Organization Behavior on USAA

Organization Behavior on USAA

Company's Profile

USAA, founded in 1922, is a worldwide insurance and diversified financial services association. It is made up of 87 subsidiaries and affiliates and owns and manages more than $40.5 billion in assets. The 1996 Fortune 500 ranks USAA 200th among the largest U.S. corporations in terms of revenues. USAA's policy holders are primarily members of the U.S. military and their families. The association ranks as the nation's fifth-largest insurer of private automobiles and fourth-largest homeowners insurer. In addition, USAA currently has more than $72.8 billion of life insurance in force, and ranks as the nation's 33rd largest life insurance company. USAA's Investment Management Company offers a diverse family of 33 no-load mutual funds, and ranks 34th of 387 companies in assets under management (Dunn 1970).

The USAA family of companies provides a full range of insurance and financial products. These include property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance, annuities, no-load mutual funds, real estate opportunities, and a discount brokerage service. The USAA Federal Savings Bank, rated "Best Bank in America" by Money magazine in its June 1995 issue, offers both Visa and MasterCard credit cards, deposit services, consumer loans, mortgage loans and home equity loans. USAA also has a travel agency and a member buying service (Wiersema 1998).

Influence on Organizational Behavior

From health care to contracted government services, internal and external forces affect organizational behavior. Comparing and contrasting internal and external forces of six different companies reveals an economic effect over organizational behavior, regardless of private, public, or government origin (USAA 2008).

Restructuring

In today's economy, restructuring is necessary for the survival of any organization. Restructuring similarities between the aforementioned companies include increased job responsibilities, difficulty adjusting to new policies and procedures, and the reallocation of resources. Abrupt changes in personnel often lead to physical and emotional changes affecting the morale and behavior of the entire organization. To contrast the companies, health care refines policies to entice business, whereas State Farm denies insurance to particular geographical areas to avoid further losses (USAA 1999).

Organizational Mission

Each of the six mission statements incorporates a customer service element. The mission statements cater to customers by focusing on affordability, respectful interaction, dream fulfillment, and service. USAA and NAL focus on customer respect. CHW promotes religion as the means to achieve the mission. State Farm helps “people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams” (USAA 1995).

On Plan Management and Governance and Project Management

Governance of systems requires a formal relationship between the business community supported and the information services organization providing that support. To use the Long Range Systems Plan as an example, an oversight group was established and chaired by the most senior officer within the business organization whose operation was most affected by the plan. Senior Officer Representatives from all affected organizations comprised the remainder of the committee that was commissioned as the Executive Steering Committee for Systems ESCS (USAA 2000).

It was their role to provide guidance to the Information Services group during plan execution, ...