspective I have the opportunity identify underlying people issues and appropriately find effective solutions. It also enhances my understanding of the people I work with. Learning about the process of diverse perspectives improves my understanding and ability to evaluation situations better.