Transact Insurance Corporation Case Study Solution

Transact Insurance Corporation

Overview

Jim Leon, the new TIC vice president, introduced a new system that would improve the company competitiveness. The “Claims Management Credo” is one of the most pronounced symbols that were meant to bring change in the company performance. However, claim managers failed to adhere to the new changes and after the survey evaluation on claim managers’ performance, the results was bad.

1. What symptom(s) exist in this case to suggest that something has gone wrong?

Jim Leon failed to reduce the level of employee resistance to the new changes that e brought about in the organization that was meant to improve the company competitiveness. Several symptoms show something has gone wrong. The employees doubted his commitments to bring change and they failed to fulfill the new claim management credo philosophies. The employees never wanted to break the old routines which they are accustomed to since they were not sure of how they would fit in the same organization after the change is affected. The change resistance was heightened after the first annual survey was conducted and all the company claims centre management scored average or poor rating from junior employees.

The managers were very upset by the poor reflection of self after the survey results were made public and they opted to save their face by resisting following Jim’s directives. Jim made a mistake by sharing the survey findings with employees which would hurt the management reputation and destroy their relationship with the company employees.

Something went wrong, and two claim managers had to quit their employment since their reputation was at stake after the survey results were released to employees. Some managers and company employees had unsettled disputes, and the survey results could negatively impact their careers. Three claim managers asked to be bereaved their management roles and be reinstated as non-management staff. The last symptom is that many managers felt bad when Jim decided to share their individual comments.

2. What are the main causes of these symptoms?

The TIC exercised authoritative top-down leadership management style which could not have improve the company management relationship with the employees (“What Great Bosses Know about Top-Down Management”, 2016). Claim managers exercised the command and control approach to the employees, and they were not willing to let their power be disrupted by Jim. Jim introduced an open door policy that disregarded hierarchies in the company by encouraging direct communication between him and employees. The top-down leadership style has already destroyed the employees and claim managers relationship that led to poor rating in the performance evaluation survey.

The change of leadership style brought conflict since managers’ power, and influence was greatly reduced by the open door policy. The company employees had been complaining of the work pleasure, and they were dissatisfied.

The office layout separated managers and employees from active interaction since managers used an enclosed cubicle offices. Lack of an open office discourages teamwork among the employees and managers. Claim adjusters cannot be satisfied when they are working from tiny cubicle offices.

Jim had promised to keep the survey results anonymous, and they could only be used to improve the company competitiveness in the future. However, this was not the case after the survey was conducted. The results were made available to all company employees including the managers. A personal comment about managers was also provided and could be easily identified. This move was not great, and it destroyed the managers and employee relationship in the company.

Jim Leon failed to prepare a solution to the survey findings, and managers were not sure what will happen if they score poorly. Jim did not offer any alternative solution on how to improve the company performance after the survey was concluded.

3. What actions should the company take to correct these problems?

Jim can improve the company competitiveness by forming a harmonized working environment. He should share his strategic vision with the company employees and all stakeholders. Sharing the strategic vision will bring all company employees together, and they will be simply working towards a common goal.

Therefore, he has to consult all the company employees and management to sit down and create a strategic vision. Jim will be able to communicate his vision for the company with the management and employees. His vision will be incorporated by all employees, and the resistance level will be minimized. Jim has to model the vision to fit into the company culture. Everyone in the company should be committed to working toward the company vision. The company should be committed to creating a new culture and ensure that it becomes the core culture.

The company is supposed to create and reward and incentive system to impress good performance and enhance teamwork to correct the existing problems. Since employees are complaining about work overload and being stressed to balance home and work activities. High workload should be minimized, and employees motivated to work towards reasonable goals. Claim adjusters should be hosted in good offices to improve their productivity. Managers and individual privacy should be protected by the management to boost managers’ self-esteem. Teamwork should be encouraged through the creation of a free, efficient and respective work environment (Lentz, 2009).

References;

• Lentz, C. A. (2009). The refractive thinker: An anthology of higher learning. Las Vegas, NV: Lentz Leadership Institute.
• What Great Bosses Know about Top-Down Management. (2016). Poynter. Retrieved 26 October 2016, from https://www.poynter.org/2010/what-great-bosses-know-about-top-down-management/102387/