ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS
IN TRANSIT
Zaida E. Rico, P.E., M.S.C.E.E.Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Civil Engineering and Land SurveyingUniversity of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez Campus,
Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program,
Coordinator: Prof. Alberto Figueroa, P.E., Ph.D.Advisor: Prof. Didier Valdés, Ph.D.
August 12, 2010
AGENDA As this project has being through fully
presented to most of this audience before, this presentation contains: Introduction including the main objective, scope
and background general information. Brief summary of the methodology that is
relevant to the new work performed General results and interpretations Concluding discussion and recommendations for
further study resulting from the new work performed
INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVE SCOPE To study if there is
an effect of some organizational factors on the effectiveness of its transit institution.
It is presumed that the
system’s effectiveness is proportional to the relative usage of its services.
NTD reporting institutions Manage heavy rail
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Transportation related systems are comparable to the organizational framework components. NTD includes several organizational capacity variables, however, internal organizational environment is not well represented.
Figure re-drawn from: Douglas Horton et al. EVALUATING CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT: Experiences from Research and Development Organizations around the World. International Development Research Centre, Canada. 2003.
Figure re-drawn from: Manheim, M.L. Fundamentals of transportation systems analysis, Volume 1. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 1979.
ActivitySystem
Transportation System
FlowsInternalEnvironment
Organizational Capacity
OrganizationalPerformance
External Operating
Environment
The Organization
Transportation-Related Systems
Organizational Framework
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY Literature review Preliminary analysis using the National Transit
Database (NTD) of 2008 Cluster analysis to select sample
Survey development and execution All answered that will pass it to appropriate person None answer received
Data collection through institutions’ websites Evaluation of collected data Developing conclusion and providing
recommendations regarding the study approach and organizational factors
CLUSTER ANALYSIS TO DETERMINESAMPLE FOR CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS
Centroid (UPT/ Population)
Cluster Cases in Cluster
System
0.606130 2 1 NYCT 0.322865 1 7 MBTA0.154466 3 35 MARTA0.063253 5 114 MDT0.012186 4 421 PATH
PRHTA category
Total 578
SELECTION OF FACTORSPreviously performed literature review on both transportation and organization was used to select the factors to be studied. Factors mentioned in literature that, according to Business Dictionary, are also the major components of the internal environment of an organization:
organization's mission statementleadership stylesorganizational culture.
Institutional structure is added, as it was specifically considered important by Leland & Smirnova (2008) and Marsden & May (2006).
SELECTION OF FACTORS Factors Definition Literature Review
Organization's Internal Environment (1)
Conditions, entities, events, and factors within an organization which influence its activities and choices, particularly the behavior of the employees.
Major factors considered part of the internal environment of an organization includes: organization's mission statement, leadership styles, and its organizational culture. (1)
Organization’s Mission (1)
Written declaration of a firm's core purpose and focus which normally remain unchanged
Transportation in the New Millennium in 1999 identified, among others, that for the future it is needed that agencies, in order to be effective, must have in place well-defined missions, goals, and objectives; sophisticated strategic planning tools; and outcome-oriented processes for prioritizing investment decisions based on customer input.
Leadership Style (1)
Formal and informal organizational structure, policies, and procedures through which leadership is exercised
Leland & Smirnova (2008) concluded that future research should consider the analysis of variables that specifically relate to the different types of authority systems
Organizational Culture (1)
Organization's past and current assumptions, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and are expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations
TCRP Report 21 (1997) concludes that unless the agency is one that encourages innovation and communication up and down organizational lines, the new view of service will be thwarted.
Institutional Structure (2)
An organization's complex system of mutually connected and dependent elements or parts, which make up a definite manner of arrangement.
Marsden & May (2006) pointed out that a combination of the following can achieve significant improvements in a short period of time: right powers and institutional structure, flexible funding, and a strong political support.
(1) businessdictionary.com (2) eionet.europa.eu
SURVEY As
previously mentioned, a survey was developed and distributed. However, it was non-responsive.
Control Mission Statement1 What's your institution's mission statement?2 About how many times your institution's mission statement have changed in the past 20 years?3 When was the last time your institution's mission statement changed? (Year) Organizational Culture
4 Who (position, department, etc.) is responsible/in charg of performing strategic planning in your institution?5 How your institution's strategic planning is performed? (leadership, regulations, processes)
6
How the priorities and processes are established in your institution and by whom? (leader's policy, mission statement, department's historical goals and objectives, as trouble appears, patron's survey, stakeholder's particular interests, etc.)
Institutional Structure
7 Can you provide me a copy of your institution's organizational charts (related to other complementary institutions and the internal one)?8 Can I contact you later if I have questions regarding the organizational structure of your institution?9 On which decade was your institution created?
10 What is the service sector of your institution? (municipality, region, state, country)11 Which modes of transportation is your institution responsible for?
12 Which are your institution's main fundig sources? (government assignment, service & products income, private support, taxes, bonds)Leadership Style
I'll be describing you different leadership styles. Please let me know which style best describes your organization's. Please let me know if different styles apply at different levels. If that's the case, please indicate me at which level each style applies, by indicating the leader position at which it refers. Please let me know if you would like to add any comment or appropriate discussion.
Style DescriptionAuthoritarian
The leader dictates policies and procedures, decides what goals are to be achieved, and directs and controls all activities without any meaningful participation by the subordinates.
Dominant
Leadership characterized by a clear line of authority that gives the leader the power of delegation, and the power to control the subordinates' level of participation in decision making process.
Transformational
The leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the group.
Achievement oriented
Management which sets challenging goals, assists in training, emphasizes improvement, and expects the highest levels of performance.
Participative
The leader involves subordinates in goal setting, problem solving, team building etc., but retains the final decision making authority.
Delegative The leader transfers decision making power to one or more employees, but remains responsible for their decisions.
Bureaucratic
Emphasizes procedures and historical methods regardless of their usefulness in changing environments. Bureaucratic leaders attempt to solve problems by adding layers of control, and their power comes from controlling the flow of information.
Laissez-faire
Laissez faire (French for, allow to pass or let go). Non-authoritarian leadership style. Leaders try to give least possible guidance to subordinates, and try to achieve control through less obvious means. They believe that people excel when they are left alone to respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways.
INFORMATION GATHERED THROUGH INSTITUTIONS’ WEBSITES Mission
Mission Statement Leadership Style (inference interpretation from structure)
Government Structure Governance General Leadership Individual Leadership
Institutional Structure Authority Level
Organizational Culture (indirect) Diversity of operated modes Existence of fare integration Own Transportation Police History
Agency Enacting Law Date Transportation History Fact at Date of Enacting Main Organization Paradigm as per Literature at Date of Enacting
RESULTS
MISSION
Mission Statement
Mission Key Word MTA MBTA MARTA Dade PANYNJ PRHTA Countservice x x x x x x 6
economic x x x x 4quality x x x 3
regional x x x 3excellence x x x 3community x x x 3
safe x x x 3efficient x x 2
customer x x 2reliable x x 2
environment x x 2Count 5 4 8 6 4 6 33
MISSION STATEMENT Observations
The most repeated word is “service”, which is found at all mission statements.
The institution with most of those words in their statement is MARTA, which have 8.
The system with more usage, MTA, emphasizes the following: service, economy, quality, region and excellence.
The system centroid of the lesser usage, PANYNJ, emphasizes: service, economy, quality and region. These are the same as MTA, except for “excellence”.
Conclusion It doesn’t appear to be a relation between the
concepts being important to be included in the mission and the relative patronage.
LEADERSHIP STYLEStyle Description
Authoritarian
The leader dictates policies and procedures, decides what goals are to be achieved, and directs and controls all activities without any meaningful participation by the subordinates.
Dominant
Leadership characterized by a clear line of authority that gives the leader the power of delegation, and the power to control the subordinates' level of participation in decision making process.
TransformationalThe leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the group.
Achievement oriented
Management which sets challenging goals, assists in training, emphasizes improvement, and expects the highest levels of performance.
ParticipativeThe leader involves subordinates in goal setting, problem solving, team building etc., but retains the final decision making authority.
DelegativeThe leader transfers decision making power to one or more employees, but remains responsible for their decisions.
Bureaucratic
Emphasizes procedures and historical methods regardless of their usefulness in changing environments. Bureaucratic leaders attempt to solve problems by adding layers of control, and their power comes from controlling the flow of information.
Laissez-faire
Laissez faire (French for, allow to pass or let go). Non-authoritarian leadership style. Leaders try to give least possible guidance to subordinates, and try to achieve control through less obvious means. They believe that people excel when they are left alone to respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways.
Definitions as per BusinessDictionary.com
LEADERSHIP STYLE… General Governance Board
Board Members
Appointed By Notes Interpretation
MTA Y 17 GovernorPositions recommended by mayor or county executives of service region.
Appears to be Participative or Delegative as positions, while appointed by Governor, are recommended by different
leaders.
MBTA Y 5 Governor
MassDOT board governs it and MBTA. MBTA will be part of
MassDOT but will retain a separate legal existence.
Appears to be Dominant due to the relation among agencies sharing
the board.
MARTA Y 18 Members represents service cities
and counties.
Could be Participative due the big amount of board members and
their representation.
Dade Y Conty governed by board of
comisioners. Not enough information.
PANYNJ Y 12 Governors
Each governor appoints 6 comissioners, subject to state senate
approval. Comissioners are public officials without pay for overlaping 6
years. Governors retains veto for acts of his state comissioners.
Appears to be Participative due the role and term of commissioners
while governors retains veto (final decision).
PRHTA N 1 Governor
PRHTA Board suppressed in 1971, powers given to the Secretary of
Transportation who governs DTPW.
Appears to be Authoritarian, as an unique leader is responsible for
policy.
GOVERNANCE As can be noticed, all systems, but PRHTA, are
governed by a Board composed of several members. Not all boards have uneven amount of members.
The institutions with more users (MTA, MBTA) have multiple and uneven amount of members.
The systems with lesser amount (MARTA, MANYNJ, PRHTA) have either even amount of members or a single one.
Boards are generally appointed by the Governor. PRHTA used to be governed by a board, but since
1971 it is governed by a single person, the Secretary of Transportation, who is appointed by the Governor.
Remark: The relation between governance or style and effectiveness is not evident, although the amount and representation of board members might be related to it.
…LEADERSHIP… Leadership Structure…
Principal Leader Main Divisions Other Leadership Interpretation
MTAChairman/
Chief Executive
Officer
Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Staff, Senior Advisor to Chariman, Deputy Executive Director for Corporate and Community Affairs, Director for Labor
Relations, Chief Financial Officer, Auditor General, Chief Diversity Officer, Deputy Executive Director for General Counsel,
Deputy Executive Director for Administration, Deputy Executive Director for Security, Director of
Government Affairs, Director for Policy and Media Relations, and Director of
Special Project Development & Planning
Each of 7 MTA agencies have its
president. Agencies: NYCT, Long Isaland
Rail Road, Long Island Bus, Metro-
North Rairoad, Bridges and Tunnels, Capital Construction,
Bus Company.
Dominant / Bureaucratic
MBTA
MassDOT is administered
by a Secretary of
Transportation, appointed by the Governor to serve as
Chief Executive Officer.
MassDOT oversees four new divisions: Highway, Mass Transit, Aeronautics and the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), in
addition to an Office of Planning and Programming.
A single person occupy the positions of General Manager of the MBTA and the
Rail & Transit Administrator of
MassDOT to manage the day-to-day
operations of the MBTA and MassDOT ‘s Transit Division.
Authoritarian
MARTA Operations, Maintenance, Finance,
Human ResourcesExecutive
Management Team Participative
…LEADERSHIP… …Leadership Structure…
Principal Leader Main Divisions Other Leadership Interpretation
Dade
Miami-Dade has a Mayor with the power to veto
Commission action items. In January 2007, the Mayor was
given additional powers providing for the oversight of the day-to-day operations of
Miami-Dade.
Departments (sample): Transit, Public Works, Sustainability,
Port of Miami, Planning & Zoning, Environmental
Resources Management, Aviation, Building Code
Compliance, among others.
Department Directors Authoritarian / Bureaucratic
PANYNJ
An Executive Director, appointed by the Board of
Commissioners, is responsible for managing the
operation of the Port Authority in a manner
consistent with the agency's policies, as established by the
Board.
There are four main officers under the Executive Director:
financial, administrative, operating and capital planning.
Under the Chief Operating Officer there
are the following divisions/modes:
aviation, tunnels/bridges/termin
als, rail tranist, port commerce.
Dominant
PRHTA
PRHTA has an Executive Director, appointed by the DTPW Secretary with the approval of the Governor.
There are common divisions of legal affairs, communications & public relations, and strategic
planning that are shared among the DTPW and PRHTA.
In general, PRHTA builds infrastructure and DTPW maintains it. PRHTA also operates the freeway and
heavy rail systems. PRHTA main divisions: Infrastructure,
Traffic and Freeways, Transportation, Finance,
Human Resources.
Each PRHTA main division has a Deputy Executive
Director.Authoritarian /
Bureaucratic
LEADERSHIP Remark:
The relation between structure or style and effectiveness is not evident from this exercise.
INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE Authority Level
The three representatives of the clusters with more usage have a master institution that manages several modes at a regional level, covering several counties or several cities.
The representative of the clusters with mid level usage have a smaller coverage area in terms of amount of jurisdictions (one county).
The representative of the clusters with less usage have state or bi state jurisdiction.
Remark: Authority level might have some influence with effectiveness.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE… Modes
All institutions from the different cluster representatives manage several modes.
Could be interpreted that the general culture includes the multimodal point of view.
Therefore, this might not be a differentiating characteristic. Fare Integration
All institutions have some level of fare integration. The cluster with the major usage have a single fare pass
integrating other modes managed by the institution and also another heavy rail managed by other institution (this one is in the smaller usage cluster). It appears that level of integration might be a
differentiating factor. Could be interpreted that the integration vision could be part
of the culture.
…ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Own Police
The following have their own police force: MTA MARTA Miami-Dade County Port Authority NY/NJ
DTPW has an order corps to emit parking violation tickets.
Having an own police for enforcement could be interpreted as a culture of empowerment to enforce policies and strategies. Doesn’t seem to be a differentiating
characteristic.
…ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: HISTORY…Agency Enacting Law Date Transportation History at Date of Enacting Organization Paradigm
in LiteratureMTA 1968 (1st MTA Board Chair) On 67, Public Roads Administration, Bureau of
Motor Carrier Safety and National Highway Safety Bureau becomes part of the Federal Highway Administration; under the Department of Transportation. On 68, Federal Aid Highway Act amended to include a section of Civil Rights within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. Office of Civil Rights turned into a departmental office on 69.
Recognition of specialization and that its rate of increase is faster than rate of change of organizational culture.
MBTA 1964 (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, having been voted into law in June of that year by the General Court)
On 63, Vietnam war. On 64, Under president Lyndon Johnson, Urban Mass Transportation Act (3-year program).
Recognition of specialization and that its rate of increase is faster than rate of change of organizational culture.
MARTA 1965 (the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act was passed by the state legislature and subsequently approved in four counties and the City of Atlanta, creating MARTA)
On 64, Under president Lyndon Johnson, Urban Mass Transportation Act (3-year program).
Recognition of specialization and that its rate of increase is faster than rate of change of organizational culture.
Dade County: 1957 (Metropolitan Dade County government was officially established) Transit: 1960 (The County Commission passed an ordinance creating the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to unify the different transit operations into one countywide service. This ordinance provided for the purchase, development, and operation of an adequate mass transit system by the County. These companies included the Miami Transit Company, Miami Beach Railway Company, South Miami Coach Lines, and Keys Transit Company on Key Biscayne and would be managed by National City Management Co.)
On 56, Under Dwight David Eisenhower presidency, Federal Aid Highway Act to support National system of Interstate & Highway Defense, creation o f Highway Trust Fund.
Organization is a mean to satisfy performance. Its efficiency is tied to its simplicity, short chain of command and manager's training.
PANYNJ Port Authority 1921. PATH 1962 On 56, Under Dwight David Eisenhower presidency, Federal Aid Highway Act to support National system of Interstate & Highway Defense, creation o f Highway Trust Fund.
Recognition of specialization and that its rate of increase is faster than rate of change of organizational culture.
PRHTA DTPW: 1952. PRHTA: 1965 (Highway Authority, 1991 ammended to Highway and Transportation Authority)
On 64, Under president Lyndon Johnson, Urban Mass Transportation Act (3-year program). On 91, Under president Bush Sr., Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, creation of Federal Transit Administration, and Intermodalism office at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Recognition of specialization and that its rate of increase is faster than rate of change of organizational culture.
…ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE History
Enacting year of the institutions was compared to an historical event related to transportation and to the main transportation paradigm as per literature of that time.
Most institutions were created around the 1960’s. At that time, federal agencies were re-arranging and
laws were created to emphasize mass transit. Organization literature of the time emphasized the
fact of specialization. Remarks:
The historical perspective might have influenced on the creation of subdivisions. This could lead to confusion of roles if not well planned or if the intention is merely to comply with regulations.
Since is similar for most, might not be a differentiating factor.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUDING DISCUSSION Since the greater usage was found on the institution that integrated its fare, not
only with all its modes but with some modes managed by other institution, the study of mode integration deserves further study. It may appear that if an institution finds out that its users needs other existing services
managed by others, the service quality and its usage may be improved with some kind of coordination, fare and/or other integration measures.
As the three institutions with greater usage are ones that serve at regional level, while the lesser usage is observed at institutions that serve at state or greater level, it can be said that to study the service area level may be worthwhile. While a regional level appear to be beneficial in considering several stages of its user’s
trips, this ability seems to diminish in greater areas of service.
Other aspect that seems to deserve be further studied is the configuration of the boards governing and taking decisions in the institutions. The ones with greater usage have multiple and uneven amount of members. The ones with less usage have either even amount of members or a single one, situation
that could make the decision making process a time consuming one (in the case of even members) or bias it (in the case of a single member).
The organizational configuration is the other factor that is recommended to be further investigated. The institutions with the greater usage have operational divisions per modes, however, the
rest of the administration is considered as a whole or as a system.
RECOMMENDATIONSFOR FURTHER STUDY Consider the following factors as they might
have some influence on transit usage: Mode integration
How is it considered Jurisdiction of service area
Coverage and how it is considered Governing board configuration
How is the decision making process Organizational configuration
How are the responsibilities distributed
THANK YOUQuestions & Comments
