Insurance Company Ownership in the Netherlands - Assignment Example

Role of United s in Vietnam War al Affiliation) Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 2 Introduction 3 AEGON 4 The Core Values of Saint Leo University 5 Marketing Strategies used by AEGON 11 Conclusion 12 Bibliography 13 Abstract My research paper entails the different global activities with which various organizations get themselves involved in international business. I have researched on AEGON as a global institution that operates in the global business and conducted my research on it. The research got done on all the organization’s premises, its headquarters in Netherlands inclusive. For the purposes of data collection, I visited some organization’s employees, in different countries, both junior and senior employees. Some of the methods used in collecting data included, interviewing, observation, and focus groups. Apart from the qualitative methods of data collection named above, other quantities methods of data collection such as experiments and conducting surveys got used. Among the findings was that the organization has sought to improve personal and community development in different aspects as well as growing and developing worldwide. Introduction Some organizations, including learning and non-learning institutions, profitable and nonprofitable firm, have sought the need to expand globally in their fields of service provision. Other groups have realized the importance of developing in their service provision as well as introducing new ventures that can drive them in the realization of their set goals and objectives. Some have employed business experts to carry out researches on various available business opportunities around the world that they can venture in, with the primary goal of profit realization. In the process of exploring the different available business opportunities, some firms have sought to generate incomes and later use them for community development, personal development as well as the improving the general welfare of the society. To realize these, some organizations and other institutions have employed some strategies such as blueprint strategy, online marketing, product differentiation and improving product qualities among others (Vermaat, 1997, 11). In this research paper, I am going to look at the AEGON organization, as a global firm that is seeking to realize its goals of global expansion and international business. I am going to see the growth of the organization, its international business, as well as the marketing strategies used by the institution in meeting the needs in various international markets. AEGON This organization is one of the top global organizations in the financial industry, offering financial services such as the provision of life assurance, pensions to the retired employees and management of various assets. The group got formed in the year 1983 after the merging of two insurance companies from Netherlands namely Ago and Ennia. In the United States, it is one of the largest insurance organizations, and it is the top financial provider in the Netherlands, under group pensions market. Also in the United Kingdom, it has an influential position in the person’s and group pensions, as well as exhibiting corporate governance (Vermaat, 1997, 19). The company has more than 28,000 employees who handle assisting their clients towards bettering up their financial future. By the beginning of the year 2015, the organization had managed funds close EUR 558 billion, both belonging to the Company’s clients and the organization’s investments. The current aim of the organization is to lead in all of their selected markets and by the end of the year. Through the realization of this goal, the company will have won the trust of all the customers and other business partners, and emerging as the most preferred employer in the finance industry. This will enable the firm to be the highly preferred organization when it comes to the issuance of providing life assurance and pension by both the commercial and non-commercial markets (Cummins & Lamm-Tennant, 1993, 13). The organization has its principal operations conducted in the United States, in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom while other outlets get based in Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, and Ukraine. Our joint ventures get located in China, India, Mexico, and Brazil, among other South American countries. Other marketing services get based in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and Singapore, among other Asian countries (Vermaat, 1997, 23). The Core Values of Saint Leo University In the process of conducting its global business as well as providing education services to the enrolled students, the organization has two primary core values that it seeks to accomplish. They include the core values of individual and personal development, and community development. Personal Development The organization has sought to improve the welfare as well as the status of the student and its entire premises for the purposes of sustainability and general improvement of its clients well being. In the process of achieving personal development goal, the organization has resorted to improve the following: Global Expansion- The institution has laid down strategy to enable it open other campuses and learning centers in the different parts nations of the world. Facilities- The institution has further sought to address the issue of increasing its services base by putting up some classes among other learning resources to meet the demand of the increasing student population Excellence- The firm has come up with ways of making the students perform well academically and graduate with good grades to face the job market Financial Viability-The institution has sought to make itself more financial viable to sustain it, enable to run its daily activities and continue existing in the future. It has undertaken this by taking a lot of considerations when computing pensions to its staff, as well as taking care of a number of financial scenarios (University, 2015, 13) Community Development Apart from the core values of personal and individual development, the organization has sought to get concerned with the development and growth of the community. In realizing this as a core value, this academic institution has actively involved itself and invested in the following areas: Inclusivity in enrollments- The University has generated some access courses ranging from business administration, education, commerce, education, theology, criminal justice and law among others, to include and accommodate all the members of the community. This has enabled the community members in the United States of America, and across the world to identify the degree course of their interest and pursues (University, 2015, 15). Awareness creation in the community- The group has organized some meetings within its campuses for the international communities, nongovernmental organizations, and the local community members. These meetings vary from one another ranging from business, health, political, ideological, psychological, and social and gender issues that aim at improving the different aspects of the community Employment Opportunities- The institution has further employed some community members and other students, in different positions such as administrative, faculty and other teaching staffs. Others include part-time graduate and assistants, and students in work-study programs. Improving the life of the community- The University has a core value of improving the lives of its and the staff, both subordinate, and the nonsubordinate members of the staff. The institution provides the students with all the resources they need for learning, to ensure that they live a quality education life (University, 2015, 17). The above-discussed core values of Saint Leo University directly relate to AEGON about its operation in the international finance business. They are relevant to one another in the following ways: Personal Development The AEGON organization has sought to improve the welfare as well as the status of ITS clients and its entire premises for the purposes of sustainability and general improvement of its customers’ well-being. In the process of achieving the core values of personal development, the organization has resorted to improve the following: Global Expansion- The institution has laid down strategy to enable it open other markets and organizational premises in the different parts nations of the world (Cummins & Lamm-Tennant, 1993). As discussed above, the organization has stretched and opened its facilities in various continents of the world, and among them are; Asia, Australia, South America, North America, and Europe. Through the process of undertaking global expansion as a measure, this financial institution gets in a position to expand its business opportunities as well as reaching other overseas markets. This will enable the firm increase in its profit realization and revenue base, in general, thereby growing and developing globally. The step taken by the organization to expand globally can get correlated with its core value of developing as well as improving the financial status and general asset management of its clients. This is true since the company is determined to help its customers save for their pensions, life insurance and improvement on how they manage their different properties (Vermaat, 1997, 24). Facilities- The institution has further sought to address the issue of increasing its services base by putting up some premises among other insurance assessment resources to meet the demand of the increasing clients’ population. Just like Saint Leo University, AEGON has the core value of increasing its facilities base around the world. The organization has invested a lot in the purchase of insurance assessment, among other machinery and equipment that enable its assessors in the process of evaluating and determining the validity of a loss. The heavy machinery put in place by organization improves the process of premium determination, property management and determining the different levels of compensation that client’s get owned by this insurance firm during loss (Vermaat, 1997, 26). . Excellence- The company has come up with ways of making it provide the best services as well as emerging as the first financial services provider in the world. As discussed in the introduction of my research paper, the organization has always gotten ranked among the top insurance company, both in Europe and the United States. The organization has the core value of improving the health status of their clients, mainly by giving out life insurance services, hence the client gets in a position to seek fro medication whenever the need arises. The core value of excellence can also get seen when the organization invest a lot in machinery among other items for the purpose of improving the management services of their clients’ properties, among other assets (Vermaat, 1997, 26). . Financial Viability- The institution has sought to make itself more financial viable to sustain it, enable to run its daily activities and continue existing in the future. As a core value of personal development, this aspect gets evident when we see the organization expanding globally as well as introducing new financial products in the market. These strategies used by the organization increase its economic viability and standing since they act as resource pool and expansion of funds’ sources. By generating high levels of income and revenue base, the firm gets in a position to stand as a financially viable institution in the insurance industry. The aspect of financial viability goes further evident when the organization minds about the future financial standing of its clients, at retirement age. With this reason, the firm offers retirement pension plans under the social security funds; hence its customers get in a position to support themselves by the finances during old age (Vermaat, 1997, 27). . International Community Development Apart from the core values of personal and individual development, the organization, just like Saint Leo Universities has sought to get concerned with the development and growth of the community. In realizing this as a core value, the AEGON Inc has actively involved itself and invested in the following areas: Overall community care- AEGON has come up with some life insurance policies, with different premium rates as well as final compensation. It has further established different amounts of monthly and annual contribution by their various clients towards the social security fund; for pension during old age. This has enabled the different community members in the Europe, South America, North America, Asia, and Australia, who different financial capabilities and income, to get in a position to contribute the much they can. This is because among community members, across the world have differing levels of revenue; hence they have different abilities for contributions. The organization, as an international business, therefore, ensures that despite the degree of income earned across different persons, they all get entitled to pensions during their old age. Awareness creation in the community- When relating to the core values of Saint Leo University, AEGON has organized some meetings within its international premises for the international communities, nongovernmental organizations, and the local community members. These meetings vary from one another ranging from business, health, and financial issues that aim at improving the different aspects of the commonwealth. By holding international conferences, the organization sensitized the community on the need and importance of getting involved in various schemes such as International Social Security Funds. The organization further creates awareness to the community members in the various investment opportunities that they can venture, regarding the best property and life insurance policies they can take. Employment Opportunities- Just as explained earlier, the company has more than 28,000 employees who handle assisting their clients towards bettering up their financial future. The organization has provided different employment opportunities for various individuals who meet the different thresholds for different positions. By this team has come out openly and proved that, as an international business company, it has the core value of offering employment opportunities to the different communities in the world. Improving the life of the commonwealth- AEGON has an essential value of improving the lives of its clients and its employees, both subordinate, and the no subordinate members of the organization’s staff. This point can get supported by the fact that the team sees itself in the provision of financial services, life insurance policies, pensions and asset management. From these activities of the organization, it is valid when argued that AEGON has the core value of improving the life of the different community members during old by accumulating their finances until they retire. The life insurance policies provide collateral for the clients to seek medication, and the asset management too, increases the financial standing of the customer, both at pre old and old age (Cummins, & Lamm-Tennant, 1993, 17) Marketing Strategies used by AEGON In the process of meeting the different needs in the various international markets, as well as expanding its market base, the organization has used a number of marketing strategies. This is due the high competition resulting from high access to Dutch market since the period of 1960’s (Vermaat, 1997, 13). Cause Marketing- One of the ways through which the group has sought to develop brand loyalty across the different nations of the world is by sponsoring some charity events, as well as viral marketing (Akyol, 2013, 587). The group has supplied some uniforms for various sports teams across Europe, ranging from tennis tournament and marathon that come up as a result of a charity. By undertaking this strategy, the organization, as well as other different organizations of the world, find themselves in positions to introducing new life insurance services into the marketplace (Gerber, 1997, 12).  Sports Marketing- The organization has further sponsored some sports events across Europe, American continents, Australia and Asia. During the sports events, the athletes and athletes’ officials wear uniforms having AEGO’s logo. Also, there are other teams that have gotten names after AEGON, and this has helped the company create different affinities between it and those fans and their insurance and pension services (Akyol, 2013, 588). Positioning- The organization has gotten in a position to market its products without incurring expenses is by the creation of their brand, image and position in the world’s marketplace. The organization has come up with some life insurance services with ranging levels of premiums, different pension service for various income earners as well as different asset management. These actions and positioning strategies have placed the organization in different positions to meet the different market demands and needs (Akyol, 2013, 589). Guerilla Marketing- AEGON has escaped the high cost of advertisements by selling its services at promotional events at by use of low-cost trades. For example, during different incidents, the company has gotten lending its cars for different parade use and donating the profits to a school in exchange of service sampling. This marketed the organization’s life insurance services, pension services, and other financial services across different countries in Europe and North America (Cummins & Lamm-Tennant, 1993, 17).  Conclusion The success of any business or nonbusiness organization lies on the strategies it lays down for the purpose of growth and development. As discussed from this research paper, we have found out that AEGON has involved itself in some international activities for the purpose of realizing its goals. It is important that institutions seek to develop both personal and community development since the Commonwealth serves as the backbone ensuring the survival of any organization. Bibliography Akyol, Ş. (2013). Social Media and Marketing: Viral Marketing. Academic Journal Of Interdisciplinary Studies. doi:10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p586 Cummins, J., & Lamm-Tennant, J. (1993). Financial Management of Life Insurance Companies. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Curry. (2011). Towards more Effective Savings Incentives. Pension Policy Institute, 1-57. University, S. (2015). Directory | Saint Leo University. Uts.saintleo.edu. Retrieved 15 June 2015, from http://uts.saintleo.edu/SluDir/department/CE Gerber, H. (1997). Life insurance mathematics. Berlin: Springer. Vermaat. (1997). Insurance Company Ownership in the Netherlands. Implication for Cooperate Governance and Competition, 4-31. Read More