With reference to an organisation of your choice critically evaluate how individuals are both managed and lead so as to achieve the goals of the organisation? FedEx is an international company and is one of the leading transportation, e-commerce and supply chain management services company in the United States. With six independent operating companies that compete collectively under the FedEx name worldwide: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Services, an average turnover of $23 billion per annum, the organisation employs over 20,000 people at its world headquarters.
FDX Corp, has built its reputation on the promise of remarkable service, as in, “When it absolutely, positively has to be there on time.” The slogan of FedEx reflects the theory of Taylor’s perspective that use the scientific method and select the most suitable person to deliver a task. The company has a TV campaign, seeking the most efficient workers who epitomise the goals and values of the company, with the aim of being a global outstanding transportation provider.
The strengths and weaknesses of the management of the company will be established by examine the organisation’s internal environment, and will be valued when making important decisions or improving management style. Some of my assumptions are as followed: It is undoubted that the workforce within the organisation is absolutely strong, the founder of the organisation, Fred Smith, once joined the military services and applied the strategic “leadership” principle to his own business.
Leadership reflects the value of the organisation and beliefs of their founder, Outstanding leadership requires much more than people being good at their job, it requires innovative thinking, people making positive and inspiring impacts, and it requires them to be able to motivate others. What is needed is an ability to think and act ‘out of the box’, out of the accepted or ‘right’ ways of doing things.
The leader gives order to complete a mission, in business terms, a mission is what called an “objective”. To achieve the objective of the organisation, we must identify the concepts of the mission. The Ashridge mission diamond contains four elements: values, purpose, strategy and behaviour. Values are the beliefs and moral principles that lie behind the company’s culture. In Fedex, the employees believe that the work they have done is not just to delivery a package, it is a mission that they have to complete to make the world moving by delivery the most important document or parts.
The purpose of the company is to make money for its shareholders, make products for its customers and provide rewarding jobs for its employees. Their overall strategy is to achieve a competitive advantage over its competitors. The strategies mean little if they are not put into action, with intellectual thought into the policy and behaviour guidelines that help people to decide what to do on a day-to-day job. The purpose of Fedex is to meet the customers’ need to delivery overnight package. The strategy they use is by leadership and dedicated themselves into their own work and do whatever it takes to get it done.
Demonstrating quick thinking and dedicated service to others, FedEx Express employees saved lives, brought criminals to justice, and conquered unforeseen customer service challenges during the past year. “FedEx values its people first and believes that they are the heart and soul of the company. For more than 20 years, individual employees have made the decision to reach out and help those in need or in danger and to go the extra mile for their customers,” said David J. Bronczek, president and CEO of FedEx Express. “It is most appropriate that FedEx recognises them for their contributions to the greater community and to the company’s continuing success.” As Schein (1990) indicates, people identify with visionary leaders of what they expect and how they behave.
Based on the work of Morgan and Smircich (1980), in terms of leadership, we would be looking for the patterns of relations among leaders, followers, and various aspects of the context within which they operate, recognising that a change in one part of the system would change other parts of the system.
“Operate independently, compete collectively. ” Each member of the FedEx family of companies manages its own specialised network of service. To meet the needs of a diverse customer base, the employees of FedEx must reflect diversity within the organisation. Separate operations allow these companies to focus on what they do best because, when it comes to shipping, one size does not fit all. Competing collectively, FedEx Corporation acts as the hub, allowing these independent companies to work together worldwide. Under the powerful FedEx brand name, the corporation also oversees any potential business development activities designed to strengthen the broad portfolio of services.
Beside the leadership strengthen the structure of the organisation. Climate of the organisation is also another issue we need to look at. Climate refers to those aspects of environment that are consciously perceived by organisational members. Rousseau(1988) stated that climate is a perception and is descriptive. It is also defined by French et al (1985), It is the relatively persistent set of perceptions held by organisation members concerning the characteristics and quality of organisational culture.
