Absolutely! The so-called "good ole boy network" which helped careers of undeserving, unqualified persons, was replaced by diversity. I suppose the logic was to correct a wrong with another wrong. With every unfortunate, bad promotion choice, more of the burden is placed on the backs of people (regardless of demographic) who know what they are doing. These good management people are beginning to find opportunities in other companies. As a result, UPS is losing good talent on a consistent basis. Don't ask what the game plan will be when the majority of the decent management people leave and the leadership that remains do not know their %$# from a hole in the ground.
The pool of good management candidates, from within, has been diminished. When I began with UPS, most of my fellow grunts were in situations similar to my own. We were college students who made at least twice as much as our college friends. My $9 per hour in 1982 could attract people who had potential. UPS demanded a lot for this wage. Most of us accepted this culture because of not wanting to work at the A&W for $3.50 per hour. As I understand it, my starting wage in 1982 would be about $17 in 2007 dollars.
Through several contract negotiations, there seems to have been no one looking out for new, part-time employees. This has had a direct impact on where we are now, speaking of potential management people. What does the company do now? At the present starting wage, good luck finding someone who can spell their name, much less someone who can manage a group of employees.
Enter the modern part time supervisor. This is someone who got hired and because he only missed work one day a week and not three days a week, he got promoted after 3 months. This is good, of course, for his employees because they all ride the bus and hang out with their old pal, who is now their supervisor. They also know that he will not inform on them for stealing. After hanging in there for a couple of years, this part time supevisor becomes a full time supervisor because he is the right type of person at the time that the need arises. Two years after that, he is a center manager. Isn't life grand.
Another kind of person in management is the Northwestern, generation x or y graduate who thinks he contributes something by virtue of his presence and pedigree. These people are usually swooped up by corporate to hold jobs as bureaucratic intermediaries. We have all seen them. They walk into the hubs with their best starched shirt and a laptop. He has this look on his face that says "I can't wait to get back to my cube and send messages to my fellow intermediaries about my recommendations to fix things." This person knows that "His Greatness" has a lot of fixing to do. Meanwhile, the 25 year sort supervisor, who is being scrutinized, has to worry about whether enough of his awesome workforce will come to work that day.