short case

please read the case and give your own words answer and the answer should be well presented with 0% plagiarism

A. What is the underlying problem in this case from NYCTA President Andy Byford's perspective?

B. What barriers to decision making were prevalent before Byfords arrival? Explain.

C. Which Nonrational decision making model does Byford employ? How?

Home Tools 4_582341162109... X Sign In 2 1 2 72 70% Share in its crumbling infrastructure, but state leaders instead ordered the MTA to bail out state-run ski resorts. The New York Daily News reported that in 2013 around $5 million was sent to the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates the state ski resorts. Lawmakers and transportation advocates ques- tioned the decision to bail out ski resorts when the sub- way system urgently needed attention. A state senator told the Daily News, "The MTA needs more money, not less. It's having enough trouble funding its own needs. I don't see why we'd be sending MTA resources to ski slopes." The MTA does not oversee state-run ski resorts, but it sent the money anyway.190 The agency's board hired a law firm to investigate the decision. It was found to be legal, but the board still labeled it as inappropriate.191 IT'S IN THE DATA! Why all these poor decisions? One reason is that lead- ers may not have been utilizing data to support their actions. For example, the MTA's sloppy data collec- tion prevented it from adopting congestion pricing, a strategy of increasing fares during times of peak rider- ship (similar to Uber's "surge pricing). Supporters of congestion pricing told CBS News that this scheme would address gridlock and raise money for mass tran- sit. Skeptics of congestion pricing included Bill de Blasio, New York City's mayor. De Blasio believed congestion pricing in general was a burden on middle class and low-income commuters 192 These conflicting views, coupled with a lack of evidence to support an ideal solution, may have led to indecision on fare price increases. All these issues have made the subway situation so bad that New York's governor declared a "state of emergency" for the system in 2017.19 Riders also made declarations of their own. A group of them ral- lied at the State Capitol in Albany in 2018. The protes- tors, representing subway riders, told am New York they were "desperate for change" and that state legislators could not leave Albany without approving new fund- ing for the system.194 New Yorkers' patience had reached its end. A NEW DECISION MAKER ENTERS THE PICTURE Andy Byford became head of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) in January 2018. The NYCTA is the division of the MTA that oversees the New York City subway and bus systems. Byford came from the Toronto transit system, where he executed a five-year modernization plan. The plan significantly improved the subway system, and Toronto earned "outstanding public transit system of the year" in 2017. A Toronto transit activist told the Guardian that upon his arrival in Canada, Byford had been "looking for, in the short term, quick wins." Byford understood that a reputation for indecisiveness doesn't bode well for a new leader. "That's the basic thing any new manager does they come in and want to be seen as doing something..." said the activist. 19 The ques- tion is whether Byford can duplicate Toronto's suc- cess with the New York City's subway system, which is four times bigger than Toronto's. 196 Byford doesn't just make decisions for the sake of expediency in pursuit of quick wins. He first wants to study the New York subway system by riding it to work every day. He believes this experience will garner useful feedback from commuters and MTA employ- ees. Byford cultivated this hands-on style in Toronto, where he once spent hours navigating the subway in a wheelchair with a member of the system's accessibil- ity forum. This experience provided him useful insights about the challenges faced by those who have a mobility impairment Gathering first-hand informa- tion meant he could make more informed decisions to their benefit.19 The new NYCTA chief's style seems to be making an impact at the MTA as well. His influence stems from serving on the 2014 MTA Transportation Reinvention Commission. In that role, Byford was able to help convince the agency to halt the $1 billion mod- ernization project it had slated for summer 2018 because it did not address urgent needs. Not everyone is in agreement with halting the project, though, includ- ing the MTA chairman. He argues that fresh paint, bet- ter lighting, and working MetroCard machines are more about safety, not luxury.198 Byford doesn't seem to be a fan of cosmetic make- overs. He told The Wall Street Journal that, "We've got to get the basics right, day in, day out." These basics include service reliability. Byford plans to shake up the agency's workforce, processes, and infrastructure in a new plan to be released in late 2018. The plan will not be centered solely on his views though. Byford wants to engage city board members in the process as well. This way, even if they don't agree with his plans in the end, they won't feel shut out of the process. 199 Byford must effectively balance time and discussion if he wants to get past the indecisiveness of his prede- cessors. The Journal reports that it could take up to 40 years to modernize the subway's signal system. Byford wants to speed the process up, but not at any cost. For example, an MTA spokesman mentioned in 2018 that wireless technology might speed up modernization efforts. Byford was cautious though "I would need to be convinced that an alternative is viable because we don't have the time to waste going down a blind alley," he says.200 Will Byford's decision-making style put the subway system back on track