Oxford Case 
Team 2: Anna Cecchin, Parth Dhulesia,
Valerio Graniti, Sanjeev Manogaran,
Lukas Patocka, Ronnie Yang
Mary Pettingail at Oxford Insurance Services
The wholesale insurance industry is a very competitive segment. High efficiency, good service, reasonable price and strong connections to the underwriting markets are usually what determine a wholesale insurance company to be the best. As a result, the leaders of these firms must push and motivate their brokers to approach clients more aggressively and eventually closing more deals to position its firms at the top of the industry. Stuart, the founder of Oxford Insurance Services, “has built the business through very aggressive sales” and trained his staff to become excellent negotiators in price. However, Oxford’s recent performance has dropped drastically and newly hired broker, Mary, “is sensing mixed signals from the company.” Stuart and manager
Michael’s inability to motivate the staff has caused Oxford’s recent slip. We have chosen the McKinsey 7s model to analyze Oxford’s performance and have provided recommendations in the elements that needed to be improved.
Throughout the emails sent by Stuart and Michael, it is clear that they were pushing the brokers to achieve better numbers. Stuart is an ambitious founder and the company’s shared values have been known among the staffs. Stuart is aiming to “become the best known wholesaler” in the industry; and since the wholesale industry depends highly on speed, Michael has constantly reminded the brokers “to make a conscientious effort to
work to their fullest potential.” Overall, we believe that the staff understands Stuart’s desire in becoming the best, but Stuart, should improve his leadership, management, and motivation skills to help lead the company into becoming the best.
The strategy that Stuart decided to use was questionable, as he created a friendly working environment, which led to informal relationships between the top and bottom.
Stuart decided to build a
Valerio Graniti, Sanjeev Manogaran,
Lukas Patocka, Ronnie Yang
Mary Pettingail at Oxford Insurance Services
The wholesale insurance industry is a very competitive segment. High efficiency, good service, reasonable price and strong connections to the underwriting markets are usually what determine a wholesale insurance company to be the best. As a result, the leaders of these firms must push and motivate their brokers to approach clients more aggressively and eventually closing more deals to position its firms at the top of the industry. Stuart, the founder of Oxford Insurance Services, “has built the business through very aggressive sales” and trained his staff to become excellent negotiators in price. However, Oxford’s recent performance has dropped drastically and newly hired broker, Mary, “is sensing mixed signals from the company.” Stuart and manager
Michael’s inability to motivate the staff has caused Oxford’s recent slip. We have chosen the McKinsey 7s model to analyze Oxford’s performance and have provided recommendations in the elements that needed to be improved.
Throughout the emails sent by Stuart and Michael, it is clear that they were pushing the brokers to achieve better numbers. Stuart is an ambitious founder and the company’s shared values have been known among the staffs. Stuart is aiming to “become the best known wholesaler” in the industry; and since the wholesale industry depends highly on speed, Michael has constantly reminded the brokers “to make a conscientious effort to
work to their fullest potential.” Overall, we believe that the staff understands Stuart’s desire in becoming the best, but Stuart, should improve his leadership, management, and motivation skills to help lead the company into becoming the best.
The strategy that Stuart decided to use was questionable, as he created a friendly working environment, which led to informal relationships between the top and bottom.
Stuart decided to build a
References: Wong, 2007,