...and Research Assistant Meredith Lazo wrote this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright © 1987 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685 or write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 1 United Parcel Service (A) The management committee at United Parcel Service (UPS) wrestled with the last item on the agenda. Frank Erbrick, head of the Information Services department, had been invited to make a presentation. Responding to Erbrick’s presentation, Jack Rogers, chief executive, inquired: “So you’re convinced that we can’t locate this talent internally or develop it in the smart computer-trained kids working in our districts?” “Oh, I think we can groom some from the inside, but we also have to get a large number of the senior programmers and middle managers from the outside. The field has gotten very specialized,” replied Frank. Erbrick was interrupted by Operations Vice President Frank Middendorf: “Look Frank, we don’t need people to make the computers, just run them.” Erbrick turned to Middendorf: “Come...
Words: 11726 - Pages: 47
...United Parcel Service Culture Dusty Atwood Texas A&M University Central Texas November 23, 2014 Organizational Behavior The United Parcel Service, or UPS, is a shipping juggernaut with an annual revenue in excess of fifty billion dollars and nearly fifteen million packages shipped daily. To give you an idea of just how big this shipping giant actually is “UPS looks at the world from the prospective of the world’s largest package delivery company. Two percent of the global GDP passes through our system every day.” (Kuehn 2014) In the field of shipping UPS has remained profitable and relevant in the one hundred plus years since it was founded, but how has it remained amongst the top performers in this field? The organizational culture of the company may be able to answer this. The Cultural Artifacts of UPS The artifacts of the United Parcel Service are many and varied, but one above the rest stands alone, that being the color brown. The color itself has been used in much of the other symbology and artifacts of the shipping giant. UPS uses a specific shade of brown which is called Pullman brown. At the time of UPS’s inception in the early twentieth century the height of luxury cross country travel was done by rail. The most luxurious of all the rail line cars were made by the Pullman Palace Car Company, as such brown was associated with luxury. One addition benefit of the color brown for over the road vehicle that frequently travels unimproved roads is that it easily...
Words: 1721 - Pages: 7
...February 7, 2011 Analysis of FedEx and United Parcel Service The domestic United States market for package-delivery is a $45-billion dollar market. The air express market is a $25-billion dollar segment of this market. The package delivery industry is very large and highly competitive. Two of the top competitors, FedEx Corporation and United Parcel Service have been racing to gain a larger portion of this multi-billion dollar market for years. Recently with a landmark air-transportation agreement being reached in China, the market for international delivery has boomed. Analysts expect China to become the world’s largest economy within the next few decades. The air-cargo market in China has been growing at a rate of 30 percent per year and is expected to increase for at least 5 years at this rate. With such an important growing market opening to international companies, the opportunity is great. Many risks may also be present with this new venture, but the reward may be great for the company that can take hold of this market share first. Through this analysis I will analyze the goals of each firm, how each firm has achieved or strived to achieve these goals, and how each company has dealt with threats from competitors. FedEx has stated in their mission statement that they have the goal of “[producing] superior returns for shareowners by providing high value-added supply chain, transportation, business, and related information services through focused operating companies...
Words: 2290 - Pages: 10
...Vanessa Hutabarat 29115393 GM 1 – SBM ITB Business Economics KOMPAS (Saturday March 19th 2016) Ekonomi (p.17) Suku Bunga, Tak Hanya BI Rate This article discuss about the phenomenon of the declining BI rate for this last 3 months (January until March 2016). On August 29th 2013, BI rate increasing to 7%, and then increase again on September 12th 2013 to 7.25%. The increase trend keeps going on November 12th 2013 by 7.5% and last increase to 7.75% on November 18th 2014. This phenomenon was caused by the unstable of global economic, including The Fed plan to stop their stimulus in bond purchases. As US economic condition get better, the fed have a plan to increase their risk free which almost zero. The step that The Fed going to take force Indonesia, as developing country, to keep its risk free above 7% in order to attract investor. This fund from investor hopefully will make Indonesia’s financial account surplus in Indonesia’s balance of payment (NPI). The surplus of financial account in NPI will cover the deficit of Indonesia’s current account since ideally financial account add to current account equal to zero. The low number of Indonesia’s export compared to Indonesia’s import more or less affected the deficit of Indonesia’s current account. The low number of export in Indonesia was the result of decreasing number of global demand. This decreasing number of demand resulted the decreasing number of profit. This may cause the exporter to gain loss and to make bank...
Words: 493 - Pages: 2
...FedEx’s market value of equity? • How have FedEx and UPS performed since the early 1990s? Which firm is doing better? In class, prepare to discuss the insights you derived from the two firms’ financial statements, financial ratios, stock-price performance, and economic profit (economic value added or EVA). Also, prepare to describe how EVA is estimated, and its strengths and weaknesses as a measure of performance. • If you had to identify one of those companies as excellent, which company would you choose? On what basis did you make your decision? More generally, what is excellence in business? When the United States and China reached an agreement on air-transportation that quintupled the number of commercial cargo flights between the two countries. Only two U.S. all-cargo carriers that were permitted to serve the vast Chinese market were FedEx and the United Parcel Service, Inc. This agreement allowed for the establishment of air-cargo hubs in China and landing rights for commercial airlines at any available airport. Since news broke out both companies’ stock prices had been rising steadily. The FedEx shared price had sky rocketed at a rate nearly five times faster than UPS. The reason for that is that FedEx had the largest foreign presence in China. They had 11 weekly flights, served 220 Chinese cities and FedEx’s volumes in China had grown by more than 50% between 2003 and 2004. The way that I would interpret FedEx’s fourteen percent increase in market value is that investors...
Words: 1121 - Pages: 5
...United Parcel Service: Moving at the Speed of Business 1. What is UPS's business model? Does it move at the "speed of business"? Explain. 2. Who is UPS's target market? What service(s) is UPS providing? 3. Who are UPS's competitors? What are the limits of their business models? UPS has been rated "America's most admired mail, package and freight delivery company" for sixteen consecutive years by surveys conducted by Fortune magazine, and in 1998 was named "world's most admired" in the same category. United Parcel Service (UPS) is one of America's ten largest airlines. It is the largest private user of cellular technology on earth. Its drivers' handheld computers make a million wireless calls a day. UPS also handles about six percent of the nation's daily gross domestic product. The $24 billion company (see Table 1 for historical financial data) has 330,000 employees, delivering 12 million packages a day to seven million customers. Company revenues for the quarter ending March 31, 1999, totaled $6.33 billion, up 8% compared to the $5.86 billion reported for the same period in 1998. Net income for the 1st quarter rose to $499 million compared to the $352 million reported for the same period in 1998, a 42% jump. As the world's largest package distribution company, UPS transports more than 3 billion parcels and documents annually (See Table 2 for industry data). UPS operates more than 500 aircraft, 157,000 vehicles and 2,400 package and sorting centers to provide service in more...
Words: 11447 - Pages: 46
...Case questions What are the strengths and weaknesses of scenario planning? What is your evaluation of UPS’s 1997 scenario planning exercise? Its Horizon 2017 planning exercise? How do the two efforts compare? Evaluate the following elements of UPS’s approach to strategic planning: The UPS charter The Centennial Plan The Strategy Road Map Why was John McDevitt put in charge of “strategic integration?” Should he remain in that role? What is the strength and weakness of scenario planning? Strength Build foundation for source of long term competitive advantage Provide backdrop of strategic decision (pg.6) • Acquisition of Mail Boxes Etc. Change mind-set • Make people think beyond the operational mind • Prepare to be proactive and creative Enable to be sensitive for change in external environment Alternative views of the future Provide and prepare the company for potential change in the future’s market. Weakness Lack of realism Requires learning curve to have adequate result Too abstract and difficult to apply Indirect linkage to daily operation or strategy Depend on participants’ motivation and knowledge Not point out the strengths and weakness of company What is your evaluation of UPS’s 1997 scenario planning exercise? Evaluation on 1997 Scenario planning Initiative to build foundation for source of long term competitive advantage Positive aspects • Become backdrop of UPS Charter and changed mission statement • Initiate...
Words: 711 - Pages: 3
...Two Competing Security Products XXXX INF 220 IS Principle Professor XXXX May 4, 2015 Two Competing Security Products United Parcel Services continue to beat out their competitors due to continued advancement in information systems technology. United Parcel Service use of top notch technology like their Delivery Information Acquisition Device allows the driver to receive signature from their customers and pick-up and delivery information. The customer will be able to view this information as soon as it is transmitted to United Parcel Service network storage and processing. To have this type of rapid information in sixty seconds for customers to view on the Web is amazing. Their networking and telecommunications technology is the element that makes the company the world wide leaders. United Parcel Service provides their customers with convenience from start to finish. If you have their software you are able to print and download labels, this information is transmitted to one of United Parcel Services distribution center who then creates the most efficient delivery route for the parcel. The distribution center considers weather conditions and traffic when creating an efficient route. United Parcel Services encounter challenges when it comes to international deliveries. Some of the challenges faced are culture differences like the currency, time, date and some icon usage that may be offensive to some cultures. Additional there were hardware constraints for...
Words: 374 - Pages: 2
...With the appeal of Young v. United Parcel Service case in July 2014, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued an reinforcement guideline on pregnancy discrimination, the new guideline is to enhance all old compliance guidelines for pregnancy discrimination for broader protection. Previously mentioned, the language of the PDA says all pregnant employees are to be treated the same as an employee who are not pregnant and have similarities in their ability or inability to perform their responsibilities, if the employee is not capable; she is obligated to the same benefits as other employees. The new guideline expands upon the definition of pregnancy, medical coverage, and reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Definition- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission now defines pregnancy as the entire reproductive process, this covers the acknowledgement to conceive or use of contraceptives such as birth control, childbirth, decision of pregnancy termination, post labor conditions (ex. breastfeeding) and past pregnancies. (Silverman, 2014) The coverage of past pregnancies creates a safeguard for employees after giving birth, within a time period an employer cannot terminate the employee as for she is no longer considered...
Words: 465 - Pages: 2
...Young verse United Parcel Service is about a pregnant worker named Peggy who was forced to take unpaid time off due to her pregnancy and limitations on how much she could lift. UPS provided time off so that she could undergo in vitro fertilization. she later became pregnant and was limited to lifting 20 pounds and UPS would not provide her with light lifting work. Young had no medical or family leave available so she was forced to take unpaid time off. Young sued claiming that she should have been protected because of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. They argue that she was facing gender and disability discrimination. If they agree that she should be protected then UPS should have found and provided Young with light lifting work or paid time off. However, UPS did not provide her with light lifting work so Young has decided to fight for what she believed...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
...United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS), typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is an American global package delivery company headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States. It delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the world United Parcel Service, Inc. Research Report United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is a package delivery company that operates in the United States less-than-truckload industry, and the provider of global supply chain management solutions. The Company delivers packages each business day for 1.1 million shipping customers to 7.7 million consignees in over 220 countries and territories. UPS's primary business is the time-definite delivery of packages and documents worldwide. In recent years, UPS has extended its service portfolio to include less than truckload transportation (primarily in the U.S.) and supply chain services. UPS reports its operations in three segments: U.S. Domestic Package operations, International Package operations, and Supply Chain & Freight operations. UPS employs approximately 425,300 staff, with 358,400 in the U.S. and 67,300 internationally. Approximately 240,000 UPS drivers, package handlers and clerks are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The company has had only one nationwide strike in its history, which occurred in 1997, lasting 16 days System design The UPS Parcel Network is based on a hub and spoke model. UPS...
Words: 659 - Pages: 3
...Thomas Newcomen invented a steam driven pump to pump water out of English coalmine, so the English coalminers could get more coal to mine rather than hauling buckets of water out of the mine.” (Achba and Abbott 2004) Because this steam driven pump was invented, productivity improved. Each worker could make more steel, more textiles and more automobiles per hour. Now, corporations’ systems are mainly the same, producing sophisticated products today. By technology sharing and powerful shipping, transnational corporations became the most important part of global business. In economic globalization, transnational corporations have a competition advantage in the marketplace. Shipping agencies have great stimulative effect on globalization. United Parcel Service (UPS) is a carrier company that was built by James...
Words: 1646 - Pages: 7
... BACKGROUND OF STUDY Inter modal transport can be described as the transport of merchandise by at least two transport modes with a minimum of one stage being made by train, by truck, or by maritime modes. In other words, it is a cargo unit that is transferred from a transport mode to a another. The optimal combination of modes allows transporters to achieve what is known as economies of scope. In a majority of cases, the first and/or last steps of the cargo itinerary consist in truck transportation and are to be minimized. More than ever, delivery firms' activities are based on inter modal transport to optimize delivery times and, in turn, their overall efficiency. United Parcel Service (UPS) is an enterprise specializing in the collection and the routing of parcels throughout the world. It represents an excellent example of a corporation actively involved in freight distribution and the application of logistics. In 2007, UPS generated incomes around 50 billion dollars and employed...
Words: 1802 - Pages: 8
...[pic] United Postal Service [pic] [pic] UPS [pic] S&P 500 Original Purchase Rational The Educational Investment Fund (EIF) purchased 500 shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) on March 10, 2000 at a price of $53 5/8 per share. Nicholas Finn, the EIF analyst who brought UPS to the EIF cited the following reasons supporting his buy recommendation: ▪ Largest and most profitable carrier ▪ Most global reach ▪ Offers the most diverse product mix ▪ AAA/Aaa credit rating by Standard & Poor and Moody’s In November of 2001, EIF analyst Ajay Jamuar added the company’s ability to perform during a difficult economy, the growth in the logistics segment of the company, risk management of fuel costs, and a loyal customer base as reasons to hold this stock. Portfolio Considerations UPS is classified as a capital appreciation and income stock in the industrials sector. At the time of this report, the summer targets for capital appreciation have not been set, but we were satisfactorily close to our most recent target of 75% with a current weighting of 75.88%. Based on a spring target of 11% we are underweighted in our industrials sector by 180 basis points. UPS represents 33.3% of our current holdings in the industrials sector and is accompanied by Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Convergys (CVG) and Fastenal (FAST). The current portfolio holdings, date acquired, shares...
Words: 2421 - Pages: 10
...foundation for conducting business today. In many industries, survival and even existence is difficult without extensive use of information technology. No longer can we imagine going to work and conducting business without them. United Parcel Service (UPS), the world's largest company in parcel service has been successful in the competition by using technology. The structure of this discussion is as follows: first, general introduction about UPS; second, we learn about the ways in which UPS use information technology to operate its business, including how does technology help UPS and how successful and what will happen in the absence of this technology; and finally, we summarize the role of information technology for companies in modern times. United Parcel Service (UPS) began its business in 1907 with two founders who are young Americans, Jim Casey and Ryan Claus, coming from Seattle with only asset is a phone and two bicycles. More than 90 years, UPS has been very successful with the slogan "Provide the best service with lowest prices for customers." Today, UPS ships more than 14.1 million parcels and documents in the U.S. and in more than 200 other countries / territories. Information technology has helped UPS maintaining the ability to lead the parcel shipping market although its competitors are quite fierce rivals such as FedEx and Airborne Express. By using of handheld computing device called the Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD) which helps the UPS’s drivers...
Words: 272 - Pages: 2
