Introduction
United Parcel Service (UPS) is an abbreviation for United Courier Company, established in 1907 by Jim Casey and Claude Ryan. UPS is a global firm that distributes goods all over the world (Rothaermel & Prabhu, 2017). UPS’s story is interesting since both of these founders began their product shipping services in the basements of a Washington apartment, originally delivering just intra-city programs. In the initial days of UPS’s operation, the corporation was primarily included in distributing drugstore goods and notes. They rapidly had to change their professional model to modern technologies actively.
It earned a good client relations profile in 1919, after twelve years of consistent commercial enterprise, which allowed it to grow its commercial operations to a state scale. The company was renamed from West Coast to United Shipping Service (UPS). In Second World War, when the economy shifted dramatically, UPS’ decision to block its activities to in-house delivery services had a significant impact. Due to the war, UPS continued to provide services and expanded its retail forms of transport to customers relocating to the outskirts from urban centers.
UPS Company has continued to grow without disturbance since World War II. In 1975, UPS survived a legal clash to buy Universal Carrier’s privileges in the United States. In 1989, UPS unveiled a mail deal that later incorporated air shipping. Towards the end of 1991, the company had stretched its branches, with an estimated client capacity of more than 40 million individuals worldwide. UPS’s next goal was Asia, and given India’s commercial potential, it had placed its sights on the country.
UPS’s management has successfully prompted the team to prosper, regardless of whether the area is recession or boom. In 1997, the company suffered $650 million in damages due to a change in courier services, which was brought about by a 2-week boycott by the Workers Union, representing over 200,000 UPS employees. In just two years, the company rapidly went public, signaling its staff that they were an important part of the business.
UPS’s commercial ethos is based on constructing chunks to acquire a competitive advantage in the market. UPS’s business beliefs stimulate efficiency, morality, civility, and dependability. All workers, including the administration, conform to the pioneers’ symbols, customs, and values. UPS’s organizational philosophy has helped the corporation achieve success locally and worldwide. Artifacts; Employee uniformity, brown transport vans, air company flights, the UPS emblem, and promotional slogan are among its artifacts. These artifacts are a solid blend of UPS principles and concords that are outward, making the firm a highly-valued corporate worldwide. Values; Involvement, Satisfaction, responsibility, fast delivery, sincerity, and honesty are among UPS’s standards for its clients. Worker-specific principles include fair treatment and faithfulness. Norms; UPS follows a set of principles that allow the company to flourish and offer it a competitive edge, including workplace safety, decent working conditions, and employee benefits and compensation.
United Parcel Service’s positive management culture is unquestionably a valuable asset, but it should not limit its potential to innovate and grow. It will quickly become a liability if its core proficiency becomes core rigidity due to a lack of development, progress, and perfection. It means that the same philosophy should be exercised to avoid predetermination of corporate verdicts at the expense of individuals and employers.
Structure of Organization
Since its inception, UPS’s administrative structure has evolved, adjusting in response to market demand. As a small enterprise propagates into a large company, it experiences some short- and long-term changes. UPS’s formula is founded on a bottom-up to top-down communication mechanism, and the company’s CEO, David Abney, is personally responsible for all company actions. Because many foreign mates staying outside frequently want better courier services for their goods, the Asia – Pacific region is a potential market for product shipping services. India has been one of them. Therefore, constructing the corporate strategy to be used in India, Robin Page was appointed in 2014 by the CEO of UPS.
UPS’s management structure firmly respected the hub and spoke model. By standardizing the hierarchy of authority and repeating the very same work, this method reduces needless leadership. Because a centralized hierarchy promotes judgment call efficiency, reduces the time consumed, and enhances productivity and working connections, this hub and spoke the design helped UPS reduce its operational costs. The company’s consistent tradition instills in its staff the confidence that they are far more than employees; they are associates in its growth and success. The organizational structure promotes workers to fight for excellence and promotes from inside. Several mail organizers and distribution workers have supported executives because of their truthfulness, hard work, integrity, and pleasant behavior. The consolidated hierarchy demands a manager to manage many individuals on their own by handing them authority, autonomy, and decision-making authority.
The Strategy of the Organization
A corporation can benefit and evolve toward continuous growth and success if practical methods and enticement systems are applied. UPS is ranked 6th among packaging and shipping service firms, which is rather outstanding and shows how efficiently the business has grown and competed. The firm’s methods and administrative structure are completely affiliated, allowing it to earn more money from domestic and intercontinental business activity. Employers’ respect and prudence work together to form a good working atmosphere where staff is provided tenure to use their talents, talents, and expatriate to the largest extent manageable for the industry’s growth and accomplishment. As of its upgrade from within outlook, the firm does not recruit new individuals for executive roles but instead encourages workers who perform well.
Organizational Structure
Management
India has many individuals with second-to-none basic infrastructure, particularly roadways. UPS will have challenges joining the Indian market due to insufficient and dormant transportation infrastructure, which presented barriers to smooth delivery services, notably in remote areas and metropolitan areas. India’s insufficient infrastructure makes it challenging to meet its expanding demand for delivery services (Rothaermel & Prabhu, 2017). India plans to improve its aviation and rail systems by 2020, allowing it to transport millions of tons of freight constantly.
Marketing
UPS first entered the Indian business as a cooperative partnership with Jet Air. The firm was able to set up its first-ever branch in Mumbai, India, due to this relationship. The company’s original store included packing, delivery, and other exchange activities. UPS issued quick, easy, and economical transportation services to the citizens of India by continuously aggregating their supply chain needs. The Indian marketplace is highly unstable, and UPS understood that if certain difficulties were not properly addressed, their company would not develop to the required level.
Finishing became the most prevalent challenge since India has over 2,500 goods transporters and firms that have provided the state with confidence, trust, and good relations for a long time. This was one of UPS’s drawbacks, as a multinational corporation always finds it difficult to function locally, especially with many local agencies. In addition to excellence, passion, quality, and timekeeping, the only difference is a solution that enables leadership to remove barriers to make the company join the market and capture market share.
Finance
UPS contests with several corporations in India, with the Indian government, included. Some package distribution firms, such as the emergency mail and the Indian Department, have functioned under Indian federal oversight, giving UPS stiff rivalry in the regional supermarket. The introduction of the government of India to the Post Office Reform Act in 2006 gave them authority to establish a stranglehold in the order fulfillment industry, consenting IDP to effectively regulate all goods and letters weighing less than 66 pounds. The state also restricted foreign investment to 49% and mandated that all maritime transportation service firms go through a time inefficient and expensive certification procedure. This presiding commanded all shipping businesses to donate 10% of their annual income to the Public Service Obligation Fund annuity if their annual earnings exceeded $50,000. Because UPS has a strong financial position, going through such an expensive and time-consuming procedure may be advantageous for UPS compared to lesser carriers.
International Business
UPS will only develop and retain a competitive advantage in the Indian business if it reconsiders its pricing policy. As an international firm, UPS must face a large amount of annual operational costs. Due to state rules and an improved delivery system, mainly for reaching distant locations, UPS’s operating costs may grow when it enters the Indian market. UPS operates in Europe, South America, and a couple of other regions, but the surroundings and settings in India are different from those in European countries. Infrastructure improvements are among the significant distinctions between UPS’s services in Western America and Asia. UPS plans to address these issues by employing a multidivisional pricing strategy and enforcing supply management. However, it does not seem to be a simple assignment, as UPS’s great functional costs would bar it from dropping its rates in India’s local market.
The successful implementation of a large organization in the domestic farmers’ economy is dictated by the tradition of the state. UPS now has a commercial store in India, but it will be required for them to re-study the market in order to obtain a better insight of Indian heritage, practices, norms, and customs. To prevent sending unwanted message to the target audience, UPS items should be improved to present Indian values. The corporation should maintain the existing UPS tradition with small changes to meet the different cultural perspectives of India. This will provide the firm an edge
Conclusion
UPS is famed for its creativity, but the situation in India is proving to be difficult for the corporation. In July 2017, India’s control enacted new price legislation known as the Value-Added Levy that complicates UPS’s ability to remain competitive in the worldwide market. This law may benefit MNEs in the long term, but it may raise overall turnover if the firm takes its path in the short term. Architecture, culture, and control are just a couple of minor strategic procedures that pioneers should consider to propel their company to new heights of success and growth. They must establish a mechanism because the CEO has appointed Michael Page as the company’s India representative.
Reference
Rothaermel, F., & Prabhu, S. (2017). UPS in India – Time to Shift Gears? (3rd ed., pp. 223-255). McGraw Hill Education.