Organizational Structure of Federal Express

This research examines the organizational structure at the Federal Express Corporation. The character of the organizational structure at Federal Express, and the effectiveness of the organizational structure are considered.

Federal Express employs almost 90,000 persons at more than 1,600 facilities globally (1990 winners, 1990, p. 19). The company is just 20 years old in 1993, yet commands a 40 percent share of the air express delivery service market.

Federal Express set out to provide high quality package service. The success of the company in attaining this goal has established the standards by which all other overnight courier services are evaluated (Hauss, 1993, pp. 2226). In corporate America, it is a near maxim that "if it absolutely has to get there overnight, send it by Federal Express" (Fishkind, 1993, pp. 5658).

To establish its marketing service quality program, Federal Express determined what was most important to overnight shippers. The company found that sureness of delivery and timeliness of delivery were of greatest concern to customers. While customers were concerned with costs, Federal Express found that they were willing to pay a higher fee to assure both delivery and timeliness. Thus, the marketing service quality program at Federal Express was born. To successfully implement this program and to maintain the effectiveness of the program, however, demanded that the

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of managerial authority, (2) responsibility and accountability within the organization, and (3) the informal organization within the organizational structure (Robey, 1991, pp. 217236). Strong leadership is necessary for the effective functioning of SMWTs (Barton, 1991, pp. 5859). Such leadership is essential if SMWTs are to hire, train, and assign new employees, determine work schedules, provide instruction in various skills, and make decisions related to bonus compensation and employee terminations (Barton, 1991, pp. 5859). To foster strong leadership in SMWTs, organizational management must relinquish control over details, concrete problems, and daytoday activities (Barton, 1991, pp. 5859). This step was implemented at Federal Express. Organizational management then devotes its energies to broader responsibilities, such as planning, and providing direction and support for SMWTs (Barton, 1991, pp. 5859). Within such an organizational environment, management retains authority over strategy, while the SMWTs assumes authority for tactics within a framework of goals established by management (Owens, 1991, pp. 5365). This practice prevails at Federal Express. Responsibility and accountability are major issues affecting
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Approximate Word count = 2670
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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