Fed Ex Case Study Within

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 must be allowed to succeed -- and the conductor is a guide, not an autocrat. At FedEx, this means that managers facilitate success and allow employees to excel.

Part 6 -- in many ways, great leaders often are able to take numerous personality traits and mold them into successful management by being attuned to the decisions and the business in a manger that allows for both flexibility and creativity. For Fred Smith, a continuum of adjustment and openness to experience seem to manifest more regularly than other traits. While being in control, he is relaxed, secure, and positive; while also imaginative, and a visionary enough to know that his role is to coach and utilize the expertise of others.

Smith sets standards, but continually reinforces those standards -- but he realizes that he must defer to the expertise of others so that he can realize their success through the success of the company. Part 7 -- FedEx managers would probably not fit in with many American companies who still operate with the view that it is the role of the leader to decide, consult individually, and continually monitor.

Instead, the FedEx style is to view the leader as a facilitator, holding a group meeting to define the problem and the limits to which decisions should be made, and then encourage participation by delegating the manner in which the group as a whole will manage that issue. Of course there are overall goals and issues that must be met; if a package needs to be in India, there is a time frame it must leave Los Angeles.

but, the way to make that happen fits in with delegation to the real experts -- the individual teams at FedEx. Part 8 -- for the self-managed, empower team approach to work at FedEx, managers must be coaches -- or the process of giving feedback that is timely, appropriate, and motivational while setting a pristine performance example. At FedEx, this is done in simple ways; if there.