Department of Post - Strategy for the New Millennium

Abstract

This case focuses on the problems facing the DOP, so that an appropriate strategy for a sustainable future can be evolved. The DOP was faced with the task of dealing with dichotomous demands that often challenged the organizations culture, and the mind set of senior executives. On the one hand, there were pressures to provide basic communication access to various rural areas in the country, while on the other; competitive pressures required commercially oriented, value added services in the urban areas. Likewise, on the one hand, there was still a lot to be achieved in basic postal products, in terms of reach and reliability, while on the other, there were pressures to exploit the existing reach through a spread of offerings other than postal products. Apart from describing the current environmental context of the DOP, the case examines four areas that the DOP has attempted to work on, in recent years: 1) the Business Development Directorate, 2) Customer Care Centres, 3) Information Technology, and 4) Financial Management. The case also emphasizes the need for the DOP to examine its role, autonomy, and organization culture to enable it to operationalize the strategies being considered.