In the Module 3 SLP, you will write a 3- to 4-page paper in which you will apply the Political Frame to the organization in which you are currently employed (or in which you have worked previously).

Assignment

The Module 3 SLP requires that you write a 3- to 4-page paper, in which you address the following:

After giving a brief description of the organization in which you presently work (or in which you have previously worked), apply the Political Frame to 2-3 examples of political behaviors that are presently occurring – or have occurred – within your organization.

Background Information

Let’s begin here with an excerpt from Bolman, L. G. & Deal, T. E. (2003). Reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and leadership (3^rd ed.). San Francisco: John Wiley. Note the assumptions of the Political Frame, as you will use these to guide the writing of your Case:

Assumptions of the Political Frame

The political frame views organizations as living, screaming political arenas that host a complex web of individual and group interests. Five propositions summarize the perspective:

1. Organizations are coalitions of diverse individuals and interest groups.
2. There are enduring differences among coalition members in values, beliefs, information, interests, and perceptions of reality.
3. Most important decisions involve allocating scarce resources—who gets what.
4. Scarce resources and enduring differences make conflict central to organizational dynamics and underline power as the most important asset.
5. Goals and decisions emerge from bargaining, negotiation, and jockeying for position among competing stakeholders.

All five propositions of the political frame came to the fore in the Challenger incident:

1. Organizations are coalitions. NASA did not run the space shuttle program in isolation. The agency was part of a complex coalition including contractors, Congress, the White House, the military, the media—even the American public. Consider, for example, why Christa McAuliffe–was aboard. Her expertise as a social science teacher was not critical to the mission. But the American public was bored with white male pilots in space. Human interest was good for both NASA and Congress; it built public support for the space program. McAuliffe’s participation was a magnet for the media because it made for a great human interest story. Three years earlier, Sally Ride generated excitement as the first female astronaut. Now the idea of putting an ordinary citizen in space—especially a teacher—caught the public’s imagination. Symbolically, Christa McAuliffe represented all Americans. Everyone flew with her.
2. There are enduring differences among coalition members. NASA’s hunger for funding competed with the public’s interest in lower taxes. Astronauts’ concerns about safety were at odds with pressures on NASA and its contractors to maintain an ambitious flight schedule.
3. Important decisions involve allocating scarce resources. On the eve of the Challenger launch, key parties struggled to balance conflicting pressures. Everyone from Pres. Ronald Reagan to the average citizen was waiting for the first teacher to fly in space. Higher safety carried a high price—not just money, but further erosion of support from key constituents for both Morton Thiokol and NASA. Survivor, a pioneer of “reality” television, guaranteed political infighting because the rules allowed for only one winner.
4. Scarce resources and enduring differences make conflict central and power the most important asset. The teleconference on the eve of the launch began as a debate between the contractor and NASA. As a sole customer, NASA was in the driver’s seat. When managers at Morton Thiokol sensed NASA’s level of disappointment and frustration, they asked for time to caucus. The scene shifted to a tense standoff between engineers and managers. Engineers were unable leverage their expertise, their primary source of power, into a sufficiently persuasive case. Managers used their authority to recommend the launch despite the opposition.
5. Goals and decisions emerge from bargaining, negotiation, and jockeying for position among competing stakeholders. Political bargaining with the help of powerful allies got Morton Thiokol into the rocket motor business. Thiokol’s engineers had been attempting to increase management’s attention to the booster joint problem for many months. But acknowledging a problem, in addition to costing substantial time and money, risked eroding Morton Thiokol’s credibility. A large and profitable contract was hanging in the balance.

The assumptions of the political frame outline sources of power dynamics. A coalition forms because of interdependence among its members; they need one another, even though their interests may only partly overlap. The assumption of enduring difference implies that political activity is more visible and dominant under conditions of diversity than of homogeneity. Agreement and harmony are easier to achieve when everyone shares similar values, beliefs, and culture.

The concept of scarce resources suggests that politics will be more salient and intense in difficult times. Schools and colleges, for example, have lived through alternating times of feast and famine in response to peaks and valleys in economic and demographic trends. When money and students are plentiful (as they were in the 1960s and again in the 1990s), administrators spend time determining which buildings to erect and programs to initiate. Conversely, when resources dry up, conflict mushrooms and administrators often succumb to political forces they neither understand nor control.

Another key political issue is power—its distribution and exercise. Power in organizations is basically the capacity to get things done. Pfeffer (1992, p. 30) defines power as “the potential ability to influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, and to get people to do things they would not otherwise do.” Russ (1994, p. 38) puts it more strongly as the ability to “make one’s will prevail and to attain one’s goal.” Social scientists have often emphasized tight linkage between power and dependency: if A has something B wants, A has leverage. In much of organizational life, individuals and groups are interdependent; they need things from one another, and power relationships are multidirectional. From the view of the political frame, power is a “daily mechanism of our social existence” (Crozier and Friedberg, 1977, p. 32).

The final proposition of the political frame emphasizes that goals are set not by fiat at the top but through an ongoing process of negotiation and interaction among key players. To illustrate, consider another example: a commitment China made in December 2001 to promote its accession to the World Trade Organization. The Chinese government promised to get serious about protecting intellectual property, ensuring that products carrying labels such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Sony, and Rolex were authentic. The central government passed laws, threw the book at the occasional unlucky offender, blustered in the media, and put pressure on local governments. Yet six months later, name-brand knockoffs and pirated software were still on sale all over China, even a few blocks from Tiananmen Square” (Bolman & Deal, 2003, pp. 186-9).

Let’s continue our discussion with this interesting presentation on the Political Frame:

Jacobs, R.M. (n.d.). Theories of practice: The political frame. Villanova University. Retrieved on May 1, 2014 from http://www83.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.jacobs/MPA%208002/Powerpoint/8002%20MPA/political.ppt

Finally, be sure to review the following presentation relating to power, politics, and conflict:

Hogan, R.L. (n.d). Chapter 9: Power, conflict, and coalitions. Eastern Illinois University. Retrieved on May 12, 2014 from http://www.eiu.edu/~lhogan/Bolman%20&%20Deal%20ch0…

Analyze IT data communications techniques and business processes that can be applied to your project based on this week’s readings (Essentials of MIS, Chs. 3 and 7).

Create a Microsoft^® Word analysis of no more than 700 words that includes the following:

• Outline which type of data communications you recommend are needed for your project.
• Describe which type of project planning methodology you would recommend for your project.

Create a proposed budget for your project in a Microsoft^® Excel^® spreadsheet based on the recommendations in the readings. Include estimated costs for the required activities including project development and implementation, customer support, and any other element you believe should be included in your project budget.

In your response be sure to make a personal connection with something your peers shared. 150 words.

My name is Nancy Blair; I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and I work supervising 6 Head Start classrooms. I was a preschool teacher for 21 years before becoming a Program Coordinator for Child Focus, Inc. I’m pursuing my education in Child Development to continue what I’m doing, since my job now requires that I have a Bachelor’s Degree of some sort in early childhood. I’m married and have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren who make my life very happy. I also own 1 dog, and 2 cats. I love to boat, hike, garden, and watch my grandchildren.

The cartoon reminds me of when my son was three years old and wanted to be Superman for Halloween. He put on the costume that included a cape, I watched him out the window as he climbed on top of the picnic table and kept jumping off the end onto the ground. After doing this several times he came into the house crying that he couldn’t fly, I was surprised at first that he thought he could actually fly when he wore the costume, but I had to explain to him that wouldn’t happen.

The cartoon does fit my philosophy of working with children. Children learn through positive guidance and caretakers that share enriching experiences with them. By having meaningful interactions with children and sharing experiences, they will learn new things that will help them understand our environment.

Health information technology (health IT) makes it possible for health care providers to better manage patient care through secure use and sharing of health information. Health IT includes the use of electronic health records (EHRs) instead of paper medical records to maintain people’s health information.

Share the EHR platform that your practice uses (Caretracker) and discuss the challenges and barriers to electronic charting. Why have we moved from paper charting to EHR’s? What is meant by meaningful use regulations and why is this important to know when documenting in the EHR?

Please support your work with at least three evidence based practice resources that are less than 5 years old using 6^th edition APA formatting

Important! Read First

Emerging technology has shaped consumer behavior, especially within the past decade. Consumers in all generations and age groups rely on digital and social media to help them make purchase decisions. Consumer behavior is also directly affected by technology because the purchase decision is simpler and more convenient than in the past. Marketers are analyzing how the latest technological advances have caused shifts in consumer behavior. Marketers are also using this information to maximize opportunities to reach consumers who meet certain criteria.

From cell phones to tablets, information is accessible from virtually anywhere. Some companies participate in “information exchange” based on consumer searches that are captured by cookies on their computers. When consumers use these technological means to access information, their searches are stored and then sold to the highest bidder in this exchange. As discussed in the textbook, this behavioral information is then used to target customers while they peruse online.

Choose one of the following two assignments to complete this week. Do not do both assignments. Identify your assignment choice in the title of your submission.

Option 1: In a well-written, 2- to 3-page paper demonstrating CSU-Global standards, discuss your findings on the methods used by companies to track online consumer behavior. Make sure to address the following questions, ensuring your analysis pertains to issues concerning marketing ethics:

• What are the implications for those companies that bid for the chance to have exclusive advertising featured on their webpage? Is this practice based on the information exchange or some other type of consumer behavior?
• Will these companies have issues involving customer privacy? Why or why not?

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

• 2-3 pages in length, not including title and reference pages
• Formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements.
• Include at least 3 outside sources. The CSU-Global Library is a good place to find these sources.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This paper must be written formally and can not include any personal experiences, this paper must be written in third person.