Yabby, good points, I’ll explain why I used Telstra and Aust. Post as examples.

Both entities were formerly publicly owned. They were bureaucracies, hierarchical in structure, internally focused and would not have recognized a “customer” if they fell over one.

Aust.Post changed everything, their culture, flatter structure, their customer focus. I hate the expression however, they “re-invented” their entire organization. I think most would agree that this has been a positive change even though they still enjoy a monopoly.

Telstra on the other hand has some severe problems. They are still a rampant bureaucracy, hierarchical, internally focused and predatory. I agree, there has been some improvement.

Some of the biggest problems for Telstra include the fact that they are still regulated to “wholesale” some of their infrastructure to their competitors, crazy I know, but they cannot escape the regulation imposed by the Minister for Communications. So they have ended up as a hybrid, a federally regulated bureaucracy but with majority private ownership in an increasingly competitive market.

Telstra has little choice other than to adopt some of the predatory, market control mechanisms that the public often find distasteful, not to mention the negative impact on customer service. Today, every single product and service offered by Telstra is exposed to competition, often from very small entrepreneurial start-up companies as you rightly point out.

Sadly, Telstra is left with trying to hang onto its little bits of exclusivity for as long as it possibly can. As I said in an earlier post, the distinctions between public and private ownership are blurred and we are left with a mix that mystifies us.

I think you’re on the money with your earlier post, that “Maybe its management and not ownership that makes the difference.” The examples supporting this are Aust. Post on the one hand, a bureaucracy that still holds a monopoly but seems to be pleasing its customers,.

On the other hand, a hybrid like Telstra that has made some progress, but has stalled and is now fighting for survival in its retail sector. I would love to hear of other examples.