Introduction
UPS has always been a stable, smart company that knows where it wants to go and how it was going to get there. Long-term profitability was never a question; however, increased competition and technological advancements have been two of the major forces behind UPS's wake-up call. In 1994, it was announced that UPS would be undergoing some drastic changes in the future, which caused much stress and concern company-wide. One of the changes that have affected every person at UPS is the company's new quality initiatives. UPS is not known for rushing into things, but finally realized that the 90s was a decade of necessary change. Upper-level management began to contrast the "Old" and the "New" UPS, with one major characteristic of the "New" UPS being a company-wide goal of customer satisfaction achieved through quality initiatives. Change is not easy and the transition from the "Old" to the "New" UPS while traveling down the "Road to Quality" will prove to be long trip for a company deeply grounded in tradition.
History
United Parcel Service (UPS), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is the world's number one package delivery company and the third largest private company in the United States. The company was started in 1907 by James (Jim) E. Casey at the age of nineteen. There was a great need in America for private messenger and delivery services. Personal messages and packages had to be delivered privately. Jim Casey borrowed $100 from a friend and started American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. The company did well, despite the stiff competition, because of Jim's strict policies: customer courtesy, reliability, round the clock service, and low rates. He used the slogan: "Best Service and Lowest Rates."
In 1913, the company began to focus ...