ASSIGNMENT 2: ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY
BUS 520: LEADERSHIP AND ORGANZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
STRAYER UNIVERSITY
MAY 4, 2011

Within this paper I will be analyzing Allstate Insurance Company model for goal setting. While reading this assignment the reader should understand Allstate’s competitive advantage of diversity and if they have an effective goal setting process. I have several recommendations for Allstate’s high performance reward system.
According to The American Heritage Dictionary, the word diversity is defined as the state or fact of being different. Indeed, Allstate Insurance Company has prided them as being different from other insurance companies; Allstate uses diversity in the workplace to open a line of communication between upper management, employees, and workers. This creates a template for effective goal setting. They believe in affirmative action, and this shows in the diversity of agents that are employed with Allstate. Their primary goal is to provide the best customer service possible and to meet all of their customer’s insurance needs.
Allstate does not base its competitive advantage of the Diversity Index on race or gender. It is based on a much broader scale, such as age, religion, origin, disability, etc. How do you take such a diverse workforce and bring them together, leading to a more powerful way of impacting business? Start by listening to the customers. If you have a diverse combination of customers, then you should have a diverse combination of business professionals to meet their needs. Customers react to business professionals who are just like themselves. This creates a comfortable environment and gives the customer a better selection of goods and services. This keeps customers coming back again and again and it creates a more diverse clientele, because if customers are treated well and gain a good report of the business, this will keep customers coming back. Also, they gain a competitive advantage in their recruitment of employees. Let’s say for example, that a company does not have women candidates or is not recruiting enough. They are probably not asking the right questions such as “If we do not have any women candidates, what are we not doing to ensure that more women are hirable, trained, and promoted?” Leaders and managers in the Allstate organization are responsible for proactive hiring and promotion. Creating an environment that people feel comfortable working in is a top priority at Allstate. If the worker feels comfortable in their environment, then they will attract more customers. Another recruiting tactic at Allstate is hiring people that come to them as potential or existing customers. Allstate also expands its recruitment process to college campuses. Especially historically black campuses and also college campuses in Puerto Rico, as they wish to attract black and Spanish speaking clientele. If they do not already have a high-motivation, high performance plan for helping employees reach diversity goals, here is what I suggest that Allstate do. Some workplaces do not know how to motivate their employees. This may be due in part to a person’s age, race, or belief system. If you keep up morale at the workplace, it will lead to happier employees, which in part leads to happier clientele. Therefore, performance appraisal is very important. Who wants to come to work day after day and do their best if they do not get kudos in some way or another if they are not recognized for what they do well? Good leaders must acknowledge good deeds and work of the employees in order for that employee to do their best. This is where goal setting comes into play, as well. If an employee reaches certain short term goals, he/she should be rewarded with a small bonus for every goal that they reach. This will keep morale going and employees happy. Also, for reaching long term goals, employees should be rewarded with things such as gift certificates, spa packages (women), golf packages (men), and even monthly luncheons on-site or away from the office. These kinds of examples with lead to job longevity and high performance and professionalism from employees. If I were an Allstate employee I would be motivated by the Diversity Index and the QLMS. The QLMS is designed to measure leadership of a company and evaluate what is going right and what is going wrong. I would want to work around people that I can communicate with, especially leadership. If you can’t get along with leaders or management, it leads to a very tense workplace, and I am sure that no one wants to work in an environment where motivation and morale are non-existent. I think the Diversity Index is important in this aspect. Every customer that comes through the door should be looked at as an individual, regardless of race, national origin, sex, background, etc. Customers want to feel comfortable. If I am able to attract customers just like me, my performance and morale would be great. Therefore, I am an asset to the company and the customer.
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Reference
Search Engines used (as shown in Strayer’s Learning Resource Center ):
Excite.com
Search.com
1. Excite.com; 2. www. Wahansa.com/portfolio/diversity.html
3. Search.com;
4. Search.com; www.managementstudyguide.com/goal-setting-theory-motivation.htmlwww.managementstudyguide.com/importance_of_motivationwww.allstate.com/diversity.asp