Symbolic+Frame

In order to be able to understand how the four frameworks, in particular the symbolic frame, apply to our TTC fare hike situation, we first need to understand what does symbolic framework mean and then consider whether actually it is applicable to our TTC situation or not. The symbolic frame stresses on the importance of symbols and how powerful they are in interpreting things. The symbolic framework explains how humans make sense of the world we live in. It centers around meaning, belief and faith. This framework is based upon the assumptions that what is important is not what happened but what it means, that activity and meaning are loosely coupled, that people resort to symbols to resolve confusion, events and processes are more important for what is expressed than for what is produced, and that culture provides basic organizational glue. Finally the symbolic framework may take several forms within an organization theses may include myths, vision, values, ritual, stories, ceremonies, heroes and heroines, humor and play. When applying the symbolic frame to the TTC situation, it is obvious that the situation may be perceived by different individuals differently either positively or negatively. In this case commuters are going to resort to symbols to resort their confusion regarding the TTC’s decision to raise the fairs again. They are going to try to make sense of what did that decision mean. For some commuters they might see the situation negatively and accuse the commission’s decision of exploitation. People may question the ethical grounds behind such a decision especially that the TTC has been following the trend of increasing fares almost yearly for about five years now. On the other hand another group of people may look at the meaning of such a decision positively and think that the commission had no other choice but to increase fares in order to cover up the budget shortfalls. This group of people would perceive the fare increase as a more reasonable solution than say cutting services or a decrease in service quality. The essence of this conflict of views explains how the symbolic frame works. A certain decision or symbol can be interpreted by people differently. If we analyze the decision of the commission to increase fares in 2010 given the economic downturn that has caused million of layoffs in more detail, we are going to notice that such a decision was not made on the basis of a symbolic frame. From my point of view such a decision appears to be purely technical. The TTC management did not invest in creating a positive spirit within the organization. The essence of the symbolic frame success is culture and spirit. From the background information we have on the TTC system and how it is managed, we can conclude that it does not have a strong culture or a positive spirit in order to succeed. We know for fact that the TTC has been known recently for its unreliable service and frequent system outage. Although it is one of the most essential services as most of its riders are either university students or are employed in the area, it is also known for its poor service and over crowding. With such a negative image and tons of unsatisfied customers, it is obvious that such an organization has failed to create a positive culture or spirit that may support the decision to increase fares. Even though the TTC management has been facing difficulty covering for their budget shortfalls and from their perspective their decision to increase fares might have been the best solution, their failure to create a positive culture both inside and outside the organization has led to an increased customer outrage. Not only that but the TTC management has failed to create a positive image of their services in the eyes of its customers. The organization has been only successful in ruining its image in the eyes of the community. The organization failed to provide a reasonable quality service that is equivelant to the fare riders pay. Instead of working on developing a vision and values that boost customer satisfaction and loyalty, the organization was burdened by its budget shortfalls for years that they have neglected to address their image in the eyes of their riders. The TTC is now known for its unsatisfactory service. Riders has been experiencing poor quality service, frequent service cuts and over crowding. With such an image in mind, how should we expect riders to react when they hear that they are going to even pay more for that kind of service. The lack of trust riders have in the TTC management team has lead to the increased outrage and over 31,000 complaints in between January 1 and November 31, 2009. Even though commissioners and TTC staff promised to work on service improvements. They committed to set aside $3.4 million of the increased fare revenue to ensure a 10-minute-or-better service to some of the busiest bus routes next year, riders still accepted the news with dissatisfaction and outrage. This is mainly because they totally lost faith in the system. They can only see a worsened service year over year coupled with increased fares. The TTC management has failed to provide riders with faith in the system, as they have never succeeded in communicating any values, visions, and beliefs. There hasn’t been any intension to develop a strong organization culture that can sustain the organizations budget crisis. It is also important to mention that the TTC situation is not expected to be a temporary situation. The TTC has been facing budget downfalls for several years and is expected to still face such downfalls in the future as well. In addition the government is not expected to increase its subsidies to this sector any time in the future. It worth knowing that the transit system recovers only about 71 per cent of its costs for the time being, and the commission needs to consider serious and long term action in order to deal with such a dilemma. Knowing that the TTC system did not deal with the situation using the symbolic framework and that they have dealt with it more on the technical side rather than on the cultural or the spiritual side, what were the other solutions for the TTC’s point of view (the technical framework) as opposed to the symbolic framework. From the TTC’s standpoint there were three ways for the TTC to raise operating revenue: Cut service, increased subsidies from government and fare hikes. From their perspective the answer was easy, they were not expecting any increased subsidies in the near future and they were totally against service cuts as they suffered from such a decision previously. Hence the answer was to increase fares, although I am not sure what sort of cost cuts did they consider before deciding to increase their fares. On the other hand the TTC could have dealt with the situation more on the symbolic frame side had they worked on developing a good and sound internal and external culture. In addition if they had worked on restoring customers faith in the service they provide, customers would have better accepted their decision. They should have stressed on communicating their vision, belief and values to the community. According to the symbolic frame the TTC needed the following for its riders to accept their decision to increase fares: All these factors if present could have helped the TTC system handle the situation in a symbolic way and pass such a decision without being faced with riders outrage.
 * 1) Vision, values and beliefs in the system
 * 2) Working on creating culture and spirit
 * 3) Belief in the management system
 * 4) High quality service in order to restore customer satisfaction
 * 5) Good communication to help customers understand that the system is not trying to exploit them and that their decision is purely made to cover budget downfalls that will not be covered by government subsidies any time in the near future.
 * 6) And finally providing an essential service (which they already do).