Using Diversity as a Strategy: Allstate Insurance Company
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Allstate Insurance Company Elizabeth Haskins
Strayer University
Instructor: Dr. Yohannes Abate
Leadership and Organizational Behavior – BUS 520010VA016
July 24, 2011
Abstract
As our population becomes grows more ethnically and culturally diverse, companies struggle more and more with the subject of diversity in the workforce. The latest strategy is to leverage diversity as a competitive business strategy. This paper will evaluate Allstate Insurance Company’s goal setting process and how they have used diversity as a strategy leveraging differences in order to create a competitive advantage in today’s diversified market. It will also discuss Allstate’s competitive advantage with the development of the Diversity Index and recommend what types of high-performance reward systems Allstate could use to motivate its employees to assist the company in reaching its diversity goals.
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Introduction The fundamental point of the case is how Allstate has succeeded in linking their diversity strategy to a competitive advantage. In a competitive, corporate environment companies must constantly be looking for ways to improve performance in parallel with achieving corporate goals and initiatives. Diversity at Allstate is ingrained in the company 's culture; they launched their first affirmative action program in the 1960s; however, their commitment to diversity at that time was not linked to recruitment, development, and retention strategies to business performance or strategy. It was focused mainly through education and training and therefore, was not linked to the company’s business strategy. Allstate realized it had to reinvent its diversity strategy. According to the director of diversity management the key question had become “How do you take this workforce of differences and bring them together in a more powerful way so that it can impact business results?” (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2011).
In its reinvention, and using the four goal setting
Allstate Insurance Company Elizabeth Haskins
Strayer University
Instructor: Dr. Yohannes Abate
Leadership and Organizational Behavior – BUS 520010VA016
July 24, 2011
Abstract
As our population becomes grows more ethnically and culturally diverse, companies struggle more and more with the subject of diversity in the workforce. The latest strategy is to leverage diversity as a competitive business strategy. This paper will evaluate Allstate Insurance Company’s goal setting process and how they have used diversity as a strategy leveraging differences in order to create a competitive advantage in today’s diversified market. It will also discuss Allstate’s competitive advantage with the development of the Diversity Index and recommend what types of high-performance reward systems Allstate could use to motivate its employees to assist the company in reaching its diversity goals.
.
Introduction The fundamental point of the case is how Allstate has succeeded in linking their diversity strategy to a competitive advantage. In a competitive, corporate environment companies must constantly be looking for ways to improve performance in parallel with achieving corporate goals and initiatives. Diversity at Allstate is ingrained in the company 's culture; they launched their first affirmative action program in the 1960s; however, their commitment to diversity at that time was not linked to recruitment, development, and retention strategies to business performance or strategy. It was focused mainly through education and training and therefore, was not linked to the company’s business strategy. Allstate realized it had to reinvent its diversity strategy. According to the director of diversity management the key question had become “How do you take this workforce of differences and bring them together in a more powerful way so that it can impact business results?” (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2011).
In its reinvention, and using the four goal setting
References: Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W., Jr. (2011). Organizational behavior: 2011 custom edition (13th Ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Louisa Wah. (July/August, 1999). Citing Websites. In Business Ethics Review. Diversity at Allstate: A Competitive Weapon. Retrieved July 6, 2011, from http://www.wahansa.com/portfolio/diversity.html. Allstate. (2010). Citing Websites. Allstate Digital Newsroom. Retrieved July 11, 2011, from http://www.allstatenewsroom.com/channels/Awards-and-Recognition/pages/awards-recognition