...Book Review: The Postal Age Henkin, David M., The Postal Age. Chicago: Chicago Press, 2006. “Many of us may not realize that what we now call snail mail was once just as revolutionary as e-mail and text messages are today.” Today’s generation may not be quite aware of the long journey Americans have traveled from the Postal Age up to what we now call the Information Age. As an examination of the rise of the American postal system in the middle decades of the 19th century, David M Henkin’s, The Postal Age offers up a fascinating blend of intellectual and thematic history. In his book, Henkin highlights new practices and new expectations as ordinary Americans swiftly turned something novel into something normal-into habit, into culture. The physical layout of the book certainly prepares the reader for it contents. The cover shows what appears a very busy Post Office in which people are climbing atop one another to receive their mail. Henkin lays out his book in two sections. “Joining a Network,” points the basic practical details of the spread of the postal system, how and what people mailed. The second section, “Postal Intimacy,” takes a more cultural approach towards common letter-writing styles and clichés, the post as a lens for growing geographic mobility, and the rise of mass mailings. My initial response was admiration. I was genuinely impressed at the flow of Henkin’s book and his ability to create flux not only in every introduction but also throughout the book in...
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...Postal monopoly and competition in the civil aviation In the early 20th century, monopoly organization is mainly in the sectors of heavy industry such as coal, steel and oil. However, today has expanded the scope of the monopoly rules to light industry, transportation, commerce, agriculture and various service sectors and other fields. Monopoly is an industry controlled by who is the only producer of a good that has no close substitutes. Monopolistic industry in general are related to most people and the industry which closely related to public utilities, such as telecommunications, postal services, water, electricity, gas, railways and aviation. These industries penetrate into all aspects of society, therefore, their prices high and low cost that concerns society as a whole. The overall efficiency of these industries directly related to other industry's ability to compete internationally. This report will first indicate and analyses the case, then it will use the knowledge to resolute the special fact of monopoly and competition in the United State. People can set postal services, sounds like a joke, but in the United States, there are not only private postal, but also the private prison. Companies which in the United States are generally known for high efficiency and good service, but the postal service is an exception. One of the reason is that lacking of competition and state subsidies in this industry, secondly, employees usually holding this work, which is easy to...
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...S Postal Service Workers have the greatest impact on the daily life of an average citizen because the delivery of mail is the oil that keeps America running. Without the postal workers, without exception American’s everyday life would be altered greatly. The unofficial motto of the US Postal Service is, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of the appointed rounds.” In essence, it means nothing will detain the postal service from providing your mail to anyone, since your mail correspondence remains essential. If the US Postal Service did not deliver our mail, or even experienced a delay our correspondence, the consequence for all of us would often become costly financially, health wise, and travel wise. Financial Risks...
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...According to Josh Sanburn of Time.com, as many as 158 billion parcels are sent through the United States Postal Service every year. This statistic shows how much modern Americans rely on the service to complete everyday tasks; this service indirectly affects most Americans through ways they may not even consider. A recent discussion of whether or not the United States Postal Service is still practical and efficient in the modern world; this discussion includes extreme actions such as completely ridding of the service as an entirety . For reasons such as deep economic dependency general packages and modern technology advances, the United States Post office should not be abolished. To begin, the United States Postal Service needs to be kept...
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...The Transcendence of the Postal System Park University CS 300 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………… .2 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 3 The Postal System………………………………………………………………………….. 4 Email………………………………………………………………………….. 7 Challenge………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….. 11 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………….. 14 INTRODUCTION It was a very long day at work. As I pull into the driveway I realized no one was at home. I looked at my phone and noticed my wife left me an e-mail letting me know that she and the kids would be delayed. I open the door and Jack, my golden retriever, is nearly doing cartwheels his way of asking me to take him outside. I take him out to do his business as I head for the mailbox. Undoubtedly there will be the usual bills and solicitations. As I open the box there was only one item – a letter. I think to myself that no one writes letters anymore. As I look at the sender’s address, it was from my grandmother. I began to wonder, what would my grandmother think about email today? Today the norm is to communicate via electronic mail or as it is more commonly known – email. There are several other forms of electronic communication but none have changed the game as much as has email. Email is the precursor to all our technological communication modalities such as texting and instant messaging. This mode of communication...
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...The USPS Should Be Reconstructed Should the United States Postal Service be reconstructed? The answer is yes because people are emailing rather than buying a stamp and envelope to send hand-written documents. The two main issues that I am going to set forth in this prompt are the mail agency facing staggering catastrophe and people emailing to meet their needs. The only way out of this hole is to reconstruct the antiquated United States Postal Service, it’s time for a change. First to begin with let’s start with the mail agency facing staggering catastrophe. Each day people in all corners of the country count on timely delivery of letters, bills, medicine, and election ballots. Now that everyone is starting to email for cheaper cost the postal service has experienced a thirteen percent drop in mail volume this past year. More than double of any previous decline, with a loss of $3.8 billion. Saturday delivery times for letters and packages, higher postage stamp prices that exceed the rate of inflation is a potential for future layoffs and an even bigger drop in mail volume. Taking away Saturday mail would save $40 billion...
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...The Post Office Department officially became the United States Postal Service on July 1, 1971. At that time it became an independent establishment of the executive branch of the government of the United States rather than a part of the cabinet. It began operating more like a corporation, but with the benefit of the official mail monopoly that was established under the Private Express Statutes in 1792. Package delivery and express services do not fall under this law, making it possible for other companies to offer those services. The United States Postal Service is an independent establishment of the Executive Branch of the Government of the United States and operates in a business-like way. Its mission statement can be found in Section 101(a) of Title 39 of the U.S. Code, also known as the Postal Reorganization Act: The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. It is governed by a board of governors made up of the postmaster general, the deputy postmaster general and nine governors who are appointed by the president (with the advice and consent of the Senate). The USPS competes for business...
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...Who Will Survive in America? For over two centuries, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has provided efficient communication across the nation, reaching its height of success during the 20th century. This boom in business produced an overwhelming number of job opportunities. However, the introduction of new technologies such as e-mail, as well as competing delivery companies, has led to dramatic losses in revenue over the past decade. In order to remain solvent, the USPS must revitalize their current image and reevaluate marketing strategies while also applying modern foundations. Though the USPS has been a long-standing organization, they must rejuvenate their image in order to meet new demands. Stone argues, “A company’s brand is its most valuable tool, or its biggest liability.” Finding and developing a new logo for the USPS would encourage consumer interest and allow them to maintain relevance. With its current brand, “no one really knows what the Postal Service stands for”; therefore creating an entirely new look will convey to the public what they actually accomplish (Source A). The USPS, while an established institution, must not remain stagnant in their branding if they wish to advance alongside society. In order to gain a more positive image of their company, the USPS could also adopt the more “green” initiatives that have become so popular among consumers. One such consumer, Colleen Plimpton thinks “[Junk mailers] are cutting down trees willy-nilly, and that...
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...The United States Postal Service (USPS) is one of the cheapest ways to send mail to anyplace in the country. The United States Postal Service was established by the constitution, and Congress was given the power to establish Post Offices and Post Roads. The United States Postal Service has run into a few issues in the past few years which is causing them to lose more and more money. In today's society, the younger generations are probably going to start using it a lot more than what they do now and it is the only main organization that everybody knows since they were a little kid. They are an incredible company that delivers mail to every single person in the world they just need a little tweaking to get going like they were a few years ago. One way they can reconstruct is by adding more online services, Keep sending mail...
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...The United States Postal Service's (USPS) officials are disregarding their obligations established in Article One, Sections 8 and 9 of the American Constitution. The Private Express Statute establishes the USPS’ responsibilities and obligation to its property and home-mail delivery service. However, the aforementioned divulgatory laws mandate the United States Postal Service’s officials to deliver USPS-mail to all properties and residences’ addresses with sanctioned USPS’ receptacles. However, USPS’ officials are repudiating Disabled Veteran Timberlake’s right and privilege to receive USPS’ property and residence-mail delivery service to 2117 Atkins Drive, Huntsville, Alabama 35810’s USPS- mail approved receptacle. Some malevolent managerial...
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...INTRODUCTION Background of the Case Study of the UNITES STATES POSTAL SERVICE The evolution of the United States Postal Service is interlaced with the history of our federal government. Today, the Postal Service is the second largest civilian employer in the United States. It has over 700,000 employees, affects an economy that employs 9 million people and represents 8% of the United States gross domestic product in a $900 billion mailing industry (United States Postal Service [USPS], 2002b). This organization reaches every United States household and its operations are often perceived as an indication of the efficiency of the entire federal government as a whole. After the historic gridlock of the Chicago Post Office in 1966, Postmaster General Lawrence O’Brien sought the political support of President Johnson for systemic change in the organization. President Johnson formed a “blue ribbon” commission of well-known business leaders and academia’s to study the Post Office Department. Their mission was to recommend how to change the Post Office Department and to also describe the best governmental organization model for its function. The President’s Commission on Postal Organization (Commonly called the Kappel Commission after its Chairman) presented the President with a plan in 1968, which lead to congressional testimony, but legislative action did not soon follow. Various factions, including the strong postal unions representing 740,000 votes, opposed the government corporation...
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...The United States Postal Service eCommerce Stratagem Abstract With Centuries of History to reflect on, the United States Postal Service has continuously strived to be the leader in the delivery and production of U.S. Consumer postal needs. Over time, delivery modes have significantly changed; consumer supply and demand has wavered; and new challenges and opportunities emerge as the cyber world evolves. The U. S. Postal Service will look to strategize though eCommerce and embrace technological invents to remain the pacesetter despite any encroaching competition. Table of Contents Getting to Where They Are Now 4 Postal Services Humble Start 4 Thinking of it by Zones 5 The Postage Stamp 6 The Shift from Manual Labor to Automation 6 The First Machines 6 Cancelling Machine. 6 The Culling Machine. 7 Edger-Stacker. 7 Facer-Canceller. 8 Mail-Flo. 9 Automation Machines 9 Optical Character Recognition 9 Projects Turnkey and Gateway (“Automatic” Post Offices). 10 Vending Machines. 10 Proof of the U.S. Postal Service’s Commitment to Technology 11 Competition facing the U.S. Postal Services 14 DHL International GmbH 14 United Parcel Service, Inc. 14 The U.S.P.S Outlook 15 The United States Postal Service eCommerce Stratagem Getting to Where They Are Now Postal Services Humble Start Even before the start of the 17th century, North American colonies realized some structure was needed to efficiently transport messages, news, and products from...
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...unconditional agreement to all the terms of that offer. It will often be in oral or in writing, but in some cases an offeree may accept an offer by conduct, as illustrated in Brogden v Metropolitan Railway. An acceptance does not usually take effect until it is communicated to the offeror. In other words, mental assent is not enough. This was decided in Entores v Miles Far East Corporation. Where parties negotiate face-to-face, communication of the acceptance is unlikely to be a problem. However, difficulties tend to arise where the parties are communicating at a distance. The main reason for the postal rule is historical, since it dates from a time when communication through the post was even slower and less reliable than it is today. It was developed before instantaneous methods of communication such as telephone, fax, emails and text messages came about. Therefore, there is an argument that the postal rule of acceptance no longer serves a useful purpose in the world of modern business communications. Nevertheless, the principle stands. Thus, when dealing with letters or telegrams, the rule still applies. The general rule for the acceptance by post is that they take effect when they are...
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...1 Postal rule is the rule that a contractual offer may be accepted by post and will be deemed accepted at the time the letter is posted. However, some old English cases say that this rule will not apply where one is using almost instantaneous forms of communication. For example, at the time fax and telex were contemplated, but this all was before email. Acceptance by email of a contractual offer will occur when the message is received as that is when it is communicated. However, the competing argument is that email is often delayed between servers, so the argument occur, if email is not almost instantaneous, the rule should apply as long as it was expected that email was a method by which acceptance could be communicated. Acceptance by email of a contractual offer will occur only where and when the message is sent from and when it is communicated. The Singapore High Court in a case of Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd gave some thought to this argument in 2004 and concluded that, at least in Singapore, the postal acceptance rule should not apply. Legislation that stated by Australian federal about electronic transactions which sets out some rules about when electronic messages are deemed, have been sent and received, but the better view is, there are no intention to apply or deny the postal rule but would rather simplify and clarify the time and place of recipient for certain communications. However, Federal Court judge on 20 May 2009 in a case of Olivaylle Pty...
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...to write an assignment on the 'Rationale & relevance of the postal rule of acceptance in the 21st century' by analyzing the possibility of acceptance by post according to the current practice. (You can supply your reasoning for the rule, cite the relevant case laws, search for articles written on this & conclude with your opinion as to whether it need to be abolished or not & why?) CONTENT | | Pages | I | Questions | 2 | II | Content | 3 | III | Introduction | 4-5 | IV | Traditional View | 5-6 | V | Modern View | 6-8 | VI | Conclusion | 8-9 | VII | Bibliography | 10 | Introduction of Postal Rule To form a contract, it usually requires offer and acceptance. Acceptance is an expression by words or conduct of assent to the terms of the offer. It shall be clear, unequivocal and unconditional as prescribed by the offeror. It is a moment when contract exist (that there is consensus ad idem). The general rule of acceptance is been stated in the case of Entores Ltd v Miles Far East Corporation, Lord Denning claims that an acceptance does not usually valid until it is reached to the knowledge of the offeror. This principal also applies to others modes of communications which are (a) Instantaneous means of communication, (b) Postal rule and (c) Others mode of communication. However, the postal rule is an exception towards general rule for the acceptance. The traditional postal rule stated that the acceptance is valid once it is posted rather...
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