The influence focused strategy on service delivery: A case study of Postal Corporation of Kenya

Abstract

Kenya has experienced one of the tremendous growths in the mailing industry in the last ten years in its history with the number of registered players in the same market industry hitting the one hundred and fifty mark by June 2013. The same growth was also visible in the use of mobile phone with the industry recording the subscription levels of 16,000,000 while the internet penetration levels hitting an estimated 33.3%. These factors have made the postal mailing industry quite competitive. For courier and mail services the critical strategy is to meet the postal strategic initiative in the 21st century, by initiating the Postal Corporation of Kenya growth in its competitiveness within the communication industry. Thus, the main purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of strategic focus at Postal Corporation of Kenya. The specific objectives of the study included: establishing the influence of organizational learning; determining the influence of customer focus; establish influence of organizational core values on service delivery as well as determine the influence of technology on service delivery at the Postal Corporation of Kenya. The study anchored upon profit maximizing and Competition based theory, theory of economic development and contingency theory. This study sought to establish how the focused strategies have influenced the service delivery at the Postal Corporation in the light of increased competition and constant change in the technology that has affected how most of the services if not all are operating. The study sampled 53 respondents from population of 132 staff members. Primary data was collected through administration of an interview guide. The data collected was mainly quantitative in nature hence content analysis was the best method of analysis as it was not limiting the respondents on answers and had the potential of gathering more detailed information. Descriptive statistics such as means, cumulative frequencies and Chi-square cross tabulation were used in analyzing the data. Chi-square cross tabulation was computed to establish the level of significance between the study variables. The study found out that there are mechanisms in place for collecting stakeholders’ feedback that forms the basis for strategic reviews thus improving service delivery and introducing new and customized services and product as per the changing times, tastes and preferences. The data was presented in the form of tables, pie charts, graphs and narrative report. The study recommends that the respective management board that ensures that the PCK adapts to the changing technology constantly upgrades the servers to enable it handle the increasing customer base efficiently. The study also recommends that the strategic plan should be made accessible to the relevant stake holders for assessment and contributions. This study is very significant to Postal Corporation of Kenya by giving it an in depth understanding on how it can restructure its Strategic plan and remain a force to recon with in the mailing industry despite the constant pressure from the competitors. The study is also significant to future scholars who will use it as a reference point in their studies.