Analyzing the Bureaucratic Structure of United Parcel Service (UPS)

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the bureaucratic organizational structure of United Parcel Service (UPS). The essay begins with an introduction to bureaucracy and its key characteristics, followed by a discussion of UPS's purpose and goals as a leading package delivery firm. The core of the essay examines UPS's organizational structure, focusing on aspects such as centralization, formalization, and complexity. It explores how UPS's bureaucratic procedures, including strict rules, regulations, and training programs, contribute to its operational efficiency and success. The essay also addresses the absence of dysfunctions within UPS's bureaucratic system, highlighting the positive impacts of its structured approach. Finally, the essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of bureaucracy in shaping the culture, ethics, and performance of an organization, using UPS as a prime example. The essay draws on various academic sources to support its arguments and provide a well-rounded understanding of UPS's bureaucratic structure.

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Bureaucratic Organisation Structure
BUREAUCRATIC ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
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Faculty of business
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Introduction
Bureaucracy precisely means an administrative system that heavily relies on rules, procedures
and policies and a hierarchical system that is specific. United Parcel (UPS), commonly
referred to as "Brown Giant" is deemed the most significant packet delivery firm.
Indisputably, a leading firm won't be invisible from the public eye (Morgan, 2006). UPS has
delivered numberless parcels to my relatives and close friends, and this is how I learned about
it, the primary reason being its positive reputation. This essay looks into a bureaucratic
organization, describes its main tasks and goals and analyses its aspects such as
centralization, formalization, complexity as well as the dysfunctions of its bureaucracy if any.
The organization
Purpose
United Parcel Service is a firm that specializes in package delivery as well as transportation
and logistics services. It was founded by James Casey under the name American Messenger
Company based in Washington (Stehman & Fisher, 2014). This company aims at remaining
relevant as well as being the leading package delivery firm in the world serving over 200
countries. It is a company that seeks to be the expert in all the operation areas in package
delivery.
Structure
Centralization and formalization
In an organizational perspective, centralization is a process in which organization activities
regarding decision-making and strategic planning are concentrated in a particular location or
group. This aims at leaving the power at the higher levels of the organizational hierarchy.
Formalization, on the other hand, means a situation whereby the managers spell out the

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procedures, rules, and responsibilities for organizational units, teams, individual employees
and the whole of the organization. This leads to the development of relationships, operating
procedures and processes resulting to bureaucracy and centralization (Jones, 2007).
Complexity means the tendency of having several stakeholders which are interdependent and
interconnected technology systems for information and organizational structure (Robbins &
Barnwell, 2006). In few words, it is the differentiation degree in an organization.
United Parcel Services is a package delivery company that is based in Atlanta in the United
States of America. It was founded by Jim Casey and Claude Ryan back in the year 1907, and
up to date, it remains the world's leading logistics and transportation company. It has more
than 400, 000 employees recording an annual turnover of more than $45 billion earning a net
income of $2.15 billion. This company delivers more than 16 million documents and
packages to 6.1 million clients in more than 200 countries worldwide. It deploys 100, 000
motor vehicles and 500 aircraft daily.
Its organizational structure is set up by a management committee that has the responsibility of
daily management. The committee operates from 12 focuses within UPS. This structure
comprises of the Chairman and the chief executive officer who is usually in charge of the
whole function in the operation of UPS. The CEO holds the responsibility of expanding the
UPS as well as the creation of new lines for a business that helps to complement the global
package delivery of packages of the company.
The chief operating officer monitors all the operations and package delivery globally. The
senior vice president of the global sales and marketing directs customer relationship
management, electronic commerce, product development and customer service. It also has a
senior vice president of sustainability and supply chain who oversees the environmental

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activities of the company. The senior Vice president for global Transportation services is
responsible for the management of the company’s intermodal transportation network.
The company also has senior vice president for operations, human resource, communication
and Brand management, chief information officer, chief financial officer and Vice president
for UPS who oversees the company's compliance, legal matters as well as public relations. In
addition to this, under each department, UPS has built effective teams for motivating its
employees towards reaching their goals and objectives.
The United Parcel services operations are run on a very centralized organization which
focuses on proper planning of business processes which are usually run from both corporate
headquarters based in Atlanta and Memphis. As usual, in this centralized organization, the
top management reserves the authority of making operational and strategic decisions as well
as carefully monitoring each department head.
Complexity
Surprisingly, yet up to date United Parcel services still has bureaucratic and complex
procedures starting from its management, procedures, rules, and regulations. The company
has pre-set rules and regulations that guide its operations targeting the employees and all its
stakeholders. However this may be viewed as having negative impacts on the company as
well as depriving its employee's freedom and independence, bureaucracy is what has placed
United Parcel Service Company where it is today.
Just to begin with, it teaches and offers training to all the drivers on 340 steps of how they
can correctly deliver parcels. This training involves how to load the truck correctly, how to
fasten their seat belts as well as the best way to walk and how they should carry their car keys
(Schenken & Davidson, 2015). As if that is not enough, managers, clerks and driver's loaders
have safety rules that are set to ensure that they are protected from significant risks.

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In UPS, the dressing is also considered as Paramount leading to enforcement of strict dress
code. The employees are always required to be in clean uniform, usually referred to as
browns (Stahl, 2016). Every day, employees are required to have black or brown polished
shoes which have slip sols. They should not have beards or any hair below the collar among
other dressing rules.
When it comes to supervisors, they conduct a three-minute driver inspection daily. It also has
established rules that specify cleanliness standards for truck building among other properties.
On the same note, eating is not allowed in any employee’s desk whatsoever the case (Gelb,
2016). To continually remind them of these rules and regulations, every manager is provided
with copies of policy books which he is expected to use on a regular basis.
United Parcel Service has also not lagged behind in the division of labor and specialization.
Every plant of UPS has specialized clerks, drivers, loaders, sorters, washers and maintenance
personnel. This company has prospered in the use of written records and has become a leader
in the use of new and advanced technology aimed at enhancing efficiency and reliability
(Zeltzer, 2017). In UPS drivers make use of computerized clipboard to be able to track
everything beginning from miles per gallon all the way to data on parcel delivery. On top of
that, all the drivers are required to have daily worksheets specifying performance goals and
work output.
United Parcel service uses the criteria of technical qualification acquisition and promotion of
employees and the company staff. Its policy book says that every leader in the company is
expected to have the knowledge and capacity that will justify his/her leadership position in
the company (Morgan, 2006). Daily employee performance and quotas are reported on either
weekly or monthly basis with frustrating regularity. Favoritism and leaning on a particular
side or affiliation is a vice that is condemned in UPS.

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The absence of dysfunctions of bureaucracy
Every organizational structure either works for or against it. United Parcel service has
enjoyed positive impacts of employing bureaucracy in its procedure (Leonard, 2016). This is
to mean that bureaucracy has worked for it and therefore it hardly experiences dysfunctions
of bureaucracy. For instance, United Parcel Service has been ranked as the company having
the highest average globally for being the most admired company for business excellence
having an industry score of 8.20 on a 10- point scale.
This company was rated in a railroad, airline, trucking and logistics companies and emerged
number one worldwide for its allegiance in social responsibility, number two worldwide for
quality management, number three globally for the use of corporate assets, people
management and product and service quality (Shamsuddin et al., 2017). It was also ranked
number 6 worldwide for global competitiveness, number 7 for financial soundness and
number nine for innovativeness. This company also got listed as the most ethical company in
the year 2010 under the category of social responsibility, a position that is based on how a
company translates statements on doing business ethically into action (Bennett et al., 2015).
These are just a few of the awards and ranks that the company has received over the years.
Receiving awards and ranks is an indication of positive growth and a result of well-laid
procedures. This indicates that the place held by United Parcel service today is as a result of
the bureaucratic procedures, rules, and regulations that it exhibits (Laseinde & Mpofu, 2017).
In fact, were it not for bureaucracy, the company could have been outdone by its competitors
such as United States Postal services and Federal Express.
The training offered to the staff, rules, and regulations well laid out to the employees as well
as a useful criterion for hiring and promotion of employees has proven to have worked out
well to place the company in a better position (Valera, 2017). The reason as to why there is

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an absence of dysfunctions of bureaucracy is the initial intention of implementing it.
Research has shown that these procedures, rules, and guidelines were not intended to demean
the employees but gives them the pathway within which to operate.
Conclusion
Just but to draw the line, the centralized structure exhibited by United Parcel Service and its
formalization as well as its bureaucracy has placed it in a better place and given it the rank it
has today. Being ranked as the world's leading package delivery is not a minute achievement.
Many are its competitors who have been yearning for this position to no avail. Serving more
than 200 countries efficiently is a significant achievement. To sum up, research has shown
that rules and regulations, even though seeming bureaucratic, help to shape the culture,
ethics, and performance of any organization. Thanks to bureaucracy in United Parcel service
company in Atlanta and Memphis.
References

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