In the Young Men's Christian Association's efforts to "rebrand" themselves they have opted to rid Santa from their annual holiday party replacing him with a talking snowman. See article here....http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/local_news/manhattan/santa-gets-the-heave-ho-ho-at-nyc-ymca-dpgonc-km-20101212_11048452.
The YMCA has taken this measure to become more approachable by the masses but as a Christian organization founded in the 1800's, I wonder if in they are alienating their base constituents as well as betraying their roots. If we reflect on this change through the symbolic frame, an organizations culture is revealed and communicated through its symbols. In this case, Santa is a symbol of the Christian holiday Christmas. What does the erradication of this symbol say about the organizations past, present, and future?
Amanda Talty
Interesting analysis, Amanda. I think that the YMCA's change of using "Santa" as a holiday symbol is reflective of their growing diverse membership base, and a movement toward accepting all ethnicities at their locations. In fact, the rebrand also changed the former "YMCA" name to "The Y", suggesting that they are ridding themselves of religious affiliation to Christianity altogether. My guess is that this was likely a business move to appeal to a growing constinuent base. In addition, this will probably allow them to receive more fundraising contributions from companies (considering that nowadays corporations limit their contributions to organizations with religious affiliations). I think overall, the shift toward being more politically correct is a good one considering the organization is operating more like a business nowadays...
ReplyDeleteShikha Dalal
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI think Shikha hit the nail on the head. The YMCA has not been what it was founded as for many years. In fact, there status as a tax exempt non-profit has been challenged in the past and will continue to be challenged in the future. Two YMCA locations were sued in the late 1980s by for-profit gyms claiming the YMCA had an unfair advantage by being tax exempt and still being able to charge fees for the use of their facilities. (See: YMCAs:
From Community Service to Community Disservice, http://membership.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_ymca) I think the YMCA's actions fit well with what B&D discussed in the structural frame. Their actions are implying an organizational shift in goals and objectives. My neighborhood has both a YMCA and a New York Sports Club. The YMCA charges $93/month for an adult membership and a one time joiner's fee of $125. Whereas, the New York Sports Club charges $89/month for an adult membership and a one time joiner's fee of $78. The YMCA is tax exempt while the New York Sports Club is not and yet it is the New York Sports Club which offers cheaper memberships.
Gaurav "Mike" Bawa