1. Describe the context for EMEA IT in 2004. What were the issues Stefaan faced? What were the problems with the way IT development work was dealt with in the region?

With fast business growth rate and success gained in FedEx’s eastern regions, the company was posed with a threat as to its ability to satisfy the rapid growth rate with effective IT solutions and sustainable IT environment in the EMEA regions in 2004. IT request or development was dealt by individual MDs of IT based on their competencies, the strategy of which was to localize IT department and development work and reflect decentralized efforts into the budget in the EMEA regions.
The EMEA IT department was apparently unprepared for such expansions that guidelines to deal with the growing demands were unclear. Team members and employees didn’t have a clear guidance as to proper process and consistent action plan. For instance, IT team’s work schedule would be interfered with unexpected requests. Therefore, the lack of IT integration and resourcing problems caused serious delays and high costs issues to many of the company’s projects.

2. Take a look at Figure 4. Which governance instruments did Stefaan and his colleagues work on to alleviate the situation for EMEA IT? Evaluate the different steps, structures and roles you can identify. Which parties do they connect? What might be their merits and drawbacks or associated risks?

Stefaan’s vision to deal with the haphazard IT work initiation process involved establishing a centralized architecture-based system with strong governance to support business development sustainability in the EMEA regions. The goal was to enforce a standardized IT initiation process while his team would bring consistent results for each IT development requests. To the center of this architecture, the SRB (Supply Review Board) takes charge of reviewing the need