Allstate Insurance Company
Kenner Erin Chestang
Professor T. Bowen
Leadership and Organizational Behavior
July 27, 2010

Using the model for goal setting, evaluate Allstate’s goal setting process to determine whether or not Allstate has an effective goal-setting program. Allstate’s design appears to have a good goal setting in place. Their challenge is to keep the company as diversified as possible in various areas. In doing so the goal that they have created is not that difficult to achieve and is very clear to understand. Next is the moderators, which in this case is the management which communicates the results from the Diversity Index question through the company’s intranet to gain feedback from their employees. By allowing their employees to give their feedback on various situation can influence changes in the departments that are needed as well as related those individuals that are perceived as being the high spirited in the company for a reward. Next we have the mediators which are the over 36,000 employees that give their feedback on the situations and comments. With the goal difficulty being at a low level the effort should be high from the employees taking the time to give their feedback. By giving the employees rewards even as simply as a pat on the back could make a difference in that individual’s life. They could have been having a bad day a that one little reward could have pulled them through it thus giving them the satisfaction of knowing that their hard work is not going unseen. The consequences of reaching these goals are high because of all the positive things set up for the employees to feel the need to respond. By viewing all these steps of the goal process and seeing how Allstate has it set up and arranged, shows how powerful their company is and can be by having these goals for their employees as well as themselves. Discuss the competitive advantage Allstate has from the development of the Diversity Index. With Allstate having the Diversity Index, the company can be more well rounded and better equipped to handle, and talk to, several of its employees and potential ones. Allstate will also be better able to deal with and handle issues that may be brought up in meetings, the Diversity Index, or other various issues/situations throughout the company. Allstate will find itself having a loyal employee base due to the fact that the employee feels like a part of the “family” through being able to express their issues and/or solutions on the Diversity Index. A company that has their employees feeling empowered and confident about the company they work for will always have employees that go above and beyond to do their work duties. Feeling this way about the company you work for makes it feel more like a career instead of a “job” or “work”. Employees feel as if this is their company to and take pride in what they say and relate to their existing customers and possible ones. When a customer can see and feel this in a company then they themselves feel confident in that company and may even feel comfortable in referring that company to other people like their friends and family. This is one of the many ways Allstate has a competitive advantage over other companies by having the Diversity Index in place. Recommend the types of high-performance reward system Allstate should use to motivate its employees to reach its diversity goals. By Allstate Having a high-performance rewards system in place, this should motivate the employees to give more feedback to the Diversity Index answers. The team with the best solution should be rewarded with something like a team party, catered lunch, team snacks in the break room, or something along those lines. This would create more individuals to not only answer the questions but to push themselves to think of the best solution all around or give great input/responses. Everyone knows that the more people that answer the better the comments, responses, and ideas. Since rewards differ all around the world, the types of rewards given would have to depend on that location. According to Hellriegel and Slocum (2011), “[W]hat is viewed as a reward in one culture may not be viewed as a reward in another culture.” (p. 201). It also states the in Vietnam gifts are given before the first business meeting and that they have to be wrapped in any color paper other than black or white because to them those colors are associated with death. They also stated, “Praising an individual in public for achievement in Vietnam will embarrass the individual.” (p. 201). However, in the United States of America we are the opposite. We do not share/exchange gifts before a first business meeting but we will publically praise individual employees as well as teams for doing a great job. If you were an Allstate employee, discuss whether or not you would be motivated by the Diversity Index and QLMS. Provide a detailed explanation. As an Allstate employee, I would be very motivated by the Diversity Index and the Quarterly Leadership Measurement System. With this system the company as a whole comes together to learn more about the various cultures and ethnic backgrounds of their co-workers within the company. By having this advantage one can feel comfortable in going out into the world knowing that their company embraces the people no matter what they look like, sound like, their sexual preferences, their gender, where they are from, etc. Personally, I would love to be a part of that within a major company like Allstate. The fact that the company takes its time to find out more about their employees and gives other employees a chance to voice their opinions and suggest solutions for any problems that may have been brought about from one of the four questions asked in the Diversity Index. Therefore, each and every individual employee can feel like they have a say in how the company is ran or things/issues are decided.

Reference List

Hellriegel, D. & Slocum Jr., J. W. (2011). Organizational Behavior. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.