Case Study on "Fed Ex Within the Context"

Case Study 4 pages (1111 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Fed Ex Case Study

Within the context of organizational behavior, leadership is one of the most crucial aspects of the entire rubric of the organization. Scholars and philosophers alike have been trying to define leadership for centuries, albeit without much success. True, leadership is, in part, decision making at the nth level. Decision-making, of course, is one of the fundamental keys to the survival of an organization, more so now that economic boundaries between countries crumble, business becomes more complex, and the results of decisions often have global impact. FedEx's Fred Smith, with his military background, epitomizes the four managerial traits that most scholars see as determining success within the modern business: honesty/ethical, competent -- good track record; reward and recognizing managerial goals and decisions through progressive Human Resource programs, and placing heavy and well publicized emphasis on awards for humanitarianism, performance, and teamwork.

Part 2 -- From the research available, Federal Express is a company in which strategic leadership outshines tactical management. Leaders do not have subordinates, they have followers. Leadership inspires, motivates and sets the direction to achieve goals; leaders focus on people. Both people and organizations want leaders. People want leaders to assist them in accomplishing their goals. Organizations want leaders to not only motivate, but to provide organizational direction for employees to follow. Fed Ex takes upper level leadership theory seriously, and continually implements a Best Practices model that advance their culture both covertly and overtly. Primarily this is done through trait -- Fred Smith's vision, energy and commitment flow through to top managers and become the paradigm of operations rather than just theoretical constructs.

Part 3 -- Federal Express's managers use three levels to facilitate their team's effectiveness as they combine expertise to make a true synthesis -- e.g. The whole being greater than the sum of the parts. They do this by embracing the following three ideas: competing collecting as one brand and one voice; but at the same time operating independently by meeting distinct customer needs in distinct cultures; and embracing the idea of managing collaboratively by working together to sustain loyal and long-term relationships with clients, employees and other stakeholders.

Part 4- of course, as a company the size of FedEx, operating on an international level, multiple teams are used in various situations. However, Smith epitomizes the idea of self-managed teams at whatever level because those teams have the expertise, interest, and logistics to be able to solve problems quickly and without a great deal of bureaucratic paperwork or excessive upper management. This works well because of the time factor -- central to FedEx. For whatever reason, the delivery of any one package is termed "the golden package." If ANYTHING delays that delivery, the team is empowered to fix the issue, even if that issue is Mother Nature, mechanical (plane failure, etc.). Thus, the self-managed teams become managers with the reason to manage, service to the client.

Part 5- One way that FedEx managers play a critical role in the development of staff is to use a functional model -- monitoring but empowering; organizing and coaching; acting primarily as a motivator; smoothing the way so that the team can succeed. The idea can be likened to a professional orchestra -- each instrument is critically important; some more so at certain times, but taken together, these consummate professionals… READ MORE

How to Reference "Fed Ex Within the Context" Case Study in a Bibliography

Related Papers:

Amazon.com SWOT Analysis Research Proposal

Amazon.com SWOT Analysis from Case Study

The intent of this paper is toe evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) Amazon.com faced within the context of the case study… read more

Research Proposal 2 pages (798 words) Sources: 1 Style: APA Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street Gangs: Threat to National Security? Thesis

predominantly Latino Gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (aka MS-13), and the 18th Street Gang operating on the streets of communities across America. This study is significant because it will provide a snapshot… read more

Thesis 40 pages (17380 words) Sources: 40 Style: APA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Performance Evaluation of How Hedge Funds Research Proposal

Performance Evaluation of How Hedge Funds Can Be Used to Augment the Overall Efficiency in German Pension Funds

Much attention has been given to hedge funds over the last few… read more

Research Proposal 80 pages (19967 words) Sources: 25 Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

Monetary Policy of the European Central Bank Term Paper

Monetary Policy of the ECB

MONETARY POLICY of the EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

ITEM NO.

ITEM TITLE PAGE NO.

Price Stability

Role of Monetary Policy

ECB Basic

Current Best Practice: Predictability… read more

Term Paper 45 pages (12702 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

Obesity Among Adolescent Girls in Saudi Arabia 14 18 Aged Essay

Saudi Arabia Obesity: Adolescent Girls

Obesity is one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Although the patterns of obesity differ between developing and developed countries,… read more

Essay 17 pages (6273 words) Sources: 80 Style: Harvard Topic: Nutrition / Diet / Eating

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>