High labour turnover rate is prevalent in the insurance industry and especially in prudential. Thus, the firm may have to incur more costs and time to train new employees. http://business.asiaone.com/Business/My%2BMoney/Building%2BYour%2BNest%2BEgg/Insurance/Story/A1Story20090821-162517.html 2. Causes
The main cause of the high turnover is the organisation culture.
Observable Artifact
Every Monday, all employees are required to wear white as a symbol of unity and recite the firm’s pledge, which is to place their family’s interest before their own.
While expecting the employee to perform his best, the firm should also provide adequate welfare for its employees. Otherwise, employees may feel discontented and choose to leave, thus, increasing the turnover rate.
Espoused Values
The firm espouses the value of family. Family in this case, refers to one’s own family as well as the firm. Everyone has an obligation to work hard for their family.
It is taboo for the employee to raise their point of view during meetings, as they have to respect the “seniors” in the “family”. Top performing employees are rewarded handsomely while underperforming employees are pressured to hit their quota or be forced to leave the firm.
Based on the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid, Prudential has an autocratic leadership, characterised by high concern for production and low concern for people.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.htm
http://www.kean.edu/~lelovitz/docs/EDD6005/humansideofenterprise.pdf
Enacted Values
The espoused values are not exhibited boldly. Some meetings are on the weekends, preventing employees from spending family time. This discrepancy can cause higher turnover rate.
Basic Assumption
The firm adopted the Taylorism theory, which attempted to increase productivity by motivating its employees through monetary incentives.
Sales ranking charts are commonly seen in the office. Top employees are