the consolidated life case
“THE CONSOLIDATED LIFE CASE:
CAUGHT BETWEEN CORPORATE CULTURES”
It all started so positively. Three days after graduating with his degree in business administration, Mike Wilson started his first day at a prestigious insurance company – Consolidated Life. He worked in the Policy Issue Department. The work of the department was mostly clerical and did nit require a high degree of technical knowledge. Given the repetitive and mundane nature of the work, the successful worker had to consistent and willing to grind out paperwork. Rick Belkner was the division’s vice-president, “the man in charge” at the time, n actuary by training and a technical professional described in the division as the “the mirror of whomever was the strongest personality around him”. It was also common knowledge that Belkner made $60,000 a year while he spent his time doing crossword puzzles. Mike was hired as a management trainee and promised a supervisory assignment within a year. However, because of a management reorganization, it was only six weeks before he was placed in charge of an eight-person unit, The reorganization was intended to streamline workflow, upgrade and combine the clerical jobs, and make a greater use of the computer system. It was a drastic departure from the old way of doing things and created a great deal of animosity and anxiety among the clerical staff.
Management realized that a flexible supervisory style was necessary to pull off the reorganization without immense turnover, so the firm gave its supervisors a free hand to run their units as they saw fit. Mike used this latitude to implement group meetings and training classes in his unit. In addition, he assured all members raises if they worked hard to arraign them. By working long hours, participating in the mundane tasks with his unit, and being flexible in his management style, he was able to increase productivity, reduce errors, and reduce lost time. Things improved so dramatically that he was
CAUGHT BETWEEN CORPORATE CULTURES”
It all started so positively. Three days after graduating with his degree in business administration, Mike Wilson started his first day at a prestigious insurance company – Consolidated Life. He worked in the Policy Issue Department. The work of the department was mostly clerical and did nit require a high degree of technical knowledge. Given the repetitive and mundane nature of the work, the successful worker had to consistent and willing to grind out paperwork. Rick Belkner was the division’s vice-president, “the man in charge” at the time, n actuary by training and a technical professional described in the division as the “the mirror of whomever was the strongest personality around him”. It was also common knowledge that Belkner made $60,000 a year while he spent his time doing crossword puzzles. Mike was hired as a management trainee and promised a supervisory assignment within a year. However, because of a management reorganization, it was only six weeks before he was placed in charge of an eight-person unit, The reorganization was intended to streamline workflow, upgrade and combine the clerical jobs, and make a greater use of the computer system. It was a drastic departure from the old way of doing things and created a great deal of animosity and anxiety among the clerical staff.
Management realized that a flexible supervisory style was necessary to pull off the reorganization without immense turnover, so the firm gave its supervisors a free hand to run their units as they saw fit. Mike used this latitude to implement group meetings and training classes in his unit. In addition, he assured all members raises if they worked hard to arraign them. By working long hours, participating in the mundane tasks with his unit, and being flexible in his management style, he was able to increase productivity, reduce errors, and reduce lost time. Things improved so dramatically that he was