Progressive case analysis Essay

Over decades operating in a highly competitive environment, the key strategy that makes Progressive the top three in the $165 billion US private passenger auto insurance industry is focusing on innovations and customer satisfaction. Established in 1937, from the beginning, Progressive approached the market with an innovative method by providing customers drive-in claims service and the ability to make monthly installment payments. That, on one hand, appealed more opportunities for people who could not afford paying insurance in lump sum to have their vehicles protected. Besides, it helped Progressive enter the market with competitive advantage to approach more potential customers. In 1957, by positioning the market correctly and understanding all market segments’ potential benefits that had not been realized by competitors, Progressive was willing to take risk to enter the nonstandard segment, which includes drivers with poor driving records or high risk profiles. This strategy, in turn, increased the company’s sales significantly and turned Progressive into a major brand in the insurance industry. The fierce competition of Allstate in the nonstandard market in 1985 and the approval of the Preposition 103 mandating insurance rate cuts of 20% in 1989 caused a crisis at Progressive. The company attempted to reduce cost by firing 1,300 employees. In addition, the efforts in understanding consumers’ perception and behaviors facilitated the company to launch its new strategy called Immediate Response in 1990 with the attempt to build trust in consumers. The main advantage of this strategy was that it speed claims process and increased customer satisfaction when accidents occurred. Immediate Response could be considered as one of the major improvements and transitions of Progressive that could help the company improve customer retention. Facing the intense competition, along with launching Immediate Response, in 1990, Progressive also focused on diversifying its product line by running experiment to write standard policies. The investment in training agents and changing their selling behaviors raised considerably consumers’ awareness of the company’s products in the preferred and standard segments, which consequently increased the company’s revenues significantly. In addition, the introduction of Express  Quote in 1993, which provided quotes from the top eight local competitors, turned Progressive into a full line supplier. This approach also helped the company have more chance to sell its products directly to consumers. The invention of Internet in 1995 facilitated Progressive to be the first company in the insurance industry selling its products online. This created competitive advantage for Progressive to compete when the company launched its website to help customers manage their policies as well as increase quoting and policy application processes. Progressive has never stopped innovating in its products. The application of GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) devices in 1998 t o track customers’ driving behaviors and the introduction of the new program called TripSense in 2000 helped the company implement usage based charging method. By offering discounts to drivers who got involved into these programs, the company tried to raise consumers’ awareness of the correlation between driving behaviors and risk of accidents. Customer satisfaction has always been the key metric driving Progressive’s strategy over time. In 2000, Concierge Service was launched to serve customers better in case of accidents. Instead of waiting for their damaged cars fixed, customers were now provided an instant replacement car while the repair was done. That way, Progressive could save time for customers and save storage and rental car cost for the company. Not only that, Progressive continued to introduce Total Loss Concierge service, which replaced cars that had been totaled. This strategy did not only help the company reduce turnaround time and replacing cars for profitable value but also increase customer satisfaction considerably. In the effort to diversify its product line and exploit more benefits from the current custom ers, in 2000, Progressive started offering homeowner’s policies. The purpose was to attract and retain current auto consumers who wanted to have their auto and home protected from the same insurance provider. However, the strategy confronted the problem of lacking data that help create a pricing advantage. Since 2000 until now, the company has had major changes in many different aspects such as management, company organization, information technology, human resources. Among those, it is that Glenn Renwick took over the role of Peter Lewis in the company’s executive management put the company in the harder challenge of competition. Notably, in 2006, while the insurance market was softening, the strategy to keep the price firm caused  Progressive some disadvantages. On the other hand, the fierce competition from strong competitors such as Allstate, State Farm and GEICO, whose advertising campaigns have been so aggressive that Progressive has to always keep an eye on them and keep improving. II. SWOT Analysis 1. Strengths Firstly, Progressive is among one of the top leading automobile insurers in the United States. It has a strong position in both personal automobile and commercial automobile markets. Progressive’s use of risk analysis among all automobile users has enabled it to increase the larger customer acceptance in comparison to its competitors. Secondly, progressive’s use of technology and data is excellent. Progressive was the first insurer to go online. The company invested heavily in information technology. Progressive used detail data on drivers to price its policies and could claim to be industry’s first. Progressive used website effectively to help customers get quick and information. Moreover, an online quote is helpful, easy and quick to compare prices when customers shop for home insurance without having to wait for an agent. Thirdly, Progressive had a strong distribution channel. It focused on direct sales and independent agents, which helped to expand its market share in the United States. In addition, progressive used innovative approaches to increase customer satisfaction. Total Loss Concierge level of claims service was designed to provide total auto physical damage losses. Customers could opt for a different car, and pay the difference if the value of the totaled car was less. Fourthly, Progressive has a strong and reliable workforce. Progressive has over 28,000 employees. When recruiting, company makes sure that the individuals can embrace technology and are comfortable with change. The company invests a great deal in training. Employees work in claims and are trained with skills related to Progressive careers. 2. Weaknesses: One of the weaknesses of progressive is operation expenses. Lewis’s principle â€Å"hire the best† and â€Å"pay the most† with the purpose to pay at the top end of industry pay scales for good employees’ performance can increase company’s expenses. In addition, this can create competitive pressures among the employees, which could result in negativity in the company. The other  weakness of progressive is its inability to create brand awareness. Its competitors like GEICO, State Farm and Allstate were better able to create customer awareness through advertisement campaigns. The company needs to focus on building a better brand awareness if it wants to increase its market share in the auto insurance industry. Another weakness of progressive is its failure to cope with pressure associated with competition from its competitors. Big players like, State Farm, Allstate and GEICO have created competitive pressure directly to Progressive. For example, Allstate’s low cost structure caused Progressive crisis and 1,300 employees fired Furthermore, progressive’s difficulty to smooth management transition is another weakness. When Peter Lewis stepped down as president in 2000 and Glenn Renwick took up the post, company went through some tough times. Renwick’s decision to raise insurance rate affected growth and profits adversely. 3. Opportunities Innovation has and will create great opportunities for growth. Greater innovation can bring Progressive the chance to get more unique products and services in order to meet customers’ needs better. Many innovative services such as Express Quote, Concierge Service have helped the Company to serve and satisfy clients better. Furthermore, the firm was in top CIO Magazine’s CIO-100 list in recognition of its innovative practices and products. In addition, its website usually rated as the best one, facilitates to accesses information more easily. Moreover, Internet is another area that has potential for growth. The development of Internet offers Progressive the chance to expand their business and access directly to customers. They also can market to a much broader user for relatively less price. Homeowner Insurance is another area that offers opportunity for growth for progressive. In 2000, progressive started offering homeowners policies. However, the company was unable to generate enough data to have pricing advantage so they cancelled the entire initiative in 2002. Now, with the advent of technological advancement progressive could once again explore this area to generate more revenue in the future. One other area that provides great opportunity for expansion and growth is Emerging markets. Emerging markets like China, India, Russia and Brazil are expanding at the rate of knots. Although there are various risks factors associated with doing business in these countries, there are also greater rewards that come with it. 4. Threats One of the threats Progressive faces is intense competition from its competitors. The insurance markets in the US are more and more competitive with a large number of players supplying a broad range of products and services. Progressive Corporation has to face fierce competition with these players. The three biggest rivals of the Corporation include State Farm, Allstate, and GEICO. â€Å"State Farm was number one in the personal auto insurance industry with a market share of 18% in 2006 and also the leading home insurer†. The follower is Allstate, the second largest player I both personal auto and homeowners’ industries with market shares of 11%-12% in each in 2006. Moreover, GEICO was the fourth largest personal auto insurer with a market share of 6.7% in the same year. The other threat Progressive face is changing rules and regulations. Insurance regulations vary considerably among different States of the United States. This varying regulation has great impact on the firm’s operation. For example, the Proportion 103 was passed on November 8, 1988 in California, which mandated rate cuts of 20% in 1989. Due to this Proportion, the company had to pay out $50 million to 260,000 policyholders. The benefit was seriously affected, along with the strong reduction of market share in California market. Increasing nature natural disasters is another threat that affects all insurance companies including Progressive. Natural disasters cause damage to both house and vehicle, which increases expense for the company. As predication, â€Å"major climate changes are likely to occur in the coming decades†. Therefore, insurers have a risk of facing with a trend toward higher losses due to more claims relating to natural disasters. Reduction in insurance rates and use of sophisticated data mining techniques are other threats to progressive. While insurance rates are softening, Progressive is determined to hold prices firm. This decision could make the customers get away to other insurers, whose rates are lower. â€Å"Everyone was using  sophisticated data mining techniques and focusing on better claim support†. This reduces the chance of being distinguished from other supp liers. III. Recommendations Innovation has historically proven to be a vital tool for progressive insurance. Therefore, the company should continue to put more weight on innovation. An innovation offers the company a chance to improve its products and services whereby it can gain competitive advantage over its competitors. Progressive should also invest money in advertising in order to increase customer awareness. Progressive already has a larger customer base, but if it wants to compete with the industry giants like Allstate and State Farm, it needs to invest more in advertisement to attract and engage more customers. Developing and expanding the company’s market in foreign countries is one-area progressive insurance needs to focus on if they are to reduce financial risks. Expanding the market in other countries enables progressive to maintain a stable finances in case the U.S economy goes down. Furthermore, progressive needs to work on new lines of products and services if they are to thrive in a highl y competitive industry. In addition, expanding business to other areas like providing financial services or home security systems provides Progressive Corporation with opportunity to diversify its income sources.

Crime and Wheel Conspiracy

â€Å"Conspiracy is an agreement between or more persons to engaged jointly in an unlawful or criminal act, or an act that is innocent in itself but becomes unlawful when done by the combination of actors. † (Dictionary, 2013) There are three different types of conspiracy that can be present during a criminal situation. The first is called a Wheel Conspiracy, which involves one person as well as a group of people that participate in separate things that are considered illegal where a shared purpose is present between the people in the group. Legal, 2013) For example Rudy working for Ron who is one of the biggest bosses in charge of the drug cartel in Miami Florida was asked by Ron if he would confront one of his buyers for money that was owed to him and if the money was not present he was ordered to kill him. Rudy did what he was asked, because Rudy did this he was involved in a wheel conspiracy because he is technically considered the â€Å"middle-man†. He is the one that is doing the crime but there is an agreement between him and Ron who is in charge of the operation and he is protecting Ron by doing his dirty work. Another form of conspiracy is called â€Å"Chain Conspiracy†, this is most likely to involve some type of drug transaction and there is a series of people that are involved. (APSU, 2010) For example Eric meets with the distributor Jack to pack up a pound of cocaine and meets with John and Ed to transport it to Ron that has made an agreement with the distributor for it to e sent. If they are caught during this process this would considered a chain conspiracy because you have the distributor that is involved, the person that is packing it and the people that are transporting it all involved in this crime. Another is called â€Å"Combination Conspiracy† † occurs when the hub has very few organizers with multiple objectives and the chains vary substantially in length. † (Flax, 2005) For example th e gang MSU which is located in many areas of the United States have committed many murders. A local gang member is taken into custody because there were six dead bodies found in NYC. The investigations could not prove as to whole exactly was responsible for these crimes we just knew that MSU was responsible for the crime. This is considered a combination conspiracy because there are too many gang members that are involved and there is no clues or hints that are leading to the leaders of the gang.

Issues of poverty in U.S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Issues of poverty in U.S - Essay Example In the year 2003, the rate stood at 63 percent from a previous 42 percent in the mid 1990s.Research by OECD indicates that with the formation of the coalition government, the GDP growth rose to 7.8 percent in 2011 as a result of the economic recovery in the country. Uganda has seen a lot of improvements with the poverty rates declining to 31.1% in 2006 as compared to 56% in the early 1990s. World Bank (2011) indicates that the country is likely to attain the millennium goals set by the year 2015. As compared to U.S.A. the poverty levels in India have decreased. This is according to World Bank (2011) who indicates that in India, through the process of poverty reduction has been slow; the government is doing its level best to hasten the pace of poverty reduction. This work also emphasizes that the reduction of poverty in India has improved as contrasted to the earlier periods. Even though the country is rated as one of the poorest in the globe, poverty cutback is an explanation of the fact that the proviso of services will get better, ranging from health services to

Any topics,i will show the detail on instructions Essay

Any topics,i will show the detail on instructions - Essay Example For some historians such as Bacino (3), the tensions between the two nations may have started in 1917 when the US sought to promote social and economic reconstruction in Siberia. During the same period, the Russians also made some efforts to enforce a structural transformation of the international political economy. It is possible that differences in ideologies existed between the two nations and these may have sparked some tensions. Most historians however focus on 1939 and 1940, which are also the years that marked the beginning of the Second World War. The views of the later group of historians is supported by a series of events which began with the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, and a supplementary accord that followed a month later and revealed the Soviets’ invention to integrate Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, eastern Poland, and Latvia into their territory (Elsuwege 29). The Russian Army occupied eastern Poland in the same month and by 1940, the Red Army ha d occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Russia however failed in its invasion of Finland in 1939 and this forced the Russians to accept cession of Finnish territory which it hoped would protect Leningrad from future invasions. The Soviet army advances in 1939 and 1940 and the signal that the Soviets received from Hitler’s Germany to expand westward culminated in the pursuit of Hitler’s defeated army to almost 100 miles west of Berlin. This evidence illustrates that Stalin had, at an early date, resolved to bring eastern Poland, the Baltic States, and Bessarabia within the expanding Russian empire but most of his expansion plans had to be put on hold between 1941 and 1944 as Russia defended its homeland territory. As shall be demonstrated later in this paper, some of the western leaders were uncomfortable with the Soviet’s territorial

Presentation notes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Presentation notes - Essay Example In the cost method, depreciation is charged in the income statement against income as an expense, and the value of the asset after deducting depreciation is carried to the balance sheet. In the revaluation method, any increase in future value of the asset, is recorded in the balance sheet and is recognized directly in equity under the head revaluation surplus. If the future value of an asset decreases then the decrease is recorded in the income statement as an expense item. Accounting for the revaluation method is beneficial if the future value of the assets increase since the inclusion of revaluation surplus will increase revaluation reserve, which will increase the value of equity of a company. But if the future value is on the verge of decrease it is better to consider the cost method instead of the revaluation method for the purpose valuation of assets on a long-term basis. The reason to this can be explained with the help of a small example given below- Question: A building was purchased by a company on 1st January 2009 at a cost of $100million. The company estimates the life-time of the asset to be 50years, and thus the asset is to be depreciated over 50years. The company decides to use the revaluation for determining the value of the buildings at the end of 2015. The value of the building at the end of 31st December 2015 was $80 million, as determined by an efficient valuer. Answer: Using the revaluation method as opted by the company- Value of the building on 1st January 2009= $100million Value of the building on 31st December 2015= $80million Therefore, Accumulated Depreciation= $20million ($100million-$80million). Thus the value at which the asset is to be carried in the balance sheet on 31st December 2015 is $80million. If the company had opted for the cost method of depreciation, then- Value of the building on 1st January 2009= $100million Life of the asset= 50years Therefore, Accumulated depreciation at the end of 6years on 31st December 2015= $100 million/50years * 6Years = $12million. Thus the value at which the asset is to be carried in the balance sheet on 31st December 2015 is $88million. Thus, from the above example it can be concluded that due to the use of revaluation method, a revaluation loss of $8million was suffered which is adjusted against the existing revaluation reserve of the company. It also led to the increase in the value of depreciation and decreased the value of the asset in the balance sheet. Increase in depreciation will affect the income adversely, as it will lead to a decrease of net income by $8million which will have a consequent effect on the balance sheet and will also impact the shareholders. Considering the above illustration, it is advisable to use the cost method to record the value of land and building of Rabbit Limited. Though revaluation method is considered to provide a more accurate record in terms of part replacement and depreciation, yet it is criticized on the grounds that the amount o f depreciation charged on a particular asset differs year to year though the asset provides the same benefits, which make the accounting system complex and time consuming, and sometimes it is said to have chances of manipulation. So as stated by the director of Rabbit ltd. that the prices of the value of real estate are on the verge of decreasing, so it will be better to use the

Project management in creative industries Essay

Project management in creative industries - Essay Example The organization selected for analysis and evaluation belongs to an advertising industry. The Creative Advertising Agency London is a leading organization in the industry located in UK. For successful performance, the Creative Advertising Agency London needs effective project management system which consists of control activities and effective resource allocation in order to achieve overall objectives of the company. The Creative Advertising Agency has a centralized structure. Centralization leads to greater rigidity and more formalized central control. Specialization of task by units results in fragmentation and creates problems in communication and coordination. The greater the degree of specialization, the greater the tendency to concentrate on individual functions while losing sight of overall corporate objectives. Thus, in large advertising agencies conflicts may arise among product group, functional, and territorial managers, even though all are preoccupied with marketing. Despite protesting cries that marketing specialists are "organization men," organizations require routines, programs and procedures, and conformity. Among the factors taken into consideration in answering it are the product line, customers, and processors. Traditionally the Creative Advertising Agency has been hierarchical, with functional groupings based on authority and responsibility. Recently these structural arrange ments have changed. Marketing organizations now include more than sales. Moreover, technology, including computer usage, has led to organizations that have developed along horizontal lines (Burkun 32). Departmental structure helps advertising agencies to deal with complex environment and solve daily problems. Much advertising agencies thought dwell on such concepts as the centralization of business management (Surmanek 88). Customer orientation, in contrast, stresses consumer sovereignty, environmental forces, and

Psychic Bisexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychic Bisexuality - Essay Example He insisted that nothing about sex could be understood without taking an account of " universal bisexuality of human beings" (1950 179). Psychoneuroses analysis gave him the confirmation of the "postulated existence of an innate bisexual disposition in man" (1908 165-166). For Freud the concept of bisexuality "embarrasses all our enquiries into the subject and makes them harder to describe" (1940a 188). The concept of bisexuality by Freud were based on the understanding that "all human beings are capable of making a homosexual object-choice" (Freud, 1905,) fn p. 56), "Bisexuality is a possibility" (Smith) in many cases due to varies reasons. Biological sources gave birth to Freud's theory of bisexuality. Freud explains the boy's wish to be with father as mother during oedipal complex and the untimely sense of phallic activity during pre-oedipal stage, which is a part of their biological disposition. The basic of psychoanalysis is masochism, refined by Freud. He introduced three kinds of masochism, and feminine masochism, "an expression of the feminine being nature" (p. 161) is required here. It is when an individual inflicts and receives pain during sex and situations like, "being castrated, or copulated with, or giving birth to a baby" (p. 162) are crucial to masochism. Women's beating fantasies also urged Freud to produce the theory of "feminine masochism." Freud was very complicated when it came to gender discussions. He also linked this theory with passivity and called it a "biological fact." He continued that, "Passivity is not a whole of masochism." But it is a major part of it. Men are considered active and passivity is a women's thing. He initiated "feminine" and "moral" factors as secondary masochism. Basically what I gather from his thinking is that passivity is owned by women and that is why her capability of masochism gives her the power to love selflessly as a wome n and mother. He also considered it as a part of the sexual pleasure which is intense. According to Freud a crucial point he insisted on is that mutation during development may also result in masochism. What is feminine maturity and why is it more complicated then masculine maturity Similar yet so different tasks are taken by boys and girls on the way to maturity. This path to maturity constitute of the pre-oedipal, oedipal and post oedipal period. Freud said that "variations in the chronological order and in the linking up of these [pre to post oedipal] events are bound to have a very important bearing on the development of the individual". (Freud 1931 p.79). Freud clarifies the focus of Psychoanalysis in his essay feminity by Freud, "sets about inquiring how she comes into being, how a woman develops out of a child with a bisexual disposition." And he further says, "Undoubtedly, the material is different to start with in boys and girls: the difference in the structure of the genitals is accompanied by other bodily differences". Freud insisted that the sexual development of a girl into a woman is far more complicated than that of a boy. And "it includes two extra tasks to which there is nothing corresponding in the development of a man." He explains, "she must find a way to give up