Managing Service Satisfaction And Relationships – Analysis Of Allianz

Findings

Discuss about the Managing Service Satisfaction And Relationships.

Service relationships are important to maintain customer satisfaction. In today’s world, customers try to extrapolate the relationships they have with the organisations. Managing the service relationships can help organisations to continue with the proper services that can help in attaining customer satisfaction (Mellahi et al., 2016). The report provides an analysis of the relationships that stakeholders have with the organisations and the strategic issues that are faced by the companies. In order to analyse the importance of service relationship in a proper manner, Allianz is taken into consideration. Allianz is a financial service company that provides financial assistance to the customers (Allianz.com.au, 2018). The reports analyses the relationship that Allianz has with its stakeholders and provides an overview of issues that the company may face while developing strategies. The external environment of the company is also analysed that may have a severe impact on the business of Allianz. The personnel management and the current performance of Allianz are also stated.

Allianz is a financial service company that is headquartered in Munich, Germany. The core business of Allianz is to provide insurance and asset management assistance to the customers. Carl von Thieme set up the company in 1980 and it currently it serves all over the world (Allianz.com, 2018). The revenue of Allianz is considered at € 126.149 billion and the number of employees that the company comprise of over 140,553 (Allianz.com, 2018). Allianz has the distinction of being the .largest insurance company in the world. Not only this, the company also has the distinction of having the largest financial services group and the largest company (Allianz.com, 2018). Allianz also have a distinct number of subsidiaries that include Allianz France, Allianz Life, Club Marine, PIMCO and so on. The company has a worldwide reputation and an analysis can be made on the branch that the company has in Australia.

In Australia, Allianz was set up in 1914 and operates in the neighbour country New Zealand. In Australia, the company provides employment to 4300 people and has over 3 million customers (Allianz.com.au, 2018). The subsidiaries of Allianz Australia include Hunter Premium Funding, Allianz Life and Club Marine. One of the major steps taken by the Government of Australia is that it announced an agreement with the SCG Trust and renamed the Sydney Football Stadium to Allianz Stadium (Allianz.com.au, 2018). This agreement is set up for a multiyear deal and provides the customers with an opportunity to remain associated with the company.

About the company

Stakeholders are important as it provides support to the organisations. As observed by Missonier and Loufrani-Fedida (2014) without the support of the stakeholders it can be difficult for companies to continue to work. Therefore, companies may cease to exist without the investment and interest of the stakeholders. In the case of Allianz, the stakeholders of the company may be affected or affect the business. Shareholders form the most important stakeholder of a company. In the case of Allianz, the shareholders have the most obvious interest in the work. At the same time, the customers and the employees also play a major role in helping an organisation to develop itself.

The outcome of an organisation depends upon the support received from the stakeholders and the manner in which corporate responsibility is required to be addressed (Yang, 2014). In this regard, the relationship between Allianz and each of the stakeholders of the company can be analysed. This can be done by using the stakeholder theory that helps in identifying the internal and external stakeholders of the business.

Internal Stakeholders
Employees	The relationship of Allianz with the employees is considered good as the company managers over 4300 employees across Australia and New Zealand. Providing workers compensation services to about 25% of the employees suggest that the company takes good care of the employees. This helps in enhancing the bond between the company and the employees and Allianz exist in the top-50 of the BRW listed companies. As stated by Tantalo and Priem (2016) creating value of the stakeholders is important and taking care of employees can help organisations to understand the value of the stakeholders.
Leaders	Leaders are considered as the main stakeholders as they provide proper guidance and leadership to the employees. Without leaders, it can be difficult for a company to motivate its employees. In a large company like Allianz, the leaders play a crucial role, as they need to provide guidance to the number of employees that are employed by the organisation. In the words of Sierra?García, Zorio?Grima and García?Benau (2015), the leaders of Allianz in Australia need to ensure that they continue to motivate the 4300 employees that it employs so that the interest of the employees can be upheld.
Managers	Managers are another important internal stakeholder that is responsible for the success or failure of a company. The managers of Allianz are involved in taking the decisions that are beneficial for the organisation. This includes raising the rate of insurance along with other internal decisions related to the employees. The managers can help Allianz by taking control of the Australian market without taking any risks. This provides an opportunity for the company to remain at top of the Australian market and continue to be the leading insurance market in the world.

Table 1: Internal stakeholders

(Source: Created by author)

External Stakeholders
Suppliers	The suppliers are the external stakeholders without which production and service organisations cannot exist. It is the duty of Allianz to ensure that the suppliers of the company remain loyal by making regular deals with them. As stated by Barrett, Oborn and Orlikowski (2016) the suppliers of Allianz include the people that meet the standard of sustainability, security of data and provide financial health. Allianz enters into business deals that share the interest and concern of the organisation. This provides the company with an opportunity to meet the demands of the customers in a proper manner and ensure the loyalty of the suppliers.
Society	The involvement of the society is important as it can help a company to continue its business in the community. According to Esmail, Moore and Rein (2015), the society takes into consideration the rate of sustainability that is practised by a company along with the employment opportunities provided. For a company like Allianz operating in the regions of Australia and New Zealand providing employment to about 4300 workers is one way of involving the society. The society in which it exists receives benefits based on the rate of employability provided by the company.
Government	The involvement of the Government is mainly based on the legislation and laws imposed by it. For an organisation to survive, organisations need to abide by such laws. In the case of Allianz in Australia, the company need to abide by the basic rules that include Corporation Act 2001 and the Fair Work Act, 2009. These two acts are the summation of the Government rules and policies that the companies need to follow so that it can maintain its business in the Australian market. At the same time, the taxes imposed by the Government of Australia also need to be followed that exist under the Income Tax Assessment, 1997.
Customers	The customers form the most important stakeholder for any company, as without the satisfaction of the customers it can be difficult for any company to continue its business (Thaler & Levin-Keitel, 2016). In the case of Allianz, being a service company, it is important for it to maintain the level of satisfaction of the customers by providing proper insurance. Allianz provides the basic insurance that customers normally undertake along with unique insurance offers such as boat insurance. This is particularly beneficial for Allianz in Australia, as the country is located in a coastal area and many people tend to make a living with by taking up professions that involve the sea.

Table 2: External stakeholders

(Source: Created by author)

Every company need to formulate strategies that can help it to continue its business.  These strategies need to be formed based on the analysis of the internal and external environment that influences a business (Herremans, Nazari & Mahmoudian, 2016). In the case of Allianz, the strategies of the company are mainly related with protecting the interests of the customers and the employees. However, the company faces certain issues that hinder it from making an effective strategy. These issues are mainly the cause of the lack of analysis of the internal and external factors. Hence, it is important to analyse the external environment of the company and the portfolio of the customers.

The customer portfolio is considered as an analytical technique that can be used to identify the loyalty of the market (O’Riordan & Fairbrass, 2014). The purpose of this technique is to ensure that proper mapping is made in the analytical portfolio that helps in the identification of the potential customers. It applies marketing research, marketing information system and help in visualising methods using matrix. In the case of Allianz, the company can group customer based on their requirements. As observed by Diesal (2018) the customers of Allianz can be categorised into:

• Big business dealers
• Travellers
• Corporate workers
• Roadside workers

These groups of customers provide Allianz with an opportunity to undergo the growth of the company and ensure that it remains dominant in the areas of Australia and New Zealand. As stated by Crow and Berggren (2014) to maintain a proper customer profile it is necessary that Allianz undertake a proper analysis of the external environment. This is mainly because the customers are the external stakeholders of the company and it is necessary that the external environment analysis be conducted to understand the potential threats that exist in the business market. Therefore, a PESTEL analysis can be conducted to formulate proper strategies for the organisation.

Relationship with stakeholders

Political: The political scenario in Australia is such that every business receives proper support. The support from the Government is usually from different folds that cover specific areas that a business is capable of providing (Lim & Greenwood, 2017). In the case of Allianz, the support from the Government is evident from the fact that the company has been hugely received and that a stadium has been created that highlights the popularity of the company.

Economic: In the modern world, people have become more focused on the work undertaken by them. Therefore, larger disposal incomes have become a common occurrence in the modern world. Allianz can gain support from this particular factor as it can provide insurance and people would like to pay for the services rendered by the company. The development in the boom stage of the economic factor needs to be the target for Allianz to approach and gain more customers.

Social: In countries like Australia, the rates of young drivers aged between 17 and 25 have increased. Allianz provides insurance to cars that owned by the parents, however, the accident of the cars caused by the children is not taken care of by the company (Salloum et al., 2017). Therefore, to cope up with the changing society, Allianz also need to develop the social factors. At the same time, the increase in car racing, as a sport also need to focused on by Allianz.

Technology: With the help of the technology, Allianz can ensure that it can increase its sales and reduce the cost of transaction. Customers can communicate with the organisation easily and can get proper service delivered to them. As stated by Lee and Seo (2016) in the modern days, the sale of insurance policies can be done using the internet and a wide distribution network can be formed with the application of technological services.

Environment: The business environment of Australia provides an opportunity of progress for the organisation. One of the advantages that Allianz have over other businesses is that it does not harm the environment with improper manufacturing of the products. The company treads in the environment in a quite manner and ensures that sustainability is maintained by providing any type of assistance that may relate to environmental loss.

Legal: According to Shepherd and Rudd (2014), the legal factors are the constitution and the laws that relate to the employability of the people and the setting up of the company. At the same time, Allianz need to ensure that the company does not indulge in type of frauds that may hamper its growth and reduce its reputation among the customers.

Internal Stakeholders

Hence, after the analysis of the external factors and the customer portfolio, it can be said that the strategies of Allianz is relatively simple. Allianz relies on the application of four basic pillars that help the company to attain success. These four pillars include recruiting the best people, achieving operational excellence, gaining financial strength and gain the trust of the stakeholders (Allianz.com.au, 2018). Based on the four pillars strategic goals can be maintained that can help in gaining profit and provide support for the business. However, there may exist certain issues that may hinder the growth of the organisation.

According to Tseng and Hung (2014), Allianz may face strategic issues in the fact that the continuous fluctuation in the economy may cause the customers to stop investing in the insurance services. This may create a negative impact on the company as the profitability may decline. At the same time, the population of Australia and New Zealand are not large hence; employing talented people can pose as a challenge for the company. Thus, it can be said that the strategic issues of Allianz may cause a huge impact in the growth of the organisation. At the same time, to gain the trust of the stakeholders it is necessary that the company maintain proper business so that it can continue its dominance in the modern business market of Australia and New Zealand.

Abdel-Maksoud et al. (2015) stated that in order to maintain a strong foothold in the business world it is necessary for companies to manage the personnel. In the case of Allianz located in Australia, it has been seen that the company provides good care for the people that are involved in working for the company. With over 4300 employees, the company provides Worker’s Compensation Insurance, which covers at least one in every five employees in the country (Allianz.com.au, 2018). About 25% of the workers of the company are compensated with the Worker’s Compensation Insurance policy. Thus, it can be said that Allianz takes good care of the employees that lead the company to be successful in the market.

Soutschek, Sauter and Schubert (2015) are of the opinion that supporting the staffs is important for the growth of the company. The goal of Allianz is to provide continuous support to the employees in the work carried out by them and ensure that diversity is maintained in the organisation. This is mainly because the company serves various people all over the world and a diverse group of work force can help in managing the potential success of the company. In the case of Australia, Allianz get to work with a diverse cultural group that ensures that the services provided can assist the company in its growth. A tabular format can be provided that highlights the manner in which Allianz manages its personnel.

Number of employees	4300
% of female workers	52%
Salaried workforce	97%
Full time equivalents	92%
Managers	13%
Part-time employees	13%
Employees with permanent contract	92%
International assignments	423
Average age of the employees	40.8
Employee turnover rate	14%

External Stakeholders

Table 3: Key figures of personnel management in Allianz

(Source: Created by author)

Hence, after the analysis it can be said that Allianz provides a strong bond with the employees and ensures that the rate of turnover of the employees is less. The compensation works as a means of motivation to the employees and it provides them with an opportunity to continue their good work for the betterment of the organisation. Calabretta, Gemser and Wijnberg (2017) is of the opinion that the effectiveness of the employees can be judge based on the performance that Allianz had in the past years. The current growth and performance of the employees can be judged by analysing the full year earnings of the company.

The analysis of the financial statement of Allianz shows that the company has a strong business growth and a high solvency ratio. After analysing the reports of 2017, it has been seen that Allianz had reported getting strong results that helped in the firm growth in the markets of Australia (Allianz.com.au, 2018). The major profit had come from the Asset management along with the life and health insurance services provided by the company. The total revenue saw a rise of 3% up to AUD$126.1 billion. The operating profit of the company had also seen major improvements with the increase of 0.4% as compared to the figures attained in 2016. This provides evidences that the company has made significant improvement in the business organisations.

Conclusion

After the analysis of the stakeholders, external environment and the strategic issues that may arise for Allianz, it can be said that the company need to work on certain aspects that may help in its development. These aspects are mainly aimed at formulating proper strategies by analysing both the internal as well as the external factors. Allianz needs to ensure that the strategies developed are addressed to the growth of the organisation. This can help in its further expansion and ensure that the satisfaction of the employees is maintained in a proper manner. The number of employees and the manner in which the company manages it provides an idea about the method of motivation that is provided by Allianz to its staff. These types of motivational factors help in increasing the reputation and in turn increase the financial growth. The current performance of the company is an indication of the type of growth that has been endorsed by Allianz with the implementation of new business strategies.

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