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published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Training is essential to the growth and economic well-being of a nation. This need for training pervades all levels of industry, from a national level where a country’s well being is enhanced by training, to each company where productivity is improved, down to the individual whose skills are enhanced and as a result improve their position in the employment marketplace. The Australian Bureau of Statistics report ‘Training and Education Experience –Australia’ (ABS 1993) indicates that training in Australia is undertaken at a significant level with some 86% of employers undertaking some form of training. This is slightly higher in the Finance industry at a little over 89%. On the job training is undertaken by 82% of employers and off the job training is used by 47% of employers. In 80% of the off the job cases these courses were conducted in a conventional manner using an instructor. The remaining 20% of cases were either self paced (14%) or instructor based (6%). These latter cases could involve Computer Based Training (CBT). The report, referred to in the last paragraph, also indicates that a significant aspect of business in Australia is that 95% of businesses have less than 20 staff. This poses significant problems in that the ability to deliver effective training is limited. With businesses as small as these their size does not permit them to carry specialist training personnel so this role falls to the senior staff. These people already have a full workload and their ability to be able to take on training duties is limited. In addition these people were employed for their technical skills, not training. It may be that their ability to fill the role of a trainer is not good and as a result the training may not be very effective. In addition, small business has difficulty in releasing staff for training, The difficulties faced by small business were recognised by the Australian National Training Authority in their 1995 report which indicated that there was a need to develop a ‘training culture’ among small business employers. The authority made a commitment to provide flexible delivery strategies. This includes Computer Based Training (CBT). CBT has existed since the 1970’s. It came on to the scene with a flourish and tended to provide ‘page turning’ programs or ‘drill and practice programs’. In limited areas this form of training became popular but its popularity waned in the 80’s. With the advent of better graphical displays, larger and faster memory, and improved programs in the 1990’s the quality of CBT today is superior to those offered in the 70’s and has greater appeal. Today, still photographs and video clips can be displayed and made interactive. Because of this CBT is making a comeback and starting to have a greater impact. The insurance industry covers a wide range of companies in Australia, these companies vary in size from companies with employees in the thousands to companies with less than five staff. While the needs of the employees of each are similar the ability of these companies to deliver the training varies significantly. Any training can be divided into two parts. Internal or on the job training and external. External training deals with those aspects that concern the industry as a whole whereas internal training affects the individual company. Internal training would deal with matters like company procedures, company products and the like. External training deals with matters such as legislation, products generally, and the like. In the insurance industry the major problem arises with the small companies. Insurance companies would tend to be large in size and able to cover their training costs but the insurance brokers who would make up, numerically, the major number of companies would have a significant number of companies that fall into the 20 staffer less category. In fact many would have a staff of less than 5. While CBT can benefit all companies it is these small companies that could benefit from it the most. This thesis examines: • The place of CBT in training, its cost and effectiveness. • The incidence of CBT in the insurance industry and how the industry determines its effectiveness. • If a program that meets an industry need is able to be produced at a realistic price?

The study aimed to investigate and critically analyze claims management, an ethical issue in insurance companies in Nigeria, to find out if these insurance companies recognize it to be an ethical issue and also to find out how they handle insured’s claims. A qualitative research method was used in carrying out this study; data was sourced through interviews and by secondary data using literatures from books, journals, articles, and electronic websites. The researchers used purposive sampling to select some top insurance companies in Nigeria; in these insurance companies basically personnel working in the claims department were interviewed, also sales agents from two of these insurance companies were interviewed. Data was sourced from two insurance broking firms in Nigeria by interviewing their top personnel, and also some of the insuring public with and without insurance policies was interviewed. The analytical strategy adopted in this research work was to rely on theoretical propositions. This study made use of Jones (1991) moral intensity model. Based on the analysis of data collected during the interview, the study revealed that insurance personnel in claims administration who take decision on insured’ claims in Nigeria recognize that there is a moral dilemma in their act and they discharge this responsibility professionally and ethically sticking to the rules of the business. Also the characteristics that constitute moral intensity model; proximity, social context, probability of effect, concentration of effect and magnitude of consequence offered by Jones (1991) influence the moral decision making process and moral behavior of claims personnel in Nigeria insurance companies. But due to some challenges faced by these personnel in discharging their duty and some lapses from their side and the insured’s there have always been complaint on claims. However they acknowledge that no one is perfect therefore they are open to getting feedbacks from their clients on the way they feel about their claims which they look into and make necessary amendments where needed. This study concluded with proposition for future researchers to look into how the challenges encountered by personnel managing insured’s’ claims in insurance companies in Nigeria can be dealt with and to find out how insurance companies in Nigeria can gain the awareness of the insuring public and make them understand the terms and conditions of insurance service. / kemi987@yahoo.co.uk, +46760825772

The study aimed to investigate and critically analyze claims management, an ethical issue in insurance companies in Nigeria, to find out if these insurance companies recognize it to be an ethical issue and also to find out how they handle insured’s claims. A qualitative research method was used in carrying out this study; data was sourced through interviews and by secondary data using literatures from books, journals, articles, and electronic websites. The researchers used purposive sampling to select some top insurance companies in Nigeria; in these insurance companies basically personnel working in the claims department were interviewed, also sales agents from two of these insurance companies were interviewed. Data was sourced from two insurance broking firms in Nigeria by interviewing their top personnel, and also some of the insuring public with and without insurance policies was interviewed. The analytical strategy adopted in this research work was to rely on theoretical propositions. This study made use of Jones (1991) moral intensity model. Based on the analysis of data collected during the interview, the study revealed that insurance personnel in claims administration who take decision on insured’ claims in Nigeria recognize that there is a moral dilemma in their act and they discharge this responsibility professionally and ethically sticking to the rules of the business. Also the characteristics that constitute moral intensity model; proximity, social context, probability of effect, concentration of effect and magnitude of consequence offered by Jones (1991) influence the moral decision making process and moral behavior of claims personnel in Nigeria insurance companies. But due to some challenges faced by these personnel in discharging their duty and some lapses from their side and the insured’s there have always been complaint on claims. However they acknowledge that no one is perfect therefore they are open to getting feedbacks from their clients on the way they feel about their claims which they look into and make necessary amendments where needed. This study concluded with proposition for future researchers to look into how the challenges encountered by personnel managing insured’s’ claims in insurance companies in Nigeria can be dealt with and to find out how insurance companies in Nigeria can gain the awareness of the insuring public and make them understand the terms and conditions of insurance service.

Statutory reserves in life insurance companies are required by regulation laws. Regulators monitor insurers’ statutory reserves to protect policy holders’ future benefits and ensure the insurers are financially healthy. The purpose of this report is to give a brief introduction to statutory reserves in life insurance companies. In this report, assumptions and valuation methods for statutory reserve valuations are explained and discussed. The comparisons between statutory reserves and GAAP reserves are also discussed. / text