SHRM Assessment 1: FedEx Corporation HRM Practices

Desklib provides solved assignments and past papers to help students succeed.

SHRM ASSESSMENT 1- INDIVIDUAL
REPORT
FED-EX CORPORATION
1

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................3
HRM Practices in FedEx with reference to Strategic HRM concepts...............................4
Soft vs. Hard HRM........................................................................................................4
Soft HR Policies in FedEx............................................................................................ 6
FACTORS INFLUENCING SHRM...................................................................................8
SHRM in FedEx – Implementation challenges...............................................................10
Ulrich HR model......................................................................................................... 10
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................... 12
REFERENCES...............................................................................................................13
2

INTRODUCTION
The term strategic human resource management (SHRM) can be referred as the
association of the human resources with the strategic goals and objectives of the
organization so as to boost the business performance and development of the
organizational culture and practices that might give the competitive edge. Different
types of existing HRM practices in FedEx are discussed in the report with reference to
the strategic HRM concepts and theories. The report also analyses the exterior factors
and their impact on strategic HRM decisions. Further, the mode of delivery for various
SHRM policies and practices is examined in the report with context to the chosen
organization.
3

HRM Practices in FedEx with reference to Strategic HRM concepts
FedEx has implemented elements from many of the HRM models but the one which
forms the core of the company’s human resource practices is the use of soft HRM within
the organization. The soft human resource management is a concept of strategic HRM
and is a group of various HR techniques that can positively impact the performance of
the organization. The main aspects followed under soft HRM includes the needs of
employees, development and Employee training, workforce flexibility, employee
participation etc. FedEx has incorporated many of the soft HR practices which are
further discussed (FedEx, 2018).
Soft vs. Hard HRM
For studying the method of Soft HRM which is being implemented in the organization, it
is important to consider its conceptual difference with respect to the Hard HRM. This is
illustrated in the table below:
Points HARD Human Resource
Management
SOFT Human Resource
Management
Rationale Treatment of the workforce as ONE
of the many resources of the
organization and how to get
maximum from them
Treating the employees as the
MOST important resource of the
organization and planning
according to their needs
Focus Hiring, transferring and lay off are
done entirely on the basis of
business priority.
The equal emphasis of strategies
on roles and motivation of the
employees and their
performance rewards
Features Minimal communication from
bottom to the top of the hierarchy
Transparent and two-way
communication
Minimum Wage Competitive Pay Structure
Matches autocratic leadership style Followed in a democratic
leadership style
Judgmental Appraisals used Developmental Appraisals are
provided
4

HARD Human Resource
management
SOFT Human Resource
Management
Motivational
Medium
The only source of motivation is Pay
with finite use of delegation
Empowerment, skill training and
motivational techniques used
extensively to Improve the
performance of employees
Advantages  Decision making is faster
 The process is cost-effective
 Very high level of
motivation
 Proper communication
helps in the identification
of potential problems
Disadvantages  Higher absentees
 Poor retention ratio
 The cost of this approach
tends to lose the
competitive gain of the
company
Now using the theoretical concept of Soft model of human resource management to the
strategic planning of HR policies with the background of the chosen organization is
considered below:
5
HR STRATEGY
1. Employee significance, 2. Human resource flow 3. Rewards System 4.
Work Structure
HR OUTCOMES
Commitment, Congruence, Competence, Profits
LONG TERM RESULTS IN ORGANIZATION
1. Organizational effectiveness 2. Individual Wellbeing 3. Societal Wellbeing

Soft HR Policies in FedEx
In this section, the investigation is done to the policies and practices of the HR of FedEx
against the backdrop of the theoretical concept of Soft model of HRM.
Participation Level
The scope of communication in the practices and processes of decision making is huge
for the employees of the FedEx. Increased employee participation makes
interdepartmental functioning very efficient fulfilling the organizational strategy of
business excellence. The HR of the FedEx works continuously in creating an
environment where every tea member has equal chance to contribute his inputs and
ideas to their respective leaders which in the long run is substantial in increasing the
team results and productivity (Bratten and Gold, 2017).
The leaders of FedEx are highly ambitious to involve the employees in the policy-
making and strategy formulation for the goal completion process. The employees of
FedEx are also empowered to highlight their opinions towards a particular decision
which may come under their business framework with the help of online feedback and
employees’ portal of the company.
Development programs at FedEx
FedEx because of its business activeness has become one of the biggest shipping and
courier companies of the country along with a heavy worldwide presence. This has
been possible through continuous training, and developmental HR schemes and
policies. The timely and punctual popularity of the organization in each of its business
activities has been achieved by preparation of the employee right from the entry level of
the organization (Bakker, 2017).
FedEx HR gives emphasis to the training of the workforce who works directly with the
customers. The squad comprises of customer service associates, service and delivery
agents, and courier managers. The exclusive customer-centric training is provided for
eight weeks in which they are trained in handling the customer demands and
6

requirements and educating the company’s services and offerings in the present
capacities.
FedEx has created a unique HR policy known as Leadership Evaluation and Awareness
Process (LEAP), where the non-managerial staff of the company is given opportunities
and training to scale up to the managerial posts of the organizations (FedEx, 2015).
FedEx has a popular PHP belief which stands for People Service profit philosophy. The
HR policy revolving around this philosophy is the development of employee-friendly
practices for performance appraisals, recruitment and selections as well as corporate
communication. The HR systems are also subjected to constant upgradations to
address the issues in minimum possible time. The PHP belief has made the company
believe that if FedEx gives proper attention to its workforce, it would result in more
efficient service to the customers and ultimately generate more profits for the company.
This philosophy is in alignment the Soft model of HRM discussed so far (Bailey et al.
2018).
7

FACTORS INFLUENCING SHRM
Various types of situational factors in addition to the consideration of the stakeholders’
interests play a very vital role in the formulation of strategic HR policies. The major
stakeholders in the FedEx can be enumerated as the management, shareholders,
employees, investors, unions, government committees etc. The soft HR roes can be
studied by taking the reference of Harvard HRM framework. This literature enlists the
various important situational factors as well as stakeholders' perceptions which govern
the making of the HR plans of any organization. Moreover, secondary factors like the
dedication level of employees and domain proficiency can have long term effects on the
organization's efficiency making them important to be covered in HR strategies. With the
context of the chosen organization, FedEx, the external factors are illustrated below
(Michael and Francis, 2018).
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
The levels of participation of the workforce in the team efforts and task completion
processes have a huge role in the composition of the future HR strategies at the FedEx.
The large scale organization highly encourages employee engagement at different
hierarchical levels and departmental capacities. It will result in increasing of trust of the
employees towards the core values of the FedEx. Another benefit of active employee
participation is the motivation for career advancement to the higher levels within the
company because the company is involved in the continuous expansion of its activities
at the global level. The steps taken by the company is the provision of performance
related pay benefits that are sufficiently high that the industry standards and is given to
those who have positive scores in the participation activity assessments (Epstein,
2018).
WORK PROFILE
8

The diversity of operations for cargo, delivery to packaging and storing in FedEx makes
it an organization with the rich work culture. The departmentalization of its business
operations having their individual structure of ranking assists to avoid the feeling of
monotonicity of the job or the working condition. In addition to that, the workforce is
permitted for working in more than one department if they seek to acquire knowledge
from different segments. This further prevents the repetition of the job and increases
customer satisfaction (Delery and Roumpi, 2017).
EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS AND WORKFORCE DISTRIBUTION
The worldwide operation of FedEx endorsed mixed and balanced working staff based
on the culture, gender as well as nationality. In some countries especially like the UK,
employment is regulated by anti-discrimination laws which suggest an equal proportion
from different age groups, demographics etc. The same principle is duly followed in
FedEx where most of the staff is full time with occasional job roles like local delivery
agents being part-time based on the business penetration of the area (Michael and
Francis, 2018).
Another approach to the study the influence of the external factors to the strategic HRM
is the use of PESTLE model to our area of focus. It will comprise of political, economic,
legal, environmental and technological factors. The political factors also contribute
towards the HR strategies as the organization is affected by multiple governments
internationally. For instance, the UK unit of FedEx has been severely affected by the
BREXIT due to the reason that it has an important business presence in Europe as well
as in the country. The employability status of many of its workforce can be impacted by
the policies of BREXIT which may hamper the efficiency of its business in the region.
The technological factors include the innovations in transportation in form of electric
vehicles which can lower down the delivery costs by road and at the same time
contribute towards the ecological cause of reducing carbon emission (Marler, 2012).
9

SHRM in FedEx – Implementation challenges
To overcome the administrative challenges of implementing the strategies and policies
of the HRM, the department at FedEx has been given independent authority by
including the director level in the department for leading and monitoring the HR
responsibilities. Further, the human resource departments at various national branches
of FedEx invest considerably for conducting skill-based training and development
program to make them efficient and competitive to the industry standards. Further, the
salary structures are revised constantly to ensure long term benefits and compensations
to retain its full-time employees over a longer course of time making them an asset
rather than a liability. This blueprint has assisted the FedEx for maintaining its top
position in courier and cargos industry for more than a decade at a global level. The
emphasis on evolving the skill set of its workforce shows the important and successful
role of HR in the strategic planning and decision making in the organization (Noe et al.
2017).
Ulrich HR model
This model lays out four major functions of a human resource department which should
fulfil within an organization. These are enlisted as follows:
 Administrative Proficiency
 Employee Champion
 Strategic Partner
 Agent for Change
If the application of the model with the context of the organization is discussed then the
department of HR in FedEx performs various roles including the attendance analysis of
employees, payments and its related grievances, handling of evaluation and appraisal
of employees etc. These all can be categorized under the administrative aspect of the
Ulrich model. The changes and strategical implementation as decided by the leaders is
effectively performed by HR in coordination with other departments thus fulfilling the role
of agent change as well as a strategic partner (Ulrich et al. 2013).
10

Thus, the effective delivery and application of HR strategies happen starting from the
higher hierarchy proceeding towards the bottom levels with the help and coordination of
managers who sometimes delay it. So the barrier to the organization of HR policies in
the absence of performance measurement for evaluation of line managers in assessing
their duty in applying HR policies to the department. Also, many technical and non-
managerial departments of the company face the situation of lack of awareness of
human resource matters which sometimes cause a delay in policy adoption (Sparrow,
2013).
11

CONCLUSION
The report discusses the various policies and HR activities which is employed in FedEx
which is the chosen organization for the study. It is found from relating to the theoretical
concept that the strategy of HRM is based on the SOFT model of HRM. The Soft model
is differentiated with respect to the hard model to develop a clear understanding.
Another aspect is the implementation of Ulrich's Model on the FedEx business
operations by the HRM. Further various factors were considered in addition to the
stakeholders' interests which have a certain impact on the strategic decisions of human
resource management.
12