The other observation I've had that I forgot to mention concerns the intelligence level of managers at UPS. Again, for the most part, the ACPs and pilot managers are quality people who are bright and articulate. There may be some mgt pilot jerks, but at least they are somewhat intelligent. I'd say most are former military and have masters degrees.
The non-pilot managers in scheduling, maintainance, and other areas of the airline are amazing. The amazing thing is how incredibly unqualified and unintelligent they are collectively. I have an MBA and have done numerous case studies on companies in various industries. Most managers at GE, IBM or any other comparable Fortune 500 company could move to another company, even FedEx, and learn the company and do a good job with minimal training. Leadership, management skills, and problem solving abilities are universal and work anywhere. UPS has the corporate culture and belief that unless you spent a few years loading boxes onto a truck, you could not possibly be qualified to be a manager here. Consequently they do not hire outside talent directly into management positions--even middle mgt. The result is that we have truck drivers and neandrathal former box loaders making 6 figure salaries in high level mgt positions who lack the most basic skills of leadership and management. These are the folks we hear about when they change jobs and their bios always end with "is pursuing a bachelors degree from Univ of Phoenix." When these folks encounter a pilot who is better educated and makes more money than they do, they often have a huge chip on their shoulder. These folks argued against pilots getting to wear ties when the airline began because only management wears a tie. These are also the folks within UPS that have caused 1st year pilot pay to be so low. They can not stand the reality of a pilot who has only been with the company just 1 year making well over 100K.
By no means is the Air Force the model for effective organizational structure. But they are set up and run in a similar fashion as UPS. The major difference is that UPS has the equivalent of TSgts (E-6) in high level leadership positions compared to the USAF having a 20 year O-6 who spent a career progessing through jobs with increased responsibilities. The UPS manager may have had 20 years with the company, but most of it was spent loading boxes or supervising an 18 year old part time worker loading boxes.
I'm not against promoting from within. I am not against the blue collar work ethic and using the experience of physical labor when placed in management positions. The problem is that we have paranoid managers who think they need to watch over and treat pilots the same way they treated the box loaders they used to supervise. The biggest area for improvement at UPS is in changing the culture of leadership/management through intimidation and fear. But again, for the most part, pilots don't usually encounter many problems with ACPs. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be as an ACP dealing with other managers at UPS. I wonder what percentage of mgt pilots that left the line regret their decisions.