The culture fosters an environment where a person’s performance is what counts. The culture in Fexex is that people should put one hundred percent effort into their work, is itself not profound, but covertly that one value, as a consistent element in a Fedex assumption, reinforces other values like dedication and obligation. Just as Fedex describe themselves as a flexible network of networks designed to focus on very distinct customer needs, so that FedEx Corporation companies are truly global and diverse.
To evaluate the weakness within the management of the organisation, I will look at how the external environment changes affect managing people. Can changes be managed successfully when it is imposed by external forces? e.g. technology development. Change is now accepted as part of everyday life, it will not disappear or dissipate. Managers will continue to be judged upon their ability to effectively and efficiently manage change. Advances in communication and technology have had a huge impact on the organisations in this fast moving, fast changing society. People and business operate in the world of instant communication, information and change. Organisations such as FedEx, will only survive by respond to changes in the external environment and have appropriate mechanisms in place to respond effectively to these changes.
In order to correspond the change in technology, FedEx were looking to replace up to 70,000 older terminals with Networked Computers (NC’s). In particular they were interested in Sun Microsystems unit called the Java Station. The reason why they want to replace it is because the old system is going be to outdated and couldn’t handle the increasing amounts of traffic and number of transactions they were receiving on a daily basis. The management problem arose from the change of the system in that the employees must keep up with the up-to-date technology, they need to learn how to operate new system and the change of system will not only cost the equipment fees but also cost in labour training fees.
Also, the employees’ resistance to change might be a potential threat to the organisation. Resistance is the normal and most common reaction when confronted with a projected changes, where as strong and immediate support is the least common scenario. In general, resistance to change is the reasonable and legitimate expression of the risks which charge entails for the participants. (Pendlebury et al) 1998:198
However, employees are likely to require motivational influences to perform their job to the level required by their managers due to the nature of work. According to the motivation theory of Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-70), he advocated that the hierarchy need is not an effective motivator until those lower in the hierarchy are more or less satisfied. One are unlikely to be concerned about the threat to safety, if he or she is biological deprivation.
Moreover, we have an innate desire to “work our way up” the hierarchy, pursuing the satisfaction of our ‘ higher-order’ needs once our basic or ‘lower-order’ needs are more or less satisfied. The advance in technology might cause unemployment but it also rise new opportunity for job vacancies. Take FedEx for example, the employees have to keep up with the technology advanced in case they might loss their job or take place by others.
Motivation will be an important issue when FedEx wants their employees to be up-to-date and willing to learn. Providing cost effect learning resource and motivating willingness to learn is the only way to solve the problem. FedEx provide a library of third party on-line courses for the technical employees, the list of the course FedEx is offering to his employees continues to grow. Beyond computer technical skills, they also offer classes about things such as leadership, regulation and human resource.
In conclusion, as the technology change increased task specialisation, there might be a potential problem in the increase cost of training employees and willingness to learn. The advances in technology give management progressive opportunities to reduce skill and discretion in work, and to tighten management surveillance and control over workers. The culture within FedEx and its leadership style, has enabled the company to gain competitive advantage and become a highly successful and reliable worldwide transportation company. FedEx continues to enhance its profit potential by using aggressive management to achieve their objectives.
