Business Strategy of Federal Express - Case Study Example

Running head: BUSINESS STRATEGY Business Strategy [Writer’s name] [Institution name] Business Strategy Introduction The objective of this report is to analysis business strategy of an organization, by analyzing the views of different experts, as well as the SWOT and Porter five analysis of the chosen organization. For this purpose I chose to analyze Fed Ex as it has a strong business strategy. Strategy: The word strategy came from the Greek word strategies, which means a general. At that time; strategy literally meant the art and science of directing military forces. Today, the term strategy is used in business to describe how an organization is going to achieve its objectives and mission. Most organizations have several options for accomplishing, their objectives and mission. In difference to other popular views of strategy, this broad interpretation can accommodate the designation of the basic purpose of the organization as its mission. Goals and objectives are their statements of other things to be achieved in pursuit of fulfilling the mission; strategies indicate the ways management plans to achieve its objective. Over the years different organizations have to develop strategies to survive in an ever-changing business environment. Strategies exist at a number of levels in an organization (Johnson and Scholes 2002 p56). Every organization has a strategy at anytime, although they may not used the word deliberately. If these businesses are to become successful, then innovation and change must be at the heart of their strategic management. Exploring Corporate Strategy, warned that the ' take-for-granted' assumptions in organizations are likely to build an organization to the need for change and how new strategies could be developed (Ambroshini with Johnson and Scholes 1998 p122). Mintzberg (1979 p12) suggested that the term strategy has been defined in a variety of ways but always with a common theme. He has five definitions for strategy, which he calls the 5 P's. Strategy as a Plan where some kind of intentionally planned course of action, or a guideline to deal by means of a situation. Strategy as a Ploy that involves scheming and plotting to achieve an objective, often to fool or outwit an opponent or competitor. Strategy as a Pattern in behaviour or ways either deliberately or not. Strategy as a Position, a concept that stresses goal setting and objectives. Strategy as a Perspective that is a set of options and concerns that maybe unspoken but defines how the organization operates. Trgoe and Zimmerman (1980 p 11), defined strategy as the framework which guides those choices that determine the nature and direction of an organization. Hofer and Schendel (1978 p5), definition of strategy is somewhat different. His definition refers to strategy as the basic characteristics of the match an organization achieves with its environment. Mintzberg and Quinn (1991 p45) gave the definition of strategy as the model or plan that completely incorporates an organization’s most important goals, policies, as well as action sequences. A strategy allocates an organization’s resources into a unique and viable posture based on relative internal strengths and weaknesses, and predictable changes in the external environment. Thompson and Strickland (1993 p6) defined strategy as the complete pattern of moves of an organization as well as approaches of managers which are used to attain objectives of the organization and to whole heartedly follow the organization's mission. Michael Porter (1996 p23) defines strategy as the real meaning of strategy performing activities which their rivals do not as well as performing the same actions in a different and more effective manner. D'Aveni (1994 p17) takes the view that strategy is not only recreation of advantage but also the creative destruction of the opponent's advantage. Brown and Eisenhardt (1998 p4) give a complete and simple definition of strategy as the formation of a constant flow of competitive advantages that when taken together shape a semi-coherent strategic course. Johnson and scholes (2002 p34) makes a fuller clarification of the word strategy as the direction in addition to scope of an organization above the long-term, which achieves benefit for the organization throughout its arrangement of resources contained by a changing environment as well as to completely fulfil stakeholder expectations. The point that is made by everyone is that there is no set definition for strategy. The five- forces approach to industry analysis was given by Porter's (1980 p45) who made strategy a lot more externally focused then it was before. In the year 1980 this theory had a powerful influence and it still continues to be influential. After 1990 the complete focus has been on the demand for speed as well as suppleness in order to act in response to the amplified speed of change as well as its strong effects on competition. The phenomena of basic strategy development cooperate strategy, competency-based strategy and incorporating through experimentation in strategy improvement, every one recognizes that an extensive range of players, as well as the workforce, clients, and even rivals, need to participate in the development of strategy. Mintzberg and Lempel (1999 p21) and Mintzberg et al. (1998 p55) categorizes the subsequent nine schools; these are the schools of thought that are divided into two primary types: 1. Prescriptive-In which normative assumptions that originate from an outlook that the environment is comparatively stable as well as the challenge for the development of strategy and to act in response or adapt to the environment: Design, planning as well as positioning school. 2. Descriptive- In which the approach is derived from empirical findings or disciplinary perspectives and methods: Entrepreneurial, Cognitive, Learning, Cultural, Political and Environmental school (Placet and Branch 2002). Managers at various levels in the organization carry out the strategic process. According (Atkinson 2004 p25), there have always been two divergent views on Strategic Planning initiated between the two giant thinkers on the subject, Henry Mintzberg and Michael Porter which is whether the strategic process evolves or can be considered by means of detail that are analytical following a sets or processes that are in sequence. The reality for a good number organizations almost certainly lies someplace amid two limits. The determining factors narrate to the particular organization, its history as well as politics, its virtual control and position with in the market, good relationships with the clientele, suppliers, employees and pressure groups, competitors that still exist in the same market and the procedures of probable as well as newcomers including a multitude of extra external variables. The whole focus of the planning process is that the process itself can have a profound input for strategy for an organization. According to Smith (1990 p30), a firm's business strategy can be defined as the action managers take to attain the goals of the firm. For most organizations, a principal goal is to be highly profitable. To be profitable in a competitive global environment, continual attention must be paid to both reducing the costs of value creation and to differentiating product offering so that consumers are willing to pay more for the product than it costs to produce it. Thus, strategy here is often concerned with identifying and taking actions that will lower the costs of value creation and/or will differentiate the firm's product offering through superior design, quality, service and functionality (Hill, 1999 p10). Strategic thinking is seen as a basis for strategic management. Compared to strategic planning, strategic thinking is a more intuitive and creative assessment of both environmental realities and organizational capabilities (Cynthia Hardy, 1994 p56). To understand the strategic development process, one has to have an understanding of the three strategy lenses. These are design, experience and ideas lenses. Some organizations depend on this model to gain market position and advantage. One such organization is Easy jet. The company's strategy is deliberate and entrepreneurial .Minzberg & Waters. Stelios who is the Managing Director of the company is the type of leader that makes his presence felt across the organization. The company's operations are centralized in Easyland, the offices are open plan and though there are elements of a power culture, there is a low level of power distance. The second lens is the experience lens which view strategy development as the outcome of individual and collective experience of individuals and the taken-for-granted assumptions mostly represented by cultural influences. IBM is one such organization which operates within the scope of the experience lens. It strategy has been culture driven as almost all of it senior mangers had risen up the ranks of the company from the mainframe division. The company is a highly bureaucratic organizational structure, which meant that managers from other departments in the organization have get approval when decisions have to be made from the corporate management committee which was made up of managers from the company's mainframe department. This was a process that would take months. This type of culture in IBM led to the decline of market share and revenues, as the company was not aware of the environmental changes going on around them. The final strategy lens is the ideas lens which sees strategy as the emergence of order and innovation from the variety and diversity which exist in and around organizations. One company that depends on this lens is The Body Shop. In terms of how strategy is decided, Anita Roddick (founder of the company), carries out what can be called an environmental scanning to find out where the market is going and to see what competitors are doing and then, in her own words, she, walk(s) in the opposite direction. Whilst Anita Roddick is certainly a talented woman particularly in public relations, as a strategist it appears that she probably provides the creativity and inspiration for many of the company's strategies but others for example, Patrick Gournay the Chief Executive of The Body Shop, very likely develop these strategies to be more realistic so that they can be implemented. As Gordon Roddick says, this is very much Anita's company, the rest of us make her dreams come true. Anita Roddick is a creative person; heavily relying on intuition and vision but logical input from colleagues is used to give balance to the strategy. The Body Shop's strategy is manifested in its personality: individuality, responsibility, activism, realism and service. In conclusion, one may ask so what, then, is strategy? Is it a plan? Does it refer to how we will obtain the ends we seek? Is it a position taken? The answer is strategy includes all of these. The different perspectives on strategy are: 1. Ansoff sees strategy as the environment as a central actor. (Adaptation) 2. Porter sees it as competitive advantage, which includes differentiation of products and services, focus on the business objectives and mass production. 3. Hanel and Prahalad see it as core competence. The important point to remember is in organizations strategy is about two things - deciding how far you want your firm to go, and how to take it there. Case Study: Federal Express :( FedEx) Company overview: Federal Express, part of FedEx Corporation which , connects areas which produces 90 per cent of the world's gross domestic product in 24 to 48 hours through door-to-door, customs-cleared service as well as a money-back guarantee. The company's matchless air route authorities in addition to the infrastructure makes it the world's leading express transportation company, providing fast, reliable and time-definite transportation of more than 3.1 million items in 215 countries each working day (http://www.fedex.com/cgi-bin/content.cgi?template=tw_pr&content=about/pressreleases/apac/pr040298&cc=tw). FedEx at this moment has approximately more than 136,000 employees; it also has 49,929 drop-off locations, 645 aircraft with 42,000 automobiles in its incorporated global network. FedEx tries its best to keep electronic connections with almost million customers through FedEx Ship Manager at fedex.com as well as FedEx Ship Manager Software. Mission Statement: FedEx will produce superior financial returns for shareowners by providing high value-added supply chain, transportation, business and related information services through focused operating companies. Customer requirements will be met in the highest quality manner appropriate to each market segment served. FedEx will strive to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners and suppliers. Safety will be the first consideration in all operations. Corporate activities will be conducted to the highest ethical and professional standards .(http://www.fedex.com/us/about/today/mission.html) History: Fred Smith was the person who founded Federal Express in 1972 in Little Rock. The company has to move to Tennessee in 1973 because Little Rock airport would not in nay way agree to offer facilities for the upcoming new airline. The name FedEx was chosen to signify the national marketplace, in addition to assist in getting contracts from the government. The company authoritatively started their operations on April 17, 1973; using a system of 14 Dassault Falcon 20s these planes linked 25 U.S. cities. FedEx, was the first and foremost cargo airline that utilized no more than one jet aircraft to fulfil it’s services, it expanded to a great extent following the deregulation of the cargo airlines division. Federal Express’ always seemed to utilize the hub-spoke distribution paradigm in the air freight helped it out it to turn into a world wide leader in its field. The company operates a great deal of its U.S. during the night freight all the way through its Memphis hub. Additional U.S. hubs are to be found in Indianapolis, Indiana, Newark, New Jersey, Oakland, California, Anchorage, Alaska, Fort Worth, Texas furthermore soon Greensboro, North Carolina. The Canadian hub functions from the biggest airport in Canada which is Toronto Pearson International Airport. In august 1989 FedEx bought Flying Tigers, this was a U.S. military transport contract as well as carried passengers connecting the continental United States in addition to overseas military installations until October, 1992. In 1998, FedEx bought another company called Caliber System, Inc; this was a big deal for federal express as this company owned three other companies which were Roadway Package System, Roberts Express, Viking Freight, as well as Caliber Logistics (http://www.strategy-business.com/press/16635507/06307). When these companies came together, the newly born organization came to be known as FDX Corp. In 2000, contract was signed between FedEx and USPS, the contract was signed so that FedEx could carry all of USPS overnight plus high-priority mail all the way through the FedEx system. This postal contract provide very fruitful for both parties and has been recently renewed till 2012 and because of which USPS still continues to be one of the biggest customers meant for FedEx. In 2001, FedEx once again brought another company this time it was an airline American Freightways as well as Viking Freight two most important less-than-truckload carriers in the U.S., and united them to form what is now known as FedEx Freight. FedEx brought Kinko's in February 2004; this company is based in Dallas. It provided business services, for $2.4 billion. The Three Key Measures: There are three measurement concepts broadly applied at FedEx: customer-value creation, performance support, and business-goal alignment. (Threat, 1997, pp.16) 1. Customer-value creation: Threat (1997) has explained that FedEx listens to customers and creates services and technology to fulfil core needs. In 1970s, FedEx embraced the overnight services. The extensive FedEx tracking capability was conceived to meet its customers' needs about critical shipments required access to more information. FedEx tracking information fulfils another customer need and company requirement - service quality. 2. Performance Support: Key to the success of the tracking scenario described in the sidebar is a series of performance-support features that help employees to do their jobs better. At the same, these features help keeping data clean for subsequent use. In addition, the courier workforce is self-managed throughout most of the operating day. Once leaving the FedEx facility with shipments for delivery, couriers use their innate skills, training, and operating procedures to serve their customers. 3. Business goal alignment: FedEx, the world's largest express transportation company, provides fast, reliable, and time-definite transportation of its customer’s goods. From the beginning, the company name has been synonymous with important, critical, and time-sensitive delivery. A fast, reliable way to provide peace of mind was an unmet need in transportation, yet it was an important to customers as the movement of their packages. FedEx began defining how it would track and communicate its 100 percent custodial control to its customers. COSMOS was created. It is the database where tracking information is entered and is visible to customer-service agents and anyone in operations. FedEx Internal Management Function: 1. Strategy: With the Internet and Intranets, FedEx used technology to link supply chains to the point of raw materials and identified points along the supply chain where they could provide logistics services. Through this, businesses were able to reduce inventory and practice just-in-time inventory while saving costs on warehousing, and inventory management. FedEx has been identified as multinational decentralised companies where subsidiaries operate independently, focusing on their respective specializations, but compete collectively (DeWit & Meyer, 2004). 2. Marketing: FedEx is observed to market through websites, such as collaborating with Netscape and Cisco Systems. TV advertisements have been seen to emphasize on the value of FedEx's services portraying how FedEx saves time and costs in transportation by providing solutions for businesses. The Power Ship Programme, among their successful innovations, is software designed to allow their prioritized customers interact and integrate with FedEx directly regarding information of shipments, and logistics. 3. Market Positioning: FedEx's marketing strategy is based on providing elaborate logistics management and fuller supply chain solutions through its five subsidiaries. Instead of sub-contracting their shipments and information systems development to a third party, FedEx differentiates from its competitors by focusing on building up their information systems and their own fleet of transportation. 4. Financial Performance Sales growth has improved significantly in 2000 compared to 1999, from 6% to 9%. The decline in sales growth seen in 1999 was partly due to the Asian economic crisis, where there was a substantial amount of outbound traffic destined for that region. The U.S. delayed growth rate of packages and in 1999 because of management actions which restricted the growth of lower-yielding services greatly slowed down. However, their sales growth picked up in 2000 and one of the main streams of revenue came from international package volume and yield, particularly in Asia and Europe. FedEx has a low gearing ratio, which signifies stability and decreased risk for shareholders. Their interest cover ratio is high, indicating that FedEx is able to cover its interest debt. 5. Information Technology: Through investing in IT systems, FedEx was able to introduce revolutionary programmes that managed to reengineer the supply chain. Among them are the COSMOS programmes; intended to keep track of all packages handled by the Company. In 1984, The Power Ship programme; which was launched to improve the efficiency and control of its delivery systems. FedEx also introduce the bar code labelling to ground transportation delivery. With IT, FedEx was able to link its physical delivery of parcels and the management and utilization of the flow of information regarding the deliveries. 6. Human Resource: Because FedEx aims to achieve maximum employee satisfaction, FedEx has various innovative HR practices that earned them the reputation of being one of the most employee-friendly companies in the world. When it comes to employees FedEx whole heartily believes and follows the people-service-profit (PSP) philosophy, because which it has always considered its employees to be vital contributors to the company's profitability. FEDEX Strategy: Federal Express (FedEx) Corporation is a global logistics and supply chain management company. FedEx has been known for their multiple innovations in information systems which they have integrated into their logistics and supply chain management systems. FedEx's reorganization strategies in becoming a company that offers more than express transportation and at the same time improve profitability of the company. As FedEx invented the air/ground express industry, it was able to establish a reliable and reputable brand. FedEx was able to build a strong transportation and logistics infrastructure through acquiring its own transportation fleet and its initial merger with Parts Bank. FedEx also invested heavily in their IT systems and gained its success through its innovative software development that was able to integrate players in the supply chain. Corporate Level: Single strategy to achieve competitive advantage: Because different subsidiaries are operating independently, the company strategy might seem out of focus. It is important that the Company has one clear focus, to better align its activities and resources to conduct its business successfully (DeWit & Meyer, 2004, p. 233). The Company can utilize the strategy canvas (Kim & Mauborgne, 2006 p 78) to identify the boundaries of their industry in which they compete in. Through this, they might be able to identify and reduce/eliminate factors that do not bring significant value to the company. Time frame: immediate and should be re-visited on an annual basis. Benefits: company will be able to synergize, build company culture, and avoid unhealthy competition between subsidiaries, able to work towards one aim Costs: resistance from employees, structure change leads to financial costs (but only short term). FedEx Core Competencies: FedEx has placed the company's core competencies - express transportation and information systems - on Internet. Its home page (http://www.fedex.com) is one of the most widely-acclaimed interactive business Web sites. Besides having information about the company, customers could also obtain package status information using the tracking feature, download free shipping software, provide feedback to FedEx, and many other services. Company Analysis: 1. External Environment Analysis :( PEST) Political: Throughout the Company's operations, several regulations have helped with the success of the Company. Deregulation of the airline industry, allowed landing of larger air freights, which led to lower operating costs of FedEx and deregulations of the trucking industry allowed regional trucking systems to lower costs on short haul trips. Bilateral agreements between countries, such as trade deregulations in the Asia Pacific opened up new markets for FedEx as more businesses seeked global expansion, thus depending more on international freight transportation. Economical: Due to globalization, a growing trend was observed where businesses expanded across national boundaries to capture new markets and outsource production. This increased the need for movement of goods which created demand for global transportation. From increasing inflation and competition, businesses were sought to reduce operating costs, hence demanding for more efficient logistics management to reduce inventory costs and implement just-in-time inventory. Social: FedEx encouraged its customers to integrate its systems to their businesses. In return, customers will be able to reduce inventory, save time and warehousing costs. At the same time, innovative customers were demanding for greater integration of FedEx's systems. FedEx was able to design and develop customized software for their customers in order to enhance integration, such as an extranet for Cisco Systems. Technology: FedEx is a company built around the use of technology. Continuous research and development of innovative software have helped the Company reach its success. As a result, FedEx was able to link its networks to enable sharing of information between departments and within departments in the company to increase operating efficiency, reduce costs and also to improve customer services. 2. Competitor Analysis: UPS UPS is the market leader for residential delivery service. Unlike FedEx, UPS outsourced their information systems development by forming strategic alliances wit Open Market, Inc., IBM and Lotus DHL: DHL's express delivers its service to 120,000 destinations, in approximately more than 220 countries as well as territories. DHL has 500,000 employees which help to manage such vast a business. DHL is well known for their cheaper costs, the ability to offer freight and package shipping service worldwide, to areas such as Iraq and Burma. 3. SWOT Analysis: Strength With the first mover advantage, FedEx built a brand that was recognized in express transportation. Through its software innovations, FedEx enhanced its brand by providing value-added services that allowed tracking of packages and a strong logistics management. Weaknesses: The company in the past had an image of being nothing more than an express delivery business, due to which it’s logistic and supply chain operations greatly struggled. Fed Ex Promoted five different subsidiary companies with completely unrelated names and business logo which cause customers confused and resource duplicated. Opportunities 1. Globalization: FedEx should always seek to expand its networks to countries, such as Europe and Asia with more integration of economies 2. Acquisitions: Federal Express can continue to acquire companies, such as relocation companies to expand into other areas in their industry 3. E-commerce: With the growth of online retail sales, FedEx can provide solutions for e-businesses that will be able to integrate its services into the retailer's business applications. Threat: Since FedEx is in the transportation business, a rise in fuel price could affect the company tremendously. However, a rise in fuel price would also affect the entire industry rather than FedEx alone. Customers might switch to other alternatives in that case. Another threat is that competitors might try to cut the price. However, it is unlikely to happen because the other three firms don't want to initiate a price war. No body will win in a price war. The postal express service would become a threat only when they could really increase the delivery speed equal to that of FedEx. This is very difficult to achieve because postal service only operates within domestic market. 4. Porters Five Forces Model Analysis: Bargaining Power Of Suppliers - High Suppliers are able to influence pricing of products as they serve industries other than the air freight industry, giving them control over their prices Bargaining Power Of Buyers -Moderate Competition in this industry maintains the price at its true market value. As this industry is seen as a market driving industry, many are not aware of the possibilities that technology can offer. Therefore, it is easy to influence buyers, making them dependent on the technology, speed and service offered by the company. Threat Of New Entrants - Low The threat of new entrants into this industry is relatively low because of the scale required to make companies in the industry competitive. Capital demands to fund all of the assets required in the industry (air and ground fleets, warehouses, distribution centres, large labour force, etc.) are extraordinarily large, making competition from entrepreneurs or small companies very difficult at this level of market competitiveness. Economies of scale are necessary for the business to be profitable and because of the intensity of rivalry, customers would are difficult to attract. While the basic service of shipping goods would be relatively easy for new entrants to imitate, the competitors in the industry have created value and high switching costs for their customers through proprietary technologies such as online package tracking and integrated sales and shipping systems. Threat Of Substitutes - Moderate The threat of substitutes is currently low for the industry, but major technological or security break-through could change that. Increased use of email probably decreased industry volume slightly over the past few years, but security issues with this form of communication will probably limit the transmission of sensitive information by email. Regular mail is the largest threat to the industry, as these providers likely have lower prices than the rest of the industry, but lack the level of service. Around the world, national postal systems have issues with speed, security, and reliability that reduce the threat that they pose to the industry. Degree of Rivalry – High Competitors compete using price cuts. It is also relatively easy for customers to switch brands for basic transportation needs at a cheaper price. On the other hand, as companies demand for greater integration of FedEx's systems into their business, customer loyalty increases and switching costs would be high, discouraging customers. Critical Success Factors: We have identified several critical success factors that FedEx should have in order to succeed in this industry: Strong logistics and IT systems Due to globalization of businesses and information technology advances, the demand for strong and reliable logistics and express transportation in the marketplace has increased. It is important that a company in this industry to be able to manage its supply chain efficiently. FedEx, who invented air/ground express delivery, has one of the most well-managed logistics operations. Through technology, FedEx is able to interconnect and distribute information to players in the supply chain. This enabled linking of companies to other parties in the supply chain, hence matching supply with demand. Speed: The ability to transport goods within a short time-frame determines the reliability and standard of an express transportation company. Shorter transportation times in this industry indicate the efficiency of a company's system. Speed is a critical not only for the Company, but also for its customer's success. With FedEx's advanced technology and logistics management, the order-to-payment cycle was shortened, which in turn led to improvement of the cash flow cycle and created customer satisfaction. Global Network Of Distribution Centres: A wide network of distribution centres is important as it determines and reflects the capacity, efficiency and reliability of a company to transport goods to destinations requested by customers. FedEx operates in 211 countries with 34,000 drop-off locations. They strive to build a reliable infrastructure that is able to connect the world's GDP, with a philosophy of 'Whenever a business was conducted, there was going to be movement of goods. Innovation: With increasing competition, innovation in logistics management and transportation has become essential to maintain a competitive advantage. Companies that are able to innovate to enhance their supply chain management and transportation will be able to enjoy having the first mover advantage as this industry is a market driving industry. Through its innovative software, FedEx has been able to build a reputation for integrating technology to its logistics management. Value Chain Solution: Integrated logistics management permitted firms to closely co-ordinate operations associated to purchasing, transportation, and inventory and warehousing; thus yielding significant cost savings, as well as escalating service and performance levels. FedEx was outsourcing services similar to just-in-time transportation and delivery to companies. These trends gave apparent opportunities for companies who were in the delivery, freight and express transportation business. FedEx began considering “virtual warehousing" which fundamentally gave a business a chance to outsource a lot of its logistics operations, regardless of the size or kind of business. In addition, the distribution of time sensitive demand, sales as well as shipment status data allowed additional integration with other supply chain associates, with admittance to the same computerized databases. Fixed supply chain integration was no more considered as a competitive advantage, instead it was being considered as a competitive imperative. This was reflected to such an extant to whom Federal Express was important to several of the leading manufacturers and retailers. Conclusion: In conclusion, FedEx delivers small packages throughout U.S. and to 220 counties worldwide, due to which it is the world's leading express transportation business. The success of the company can be explained by a number of critical success factors. FedEx has established recognition from the concept of next day delivery service evolution due to shorten lead time of product delivery. The company has developed and built its transportation and logistic infrastructure by using technology to created innovative systems. References Ambrosini, V., Johnson, G., Scholes, K 1998. (Eds),Exploring Techniques of Analysis and Evaluation in Strategic Management, Prentice-Hall, London, pp.122-33. Arthur A., Jr. Thompson (Author), Alonzo J 1999., III Strickland Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases Mcgraw-Hill College; 11th Pkg edition p6 Atkinson (2004) Large Scale Procurement Change in the Aerospace Industry. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, Vol. 10 (6), pp.25 Cynthia Hardy 1994 ; Managing Strategic Action: Mobilizing Change Concepts, Readings and Cases, Sage Publications Ltd p56 D'Aveni, R. A.1994; Hypercompetition: Managing the Dynamics of Strategic Maneuvering. New York: Free Press.p17 De Wit B. and Meyer R., 2004, Strategy: process content, context, Thomson: Singapore, International Thomson p233 Henry Mintzberg 1979: The Structuring of Organizations, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey p12 Hill J Terry 1999; Manufacturing Strategy: Text and Cases McGraw-Hill/Irwin; 3 edition p10 Hofer, C.W., Schendel, D. (1978), Strategy Formulation: Analytical Concepts, West Publishing, St Paul, MN, p5 http://www.fedex.com retrieved on 26March 2007 http://www.fedex.com/cgi bin/content.cgi?template=tw_pr&content=about/pressreleases/apac/pr040298&cc=tw retrived on 26 march 2007 http://www.fedex.com/us/about/today/mission.html retrieved on 26March 2007 http://www.strategy-business.com/press/16635507/06307 retrieved on 26 March 2007 John Grieve Smith 1990; Business Strategy Blackwell Pub; 2nd edition p 30 Kevan Scholes; Gerry Johnson , 2002; Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases FT Prentice Hall p 56, p34 Kim, W. C. and Mauborgne, R. 2006, Blue ocean strategy, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts. P78 Mintzberg H et al (1998) Strategy Safari A Guided Tour Through the Wilds of Strategic Management, Financial Times Prentice Hall p55 Mintzberg, H., & Lempel, J. (1999). Reflecting on strategy process. Sloan Management Review, 40(3): 21-30. Mintzberg, Henry; Quinn, James Brian. (1991) The strategy process: Concepts, contexts, cases 2nd edition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall p45 Porter, M. (1996) "What is Strategy", Harvard Business Review, p23 Porter, M.E. (1980) "Competitive Strategy", The Free Press, New York, 1980 p45 Shona Brown, Kathleen Eisenhardt 1998; Competing on the Edge Strategy as Structured Chaos, Harvard Business School Press p4. Tregoe, B.B., and J.W. Zimmerman (1980). Top Management Strategy: What It Is and How to Make It Work, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. P11 Appendix Fig: 1: what is Business Strategy. (http://www.maxwideman.com/guests/thegap/how.htm&h=429&w=537&sz=11&hl=en&start=20&tbnid=DVQW6KWKhjA7BM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbusiness%2Bstrategy%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den) Fig 2: SWOT Analysis (http://www.admin.mtu.edu/admin/prov/presenta/nca/images/slide19.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.admin.mtu.edu/admin/prov/presenta/nca/slide19.html&h=360&w=480&sz=53&hl=en&start=11&tbnid=tlez_1l5AKJfcM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSWOT%2BAnalysis%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG) Fig 3. Michael Porters Five Forces model Analysis. (http://www.myoops.org/cocw/mit/NR/rdonlyres/Civil-and-Environmental-Engineering/1-46Fall2003/926BDF44-4019-474F-8846-E3BFECDE6B95/0/chp_fiveforces.jpg) Fig 4. FedEx expanding Business (http://seekingalpha.com/wp-content/seekingalpha/images/FedEx1.jpg) . Read More