The Role of Communication Strategies in Change Management ...

Somboon Kulvisaechana
the basis of empirical research methodologies. In terms of the case selection, Consignia,
formerly known as The Post Office, proves to be an intriguing case of an organization in
transition where both change management and communication strategy theories play major
roles in bringing out successful change. Of the voluminous issues of changes within
Consignia, the new brand and business status introduction has received much attention from
both internal employees and external stakeholders but not been yet well researched.
Basically, it has undergone some extensive changes on the purpose of image improvement,
particularly in the international market. Owing to some constraints, the research project in
fact tends to focus on how the senior managers generally perceive the internal
communication in light of changes within Consignia and, thereafter, how the communication
strategies are formulated so as to enhance the change management process.
In relation to that, the first research question aims to investigate some depth of understanding
of how senior managers at different management levels perceive the internal communication
process surrounding the change in Consignia. From this initial question, a fundamental
ground of the critical inquiry tends to be addressed in the first place, thereby leading to a
further quest asserted in the following question. The nature of the second question is to
examine the process of strategic formulation of corporate communications in accordance with
diverse phases of changes to Consignia.
The underlying reasons of changing the brand and the business status are driven by the notion
of international business expansion and commercial freedom. Traditionally, Consignia is the
sole monopolized postal service provider in the United Kingdom. It is operated and wholly
owned by the Government. The original brands of Consignia, which comprise Royal Mail,
Parcel Force Worldwide, and Post Office (Counters) constitute different business entities
with independent financial regimes. They have since become the core businesses of
Consignia and called ‘the consumer brands.’ Apart from those brands operated domestically,
Consignia’s global ambition has been reflected through the increasing number of joint
ventures and acquisitions with companies abroad. The aim is to position itself in the
international market by means of strategic alliances and acquisitions.
Currently, over 200,000 employees are working for the organization of Consignia, including
the consumer brands units. Of those, there are approximately 4,000 employees working in 10
business units under the name of Consignia per se (see Appendix 5). Since the consumer
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