Fred Smith Fedex

While at college Fred Smith, founder of FedEx (formerly Federal Express), developed a business case which would contain the seeds of the idea that would germinate into what is today the world's largest express transportation company with "more than 145,000 employees worldwide, delivering more than 3.2 million packages daily, in command of a fleet of 634 aircraft and more than 42,500 vehicles, with 1998 revenues of $14 billion" (Crofoot, 1999, 1). Through innovation and people-first principles, Fred Smith has become a leader respected world-wide for his ability to innovate, please people (customers and employees) and profit at the same time. This case study will provide a description of Fred Smith as well as key points regarding his leadership of FedEx. Also included will be a leadership analysis of Fred Smith, using a contingency model of leadership: the Path-Goal Theory. While leadership styles cannot be fully explained by behavioral models, this model does attempt to understand the relationship between style and situation. A summary will discuss the future scenario at FedEx under the leadership of Fred Smith.

FedEx began operation in April, 1973, the brainchild of a college student named Fred Smith. At the time, there were no overnight package express services in operation. Now 57, the taciturn ex-Marine can laugh about the grade "C" he was awarded by Yale University as a junior for the hub-and-spoke c

stablished. Supportive Leadership: Good relations exist with the group and sensitivity to subordinates' needs is shown. Participative Leadership: Decision making is based on group consultation and information is shared with the group. Achievement-Oriented Leadership: Challenging goals are set and high performance is encouraged while showing confidence in the groups' ability. (Vecchio, 1995, 286-304) FRED SMITH: KEY POINTS There are definitely key points in the business career of Fred Smith which demonstrate the above four types of leadership. Directive leadership is often the leadership style of Fred Smith and FedEx management. Directive leadership is a situation where advice is given to the group and specific ground rules as established. In order for directive leadership to work, the ground rules must be inviolate for group members. In this way, the ground rules not only establish a uniformity of operation they also help create a fairer justice system within the corporate culture which is often attributed to higher employee morale and motivation. If we look at a specific example of this in FedEx history we find many. One particular instance involves the group of ground drivers. Ground drivers have an established s