Lighthouse Insurance Company: Help Me Make It Through the Night

Case 7

The Lighthouse Insurance Company was founded in 1970. It is engaged in selling non-life policies
specifically those related to fire and allied lines, motor car, marine; personal accident, bonds, and
miscellaneous lines. The company is a stock corporation with 51 branches all over the Philippines from
Northern Luzon to Southern Mindanao. It employs a total of 305 employees manning the head office in
Makati City and all the branches.

The company’s Human Resource Department is composed of five employees including its head, Ms.
Emerald Soriano. The department maintains a file of the company’s record of personnel. The branch
managers are responsible for recruiting branch personnel who are trained at the head office from one week
to one month. When the position of branch manager (BM) becomes vacant, the general manager pulls
someone out from the Marketing Department to fill the vacancy.

The performance of new branch managers is lackluster in the first few months. After a year, either their
performance improves, or they fail totally.

When a BM’s position becomes vacant, the HRD immediately coordinates with the Vice President of
Marketing and without much fuss, facilitates the transfer of the most senior of the eligible to assume the BM’s
post.

This year, the vacancy for the BM’s post was unusually higher than last year. Last year’s vacancy for
BM consists of only one and it was immediately filled up. At the beginning of the third quarter of this year, six
(6) vacancies have already occurred of which only three (3) could fill up. After five months, still no suitable
replacements could fill the other three (3) vacancies.

Ms. Soriano is now thinking of the best move to solve the problem.

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