Many marketers think that the brand positioning strategy needs to change to meet the ever-changing needs of the customer. But the truth is that many a time marketers spend huge sums of money for positioning and repositioning their brand but the brand ends up as a failure. The new positioning strategy brings them, neither a good image, nor greater market share. Market researchers reveal that this happens due to positioning myopia. Sometimes marketers fail to understand the relationship between advertisement and positioning. But it is also true that sometimes other factors like frequent change in customer needs, product innovation by competitors, entry of new players, etc., have an impact on the success or failure of brand positioning. Before going for any positioning strategy, one needs to have adequate knowledge about the difference between product positioning and brand positioning, and also the relationship between product differentiation and positioning, which will help overcome positioning myopia.
To understand better what positioning is, let us recollect the statement of Al Ries and Jack Trout: "The basic approach of positioning is not to create something new and different. But to manipulate what's already up there in the customer's mind and to retie the connections already existing." Rosser Reeves defines positioning in a more simplified manner: "Positioning is the art of selecting, out of a number of unique selling propositions, the one which will get you maximum sales".
For further clarification, let us take the example of Nestlé's Maggie. In 1982, when Nestlé decided to launch Maggie noodles, the company had several options for positioning this product. The product could have been launched as a Chinese food, a mini meal, or a tasty dish that could be eaten while watching TV, chatting with your family and so on. But Nestlé positioned it as 2-minutes noodles that can be eaten at any time of the day, and targeted the children first. The product was positioned as a quick nutrient food for school going children, instead of adults. Thus Nestlé avoided competing with any form of traditional breakfast and created a separate category which competes with itself.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
“Study of Marketing Channel Available For Life Insurance”
“Study of Marketing Channel Available For Life Insurance”
Preface
The Harder You Work…… The Luckier You Get.
The liberalization of the Indian insurance sector has been the subject of much heated
debate for some years. The policy makers where in the catch 22 situation wherein for one they wanted competition, development and growth of this insurance sector which is
extremely essential for channeling the investments in to the infrastructure sector. At the other end the policy makers had the fears that the insurance premier, which are substantial, would seep out of the country; and wanted to have a cautious approach of opening for foreign participation in the sector.
As one of the rare occurrences the entire debate was put on the back burner and the IRDA saw the day of the light thanks to the maturing polity emerging consensus among factions of different political parties. Though some changes and some restrictive clauses as regards to the foreign participation were included the IRDA has opened the doors for the private entry into insurance.
Whether the insurer is old or new, private or public, expanding the market will present multitude of challenges and opportunities. But the key issues, possible trends, opportunities and challenges that insurance sector will have still remains under the realms of the possibilities and speculation. What is the likely impact of opening up India’s insurance sector.
It was a privilege for us to work in a reputed organization- Kotak Mahindra Old
Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. This has given us an opportunity to work in a truly
professional environment where team work score over individual effort, where
there is a helpful atmosphere.
A well planned, properly executed and evaluated training helps a lot in
inoculating good work culture. It provides linkage between student and industry in
order to develop the awareness of individual approach to problem solving based
on the broad understanding of plant machinery, process and mode of operation of
individual organization. The project on “Study of Marketing Channel Available
for Life Insurance” has been made to facilitate effective understanding about the
marketing aspects.
The project training has provided me an opportunity to gain practical experience, which has helped me to increase my sphere of knowledge to a greater extent. I have tried to summarize all our experience and knowledge acquired up till now, in this report. This project is a keen effort to obtain the expected results and fulfill all the information required.
At the end annexure and bibliography are given for effective understanding.
Declaration:-
Acknowledgement
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
1.1 An Overview
1.2 Objectives of the study
1.3 Research Methodology
1.4 Limitation of the study
1.5 Company Profile
2.1 About Kotak Mahindra
2.2 About Old Mutual
2.3 About Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd
2.4 Organization development
2.5 Performance highlights
3 Industry Profile
3.1 Life Insurance Facts
3.2 A Brief History of Insurance Sector
3.3 Insurance Sector Reforms
3.4 Role of Life Insurance
3.5 Major Players of Life Insurance
4 Conceptual Frameworks
4.1 Distribution Channel
4.2 Life Advisor Profile
4.3 Life Advisor Restrictions
5 Sectional Works Done in the Company
5.1 Products Offered
5.2 Work Done at Kotak Life Insurance
5.3 Findings
5.4 Suggestions
6 Recommendations
7 Conclusions
8 Appendixes
8.1Glossary
8.2Bibliography
8. 3Questioery
Acknowledgement:-
When we do anything, we always want to thank all those people who have left an
impression on our lives and inspired us to greatness. Before we got things I would
like to add a few heartfelt words for the people who were part of this project in
numerous ways. Our sincere gratitude to training in-charge Mr. Manish Srivastva
for his valuable guidance, encouragement, useful suggestion, critical evaluation
and unending support which helped us accomplishes the project.
I acknowledge with deep gratitude and respect to the placement Incharge
Mr.Ravi Sharma and Ms. Jashmit Kaur for providing me support for my
project.
Although I have expressed our gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Mr.
Ravi prakash, who helped me in reaching at this stage, but there might be a few,
who’d been left out, I would like to thank all of them for being a constant
motivation and inspiration to me.
Executive summary:-
Life is full of surprises, some pleasant and some not so pleasant. Our families and
we have to live with these uncertainties. Preparing for the uncertainties of life is
what Insurance is all about. Why waste precious moments contemplating tomorrow, when we have to live today? Insurance is a tool, a solution for delegating the worries concerning tomorrow onto a trustworthy institution so that you can start living today.
In other words, Insurance is a legal contract that protects people from the financial costs that result from Loss of life, loss of health, lawsuits, or
property damage. Insurance provides a means for individuals and societies to cope
with some of the risks faced in everyday life. People purchase contracts of
insurance, called policies, from a variety of insurance organizations. Almost everyone living in modern, industrialized countries buys insurance, for instance, laws in most states require people who own a car to buy insurance before driving it on public roads. Lenders require anyone who finances the purchase of a home or car with borrowed money to insure that property. Business partners take out life insurance on each other to make sure that businesswill succeed even if one of the partners dies.
The primary purpose of life insurance is therefore protection of the
family in the event of death. Today, insurance is also seen as a tool to plan
effectively for the future years, retirement, and for children's future needs. Today,
the market offers insurance plans that not just cover the life and but at the same
time grow wealth too. When we insure our life, in effect what we are doing is
insuring our earning capacity. This guarantees that our dependants will be able to
continue living without financial hardships even in case of our demise.
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited was established
in 2000 as a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (74%) and Old
Mutual plc, London (26%). In the life insurance market, Kotak Life Insurance, one
of the fastest growing companies in India; from FY 2005 to 2006 it demonstrated a
substantial premium income growth.
Objectives of the study:-
The main purpose of this project is to identify the trends, progress and
performance of marketing channel in insurance industry. Deregulation in India has
resulted in increased number of players in the market and hence the competition.
This competition has brought about a change in the existing distribution channels.
The new types of distribution channels are wider and are expected to be more
technology oriented for the urban population in future. There also exists a vast
potential for new types of companies coming into the market that support the
existing structure of the industry such as agency management systems and the
brokerage firms.
Recommendations:
The following are the recommendations as per my study:
A change in the attitude of the population
An open and transparent environment created under the IRDA.
A well-established distribution network.
Trained professionals to build and sell the product.
A more rationale approach to the investment criteria.
A stringent accounting practice to prevent failures amongst the insurers.
A level playing field at all stages of development in the sector for all the
players.
And last but not the least patience amongst the players and
consumers to wait for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
1-INTRODUCTION
1.1 An Overview
1.2 Objectives of The Study
1.3 Research Methodology
1.4 Limitation of The Study
An Overview:
Risks and uncertainties are part of life's great adventure -- accident, illness, theft,
natural disaster - they're all built into the working of the Universe, waiting to
happen. For that, insurance is a unique investment avenue that delivers sound
returns in addition to protection. Insurance also provides a safeguard in the case of
accidents or a drop in income after retirement. An accident or disability can be
devastating, and an insurance policy can lend timely support to the family in such
times.
The following are the contribution made by insurance industry to Indian economy:
Life Insurance is the only sector which garners long term savings.
Spread of financial services in rural areas and amongst socially less
privileged.
Provide Long term funds for infrastructure.
Strong positive correlation between development of capital markets and
insurance/ pension sector.
Employment generation i.e. Life insurance industry provides increased
employment opportunities. Employees in insurance sector as on 31st
March, 2005 is around 2 lakhs. Many agents depend on insurance for their
livelihood
Industry also contributes in economic development through investments in
capital market. Present level of investments is over Rs. 40,000 crore. (Mark
to Market basis around 80,000 crores.
The primary motive of any business undertaking is to earn profit.
Insurance industry able to satisfy the object of investor and stakeholder via
providing excellent opportunities. Because, Life Insurance industry is under the
phase of infancy after 50 years of monopoly and also face healthy competition
from within and other sectors of financial market. Insurance industry needs
environmental support till it reaches a comfort zone.
Objective of the Study:
The main objective of this project is to identify the progress and performance of
marketing channel in insurance industry and also gain first hand experience of
how an organization works and to get familiar with the working and structure of
the organization.
The following are the primary objective of study:
To find prospects for appointing them as insurance advisors.
To target the groups of people who can do well as insurance advisors
and be beneficial to the company in bringing prospective clients.
To know the type of people requiring such job of work.
To tell prospects about the flagship policies of the company, where the
company differentiates.
To find out databases from different sources for random calling.
To find out the working process of an insurance agent
To find out how Kotak Mahindra recruits the agents.
To understand the functioning of an insurance company.
To know the origin and history of life insurance companies
To gain experience in different environment with different people
At the same time to show the integration of the various business
processes.
Research Methodology:
THE SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH:
Development of industries depends on several factors such as
financial, technology, quality of the services and social responsibility. Out of
these, marketing aspects assume a significant role in determining the growth of
industries. All of the organization operation virtually affects its need for cash that
create aims to explore this product.
PERIOD OF STUDY:
The period of the study for this project covers two months i.e.
May, 15th 2008 to July, 15th 2008. Further, two month period is a reasonable
period to study the performance of target person and to gain knowledge with
respect of insurance industry.
TYPES OF THE RESEARCH:
It is a descriptive research and the main objective of descriptive
research is to learn about who, what, when and how. It includes study and fact
finding inquiries of different kinds. Thus the major purpose of descriptive
research is the description of the state of affairs, as it exits at present.
FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS:
The study has been undertaken to examine and understand the
marketing aspect for a business playing a crucial role in the growth. The
framework of study concern with structure of marketing channel.
Limitation of the Study:
Throughout the study utmost care has been taken to avoid biases, errors so as to
ensure authenticity and accuracy. But there is possibility for some discrepancies to
come in between due to following limitations:
Respondents may give their biased opinion, as they know the identity of
Management Trainee.
It was difficult to get appointment from the person whom I know because
of their busy schedule.
Since the project had to be completed within eight weeks, it was too short a
time to convert the prospective advisors.
Since the study involved a through analysis of the insurance market and
relative study of various players offering the similar products and that of
similar, it required a dedicated labor in term of both time and effort. Since
the curriculum did not permit more time, the study had to be very limited.
Assumption is made that views and suggestion given by the respondent are
his factual knowledge about information.
The study is not free from communication error.
My study is based on responses of client and guidance of corporation only,
which may not give a true picture.
Last but not the least and the most deciding factor paucity of time.
2-COMPANY PROFILE
2.1 About Kotak Mahindra
2.2 About Old Mutual
2.3 About Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Ins. Ltd.
2.4 Organization Development
2.5 Performance Highlights
About Kotak Mahindra:
Kotak Mahindra one of India's leading financial institutions dedicated to
developing unique products with a special focus on product and service quality.
The Kotak Mahindra Group was born in 1985 as Kotak Capital Management
Finance Limited. This company was promoted by Uday Kotak, Sidney A. A. Pinto
and Kotak & Company. Industrialists Harish Mahindra and Anand Mahindra took
a stake in 1986, and that's when the company changed its name to Kotak Mahindra
Finance Limited. Since then it has been a steady and confident journey to growth
and success from year to year.
In October 2005, Kotak Group acquired the 40% stake in Kotak
Prime held by Ford Credit International (FCI) and FCI acquired the stake in Ford
Credit Kotak Mahindra (FCKM) held by Kotak Group. In May 2006, Kotak Group
bought 25% stake held by Goldman Sachs in Kotak Capital and Kotak Securities.
Kotak Mahindra is one of India's leading financial institutions,
offering complete financial solutions that encompass every sphere of life. From
commercial banking, to stock broking, to mutual funds, to life insurance, to
investment banking, the group caters to the financial needs of individuals and
corporate. Kotak Mahindra, the first and only NBFC in India to covert to a bank,
offer pragmatic, world-class solutions. Solutions that take care of four basic
financial needs i.e. earning, saving, investing and spending.
From commercial banking, to stock broking, to mutual funds, to life
insurance, to investment banking, the group caters to financial needs that
encompass every sphere of life. The group has a net worth of over Rs. 2,500 crore,
employs around 6,700 people in its various businesses and has a distribution
network of branches, franchisees, representative offices and satellite offices across
250 cities and towns in India and offices in New York, London, Dubai and
Mauritius. The Group services over 1.6 million customer accounts.
About Old Mutual:
Old Mutual was established more than 150 years ago and has developed into an
International financial services group whose activities are focused on asset
gathering and asset management. The Old Mutual Group offers a diverse range of
financial services in three principal geographies: South Africa, the United States
and the United Kingdom. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
with a market capitalization of approximately $6 billion and is a member of the
elite FTSE 100 index. In the 2003 rankings of the World's 500 largest corporations
by Fortune magazine, Old Mutual climbed 87 places to position number 366 and
was also listed as the 14th largest insurance company in the world.
Old Mutual is the largest financial services business in South Africa,
through its life insurance, asset management, banking and general insurance
operations. The company serves 4 million life insurance policyholders and
employs over 13 000 South Africans in its local operations. The market share of
Old Mutual in South Africa is around 30%
In the USA, Old Mutual is one of the top ten fixed annuity
businesses offering an array of specialist asset management skills through its 23
asset management businesses. The company’s US Life business recorded sales of
$4 billion at the end of 2002.
Operations in the United Kingdom are focused on wealth
management, through Gerrard as one of the leading private client stock broking
businesses in the UK. Old Mutual is also market leader in United States Annuities
business.
The Old Mutual Group has the ability to cater for a variety of
consumer segments and offers a comprehensive and innovative range of products
for all income groups. Thus, Old Mutual is one of the oldest and largest life
insurance companies in the world.
About Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd:
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. is a joint venture between Kotak
Mahindra Bank Ltd. (KMBL), and Old Mutual plc. At Kotak Life Insurance, we
aim to help customers take important financial decisions at every stage in life by
offering them a wide range of innovative life insurance products, to make them
financially independent. Kotak Mahindra life insurance offer pragmatic, worldclass
solutions i.e. solutions with a lot of common sense.
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited was established
in 2000 as a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (74%) and Old
Mutual plc, London (26%). In the life insurance market, Kotak Life Insurance, one
of the fastest growing companies in India; from FY 2005 to 2006 it demonstrated a
premium income growth of 256%. Kotak Mahindra has also forged strong
Corporate Agency relationships and continues to build on new tie-ups for fast
track growth and deep market penetration
Kotak Life Insurance, with140 branches in over 90 locations, and an
employee force of over 4400 employees, is a company with a high level of brand
awareness. Kotak Life Insurance aspires to a spiraling growth with a strong focus
on customer, products, geography-distribution channel mapping and fund
performance. Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance has launched a slew of need-based
products to cater to each varied needs of the customer.
Kotak Life Insurance's value proposition is based on strong corporate
relationships, superior products, extensive marketing skills and quality of service.
Currently Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance has a product portfolio of 18 products
and more need-based products are in the pipeline. It is also among the first to offer
group insurance products in the Indian market.
Kotak Mahindra life insurance using the entrepreneurial employees and
brand equity with their unique approach to achieve the position of top few private
players with substantial market presence.
Organization development:
1986 Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited starts the activity of Bill Discounting
1987 Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited enters the Lease and Hire Purchase
market
1990 The Auto Finance division is started
1991 The Investment Banking Division is started. Takes over FICOM, one of
India’s largest financial retail marketing networks
1992 Enters the Funds Syndication sector
1995 Brokerage and Distribution businesses incorporated into a separate
company - Kotak Securities. Investment Banking division incorporated into
a separate company - Kotak Mahindra Capital Company
1996 The Auto Finance Business is hived off into a separate company - Kotak
Mahindra Prime Limited. Kotak Mahindra takes a significant stake in Ford
Credit Kotak Mahindra Limited, for financing Ford vehicles.
1998 Enters the mutual fund market with the launch of Kotak Mahindra Asset
Management Company.
2000 Kotak Mahindra ties up with Old Mutual plc. for the Life Insurance
business. And, Kotak Securities launches its on-line broking site (now
www.kotaksecurities.com). Commencement of private equity activity
through setting up of Kotak Mahindra Venture Capital Fund.
2001 Matrix sold to Friday Corporation Launches Insurance Services
2003 Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. converts to a commercial bank – the first
Indian company to do so.
2004 Launches India Growth Fund, a private equity fund.
2005 Kotak Group realigns joint venture in Ford Credit; Buys Kotak Mahindra
Prime (formerly known as Kotak Mahindra Primus Limited) and sells Ford
credit Kotak Mahindra. Launches a real estate fund
Performance Highlights:
Kotak Life Insurance total premium income was Rs. 621.9 crore in FY08 (Rs.
466.2 crore in FY07). First year premium income adjusted for single premium at
1/10th up 82% to Rs. 351.0 crore.
The following are the table that shows the performance of Kotak Mahindra from
beginning to now:
CHAPTER: 3
INDUSTRY PROFILE
3.1 Life Insurance Facts
3.2 A Brief History of Insurance Sector
3.3 Insurance Sector Reforms
3.4 Role of Life Insurance
3.5 Major Players of Life Insurance
Life Insurance Facts:
What Is Life Insurance?
Life insurance provides protection against financial loss resulting from death. It is
an insurance company's promise to pay a beneficiary a specific amount of money
when an insured dies in exchange for timely payment of premiums. The primary
purpose of life insurance is therefore protection of the family in the event of death.
Insurance is also seen as a tool to plan effectively for future years, your retirement,
and for your children's future needs. Today, the market offers insurance plans that
not just cover your life and but at the same time grow your wealth too.
What Is It Intended To Do?
Life insurance offers security in the event of the insured’s death. Life insurance
offers financial protection to survivors. It provides dependents with the necessary
funds to settle financial obligations and to cover the loss of income created by the
insured’s death. Life insurance policies are usually purchased with a specific
intention in mind - to protect a mortgage or an estate, to provide for educational
costs, for retirement or for charity, etc.
Why is Life Insurance Necessary?
People carry life insurance for many reasons. Among the most common are to pay
off a mortgage, or personal debts (car loan, credit cards…), educational costs for
young children, for beneficiaries to be able to maintain their current standard of
living, for child care, for immediate financial needs, and medical or funeral costs.
How Might Life Insurance Needs Change Over Time?
If an individual has finished raising their family, has paid off their mortgage and
no longer has major financial obligations, then their life insurance needs will be
lower than when they were younger. An individual may choose to no longer carry
their insurance or to reduce their coverage amount to a level just sufficient to
ensure that their survivors have enough money to pay final expenses (burial,
medical, estate taxes…).
How Does Life Insurance Work?
All aspects of life involve risk, e.g., fire, theft, auto accidents, injury. Insurance
provides a means of transferring the financial consequences of certain risks from
the individual to an insurance company. When an individual buys life insurance,
they are grouped together with other people who are similar in age, sex, and
health. Actuaries calculate how many people in each group are likely to die in a
period of time. The more deaths there are in a group, the more money will be
needed to pay death claims, and therefore, more money will have to be collected
as premiums.
Since younger people are less likely to die than older people,
insurance premiums are generally lower at younger ages. Each year, the insured
pays the insurance company for their insurance policy. This money is called a
premium. The insured also informs the insurance company who should get the
insurance money if they (the insured) die. This is a called designating a
beneficiary. If the insured dies while their policy is active, the insurance company
will pay the beneficiaries the insurance money. Insurance companies can do this
because only a small number of people die each year, while many more people pay
them premiums. The “risk” of death is spread out among many people in order to
prevent a financial loss to the beneficiaries of the few who will die.
What Is An Actuary?
An actuary is a person who is professionally trained in the technical aspects of
insurance, particularly in the mathematics of insurance, such as calculating
premiums, dividends, and proper policy reserves. Actuaries assist in estimating the
cost of implementing new benefits or benefit enhancements and also conduct
statistical and financial studies.
How much does life insurance cost?
In order to buy a life insurance policy, you must pay premiums to the life
insurance company. The amount of premiums payable depends upon the type of
policy, term of policy contract, sum assured and your age.
A Brief History of Insurance Sector:
Insurance in India can be traced back to the Vedas. For instance, yogakshema, the
name of Life Insurance Corporation of India's corporate headquarters, is derived
from the Rig Veda. The term suggests that a form of "community insurance" was
prevalent around 1000 BC and practised by the Aryans. Burial societies of the kind
found in ancient Rome were formed in the Buddhist period to help families build
houses, protect widows and children.
Bombay Mutual Assurance Society, the first Indian life assurance
society, was formed in 1870. Other companies like Oriental, Bharat and Empire of
India were also set up in the 1870-90s. It was during the swadeshi movement in
the early 20th century that insurance witnessed a big boom in India with several
more companies being set up. The Insurance Act was passed in 1912, followed by
a detailed and amended Insurance Act of 1938 that looked into investments,
expenditure and management of these companies' funds.
The business of life insurance in India in its existing form started in
India in the year 1818 with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Co. in
Calcutta.
Some of the important milestones in the life ins. business in India are:
1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to
regulate the life insurance business.
1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to
collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.
1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with
the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.
1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies taken over by the
central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz.
LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of
India.
The General insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to
the Triton Insurance Company Ltd., the first general insurance company
established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British. Some of the important
milestones in the general insurance business in India are:
1907:
The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. set up, the first company to transact all
classes of general insurance business.
1957:
General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a
code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.
1968:
The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency
margins and the Tariff Advisory Committee set up.
1972:
The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 nationalized the
general insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973.
107 insurers amalgamated and grouped into four
companies’ viz. the National Insurance Company Ltd., the New
India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company
Ltd. and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. GIC incorporated
as a company.
For years thereafter, insurance remained a monopoly of the public
sector. It was only after seven years of deliberation and debate - after the RN
Malhotra Committee report of 1994 became the first serious document calling for
the re-opening up of the insurance sector to private players -- that the sector was
finally opened up to private players in 2001.
The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority, an autonomous insurance
regulator set up in 2000, has extensive powers to oversee the insurance business
and regulate in a manner that will safeguard the interests of the insured.
Insurance Sector Reforms:
In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI
Governor R. N. Malhotra, was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry
and recommend its future direction.
The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of
complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector.
The reforms were aimed at “creating a more efficient and competitive
financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the
structural changes currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an
important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address
the need for similar reforms…”.
In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key
recommendation included:
i) Structure
Government stake in the insurance Companies to be brought down to 50%
Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so
that these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations
All the insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate
ii) Competition
Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.1bn should be
allowed to enter the industry
No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance through a
single entity
Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration
with the domestic companies
Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market
Only one State Level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to operate
in each state
iii) Regulatory Body
The Insurance Act should be changed
An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up
Controller of Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance Ministry) should
be made independent
iv) Investments
Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to be
reduced from 75% to 50%
GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any company
(There current holdings to be brought down to this level over a period of
time)
v) Customer Service
LIC should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30 days
Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked pension
plans
Computerization of operations and updating of technology to be carried out
in the insurance industry
The committee emphasized that in order to improve the customer
services and increase the coverage of the insurance industry should be opened up
to competition. But at the same time, the committee felt the need to exercise
caution as any failure on the part of new players could ruin the public confidence
in the industry.
Hence, it was decided to allow competition in a limited way by
stipulating the minimum capital requirement of Rs.100 crores. The committee felt
the need to provide greater autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve
their performance and enable them to act as independent companies with
economic motives. For this purpose, it had proposed setting up an independent
regulatory body.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
Reforms in the Insurance sector were initiated with the passage of the IRDA Bill
in Parliament in December 1999. The IRDA since its incorporation as a statutory
body in April 2000 has fastidiously stuck to its schedule of framing regulations
and registering the private sector insurance companies. The other decisions taken
simultaneously to provide the supporting systems to the insurance sector and in
particular the life insurance companies was the launch of the IRDA’s online
service for issue and renewal of licenses to agents.
The approval of institutions for imparting training to agents has also
ensured that the insurance companies would have a trained workforce of insurance
agents in place to sell their products, which are expected to be introduced by early
next year. Since being set up as an independent statutory body the IRDA has put in
a framework of globally compatible regulations. In the private sector 12 life
insurance and 6 general insurance companies have been registered.
With the Insurance Regulatory and Development Act, the focus
shifted to the following:
* The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) should give
priority to health insurance while issuing certificates of registration;
* Policyholders' funds will be invested in the social sector and infrastructure.
The percentage may be specified by the IRDA and such regulations will apply to
all insurers operating in the country;
* Insurers will be expected to undertake a certain percentage of business in the
rural or social sector and provide policies to persons residing in rural areas,
workers in the unorganized and informal economically back;
* In case the insurers fail to meet the social sector obligation a fine of Rs.2.5
mn. would be imposed the first time. Subsequent failures would result in
cancellation of licences.
Role of Life Insurance:
► Role 1: Life insurance as "Investment":
Insurance is an attractive option for investment. While most people recognize the
risk hedging and tax saving potential of insurance, many are not aware of its
advantages as an investment option as well. Insurance products yield more
compared to regular investment options, and this is besides the added incentives
offered by insurers. You cannot compare an insurance product with other
investment schemes for the simple reason that it offers financial protection from
risks, something that is missing in non-insurance products. In fact, the premium
you pay for an insurance policy is an investment against risk.
Thus, before comparing with other schemes, you must accept that a
part of the total amount invested in life insurance goes towards providing for the
risk cover, while the rest is used for savings. In life insurance, unlike non-life
products, you get maturity benefits on survival at the end of the term. In other
words, if you take a life insurance policy for 20 years and survive the term, the
amount invested as premium in the policy will come back to you with added
returns. In the unfortunate event of death within the tenure of the policy, the family
of the deceased will receive the sum assured. Thus insurance is a unique
investment avenue that delivers sound returns in addition to protection.
► Role 2: Life insurance as "Risk cover”:
First and foremost, insurance is about risk cover and protection - financial
protection, to be more precise - to help outlast life's unpredictable losses. Designed
to safeguard against losses suffered on account of any unforeseen event, insurance
provides you with that unique sense of security that no other form of investment
provides. By buying life insurance, you buy peace of mind and are prepared to
face any financial demand that would hit the family in case of an untimely demise.
To provide such protection, insurance firms collect contributions from many
people who face the same risk. A loss claim is paid out of the total premium
collected by the insurance companies, who act as trustees to the monies.
Insurance also provides a safeguard in the case of accidents or a drop
in income after retirement. An accident or disability can be devastating, and an
insurance policy can lend timely support to the family in such times. It also comes
as a great help when you retire, in case no untoward incident happens during the
term of the policy.
With the entry of private sector players in insurance, you have a
wide range of products and services to choose from. Further, many of these can be
further customized to fit individual/group specific needs. Considering the amount
you have to pay now, it's worth buying some extra sleep.
► Role 3: Life insurance as "Tax planning"
Insurance serves as an excellent tax saving mechanism too. The Government of
India has offered tax incentives to life insurance products in order to facilitate the
flow of funds into productive assets. Under Section 88 of Income Tax Act 1961, an
individual is entitled to a rebate of 20 per cent on the annual premium payable on
his/her life and life of his/her children or adult children.
The rebate is deductible from tax payable by the individual or a
Hindu Undivided Family. This rebate is can be availed up to a maximum of Rs
12,000 on payment of yearly premium of Rs 60,000. By paying Rs 60,000 a year,
you can buy anything upwards of Rs 10 lakh in sum assured. (depending upon the
age of the insured and term of the policy) This means that you get Rs 12,000 tax
benefit. The rebate is deductible from the tax payable by an individual or a Hindu
Undivided Family.
Risks and uncertainties are part of life's great adventure -- accident, illness,
theft, natural disaster - they're all built into the working of the Universe,
waiting to happen.
Major Players of Life Insurance:
STRUCTURE OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Historical Perspective
I ). Prior to 1956 242 Companies operating
II ). 1956 - 2001 Nationalization – LIC monopoly
Player – Government control
III) 2001 -- Opened up sector
PRESENT STRUCTURE OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY
1. a. LIC – Fully owned by Government
b. Postal Life Insurance
2. Private players -
a. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
b. Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (BSLI)
c. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (HDFC STD LIFE)
d. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (ICICI PRU)
e. ING Vysya Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (ING VYSYA)
f. Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (MNYL)
g. MetLife India Insurance Co. Pvt. Ltd. (METLIFE)
h. SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (SBI LIFE)
i. TATA AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (TATA AIG)
j. AMP Sanmar Assurance Co. Ltd. (AMP SANMAR)
k. Aviva Life Insurance Co. Pvt. Ltd. (AVIVA)
l. Sahara India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (SAHARA LIFE)
3. Other likely players – PNB Life Insurance, Reliance Life Insurance,
and Axa Bharti Enterprises.
The introduction of private players in the industry has added to the colors in the dull
industry. The initiatives taken by the private players are very competitive and have given
immense competition to the on time monopoly of the market LIC. Since the advent of the
private players in the market the industry has seen new and innovative steps taken by the
players in this sector. The new players have improved the service quality of the insurance.
As a result LIC down the years have seen the declining phase in its career. The market
share was distributed among the private players. Though LIC still holds the 75% of the
insurance sector but the upcoming natures of these private players are enough to give
more competition to LIC in the near future. LIC market share has decreased from 95%
(2002-03) to 82 %( 2004-05).
1. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. is one of India’s leading private life
insurance companies, which offers a range of individual and group insurance solutions. It
is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC
Ltd.), India’s leading housing finance institution and The Standard Life Assurance
Company, a leading provider of financial services from the United Kingdom. Their
cumulative premium income, including the first year premiums and renewal premiums is
Rs. 672.3 for the financial year, Apr-Nov 2005. They have managed to cover over
11,00,000 individuals out of which over 3,40,000 lives have been covered through our
group business tie-ups.
2. Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Max New York Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture that brings together
two large forces - Max India Limited, a multi-business corporate, together with New York
Life International, a global expert in life insurance. With their various Products and
Riders, there are more than 400 product combinations to choose from. They have a
national presence with a network of 57 offices in 37 cities across India.
3. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, a
premier financial powerhouse and Prudential plc, a leading international financial
services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. ICICI Prudential was amongst the
first private sector insurance companies to begin operations in December 2000 after
receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). The
company has a network of about 56,000 advisors; as well as 7 bancassurance and 150
corporate agent tie-ups.
5.Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and Sun
Life financial Services of Canada.
Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Ltd.
SBI Life Insurance Company Limited
ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Private Limited
Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Metlife India Insurance Company Pvt. Ltd.
AMP SANMAR Assurance Company Ltd.
Dabur CGU Life Insurance Company Pvt. Ltd.
1. Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Limited
The joint venture bringing together Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance and Sundaram
Finance Limited started its operations from March 2001. The company is Head Quartered
at Chennai, and has two Regional Offices, one at Mumbai and another one at New Delhi.
2. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Auto
Limited and Allianz AG of Germany. Both enjoy a reputation of expertise, stability and
strength.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance received the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority (IRDA) certificate of Registration (R3) on May 2nd, 2001 to conduct General
Insurance business (including Health Insurance business) in India. The Company has an
authorized and paid up capital of Rs 110 crores. Bajaj Auto holds 74% and the remaining
26% is held by Allianz, AG, Germany.
3. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between ICICI
Bank Limited and the US-based $ 26 billion Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. ICICI
Bank is India's second largest bank, while Fairfax Financial Holdings is a diversified
financial corporate engaged in general insurance, reinsurance, insurance claims
management and investment management.
Lombard Canada Ltd, a group company of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, is one of
Canada's oldest property and casualty insurers. ICICI Lombard General Insurance
Company received regulatory approvals to commence general insurance business in
August 2001.
4. Cholamandalam General Insurance Company Ltd.
Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited (Chola-MS) is a joint venture
of the Murugappa Group & Mitsui Sumitomo.
Chola-MS commenced operations in October 2002 and has issued more than 1.4 lakh
policies in its first calendar year of operations. The company has a pan-Indian presence
with offices in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Pune,
Indore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Vizag.
5. TATA AIG General Insurance Company Ltd.
Tata AIG General Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture company, formed from the
Tata Group and American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Tata AIG combines the
strength and integrity of the Tata Group with AIG's international expertise and financial
strength. The Tata Group holds 74 per cent stake in the two insurance ventures while AIG
holds the balance 26 per cent stake.
Tata AIG General Insurance Company, which started its operations in India on January
22, 2001, offers the complete range of insurance for automobile, home, personal accident,
travel, energy, marine, property and casualty, as well as several specialized financial
lines.
4.CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
4.1 Distribution Channel
4.2 Life Advisor Profile
4.3 Life Advisor Restrictions
Distribution Channel:
The insurance marketplace is undergoing a transformation that may eventually
lead to significant changes in how consumers purchase insurance products. A
variety of distribution channels are currently used in the market place and some
insurers utilize a combination of distribution channels. These include the Internetled
channels, company led channels, bank-led channels, and agent-led channels.
While it is true that insurance purchasers today have more options
available than they did five years ago, it is unclear if and when these channels will
dominate existing insurance distribution channels. Several obvious factors that
impact on a channel’s adoption are consumer attitudes and preferences. In
particular, it may be that consumers consider insurance products to be more
complex than originally thought. Consumers still do not view even personal lines
insurance products to be commodity products.
The experience of insurance agents has been much different.
Although there have been some changes in the areas of commissions and
production requirements, agents continue to be the primary distribution channel
for insurance products. To gain a better understanding of what factors tend to drive
the adoption of one channel over another, it is helpful to examine some of the
existing literature on innovation adoption and insurance distribution channels.
To date, there are several factors that may explain the low rate of
adoption of alternative distribution channels, it may in part reflect the consumer’s
perception that insurance is a complex product. As noted earlier in the paper,
complexity is one explanation for why different distribution systems co-exist.
Given the low adoption rates for sales via the life advisor, perceived complexity
across insurance lines (personal and commercial) may continue to serve as a
deterrent to adoption. If the advisor has to experience significant gains as a
distribution channel, then perceptions regarding product complexity will have to
change.
Life Advisor Profile:
As a Life Advisor the role would go beyond selling policies. The role would be to
explain life insurance and its benefits to potential customers and help them decide
which plan suits them best after analyzing their financial needs. Hence, life
insurance offers with an opportunity for:
· An exciting / challenging career.
· Flexible work hours.
· Unlimited income with network of contacts.
· Represent a strong, trusted brand.
· Long term economic security.
· Prestige among peers
· Be your own boss and write your own pay cheque.
· Regular incomes for years till the policies sold by you are in force.
Support and Benefits provided by us
As a Life Advisor with Kotak Life Insurance you would enjoy the following
benefits:
1. Enriching training program: An intensive training program before you
commence your new career. This would equip you with all the information and
knowledge about life insurance, its benefits and our products. This would help you
perform your job better and meet your goals. You would also enjoy the benefits of
continuous training and mentoring programs that are designed to update you, apart
from enhancing your selling skills.
2. Mentoring: Training and support from the Company to meet your goals.
Opportunity to learn from industry professionals.
3. Earnings: Entitlement to a percentage of the premium as commission till the
time the policies sold by you are in force.
4. Flexibility: Decide you own working hours and earning goals.
5. Satisfaction: You will help people manage their assets and plan their financial
security, and experience deep satisfaction from making a positive difference in
others lives. You act as a strategist in annuities, business insurance, estate planning
and personal investment, providing both short and long term solutions to financial
risks.
6. Freedom: Continue with your present job occupation if you so desire and treat
this as a parallel source of income. This allows you time to decide if you want to
take the job of a Life Advisor as a full time activity.
7. Attractive additional benefits for high-performers: Palmtops, Planners,
Leather portfolio bags, Offsite conferences, foreign trips and Sales promotional
schemes.
Qualifications required and Expectation
· A wide social network
· Good interpersonal skills
· Desire to meet people
· Attend all training programs
· Follow sales processes
· Maintain customer records
· Enhance company image
· Render customer service
Life Advisor Restrictions:
Any Life Advisor found violating the restrictions listed below is liable to be
terminated from the services of the company.
1. Prohibition of Rebates
All Life Advisors have to strictly comply with Section 41 of the
Insurance Act 1938 as regards prohibition of rebates to clients. The following are
the extracts from Section 41 of the Insurance Act 1938. "No person shall allow or
offer to allow, either directly or indirectly, as an inducement to any person to take
out or renew or continue an insurance in respect of any kind relating to lives or
property in India, any rebate of the whole or part of the commission payable or
any rebate of the premium shown on the policy, nor shall any person taking out or
renewing or continuing a policy accept any rebate, except such rebates as may be
allowed in accordance with the published prospectuses of the insurer"
2 Restrictions on Advertisements
A Life Advisor is strictly prohibited from issuing an "insurance
advertisement" which publicizes Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd.
or its products unless; there is an authorization in writing from the Chief
Marketing Officer of Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. An
"insurance advertisement" means and includes any communication directly or
indirectly related to a policy and intended to result in the eventual sale or
solicitation of a policy from the members of the public, and shall include all forms
of printed and published materials or any material using the print and or electronic
medium for public communication.
3. Payment of premiums
Life Advisors are strictly prohibited from advancing premiums on
behalf of proposers or policyholders.
5. SECTIONAL WORK DONE IN THE COMPANY
5.1 Products Offered
5.2 Work Done at Kotak Life Insurance
5.3 Findings
5.4 Suggestions
Products Offered:
The Following are the types of products offered by Kotak Mahindra;
► Term Insurance Policy
A term insurance policy is a pure risk cover for a specified period of time. What
this means is that the sum assured is payable only if the policyholder dies within
the policy term. For instance, if a person buys Rs 2 lakh policy for 15-years, his
family is entitled to the money if he dies within that 15-year period. What if he
survives the 15-year period? Well, then he is not entitled to any payment; the
insurance company keeps the entire premium paid during the 15-year period.
So, there is no element of savings or investment in such a policy. It
is a 100 per cent risk cover. It simply means that a person pays a certain premium
to protect his family against his sudden death. He forfeits the amount if he outlives
the period of the policy. This explains why the Term Insurance Policy comes at the
lowest cost.
► Whole Life Policy
As the name suggests, a Whole Life Policy is an insurance cover against death,
irrespective of when it happens. Under this plan, the policyholder pays regular
premiums until his death, following which the money is handed over to his family.
This policy, however, fails to address the additional needs of the
insured during his post-retirement years. It doesn't take into account a person's
increasing needs either. While the insured buys the policy at a young age, his
requirements increase over time. By the time he dies, the value of the sum assured
is too low to meet his family's needs. As a result of these drawbacks, insurance
firms now offer either a modified Whole Life Policy or combine in with another
type of policy.
► Endowment Policy
Combining risk cover with financial savings, endowment policies is the most
popular policies in the world of life insurance. In an Endowment Policy, the sum
assured is payable even if the insured survives the policy term. If the insured dies
during the tenure of the policy, the insurance firm has to pay the sum assured just
as any other pure risk cover.
A pure endowment policy is also a form of financial saving, whereby
if the person covered remains alive beyond the tenure of the policy; he gets back
the sum assured with some other investment benefits. In addition to the basic
policy, insurers offer various benefits such as double endowment and marriage/
education endowment plans. The cost of such a policy is slightly higher but worth
its value.
► Money Back Policy
These policies are structured to provide sums required as anticipated expenses
(marriage, education, etc) over a stipulated period of time. With inflation
becoming a big issue, companies have realized that sometimes the money value of
the policy is eroded. That is why with-profit policies are also being introduced to
offset some of the losses incurred on account of inflation.
A portion of the sum assured is payable at regular intervals. On survival the
remainder of the sum assured is payable. In case of death, the full sum assured is
payable to the insured. The premium is payable for a particular period of time.
► Annuities and Pension
In an annuity, the insurer agrees to pay the insured a stipulated sum of money
periodically. The purpose of an annuity is to protect against risk as well as provide
money in the form of pension at regular intervals.
Over the years, insurers have added various features to basic
insurance policies in order to address specific needs of a cross section of people.
The following are the name of product offered to different segment of market:
Individual
Kotak Term Plan
Kotak Preferred Term Plan
Kotak Money Back Plan
Kotak Child Advantage Plan
Kotak Endowment Plan
Kotak Capital Multiplier Plan
Kotak Retirement Income Plan
Kotak Retirement Income Plan
(Unit-linked)
Kotak Safe Investment Plan II
Kotak Flexi Plan
Kotak Easy Growth Plan
Kotak Premium Return Plan
Riders
Group
Employee Benefits
Kotak Term Group plan
Kotak Credit-Term Group plan
Kotak Complete Cover Group plan
Kotak Gratuity Group plan
Kotak Superannuation Group plan
Rural
Kotak Gramin Bima Yojana
Work Done at Kotak Life Insurance:
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance is a company known for its professionalism and
survive that gives value to the customer. Inside story of the company & are above
expectations. At Kotak Mahidra, my training was related to recruitment of life
advisor and to gain knowledge about distribution channel of Insurance business.
Firstly we acquire the knowledge about this prestigious concern after that we
follow the schedule of work prescribed by our training in-charge.
We know that effective management brings down the cost of the
service. So, on that behalf the best way to increase performance is that there
should be proper system of evaluation. We follow this rule in development of
distribution channel. The task was performed under the following way:
A. We follow the criteria of 4*6 as determined by Kotak Life under the
process of segmentation.
B. Then we find the target market as per our perception. It includes
businessman, housewife, govt. employee, retired professional, student, self
employed, professionally qualified person etc.
C. We follow the task under the given time frame.
I am dividing my learning experience into the above-mentioned parts for better
understanding:
a) Marketing or getting people’s perception at the time of profile of life
advisor, about the new private life insurance companies and also about the
products of Kotak Life available in the market.
b) Whenever I met a person and talked about Kotak Life the person told me
that he already has a life insurance license from LIC and rigid to belief. In
almost 40% cases I found such answers.
c) The success rate in making life advisor was less due to rigid thought and
negative determination about insurance selling. The second main point was
postponement by target person.
It’s a very tough job to break the monopoly as well as the goodwill of LIC in the
market, after serving 47 years in the country with no competition LIC has created
an atmosphere when people think that life insurance means LIC, and to this
perception, people often say that I have my LIC instead of saying that I have my
life insurance policy.
But with good products & value added services, Kotak Mahindra
emerges as a good player in the private sector.
Practical experience at the time of making an agent:
To convince a person to become an agent off any life insurance company is a very
tough job, because after opening up of the insurance sector the agent force of LIC
has created a mess in the market, by paying the first premium of client from their
own pocket. These types of activities demoralize people from becoming the agent
of a life insurance company.
As data was not provided by the company so my first target source was my friend
circle for the agent purpose. Out of twenty-five leads of mine I made two agents
over there, and rest of people declined due to reasons which are as follows:
a) According to them, it’s not a prestigious job as they belong to good families (in
terms of money).
b) According to them LIC has a strong monopoly in the insurance market and
nobody is going to break it, so it is a time wastage to become an insurance agent
for Kotak Mahindra.
c) They thought that instead of spending their time on Kotak Life they should go
for LIC, which is more beneficial.
d) Money charge is also one of the factors for refusing under the process of life
advisor recruitment.
e) Since they are not ready to become an insurance agent but when I explained
about the Kotak bank and about their Group and have good market goodwill with
ethics, four of them get agreed with me for becoming the agent of Kotak Life.
Findings:
Following Are the Findings of My Study based on the work done in
the company:
Most of the people are satisfied with their work profile. They are not
interested in earning more via insurance industry.
Most of the people felt that the training procedure is quite tough for become
a life advisor due to their circumstances.
The prospective advisors for this kind of job are Professional, retired
personnel from public or private sector, housewives, advocates, student,
other agent (i.e. Post Office Agent), and anyone who have good contact etc.
Most of the people do not know about broker, corporate agents and bank
assurance; they rely on their agents only.
People don’t take seriously the prospects of selling insurance, which can
return them more than satisfactory benefits and commission if they do it
effectively.
Most of the people prefer to become an advisor for Life Insurance
Corporation of India rather than for private companies due to the strong
feeling about Govt. concern.
Some people have their doubts on the credibility and long stay of private
insurance companies.
Many people shows the postponement attitude towards become an advisor
for insurance selling.
Some people who want to earn more not admire the profile of life advisor
due to marketing aspect.
Because of less advertising many people lacking facts about private life
insurance companies.
Suggestions:
In the light of the finding mentioned above, the following suggestions are offered
to improve the functioning of the Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance in terms of
operating efficiency:
Advertising of the insurance product should be used to create awareness
with brand identity.
Insurance should be popularized as the means of securing future rather than
saving tax.
Information should be correctly communicated with their respective people
for increasing brand loyalty.
With the help of excellent services they can develop the position in front of
customer. This is one thing that private players can do.
The processing fees for becoming an advisor is Rs.1000.This should be
borne by the company as it acts as a deterrent in converting prospects into
advisors.
Newspaper/Magazines and television are the most effective medium of
advertising life insurance. So they utilize these medium for popularity.
Insurance advisors should be well trained because they are the people who
directly fulfill the motive of concern.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations
There is some of the recommendation we had come up with while doing this project.
It will help to make insurance more important sector in today’s economy. The need of
the hour is to devise a comprehensive strategy that will help the firms face the
challenges of the future. The financial services industry around the world over is
undergoing a major transformation. It is very important that trained marketing
professionals who are able to communicate specific features of the policy should sell
the policy.
From our study we could find out that people are not aware about the policies
and features of insurance. Therefore Kotak Life is recommended to shed light
on policies and explain the benefits, thus increasing the awareness.
The penetration of insurance in India is around 22%. This indicates that a vast
majority of rural population is not covered. The market player needs to explore
this untapped potential through their marketing and sales network.
Insurance companies will also have to get savvy in distribution. Enhanced
marketing thus will be crucial.
The future seems to belong to financial supermarkets that will offer a
host of services and products to the consumer. In the next millennium all these
activities would play a crucial role in the overall development and maturity of the
insurance industry. They should follow the following factor of success in
insurance business i.e.
* A change in the attitude of the population
Indians have always been wary of employing their hard-earned money in a
venture that will pay them on their death. Insurance has always been used as a Tax
saving tool. No more, no less. It is up to the insurers to educate the people to
secure/insure their future against any unknown calamity and make a shield around
their families and businesses.
* An open and transparent environment created under the IRDA.
The reason for this being on the top of our understanding is that when ever we
have seen any sector open up in India there are always grey areas and unsure
policies. These are not exactly what any player, be it Indian or foreign, looks for. It
creates an air of uncertainty in all the decision making process. Insurance as a
sector requires players who are strong financially and are willing to wait for
returns. This will also help the consumers feel safe that the regulatory is an active
one and cares to do everything possible to keep things under control and help the
insurance environment grow maturely.
* A well-established distribution network.
To cater to the largest democracy in the world is by no means a cakewalk.
Insurance profits are directly related to number of insured and this is in turn
related to the reach. The case in example is of the State Bank of India. The joint
ventures announced have a flavour of network being a critical decider. This is so
because as per the guidelines 15% of the policies written by the 5th financial year
will have to come from the rural area. The banks are the only ones who have that
reach.
* Trained professionals to build and sell the product.
It is said that the insurance agent is the best salesman in the world. He makes
you pay, regularly, an amount promising to pay back only on your death. Thus the
players will require an excellent sales team to sell their products in the now
competitive environment. The importance can be seen from the fact that a lot of
LIC/GIC personal are being poached by the new players.
* A more rationale approach to the investment criteria.
This is a very critical area as far as the government and the players are
concerned. The government as fixed up the investment pattern for the players to
meet its social obligations. The players feel that the compulsion is unjust and will
affect their return on investments. We also need to bear in mind that the insurers
are here not for charity but for profits. So their interest is also to be kept in mind.
* A stringent accounting practice to prevent failures amongst the insurers.
Every insurer will have the hard-earned money of the masses. Any failure of
the insurer on account of unwarranted profligacy will cost the nation in general
and the insured in particular. To prevent any underhand workings of the insurer
and to prevent them from going bust, a stringent accounting practice is imperative.
* A level playing field at all stages of development in the sector for all the
players.
An unbiased environment is where the best comes out of the players. Their real
strength shines through. This is the beauty of capitalism that we are trying to
achieve in our customized manner. This will only help the industry grow and so
will the society.
And last but not the least patience amongst the players and
consumers to wait for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
7. CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions
India has traditionally been a high savings oriented country - often described as
being on par with the thrifty Japan. Insurance sector in the US of A is as big in size
as the banking industry there. This gives us an idea of how important the sector is.
Insurance sector channelises the savings of the people to long term investments. In
India where infrastructure is said to be of critical importance, this sector will bring
the nations own money for the nation.
In 3 years time we would expect the 10% of the population to be
under some sort of an insurance cover. This assuming a premium of Rs. 5000 on
an average, amounts to 100 million x Rs.5000 = Rs. 500 bn. This has made the
sector the hottest one in India after IT.
With social security and security to the public at large being the
agenda for opening the sector, the role of the regulator becomes all the more
serious and one that would be carefully watched at every step. India has an
enormous middle-class that can afford to buy life, health, and disability and
pension plan products. The low level of penetration of life insurance in India
compared to other developed nations can be judged by a comparison of per capita
life premium. Clearly, there is considerable scope to raise per capita life premium
if the market is effectively tapped.
There has been tremendous change in the insurance history. And with it
there has been continuous growth in this sector both in Indian as well as world
context. The opening up of the insurance sector has changed the whole look of the
industry. While the LIC in order to face the competition is coming with new
strategies and new players like Kotak Life are leading the sector due to their
strategic management and tailored made projects.
From our study also we conclude that though the awareness and
people opting for LIC plans are more as compare to Kotak Life but the later are
gaining momentum in the market day by day.
The primary reasons for becoming an insurance advisor, whether life or non-life is
to sell policies of mutual benefit for people. We do not invest in insurance for
returns; rather we invest in it for regrettable necessities. Though a large proportion
of policies available in the country provide for returns, but nobody is looking for
returns to the inflation rate. So what does insurance offer, perhaps peace of mind,
but even that takes time, due to poor claim performance.
The demand for insurance is likely to increase with rising per-capita
incomes, rising literacy rates and increase of the service sector, as has been seen
from the example of several other developing countries. In fact, opening up of the
insurance sector is an integral part of the liberalization process being pursued by
many Developing Countries.
Insurance is a Rs.400 billion business in India and yet its spread in the
country is relatively thin. Insurance as a concept has not been able to make
headway in India. There has been a strong fall in insurance business in recent
years. Furthermore, it can be observed that non-life business is not increasing as
strongly as life business. On the other hand, growth fluctuations have been
relatively small with growth rates varying between 1% and 5%. Life insurance
business by contrast achieved average growth rates of 6%, although the actual
rates ranged from 0% to 13%.
This shows on the one hand the increasing significance of life
insurance as an instrument for old age provisions and on the other hand indicates
the sensitivity of life insurance to changes in the institutional and economic
environment. So lets conduct this business with utmost economy with the spirit of
trusteeship; thereby making insurance widely popular.
And last but not least, More and more insurers are utilizing
distribution channels as they continue to balance the needs of different groups of
consumers against the cost of distributing their products and services. When it
comes to insurance distribution channels one-size does not fit all.
8. APPENDIXES
8.1 Glossary
8.2 Bibliography
8. 3 Questionery
GLOSSARY
A
Accident: A sudden and unintentional happening leading to a loss. In the context of life
insurance, it is a sudden and unforeseen happening that causes disability or death of the
policyholder.
Accidental Death Benefit: An add-on benefit in which the benefit is payable in the event
of death of the life insured as a result of an accident provided he has opted for this
benefit.
Accumulation Period: The time interval between the commencement of the policy and
the time when benefits are paid out. It is established by the insured.
Actuary: A professional with expertise in technical aspects of insurance. An actuary is a
statistician and mathematician by training.
Agent (Life Advisor): A representative of an insurance company authorized to sell
insurance policies.
Annuity: The amount paid under an annuity scheme at stipulated intervals like
yearly/half yearly/quarterly/monthly intervals.
Authority: The Insurance Regulatory and Development authority established under subsection
(1) of section 3 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act,
1999.
B
Beneficiary: The person who receives the benefit of a policy in case of death during the
term or the policyholder who receives the benefit on maturity.
Bonus: Bonus is the amount added to the basic sum assured under a with-profit life
insurance policy.
C
Claim: A request for payment of the contractual benefits by the insurer that is made by
the insured or the beneficiary.
Concealment: When an applicant withholds critical information from the insurance
company, it is called concealment. For instance, if the applicant is suffering from a
terminal disease and he does not notify the company of this, he is concealing information.
D
Death Benefit: The benefit received by the beneficiary (ies) on the death of the insured.
E
Endowment Plan: A plan in which the amount is paid to a policyholder if he outlives the
tenure of the contract or to the beneficiary if the insured person dies before the date on
which the policy matures.
F
Free look period: A free look period gives the client an option to review the terms and
conditions of the policy within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy document.
G
Group Life Insurance: Life insurance of a group of people under a policy. This group
should already be in existence and should not have come together only for the purpose of
insurance.
H
Human Life Value: The present value of the family's share of the breadwinner's future
earnings is considered as Human Life Value, for purposes of life insurance.
I
IRDA: The acronym for the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, it
is the apex body overseeing the insurance business in India. It protects the interests of the
policyholders, regulates, promotes and ensures orderly growth of the insurance industry
and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
L
Lapse: The termination of an insurance policy due to non-payment of premia.
Level Premium Life Insurance: Life insurance for which the premium remains
unchanged year after year.
License: Permission granted by IRDA to the applicant for commencement of the ins.
business in India.
M
Money Back Plan: A plan in which part of the sum assured is paid back to the
policyholder at regular intervals.
Maturity Date: The date on which the policy term expires.
N
Nomination: A provision by which a policyholder can designate any person to receive
the policy money in the event of his death.
Nominee: A person selected by the policyholder to receive the benefit in case of death of
the life insured.
P
Policyholder: The person who owns the policy, in this case, a life insurance policy.
Premium: The amount paid by a policyholder to the insurance company, in order to be
covered under a policy.
R
Rider: An add-on benefit available at the option of the policyholders that may alter
certain features of a policy by increasing or restricting benefits.
Reinsurance: The transfer of part of the risk by the original insurance company to one or
more reinsurers.
S
Selling price: This is the price at which you can sell units, based on the market value per
unit, less the relevant trading costs associated with selling the assets.
Surrender Value: A value payable if you want to surrender the plan before a claim
arises.
T
Term: The tenure of the policy.
Term Cover: A type of life insurance where the sum assured is payable only in the event
of death of the insurer during the specified term.
W
Whole Life Insurance: A life insurance policy where benefits are payable to a
beneficiary on death of the insured, whenever that occurs. The premium payment can
happen for a specified number of years or throughout life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PERIODICALS AND MAGAZINES:
Finance India, Journals
Business world
Annual Report of Kotak Mahindra
BOOKS & ARTICLES:
Article by Mr. S. B. Mathur on Contribution of Life Insurance Sector in The
Economy.
Article By Global Financial Services on Insurance Industry Status dated
September26,2005
WEBSITES
www.kotak.com
www.kotaklifeinsurance.com
www.bimaguru.com
www.irdaindia.org
www.indianexpress.com
www.indiainfoline.com
www.google.co.in
Other related websites.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. ARE YOU EMPLOYED?
YES NO
If YES, only then proceed
2. DO YOU HAVE ANY INSURANCE POLICY?
YES NO
3. WHICH INSURANCE POLICY DO YOU HAVE?
LIFE NON-LIFE BOTH
4. WHICH CO’S INSURANCE POLICY YOU PREFER THE MOST?
(RANK THEM)
a) LIC
b) ICICIPRUDENTIAL
c) SBI LIFE INSURANCE
d) ING VYSYA LIFE
e) RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE
f) KOTAK LIFE INSURENCE
g) ANY OTHER ________( Specify)
5. FOR HOW MANY YEARS DO YOU HAVE INSURANCE POLICY?
(Please Tick)
a) <5Yrs b) 5-10 Yrs c) 10-15 Yrs d) Any Other______
(Specify)
6. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE BENEFITS OF INSURANCE COVER?
(RANK THEM)
a) COVER FUTURE UNCERTAINITY
b) TAX DEDUCTIONS
c) FUTURE INVESTMENT
d) ANY OTHER _________ (Specify)
7. WHICH FEATURE OF YOUR POLICY ATTRACTED YOU TO BUY IT?
(RANK THEM)
a) LOW PREMIUM
b) LARGER RISK COVERANCE
c) MONEY BACK GUARNTEE
d) REPUTATION OF COMPANY
e) EASY ACCESS TO AGENTS
f) ANY OTHER _________ (Specify)
8. YOUR MONTHLY INCOME?
a)<4k b)4k-8k c)8k-12k d)12k-16k e)Other_____(Specify)
9. DO YOU REALLY THINK INSURANCE POLICY COVER IN TODAY’S
SCENARIO IS NOT ESSENTIAL?
_____________________________________________________
10. WHAT’S YOUR PERCEPTION ABOUT INSURANCE?
(RANK THEM)
a) A SAVING TOOL
b) A TAX SAVING DEVICE
c) A TOOL TO PROTECT FUTURE
11. HOW HAS/WOULD YOU BOUGHT/BUY AN INSURANCE?
a) CUSTOMER APPROCHED INSURANCE COs
b) INSURANCE COs APPROCHED CUSTOMER
12. ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE POLICY?
a) SATISFIED SAVING TOOL
b) NOT SATISFIED
c) NOT RESPONDING
13. ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICE AGENT?
a) SATISFIED SAVING TOOL
b) NOT SATISFIED
c) NOT RESPONDING
14 DO YOU PAY TAXES?
YES NO
15. WHERE HAVE YOU INVESTED FOR TAX SAVING?
(RANK THEM)
a) LIC
b) NSC
c) BONDS
d) PPF
e) PF
f) EPF
16.WHICH IS THE BEST FORM OF INVESTMENTS?
(RANK THEM)
a) FIXED ASSETS
b) BANK DEPOSITS
c) JEWELLERY
d) SECURITIES, i.e. Bonds, MFs
e) SHARES
f) INSURANCE
17. WHAT DO YOU INTENT TO GAIN FROM INVESTMENTS?
a) SAVING & RETURNS
b) SECURITY
c) TAX BENIFITS
18. WHAT’S THE RIGHT AGE TO BUY INSURANCE?
a) AFTER 25 Yrs
b) AFTER 35 Yrs
c) AFTER 45 Yrs
d) ANYTIME
19.HOW WOULD YOU RATE INDIAN INSURANCE COs?
a) RIGID PLANS
b) NON-USER FRIENDLY
c) UNSATISFATORY SREVICES
d) NON-AGGRESSIVE
e) SATISFACTORY
f) GOOD
g) VERY GOOD
20. WHAT WOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN AN INSURANCE COs?
(RANK THEM)
a) A TRUSTED NAME
b) FRIENDLY SERVICE & RESPONSIVENESS
c) GOOD PLANS
d) ACCESSIBILITY
21. ARE YOU PLANNING FOR NEW INVESTMENTS?
PLANNING NOT PLANING
22. WOULD YOU GO FOR INSURANCE IF A SERVICE PROVIDER AWAY FROM
THE CITY OFFERS BETTER SERVICE & PRODUCTS?
a) YES
b) NO
c) UNCERTAIN
THANK YOU
NAME:_________________________
ADDRESS:______________________
______________________________
OCCUPATION:___________________
Preface
The Harder You Work…… The Luckier You Get.
The liberalization of the Indian insurance sector has been the subject of much heated
debate for some years. The policy makers where in the catch 22 situation wherein for one they wanted competition, development and growth of this insurance sector which is
extremely essential for channeling the investments in to the infrastructure sector. At the other end the policy makers had the fears that the insurance premier, which are substantial, would seep out of the country; and wanted to have a cautious approach of opening for foreign participation in the sector.
As one of the rare occurrences the entire debate was put on the back burner and the IRDA saw the day of the light thanks to the maturing polity emerging consensus among factions of different political parties. Though some changes and some restrictive clauses as regards to the foreign participation were included the IRDA has opened the doors for the private entry into insurance.
Whether the insurer is old or new, private or public, expanding the market will present multitude of challenges and opportunities. But the key issues, possible trends, opportunities and challenges that insurance sector will have still remains under the realms of the possibilities and speculation. What is the likely impact of opening up India’s insurance sector.
It was a privilege for us to work in a reputed organization- Kotak Mahindra Old
Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. This has given us an opportunity to work in a truly
professional environment where team work score over individual effort, where
there is a helpful atmosphere.
A well planned, properly executed and evaluated training helps a lot in
inoculating good work culture. It provides linkage between student and industry in
order to develop the awareness of individual approach to problem solving based
on the broad understanding of plant machinery, process and mode of operation of
individual organization. The project on “Study of Marketing Channel Available
for Life Insurance” has been made to facilitate effective understanding about the
marketing aspects.
The project training has provided me an opportunity to gain practical experience, which has helped me to increase my sphere of knowledge to a greater extent. I have tried to summarize all our experience and knowledge acquired up till now, in this report. This project is a keen effort to obtain the expected results and fulfill all the information required.
At the end annexure and bibliography are given for effective understanding.
Declaration:-
Acknowledgement
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
1.1 An Overview
1.2 Objectives of the study
1.3 Research Methodology
1.4 Limitation of the study
1.5 Company Profile
2.1 About Kotak Mahindra
2.2 About Old Mutual
2.3 About Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd
2.4 Organization development
2.5 Performance highlights
3 Industry Profile
3.1 Life Insurance Facts
3.2 A Brief History of Insurance Sector
3.3 Insurance Sector Reforms
3.4 Role of Life Insurance
3.5 Major Players of Life Insurance
4 Conceptual Frameworks
4.1 Distribution Channel
4.2 Life Advisor Profile
4.3 Life Advisor Restrictions
5 Sectional Works Done in the Company
5.1 Products Offered
5.2 Work Done at Kotak Life Insurance
5.3 Findings
5.4 Suggestions
6 Recommendations
7 Conclusions
8 Appendixes
8.1Glossary
8.2Bibliography
8. 3Questioery
Acknowledgement:-
When we do anything, we always want to thank all those people who have left an
impression on our lives and inspired us to greatness. Before we got things I would
like to add a few heartfelt words for the people who were part of this project in
numerous ways. Our sincere gratitude to training in-charge Mr. Manish Srivastva
for his valuable guidance, encouragement, useful suggestion, critical evaluation
and unending support which helped us accomplishes the project.
I acknowledge with deep gratitude and respect to the placement Incharge
Mr.Ravi Sharma and Ms. Jashmit Kaur for providing me support for my
project.
Although I have expressed our gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Mr.
Ravi prakash, who helped me in reaching at this stage, but there might be a few,
who’d been left out, I would like to thank all of them for being a constant
motivation and inspiration to me.
Executive summary:-
Life is full of surprises, some pleasant and some not so pleasant. Our families and
we have to live with these uncertainties. Preparing for the uncertainties of life is
what Insurance is all about. Why waste precious moments contemplating tomorrow, when we have to live today? Insurance is a tool, a solution for delegating the worries concerning tomorrow onto a trustworthy institution so that you can start living today.
In other words, Insurance is a legal contract that protects people from the financial costs that result from Loss of life, loss of health, lawsuits, or
property damage. Insurance provides a means for individuals and societies to cope
with some of the risks faced in everyday life. People purchase contracts of
insurance, called policies, from a variety of insurance organizations. Almost everyone living in modern, industrialized countries buys insurance, for instance, laws in most states require people who own a car to buy insurance before driving it on public roads. Lenders require anyone who finances the purchase of a home or car with borrowed money to insure that property. Business partners take out life insurance on each other to make sure that businesswill succeed even if one of the partners dies.
The primary purpose of life insurance is therefore protection of the
family in the event of death. Today, insurance is also seen as a tool to plan
effectively for the future years, retirement, and for children's future needs. Today,
the market offers insurance plans that not just cover the life and but at the same
time grow wealth too. When we insure our life, in effect what we are doing is
insuring our earning capacity. This guarantees that our dependants will be able to
continue living without financial hardships even in case of our demise.
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited was established
in 2000 as a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (74%) and Old
Mutual plc, London (26%). In the life insurance market, Kotak Life Insurance, one
of the fastest growing companies in India; from FY 2005 to 2006 it demonstrated a
substantial premium income growth.
Objectives of the study:-
The main purpose of this project is to identify the trends, progress and
performance of marketing channel in insurance industry. Deregulation in India has
resulted in increased number of players in the market and hence the competition.
This competition has brought about a change in the existing distribution channels.
The new types of distribution channels are wider and are expected to be more
technology oriented for the urban population in future. There also exists a vast
potential for new types of companies coming into the market that support the
existing structure of the industry such as agency management systems and the
brokerage firms.
Recommendations:
The following are the recommendations as per my study:
A change in the attitude of the population
An open and transparent environment created under the IRDA.
A well-established distribution network.
Trained professionals to build and sell the product.
A more rationale approach to the investment criteria.
A stringent accounting practice to prevent failures amongst the insurers.
A level playing field at all stages of development in the sector for all the
players.
And last but not the least patience amongst the players and
consumers to wait for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
1-INTRODUCTION
1.1 An Overview
1.2 Objectives of The Study
1.3 Research Methodology
1.4 Limitation of The Study
An Overview:
Risks and uncertainties are part of life's great adventure -- accident, illness, theft,
natural disaster - they're all built into the working of the Universe, waiting to
happen. For that, insurance is a unique investment avenue that delivers sound
returns in addition to protection. Insurance also provides a safeguard in the case of
accidents or a drop in income after retirement. An accident or disability can be
devastating, and an insurance policy can lend timely support to the family in such
times.
The following are the contribution made by insurance industry to Indian economy:
Life Insurance is the only sector which garners long term savings.
Spread of financial services in rural areas and amongst socially less
privileged.
Provide Long term funds for infrastructure.
Strong positive correlation between development of capital markets and
insurance/ pension sector.
Employment generation i.e. Life insurance industry provides increased
employment opportunities. Employees in insurance sector as on 31st
March, 2005 is around 2 lakhs. Many agents depend on insurance for their
livelihood
Industry also contributes in economic development through investments in
capital market. Present level of investments is over Rs. 40,000 crore. (Mark
to Market basis around 80,000 crores.
The primary motive of any business undertaking is to earn profit.
Insurance industry able to satisfy the object of investor and stakeholder via
providing excellent opportunities. Because, Life Insurance industry is under the
phase of infancy after 50 years of monopoly and also face healthy competition
from within and other sectors of financial market. Insurance industry needs
environmental support till it reaches a comfort zone.
Objective of the Study:
The main objective of this project is to identify the progress and performance of
marketing channel in insurance industry and also gain first hand experience of
how an organization works and to get familiar with the working and structure of
the organization.
The following are the primary objective of study:
To find prospects for appointing them as insurance advisors.
To target the groups of people who can do well as insurance advisors
and be beneficial to the company in bringing prospective clients.
To know the type of people requiring such job of work.
To tell prospects about the flagship policies of the company, where the
company differentiates.
To find out databases from different sources for random calling.
To find out the working process of an insurance agent
To find out how Kotak Mahindra recruits the agents.
To understand the functioning of an insurance company.
To know the origin and history of life insurance companies
To gain experience in different environment with different people
At the same time to show the integration of the various business
processes.
Research Methodology:
THE SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH:
Development of industries depends on several factors such as
financial, technology, quality of the services and social responsibility. Out of
these, marketing aspects assume a significant role in determining the growth of
industries. All of the organization operation virtually affects its need for cash that
create aims to explore this product.
PERIOD OF STUDY:
The period of the study for this project covers two months i.e.
May, 15th 2008 to July, 15th 2008. Further, two month period is a reasonable
period to study the performance of target person and to gain knowledge with
respect of insurance industry.
TYPES OF THE RESEARCH:
It is a descriptive research and the main objective of descriptive
research is to learn about who, what, when and how. It includes study and fact
finding inquiries of different kinds. Thus the major purpose of descriptive
research is the description of the state of affairs, as it exits at present.
FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS:
The study has been undertaken to examine and understand the
marketing aspect for a business playing a crucial role in the growth. The
framework of study concern with structure of marketing channel.
Limitation of the Study:
Throughout the study utmost care has been taken to avoid biases, errors so as to
ensure authenticity and accuracy. But there is possibility for some discrepancies to
come in between due to following limitations:
Respondents may give their biased opinion, as they know the identity of
Management Trainee.
It was difficult to get appointment from the person whom I know because
of their busy schedule.
Since the project had to be completed within eight weeks, it was too short a
time to convert the prospective advisors.
Since the study involved a through analysis of the insurance market and
relative study of various players offering the similar products and that of
similar, it required a dedicated labor in term of both time and effort. Since
the curriculum did not permit more time, the study had to be very limited.
Assumption is made that views and suggestion given by the respondent are
his factual knowledge about information.
The study is not free from communication error.
My study is based on responses of client and guidance of corporation only,
which may not give a true picture.
Last but not the least and the most deciding factor paucity of time.
2-COMPANY PROFILE
2.1 About Kotak Mahindra
2.2 About Old Mutual
2.3 About Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Ins. Ltd.
2.4 Organization Development
2.5 Performance Highlights
About Kotak Mahindra:
Kotak Mahindra one of India's leading financial institutions dedicated to
developing unique products with a special focus on product and service quality.
The Kotak Mahindra Group was born in 1985 as Kotak Capital Management
Finance Limited. This company was promoted by Uday Kotak, Sidney A. A. Pinto
and Kotak & Company. Industrialists Harish Mahindra and Anand Mahindra took
a stake in 1986, and that's when the company changed its name to Kotak Mahindra
Finance Limited. Since then it has been a steady and confident journey to growth
and success from year to year.
In October 2005, Kotak Group acquired the 40% stake in Kotak
Prime held by Ford Credit International (FCI) and FCI acquired the stake in Ford
Credit Kotak Mahindra (FCKM) held by Kotak Group. In May 2006, Kotak Group
bought 25% stake held by Goldman Sachs in Kotak Capital and Kotak Securities.
Kotak Mahindra is one of India's leading financial institutions,
offering complete financial solutions that encompass every sphere of life. From
commercial banking, to stock broking, to mutual funds, to life insurance, to
investment banking, the group caters to the financial needs of individuals and
corporate. Kotak Mahindra, the first and only NBFC in India to covert to a bank,
offer pragmatic, world-class solutions. Solutions that take care of four basic
financial needs i.e. earning, saving, investing and spending.
From commercial banking, to stock broking, to mutual funds, to life
insurance, to investment banking, the group caters to financial needs that
encompass every sphere of life. The group has a net worth of over Rs. 2,500 crore,
employs around 6,700 people in its various businesses and has a distribution
network of branches, franchisees, representative offices and satellite offices across
250 cities and towns in India and offices in New York, London, Dubai and
Mauritius. The Group services over 1.6 million customer accounts.
About Old Mutual:
Old Mutual was established more than 150 years ago and has developed into an
International financial services group whose activities are focused on asset
gathering and asset management. The Old Mutual Group offers a diverse range of
financial services in three principal geographies: South Africa, the United States
and the United Kingdom. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
with a market capitalization of approximately $6 billion and is a member of the
elite FTSE 100 index. In the 2003 rankings of the World's 500 largest corporations
by Fortune magazine, Old Mutual climbed 87 places to position number 366 and
was also listed as the 14th largest insurance company in the world.
Old Mutual is the largest financial services business in South Africa,
through its life insurance, asset management, banking and general insurance
operations. The company serves 4 million life insurance policyholders and
employs over 13 000 South Africans in its local operations. The market share of
Old Mutual in South Africa is around 30%
In the USA, Old Mutual is one of the top ten fixed annuity
businesses offering an array of specialist asset management skills through its 23
asset management businesses. The company’s US Life business recorded sales of
$4 billion at the end of 2002.
Operations in the United Kingdom are focused on wealth
management, through Gerrard as one of the leading private client stock broking
businesses in the UK. Old Mutual is also market leader in United States Annuities
business.
The Old Mutual Group has the ability to cater for a variety of
consumer segments and offers a comprehensive and innovative range of products
for all income groups. Thus, Old Mutual is one of the oldest and largest life
insurance companies in the world.
About Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd:
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. is a joint venture between Kotak
Mahindra Bank Ltd. (KMBL), and Old Mutual plc. At Kotak Life Insurance, we
aim to help customers take important financial decisions at every stage in life by
offering them a wide range of innovative life insurance products, to make them
financially independent. Kotak Mahindra life insurance offer pragmatic, worldclass
solutions i.e. solutions with a lot of common sense.
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited was established
in 2000 as a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (74%) and Old
Mutual plc, London (26%). In the life insurance market, Kotak Life Insurance, one
of the fastest growing companies in India; from FY 2005 to 2006 it demonstrated a
premium income growth of 256%. Kotak Mahindra has also forged strong
Corporate Agency relationships and continues to build on new tie-ups for fast
track growth and deep market penetration
Kotak Life Insurance, with140 branches in over 90 locations, and an
employee force of over 4400 employees, is a company with a high level of brand
awareness. Kotak Life Insurance aspires to a spiraling growth with a strong focus
on customer, products, geography-distribution channel mapping and fund
performance. Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance has launched a slew of need-based
products to cater to each varied needs of the customer.
Kotak Life Insurance's value proposition is based on strong corporate
relationships, superior products, extensive marketing skills and quality of service.
Currently Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance has a product portfolio of 18 products
and more need-based products are in the pipeline. It is also among the first to offer
group insurance products in the Indian market.
Kotak Mahindra life insurance using the entrepreneurial employees and
brand equity with their unique approach to achieve the position of top few private
players with substantial market presence.
Organization development:
1986 Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited starts the activity of Bill Discounting
1987 Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited enters the Lease and Hire Purchase
market
1990 The Auto Finance division is started
1991 The Investment Banking Division is started. Takes over FICOM, one of
India’s largest financial retail marketing networks
1992 Enters the Funds Syndication sector
1995 Brokerage and Distribution businesses incorporated into a separate
company - Kotak Securities. Investment Banking division incorporated into
a separate company - Kotak Mahindra Capital Company
1996 The Auto Finance Business is hived off into a separate company - Kotak
Mahindra Prime Limited. Kotak Mahindra takes a significant stake in Ford
Credit Kotak Mahindra Limited, for financing Ford vehicles.
1998 Enters the mutual fund market with the launch of Kotak Mahindra Asset
Management Company.
2000 Kotak Mahindra ties up with Old Mutual plc. for the Life Insurance
business. And, Kotak Securities launches its on-line broking site (now
www.kotaksecurities.com). Commencement of private equity activity
through setting up of Kotak Mahindra Venture Capital Fund.
2001 Matrix sold to Friday Corporation Launches Insurance Services
2003 Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. converts to a commercial bank – the first
Indian company to do so.
2004 Launches India Growth Fund, a private equity fund.
2005 Kotak Group realigns joint venture in Ford Credit; Buys Kotak Mahindra
Prime (formerly known as Kotak Mahindra Primus Limited) and sells Ford
credit Kotak Mahindra. Launches a real estate fund
Performance Highlights:
Kotak Life Insurance total premium income was Rs. 621.9 crore in FY08 (Rs.
466.2 crore in FY07). First year premium income adjusted for single premium at
1/10th up 82% to Rs. 351.0 crore.
The following are the table that shows the performance of Kotak Mahindra from
beginning to now:
CHAPTER: 3
INDUSTRY PROFILE
3.1 Life Insurance Facts
3.2 A Brief History of Insurance Sector
3.3 Insurance Sector Reforms
3.4 Role of Life Insurance
3.5 Major Players of Life Insurance
Life Insurance Facts:
What Is Life Insurance?
Life insurance provides protection against financial loss resulting from death. It is
an insurance company's promise to pay a beneficiary a specific amount of money
when an insured dies in exchange for timely payment of premiums. The primary
purpose of life insurance is therefore protection of the family in the event of death.
Insurance is also seen as a tool to plan effectively for future years, your retirement,
and for your children's future needs. Today, the market offers insurance plans that
not just cover your life and but at the same time grow your wealth too.
What Is It Intended To Do?
Life insurance offers security in the event of the insured’s death. Life insurance
offers financial protection to survivors. It provides dependents with the necessary
funds to settle financial obligations and to cover the loss of income created by the
insured’s death. Life insurance policies are usually purchased with a specific
intention in mind - to protect a mortgage or an estate, to provide for educational
costs, for retirement or for charity, etc.
Why is Life Insurance Necessary?
People carry life insurance for many reasons. Among the most common are to pay
off a mortgage, or personal debts (car loan, credit cards…), educational costs for
young children, for beneficiaries to be able to maintain their current standard of
living, for child care, for immediate financial needs, and medical or funeral costs.
How Might Life Insurance Needs Change Over Time?
If an individual has finished raising their family, has paid off their mortgage and
no longer has major financial obligations, then their life insurance needs will be
lower than when they were younger. An individual may choose to no longer carry
their insurance or to reduce their coverage amount to a level just sufficient to
ensure that their survivors have enough money to pay final expenses (burial,
medical, estate taxes…).
How Does Life Insurance Work?
All aspects of life involve risk, e.g., fire, theft, auto accidents, injury. Insurance
provides a means of transferring the financial consequences of certain risks from
the individual to an insurance company. When an individual buys life insurance,
they are grouped together with other people who are similar in age, sex, and
health. Actuaries calculate how many people in each group are likely to die in a
period of time. The more deaths there are in a group, the more money will be
needed to pay death claims, and therefore, more money will have to be collected
as premiums.
Since younger people are less likely to die than older people,
insurance premiums are generally lower at younger ages. Each year, the insured
pays the insurance company for their insurance policy. This money is called a
premium. The insured also informs the insurance company who should get the
insurance money if they (the insured) die. This is a called designating a
beneficiary. If the insured dies while their policy is active, the insurance company
will pay the beneficiaries the insurance money. Insurance companies can do this
because only a small number of people die each year, while many more people pay
them premiums. The “risk” of death is spread out among many people in order to
prevent a financial loss to the beneficiaries of the few who will die.
What Is An Actuary?
An actuary is a person who is professionally trained in the technical aspects of
insurance, particularly in the mathematics of insurance, such as calculating
premiums, dividends, and proper policy reserves. Actuaries assist in estimating the
cost of implementing new benefits or benefit enhancements and also conduct
statistical and financial studies.
How much does life insurance cost?
In order to buy a life insurance policy, you must pay premiums to the life
insurance company. The amount of premiums payable depends upon the type of
policy, term of policy contract, sum assured and your age.
A Brief History of Insurance Sector:
Insurance in India can be traced back to the Vedas. For instance, yogakshema, the
name of Life Insurance Corporation of India's corporate headquarters, is derived
from the Rig Veda. The term suggests that a form of "community insurance" was
prevalent around 1000 BC and practised by the Aryans. Burial societies of the kind
found in ancient Rome were formed in the Buddhist period to help families build
houses, protect widows and children.
Bombay Mutual Assurance Society, the first Indian life assurance
society, was formed in 1870. Other companies like Oriental, Bharat and Empire of
India were also set up in the 1870-90s. It was during the swadeshi movement in
the early 20th century that insurance witnessed a big boom in India with several
more companies being set up. The Insurance Act was passed in 1912, followed by
a detailed and amended Insurance Act of 1938 that looked into investments,
expenditure and management of these companies' funds.
The business of life insurance in India in its existing form started in
India in the year 1818 with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Co. in
Calcutta.
Some of the important milestones in the life ins. business in India are:
1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to
regulate the life insurance business.
1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to
collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.
1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with
the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.
1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies taken over by the
central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz.
LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of
India.
The General insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to
the Triton Insurance Company Ltd., the first general insurance company
established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British. Some of the important
milestones in the general insurance business in India are:
1907:
The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. set up, the first company to transact all
classes of general insurance business.
1957:
General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a
code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.
1968:
The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency
margins and the Tariff Advisory Committee set up.
1972:
The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 nationalized the
general insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973.
107 insurers amalgamated and grouped into four
companies’ viz. the National Insurance Company Ltd., the New
India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company
Ltd. and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. GIC incorporated
as a company.
For years thereafter, insurance remained a monopoly of the public
sector. It was only after seven years of deliberation and debate - after the RN
Malhotra Committee report of 1994 became the first serious document calling for
the re-opening up of the insurance sector to private players -- that the sector was
finally opened up to private players in 2001.
The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority, an autonomous insurance
regulator set up in 2000, has extensive powers to oversee the insurance business
and regulate in a manner that will safeguard the interests of the insured.
Insurance Sector Reforms:
In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI
Governor R. N. Malhotra, was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry
and recommend its future direction.
The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of
complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector.
The reforms were aimed at “creating a more efficient and competitive
financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the
structural changes currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an
important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address
the need for similar reforms…”.
In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key
recommendation included:
i) Structure
Government stake in the insurance Companies to be brought down to 50%
Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so
that these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations
All the insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate
ii) Competition
Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.1bn should be
allowed to enter the industry
No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance through a
single entity
Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration
with the domestic companies
Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market
Only one State Level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to operate
in each state
iii) Regulatory Body
The Insurance Act should be changed
An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up
Controller of Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance Ministry) should
be made independent
iv) Investments
Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to be
reduced from 75% to 50%
GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any company
(There current holdings to be brought down to this level over a period of
time)
v) Customer Service
LIC should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30 days
Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked pension
plans
Computerization of operations and updating of technology to be carried out
in the insurance industry
The committee emphasized that in order to improve the customer
services and increase the coverage of the insurance industry should be opened up
to competition. But at the same time, the committee felt the need to exercise
caution as any failure on the part of new players could ruin the public confidence
in the industry.
Hence, it was decided to allow competition in a limited way by
stipulating the minimum capital requirement of Rs.100 crores. The committee felt
the need to provide greater autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve
their performance and enable them to act as independent companies with
economic motives. For this purpose, it had proposed setting up an independent
regulatory body.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
Reforms in the Insurance sector were initiated with the passage of the IRDA Bill
in Parliament in December 1999. The IRDA since its incorporation as a statutory
body in April 2000 has fastidiously stuck to its schedule of framing regulations
and registering the private sector insurance companies. The other decisions taken
simultaneously to provide the supporting systems to the insurance sector and in
particular the life insurance companies was the launch of the IRDA’s online
service for issue and renewal of licenses to agents.
The approval of institutions for imparting training to agents has also
ensured that the insurance companies would have a trained workforce of insurance
agents in place to sell their products, which are expected to be introduced by early
next year. Since being set up as an independent statutory body the IRDA has put in
a framework of globally compatible regulations. In the private sector 12 life
insurance and 6 general insurance companies have been registered.
With the Insurance Regulatory and Development Act, the focus
shifted to the following:
* The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) should give
priority to health insurance while issuing certificates of registration;
* Policyholders' funds will be invested in the social sector and infrastructure.
The percentage may be specified by the IRDA and such regulations will apply to
all insurers operating in the country;
* Insurers will be expected to undertake a certain percentage of business in the
rural or social sector and provide policies to persons residing in rural areas,
workers in the unorganized and informal economically back;
* In case the insurers fail to meet the social sector obligation a fine of Rs.2.5
mn. would be imposed the first time. Subsequent failures would result in
cancellation of licences.
Role of Life Insurance:
► Role 1: Life insurance as "Investment":
Insurance is an attractive option for investment. While most people recognize the
risk hedging and tax saving potential of insurance, many are not aware of its
advantages as an investment option as well. Insurance products yield more
compared to regular investment options, and this is besides the added incentives
offered by insurers. You cannot compare an insurance product with other
investment schemes for the simple reason that it offers financial protection from
risks, something that is missing in non-insurance products. In fact, the premium
you pay for an insurance policy is an investment against risk.
Thus, before comparing with other schemes, you must accept that a
part of the total amount invested in life insurance goes towards providing for the
risk cover, while the rest is used for savings. In life insurance, unlike non-life
products, you get maturity benefits on survival at the end of the term. In other
words, if you take a life insurance policy for 20 years and survive the term, the
amount invested as premium in the policy will come back to you with added
returns. In the unfortunate event of death within the tenure of the policy, the family
of the deceased will receive the sum assured. Thus insurance is a unique
investment avenue that delivers sound returns in addition to protection.
► Role 2: Life insurance as "Risk cover”:
First and foremost, insurance is about risk cover and protection - financial
protection, to be more precise - to help outlast life's unpredictable losses. Designed
to safeguard against losses suffered on account of any unforeseen event, insurance
provides you with that unique sense of security that no other form of investment
provides. By buying life insurance, you buy peace of mind and are prepared to
face any financial demand that would hit the family in case of an untimely demise.
To provide such protection, insurance firms collect contributions from many
people who face the same risk. A loss claim is paid out of the total premium
collected by the insurance companies, who act as trustees to the monies.
Insurance also provides a safeguard in the case of accidents or a drop
in income after retirement. An accident or disability can be devastating, and an
insurance policy can lend timely support to the family in such times. It also comes
as a great help when you retire, in case no untoward incident happens during the
term of the policy.
With the entry of private sector players in insurance, you have a
wide range of products and services to choose from. Further, many of these can be
further customized to fit individual/group specific needs. Considering the amount
you have to pay now, it's worth buying some extra sleep.
► Role 3: Life insurance as "Tax planning"
Insurance serves as an excellent tax saving mechanism too. The Government of
India has offered tax incentives to life insurance products in order to facilitate the
flow of funds into productive assets. Under Section 88 of Income Tax Act 1961, an
individual is entitled to a rebate of 20 per cent on the annual premium payable on
his/her life and life of his/her children or adult children.
The rebate is deductible from tax payable by the individual or a
Hindu Undivided Family. This rebate is can be availed up to a maximum of Rs
12,000 on payment of yearly premium of Rs 60,000. By paying Rs 60,000 a year,
you can buy anything upwards of Rs 10 lakh in sum assured. (depending upon the
age of the insured and term of the policy) This means that you get Rs 12,000 tax
benefit. The rebate is deductible from the tax payable by an individual or a Hindu
Undivided Family.
Risks and uncertainties are part of life's great adventure -- accident, illness,
theft, natural disaster - they're all built into the working of the Universe,
waiting to happen.
Major Players of Life Insurance:
STRUCTURE OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Historical Perspective
I ). Prior to 1956 242 Companies operating
II ). 1956 - 2001 Nationalization – LIC monopoly
Player – Government control
III) 2001 -- Opened up sector
PRESENT STRUCTURE OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY
1. a. LIC – Fully owned by Government
b. Postal Life Insurance
2. Private players -
a. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
b. Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (BSLI)
c. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (HDFC STD LIFE)
d. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (ICICI PRU)
e. ING Vysya Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (ING VYSYA)
f. Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (MNYL)
g. MetLife India Insurance Co. Pvt. Ltd. (METLIFE)
h. SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (SBI LIFE)
i. TATA AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (TATA AIG)
j. AMP Sanmar Assurance Co. Ltd. (AMP SANMAR)
k. Aviva Life Insurance Co. Pvt. Ltd. (AVIVA)
l. Sahara India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (SAHARA LIFE)
3. Other likely players – PNB Life Insurance, Reliance Life Insurance,
and Axa Bharti Enterprises.
The introduction of private players in the industry has added to the colors in the dull
industry. The initiatives taken by the private players are very competitive and have given
immense competition to the on time monopoly of the market LIC. Since the advent of the
private players in the market the industry has seen new and innovative steps taken by the
players in this sector. The new players have improved the service quality of the insurance.
As a result LIC down the years have seen the declining phase in its career. The market
share was distributed among the private players. Though LIC still holds the 75% of the
insurance sector but the upcoming natures of these private players are enough to give
more competition to LIC in the near future. LIC market share has decreased from 95%
(2002-03) to 82 %( 2004-05).
1. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. is one of India’s leading private life
insurance companies, which offers a range of individual and group insurance solutions. It
is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC
Ltd.), India’s leading housing finance institution and The Standard Life Assurance
Company, a leading provider of financial services from the United Kingdom. Their
cumulative premium income, including the first year premiums and renewal premiums is
Rs. 672.3 for the financial year, Apr-Nov 2005. They have managed to cover over
11,00,000 individuals out of which over 3,40,000 lives have been covered through our
group business tie-ups.
2. Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Max New York Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture that brings together
two large forces - Max India Limited, a multi-business corporate, together with New York
Life International, a global expert in life insurance. With their various Products and
Riders, there are more than 400 product combinations to choose from. They have a
national presence with a network of 57 offices in 37 cities across India.
3. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, a
premier financial powerhouse and Prudential plc, a leading international financial
services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. ICICI Prudential was amongst the
first private sector insurance companies to begin operations in December 2000 after
receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). The
company has a network of about 56,000 advisors; as well as 7 bancassurance and 150
corporate agent tie-ups.
5.Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and Sun
Life financial Services of Canada.
Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Ltd.
SBI Life Insurance Company Limited
ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Private Limited
Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Metlife India Insurance Company Pvt. Ltd.
AMP SANMAR Assurance Company Ltd.
Dabur CGU Life Insurance Company Pvt. Ltd.
1. Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Limited
The joint venture bringing together Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance and Sundaram
Finance Limited started its operations from March 2001. The company is Head Quartered
at Chennai, and has two Regional Offices, one at Mumbai and another one at New Delhi.
2. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Auto
Limited and Allianz AG of Germany. Both enjoy a reputation of expertise, stability and
strength.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance received the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority (IRDA) certificate of Registration (R3) on May 2nd, 2001 to conduct General
Insurance business (including Health Insurance business) in India. The Company has an
authorized and paid up capital of Rs 110 crores. Bajaj Auto holds 74% and the remaining
26% is held by Allianz, AG, Germany.
3. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between ICICI
Bank Limited and the US-based $ 26 billion Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. ICICI
Bank is India's second largest bank, while Fairfax Financial Holdings is a diversified
financial corporate engaged in general insurance, reinsurance, insurance claims
management and investment management.
Lombard Canada Ltd, a group company of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, is one of
Canada's oldest property and casualty insurers. ICICI Lombard General Insurance
Company received regulatory approvals to commence general insurance business in
August 2001.
4. Cholamandalam General Insurance Company Ltd.
Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited (Chola-MS) is a joint venture
of the Murugappa Group & Mitsui Sumitomo.
Chola-MS commenced operations in October 2002 and has issued more than 1.4 lakh
policies in its first calendar year of operations. The company has a pan-Indian presence
with offices in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Pune,
Indore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Vizag.
5. TATA AIG General Insurance Company Ltd.
Tata AIG General Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture company, formed from the
Tata Group and American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Tata AIG combines the
strength and integrity of the Tata Group with AIG's international expertise and financial
strength. The Tata Group holds 74 per cent stake in the two insurance ventures while AIG
holds the balance 26 per cent stake.
Tata AIG General Insurance Company, which started its operations in India on January
22, 2001, offers the complete range of insurance for automobile, home, personal accident,
travel, energy, marine, property and casualty, as well as several specialized financial
lines.
4.CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
4.1 Distribution Channel
4.2 Life Advisor Profile
4.3 Life Advisor Restrictions
Distribution Channel:
The insurance marketplace is undergoing a transformation that may eventually
lead to significant changes in how consumers purchase insurance products. A
variety of distribution channels are currently used in the market place and some
insurers utilize a combination of distribution channels. These include the Internetled
channels, company led channels, bank-led channels, and agent-led channels.
While it is true that insurance purchasers today have more options
available than they did five years ago, it is unclear if and when these channels will
dominate existing insurance distribution channels. Several obvious factors that
impact on a channel’s adoption are consumer attitudes and preferences. In
particular, it may be that consumers consider insurance products to be more
complex than originally thought. Consumers still do not view even personal lines
insurance products to be commodity products.
The experience of insurance agents has been much different.
Although there have been some changes in the areas of commissions and
production requirements, agents continue to be the primary distribution channel
for insurance products. To gain a better understanding of what factors tend to drive
the adoption of one channel over another, it is helpful to examine some of the
existing literature on innovation adoption and insurance distribution channels.
To date, there are several factors that may explain the low rate of
adoption of alternative distribution channels, it may in part reflect the consumer’s
perception that insurance is a complex product. As noted earlier in the paper,
complexity is one explanation for why different distribution systems co-exist.
Given the low adoption rates for sales via the life advisor, perceived complexity
across insurance lines (personal and commercial) may continue to serve as a
deterrent to adoption. If the advisor has to experience significant gains as a
distribution channel, then perceptions regarding product complexity will have to
change.
Life Advisor Profile:
As a Life Advisor the role would go beyond selling policies. The role would be to
explain life insurance and its benefits to potential customers and help them decide
which plan suits them best after analyzing their financial needs. Hence, life
insurance offers with an opportunity for:
· An exciting / challenging career.
· Flexible work hours.
· Unlimited income with network of contacts.
· Represent a strong, trusted brand.
· Long term economic security.
· Prestige among peers
· Be your own boss and write your own pay cheque.
· Regular incomes for years till the policies sold by you are in force.
Support and Benefits provided by us
As a Life Advisor with Kotak Life Insurance you would enjoy the following
benefits:
1. Enriching training program: An intensive training program before you
commence your new career. This would equip you with all the information and
knowledge about life insurance, its benefits and our products. This would help you
perform your job better and meet your goals. You would also enjoy the benefits of
continuous training and mentoring programs that are designed to update you, apart
from enhancing your selling skills.
2. Mentoring: Training and support from the Company to meet your goals.
Opportunity to learn from industry professionals.
3. Earnings: Entitlement to a percentage of the premium as commission till the
time the policies sold by you are in force.
4. Flexibility: Decide you own working hours and earning goals.
5. Satisfaction: You will help people manage their assets and plan their financial
security, and experience deep satisfaction from making a positive difference in
others lives. You act as a strategist in annuities, business insurance, estate planning
and personal investment, providing both short and long term solutions to financial
risks.
6. Freedom: Continue with your present job occupation if you so desire and treat
this as a parallel source of income. This allows you time to decide if you want to
take the job of a Life Advisor as a full time activity.
7. Attractive additional benefits for high-performers: Palmtops, Planners,
Leather portfolio bags, Offsite conferences, foreign trips and Sales promotional
schemes.
Qualifications required and Expectation
· A wide social network
· Good interpersonal skills
· Desire to meet people
· Attend all training programs
· Follow sales processes
· Maintain customer records
· Enhance company image
· Render customer service
Life Advisor Restrictions:
Any Life Advisor found violating the restrictions listed below is liable to be
terminated from the services of the company.
1. Prohibition of Rebates
All Life Advisors have to strictly comply with Section 41 of the
Insurance Act 1938 as regards prohibition of rebates to clients. The following are
the extracts from Section 41 of the Insurance Act 1938. "No person shall allow or
offer to allow, either directly or indirectly, as an inducement to any person to take
out or renew or continue an insurance in respect of any kind relating to lives or
property in India, any rebate of the whole or part of the commission payable or
any rebate of the premium shown on the policy, nor shall any person taking out or
renewing or continuing a policy accept any rebate, except such rebates as may be
allowed in accordance with the published prospectuses of the insurer"
2 Restrictions on Advertisements
A Life Advisor is strictly prohibited from issuing an "insurance
advertisement" which publicizes Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd.
or its products unless; there is an authorization in writing from the Chief
Marketing Officer of Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd. An
"insurance advertisement" means and includes any communication directly or
indirectly related to a policy and intended to result in the eventual sale or
solicitation of a policy from the members of the public, and shall include all forms
of printed and published materials or any material using the print and or electronic
medium for public communication.
3. Payment of premiums
Life Advisors are strictly prohibited from advancing premiums on
behalf of proposers or policyholders.
5. SECTIONAL WORK DONE IN THE COMPANY
5.1 Products Offered
5.2 Work Done at Kotak Life Insurance
5.3 Findings
5.4 Suggestions
Products Offered:
The Following are the types of products offered by Kotak Mahindra;
► Term Insurance Policy
A term insurance policy is a pure risk cover for a specified period of time. What
this means is that the sum assured is payable only if the policyholder dies within
the policy term. For instance, if a person buys Rs 2 lakh policy for 15-years, his
family is entitled to the money if he dies within that 15-year period. What if he
survives the 15-year period? Well, then he is not entitled to any payment; the
insurance company keeps the entire premium paid during the 15-year period.
So, there is no element of savings or investment in such a policy. It
is a 100 per cent risk cover. It simply means that a person pays a certain premium
to protect his family against his sudden death. He forfeits the amount if he outlives
the period of the policy. This explains why the Term Insurance Policy comes at the
lowest cost.
► Whole Life Policy
As the name suggests, a Whole Life Policy is an insurance cover against death,
irrespective of when it happens. Under this plan, the policyholder pays regular
premiums until his death, following which the money is handed over to his family.
This policy, however, fails to address the additional needs of the
insured during his post-retirement years. It doesn't take into account a person's
increasing needs either. While the insured buys the policy at a young age, his
requirements increase over time. By the time he dies, the value of the sum assured
is too low to meet his family's needs. As a result of these drawbacks, insurance
firms now offer either a modified Whole Life Policy or combine in with another
type of policy.
► Endowment Policy
Combining risk cover with financial savings, endowment policies is the most
popular policies in the world of life insurance. In an Endowment Policy, the sum
assured is payable even if the insured survives the policy term. If the insured dies
during the tenure of the policy, the insurance firm has to pay the sum assured just
as any other pure risk cover.
A pure endowment policy is also a form of financial saving, whereby
if the person covered remains alive beyond the tenure of the policy; he gets back
the sum assured with some other investment benefits. In addition to the basic
policy, insurers offer various benefits such as double endowment and marriage/
education endowment plans. The cost of such a policy is slightly higher but worth
its value.
► Money Back Policy
These policies are structured to provide sums required as anticipated expenses
(marriage, education, etc) over a stipulated period of time. With inflation
becoming a big issue, companies have realized that sometimes the money value of
the policy is eroded. That is why with-profit policies are also being introduced to
offset some of the losses incurred on account of inflation.
A portion of the sum assured is payable at regular intervals. On survival the
remainder of the sum assured is payable. In case of death, the full sum assured is
payable to the insured. The premium is payable for a particular period of time.
► Annuities and Pension
In an annuity, the insurer agrees to pay the insured a stipulated sum of money
periodically. The purpose of an annuity is to protect against risk as well as provide
money in the form of pension at regular intervals.
Over the years, insurers have added various features to basic
insurance policies in order to address specific needs of a cross section of people.
The following are the name of product offered to different segment of market:
Individual
Kotak Term Plan
Kotak Preferred Term Plan
Kotak Money Back Plan
Kotak Child Advantage Plan
Kotak Endowment Plan
Kotak Capital Multiplier Plan
Kotak Retirement Income Plan
Kotak Retirement Income Plan
(Unit-linked)
Kotak Safe Investment Plan II
Kotak Flexi Plan
Kotak Easy Growth Plan
Kotak Premium Return Plan
Riders
Group
Employee Benefits
Kotak Term Group plan
Kotak Credit-Term Group plan
Kotak Complete Cover Group plan
Kotak Gratuity Group plan
Kotak Superannuation Group plan
Rural
Kotak Gramin Bima Yojana
Work Done at Kotak Life Insurance:
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance is a company known for its professionalism and
survive that gives value to the customer. Inside story of the company & are above
expectations. At Kotak Mahidra, my training was related to recruitment of life
advisor and to gain knowledge about distribution channel of Insurance business.
Firstly we acquire the knowledge about this prestigious concern after that we
follow the schedule of work prescribed by our training in-charge.
We know that effective management brings down the cost of the
service. So, on that behalf the best way to increase performance is that there
should be proper system of evaluation. We follow this rule in development of
distribution channel. The task was performed under the following way:
A. We follow the criteria of 4*6 as determined by Kotak Life under the
process of segmentation.
B. Then we find the target market as per our perception. It includes
businessman, housewife, govt. employee, retired professional, student, self
employed, professionally qualified person etc.
C. We follow the task under the given time frame.
I am dividing my learning experience into the above-mentioned parts for better
understanding:
a) Marketing or getting people’s perception at the time of profile of life
advisor, about the new private life insurance companies and also about the
products of Kotak Life available in the market.
b) Whenever I met a person and talked about Kotak Life the person told me
that he already has a life insurance license from LIC and rigid to belief. In
almost 40% cases I found such answers.
c) The success rate in making life advisor was less due to rigid thought and
negative determination about insurance selling. The second main point was
postponement by target person.
It’s a very tough job to break the monopoly as well as the goodwill of LIC in the
market, after serving 47 years in the country with no competition LIC has created
an atmosphere when people think that life insurance means LIC, and to this
perception, people often say that I have my LIC instead of saying that I have my
life insurance policy.
But with good products & value added services, Kotak Mahindra
emerges as a good player in the private sector.
Practical experience at the time of making an agent:
To convince a person to become an agent off any life insurance company is a very
tough job, because after opening up of the insurance sector the agent force of LIC
has created a mess in the market, by paying the first premium of client from their
own pocket. These types of activities demoralize people from becoming the agent
of a life insurance company.
As data was not provided by the company so my first target source was my friend
circle for the agent purpose. Out of twenty-five leads of mine I made two agents
over there, and rest of people declined due to reasons which are as follows:
a) According to them, it’s not a prestigious job as they belong to good families (in
terms of money).
b) According to them LIC has a strong monopoly in the insurance market and
nobody is going to break it, so it is a time wastage to become an insurance agent
for Kotak Mahindra.
c) They thought that instead of spending their time on Kotak Life they should go
for LIC, which is more beneficial.
d) Money charge is also one of the factors for refusing under the process of life
advisor recruitment.
e) Since they are not ready to become an insurance agent but when I explained
about the Kotak bank and about their Group and have good market goodwill with
ethics, four of them get agreed with me for becoming the agent of Kotak Life.
Findings:
Following Are the Findings of My Study based on the work done in
the company:
Most of the people are satisfied with their work profile. They are not
interested in earning more via insurance industry.
Most of the people felt that the training procedure is quite tough for become
a life advisor due to their circumstances.
The prospective advisors for this kind of job are Professional, retired
personnel from public or private sector, housewives, advocates, student,
other agent (i.e. Post Office Agent), and anyone who have good contact etc.
Most of the people do not know about broker, corporate agents and bank
assurance; they rely on their agents only.
People don’t take seriously the prospects of selling insurance, which can
return them more than satisfactory benefits and commission if they do it
effectively.
Most of the people prefer to become an advisor for Life Insurance
Corporation of India rather than for private companies due to the strong
feeling about Govt. concern.
Some people have their doubts on the credibility and long stay of private
insurance companies.
Many people shows the postponement attitude towards become an advisor
for insurance selling.
Some people who want to earn more not admire the profile of life advisor
due to marketing aspect.
Because of less advertising many people lacking facts about private life
insurance companies.
Suggestions:
In the light of the finding mentioned above, the following suggestions are offered
to improve the functioning of the Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance in terms of
operating efficiency:
Advertising of the insurance product should be used to create awareness
with brand identity.
Insurance should be popularized as the means of securing future rather than
saving tax.
Information should be correctly communicated with their respective people
for increasing brand loyalty.
With the help of excellent services they can develop the position in front of
customer. This is one thing that private players can do.
The processing fees for becoming an advisor is Rs.1000.This should be
borne by the company as it acts as a deterrent in converting prospects into
advisors.
Newspaper/Magazines and television are the most effective medium of
advertising life insurance. So they utilize these medium for popularity.
Insurance advisors should be well trained because they are the people who
directly fulfill the motive of concern.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations
There is some of the recommendation we had come up with while doing this project.
It will help to make insurance more important sector in today’s economy. The need of
the hour is to devise a comprehensive strategy that will help the firms face the
challenges of the future. The financial services industry around the world over is
undergoing a major transformation. It is very important that trained marketing
professionals who are able to communicate specific features of the policy should sell
the policy.
From our study we could find out that people are not aware about the policies
and features of insurance. Therefore Kotak Life is recommended to shed light
on policies and explain the benefits, thus increasing the awareness.
The penetration of insurance in India is around 22%. This indicates that a vast
majority of rural population is not covered. The market player needs to explore
this untapped potential through their marketing and sales network.
Insurance companies will also have to get savvy in distribution. Enhanced
marketing thus will be crucial.
The future seems to belong to financial supermarkets that will offer a
host of services and products to the consumer. In the next millennium all these
activities would play a crucial role in the overall development and maturity of the
insurance industry. They should follow the following factor of success in
insurance business i.e.
* A change in the attitude of the population
Indians have always been wary of employing their hard-earned money in a
venture that will pay them on their death. Insurance has always been used as a Tax
saving tool. No more, no less. It is up to the insurers to educate the people to
secure/insure their future against any unknown calamity and make a shield around
their families and businesses.
* An open and transparent environment created under the IRDA.
The reason for this being on the top of our understanding is that when ever we
have seen any sector open up in India there are always grey areas and unsure
policies. These are not exactly what any player, be it Indian or foreign, looks for. It
creates an air of uncertainty in all the decision making process. Insurance as a
sector requires players who are strong financially and are willing to wait for
returns. This will also help the consumers feel safe that the regulatory is an active
one and cares to do everything possible to keep things under control and help the
insurance environment grow maturely.
* A well-established distribution network.
To cater to the largest democracy in the world is by no means a cakewalk.
Insurance profits are directly related to number of insured and this is in turn
related to the reach. The case in example is of the State Bank of India. The joint
ventures announced have a flavour of network being a critical decider. This is so
because as per the guidelines 15% of the policies written by the 5th financial year
will have to come from the rural area. The banks are the only ones who have that
reach.
* Trained professionals to build and sell the product.
It is said that the insurance agent is the best salesman in the world. He makes
you pay, regularly, an amount promising to pay back only on your death. Thus the
players will require an excellent sales team to sell their products in the now
competitive environment. The importance can be seen from the fact that a lot of
LIC/GIC personal are being poached by the new players.
* A more rationale approach to the investment criteria.
This is a very critical area as far as the government and the players are
concerned. The government as fixed up the investment pattern for the players to
meet its social obligations. The players feel that the compulsion is unjust and will
affect their return on investments. We also need to bear in mind that the insurers
are here not for charity but for profits. So their interest is also to be kept in mind.
* A stringent accounting practice to prevent failures amongst the insurers.
Every insurer will have the hard-earned money of the masses. Any failure of
the insurer on account of unwarranted profligacy will cost the nation in general
and the insured in particular. To prevent any underhand workings of the insurer
and to prevent them from going bust, a stringent accounting practice is imperative.
* A level playing field at all stages of development in the sector for all the
players.
An unbiased environment is where the best comes out of the players. Their real
strength shines through. This is the beauty of capitalism that we are trying to
achieve in our customized manner. This will only help the industry grow and so
will the society.
And last but not the least patience amongst the players and
consumers to wait for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
7. CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions
India has traditionally been a high savings oriented country - often described as
being on par with the thrifty Japan. Insurance sector in the US of A is as big in size
as the banking industry there. This gives us an idea of how important the sector is.
Insurance sector channelises the savings of the people to long term investments. In
India where infrastructure is said to be of critical importance, this sector will bring
the nations own money for the nation.
In 3 years time we would expect the 10% of the population to be
under some sort of an insurance cover. This assuming a premium of Rs. 5000 on
an average, amounts to 100 million x Rs.5000 = Rs. 500 bn. This has made the
sector the hottest one in India after IT.
With social security and security to the public at large being the
agenda for opening the sector, the role of the regulator becomes all the more
serious and one that would be carefully watched at every step. India has an
enormous middle-class that can afford to buy life, health, and disability and
pension plan products. The low level of penetration of life insurance in India
compared to other developed nations can be judged by a comparison of per capita
life premium. Clearly, there is considerable scope to raise per capita life premium
if the market is effectively tapped.
There has been tremendous change in the insurance history. And with it
there has been continuous growth in this sector both in Indian as well as world
context. The opening up of the insurance sector has changed the whole look of the
industry. While the LIC in order to face the competition is coming with new
strategies and new players like Kotak Life are leading the sector due to their
strategic management and tailored made projects.
From our study also we conclude that though the awareness and
people opting for LIC plans are more as compare to Kotak Life but the later are
gaining momentum in the market day by day.
The primary reasons for becoming an insurance advisor, whether life or non-life is
to sell policies of mutual benefit for people. We do not invest in insurance for
returns; rather we invest in it for regrettable necessities. Though a large proportion
of policies available in the country provide for returns, but nobody is looking for
returns to the inflation rate. So what does insurance offer, perhaps peace of mind,
but even that takes time, due to poor claim performance.
The demand for insurance is likely to increase with rising per-capita
incomes, rising literacy rates and increase of the service sector, as has been seen
from the example of several other developing countries. In fact, opening up of the
insurance sector is an integral part of the liberalization process being pursued by
many Developing Countries.
Insurance is a Rs.400 billion business in India and yet its spread in the
country is relatively thin. Insurance as a concept has not been able to make
headway in India. There has been a strong fall in insurance business in recent
years. Furthermore, it can be observed that non-life business is not increasing as
strongly as life business. On the other hand, growth fluctuations have been
relatively small with growth rates varying between 1% and 5%. Life insurance
business by contrast achieved average growth rates of 6%, although the actual
rates ranged from 0% to 13%.
This shows on the one hand the increasing significance of life
insurance as an instrument for old age provisions and on the other hand indicates
the sensitivity of life insurance to changes in the institutional and economic
environment. So lets conduct this business with utmost economy with the spirit of
trusteeship; thereby making insurance widely popular.
And last but not least, More and more insurers are utilizing
distribution channels as they continue to balance the needs of different groups of
consumers against the cost of distributing their products and services. When it
comes to insurance distribution channels one-size does not fit all.
8. APPENDIXES
8.1 Glossary
8.2 Bibliography
8. 3 Questionery
GLOSSARY
A
Accident: A sudden and unintentional happening leading to a loss. In the context of life
insurance, it is a sudden and unforeseen happening that causes disability or death of the
policyholder.
Accidental Death Benefit: An add-on benefit in which the benefit is payable in the event
of death of the life insured as a result of an accident provided he has opted for this
benefit.
Accumulation Period: The time interval between the commencement of the policy and
the time when benefits are paid out. It is established by the insured.
Actuary: A professional with expertise in technical aspects of insurance. An actuary is a
statistician and mathematician by training.
Agent (Life Advisor): A representative of an insurance company authorized to sell
insurance policies.
Annuity: The amount paid under an annuity scheme at stipulated intervals like
yearly/half yearly/quarterly/monthly intervals.
Authority: The Insurance Regulatory and Development authority established under subsection
(1) of section 3 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act,
1999.
B
Beneficiary: The person who receives the benefit of a policy in case of death during the
term or the policyholder who receives the benefit on maturity.
Bonus: Bonus is the amount added to the basic sum assured under a with-profit life
insurance policy.
C
Claim: A request for payment of the contractual benefits by the insurer that is made by
the insured or the beneficiary.
Concealment: When an applicant withholds critical information from the insurance
company, it is called concealment. For instance, if the applicant is suffering from a
terminal disease and he does not notify the company of this, he is concealing information.
D
Death Benefit: The benefit received by the beneficiary (ies) on the death of the insured.
E
Endowment Plan: A plan in which the amount is paid to a policyholder if he outlives the
tenure of the contract or to the beneficiary if the insured person dies before the date on
which the policy matures.
F
Free look period: A free look period gives the client an option to review the terms and
conditions of the policy within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy document.
G
Group Life Insurance: Life insurance of a group of people under a policy. This group
should already be in existence and should not have come together only for the purpose of
insurance.
H
Human Life Value: The present value of the family's share of the breadwinner's future
earnings is considered as Human Life Value, for purposes of life insurance.
I
IRDA: The acronym for the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, it
is the apex body overseeing the insurance business in India. It protects the interests of the
policyholders, regulates, promotes and ensures orderly growth of the insurance industry
and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
L
Lapse: The termination of an insurance policy due to non-payment of premia.
Level Premium Life Insurance: Life insurance for which the premium remains
unchanged year after year.
License: Permission granted by IRDA to the applicant for commencement of the ins.
business in India.
M
Money Back Plan: A plan in which part of the sum assured is paid back to the
policyholder at regular intervals.
Maturity Date: The date on which the policy term expires.
N
Nomination: A provision by which a policyholder can designate any person to receive
the policy money in the event of his death.
Nominee: A person selected by the policyholder to receive the benefit in case of death of
the life insured.
P
Policyholder: The person who owns the policy, in this case, a life insurance policy.
Premium: The amount paid by a policyholder to the insurance company, in order to be
covered under a policy.
R
Rider: An add-on benefit available at the option of the policyholders that may alter
certain features of a policy by increasing or restricting benefits.
Reinsurance: The transfer of part of the risk by the original insurance company to one or
more reinsurers.
S
Selling price: This is the price at which you can sell units, based on the market value per
unit, less the relevant trading costs associated with selling the assets.
Surrender Value: A value payable if you want to surrender the plan before a claim
arises.
T
Term: The tenure of the policy.
Term Cover: A type of life insurance where the sum assured is payable only in the event
of death of the insurer during the specified term.
W
Whole Life Insurance: A life insurance policy where benefits are payable to a
beneficiary on death of the insured, whenever that occurs. The premium payment can
happen for a specified number of years or throughout life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PERIODICALS AND MAGAZINES:
Finance India, Journals
Business world
Annual Report of Kotak Mahindra
BOOKS & ARTICLES:
Article by Mr. S. B. Mathur on Contribution of Life Insurance Sector in The
Economy.
Article By Global Financial Services on Insurance Industry Status dated
September26,2005
WEBSITES
www.kotak.com
www.kotaklifeinsurance.com
www.bimaguru.com
www.irdaindia.org
www.indianexpress.com
www.indiainfoline.com
www.google.co.in
Other related websites.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. ARE YOU EMPLOYED?
YES NO
If YES, only then proceed
2. DO YOU HAVE ANY INSURANCE POLICY?
YES NO
3. WHICH INSURANCE POLICY DO YOU HAVE?
LIFE NON-LIFE BOTH
4. WHICH CO’S INSURANCE POLICY YOU PREFER THE MOST?
(RANK THEM)
a) LIC
b) ICICIPRUDENTIAL
c) SBI LIFE INSURANCE
d) ING VYSYA LIFE
e) RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE
f) KOTAK LIFE INSURENCE
g) ANY OTHER ________( Specify)
5. FOR HOW MANY YEARS DO YOU HAVE INSURANCE POLICY?
(Please Tick)
a) <5Yrs b) 5-10 Yrs c) 10-15 Yrs d) Any Other______
(Specify)
6. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE BENEFITS OF INSURANCE COVER?
(RANK THEM)
a) COVER FUTURE UNCERTAINITY
b) TAX DEDUCTIONS
c) FUTURE INVESTMENT
d) ANY OTHER _________ (Specify)
7. WHICH FEATURE OF YOUR POLICY ATTRACTED YOU TO BUY IT?
(RANK THEM)
a) LOW PREMIUM
b) LARGER RISK COVERANCE
c) MONEY BACK GUARNTEE
d) REPUTATION OF COMPANY
e) EASY ACCESS TO AGENTS
f) ANY OTHER _________ (Specify)
8. YOUR MONTHLY INCOME?
a)<4k b)4k-8k c)8k-12k d)12k-16k e)Other_____(Specify)
9. DO YOU REALLY THINK INSURANCE POLICY COVER IN TODAY’S
SCENARIO IS NOT ESSENTIAL?
_____________________________________________________
10. WHAT’S YOUR PERCEPTION ABOUT INSURANCE?
(RANK THEM)
a) A SAVING TOOL
b) A TAX SAVING DEVICE
c) A TOOL TO PROTECT FUTURE
11. HOW HAS/WOULD YOU BOUGHT/BUY AN INSURANCE?
a) CUSTOMER APPROCHED INSURANCE COs
b) INSURANCE COs APPROCHED CUSTOMER
12. ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE POLICY?
a) SATISFIED SAVING TOOL
b) NOT SATISFIED
c) NOT RESPONDING
13. ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICE AGENT?
a) SATISFIED SAVING TOOL
b) NOT SATISFIED
c) NOT RESPONDING
14 DO YOU PAY TAXES?
YES NO
15. WHERE HAVE YOU INVESTED FOR TAX SAVING?
(RANK THEM)
a) LIC
b) NSC
c) BONDS
d) PPF
e) PF
f) EPF
16.WHICH IS THE BEST FORM OF INVESTMENTS?
(RANK THEM)
a) FIXED ASSETS
b) BANK DEPOSITS
c) JEWELLERY
d) SECURITIES, i.e. Bonds, MFs
e) SHARES
f) INSURANCE
17. WHAT DO YOU INTENT TO GAIN FROM INVESTMENTS?
a) SAVING & RETURNS
b) SECURITY
c) TAX BENIFITS
18. WHAT’S THE RIGHT AGE TO BUY INSURANCE?
a) AFTER 25 Yrs
b) AFTER 35 Yrs
c) AFTER 45 Yrs
d) ANYTIME
19.HOW WOULD YOU RATE INDIAN INSURANCE COs?
a) RIGID PLANS
b) NON-USER FRIENDLY
c) UNSATISFATORY SREVICES
d) NON-AGGRESSIVE
e) SATISFACTORY
f) GOOD
g) VERY GOOD
20. WHAT WOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN AN INSURANCE COs?
(RANK THEM)
a) A TRUSTED NAME
b) FRIENDLY SERVICE & RESPONSIVENESS
c) GOOD PLANS
d) ACCESSIBILITY
21. ARE YOU PLANNING FOR NEW INVESTMENTS?
PLANNING NOT PLANING
22. WOULD YOU GO FOR INSURANCE IF A SERVICE PROVIDER AWAY FROM
THE CITY OFFERS BETTER SERVICE & PRODUCTS?
a) YES
b) NO
c) UNCERTAIN
THANK YOU
NAME:_________________________
ADDRESS:______________________
______________________________
OCCUPATION:___________________
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Brand evaluation for financial investement and customer satisfaction measurement
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We have taken this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude towards the pillars of successful completion of our Summer Internship Projects at Spear Business Academy, Mumbai without whose unflinching assistance & co-operation at all times it would rather have been impossible for us to achieve the desired goal.
Technologically advancement will enable us to get the environment we desire. In this era of modernization & sophistication our endeavour to achieve complete and perfect knowledge in the field we choose will be successful only with the help of guidance, direction, stimulation & encouragement by our esteemed professors. We the students of MBA-Marketing, IBSAR are proud to reiterate that our best professors have always emphasized on the importance of self-culture and stimulate us to gain possible knowledge by exercise of our own facilities. They have tried to make their students ‘active partners’ in the work of education, but not passive receivers of information. The great mantra of success according to our respected director Dr.. M.L.Monga is “Know your passion quotient first, get hold of it and work with complete dedication to achieve your goal.”
We express our sincere thanks to our respected director Dr.. M.L.Monga , deputy director Prof. Mrs. Manju Aggarwal, Prof. Mr. Kumar for availing us this great opportunity to learn vital element of this corporate world through summer internship. We also express our sincere gratitude toward all other faculties and staff of IBSAR who always helped us to know and learn various aspects of Marketing management at various stages of our curriculum.
ABSTRACT
“Do you want to send your kid to a playschool run by a foreign company in your neighbourhood?” perhaps, you may be able to do so. That is, if a proposal by the Union commerce ministry to allow foreign direct investment in education in India is approved by the Manmohan Singh Cabinet.
Already a number of foreign universities and companies that operate in the education sector have shown keen interest to enter India. One of the first proposals has come from Denmark-based Egmont Imaginations that has submitted a proposal to the Indian government to set up 200 playschools in India.
Also American major universities like Yale, Stanford and Georgia Institute of Technology have announced that they are keen to set up Greenfield campuses in India as and when the country liberalises education.
After allowing FDI in key sectors such as telecom, insurance, food processing and even retail, the Manmohan Singh government is toying with the idea of permitting foreign investment in elementary and higher education. FDI in education will help Indian students to study in an environment of world class labs and libraries. It will also help Indian students tremendously in getting jobs in multinational companies.
INDIA is the third largest higher education system in the world (after China and the USA) in terms of enrolment which in 2005-06 was over one crore five lakhs. In terms of the number of institutions, India is the largest higher education system in the world with
17,973 institutions (348 universities and 17,625 colleges), of these, there are 63 unaided deemed universities with enrolment of 60,000 students, and 7650 unaided private colleges with enrolment of 31, 50,000 students.
The figures mentioned above are very much self explanatory for industry size of education in India. In our summer internship project we have handled project under BIRD division of SBA of evaluation of brand of a SBA which has its branches in many parts of our country for improvement.
As already mentioned that govt has made foreign investments allowed into our education system. It is going to be great revolutionary step towards globalisation of Indian education, as this will help many of upcoming and struggling educational organisations to cope up with their infrastructure and other needs.
Also from investor’s viewpoint investment in such big industry i.e. Indian education system is going to be huge return on investment.
We at BIRD have evaluated brand SBA through all aspect like brand reputation, brand perception, students satisfaction & expectation, infrastructure, faculty, etc.
In this project report we have mentioned our overall code of conduct for this project, method of sampling, questionnaire design, way of interviewing, data collection and analysis overall conclusion over brand SBA, so that our client at SBA would feel easier to decide over his in which area improvement is needed.
Brand Evaluation for Improvement
We got this project of evaluating the brand SBA as our SBA wants to improvement in Business.
1. We have to measure brand perception of SBA.
2. To analyse collected data and comment over decision of investment.
3. Find out well maintained and areas need to be improvised.
Ø Executive summery:
Objectives:
After allowing FDI in key sectors such as telecom, insurance, food processing and even retail, the Manmohan Singh government is toying with the idea of permitting foreign investment in elementary and higher education. FDI in education will help Indian students to study in an environment of world class labs and libraries. It will also help Indian students tremendously in getting jobs in multinational companies.
Also from investor’s viewpoint investment in such big industry i.e. Indian education system is going to be huge return on investment. From the same prospective our client at IMRB had expressed his intention to invest in Spear Business Academy (SBA) in India with multistate presence in front of us.
Methodology:
Hence we have evaluated SBA as a Educational Institute and as a brand. First we had gone through questionnaire which we supposed to ask to targeted respondents. Then we had discussion over pros and cons of each segment of questionnaire so that no one should face problem while dealing with odd or unexpected response from respondent. We divided the target respondents by quota sampling technique.
We gathered required data and scrutinised it well for its correctness and validity. Then we analysed the particular segments of questionnaire which were probing more towards in where improvement required in SBA institute.
To add on to the client’s requirements we have also highlighted the areas where improvement is required in SBA and the vital areas which require more flow of financial resources towards them.
Findings:
Analysing the collected data is very essential for arriving at any conclusion. During the process of analysis we found out that many students do get influenced by brand and reputation of SBA, they consider this factor a lot while deciding the college for the admission.
Other important factors which student consider before taking admission are; course fees, placement records, academic specialisation available and industry interface or exposure provided to students.
We have also found out that SBA has introduced sudden hike in the course fees and with which students are not comfortable, since as mentioned earlier course fees is one of the main factors considered by students while taking admission.
In this project we have also mentioned the areas where improvement is required in SBA according to its students.
Conclusion:
As mentioned earlier Indian government has allowed FDI in our education system, there is lot of market and opportunity available for outsider big investors and domestic investors.
As brand we would say SBA is a well known brand with good reputation in students and industry. As far as investment in SBA is concerned we have analysed that most of factors and variables are supporting the investment decision but as new issue of fees hike has aroused unexpectedly we would suggest the waiting period of 12 to 18 months. This is to certify that as does this fee hike is hampering admissions at SBA or not, and also to see what effects are generated on placement.
We have suggested that substantial part of this investment must flow into improvement of infrastructure and facilities at SBA.
Ø Chapter 1 : Company Profile
1.1] Company profile:
SPEAR BUSINESS ACADEMY (SBA) is division of SPEAR TECH SOLUTIONS, a leading name in Software Testing Training with centers in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Gujarat & South India. SBA is India’s First Job Skills Training Institute dedicated to empower employable skills amongst fresh graduates and working executives. International Business Training Association (IBTA), Florida (USA) offers Certified Business Professional (CBP) certification and is the fastest growing job-skills certification for the business professionals with partners in the US, Canada, China, Asia, Middle East, Australia, Latin America and the Caribbean. IBTA has an exclusive tie up with SPEAR BUSINESS ACADEMY (SBA) in India for launching CBP training and certification in India. SBA has entered into a strategic alliance with Florida (USA) based certification company “The International Business Training Association" (IBTA) to launch its certification program and training services in India. Spear also closely works with ABP-Association of Business Professionals, which is an initiative undertaken for Professionals to interact with industry experts. Also special prices are offered to ABP members for various courses at Spear. Spear Business Academy has been planned with long term vision and goals which are necessary for a steady growth throughout. We plan to add to our affiliations with national & international universities, Government bodies & private organizations. We have identified strategic locations within your city & outside, Pan India, for creating a strong network of SBA centers & carefully selected Business Partners.
Spaer Tech Solutions
Spear Tech Solutions is a bridge between industry and academia and aims to fill the gap that exists between traditional college education and industry requirements. Spear, a premier Testing & QA solutions company with corporate office in Mumbai and training centers in Goregaon,Thane,Nerul,Dadar & Fort. Spear Tech Solutions is now planning a national roll out in major cities in India like Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Chennai. Spear Tech Solutions is the pioneers & currently the only company to offer training for CSTE-CSQA international certification exams in Mumbai & Bangalore.
Spear's association with corporates has been since inception and till date Spear has trained quite a few top IT companies staff on testing modules and certification courses. Placements for students are also quite strong because of this association and most of Spear students are placed with companies much before the course is over.Spear's team has conducted quite a few technology related workshops and seminar which has helped the students in getting into Top IT companies
For small, medium and large organizations, Spear Tech Solutions has become a single source for all their IT training. Our customized Corporate Training services allow Training Managers the ability to easily administer their learning programs and track the progress of all participating employees.
Maximizing the investment in training is important for all companies, and Spear Tech Solutions assists each client with the management and measurement of their training activities. The variety of learning options from Spear Tech Solutions allows students to learn in the manner that best suits their schedule, budget, learning style and expertise.Our Corporate Training Services helps your organization build the right skill levels amongst your workforce to support your various IT projects. Spear specialises in Software Testing modules, Certification modules like CSTE-CSQA, PMP etc & Automation Tools training.Our training programs have been very well received by the participating organizations. We put a lot of emphasis on delivering top-quality training programs that are tailored to suit the requirements of the client organization, level of the participants and their prior familiarity with the subject, etc.
Software Testing Training
Spear Tech Solutions provides comprehensive and cost-effective training for individuals looking to expand their IT skills in their current professions or looking to take the first step toward new careers. With courses available online and in traditional classroom settings, Spear Tech Solutions has a flexible educational solution that fits your learning style and your schedule.
Candidate placements –
Freshers, Jr. & Sr. IT professionals. We specialize in Software Testing related profiles. We also have a good databank of CSTE, CSQA Certified professionals.Outsourcing – (Testing professionals – freshers & experienced).
Our students are currently working for top IT companies like.
Accenture
Aztecsoft
BenQ
Eserve(Citigroup Global)
Godrej Infotech
Iflex Solutions
MAQ Software
Mauj.com
Mastek
Polaris
Quality Kiosk
Saba Software
Sarla Software (iemployee)
Tech Mahindra
Indiagames.com
Infosys
Persistent
NSE-IT
Datamatics
Merryl Lynch
International Business Training Association
Established in 2001 and headquartered in Florida, USA, the International Business Training Association (IBTA) offers the world's fastest growing business soft-skills certification for business professionals. IBTA was created to meet the human demands of the global economy.The effects of globalization have increased demands for international standards throughout the world. Globalization has created opportunities and concerns for many nations, businesses and individuals as today's consumer is now a global consumer that expects and demands global standards.The International Business Training Association, IBTA was created to meet this demand by providing international standards in the area of certification for business professionals. This allows companies to hire individuals who have been trained to a global standard and allows individuals to achieve certification as a measure of proficiency. IBTA through its certification process develops global business professionals who can meet the demands of the global consumer. IBTA officially released its business certifications in 2003 under the brand of the Certified Business Professional (CBP), after 2 years of initial consultation and development.Today, IBTA’s CBP certification is the fastest growing soft-skills certification for business professionals with partners in the US, Canada, Asia, Middle East, Australia, Latin America and the Caribbean.Additionally, IBTA’s CBP has gained the recognition and endorsement of leading people development organizations such as Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Junior Achievement International and International Computer Drivers License (ICDL).
IBTA is a knowledge-centered organization committed to the training and certifying of business professionals to international standards. The International Business Training Association is a global organization dedicated to:
1.Maintaining a common body of knowledge for business professionals
2.Providing global leadership in soft-skills for business professionals
3.Certifying business professionals in international standards
4.Administering training and certification examinations
Ensuring credentials are maintained and relevant through continuing education policies
Customer satisfaction research: It is very important to establish the customers' perception of the quality of product and service provided. It is a known fact that customers rarely complain - they just don't come back. Customer loyalty is considered to be worth ten times the price of a single purchase, as a loyal customer will return to make further purchases. Moreover, researchers claim that if a customer doesn't like the product or service, he will tell on an average eleven more people. This illustrates the importance of ensuring customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction research is an increasingly becoming an essential ingredient in any program aimed at maintaining, if not increasing the customer base and revenues, enhancing brand value, etc. Conducting customer satisfaction research through a third-party has the advantage that the responses obtained are more reliable, as the respondents are more frank with a third-person. This is because in the case of third-party research, the customer-vendor relationship does not get affected. Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement (CSMM) is an independent, specialist unit of IMRB International and the exclusive member of the Walker Information Global Network (WIGN) in the Indian subcontinent. It has many proven methodologies and processes for customer satisfaction research.
Corporate and Employee researchCorporate Image StudiesIn today's world of keen competition, a company is evaluated not just by its products but to a great extent by the imagery it conjures. With the consumer becoming more educated, this aspect is gaining importance by the day. Corporate image of a company is the sum total of its image among its various internal and external publics - consumers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and dealers, the financial community and even the government. The image of the company among industry federations and workers' unions etc is also important in understanding the equity of the company. A comprehensive Corporate Image study helps understand ones strengths and weaknesses as compared to the other corporate. We got great opportunity to handle customer satisfaction responsive study for Spear Business Academy.
Ø Chapter 2 : Methodology
2.1] Data Source:
Any marketing research requires data collection to arrive at the solution of the problem. Data collection always starts with secondary data. Hence, in a way we can say that: – “Any marketing research starts with secondary data.”
Data can be broadly classified into two categories: –
1. Primary Data
2. Secondary Data
A) Primary Data: –
It can be defined as the data which are collected at first hand either by the researcher or by someone else especially for the purpose of the study. For example, the demographic statistics collected every ten years are the primary data with the Registrar General of India. It is gathered by a specifically designed to accommodate the data needs of the problem at hand. It is important as it helps us in arriving at the accurate solution to the problem of marketing research.
B) Secondary Data: –
Any data which have been gathered earlier for some other purpose are secondary data in the hands of the marketing researcher. When sufficient secondary data are available, considerable time and money may be saved. It helps us in better understanding of the problem. It can be collected internally or externally. Internal Data is one which is collected from within the organization. For example, data collected from Accounting Records. Many organizations have a separate department for handling secondary data. External Data is one which is collected from sources outside the organization. For example, data collected from Trade Association Reports or Industry Publications.
In our project we were broadly concentrated on the Primary data as it was a live project and our analysis was going to result in a huge financial investment into an institute. We gathered all possible data first hand by interviewing our target respondents personally on one to one basis.
As far as secondary data is concerned we used website of SBA institute for purpose of knowing about no. of courses, branches at SBA, which helped us in deciding over the quota for sampling and exact target etc.
2.2] Research approach:
Methods of Primary Data collection:
1. OBSERVATION
2. SURvey
3. Experimentation
SURVEY RESEARCH
Anything from a short paper & pencil feedback form to an in depth one to one interview is called as survey research. Survey can be divided into two broad categories:
· The Questionnaire
· The Interview
While considering the type of survey, we need to consider the costs, physical resources, and time required to conduct the survey.
Choice of particular survey method mainly based on:-
1. Cost
2. Time
3. Physical resources
Since each survey is different, there are no hard and fast rules for determining its size. The deciding factors in the scale of the survey operations are time, cost, operational constraints and the desired precision of the results. Also, consider what should be the acceptable level of error in the sample. If there is a lot of variability in the population, the sample size will need to be bigger to obtain the specified level of reliability.
Methods of Data Collection:-
1) Person –Administered
2) Computer-Administered
3) Self-Administered
PERSON-ADMINISTERED: In this method interviewer reads questions, either face-to-face or over the telephone, to the respondent and record his or her answers. Different ways of this method are as follows: -
· Face-to-face: Involves trained interviewers visiting people to collect questionnaire data. It is a good approach for ensuring a high response rate to a sample survey or census, and trained interviewers gather better quality data. However, there are some disadvantages to this approach. Respondents may not always be available for interviews and the travel costs of the interviewer could be high.
Advantages:
· Conducted in the privacy of the home, which facilitates interviewer-respondent rapport
· Can see “body language”
· Often much information per interview is gathered
Disadvantages:
· Cost per interview can be high
· Interviewers must travel to respondent’s home
· Telephone: involves trained interviewers phoning people to collect questionnaire data. This method is quicker and less expensive than face-to-face interviewing. However, only people with telephones can be interviewed, and the respondent can end the interview very easily!
Advantages:
· Good quality control
· Reasonable cost
· Long-distance calling is not a problem
· Sample located in distant geographies can be targeted
Disadvantage:
· Restricted to telephone communication
COMPUETR-ADMINISTERED: Computer technology plays an essential role in the interview work.
· Computer Assisted Personal interviewing (CAPI) (e-mail): is a form of personal interviewing, but instead of completing a questionnaire, the interviewer brings along a laptop or hand-held computer to enter the information directly into the database. This method saves time involved in processing the data, as well as saving the interviewer from carrying around hundreds of questionnaires. However, this type of data collection method can be expensive to set up and requires that interviewers have computer and typing skills.
Advantages:
· Respondent responds at his or her own pace
· Computer data file results
· Sample can be specifically targeted
Disadvantage:
Respondent must have access to a computer or be computer literate
· Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI): is a type of telephone interview, but with the interviewer keying respondent answers directly into a computer. This saves time involved in processing data, but can be expensive to set up, and requires interviewers to have computer and typing skills. This approach for many of its surveys such as the Youth In Transition Survey, the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, the General Social Survey and the Workplace Employee Survey.
Advantages:
· Computer eliminates human interviewer error
· Simultaneous data input to computer file
· Good quality control
Disadvantage:
· Setup costs can be high
· Electronic Data Reporting (EDR): Although this type of data reporting is still quite rare, it gives the respondents the option of choosing how they would like to report the data: filling out the usual paper questionnaire or using the electronic version. Because the technology evolves so quickly, remaining up-to-date with good and secure applications requires major investments.
· The Internet: The growing popularity of the Internet brought a major shift in Electronic Data Reporting (EDR). It is hard to find a quick and easy way of reporting answers through the Internet without sacrificing any of principles concerning confidentiality, privacy and data quality.
Advantages:
· Ease of creating and posting
· Fast turnaround
· Computer data file results
Disadvantage:
· Respondent must have access to the Internet
SELF-COMPLETED: In this method respondent completes the survey on his own.
· Mail survey: It is a relatively inexpensive method of collecting data, and one that can distribute large numbers of questionnaires in a short time. It provides the opportunity to contact hard-to-reach people, and respondents are able to complete the questionnaire in their own time. Mail surveys do require an up-to-date list of names and addresses, however. In addition, there is also the need to keep the questionnaire simple and straightforward.
Major disadvantage of a mail survey is that it usually has lower response rates than other data collection methods. This may lead to problems with data quality. Also, people with a limited ability to read or write English or French may experience problems.
In our research we approached our respondents through person administered method as design of our questionnaire was such that interviewing the person face to face was essential. As it is more interactive and interviewer’s authenticity is not questioned much both interviewer and respondent can enjoy the process.
2.3] Research Instruments:
The most common research instrument is the questionnaire. Keep these tips in mind when designing your market research questionnaire.
· Keep it simple.
· Include instructions for answering all questions included on the survey.
· Begin the survey with general questions and move towards more specific questions.
· Keep each question brief.
· If the questionnaire is completed by the respondent and not by an interviewer or survey staff member, remember to design a questionnaire that is graphically pleasing and easy to read.
· Remember to pre-test the questionnaire. Before taking the survey to the printer, ask a few people-such as regular customers, colleagues, friends or employees-to complete the survey. Ask them for feedback on the survey's style, simplicity and their perception of its purpose.
· Mix the form of the questions. Use scales, rankings, open-ended questions and closed-ended questions for different sections of the questionnaire. The "form" or way a question is asked may influence the answer given. Basically, there are two question forms: closed-end questions and open-end questions.
Close-end questions - Respondents choose from possible answers included on the questionnaire. Types of close-end questions include:
· Multiple choice questions which offer respondents the ability to answer "yes" or "no" or choose from a list of several answer choices.
· Scales refer to questions that ask respondents to rank their answers or measure their answer at a particular point on a scale. For example, a respondent may have the choice to rank their feelings towards a particular statement. The scale may range from "Strongly Disagree", "Disagree" and "Indifferent" to "Agree" and "Strongly Agree."
Open-end questions - Respondents answer questions in their own words. Completely unstructured questions allow respondents to answer any way they choose. Types of open-end questions include:
· Word association questions ask respondents to state the first word that comes to mind when a particular word is mentioned.
· Sentence, story or picture completion questions ask respondents to complete partial sentences, stories or pictures in their own words. For example, a question for commuters might read: "My daily commute between home and office is _____ miles and takes me an average of ______ minutes. I use the following mode of transportation: _______."
Questionnaire of our project was close ended. We provided respondent with range of options to answer. As we were evaluating brand of SBA, there were questions regarding perception of brand SBA in mind of students before deciding to take admission in SBA. We also measured the section wise satisfaction level of SBA student with SBA institute. Since we used mainly closed ended questions it helped us in analysis of data.
2.4] Sampling Plan:
In our daily life we reach to conclusions by describing the characteristics of a large number of items of a phenomenon usually referred as (population) based on an analysis of a limited number of items from that phenomenon (called sample). For example we taste a spoonful of soup and form an opinion.
The major reasons for sampling are as follows:
· Decision makers will have stipulated time to make decisions. If the consider the whole population, they cannot come to consensus within the stipulated time.
· The cost of gathering information is highly important.
· The accuracy can be maintained if we take small sample of a population.
The following are the managerial objectives of sampling:
· The data can be collected from the desired section omitting others.
· Sufficient accuracy that can be obtained by considering the sample.
· Research resources can be efficiently used.
By sampling also sometimes we get unimportant data. They are as follows:
1. Data produced is of high quality but not applicable to the problem definition.
2. The data produced is of stable result but becomes obsolete till it is produced.
Type of Sampling Procedures:
There are two types of sampling procedures.
1. Probability Sampling Methods
2. Non probability Sampling Methods
Much of the sampling in marketing research is non-probability in nature. That is, samples are selected on the basis of the judgment of the investigator, convenience, or by some other non random process rather than by the use of a table of random numbers or some other randomizing device.
The advantages of probability sampling are that, if done properly, it provides a bias free method of selecting sample units and permits the measurement of sampling error. Non probability samples offer neither of these features. In non probability samples offer neither of these features. In non probability sampling one must rely on the expertise of the person taking the sample, whereas in probability sampling the results are independent of the investigator.
1. Non probability sampling procedures:
Quota Sampling:
In quota sampling the sizes of various subclasses in the population are first estimated from some outside source, such as from Bureau of the Census Data. Since the interviewers judgment is relied upon to select actual respondents within each quota, many sources of selection bias are potentially present.
For example there are 200 completed interviews. To the extent possible, the sample should be as follows:
Area: 25 – 30% from Vashi & Nerul Navi Mumbai.
70 – 75% from Retail Outlets
.
Sex: 60% Males
40% Females. Etc.
Judgment Sampling (Purposive Sampling):
The key assumption underlying this type of sampling is that, with sound judgment or expertise and an appropriate strategy, one can carefully and consciously choose the elements to be included in the sample so that samples can be developed that are suitable for one’s needs. The intent is to select elements that are believed to be typical or representative of the population in such a way that errors of judgment in the selection will cancel out each other out.
Ex: The Company wants to know why new product fails, so it conducted surveys on competitors whose products were similar or related to those it produced.
Convenience Sampling:
In convenience sampling selection, the sampler chooses the sampling units on the basis of “convenience” or “accessibility”. This form of sample selection is commonly used in the “man on the street” form of interviewing and, at times, associates may be interviewed, and, at times associates may be interviewed simply because they are accessible.
Ex: A study on children responses to television commercials.
Snowball Sampling:
In snowball sampling, initial sampling units are selected using probability methods, but additional units are then obtained from information supplied by the initial units (referrals).
Ex: To find 100 serious foot ball players. By probability methods consider a sample of 300. These 300 produce names of 10 players. These players give the reference of others. In this way snowballing effect is produced.
2. Probability sampling procedures:
Simple Random Sampling:
A simple random sample is one in which each sample element has a known and equal probability of selection, and each possible sample of n elements has a known and equal probability of being the sample actually selected. The main use of this method is that we can find the small frame consisting of every small unit.
Ex: Industrial marketing research.
Systematic Sampling:
A systematic sample is one which each sample element has a known and equal probability of selection. The permissible samples of size n that are possible to be drawn have a known and equal probability of selection, while the remaining samples of size n have a probability of zero of being selected.
Ex: If there are 600 members of the population and one desires a sample of 60, the sampling interval is 10. A random number is then selected between 1 and 10, inclusively; suppose the number turns out to be 5. The analyst then takes as the sample elements 5, 15, 25 and so on.
Stratified Sampling:
A stratified random sample is one in which a simple random sample is taken from each stratum of interest in the population. Stratified samples have the general characteristics as the entire population is first divided into an exclusive and exhaustive set of strata, using some external source, such as census data, to form the strata. Within each stratum a separate random sample is selected.
Two basic varieties of stratified samples are:
· Proportionate stratified sampling: The sample that is drawn from each stratum is made proportionate in size to the relative size of that stratum in the total population.
· Disproportionate stratified sampling: It is one departs from the preceding type of proportionality by taking other circumstances, such as the relative size of stratum variances, into account.
The greater the within stratum homogeneity and the amongst – strata heterogeneity, the more efficient is stratified sampling.
Ex: Average purchases of consumer of hot cereals.
Cluster Sampling:
The researcher is here interested to study characteristics of some elementary element in the population. He first divides population into blocks (cities, towns etc). Each block consists of cluster of respondents.
Ex: Individual family attitude towards a new product.
Area Sampling:
As the name suggests, area sampling pertains to primary sampling of geographical areas. For Ex: counties, townships, blocks and other area description. If only one level of sampling takes place before the basic elements are sampled, it is a single stage area sample. If one or more successive samples within the larger area are taken before settling on the final clusters, the resulting design is usually referred to as a multistage area sample.
Ex: Dividing an area into blocks and sampling in these blocks.
When we go for market research we must know what sample size to take? There are two different approaches for this:
n Based on Number of samples
• Fixed Sampling
Here the size of sample is already calculated and then the research is done.
• Sequential Sampling
Here sample size is not determined before hand. If it is observed that the sample size is not adequate the new population is added to sample size.
n Based on LogicF
• Traditional Methods
These methods are very easy to implement and can be used for any market research. But generally they avoid some sampling errors.
• Bayesian Inferential Method
This method is very logical and very systematic but it is very complicated therefore it becomes very difficult for understanding and use.
In our project of measuring SBA brand we have divided the whole census into different samples. The complete population is subdivided using quota sampling method. We selected 96 students at SBA, Mumbai as per instructions to us. These are divided on basis of specific requirement of data; hence we had decided the quota on the basis of present SBA students from all over Mumbai, as SBA has its presence in many cities in India. In our case we have handled the quota of SBA students in Mumbai.
2.5] Contact method:
Contact method can be of many types like, one can contact respondent telephonically, personally by random selection, one can contact the person from maintained database or direct meeting is also by a prior appointment.
In our project we have followed direct contact method in which we had met respondent and asked for his/her response on our research.
Ø Chapter 3 : Data Analysis and Interpretation
We have gathered the data by interviewing the students of SBA and other college students personally. As it was very much important to have accurate and authentic information about different factors which may influence investment decision, we have tried our best to analyse collected data properly.
1. Factors considered by students before admission:
Following are few factors which students had considered before taking admission into SBA. The figures in the cells are representing the no. of responses from students for particular factor.
Form this table we can conclude that areas like brand image of institute, placement records, course fees, industry exposure and specializations are highly influential factors for students.
Factors considered
Influenced a lot
Influenced somewhat
Did not influence
Reputation/Brand image
14
9
2
Academics/Course content
7
15
3
Placement records
17
4
4
Recognition by IBTA
7
11
7
Course fee
11
8
6
Infrastructure & Facilities
3
20
2
Specialization
14
11
0
Faculty profile
4
14
7
Industry interface
10
11
4
Starting salary level
9
9
7
Table no.1
2. Information source which influence student’s admission decision:
Then the question arises that from where students get all these information. There is lot of sources from where students get all required information. Following table shows some of important information sources and how they influence the decision of student of taking admission into SBA. The figures in the cells are representing the no. of responses from students for particular factor.
Information Source
Influenced a lot
Influenced somewhat
Did not influence
Parents &Other family member
2
8
15
Friends/peers
2
13
10
Seniors
6
6
13
Professors
5
6
14
Advertisement in various media
7
5
13
Websites/Blogs/Online forum
6
8
11
Table no.2
From the above frequency table, it is very clear that guidance and information about SBA should tie up with various coaching classes for conducting informative lectures to make aspirants aware about SBA’s position on various factors they consider for choosing Institute and by this way SBA can increase their visibility effectively through effective source. SBA should also increase advertising in coaching classes’ publications.
Second thing that influence students most in perception building is the magazine ranki so SBA should participate in such type of surveys and continuously improve those aspects which are considered for rankings.
3. Measurement of student expectation related to various factors:
The table below shows the measurement of student’s satisfaction related to various factors brand, course content, faculty etc. the figures in the cells are representing responses from students for particular factor.
Expectation level
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Exceeded expectation
1
1
7
2
4
4
4
4
2
1
Meets expectation
11
13
9
11
9
12
10
9
13
13
Close to expectation
9
8
7
7
7
7
9
7
7
7
Below expectation
4
3
1
4
5
1
2
3
2
3
Well below expectation
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
2
1
1
Table no.3
Where:
A
Reputation/Brand image
B
Academics/Course content
C
Placement records
D
Recognition by IBTA
E
Course fee
F
Infrastructure & Facilities
G
Specialization
H
Faculty profile
I
Industry interface
J
Starting salary level
The graphs shown below are of ten variables (A, B, C,…., J) against responses we got from students where 1,2,…,5 on x axis are:
1à Exceeded expectation
2à Meets expectation
3à Close to expectation
4à Below expectation
5à Well below expectation
Figures on y axis are the no. of responses for particular expectation level.
a) Reputation or brand of SBA:
Graph A
The graph above shows that reputation and brand of SBA are meeting expectation level of students.
b) Academics and course content at SBA:
Graph B
The graph above shows that academics and course content at SBA are meeting expectation level of students.
c) Placement records:
Graph C
The graph above shows that placement records at SBA are quite meeting expectation level of students.
d) Recognition by IBTA:
Graph D
The graph above shows that approval from IBTA to SBA is meeting expectation level of students.
e) Course fees:
Graph E
The graph above shows that course fees at SBA is meeting expectation level of students.
f) Infrastructure & facilities:
Graph F
The graph above shows that infrastructure & facilities at SBA is meeting expectation level of students.
g) Specialisation:
Graph G
The graph above shows that specialization in subjects provided at SBA is between meeting expectation and close to expectation level.
h) Faculty profile:
Graph H
The graph above shows that profile of SBA faculties is meeting expectation level of students.
i) Industry interface:
Graph I
The graph above shows that industry exposure at SBA is good and meeting expectation level of students.
j) Starting salary level:
Graph J
The graph above shows that starting salary level after placement at SBA is good and meeting expectation level of students.
From all above factors and responses for those we can infer that overall students are satisfied with facilities and all they are getting at SBA.
To reduce all ten factors mentioned in table no.3 to fewer factors for the ease of analysis, below we have applied factor analysis. We got all statistics & graphs from SPSS (data analysis software) by inserting data in to software.
Correlation Matrix:
Values in the cells represent correlation coefficients of one variable relating to another variable. The coefficients of correlation express the degree of linear relationship between the row and column variables of the matrix. More closely the coefficient to zero the lesser is the relationship; the closer to one, the greater the relationship. A negative sign indicates that the variables are inversely related.
Correlation is relation between selected single factor and all other factors. Table below shows the same; with this we can make one single factor as representative of others.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
A
1
0.9779
0.6615
0.9775
0.9276
0.8675
0.9228
0.9375
0.9293
0.9507
B
0.9779
1
0.7134
0.9971
0.9094
0.9331
0.9186
0.9630
0.9844
0.9929
C
0.6615
0.7134
1
0.6908
0.7487
0.8934
0.8890
0.8708
0.7674
0.6813
D
0.9775
0.9971
0.6908
1
0.9255
0.9158
0.9036
0.9499
0.9750
0.9897
E
0.9276
0.9094
0.7487
0.9255
1
0.8426
0.9132
0.9102
0.8613
0.8674
F
0.8675
0.9331
0.8934
0.9158
0.8426
1
0.9400
0.9801
0.9716
0.9305
G
0.9228
0.9186
0.8890
0.9036
0.9132
0.9400
1
0.9836
0.9086
0.8773
H
0.9375
0.9630
0.8708
0.9499
0.9102
0.9801
0.9836
1
0.9679
0.9417
I
0.9293
0.9844
0.7674
0.9750
0.8613
0.9716
0.9086
0.9679
1
0.9903
J
0.9507
0.9929
0.6813
0.9897
0.8674
0.9305
0.8773
0.9417
0.9903
1
Table no. 4
Now to reduce different factors in to few, we find out eigen values and components whose values are more than one are selected. This criterion is widely used and called The Kaiser criterion.
There is only one component whose value is greater than one and that is component 1, so only one factor (Component-1) is extracted for analysis. Components mentioned in the table are factors discussed previously on scale of student’s satisfaction.
Component
Initial Eigenvalues
Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings
Total
% of Variance
Cumulative %
Total
% of Variance
Cumulative %
1
9.152
91.518
91.518
9.152
91.518
91.518
2
.556
5.557
97.075
3
.227
2.269
99.344
4
.066
.656
100.000
5
.000
.000
100.000
6
.000
.000
100.000
7
.000
.000
100.000
8
.000
.000
100.000
9
.000
.000
100.000
10
.000
.000
100.000
Table no. 5
For easier interpretation Kaiser Criterion table shown above a pictorial representation called scree plot is used.
The graph below shows pictorially, eign values against component number, its just an extension of the table above to enhance visibility.
Graph no. 1
The table below shows how different variable are attached to the factor extracted and from these coefficients in the second column, weightage is calculated to reduce ten factors in to one factor, so that one factor can conclude on investment decision in SBA.
Factors
Factor ‘k’
Weightage
%
A
0.959728068
0.100441667
B
0.984343703
0.10301785
C
0.823522008
0.086186834
D
0.977722385
0.102324887
E
0.931736703
0.097512192
F
0.969497886
0.101464141
G
0.967241969
0.101228045
H
0.994004166
0.10402888
I
0.980092047
0.102572888
J
0.967190099
0.101222616
Table no.6
In the table below last column is of factor K which replaces all ten factors and values are calculated from the weightage calculated
Variable
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Factor K
Weightage
0.1004
0.103
0.0862
0.1023
0.098
0.1015
0.1012
0.104
0.103
0.1012
-------
E.E.
1
1
7
2
4
4
4
4
2
1
3
M.E.
11
13
9
11
9
12
10
9
13
13
11
C.E.
9
8
7
7
7
7
9
7
7
7
7
B.E.
4
3
1
4
5
1
2
3
2
3
3
W.E.
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
2
1
1
1
Table no.7
Where;
E.E. à Exceeded expectation
M.E. à Meets expectation
C.E. à Close to expectation
B.E. à Below expectation
W.E. à Well below expectation
Graph of the factor which is equivalent to all ten factors against responses is shown below.
Graph K
From Graph K we can see that most students’ responses say that SBA is meeting their expectations.
Ø Chapter 4 : Key Findings
Analysing the collected data is very essential for arriving at any conclusion. During the process of analysis we found out that many students do get influenced by brand and reputation of SBA, they consider this factor a lot while deciding the college for the admission.
Other important factors which student consider before taking admission are; course fees, placement records, academic specialisation available and industry interface or exposure provided to students.
We have also found out that SBA has introduced sudden hike in the course fees and with which students are not comfortable, since as mentioned earlier course fees is one of the main factors considered by students while taking admission.
In this project we have also mentioned the areas where improvement is required in SBA according to its students.
Ø Chapter 5 : Conclusion
As mentioned earlier Indian government has allowed FDI in our education system, there is lot of market and opportunity available for outsider big investors and domestic investors.
As brand we would say SBA is a well known brand with good reputation in students and industry. As far as investment in SBA is concerned we have analysed that most of factors and variables are supporting the investment decision but as new issue of fees hike has aroused unexpectedly we would suggest the waiting period of 12 to 18 months. This is to certify that as does this fee hike is hampering admissions at SBA or not, and also to see what effects are generated on placement.
We have suggested that substantial part of this investment must flow into improvement of infrastructure and facilities at SBA.
Ø Chapter 6 : Recommendations
Further we have analysed areas where SBA institute need to work on or improve on.
This will also help the investor as in where to concentrate major flow of his investment.
More the improvement in those areas more will be the student satisfaction and intern more students will get attracted towards the institute.
After all maximum return on investment in minimum period is every investor’s objective.
Following table shows areas/ factors where improvement in needed:
Factors
Responses
Reputation / Brand image
4
Academics / Course content
15
Placement records
12
Recognition by IBTA
2
Course fee
5
Infrastructure & Facilities
23
Specialization
3
Faculty profile
5
Industry interface
3
Starting salary level
2
Table no.8
Following graph gives clear interpretation of areas where improvement is required according to SBA students.
Graph no. 2
Where:
Most of the students are of view that infrastructure improvement should be the first priority of management while the second urgent priority is course content. Third priority is placement record.
As far as investment in SBA is concerned we have analysed that most of factors and variables are supporting the investment decision but as new issue of fees hike has aroused unexpectedly we would suggest the waiting period of 12 to 18 months. This is to certify that as does this fee hike is hampering admissions at SBA or not, and also to see what effects are generated on placement.
Key Findings:
Ø Key features of SBA products & services.
Ø Areas of business SBA is providing best solutions.
Ø Areas of business SBA should improve.
Ø Customer Expectations from SBA
Ø Areas of business SBA can expand their volume of business.
Ø Efforts for customer relationship management SBA should take with respect to their products & services.
Recommendations:
After interviewing all C – level persons of SBA clients we have aroused at following recommendations:
Ø SBA must work on its time line for particular project i.e. no wastage of time.
Ø They must concentrate on effective after sales customer support.
Ø SBA have to work on spare parts of its products.
Ø More exploration of new service i.e. customer studio.
Ø Try to be more innovative.
Conclusion:
As SBA always tries to continuously improve upon their responsiveness in all spheres of interaction, this project was our sincere effort to help SBA in maintaining healthy relationship with their customers.
Overall code of conduct for this project was excellent and we hope that data which we had collected for SBA (not mention in this report for reason of confidentiality) will help them in inventing new areas & restructuring old areas in way of customer satisfaction management.
Abbreviations
SBA: Spear Business Academy
FDI: Foreign Direct Investment
IBTA: International Business Training Association
CSMM: Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement
PQR: Probe Qualitative Research
SRI: Social and Rural Research Institute
BIRD: Business & Industrial Research Division
KAP: Knowledge, Attitudes & Practice
TRP: Television Rating Program
NRS: National Readership Surveys
EPABX: Electronic Private Automatic Board Exchange
VSAT: Very Small Aperture terminal
References:
Ø Secondary data sheets from SBA
Spear Business Academy 104-106, 1st Floor, Corporate Avenue, Next to Udyog Bhavan,
Sonawala Lane,
Near Goregoan Station,
Goregoan (E), Mumbai-63
.
Ø Questionnaires by SBA Research dept.,
B-101, 1stFloor,Moreshwar Building,Sector-20,Opp.Nerul Station Nerul(West), Mumbai No.400 706
Marketing Research: Text and Cases,
by Dr. RAJENDRA NARGUNDKAR.
Ø www.spearbusinessacademy.com
Ø www.speartechsolutions.com
Ø www.marketresearch.com
We have taken this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude towards the pillars of successful completion of our Summer Internship Projects at Spear Business Academy, Mumbai without whose unflinching assistance & co-operation at all times it would rather have been impossible for us to achieve the desired goal.
Technologically advancement will enable us to get the environment we desire. In this era of modernization & sophistication our endeavour to achieve complete and perfect knowledge in the field we choose will be successful only with the help of guidance, direction, stimulation & encouragement by our esteemed professors. We the students of MBA-Marketing, IBSAR are proud to reiterate that our best professors have always emphasized on the importance of self-culture and stimulate us to gain possible knowledge by exercise of our own facilities. They have tried to make their students ‘active partners’ in the work of education, but not passive receivers of information. The great mantra of success according to our respected director Dr.. M.L.Monga is “Know your passion quotient first, get hold of it and work with complete dedication to achieve your goal.”
We express our sincere thanks to our respected director Dr.. M.L.Monga , deputy director Prof. Mrs. Manju Aggarwal, Prof. Mr. Kumar for availing us this great opportunity to learn vital element of this corporate world through summer internship. We also express our sincere gratitude toward all other faculties and staff of IBSAR who always helped us to know and learn various aspects of Marketing management at various stages of our curriculum.
ABSTRACT
“Do you want to send your kid to a playschool run by a foreign company in your neighbourhood?” perhaps, you may be able to do so. That is, if a proposal by the Union commerce ministry to allow foreign direct investment in education in India is approved by the Manmohan Singh Cabinet.
Already a number of foreign universities and companies that operate in the education sector have shown keen interest to enter India. One of the first proposals has come from Denmark-based Egmont Imaginations that has submitted a proposal to the Indian government to set up 200 playschools in India.
Also American major universities like Yale, Stanford and Georgia Institute of Technology have announced that they are keen to set up Greenfield campuses in India as and when the country liberalises education.
After allowing FDI in key sectors such as telecom, insurance, food processing and even retail, the Manmohan Singh government is toying with the idea of permitting foreign investment in elementary and higher education. FDI in education will help Indian students to study in an environment of world class labs and libraries. It will also help Indian students tremendously in getting jobs in multinational companies.
INDIA is the third largest higher education system in the world (after China and the USA) in terms of enrolment which in 2005-06 was over one crore five lakhs. In terms of the number of institutions, India is the largest higher education system in the world with
17,973 institutions (348 universities and 17,625 colleges), of these, there are 63 unaided deemed universities with enrolment of 60,000 students, and 7650 unaided private colleges with enrolment of 31, 50,000 students.
The figures mentioned above are very much self explanatory for industry size of education in India. In our summer internship project we have handled project under BIRD division of SBA of evaluation of brand of a SBA which has its branches in many parts of our country for improvement.
As already mentioned that govt has made foreign investments allowed into our education system. It is going to be great revolutionary step towards globalisation of Indian education, as this will help many of upcoming and struggling educational organisations to cope up with their infrastructure and other needs.
Also from investor’s viewpoint investment in such big industry i.e. Indian education system is going to be huge return on investment.
We at BIRD have evaluated brand SBA through all aspect like brand reputation, brand perception, students satisfaction & expectation, infrastructure, faculty, etc.
In this project report we have mentioned our overall code of conduct for this project, method of sampling, questionnaire design, way of interviewing, data collection and analysis overall conclusion over brand SBA, so that our client at SBA would feel easier to decide over his in which area improvement is needed.
Brand Evaluation for Improvement
We got this project of evaluating the brand SBA as our SBA wants to improvement in Business.
1. We have to measure brand perception of SBA.
2. To analyse collected data and comment over decision of investment.
3. Find out well maintained and areas need to be improvised.
Ø Executive summery:
Objectives:
After allowing FDI in key sectors such as telecom, insurance, food processing and even retail, the Manmohan Singh government is toying with the idea of permitting foreign investment in elementary and higher education. FDI in education will help Indian students to study in an environment of world class labs and libraries. It will also help Indian students tremendously in getting jobs in multinational companies.
Also from investor’s viewpoint investment in such big industry i.e. Indian education system is going to be huge return on investment. From the same prospective our client at IMRB had expressed his intention to invest in Spear Business Academy (SBA) in India with multistate presence in front of us.
Methodology:
Hence we have evaluated SBA as a Educational Institute and as a brand. First we had gone through questionnaire which we supposed to ask to targeted respondents. Then we had discussion over pros and cons of each segment of questionnaire so that no one should face problem while dealing with odd or unexpected response from respondent. We divided the target respondents by quota sampling technique.
We gathered required data and scrutinised it well for its correctness and validity. Then we analysed the particular segments of questionnaire which were probing more towards in where improvement required in SBA institute.
To add on to the client’s requirements we have also highlighted the areas where improvement is required in SBA and the vital areas which require more flow of financial resources towards them.
Findings:
Analysing the collected data is very essential for arriving at any conclusion. During the process of analysis we found out that many students do get influenced by brand and reputation of SBA, they consider this factor a lot while deciding the college for the admission.
Other important factors which student consider before taking admission are; course fees, placement records, academic specialisation available and industry interface or exposure provided to students.
We have also found out that SBA has introduced sudden hike in the course fees and with which students are not comfortable, since as mentioned earlier course fees is one of the main factors considered by students while taking admission.
In this project we have also mentioned the areas where improvement is required in SBA according to its students.
Conclusion:
As mentioned earlier Indian government has allowed FDI in our education system, there is lot of market and opportunity available for outsider big investors and domestic investors.
As brand we would say SBA is a well known brand with good reputation in students and industry. As far as investment in SBA is concerned we have analysed that most of factors and variables are supporting the investment decision but as new issue of fees hike has aroused unexpectedly we would suggest the waiting period of 12 to 18 months. This is to certify that as does this fee hike is hampering admissions at SBA or not, and also to see what effects are generated on placement.
We have suggested that substantial part of this investment must flow into improvement of infrastructure and facilities at SBA.
Ø Chapter 1 : Company Profile
1.1] Company profile:
SPEAR BUSINESS ACADEMY (SBA) is division of SPEAR TECH SOLUTIONS, a leading name in Software Testing Training with centers in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Gujarat & South India. SBA is India’s First Job Skills Training Institute dedicated to empower employable skills amongst fresh graduates and working executives. International Business Training Association (IBTA), Florida (USA) offers Certified Business Professional (CBP) certification and is the fastest growing job-skills certification for the business professionals with partners in the US, Canada, China, Asia, Middle East, Australia, Latin America and the Caribbean. IBTA has an exclusive tie up with SPEAR BUSINESS ACADEMY (SBA) in India for launching CBP training and certification in India. SBA has entered into a strategic alliance with Florida (USA) based certification company “The International Business Training Association" (IBTA) to launch its certification program and training services in India. Spear also closely works with ABP-Association of Business Professionals, which is an initiative undertaken for Professionals to interact with industry experts. Also special prices are offered to ABP members for various courses at Spear. Spear Business Academy has been planned with long term vision and goals which are necessary for a steady growth throughout. We plan to add to our affiliations with national & international universities, Government bodies & private organizations. We have identified strategic locations within your city & outside, Pan India, for creating a strong network of SBA centers & carefully selected Business Partners.
Spaer Tech Solutions
Spear Tech Solutions is a bridge between industry and academia and aims to fill the gap that exists between traditional college education and industry requirements. Spear, a premier Testing & QA solutions company with corporate office in Mumbai and training centers in Goregaon,Thane,Nerul,Dadar & Fort. Spear Tech Solutions is now planning a national roll out in major cities in India like Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Chennai. Spear Tech Solutions is the pioneers & currently the only company to offer training for CSTE-CSQA international certification exams in Mumbai & Bangalore.
Spear's association with corporates has been since inception and till date Spear has trained quite a few top IT companies staff on testing modules and certification courses. Placements for students are also quite strong because of this association and most of Spear students are placed with companies much before the course is over.Spear's team has conducted quite a few technology related workshops and seminar which has helped the students in getting into Top IT companies
For small, medium and large organizations, Spear Tech Solutions has become a single source for all their IT training. Our customized Corporate Training services allow Training Managers the ability to easily administer their learning programs and track the progress of all participating employees.
Maximizing the investment in training is important for all companies, and Spear Tech Solutions assists each client with the management and measurement of their training activities. The variety of learning options from Spear Tech Solutions allows students to learn in the manner that best suits their schedule, budget, learning style and expertise.Our Corporate Training Services helps your organization build the right skill levels amongst your workforce to support your various IT projects. Spear specialises in Software Testing modules, Certification modules like CSTE-CSQA, PMP etc & Automation Tools training.Our training programs have been very well received by the participating organizations. We put a lot of emphasis on delivering top-quality training programs that are tailored to suit the requirements of the client organization, level of the participants and their prior familiarity with the subject, etc.
Software Testing Training
Spear Tech Solutions provides comprehensive and cost-effective training for individuals looking to expand their IT skills in their current professions or looking to take the first step toward new careers. With courses available online and in traditional classroom settings, Spear Tech Solutions has a flexible educational solution that fits your learning style and your schedule.
Candidate placements –
Freshers, Jr. & Sr. IT professionals. We specialize in Software Testing related profiles. We also have a good databank of CSTE, CSQA Certified professionals.Outsourcing – (Testing professionals – freshers & experienced).
Our students are currently working for top IT companies like.
Accenture
Aztecsoft
BenQ
Eserve(Citigroup Global)
Godrej Infotech
Iflex Solutions
MAQ Software
Mauj.com
Mastek
Polaris
Quality Kiosk
Saba Software
Sarla Software (iemployee)
Tech Mahindra
Indiagames.com
Infosys
Persistent
NSE-IT
Datamatics
Merryl Lynch
International Business Training Association
Established in 2001 and headquartered in Florida, USA, the International Business Training Association (IBTA) offers the world's fastest growing business soft-skills certification for business professionals. IBTA was created to meet the human demands of the global economy.The effects of globalization have increased demands for international standards throughout the world. Globalization has created opportunities and concerns for many nations, businesses and individuals as today's consumer is now a global consumer that expects and demands global standards.The International Business Training Association, IBTA was created to meet this demand by providing international standards in the area of certification for business professionals. This allows companies to hire individuals who have been trained to a global standard and allows individuals to achieve certification as a measure of proficiency. IBTA through its certification process develops global business professionals who can meet the demands of the global consumer. IBTA officially released its business certifications in 2003 under the brand of the Certified Business Professional (CBP), after 2 years of initial consultation and development.Today, IBTA’s CBP certification is the fastest growing soft-skills certification for business professionals with partners in the US, Canada, Asia, Middle East, Australia, Latin America and the Caribbean.Additionally, IBTA’s CBP has gained the recognition and endorsement of leading people development organizations such as Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Junior Achievement International and International Computer Drivers License (ICDL).
IBTA is a knowledge-centered organization committed to the training and certifying of business professionals to international standards. The International Business Training Association is a global organization dedicated to:
1.Maintaining a common body of knowledge for business professionals
2.Providing global leadership in soft-skills for business professionals
3.Certifying business professionals in international standards
4.Administering training and certification examinations
Ensuring credentials are maintained and relevant through continuing education policies
Customer satisfaction research: It is very important to establish the customers' perception of the quality of product and service provided. It is a known fact that customers rarely complain - they just don't come back. Customer loyalty is considered to be worth ten times the price of a single purchase, as a loyal customer will return to make further purchases. Moreover, researchers claim that if a customer doesn't like the product or service, he will tell on an average eleven more people. This illustrates the importance of ensuring customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction research is an increasingly becoming an essential ingredient in any program aimed at maintaining, if not increasing the customer base and revenues, enhancing brand value, etc. Conducting customer satisfaction research through a third-party has the advantage that the responses obtained are more reliable, as the respondents are more frank with a third-person. This is because in the case of third-party research, the customer-vendor relationship does not get affected. Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement (CSMM) is an independent, specialist unit of IMRB International and the exclusive member of the Walker Information Global Network (WIGN) in the Indian subcontinent. It has many proven methodologies and processes for customer satisfaction research.
Corporate and Employee researchCorporate Image StudiesIn today's world of keen competition, a company is evaluated not just by its products but to a great extent by the imagery it conjures. With the consumer becoming more educated, this aspect is gaining importance by the day. Corporate image of a company is the sum total of its image among its various internal and external publics - consumers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and dealers, the financial community and even the government. The image of the company among industry federations and workers' unions etc is also important in understanding the equity of the company. A comprehensive Corporate Image study helps understand ones strengths and weaknesses as compared to the other corporate. We got great opportunity to handle customer satisfaction responsive study for Spear Business Academy.
Ø Chapter 2 : Methodology
2.1] Data Source:
Any marketing research requires data collection to arrive at the solution of the problem. Data collection always starts with secondary data. Hence, in a way we can say that: – “Any marketing research starts with secondary data.”
Data can be broadly classified into two categories: –
1. Primary Data
2. Secondary Data
A) Primary Data: –
It can be defined as the data which are collected at first hand either by the researcher or by someone else especially for the purpose of the study. For example, the demographic statistics collected every ten years are the primary data with the Registrar General of India. It is gathered by a specifically designed to accommodate the data needs of the problem at hand. It is important as it helps us in arriving at the accurate solution to the problem of marketing research.
B) Secondary Data: –
Any data which have been gathered earlier for some other purpose are secondary data in the hands of the marketing researcher. When sufficient secondary data are available, considerable time and money may be saved. It helps us in better understanding of the problem. It can be collected internally or externally. Internal Data is one which is collected from within the organization. For example, data collected from Accounting Records. Many organizations have a separate department for handling secondary data. External Data is one which is collected from sources outside the organization. For example, data collected from Trade Association Reports or Industry Publications.
In our project we were broadly concentrated on the Primary data as it was a live project and our analysis was going to result in a huge financial investment into an institute. We gathered all possible data first hand by interviewing our target respondents personally on one to one basis.
As far as secondary data is concerned we used website of SBA institute for purpose of knowing about no. of courses, branches at SBA, which helped us in deciding over the quota for sampling and exact target etc.
2.2] Research approach:
Methods of Primary Data collection:
1. OBSERVATION
2. SURvey
3. Experimentation
SURVEY RESEARCH
Anything from a short paper & pencil feedback form to an in depth one to one interview is called as survey research. Survey can be divided into two broad categories:
· The Questionnaire
· The Interview
While considering the type of survey, we need to consider the costs, physical resources, and time required to conduct the survey.
Choice of particular survey method mainly based on:-
1. Cost
2. Time
3. Physical resources
Since each survey is different, there are no hard and fast rules for determining its size. The deciding factors in the scale of the survey operations are time, cost, operational constraints and the desired precision of the results. Also, consider what should be the acceptable level of error in the sample. If there is a lot of variability in the population, the sample size will need to be bigger to obtain the specified level of reliability.
Methods of Data Collection:-
1) Person –Administered
2) Computer-Administered
3) Self-Administered
PERSON-ADMINISTERED: In this method interviewer reads questions, either face-to-face or over the telephone, to the respondent and record his or her answers. Different ways of this method are as follows: -
· Face-to-face: Involves trained interviewers visiting people to collect questionnaire data. It is a good approach for ensuring a high response rate to a sample survey or census, and trained interviewers gather better quality data. However, there are some disadvantages to this approach. Respondents may not always be available for interviews and the travel costs of the interviewer could be high.
Advantages:
· Conducted in the privacy of the home, which facilitates interviewer-respondent rapport
· Can see “body language”
· Often much information per interview is gathered
Disadvantages:
· Cost per interview can be high
· Interviewers must travel to respondent’s home
· Telephone: involves trained interviewers phoning people to collect questionnaire data. This method is quicker and less expensive than face-to-face interviewing. However, only people with telephones can be interviewed, and the respondent can end the interview very easily!
Advantages:
· Good quality control
· Reasonable cost
· Long-distance calling is not a problem
· Sample located in distant geographies can be targeted
Disadvantage:
· Restricted to telephone communication
COMPUETR-ADMINISTERED: Computer technology plays an essential role in the interview work.
· Computer Assisted Personal interviewing (CAPI) (e-mail): is a form of personal interviewing, but instead of completing a questionnaire, the interviewer brings along a laptop or hand-held computer to enter the information directly into the database. This method saves time involved in processing the data, as well as saving the interviewer from carrying around hundreds of questionnaires. However, this type of data collection method can be expensive to set up and requires that interviewers have computer and typing skills.
Advantages:
· Respondent responds at his or her own pace
· Computer data file results
· Sample can be specifically targeted
Disadvantage:
Respondent must have access to a computer or be computer literate
· Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI): is a type of telephone interview, but with the interviewer keying respondent answers directly into a computer. This saves time involved in processing data, but can be expensive to set up, and requires interviewers to have computer and typing skills. This approach for many of its surveys such as the Youth In Transition Survey, the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, the General Social Survey and the Workplace Employee Survey.
Advantages:
· Computer eliminates human interviewer error
· Simultaneous data input to computer file
· Good quality control
Disadvantage:
· Setup costs can be high
· Electronic Data Reporting (EDR): Although this type of data reporting is still quite rare, it gives the respondents the option of choosing how they would like to report the data: filling out the usual paper questionnaire or using the electronic version. Because the technology evolves so quickly, remaining up-to-date with good and secure applications requires major investments.
· The Internet: The growing popularity of the Internet brought a major shift in Electronic Data Reporting (EDR). It is hard to find a quick and easy way of reporting answers through the Internet without sacrificing any of principles concerning confidentiality, privacy and data quality.
Advantages:
· Ease of creating and posting
· Fast turnaround
· Computer data file results
Disadvantage:
· Respondent must have access to the Internet
SELF-COMPLETED: In this method respondent completes the survey on his own.
· Mail survey: It is a relatively inexpensive method of collecting data, and one that can distribute large numbers of questionnaires in a short time. It provides the opportunity to contact hard-to-reach people, and respondents are able to complete the questionnaire in their own time. Mail surveys do require an up-to-date list of names and addresses, however. In addition, there is also the need to keep the questionnaire simple and straightforward.
Major disadvantage of a mail survey is that it usually has lower response rates than other data collection methods. This may lead to problems with data quality. Also, people with a limited ability to read or write English or French may experience problems.
In our research we approached our respondents through person administered method as design of our questionnaire was such that interviewing the person face to face was essential. As it is more interactive and interviewer’s authenticity is not questioned much both interviewer and respondent can enjoy the process.
2.3] Research Instruments:
The most common research instrument is the questionnaire. Keep these tips in mind when designing your market research questionnaire.
· Keep it simple.
· Include instructions for answering all questions included on the survey.
· Begin the survey with general questions and move towards more specific questions.
· Keep each question brief.
· If the questionnaire is completed by the respondent and not by an interviewer or survey staff member, remember to design a questionnaire that is graphically pleasing and easy to read.
· Remember to pre-test the questionnaire. Before taking the survey to the printer, ask a few people-such as regular customers, colleagues, friends or employees-to complete the survey. Ask them for feedback on the survey's style, simplicity and their perception of its purpose.
· Mix the form of the questions. Use scales, rankings, open-ended questions and closed-ended questions for different sections of the questionnaire. The "form" or way a question is asked may influence the answer given. Basically, there are two question forms: closed-end questions and open-end questions.
Close-end questions - Respondents choose from possible answers included on the questionnaire. Types of close-end questions include:
· Multiple choice questions which offer respondents the ability to answer "yes" or "no" or choose from a list of several answer choices.
· Scales refer to questions that ask respondents to rank their answers or measure their answer at a particular point on a scale. For example, a respondent may have the choice to rank their feelings towards a particular statement. The scale may range from "Strongly Disagree", "Disagree" and "Indifferent" to "Agree" and "Strongly Agree."
Open-end questions - Respondents answer questions in their own words. Completely unstructured questions allow respondents to answer any way they choose. Types of open-end questions include:
· Word association questions ask respondents to state the first word that comes to mind when a particular word is mentioned.
· Sentence, story or picture completion questions ask respondents to complete partial sentences, stories or pictures in their own words. For example, a question for commuters might read: "My daily commute between home and office is _____ miles and takes me an average of ______ minutes. I use the following mode of transportation: _______."
Questionnaire of our project was close ended. We provided respondent with range of options to answer. As we were evaluating brand of SBA, there were questions regarding perception of brand SBA in mind of students before deciding to take admission in SBA. We also measured the section wise satisfaction level of SBA student with SBA institute. Since we used mainly closed ended questions it helped us in analysis of data.
2.4] Sampling Plan:
In our daily life we reach to conclusions by describing the characteristics of a large number of items of a phenomenon usually referred as (population) based on an analysis of a limited number of items from that phenomenon (called sample). For example we taste a spoonful of soup and form an opinion.
The major reasons for sampling are as follows:
· Decision makers will have stipulated time to make decisions. If the consider the whole population, they cannot come to consensus within the stipulated time.
· The cost of gathering information is highly important.
· The accuracy can be maintained if we take small sample of a population.
The following are the managerial objectives of sampling:
· The data can be collected from the desired section omitting others.
· Sufficient accuracy that can be obtained by considering the sample.
· Research resources can be efficiently used.
By sampling also sometimes we get unimportant data. They are as follows:
1. Data produced is of high quality but not applicable to the problem definition.
2. The data produced is of stable result but becomes obsolete till it is produced.
Type of Sampling Procedures:
There are two types of sampling procedures.
1. Probability Sampling Methods
2. Non probability Sampling Methods
Much of the sampling in marketing research is non-probability in nature. That is, samples are selected on the basis of the judgment of the investigator, convenience, or by some other non random process rather than by the use of a table of random numbers or some other randomizing device.
The advantages of probability sampling are that, if done properly, it provides a bias free method of selecting sample units and permits the measurement of sampling error. Non probability samples offer neither of these features. In non probability samples offer neither of these features. In non probability sampling one must rely on the expertise of the person taking the sample, whereas in probability sampling the results are independent of the investigator.
1. Non probability sampling procedures:
Quota Sampling:
In quota sampling the sizes of various subclasses in the population are first estimated from some outside source, such as from Bureau of the Census Data. Since the interviewers judgment is relied upon to select actual respondents within each quota, many sources of selection bias are potentially present.
For example there are 200 completed interviews. To the extent possible, the sample should be as follows:
Area: 25 – 30% from Vashi & Nerul Navi Mumbai.
70 – 75% from Retail Outlets
.
Sex: 60% Males
40% Females. Etc.
Judgment Sampling (Purposive Sampling):
The key assumption underlying this type of sampling is that, with sound judgment or expertise and an appropriate strategy, one can carefully and consciously choose the elements to be included in the sample so that samples can be developed that are suitable for one’s needs. The intent is to select elements that are believed to be typical or representative of the population in such a way that errors of judgment in the selection will cancel out each other out.
Ex: The Company wants to know why new product fails, so it conducted surveys on competitors whose products were similar or related to those it produced.
Convenience Sampling:
In convenience sampling selection, the sampler chooses the sampling units on the basis of “convenience” or “accessibility”. This form of sample selection is commonly used in the “man on the street” form of interviewing and, at times, associates may be interviewed, and, at times associates may be interviewed simply because they are accessible.
Ex: A study on children responses to television commercials.
Snowball Sampling:
In snowball sampling, initial sampling units are selected using probability methods, but additional units are then obtained from information supplied by the initial units (referrals).
Ex: To find 100 serious foot ball players. By probability methods consider a sample of 300. These 300 produce names of 10 players. These players give the reference of others. In this way snowballing effect is produced.
2. Probability sampling procedures:
Simple Random Sampling:
A simple random sample is one in which each sample element has a known and equal probability of selection, and each possible sample of n elements has a known and equal probability of being the sample actually selected. The main use of this method is that we can find the small frame consisting of every small unit.
Ex: Industrial marketing research.
Systematic Sampling:
A systematic sample is one which each sample element has a known and equal probability of selection. The permissible samples of size n that are possible to be drawn have a known and equal probability of selection, while the remaining samples of size n have a probability of zero of being selected.
Ex: If there are 600 members of the population and one desires a sample of 60, the sampling interval is 10. A random number is then selected between 1 and 10, inclusively; suppose the number turns out to be 5. The analyst then takes as the sample elements 5, 15, 25 and so on.
Stratified Sampling:
A stratified random sample is one in which a simple random sample is taken from each stratum of interest in the population. Stratified samples have the general characteristics as the entire population is first divided into an exclusive and exhaustive set of strata, using some external source, such as census data, to form the strata. Within each stratum a separate random sample is selected.
Two basic varieties of stratified samples are:
· Proportionate stratified sampling: The sample that is drawn from each stratum is made proportionate in size to the relative size of that stratum in the total population.
· Disproportionate stratified sampling: It is one departs from the preceding type of proportionality by taking other circumstances, such as the relative size of stratum variances, into account.
The greater the within stratum homogeneity and the amongst – strata heterogeneity, the more efficient is stratified sampling.
Ex: Average purchases of consumer of hot cereals.
Cluster Sampling:
The researcher is here interested to study characteristics of some elementary element in the population. He first divides population into blocks (cities, towns etc). Each block consists of cluster of respondents.
Ex: Individual family attitude towards a new product.
Area Sampling:
As the name suggests, area sampling pertains to primary sampling of geographical areas. For Ex: counties, townships, blocks and other area description. If only one level of sampling takes place before the basic elements are sampled, it is a single stage area sample. If one or more successive samples within the larger area are taken before settling on the final clusters, the resulting design is usually referred to as a multistage area sample.
Ex: Dividing an area into blocks and sampling in these blocks.
When we go for market research we must know what sample size to take? There are two different approaches for this:
n Based on Number of samples
• Fixed Sampling
Here the size of sample is already calculated and then the research is done.
• Sequential Sampling
Here sample size is not determined before hand. If it is observed that the sample size is not adequate the new population is added to sample size.
n Based on LogicF
• Traditional Methods
These methods are very easy to implement and can be used for any market research. But generally they avoid some sampling errors.
• Bayesian Inferential Method
This method is very logical and very systematic but it is very complicated therefore it becomes very difficult for understanding and use.
In our project of measuring SBA brand we have divided the whole census into different samples. The complete population is subdivided using quota sampling method. We selected 96 students at SBA, Mumbai as per instructions to us. These are divided on basis of specific requirement of data; hence we had decided the quota on the basis of present SBA students from all over Mumbai, as SBA has its presence in many cities in India. In our case we have handled the quota of SBA students in Mumbai.
2.5] Contact method:
Contact method can be of many types like, one can contact respondent telephonically, personally by random selection, one can contact the person from maintained database or direct meeting is also by a prior appointment.
In our project we have followed direct contact method in which we had met respondent and asked for his/her response on our research.
Ø Chapter 3 : Data Analysis and Interpretation
We have gathered the data by interviewing the students of SBA and other college students personally. As it was very much important to have accurate and authentic information about different factors which may influence investment decision, we have tried our best to analyse collected data properly.
1. Factors considered by students before admission:
Following are few factors which students had considered before taking admission into SBA. The figures in the cells are representing the no. of responses from students for particular factor.
Form this table we can conclude that areas like brand image of institute, placement records, course fees, industry exposure and specializations are highly influential factors for students.
Factors considered
Influenced a lot
Influenced somewhat
Did not influence
Reputation/Brand image
14
9
2
Academics/Course content
7
15
3
Placement records
17
4
4
Recognition by IBTA
7
11
7
Course fee
11
8
6
Infrastructure & Facilities
3
20
2
Specialization
14
11
0
Faculty profile
4
14
7
Industry interface
10
11
4
Starting salary level
9
9
7
Table no.1
2. Information source which influence student’s admission decision:
Then the question arises that from where students get all these information. There is lot of sources from where students get all required information. Following table shows some of important information sources and how they influence the decision of student of taking admission into SBA. The figures in the cells are representing the no. of responses from students for particular factor.
Information Source
Influenced a lot
Influenced somewhat
Did not influence
Parents &Other family member
2
8
15
Friends/peers
2
13
10
Seniors
6
6
13
Professors
5
6
14
Advertisement in various media
7
5
13
Websites/Blogs/Online forum
6
8
11
Table no.2
From the above frequency table, it is very clear that guidance and information about SBA should tie up with various coaching classes for conducting informative lectures to make aspirants aware about SBA’s position on various factors they consider for choosing Institute and by this way SBA can increase their visibility effectively through effective source. SBA should also increase advertising in coaching classes’ publications.
Second thing that influence students most in perception building is the magazine ranki so SBA should participate in such type of surveys and continuously improve those aspects which are considered for rankings.
3. Measurement of student expectation related to various factors:
The table below shows the measurement of student’s satisfaction related to various factors brand, course content, faculty etc. the figures in the cells are representing responses from students for particular factor.
Expectation level
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Exceeded expectation
1
1
7
2
4
4
4
4
2
1
Meets expectation
11
13
9
11
9
12
10
9
13
13
Close to expectation
9
8
7
7
7
7
9
7
7
7
Below expectation
4
3
1
4
5
1
2
3
2
3
Well below expectation
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
2
1
1
Table no.3
Where:
A
Reputation/Brand image
B
Academics/Course content
C
Placement records
D
Recognition by IBTA
E
Course fee
F
Infrastructure & Facilities
G
Specialization
H
Faculty profile
I
Industry interface
J
Starting salary level
The graphs shown below are of ten variables (A, B, C,…., J) against responses we got from students where 1,2,…,5 on x axis are:
1à Exceeded expectation
2à Meets expectation
3à Close to expectation
4à Below expectation
5à Well below expectation
Figures on y axis are the no. of responses for particular expectation level.
a) Reputation or brand of SBA:
Graph A
The graph above shows that reputation and brand of SBA are meeting expectation level of students.
b) Academics and course content at SBA:
Graph B
The graph above shows that academics and course content at SBA are meeting expectation level of students.
c) Placement records:
Graph C
The graph above shows that placement records at SBA are quite meeting expectation level of students.
d) Recognition by IBTA:
Graph D
The graph above shows that approval from IBTA to SBA is meeting expectation level of students.
e) Course fees:
Graph E
The graph above shows that course fees at SBA is meeting expectation level of students.
f) Infrastructure & facilities:
Graph F
The graph above shows that infrastructure & facilities at SBA is meeting expectation level of students.
g) Specialisation:
Graph G
The graph above shows that specialization in subjects provided at SBA is between meeting expectation and close to expectation level.
h) Faculty profile:
Graph H
The graph above shows that profile of SBA faculties is meeting expectation level of students.
i) Industry interface:
Graph I
The graph above shows that industry exposure at SBA is good and meeting expectation level of students.
j) Starting salary level:
Graph J
The graph above shows that starting salary level after placement at SBA is good and meeting expectation level of students.
From all above factors and responses for those we can infer that overall students are satisfied with facilities and all they are getting at SBA.
To reduce all ten factors mentioned in table no.3 to fewer factors for the ease of analysis, below we have applied factor analysis. We got all statistics & graphs from SPSS (data analysis software) by inserting data in to software.
Correlation Matrix:
Values in the cells represent correlation coefficients of one variable relating to another variable. The coefficients of correlation express the degree of linear relationship between the row and column variables of the matrix. More closely the coefficient to zero the lesser is the relationship; the closer to one, the greater the relationship. A negative sign indicates that the variables are inversely related.
Correlation is relation between selected single factor and all other factors. Table below shows the same; with this we can make one single factor as representative of others.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
A
1
0.9779
0.6615
0.9775
0.9276
0.8675
0.9228
0.9375
0.9293
0.9507
B
0.9779
1
0.7134
0.9971
0.9094
0.9331
0.9186
0.9630
0.9844
0.9929
C
0.6615
0.7134
1
0.6908
0.7487
0.8934
0.8890
0.8708
0.7674
0.6813
D
0.9775
0.9971
0.6908
1
0.9255
0.9158
0.9036
0.9499
0.9750
0.9897
E
0.9276
0.9094
0.7487
0.9255
1
0.8426
0.9132
0.9102
0.8613
0.8674
F
0.8675
0.9331
0.8934
0.9158
0.8426
1
0.9400
0.9801
0.9716
0.9305
G
0.9228
0.9186
0.8890
0.9036
0.9132
0.9400
1
0.9836
0.9086
0.8773
H
0.9375
0.9630
0.8708
0.9499
0.9102
0.9801
0.9836
1
0.9679
0.9417
I
0.9293
0.9844
0.7674
0.9750
0.8613
0.9716
0.9086
0.9679
1
0.9903
J
0.9507
0.9929
0.6813
0.9897
0.8674
0.9305
0.8773
0.9417
0.9903
1
Table no. 4
Now to reduce different factors in to few, we find out eigen values and components whose values are more than one are selected. This criterion is widely used and called The Kaiser criterion.
There is only one component whose value is greater than one and that is component 1, so only one factor (Component-1) is extracted for analysis. Components mentioned in the table are factors discussed previously on scale of student’s satisfaction.
Component
Initial Eigenvalues
Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings
Total
% of Variance
Cumulative %
Total
% of Variance
Cumulative %
1
9.152
91.518
91.518
9.152
91.518
91.518
2
.556
5.557
97.075
3
.227
2.269
99.344
4
.066
.656
100.000
5
.000
.000
100.000
6
.000
.000
100.000
7
.000
.000
100.000
8
.000
.000
100.000
9
.000
.000
100.000
10
.000
.000
100.000
Table no. 5
For easier interpretation Kaiser Criterion table shown above a pictorial representation called scree plot is used.
The graph below shows pictorially, eign values against component number, its just an extension of the table above to enhance visibility.
Graph no. 1
The table below shows how different variable are attached to the factor extracted and from these coefficients in the second column, weightage is calculated to reduce ten factors in to one factor, so that one factor can conclude on investment decision in SBA.
Factors
Factor ‘k’
Weightage
%
A
0.959728068
0.100441667
B
0.984343703
0.10301785
C
0.823522008
0.086186834
D
0.977722385
0.102324887
E
0.931736703
0.097512192
F
0.969497886
0.101464141
G
0.967241969
0.101228045
H
0.994004166
0.10402888
I
0.980092047
0.102572888
J
0.967190099
0.101222616
Table no.6
In the table below last column is of factor K which replaces all ten factors and values are calculated from the weightage calculated
Variable
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Factor K
Weightage
0.1004
0.103
0.0862
0.1023
0.098
0.1015
0.1012
0.104
0.103
0.1012
-------
E.E.
1
1
7
2
4
4
4
4
2
1
3
M.E.
11
13
9
11
9
12
10
9
13
13
11
C.E.
9
8
7
7
7
7
9
7
7
7
7
B.E.
4
3
1
4
5
1
2
3
2
3
3
W.E.
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
2
1
1
1
Table no.7
Where;
E.E. à Exceeded expectation
M.E. à Meets expectation
C.E. à Close to expectation
B.E. à Below expectation
W.E. à Well below expectation
Graph of the factor which is equivalent to all ten factors against responses is shown below.
Graph K
From Graph K we can see that most students’ responses say that SBA is meeting their expectations.
Ø Chapter 4 : Key Findings
Analysing the collected data is very essential for arriving at any conclusion. During the process of analysis we found out that many students do get influenced by brand and reputation of SBA, they consider this factor a lot while deciding the college for the admission.
Other important factors which student consider before taking admission are; course fees, placement records, academic specialisation available and industry interface or exposure provided to students.
We have also found out that SBA has introduced sudden hike in the course fees and with which students are not comfortable, since as mentioned earlier course fees is one of the main factors considered by students while taking admission.
In this project we have also mentioned the areas where improvement is required in SBA according to its students.
Ø Chapter 5 : Conclusion
As mentioned earlier Indian government has allowed FDI in our education system, there is lot of market and opportunity available for outsider big investors and domestic investors.
As brand we would say SBA is a well known brand with good reputation in students and industry. As far as investment in SBA is concerned we have analysed that most of factors and variables are supporting the investment decision but as new issue of fees hike has aroused unexpectedly we would suggest the waiting period of 12 to 18 months. This is to certify that as does this fee hike is hampering admissions at SBA or not, and also to see what effects are generated on placement.
We have suggested that substantial part of this investment must flow into improvement of infrastructure and facilities at SBA.
Ø Chapter 6 : Recommendations
Further we have analysed areas where SBA institute need to work on or improve on.
This will also help the investor as in where to concentrate major flow of his investment.
More the improvement in those areas more will be the student satisfaction and intern more students will get attracted towards the institute.
After all maximum return on investment in minimum period is every investor’s objective.
Following table shows areas/ factors where improvement in needed:
Factors
Responses
Reputation / Brand image
4
Academics / Course content
15
Placement records
12
Recognition by IBTA
2
Course fee
5
Infrastructure & Facilities
23
Specialization
3
Faculty profile
5
Industry interface
3
Starting salary level
2
Table no.8
Following graph gives clear interpretation of areas where improvement is required according to SBA students.
Graph no. 2
Where:
Most of the students are of view that infrastructure improvement should be the first priority of management while the second urgent priority is course content. Third priority is placement record.
As far as investment in SBA is concerned we have analysed that most of factors and variables are supporting the investment decision but as new issue of fees hike has aroused unexpectedly we would suggest the waiting period of 12 to 18 months. This is to certify that as does this fee hike is hampering admissions at SBA or not, and also to see what effects are generated on placement.
Key Findings:
Ø Key features of SBA products & services.
Ø Areas of business SBA is providing best solutions.
Ø Areas of business SBA should improve.
Ø Customer Expectations from SBA
Ø Areas of business SBA can expand their volume of business.
Ø Efforts for customer relationship management SBA should take with respect to their products & services.
Recommendations:
After interviewing all C – level persons of SBA clients we have aroused at following recommendations:
Ø SBA must work on its time line for particular project i.e. no wastage of time.
Ø They must concentrate on effective after sales customer support.
Ø SBA have to work on spare parts of its products.
Ø More exploration of new service i.e. customer studio.
Ø Try to be more innovative.
Conclusion:
As SBA always tries to continuously improve upon their responsiveness in all spheres of interaction, this project was our sincere effort to help SBA in maintaining healthy relationship with their customers.
Overall code of conduct for this project was excellent and we hope that data which we had collected for SBA (not mention in this report for reason of confidentiality) will help them in inventing new areas & restructuring old areas in way of customer satisfaction management.
Abbreviations
SBA: Spear Business Academy
FDI: Foreign Direct Investment
IBTA: International Business Training Association
CSMM: Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement
PQR: Probe Qualitative Research
SRI: Social and Rural Research Institute
BIRD: Business & Industrial Research Division
KAP: Knowledge, Attitudes & Practice
TRP: Television Rating Program
NRS: National Readership Surveys
EPABX: Electronic Private Automatic Board Exchange
VSAT: Very Small Aperture terminal
References:
Ø Secondary data sheets from SBA
Spear Business Academy 104-106, 1st Floor, Corporate Avenue, Next to Udyog Bhavan,
Sonawala Lane,
Near Goregoan Station,
Goregoan (E), Mumbai-63
.
Ø Questionnaires by SBA Research dept.,
B-101, 1stFloor,Moreshwar Building,Sector-20,Opp.Nerul Station Nerul(West), Mumbai No.400 706
Marketing Research: Text and Cases,
by Dr. RAJENDRA NARGUNDKAR.
Ø www.spearbusinessacademy.com
Ø www.speartechsolutions.com
Ø www.marketresearch.com
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