Position and Issues Faced by Australia Post in International Business

This research analyzes the position and issues faced by Australia Post in the field of international business. It examines the organization's business strategy, company direction and capabilities, external environment, resources and competitiveness. The research also discusses the issues faced by the organization and the recommended changes and consequences of those changes. It provides recommendations for improving the organization's position in the market.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Name of the student
Name of the universioty
Author note

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Executive summary
The research aimed at delineating the position and issues encountered by Australia Post through
application of an array of theories and models which justified the analysis. On the other hand, the
research also enumerated the needs for change in the organization and the consequences of the
change in the organizational performance. Lastly, the report developed a range of recommended
activities for improving the position of the venture while operating as per the changing
Australian market scenario.

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Table of Contents
1.Introduction...................................................................................................................................3
2.Analysis of the organization Australia Post..................................................................................3
2.1Business strategy....................................................................................................................3
2.2Company direction and capabilities........................................................................................3
2.2.1Vision, mission, objectives and strategy..........................................................................3
2.2.2SWOT analysis................................................................................................................4
2.3External environment..............................................................................................................5
2.3.1PEST analysis of Australia Post......................................................................................5
2.3.2Porter’s five force of Australia Post................................................................................7
2.4Resources and competitiveness..............................................................................................8
2.5Five generic competitive strategies......................................................................................10
3.Issues that are faced by the organization and change needs.......................................................11
4.Consequences of the change that is being planned by the organization.....................................11
5.Recommendations.......................................................................................................................12
6.Conclusion..................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................14
Appendix........................................................................................................................................16

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1.Introduction
The research will take steps to evaluate the position of Australia Post and the issues that
are faced by the same through assessment of the firm’s capabilities and the market expectations.
On the other hand, the research will also develop recommended list of strategies for the
organization for ensuring the growth of operations.
2.Analysis of the organization Australia Post
2.1Business strategy
The core business strategy and the initiatives that are commenced by the organization,
Australia Post are related to the providence of commendable service to the customers for
improving the value of the propositions (Picciotto 2017). On the other hands, the organizational
initiative of developing joint ventures with subsidiaries have enabled the venture in supporting
the sustenance and growth of the venture’s operations. The development of a range of quality
services in orientation with the needs of the customers permitted the organization in improving
the loyalty of the customers and sustaining competitive benefit.
2.2Company direction and capabilities
2.2.1Vision, mission, objectives and strategy
Vision: The vision of the organization is to thrive in connecting Australian businesses and
communities with the world
Mission The mission of the organization is to provide superior services to the customers and
clients
Objectives:
 Supporting the organization’s customers to grow and link with communities

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 Developing connections between the Australian businesses with the world
 Creating products that are adored and loved and trusted by people
 Improving the quality of service and its value
Strategy:
The organizational strategy is developed with the insight of increasing the experience of
the senders and the receivers. The organization developed steps to engage the stakeholders of the
venture with the objective of improving the performance in orientation with the expectation of
the clients (Cravino and Levchenko 2017). However, the development of social media platforms
and reduction of letter volumes affected the financial stability of the venture while operating in
the different markets. Therefore, the organization is introducing steps to develop coherent
strategies for coping up with the social changes that are affecting the sustenance of the venture.
2.2.2SWOT analysis
Strengths
 Brand image
 Proclamation of best service provider
 Self- funded enterprise with strong
government support
 Wider network in Australia
 Diverse range of service propositions
 Social inclusiveness and cohesion
Weaknesses
 Supply chain issues
 Lack of collaboration among the
stakeholders
 Maximized cost of networking
operations
Opportunities
 Introducing new range of propositions
as per the changing demand of the
Threats
 Declining rate of letter deliveries
affecting the company’s financial

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customers
 Integration of stakeholders in the
supply chain and logistics procedures
 Developing partnerships with different
corporations for sustenance (Cantwell
2017)
 Attracting the attention of the
international clients for parcel
deliveries with the purpose of
supporting the financial performance
of the venture
situation
 Intense competition in the parcel
delivering operations
 Lack of proficient training of the staff
members affecting the performance of
Australia Post
2.3External environment
2.3.1PEST analysis of Australia Post
Political Imposition of different legislative frameworks
by the federal government due to political
instability. The different changes in the
organizational operations are being handled
by the federal government and the State
authorities which restricted the free
functioning of the venture as per the needs of
change (Buckley 2016).

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Economic It has been noticed that Australia Post gave up
2.3% of the growth in domestic parcel market
share in the year 2013 (Stahl et al. 2016). On
the other hand, it has been noted that the
parcel business grew by 5% in the year 2015
over the e-commerce sales of 14.4% (Gligor,
Esmark and Gölgeci 2016). Currently, it has
been noted that Australia Post made a hefty
loss resulting to poor financial situation of the
venture.
Social The growing trend of social media
networking and development of e-commerce
sales affected the rate of operations of
Australia Post. On the other hand, the
diminishing service quality affected the rate
of customer loyalty towards the
organizational offerings (Kourula, Pisani and
Kolk 2017).
Technological The development of integrated post office
networking enabled the organization in
establishing contact and expand their scope of
offering services to the different regions in the
Australian markets.

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2.3.2Porter’s five force of Australia Post
Competitive rivalry
(High)
The organization face intense competition
from FedEx, Toll Holdings and US Postal
Service which has affected the rate of
operations and expansion due to the
technological advancements and diverse
portfolio developed by the competitors
(Buckley 2016).
Bargaining power of the suppliers
(Low)
Higher presence of suppliers have reduced the
bargaining power of the same while providing
the organization with a competitive edge of
minimizing the operational expenses
Bargaining power of the buyers
(High)
The presence of different alternatives in the
form of reputed companies like FedEx, Toll
Holdings and US Postal Service increased the
probability of the customers to switch their
preferences from one company to another
based on price and quality of service related
considerations.
Threat of substitutes
(Low)
The threat of substitutes are low as the
organization is backed by huge government
funds which cannot be imitated by the

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substituting agents (Picciotto 2017)
Threat of new entrants
(Low)
The organization face a minimal risk of new
entrants in the market as it requires huge
investments to enter or leave the sector while
gaining over the trust and confidence of the
customers.
2.4Resources and competitiveness
Support activities:
Firm infrastructure: The support from the government enabled the organization in inducing a
distinguished organizational structure.
Human resource management: Workforce of 30,000 people is retained by the organization
through effective policies (Auspost.com.au 2019)
Technology development: Lack of efficient R&D departments in the organization disabled the
venture in quantifying the efficiency of the operations.
Procurement: Self- funding operations backed by government initiatives and programs for
growth

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Figure 1: Value Chain analysis
(Source: Gligor, Esmark and Gölgeci 2016)
Primary activities:
Inbound logistics: The inbound logistics of the organization are related to collaboration that is
promoted by the venture among its stakeholder groups
Operations: The specific operations of the organization is to receive the letters and parcels from
the senders through post offices, parcel lockers, street posting boxes and the like
Outbound logistics: The outbound logistics of the organization is enumerated through the
enumeration of motor cycles, trucks, airline freighters to reach the receivers (Auspost.com.au
2019)

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Marketing and sales: The organization developed different awareness programs like LGBTI,
community prosperity, women in management positions and indigenous representation in the
workplace for empowering the marketing activities (Auspost.com.au 2019)
Service: the organization provides an extensive range of services with the objective of improving
the experience of the customers
2.5Five generic competitive strategies
Figure 2: Porter’s five generic strategies
(Source: Buckley 2016)
Overall low cost leadership strategy: Assessing the market offerings of the competitors and
quoting competitive prices for the wider target consumers of Australia

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Broad differentiation strategy: Developing differentiation among the existing line of propositions
with the objective of maintaining a strong market base
Focused Low cost strategy: Integrating knowledge of focused group of customers and leveraging
the costs as per the preferences of the same.
Focused differentiation strategy: Developing wider range of propositions for the niche clients
while providing customizable options based on their individual needs
Best cost provider strategy: Developing competitive pricing with the objective of retaining the
loyalty and trust of the customers
3.Issues that are faced by the organization and change needs
The major issues that are being faced by the organization are:
 Minimized market prospects in the letter business
 Errors in the supply chain operation of the venture
 Slipping market share from the parcel delivering activities due to the growth of e-
commerce sales (Auspost.com.au 2019)
The changes that are required by the organization are:
 Developing partnerships through effective mergers
 Training the employees for perfecting the supply chain operations
 Improving the resource base through introduction of customizable service options
4.Consequences of the change that is being planned by the organization
The consequences that might be faced by the organization through the changes that are planned
by the venture are:

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 Lack of change readiness among the employees would develop reluctance among the
same towards he training programs that would be scheduled by the venture
 Absence of market knowledge might affect the capability of the organization in
introducing the reformed propositions in orientation with the preferences of the
customers
 Lack of integrated approach of the stakeholders might affect the performance of the
venture in the different markets
5.Recommendations
The recommended course of activities that might be initiated by the organization are:
 Negotiating with the employees while maintaining transparency in the communication
process with the objective of enabling change readiness and overcome their reluctance to
attend the training programs
 Conducting surveys in the Australian markets with the objective of gaining superior
knowledge on the needs of the customers
 Introducing communication tools and developing integration among the stakeholders
through frequent meetings and seminars with the objective of improving integration and
collaborations towards the change efforts
6.Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis it might be noticed that Australia Post encounters
significant issues which are affecting their financial performance drastically. The strategic
management systems in an organization enables the same in developing the rate of operations as
per the needs of the customers. However, the lack of capabilities and potency of Australia Post

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in complying with the changing demand of the consumers affected their potency of achieving
competitive edge. Therefore, the research identified the issues that are being encountered by the
organization through a range of tools and enumerated recommended course of actions for the
organization for developing their market position.

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References
Auspost.com.au., 2019. Statement of Corporate Intent 2018/19 – 2021/22. [online]
Auspost.com.au. Available at:
https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/statement-of-corporate-
intent-2018-19-to-2021-22.pdf [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].
Buckley, P.J., 2016. The contribution of internalisation theory to international business: New
realities and unanswered questions. Journal of World Business, 51(1), pp.74-82.
Cantwell, J., 2017. Innovation and international business. Industry and Innovation, 24(1), pp.41-
60.
Cravino, J. and Levchenko, A.A., 2017. Multinational firms and international business cycle
transmission. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(2), pp.921-962.
Gligor, D.M., Esmark, C.L. and Gölgeci, I., 2016. Building international business theory: A
grounded theory approach. Journal of International Business Studies, 47(1), pp.93-111.
Kourula, A., Pisani, N. and Kolk, A., 2017. Corporate sustainability and inclusive development:
highlights from international business and management research. Current opinion in
environmental sustainability, 24, pp.14-18.
Picciotto, S., 2017. Rights, responsibilities and regulation of international business.
In Globalization and International Investment (pp. 177-198). Routledge.

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Stahl, G.K., Tung, R.L., Kostova, T. and Zellmer-Bruhn, M., 2016. Widening the lens:
Rethinking distance, diversity, and foreignness in international business research through
positive organizational scholarship.

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Appendix
Figure: Operational asset base
(Source: Auspost.com.au 2019)

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