Case Study: Transact Insurance Ltd
Examiner:
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Course: BTech HRM, Labour relations & HRD
NB: You need to work with your teammates. You’re welcome to do it individually as well.
Read the case study of Transact Insurance Ltd. Use one of the models in the chapter on culture or the prescribed articles to describe the culture of the organisation. Also identify the major influences on the evolution of that culture. Consider the changes in the South African environment (competition, globalisation, employment equity, downsizing, need for innovation, etc), and indicate the suitability of the organisational culture for the future objectives of the organisation.
Case study: Transact Insurance Ltd
Transact Insurance Ltd (TIL) provides motor vehicle insurance throughout South Africa. Last year, a new managing director was hired by the TILS’s board of directors to improve the company’s competitiveness and customer service. After spending several months assessing the situation, the new managing director introduced a strategic plan to improve TIL’s competitive position. He also replaced three vice-presidents. Jim Leon was hired as Vice-president: Claims, TIL’s largest division with 1100 employees, 40 claims centre managers and five regional directors.
Jim immediately met with all claims managers and directors, and visited employees at the 40 claim centres. This was a difficult task but he persisted. Through these visits and discussions Jim discovered that the claims division had been managed in a relatively authoritarian manner. He could also see that morale was very low and employee-management relations were cautious. High workloads and isolation (claim adjusters work in tiny cubicles) were two common complaints. Several managers acknowledged that the high staff turnover among claims adjusters was partly due to these conditions.
Following discussions with TIL’s managing director, Jim decided to do the following: * He initiated a divisional newsletter with a tear-off
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Course: BTech HRM, Labour relations & HRD
NB: You need to work with your teammates. You’re welcome to do it individually as well.
Read the case study of Transact Insurance Ltd. Use one of the models in the chapter on culture or the prescribed articles to describe the culture of the organisation. Also identify the major influences on the evolution of that culture. Consider the changes in the South African environment (competition, globalisation, employment equity, downsizing, need for innovation, etc), and indicate the suitability of the organisational culture for the future objectives of the organisation.
Case study: Transact Insurance Ltd
Transact Insurance Ltd (TIL) provides motor vehicle insurance throughout South Africa. Last year, a new managing director was hired by the TILS’s board of directors to improve the company’s competitiveness and customer service. After spending several months assessing the situation, the new managing director introduced a strategic plan to improve TIL’s competitive position. He also replaced three vice-presidents. Jim Leon was hired as Vice-president: Claims, TIL’s largest division with 1100 employees, 40 claims centre managers and five regional directors.
Jim immediately met with all claims managers and directors, and visited employees at the 40 claim centres. This was a difficult task but he persisted. Through these visits and discussions Jim discovered that the claims division had been managed in a relatively authoritarian manner. He could also see that morale was very low and employee-management relations were cautious. High workloads and isolation (claim adjusters work in tiny cubicles) were two common complaints. Several managers acknowledged that the high staff turnover among claims adjusters was partly due to these conditions.
Following discussions with TIL’s managing director, Jim decided to do the following: * He initiated a divisional newsletter with a tear-off