1. Mike Parent
Mid-term Exam
April 21, 2007
Principal McGann finds himself in a political, human resources, and structural
dilemma. Over the past years, he has failed to lead or manage his building and staff.
Given his current situation, McGann should strongly consider a new approach.
McGann is fully aware of the coalitions in his building; one is indifferent to the
authoritarian supervision of Forza, one is supportive of Forza’s coercion, and one faction
is supportive of Houser’s. This poses a dilemma in that the staff is not a cohesive one.
McGann should employ the Structural Frame and reorganize the roles and
responsibilities of the assistant principals. The faction of teachers who were supportive
of Forza should be assigned to Hauser (the veteran AP) while the faction of teachers who
were supportive of Hauser could continue their development with Pierson. McGann
could also employ this same frame, in conjunction with the Human Resource Frame, by
forming a Curriculum Improvement Committee, headed by Hauser and Pierson, that
consists of a number of teachers from the three identified factions. This Curriculum
Improvement Committee would then ultimately report to Baker.
Employing the Political Frame, McGann should announce publicly of his
intention to form this new committee while supplying the board with the structural and
procedural framework of their charge. To this end, McGann would then be politically
aligned with O’Shea, Baker, Hauser, and Pierson. With his faculty, McGann would have
empowered them, yet set a frame in which to operate. Symbolically, McGann would be
telling the staff that he believed in them, supported their professionalism, and would take

2. charge of difficult situations. Employing all four organizational frames, using two
restructuring plans, would find McGann both politically safe with his colleagues and as a
leader to his school.