Example Emerging Trends in Global Markets INBS 561 Division 8 October 24, 2017 Abstract Great-West Life and Annuity Insurance Company is the registered trademark owner of the Great-West Financial, which is a U.S firm that makes it become an indirect and wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. Its business in the United States entails the delivery of a wide range of retirement saving products including 401k, 403b, IRAs, securities, and annuities among others to consumers in the country from its headquarters in Colorado. While its wide-range of corporate insurance products is performing well in the market, GWF has embarked on serious mergers and acquisitions of major competitors and other small business to maintain its position as the second largest provider of retirement services in the country. An analysis of the organizational structure, human resource management functions and different aspect of its operations showed that GWF would remain profitable and improve performance expectations if it continues to adhere to its core values and resolve the potential problems from the weaknesses in its business model. Company Background and Strategic Intent for U.S Operations Great-West Life and Annuity Insurance Company is the registered trademark owner of the Great-West Financial, which is a U.S firm that makes it become an indirect and wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. Also, the parent company of this organization is a member of the Power Financial Corporation Group of Companies. As a reputable insurance firm that opened launched its American operations in 1906 in North Dakota as GWL&A Incorporated, it has evolved through excellent management structure, utilization of information technology and emphasis on training and development of its workforce to meet the everchanging business environment and consumer preference. According to GWF (2017), despite commencing operations in the U.S in 1920, its first major account in the country took almost a decade and a half to materialize. The lessons learned from this experience is considered the main inputs for creating the underlying principles that shaped the corporate culture of this leading organization in the insurance company. Meanwhile, an examination of GWF’s vision statement would provide a glimpse of how it would lead the way to a financial future where our clients are prepared, independent, and enjoy everything they value most. It is this critical information that would form the premise for this case study on the business in the United States regarding their partnership with investment professionals across the nations and their customers through the utilization of innovative strategies, services, and solutions in the insurance sector of the economy. Great-West Financial Operations in the United States GWF’s business in the United States entails the delivery of a wide range of retirement saving products including 401k, 403b, IRAs, securities, and annuities among others to consumers in the country from its headquarters in Colorado and other locations. Also, its focus on institutions has made it structure is products and services for corporate and government clients include municipal agencies, departments, and major corporations. This strategy of wholesale insurance and financial services remove the individuals from its target market and make it remain a wholesaler of these services. Also, the strategy has enabled the company to streamline its operations, identify its core strengths for dealing with the challenges presented by its weaknesses, and fulfill its mandates and obligations to all stakeholders sustainably. Products and Services While Great-West Financial does not deal directly with individual clients, its products and services have contributed to the establishment of greater financial security for millions of Americans, their employers, and the government institutions that support them. Its emphasis on the development of products and services through extensive market research made it possible to offer insurance, annuities, and executive benefits products. A further review of its business strategy for the American market showed consistency with the international ones thereby affording the employees to leverage on the brand equity of GWF to deliver the expectations associated with their roles and responsibilities. For example, the company is regarded as the second biggest national insurer with most sales in bank-based life insurance products. The decision to offer customers of the participating banks’ term and single premium life insurance has paid off positively because this product is a major revenue generator for the company. Furthermore, the Empower Retirement product is another that is designed to help public and private companies handle the retirement savings plans of their employees with most of the bottlenecks associated with the mandatory employee benefits program. An additional feature of this product that has made it popular among the clients of Great-West Financials is the privatelabel recordkeeping and administrative services for other providers of other contributory pension plans. Finally, the evaluation of the company’s Great-West Investment products showed that it had invested substantial financial assets in mutual funds and retirement income solutions, as well as managed accounts and capital preservation products for the clients that rely on the company for their risk management and return-on-investment initiatives. Operations and Management Structure Great-West Financial corporate structure is an extension of the international one that has Power Financial Corporation has the parent company in Manitoba, Canada, and Great-West Lifeco U.S as the main subsidiary. The organizational structure of this international conglomerate is designed to allow the management team of the subsidiaries to develop and implement business strategies that would enable them to meet their performance targets and expectations. In the case of the company under review, mergers and acquisitions is an integral part of its approach to doing business in the highly-competitive insurance and financial services industry in the United States. In 2014, the company merged its entire retirement business with Washington-based Putnam Investments to enable it to acquire the retirement plan services of J.P. Morgan and make it the second biggest in the United States. One of the implications of this business ventures and other that company has embarked on since its creation is the need to have an efficient operation that allows advisors and other employees perform their duties without hassles. Therefore, GreatWest Financials invested in employee training and development and the establishment of a robust information technology infrastructure to meet these needs. According to Davison (2017), the “company has recently become subject to the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule and a myriad of regulations such as GLBA, FINRA, Division of Banking, Division of Insurance, as well as any number of regulations brought on by our contractual partnerships. As the head of the information security unit of the company, the author noted that as a financial institution, “GWF is the steward of sensitive, confidential financial information of our customers and thus, we have to protect it very carefully with many different tools and processes” (Davison, 2017). In a nutshell, the operation of this organization has become dependent on the need to use the most advanced technological solutions to align its initiatives with others in the industry without compromising the integrity and availability of confidential information. Human Resource Management An assessment of the impact of the operation of this company on the manpower development of the United States showed that it had employed over 10,000 people as financial advisors since it a fully-fledged American company. Aside from developing products and services that provide employment opportunities for individuals and professionals with aspirations in insurance and financial services, it invests substantial resources in the training and development of its workforce. For example, the company is the first in the industry to computerbased training for its new workers as part of the onboarding process thereby providing a platform that makes it easy for them to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to perform the duties associated with their responsibilities (Trivantis, 2017). When its operations expanded to the extent that the employee development program was inadequate, the management of GWF switched to a system that was robust enough to accommodate the need for all employees including the technical and non-technical ones. Strengths and Weaknesses The examination of the strengths and weaknesses of GWF is an imperative for conducting a comprehensive case study analysis of the company according to best-practices. GWF (2017) explained that some of the strengths of the company lie in the strategic approach to market segmentation that resulted in the development of wholesale products and services for corporate clients that are distributed to consumers across the country. This approach makes it difficult for increased competition to affects it business performance and eliminate the risk associated with individual customers that are unable to fulfill their obligations to the company. An additional strength that made GWF the second leading retirement service provider in the U.S. is the strong customer base that has enabled to generate the required capital for its operations and plans. Regarding, the weaknesses associated with the operations of GWF, it can be observed that the company’s dependence on the corporate market exposes it to risks due to financial difficulties. Also, its failure to ensure that information technology infrastructure is highlysophisticated and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals and organizations could lead to regulatory issues and litigation cost Conclusion and Analysis of Performance in the United States In conclusion, the information derived from the analysis of the operations and business strategy and financial statement of the company, as well as its impact on the community showed that its business is sustainable and profitable both in the short and long-term. Therefore, the management would need to ensure that the various models used to achieve these objectives are constantly reviewed and updated to meet the challenges of an ever-changing and customercentric market such as the United States. The investment in the latest technology has returned positively and made it possible for the firm to acquire businesses and build relationships with customers. Finally, there is a need to identify measures that would address the weaknesses discussed in this paper to turn them into strengths and increase the capacity of the firm to deliver stakeholder expectations according to its triple-bottom objectives. References Davison, S. (2017). MetricStream: GRC for high performers. GRC Summit. Retrieved from https://grc-summit.com/US/2017/presentations/day2/230%20%20325PM%20Great%20West%20Case%20Study.pdf GWF (2017). About Great-West Financial: Our History, corporate structure, and community partnership. Retrieved from http://www.greatwest.com/about-us/history.shtml Trivantis (2017). The Great-West Life. Retrieved from https://www.trivantis.com/e-learningcase-studies/great-west-life West North Central Appendix 3: Rubric for Individual Case Write up Part II of IFDI project: Individual case write up (6 pages, 20 points) Name: Group # Note: You need to attach this page to your written report for grading: The Individual assignment require a case write up on a FOREIGN firm that invested in a division/state West North Central which was the focus of your group project. Length of the report: 6 pages in double space: 1: Abstract (one paragragh, 2 points): 2. Foreign firm: Background (2 pages, 5 points) i). Company background, parent company (if any) nature of its business, its domestic & foreign operations, product/service focus; (ii). Firms’ rationale for investing in the USA; its mode of entry (JV, M&A, subsidiary or any other); is it publicly listed or private?; 3. Firms operations in the USA: (about 4 pages, 10 points) (i). Firms’ location(s) & its major activities; level of investment, nature of products/services manufactured and or serviced in the USA; (ii). Firm’s organization structure, key management personnel; its website; and its operational strategies, including international & domestic sales; (iii).Employment generated by the firm since its inception in the US; (iv). Firm’s R&D investment & linkages with US institutions, etc, (v). Any future plans in the USA? 4.Comments & summary: (about 1 page, 3 points): Critical comments and summary of the case write up Credit will be given for good writing & bibliography: Provide evidence of having reviewed firm’s website and other sources, including review of publications; must include information such as charts, bibliography, etc, should be presented in appendix.
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