Case Summary: Frederick W.

SmithFedEx
FedEx faced main issue was related to the company with growth come difficulties of
coordination, maintaining efficiency, meeting customer expectations, and managing employees.
According to case, in few words we can say that organizing the company in business units
improved both the quality of the services provided by FedEx but also the efficiency and
profitability. Going further organizing self-managed teams allowed FedEx to boost its services
quality, efficiency and profitability through a better usage of the employees skills and creativity
and by having them motivated by this organizational model.

Questions/answers
Question #01:
How do the standards set by Fred Smith for FedEx teams improve organizational
performance?
FedEx establish a standard of commitment to total quality service and also the company was
ranked consistently as Worlds Most Admired Companies, 100 Best Companies to Work For and
other such awards. So from the beginning high standards were set and now in the increasing
adjustable and competitive business environment FedEx has to set new standards in order to
maintain all those achievements.
Frederick W. Smith organizes the company in eight business units. Splitting the company in
eight business units made much easier to control the efficiency of each business unit. Also this
reorganization allowed a better managing of the employees.
Fred Smiths went one step further and he changed the way that employees were working inside
the business units. Instead of a hierarchical structure and approach he chooses to implement a
team approach to get things done. By doing this he transferred the leadership roles from the
managers to the team members allowing them to have an increased decision making authority
which led also to an increased team accountability and responsibility. These changes stimulate
the employees to find out new solutions for their problems instead of waiting for them to come
from managers levels. Teams are task oriented and having all the members of the team looking
for a solution when a problem occurs is much more productive than having a single manager
looking for a solution. Maybe the best example for a standard set by Fred Smith is the golden
package concept. This is a concept focused on the customer need to have the package delivered
in time so it was oriented towards customer satisfaction. In the same time the concept was
reinforcing the team work idea by involving all the team members in finding a way in which the
package can be delivered in time.
Frederick W. Smith was organized superteams. These teams were self-managed and had little
supervision from the managers. Such teams were directly involved in solving problems which
saved a lot of money and improved company efficiency and profitability.
Question #02
What motivates the members of FedEx to remain highly engaged in their teams?
Lets discus first what is the effect of organizing people in self-managed teams and after that
what is to be done in order to maintain their level of engagement.
The most important characteristic is the fact that Self Manage Teams have a higher decision
making authority. The simple fact that team members are involved in the decision-making
process has two immediate effects: team members are highly motivated because they have a
sense of belonging and ownership in ones work and they feel responsible for the result of their
decision.
Another characteristic of Self Manage Team is that team members roles are exchangeable. This
has in my opinion two consequences: one is that the company is able to return much more from
its employees potential and second, the employees are much more motivated because trough this
role changes they have the opportunity to do new tasks and avoid to be bored.
In FedEx the use of Self Manage Teams retained a high level of employees engagement. Quality
Action Team and the superteams are clear examples of Self Manage Teams usage in order to
increase efficacy but also to possess all employees involved and motivated.
Fred Smith used two methods to motivate their employees. First action was to create a job-secure
environment. By doing this he created the right environment for Self Manage Teams to perform
and employees to be involved. Second method used to retain FedEx members highly engaged is
reward and recognition offered through the Circle of Excellence award offered to the best FedEx
station. This award is motivating people in two ways: one is trough offering recognition and
second by inspiring competition between teams.
Question #03
Describe the role FedEx managers play in facilitating team effectiveness.
Self-Managed Teams is characterized by the fact that the leadership is inside the team, not
outside. However this doesnt mean that those teams have no management. In case of Self
Manage Teams the manager role is shifting from management to a facilitator role.

As a facilitator the mangers from FedEx has to stimulate team members to take assume
responsibilities and to take charge for problem solving processes. In order to assure that mangers
from FedEx had to empower the teams by giving them the power to make changes needed to
improve productivity and customer satisfaction. In this process of power transfer from managers
to teams implied automatically a responsibilities transfer towards the team. In other words, if you
take the decision you have the responsibilities for the results derived from that decision. By
doing this FedEx managers were improving team effectiveness because teams were accountable
for the results and also the motivation among team members is improved due to this power and
responsibilities transfer.
Question #04
What type of teams does FedEx use? Provide evidence from the case to support your
answer.
FedEx use these are following types of teams:
Self-Managed Team (SMT)
Team-Centered Decision-Making Model
Self-Managed Team (SMT)
Self-mnage teams are relatively independent teams whose members share or interchange
leadership responsibilities and hold themselves mutually responsible for a set of performance
goals assigned by higher management. According to case, FedEx was organized superteam. These
teams were self-managed and had little supervision from the managers. Such teams were directly
involved in solving problems which saved a lot of money and improved company efficiency and
profitability. In order to have Self Manage Team performing effective he had to build the work
environment needed for this team. People are usually afraid to take responsibilities also the
teams are afraid. In order to minimize this he had to build a job-secure environment so, that
people are not afraid to take decisions even if sometimes the results are not very good.
Team-Centered Decision-Making Model
The team-centered approach empowers team members to make decisions and follow through.
Advocates of the team-centered approach argue that empowerment results in a more dedicated,
energetic, and creative workforce. Managers are by no means obsolete at FedEx. Smith has
redefined their roles. There has been a shift in mindset from the traditional leader-centered to the
team-centered leadership approach.


Question # 05
Leaders play a critical role in building effective teams. Cite evidence from the case that
FedEx managers performed some of these roles in developing effective teams.
The mangers has the task to create the optimal work conditions in order to have team members
ready to take responsibilities to work efficient and solve problems on their own. Fred Smith was
trying to change FedEx structure from standard one in a Self-Manage Teams structure. In order
to have Self Manage Teams performing effective he had to build the work environment needed
for this team. People are usually afraid to take responsibilities also the teams are afraid. In order
to minimize this he had to build a job-secure environment so that people are not afraid to take
decisions even if sometimes the results are not very good. That environment build by FedEx
helped to develop effective Self Manage Teams.
The example of actions performed by FedEx leaders in order to build effective teams is forming
the Quality Action Teams. Teams are not appearing in a spontaneous way, is the role of leaders
to build and develop those teams. In this case managers not only supported the team
development but after results were visible and positive they used this model worldwide. The
superteams are another example were FedEx leaders developed effective teams which are
working with little supervision.
Question #06
The Big Five model of personality categorizes traits into dimensions of surgency,
agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness, and openness to experience (Chapter 2).
Which of these dimensions do you think Fred Smith possesses?
I thought in this case, Fred Smith possesses these are following personality traits:
Openness to Experience
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Adjustment
Openness to Experience
The openness-to-experience personality dimension has related to willing to change and try new
things. In this case, Fred Smith has tried to new things and changes the business strategies. Fred
Smith has redefined their roles and develops effective Self Manage Teams. There has been a
shift in mindset from the traditional leader-centered to the team-centered leadership approach.
FedEx managers perceive their role as facilitators and sometimes they are players. Fred Smith
has also practicing the motivational techniques by giving a sense of ownership. Smith reinforces
group performance by presenting a monthly Circle of Excellence award to the best FedEx
station. He encourages innovative thinking by creating a job-secure environment and this is the
reason that they are competing the market era.
Agreeableness
I thought agreeableness personality dimension has applied in this case. It is related to getting
along with people. Agreeableness personality behavior is strong in Fred Smith. Case facts show
the Fred Smith personality behavior with their employees sincere and caring, relaxed and
friendly. Fred Smith has given the decision making powers to their employees and he has agree
with the valid points of employees.
Conscientiousness
I thought Conscientiousness personality dimension has applied in this case. Conscientiousness
personality dimension related to achievements. Fred Smith has believed on achievements so, he
implements the team building techniques and motivational techniques to motivate his employees
and achieve the task of maintain efficiency, meet customer expectations, and manage employees.
Adjustment
I thought adjustment personality dimension has also applied in this case because of the Fred
Smith behavior has adjustable with their employees. Fred Smith gives freedom to Self-manage
teams and there are own manage with little supervision.
Question# 07
The normative leadership model identifies five leadership styles appropriate for different
situations that users can select to maximize decisions (Chapter 5). Which of the five
leadership styles is practiced by FedEx team leaders?
The normative leadership model has a time-driven and development-driven decision tree that
enables the user to select one of five leadership styles (decide, consult individually, consult
group, facilitate, and delegate) appropriate for the situation to maximize decisions.
FedEx team leaders practiced by these are following leadership leadership styles
Facilitate
Delegate
The leader holds a group meeting and acts as a facilitator to define the problem and the limits
within which a decision must be made. The leader seeks participation and concurrence on the
decision without pushing his or her ideas. In case of Self Manage Teams the manager role is
shifting from management to a facilitator role. As a facilitator the mangers FedEx has to
stimulate team members to take assume responsibilities and to take charge for problem solving
processes. In order to assure that mangers FedEx had to empower the teams by giving them the
power to make changes needed to improve productivity and customer satisfaction.

Delegate
The leader lets the group analyze the problem and make the decision within stated limits. The
role of the leader is to answer questions and provide encouragement and resources. Fred smith
has given the decision making authority to self-manage teams with little supervision.