Controlling at UPS - Essay Example

Controlling at UPS At UPS effective delegation, what other industries might call controlling, begins with top management all the way down to the last person to touch or deliver a package and is a direct response to the rapid changes in its industry that occur daily. In fact, UPS, by the very nature of its business, is nothing but delegation based on change. Its core competencies are built around effective delegation from one level to the next. Initially UPS is delegated to by the customers who entrust it to deliver a package of some type. At this point, once the item enters the system, it is delegated from one station to the next to ensure its timely delivery wherever that may be. This type of systemic delegation is a core competency instilled in all employees from the day they are initially interviewed to determine if they are a fit with the company, to the day they leave or retire. This competency to delegate is a quality instilled by the founder of the company, Jim Casey, and carried on today by its current CEO Mike Eskew, who views his position as one more of diplomacy than of command and control: “…corporate diplomacy is as important as political diplomacy…” (Grillo, 2005, 36). This willingness to lead by diplomacy is one derived from a profound understanding of the necessity to delegate, since by definition, to delegate is to award responsibility and trust while diplomacy is the art of communicating trust. UPS perceives its ability to effectively delegate as a method to ensure that service qualities remain high even and consistent even in the face of new challenges in the industry not necessarily trained for (Thompson, 2001). Planning at UPS UPS has a firmly entrenched management development process that begins the first day of hire for a manager. This managerial development process is UPS’ method to instill effective planning within its daily operations as well as its overall strategy in response to constant innovation in its industry. Again, it’s one derived from the founder’s philosophy of “constructive dissatisfaction” which stipulates that management should never be content because operations are working, but should continually search for ways to improve on the positive(Darden, 2004, 11). UPS has built this planning methodology into its management structure. Darden describes the management recruiting, retention, and development program at UPS as being: …the best way to prepare for the future, to meet challenges, and to capitalize on the opportunities was [is] to develop people into leaders…that success was [is] not the result of one person, but rather the combined strength of determined people working together…(Darden, 2004, 11) When management is ingrained with this type of corporate culture it learns to plan as a matter of practice. UPS could not effectively be the company it is if each individual manager at each level treated his or her own area of responsibility as a fiefdom since each department relies on the functions of so many others. To institute this structured management training and to instill in employees that sense of responsibility and trust in the training of others to perform in the same manner, UPS has traditionally instituted all training in a classroom environment (Hollis, 2004, 46). However, because UPS daily moves 6% of the Nation’s GDP, operates the 11th largest airline in the world, has the largest private wireless network, and operates the largest DB2 database outside of government (Darden, 2004, 11), UPS has begun to incorporate its training and indoctrination programs into its corporate technology infrastructure: “The information services side of UPS recently transitioned much of its learning to an e-learning format…” (Hollis, 2004, 46). Hollis goes on to describe how the concept of retention and management development is always at the core of what UPS attempts to maintain its operational integrity (Hollis, 2004, 46). Structured programs like this are important to any company; however, in an operation with the scale, geographic distribution, and year-round operations that are continually shifting, like UPS, maintaining continuity in corporate culture and development is vital. Managers are taught to charge people with tasks appropriate to their skill levels and then to allow them to succeed. As Darden goes on to add, “The result of all this leadership training at UPS is the creation of a new generation of leaders who can step up to responsibility without the company so much as missing a beat” (Darden, 2004,11). A company in the line of business that UPS is in must develop this leadership and management continuity and the ability to plan effectively or it could no longer compete in an environment as innovative as the global delivery industry. Organizing at UPS UPS has taken its vast organizational capabilities within management and operations and shifted this onto its global framework as well. Globalization has revolutionized industry and UPS has been one of its leading proponents by virtue of its business functions and core competencies. UPS has never been afraid to turn over its international operations, to delegate these operations, to foreign nationals who are by no means previously aware of the UPS mythology. This is because UPS’ organization compensates for the traditional learning curve. Certainly these prospects, once identified, are indoctrinated into UPS’ culture and trained to embody UPS’ core values: “…that involves recruiting and training Chinese nationals…to learn the ins and outs of UPSs U.S. operations and then return them to work in the companys China operations…” (Malykhina, 2005, para.2). This ability to build and establish trust in the foreign national to manage its operations overseas is a key strength of UPS’ management philosophy and based on its organizational capabilities and structure. It goes beyond simply hiring a foreign national to deal with the local workforce since these individuals are usually recruited specifically for new operations. These management development strategies and training policies are products of what UPS calls its 3 key principles: 1) Integration rather than extraction, 2) localize global operations in ways respectful to local cultures, and 3) build a culture of trust (Malykhina, 2005, para.1-2). These core principles have allowed UPS to expand globally in such a seamless manner that it confounds the imagination to consider the sheer number of countries that UPS operates in with the same service-quality that develops almost organically within its organizational framework. Leading at UPS The sheer scale of UPS operations isn’t truly realized until one examines some simple figures related to its use of various technological formats. UPS has almost 600 operational aircraft, more than 88,000 delivery vehicles, 2,165 facilities world wide, and also its Supply Chain Solutions and Mailboxes etc… units (Murdock, 2003, para.1). An organization of this size and scale could not hope to operate efficiently or successfully without effective leadership from CEO to vice presidents to senior management on down to mid-level management and to line employees. As an example of how effective leadership is ingrained in the corporate culture, Murdock says that effective leading skills are learned: “Learning is an important part of UPS philosophy towards all parts of its business, and the company is keen on cross-training its employees” (Murdock, 2003, para.4). UPS depends on management committees to set priorities, approve strategic decisions, and to assign leadership roles to the appropriate resources. UPS’ reliance on its leadership and management development programs, an integrated training program, its 3 guiding principles for selecting management personnel internationally, and committee based decision-making, are all key components to its position as the market leader in package delivery, logistics, and supply chain solutions. These components have created a formula for success at UPS that has stood the test of time: “That’s what’s involved in managing a culture—using a formula for success to create sustainable enterprise” (Darden, 2004, 12). A sustainable enterprise is what is created with management that can delegate primary tasks to others in order to propagate a culture of responsibility. References Darden, C. (2004). Legacy leadership. Executive Excellence, 21(5), 11. Retrieved May 15, 2005, from EBSCOhost online database. Grillo, J. (2005). Mike eskew, Georgia Trend, 20(5), 36. Retrieved May 15, 2005, from EBSCOhost online database. Hollis, E. (2004). UPS: delivering lifelong learning. Chief Learning Officer, 3(3), 46. Retrieved May 15, 2005, from EBSCOhost online database. Malykhina, E. (2005). Three principles for global operations. Information Week, May 18, 2005, 1035, 12. Retrieved May 15, 2005, from EBSCOhost online database. Murdock, J. (2003). UPS discovers what real estate staff can do for brown. Commercial Property News, 17(15), 48. Retrieved May 15, 2005, from EBSCOhost online database. Thompson, K. R. (2001). A Conversation with Mark Susor: Leadership in the Largest UPS Distribution Facility in the World. Journal of Leadership Studies, 8(2), 145+. Retrieved December 13, 2005, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/ PM.qst?a=o&d=5000945236 Read More