An analysis of some of the prerequisites essential for a successful career as a life insurance agent
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AN ANALYSIS OF SOME OF THE PREREQUISITES ESSENTIAL FOR A SUCCESSFUL CAREER AS A LIFE INSURANCE AGENT
A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the School of Education University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education
by Donald Grant Mortensen June 1950
UMI Number: DP25784
All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.
D is s a rta to n PUbiisNngg
UMI DP25784 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
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T h is d is s e rta tio n } w r i t t e n u n d e r the d ir e c t io n o f the C h a ir m a n o f the c a n d id a te ’s G u id a n c e C o m m itte e a n d a p p r o v e d by a l l m em b ers o f the C o m m itte e } has been p re se n te d to a n d a ccep ted by the F a c u l t y o f the S c h o o l o f E d u c a t io n in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f the re q u ire m e n ts f o r the degree o f D o c t o r o f E d u c a t io n . Date.— j^r
Dean Guidance Committee
Chairman
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I.
PAGE THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OFTERMS USED
.
1
The p r o b l e m ...........................
2
Statement of the problem. . . . . . .
2
Scope of the s t u d y ...................
3
Importance of the s t u d y ..............
5
Definitions of terms u s e d ..............
12
Ordinary life i n s u r a n c e ..............
12
Full time life insurance a g e n t ........
13
Manager or general agent ..............
13
Apprentice agent
13
....................
Career agent .........................
14
Straight c o m m i s s i o n .........'........
14
Straight salary
14
.....................
Salary and c o m m i s s i o n ................
15
A d v a n c e .............................
15
Drawing a c c o u n t .....................
15
Incentive earning or effort plan . . . .
.16
Organization of the s t u d y ..............
16
Introductory chapters
II.
..............
.
16
Central chapters .....................
17
Final chapters.......................
17
REVIEW OF RELATED INVESTIGATIONS..........
19
iii CHAPTER
PAGE History of the o c c u p a t i o n ........ Historical introduction
.
19
..........
The a g e n t ......................
19 21
Organizations concerned with improvement of occupation
. ...........
24
Census of a g e n t s ................
26
Criteria of success employed by various 27
research work e r s ............... Problems in determining agent's earnings, as related to s u c c e s s ........
31
Earnings and success............
32
Survival and success............... . .
35
Situational factors and survival. . . .
36
Personal history items as related to s u c c e s s ......................
37
Selection techniques and instruments . . .
40
Principal techniques . . . . . . . . . .
40
Tests u s e d ......................
41
Critique of related investigations. . . .
III.
45
S u m m a r y ........................
47
SOURCES OF MATERIAL AND P R O C E D U R E ..
50
The method of research employed
........
Selection of the p a r t i c i p a n t s ....
55
50
iv CHAPTER
PAGE Selection of criterion groups of active 55
and terminated apprentice agents . . . Selection of criterion groups of active
6l
and terminated career agents * . . . . . Selection of the jury used in the validation of the proposed criteria
I
of success of the apprentice agents
.
62
Descriptions of instruments and techniques used
63
..............
Standardized tests as a source of data
.
63
.
66
Mental ability tests selected. The Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale for Adolescents and Adults . Personality tests selected. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality 66
I n v e n t o r y .................. Rosenzweig P-F Study, Revised for
67
A d u l t s ...................... Interest test selected. Strong Vocational Interest Test
...
Special life insurance sales aptitude tests selected. Aptitude Index to Measure Aptitude for
68
CHAPTER
PAGE 69
Life Insurance Selling .............. Steward - Personal Inventory of Basic F a c t o r s .........................
70
Personal history information ............ Personal Background Inventory
........
72 73
Production record form . ................
74
Termination form, for agents and managers...................
74
Miscellaneous forms obtained from agencies...........................
74
I n t e r v i e w ...........................
75
Questionnaires to active and terminated career agents
..................... ..............
76
........................
76
Letter to jury Miscellaneous
76
Collection, analysis, and interpretation of d a t a .............................
77
Collection of data. Apprentice agents Career agents
..................
77
......................
79
Tabulation of all d a t a ..................
80
Pattern of a n a l y s i s ....................
80
Interpretation of d a t a ..................
82
Summary of the chapter..................
83
VI
CHAPTER IV.
PAGE ASSUMPTIONS AND HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY. Assumptions of the s t u d y ..........
85
Hypotheses of the s t u d y ..........
87
Summary V.
85
. .
......................
88
CRITERIA OF SUCCESS AS APPLIED TO APPRENTICE AGENTS
.....................
The problem and p r o c e d u r e ..........
90 90
Development of criteria of success . . . .
91
Criteria of success listed by other investigators
91
......................
Gross volume of sales (production) of active and terminated apprentice a g e n t s .........................
92
Trend of s a l e s ...................
93
Determination of monthly earnings
...
97
Determination of amount of monthly payments r e c e i v e d .............
98
Compensation plan in which agents were employed.......................
99
Determination of amount of cost of living requirements
101
................
Interrelationships of monthly earnings, payments received, and cost of living requirements
102
. ^ ............
r
• *
.
9
-
vii CHAPTER
?AOiE
Length of service of terminated 105
apprentice a g e n t s .................. Relation of effort and training
107
achievement to success............... Relation of success and managerial a s s i g n m e n t s ....................... Suggested criteria
109 .
109
Validation and application of criteria of success..............................
112
Ratings by j u r y ........................
112
Applications of ratings ofsuccess .
VI.
.
.
113
Evaluation of criteria ................
118
S u m m a r y .........
119
FOLLGW-UP STUDY OF ORE HUNDRED FIFTY CAREER AGENTS
.
......................
Problem and p r o c e d u r e
121
.
Introduction and background setting
.
.
T e c h n i q u e ..............................
121 121 122
Present status of participants ..........
123
Occupational s t a t u s ..................
123
Financial status of responding career a g e n t s ................................
128
Factors related to success ................
131
■v
viii CHAPTER
PAGE Introduction .........................
131
Personal history information. A g e ...............................
132
E d u c a t i o n .........................
134
Organizational memberships ..........
135
Marital status .....................
136
H e a l t h .............................
136
Test s c o r e s .........................
138
Contributing and handicapping factors related to success of active career agents
......................
141
Summary of findings concerning the patterns of success indicated by a follow-up study of 150 career agents . .
142
Findings concerning present status of 150 agents reported as earning
a living in 1933 .................... Findings concerning present status of fifty-two respondents reported as
VII.
earning a living in 1933 ............
145
APPRENTICE AGENTS' TEST D A T A ..............
149
Determination of mental ability- of the * apprentice agents
..................
150
ix CHAPTER
PAGE
Mental ability of agents involved in 150
the s t u d y .......................... Determination of interest patterns
153
of the apprentice a g e n t s ............. Vocational interests of active and terminated apprentice agents ........
154
Determination of personality patterns 162
of the apprentice a g e n t s ........ Personality characteristics of active and terminated apprentice agents
162
as indicated by test s c o r e s .... Determination of sales aptitude of the apprentice agents
..................
168
Aptitude of active and apprentice agents as indicated by test scores
..
169
Summary of findings concerning mental ability, interests, personality characteristics, and life insurance sales aptitudes of active and terminated apprentice agents ........ VIII.
PERSONAL HISTORY DATA OF APPRENTICE AGENTS . Questionnaire results
.
Family background
.................. •
.
..............
171
I75 176
l8 l
X
CHAPTER
PAGE Education and health . ..................
186
Occupational b a c k g r o u n d ................
190
Occupational background patterns . . . .
190
Occupational earnings
................
194
......................
196
Financial factors
IX.
Activities.............................
199
Health factors...................
203
Miscellaneous factors
..................
207
Summary of f i n d i n g s ....................
211
THE OCCUPATION:
REACTIONS OF APPRENTICE
AND CAREER AGENTS TOWARD IT AND REASONS GIVEN FOR T E R M I N A T I O N ..................
216
Reactions toward the occupation
........
217
Apprentice agents1 reactions..........
217
Level of aspiration of apprentice a g e n t s .............................
228
Career agents' reactions ..............
230
Changing occupational pattern
2 39
........
Participants1 reasons for termination
. .
239
Determination of apprentice agents1 reasons for t e r m i n a t i o n ............
240
Reasons for termination according to terminated apprentice agents ........
244
xi CHAPTER
PAGE Reasons for termination according to career a g e n t s ...................
.
247
Present employment of terminated career a g e n t s ............................. Summary of f i n d i n g s .................... X.
247
249
INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS PATTERNS OF THE APPRENTICE AGENTS
......................
254
Factors considered in the individual patterns............................ S u c c e s s ...............................
256
Bill G r e e n ........
256
Tom C l a r k ...........................
258
Mediocrity.............................
260
. . ....................
260
Henry T a y l o r ..........................
262
Failure patterns ........................
2 65
Stephen Richards ......................
265
Harry B r o w n .........................
268
Richard Smith
Patterns of variability
XI.
255
................
271
James M o r t o n .........................
271
Walter Jones ..........................
274
S u m m a r y ...............................
279
THE EVALUATION OF THE HYPOTHESES..........
282
xii PAGE
CHAPTER Criteria for evaluation of the degree of success achieved by each apprentice agent have been e s t a b l i s h e d ........................
282
The vocational guidance tests employed within this research have not differentiated between the pre selected active and terminated apprentice agents included in this s t u d y .......................
283
There are patterns of personal history data which have apparent value for predicting the amount of success or failure of the job applicants . . . .
284
There are certain characteristics of the occupation which attract individuals with particular "kinds" of occupational a m b i t i o n s ...
285
In the process of matching a man with a job of life insurance agent all occupational data must be related to the individual^ frame of reference in order to have predictivevalue
. .
286
xiii CHAPTER
PAGE There is no one traditional life insurance salesman personality stereotype who becomes successful 287
as an a g e n t ............. ...... Failure as an agent does not assure a counselor that the individual will be
28 8
a failure in other occupations . . . . Evaluation of the similarities and differences between active and terminator (or failure) groups is essential in determining pre requisites required for success in the occupation
289
S u m m a r y .......................... XII.
288
............
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
.
S u m m a r y ............................
291
Background for the s t u d y ..........
291
Statement of the problem..........
292
The research p l a n ................
293
The participants..................
295
Methods of procedure..............
296
Treatment of the d a t a ............
2 98
Patterns of findings and conclusions . . .
291
299
xiv CHAPTER
PAGE The occupational pattern ..............
2 99
Patterns of s u c c e s s ..................
304
Patterns of prerequisites essential for s u c c e s s ........................
307
C o n c l u s i o n s ..........................
312
Recommendations........................
315
Recommendations for improvement of occupation..........................
3^5
. .
316
B I B L I O G R A P H Y ...................................
318
A P P E N D I X .......................................
325
Suggestions forthe guidance worker
LIST OF TABLES TABLE
PAGE I.
Summary of Representative Reports of Full Time Agents * Average Production
II.
....
34
Distribution of Participant Apprentice Agents According to Agencies..........
III.
57
Instruments and Techniques Used for Gathering D a t a ........................
IV.
64
Average Production, Number, and Size of Policies Sold per Month by Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
V.
95
Type of Financing Plans in Which Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents were Employed..............................
VI.
100
Average Monthly Earnings and Cost of Living Requirements of Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
VII.
Number of Months Spent in Occupation by Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
VIII.
103
106
Average Monthly Rating of Effort and Training Achievement of Active and Terminated Agents, as Indicated by Their Respective Managers
IX.
............
108
Jury Ratings of Proposed Criteria of S u c c e s s ...........................
.
114
XV i
TABLE
PAGE X.
Distribution, Monthly Production, and Earnings of Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents, According to Success Ratings
XI.
......................
Managerial or Supervisory Responsibilities of Active Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
XII.
115
117
Follow-up Study of I50 Male Life Insurance Agents Reported as Earning a Living in the Business in 1933 (15 Years Ago)
XIII.
. .
Positions Held by Active and Terminated Career A g e n t s ........................
XIV.
124
125
Principal Fields of Work Engaged in by Terminated Career Agents After Leaving the Life Insurance B u s i n e s s ..........
XV.
Net Worth and Earnings of Active and Terminated Career A g e n t s ..............
XVI.
137
Health History of Active and Terminated Career A g e n t s ........................
XIX.
133
Marital Status of Active and Terminated Career A g e n t s ........................
XVIII.
129
Personal History Items of Active and Terminated Career A g e n t s ..............
XVII.
126
Test Scores of Active and Terminated
139
X V ii
TABLE
PAGE Career Agents as Determined Fifteen Years (1933) Previous to this Study
XX.
. .
140
Factors Which Have Contributed to Success, as Indicated by Active Career A g e n t s ........................
XXI.
143
Principal Weak Points Which Have Handicapped Success, as Indicated by Active Career A g e n t s ..............
XXII.
144
Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale Mean Scores, Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ....................
XXIII.
151
Strong Interest Blank Mean Standard Scores, Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ....................
XXIV.
I55
Comparison of Percentages of Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents Scoring in Letter Ratings of Strong Interest Blank
XXV.
..............................
I59
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Mean T Scores, Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents
XXVI.
............
....
163
Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study Mean Scores, Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ...............................
I67
s'
xviii TABLE XXVII.
PAGE Part II, Aptitude Index and Steward Personal Inventory of Basic Factors Mean Scores, Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ....................
XIX.
172
Percentages of Positive Responses and T Ratios of Items of Personal Background Inventory, Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents
XXX.
. . ................
Marital Factors as Related to Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
XXXI.
177
182
Principal Occupation and Highest Yearly Income Received by Fathers of Active and Terminated ApprenticeAgents . . . .
XXXII.
184
Educational Achievement and Major Fields of Study of Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s .............
XXXIII.
188
Most Significant Full Time Civilian Occupational Experience and Number Having Work Experience While Students, Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ................................
XXXIV.
Highest Rank Achieved and Length of Military Service of Active and
191
xix TABLE
PAGE Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
XXXV*
192
Comparison of Highest Amount of Monthly Compensation Received from Previous Civilian and Military Jobs by Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents . . . .
XXXVI.
195
Comparison of Net Worth and Life Insurance in Force, Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
XXXVII*
197
Number of Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents Receiving Assistance, Other Than Income from Employment, to Meet Cost of Living Requirements
XXXVIII.
....
198
Number of Organizational Memberships Held by Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents
XXXIX*
............................
201
Prospecting Value of Organizational Membership Held by Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ..........
XL.
Ages of Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents at Time of H i r i n g ..............
XLI.
205
Weight and Height of Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ....................
XLII.
202
206
Length of Time Lived in California by Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents
....
2 08
XX
TABLE
PAGE
XLIII.
Sources and Methods of Prospecting Used by Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s .........................
XLIV.
209
Comparison of Titles Applied to. Occupation by Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents and Their Wives ................
XLV.
218
Reactions of Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents Toward Occupation of Life Insurance A g e n t ..................
XLVI.
219
Biggest Problems in the Occupation, According to Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents
XLVII.
........... . . . . .
222
Amount of Basic Training and Supervised Field Training, as Indicated by Active and Terminated Apprentice Agents . . . .
XLVIII.
223
Evaluation of Company and/or Agency Training Program and Quality of Agency Supervision, by Active and Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ....................
XLIX.
224
Direction and Level of Ambition Within the Insurance Field of Active Apprentice A g e n t s .................
L.
Principal Advantages of Occupation as
229
xxi TABLE
PAGE Indicated by Active and Terminated Career A g e n t s ........................
LI.
231
Principal Disadvantages of Occupation as Indicated by Active and Terminated Career A g e n t s ........................
LII.
232
Recommendations of Active and Terminated Career Agents for Improving the Business and Making the Occupation more Attractive............................
LIII.
234
Ways in Which Clientele has Changed During Past Fifteen Years, as Indicated by Active Career A g e n t s ...........
LI¥.
236
Comparison of Ratings of Reasons for Termination Given by Thirty Terminated Apprentice Agents and Their Respective Managers..............................
LV.
241
Type of New Employment and Average Monthly Earnings of Terminated Apprentice A g e n t s ....................
LVI.
Reasons Given for Leaving the Business Given by Terminated Career Agents
LVII.
246
...
Present Work and Its Advantages Over Life Insurance Selling, as Indicated
248
xxil TABLE
PAGE by Terminated Career A g e n t s ..........
LVTII.
250
Percentages of Positive Responses and TRatios of Items of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory . . .
325
CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED The problem of vocational adjustment is not new to our society, nor is its solution immediately foreseen. The implications of the problem are inter-twined with the very core of American life and carry over into the field of international relations.
It is both a generalized
problem facing all people working in the area of human relations, and a particularized^one for each person who considers getting and holding a job. On the broad social level many solutions have been offered for experimentation.
And on the more specific
man-job level, personnel workers have completed many investigations with varying amounts of social and educa tional values.
Few studies, however, have considered
occupations in terms of their configurations of human relationships.
Especially is this true in the study of
the occupation of the life insurance agent.
In this
situation the studies have been almost exclusively centered around development of the companies r techniques of selection which have been based upon statistical analysis of mass data and few objective variables.
2
I.
THE PROBLEM
Statement of the problem.
The purpose of this
study was to analyze some of the factors prerequisite to a succes§iul career as a life insurance agent, in terms of the total pattern of man-job relationships.
More specifi
cally, the purpose of this study was to seek answers to the following questions: * 1. What are some of the characteristics considered by other investigators as essential for success in the occupation? 2.
What criteria can be established relative to
evaluating th^?amount of success of an apprentice agent? 3.
Whax patterns of success are described
g.
follow-up study of one hundred fifty career agents who were considered successful fifteen years previous to this study? 4.
Do certain psychological tests differentiate
between active and terminated apprentice agents? 3.
What patterns o f success or failure are
indicated by a study of certain personal history items of active and terminated apprentice agents? 6.
What_positive and negative reactions toward
the occupational^Tield are expressed by the apprentice m and career agents?
3 7.
Why do agents leave the occupation?
8.
To what extent are the patterns of success or
failure related to a particular individual? 9.
What conclusions and implications can be
presented as having significance for guidance workers? Chapters have been developed for amplifying and answering the above questions.
Briefly, question one is
answered in Chapter II, question two in Chapter V, ques tion three -in Chapter VI, question four in Chapter VII, question five in Chapter VIII, questions six and seven in Chapter IV, question eight in Chapter X, and question nine in Chapter XII.
Further amplification of the
organization of the report is made in succeeding sections. Scope of the study.
In further clarification of
the nature of the problem, this study is not, in the tra ditional sense, one of the following: 1.
A time and frequency study of the job opera
tions of the occupation. 2.
The construction of a selection instrument.
3.
A market survey.
4.
A curricular study of recommended training
courses. 3.
business.
An economic study of the life insurance
4 6
. A study of supervisorial or managerial
practices. This study was primarily concerned with the estab lishment of gestalt patterns of personal prerequisites essential for a person enjoying a successful career in the job of a life insurance agent.
It has attempted to view
the occupation from the point of view or frame of reference of a potential agent and the vocational counselor whose task it is to assist the potential agent to consider his fitness for the occupation.
To fully accomplish the
purpose of understanding the job in terms of its dynamic human relationships would require much more time and finances than that allotted to a single doctoral study. The investigator has, therefore, limited the study to the exploratory level of investigation and interpretation. An investigation of this nature which presupposes wholeness cannot be set off by any one individual boundary either of limiting the number of variables or of utilizing only one of the ordinary methodologies.
In other words,
the scope of this study was not limited to the study of previously defined variables; rather it has attempted to consider all variables falling within the frame of reference of the investigation, reported herein.
And,
since it has been emphasized that this is an exploratory
5 study of the dynamic relationships of man and job, method ologies were utilized according to their usefulness in obtaining meaningful solutions of the problem.
Therefore,
the boundaries of the study are as wide as the study itself which seeks to see the job in terms of its human elements. The investigator has attempted to develop each succeeding section and chapter so as to more clearly define and clarify the frame of reference of the study and the limitations of interpretation which are recognized. Importance of the study.
The purposes and problems
have grown out of the need for such a study.
The follow
ing reasons are given as background and justification for development of this study, in light of its educational and guidance implications: 1.
The economic aspects of American life have been
and continue to be of great importance in the direction of the school activities.
Brubacher emphasized this by
declaring: Of all the sociological factors which have con ditioned the course of educational history, perhaps none has so persistently posed problems as has the economic. And, oddly enough, perhaps none has been so overlooked, neglected, or thrust to one side. Education owes its support to the basic economy but
6 has been reluctant to accord it a prominent place in the curriculum. 1 Adding to the inter-relatedness of the economic aspects of society (and education), Mayo states: Every social group, at whatever level of culture, must face and clearly state two perpetual and recur rent problems of administration. It must secure for its individual and group membership: (1 ) the satis faction of material and economic needs. (2) The maintenance of spontaneous cooperation throughout the organization. 2 2.
Good vocational adjustment is one of the funda
mental objectives of the educative process.
Evidence of
this is witnessed by the frequency of occurrence of this aim in educational literature. 3.
Insurance company leaders consider the problem
of selection and training of field representatives as basic in the business.
Under the chairmanship of Walter
J. Stoessel, The Life Insurance Managers Association of Los Angeles made a study of the postwar problems of agency management.
The conclusions of the report were so widely
accepted in the field that nation wide distribution was
^ John S* Brubacher, A History of the Problems of Education (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.,
iw r r r r : 75.
2 Elton Mayo, The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization (Boston:HDTvision of ResearcET graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1945), P. 9.
7 made.
One of the introductory statements is representative:
We believe a constantly expanding need for life insurance exists and will continue in the postwar period, and that this need can best be supplied and serviced through the agency system. The most important problem of the life insurance business in the postwar period is to secure more effective distribution. We believe that distribution and the future of the agency system depends chiefly on our ability to secure and develop a larger number of permanent and successful career life underwriters. That is the chief problem, and that must be the main objective of companies and General Agents and Managers.3 That the problem of securing and developing successful career agents is a really serious one is best indicated by a prewar study of agent survival in twentythree companies.
It was found that of 1,000 full-time
agents hired, 2 6 1 survived three years, 144 survived five years, 59 survived ten years, and only 6 survived thirty years.4 Within the state of California there were issued 3 8 ,6 6 0 Life and Disability Agent licenses during 1949;
however, on March 1, 1950, 33,423 were in force, thus
3 Life Insurance Managers Association of Los Angeles, Life Insurance Agency Management in the Postwar World (Hartford: Life Insurance Sales Researed Bureau, March, 1944), p. 5. 4 Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, The Survival and Production of Agents in the United States (Hartford-: Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, 1943), P. 3.
8
indicating a great fluctuation in the number engaged in the occupation.
More significant is the fact that 6 ,5 8 7
Certificates of Convenience were issued in 1949 to enter ing Life and Disability agents; but cancellations within the first three or four months amounted to 2 ,0 6 4 , and of the remaining 4,523 who were notified of Qualifications Examination, only 2 ,7 6 0 appeared to take the examination with only 1 , 4 2 3 passing the first t i m e . 5 4.
In the process of matching men and jobs the
counselor and the personnel worker are in need of infor mation which will help them to perform, at least par tially well, the function of selection.
As this function
is basic, a definition by Yoder, is here provided. The function of selection, reduced to its simplest form, Involves the careful correlation of human characteristics and job requirements, to the end that the individual may fit the job. Such a process requires for its efficient operation: (1 ) the dis covery of definitive job requirements for each position (the task of job analysis), and (2 ) the recognition and measurement of distinctive correlated human characteristics (the particular function of those engaged in selection). Human qualities are, however, difficult to describe, to classify, and to
5 Letter to present Investigator, California State Department of Insurance, March 11, 1950. It is recognized that there is some over-lap of applicants from one year to another; also, that one agent may be Issued more than one license, according to the number of companies he repre sents .
9 identify, and it is this elementary fact that makes the selective process a complicated o n e . 6 And as the counselor must start from the point of the individual, rather than job analysis, and then into what occupations the counselee might go for maximum job satis faction, it is essential that the counselor have informa tion and understanding from that frame of reference. Review of the occupational literature in the field reveals very little which would be of value to the counselor or the counselee who is considering the occu pation of life insurance agent.
Practically all of the
realistic information is confidential to the hiring companies. 5.
The occupation of the life insurance agent is
unique within the picture of social and business life of America and, therefore, warrants attention.
He is unique
because he is found wherever there is risk involved in any human activity; and risk is seemingly a part of the American economy, otherwise over two hundred billions of dollars of life insurance coverage would not be in force.^
6 Dale Yoder, Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (Hew York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., I$'45), p. Ib2 .
7 Institute of Life Insurance, Life Insurance Fact Book, 1949 (60 East 42nd St., Hew YorkTTnstitute"of XTTe Insurance, 1949), PP. 5 - 1 6 .
10
Even though the life insurance agent is known in nearly all towns and families in the United States, his status varies from that of a trusted financial counselor to that of a scoundrel.
While his product is frequently
discussed by workers within the institution of education, few of those workers have made controlled inquiries as to why the agent may or may not enjoy a successful career. 6.
There is need of an exploratory study of the
occupation in terms of its dynamic man-job relationships and its social Implications.
Review of the literature in
the field indicates that nearly all investigations have been made from the employers frame of reference and for the purpose of validating test items.
These items have
been atomistic in construction; and their interpretations have been in terms of averages, not from the individuals frame of reference, which the counselor always should consider.
Gardner amplifies this by saying:
The individual is not an inert plastic being forced into a social mold; he does not automatically change in conformity with each new role. Instead he has been "conditioned" by his experiences in all his different roles in all the structures, and he brings to his job a complex pattern of behavior, attitudes, and concepts which are a result of his whole life experience. . . . Furthermore, the individual may be thought of as bringing to his job his own set of "demands." He is seeking certain satisfactions; he expects the job to perform certain functions for him; and he judges it constantly in terms of these demands. These expectations are
11
another product of his conditioning; they grow out of the society itself and out of his place and experience in it. 8 This point of view, which the investigator has attempted to utilize in this investigation, was developed and described by such writers as R o e t h l i s b e r g e r , ^ who gained considerable prominence from the famous Western Electric study; Lewies interpretation of personality; 10 the cultural implications of personality recently described by Kluckhohn and Murray;
the new frame of reference for
psychology described by Snygg and Combs;
ip
and psycho
logical implications described by Sherif and C a n t r i l . ^ In the guidance field Rogers1^ and Mathews o n 1 5 emphasize ® Burleigh B. Gardner, Human Relations in Industry (Chicago: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1946)7 P.'"_1 70. 9 F.J. Roethlisberger and W.J. Dickson, Management and the Worker (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1939). 10 Kurt Lewin, A Dynamic Theory of Personality (Hew York: McGraw-Hill7 1935). 11 Clyde Kluckhohn and Henry A. Murray, editors, Personality in Nature, Society, and Culture (Hew York: XlfreS A. Knopf , .------- -----------12 Donald Snygg and Arthur W. Combs, Individual Behavior (Hew York: Harper and Brothers, 194917
13 M. Sherif and H. Cantril, The Psychology of Ego Involvements (New York: Wiley, 1947). 12* Carl R. Rogers, unpublished mimeographed material. 15 Robert H. Mathewson, Guidance Policy and Practice (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1949).
12
this point, and it has recently been recognized in the insurance field by Cummings. ^6 Because of these observations, the investigator believes that an exploratory study such as this one, with its holistic, individual approach, can make a contribution to school guidance workers, educational leaders, Insurance company leaders, and most of all— prospective agents.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED In order to assist in the interpretation of the related literature and findings, the terms most frequently used have been defined. Ordinary life insurance.
Contrasted with Industrial
life insurance, policies issued by Ordinary companies are usually issued in amounts of $ 1 ,0 0 0 or more with premiums payable on an annual, semi-annual, or quarterly basis.IT All agents included within this study were representatives of Ordinary companies.
16 0. Sam Cummings, How to Build a Successful Life Insurance Agency (Indianapolis :~The Insurance Research and Review Service, 1 950). IT Institute of Life Insurance, op. cit., p. 9 1 .
13 Full time life insurance agent. While there are various legal and popular definitions current, the defini tion given by the National Association of Life Underwriters was used for the purposes of this study: Full time agent refers to an agent who is engaged solely in the business of life insurance. An agent who is engaged solely in life, health and accident insurance shall be deemed to be a full time agent, provided life insurance is his principal business. A full time agent of a multiple line company is presumed to be ’’full time” within the meaning of that term as used herein. Manager or general agent. These titles have been used interchangeably and refer to the person who manages a sales field office.
The titles of superintendent or dis
trict manager are included within this classification; however, the terms of supervisor, trainer, cashier, or office manager have not b e e n . 1 ^ Apprentice agent.
For the purposes of this study
the term shall be applied to those full time agents of Ordinary life insurance companies who have had fewer than three years experience.
Each agent has been considered
^ The National Association of Life Underwriters, Guiding Principles in Agency Management (New York: The National Association of Life Underwriters, 1947), P* 2 * *9 Loc. cit.
14 to be the agent of only one company.
This classification
has been subclassified into active and terminated appren tice agents. Career agent.
The career agent term has been
applied, within this study, to the full-time agent who has had several years experience in the business, has con sidered it his principle life occupation, and has earned a reasonable living.
He has served an apprentice period
as a full time agent of a single Ordinary life company and has continued in the life insurance business as a direct salesman or in a managerial capacity related to sales work.
This classification has also been subclassi
fied into active and terminated career agents. Straight commission.
Of the many plans for com
pensating agents the one that is most frequently used is payment of commissions earned on sales made.
If the
policy persists more than one year, renewal commissions are paid for a certain length of time.
Commission rates
vary with type of policy and issuing company. Straight salary. Under this plan of compensation the agent 11. . . receives a weekly or monthly salary
15 which is not geared to the sales he makes." 2 0 Salary and commission.
This financing plan was
used by some of the cooperating managers wherein "The Underwriter [agent] is paid a regular salary which is supplemented by all or part of the commissions in the sales he makes." Advance.
21
The definition given by the Life Insur
ance Agency Management Association has been accepted for the purposes of this study: A loan to the underwriter [agent] by his manager or home office, against which the underwriter can draw according to current needs up to an agreed limit. The commissions he earns are applied either wholly or partly to repay the amount advanced. 22 Responsibility is upon the borrower for payment of the loan, even though commissions are insufficient to cover amount, and the agent has terminated. Drawing account.
In contrast with the advance, the
drawing account is frequently used in sales work and operates almost identically with a salary plan.
However,
20 Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Let1s Look at Life Insurance (Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 19^9), p. 22. 2^ Loc. cit. 22 Loc. cit.
16
in some instances, the drawee may he responsible for pay ment if commissions do not equal amount drawn. Incentive earning or effort plan.
This is a plan
offered for the beginner and operates similarly with the salary-commission combination.
The definition given by
the Life Insurance Agency Management Association is used: The underwriter [agent] is paid in accordance with the amount of selling work he does. He may receive a money allowance for each call or selling interview he makes, whether a sale results or not, and also receive stipulated allowances for sales actually made. As long as he remains on the plan his actual commissions are recorded in a separate account, and as soon as this record of commissions earned equals the total amount paid him in salary, he is usually permitted to change to a straight commission basis if he wishes.23
III.
ORGANIZATION OP THE STUDY
Introductory chapters.
The organization of this
study falls logically into three parts, with each part adding to and amplifying the other.
For the sake of
clarity and readability of this report, even though the procedural connotations of the study would seem to require little division of the whole into parts, chapter divisions have been liberally made.
23 Loc. cit.
The first part includes the
17 first four chapters, which serve as a general background and introduction to this study.
Specifically, it includes:
Chapter I, The Problem and Definitions of Terms Used; Chapter II, Review of Related Investigations; Chapter III, Sources of Materials and Procedure; and Chapter IV, Assumptions and Hypotheses of the Study. Central chapters. findings of the study.
The central chapters analyze the
In Chapter V are developed the
criteria of success which are used as a tool for better interpreting data- in subsequent chapters.
An analysis of
the present status of the career agents is made In Chapter VI.
In Chapter VII analysis Is made of the test data
obtained from the psychological measurement of the appren tice agents.
And in Chapter VIII the personal history
information obtained from company records, questionnaires and Interviews is described.
Why agents leave the busi
ness and what they think of the occupation are considered in Chapter IX.
Chapter X was presented to Indicate the
individual frame of reference of the data in terms of parts of case studies. Final chapters.
In Chapter XI an evaluation of the
hypotheses stated in Chapter IV is made.
Conclusions and
recommendations for further research are listed In
18 Chapter XII. In the Bibliography are presented titles of books and periodical references found most helpful in the writ ing of the dissertation.
In the Appendix may be found
samples of test instruments, questionnaires and working forms utilized in collecting the data.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED INVESTIGATIONS Although, the success of an agent is dependent upon the varied patterns of characteristics each agent displays in relationship to his job, few studies, if any, have been made from the individuals frame of reference.
It was
the purpose of the investigator in this chapter to sum marize the related investigations as to (1 ) history of the occupation, (2 ) definitions of success, (3 ) techniques and instruments used in selection, and (4 ) the research methodologies used.
Information obtained provides an
answer to the first question listed under the statement of the problem in the preceding chapter.
I.
HISTORY OF THE OCCUPATION
Historical introduction. Although brief histories had been written, it was not until 1942 that an adequate history of life insurance marketing was published.
This
monumental work was done by Stalson^ as a part of his doctoral requirements at Harvard1s Graduate School of
1 J. Owen Stalson, Marketing Life Insurance (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1$42).
20
Business Administration.
Stalson had had several years
experience as a soliciting agent. Before outlining the history of the occupation of the life insurance agent it will be helpful to view its genesis in light of the history of the industry the agent represents.
The first insurance company established in
United States was in 1759 by the Presbyterian Synods in New York and Philadelphia, who set up a corporation for insuring the lives of their ministers for the protection of their families.
It was called ”A Corporation for the
Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian o Ministers.” Thirty-five years later the first business corporation to sell life insurance in America, was organ ized and in five years of existence sold only six policies. At the turn of the nineteenth century English insurance companies entered the United States market.
Paralleling
the growth of United States as a world economic power, the capitalistic enterprise of the yankee has developed the financial structure of life insurance companies to present world leadership, now worth over fifty-five billion dollars.^ 2 Institute of Life Insurance, £p. cit., p. 8 6 .
3 Loc. cit.
21
Governmental controls of this giant started in 1840 when the state of Hew York enacted a law which pro vided that payments to a beneficiary were exempt from claims of creditors.
Within the next twenty years Hew
York had passed the first general insurance law, and following Massachusetts, had established a state insurance department.
How all states have departments of insurance.
After the turn of the twentieth century the Armstrong investigation of life insurance by the Hew York state legislature, resulted in many changes in insurance laws.^ Other states followed with stricter control. In 1939, the Temporary national Economic Committee investigated the business and made some recommendations for controlling the giant financial institution.^ The agent.
Since Israel Whelen
came to Philadel
phia in 180T to represent an English company, the life insurance agent has been a familiar figure on the American scene.
Gras very succintly describes the agent in a
historical picture presented in the editor's introduction to Stalson's book:
^ Loc« d t . 5 Temporary national Economic Committee, Monograph Ho. 28, Study of Legal Reserve Life Insurance Companies "(WasTTIngton,' D*7C.: United States “Government). 6 Stalson, op. cit., p. 4 9 *
22
In the history of the insurance salesmen in general, we find at least three stages. First, in early days the agent, or insurance broker, became the manager of the insurance business, at a time when only marine insurance existed (up to the late seventeenth century). In this particular industry he waged a successful battle (in England) with those underwriters who were organized in large corpora tions (eighteenth century). In America, however, the agent temporarily lost in the general struggle for dominance and even existence (late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries). Accordingly, in the early nineteenth century during the second stage— the one in which newly organized corporations dominated— we find the agent neglected, ignored, or even spurned, at least by life insurance companies and possibly by other insurance companies. Perhaps this attitude was an aftermath of the general experience of the insurance industry. In the third stage, life insurance companies learned that they needed agents and sharply reversed their practices. In fact, some of the strongest new companies were formed by agent-minded promoters whose chief contribution lay in aggressive marketing. With many changes in emphasis this third stage has lasted in America from 1842-43 to the present. We may well raise the question, along with the author, whether a fourth stage will not come, one in which salesmen will be put on a salaried basis and operate from branch offices which in turn will be supervised by a strong agency department in the home office. In such an eventuality, of course, agents would disappear as such and become mere employees. No doubt there are conflicting arguments concerning this course of action and, in my mind, real objections; but certainly the evidence is not all in.7 The modern life insurance agent, partially an employee and partially an individual enterpriser, has declared himself to be (or aspires to do so) a financial
7 Ibid., p. xxvi.
23 counselor.^
However, militating against this is a tradi
tion which Stalson describes: To begin with, he is traditionally an unwelcome person. The public has long since conceived an obstinate dislike for him; he is heir to a long standing and strangely persistent disfavor. This may be owing to the fact that he reminds men of the death which is certain to overtake them, or because he confronts them with their own selfishness as revealed in them by their unwillingness to sacrifice today*s pleasures to secure future well being for their dependent families, or because he speaks of duties and the fierce, hard facts of modern economic isolation. The attitude of the general public may have been induced to some extent by the character of the selling force itself. Too often it has numbered among its membership men who were poorly educated and neither well-bred nor well-trained (in agreeable though effective selling technique). And the sub ject of life insurance requires the prospect to have either great faith in his solicitor or great acquaintance with the idea-content of life insurance as a system. Usually both the faith and the knowledge are lacking.9 To check the attitude of the public toward the agent, the Life Insurance Agency Management Association made an interview survey of representative families of a large'West Coast city.
This question was asked: "Which
of these groups do you think would be more likely to put your welfare and need before their own personal profit: teachers, doctors, farmers, insurance agents, lawyers,
8 Ibid., p. 632.
9 ibid., pp. 2 6 -2 7 .
24 merchants or congressmen?” According to the report of five choices, the life insurance agent ranked above the merchants, lawyers and congressmen.^
However, one
question is hardly enough to provide adequate information. Organizations concerned with improvement of occu pation. Within the past fifty years there has been a reconsideration of the marketing practices. trend emphasized by training programs is:
The new
-
"The indi
vidual's (prospect) needs for life insurance have been reappraised and merchandising for specific uses has been the marketing i d e a l . S i n c e 1897 when Harvard intro duced the first course in life insurance there has been a continuous and rapid increase in non-company training of insurance workers to meet this changing pattern of marketing.
Spearheading this movement to professionally
train the potential agent was Solomon S. Huebner,12 of University of Pennsylvania.
Verne Steward has been active
on the west coast and has spread his influence eastward.
10 Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Life Insurance Information, Attitudes and Experience (Hartford: Life InsuranceAgency Management Association, 1949), P. 19.
H
Stalson, op. cit., p. 6 3 2 .
12 Ibid., p. 5 7 8 ,
25 There have been many organizations established to assist the agent, such as the National Association of Life Underwriters,^3 and the American College of Life Under writers.1^
The most prominent organization, other than
colleges, which has prepared training programs has been the Insurance Research and Review Service of Indianapolis. From a research viewpoint the most significant organization has been the Life Insurance Sales Research B u r e a u , w h i c h grew out of work done at Carnegie Institude; now consolidated with Life Agency Officers Associa tion to form the Life Insurance Agency Management Association.
The latter association is completely sup
ported by member insurance companies.
This organization,
geared to the agency management level, has published the bulk of all information available about selection and compensation, etc., of agents.
The other source of
information has been private industrial psychologists employed by insurance companies or who are engaged in selling selection materials to the various companies. Guidance workers have entered the field only for the purpose of validating test items.
13 1515-> pp- 5 7 4 - 6 3 1 .
14 Ibid. , p. 5 9 4 . 15 Ibid., p. 5 9 1 .
26
Census of agents. Apparently the only report of the number of agents in United States has been made by the Life Insurance Agency Management Association.
The
last report in 1 9 4 9 , based upon questionnaire returns from 157 insurance companies, stated that at the close of 1 9 4 8 , it was estimated there were 7 2 ,6 0 0 full time male
agents, 3 ,6 0 0 female agents, and 1 1 ,2 0 0 managerial and supervisorial sales personnel, (in Ordinary agencies only).
This amount represented an increase of 18,300
agents and 2 8 0 0 managerial and supervisorial personnel over the estimated 1945 census. ^ The recent report obtained from the State of California Department of Insurance, however, would indi cate that probably there are many more part or full time agents, if the State of California alone had issued 3 8 ,6 6 0
Life and Disability Licenses in 1949.
If allow
ances are made for overlapping, there are probably 2 5 ,0 0 0 agents.
Even more astonishing was that of 6 ,5 8 7 Certifi
cates of Convenience issued in 1949, only 1,423 final licenses were issued after the first Qualifications
Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Census of Life Insurance Personnel In the United States (Hartford:Life Insurance Agency Association, 194$), p. 7 .
27
Examination.-*-7 And undoubtedly many more considered the occupation who did not even go so far as to be placed under contract.
II.
CRITERIA OP SUCCESS EMPLOYED BY VARIOUS RESEARCH WORKERS
While the many workers and "arm-chair” critics in the field are voluble in their descriptions of character istics required for success, few have offered satisfactory operating definitions of success.
The statistical workers
in the process of validating test items, on the other hand, have been forced to establish some criteria. For his doctoral dissertation, Steward set up four levels of success, as follows: Group I— Hot earning a living. Worried about making a good living. Likely to shift to other employment opportunity. Group II— Hot earning a living. Expects to make good. Group III— Earning a living in insurance. Happy in work. Quite certain of remaining in business. Group IV— Has earned $ 6 ,0 0 0 or more per year for three or more years. Produces business of good quality.^®
^ State of California Department of Insurance letter, op. cit., p. 4 .
Verne Steward, "The Use and Value of Special Tests in the Selection of Life Underwriters," (unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1 9 3 4 ), p. 1 9 3 .
28
Each agent of the 309 Los Angeles agents interviewed was classified in one of the above groups by his respective manager.
Those in Group IV were considered very success
ful; Group III, successful; Group II, borderline; and Group I, failure. This pattern of success ratings has varied in description and objectivity in later writings by S t e w a r d , 19 however, the basic concepts of earning a living and intent of remaining in the business have persisted.
The formula
of ratio of earnings to budget requirements was apparently first postulated by Steward in 1941,2(*> and has been the central criterion of success relative to—his selection system. 21 A definition which has better lent itself to analysis of mass data from company records (exact data of total production of each man was frequently unavailable),
19 Verne Steward, Analysis of Sales Personnel Problems (Los Angeles: Verne Steward and Associates, 19^3), pp. 21-32; Verne Steward, What to Look for In Selecting Sales Personnel (South Gate, CaTTfornlal Verne steward and Associates, 19^9 )3 PP- 2-!?. 20 5 Problems of Sales Personnel Research and Their Solution "(Los Angeles: Verne Steward and Assoclates,~1940), pp. 1-8. 2 1 infra, p. 9 1 .
29 was introduced by Kurtz and Kornhauser22 in 19^0.
These
were the working criteria used in the standardization of the Aptitude I n d e x a b o v e average for rate of survival and amount of production.
Subsequent reports from re
search workers in the Life Insurance Agency Management Association, since World War II, have defined success in the following manner: In order to correct for company differences, a Successful 1 agent has been defined as one who survives for at least 12 months and has an average production above the median of the inexperienced 1 2 -month survivors in his own company.24 In a more recent publication, the research director of the association has added another factor to the above definition to define success as: . . . 12 months 1 survival at an average monthly sales volume above the median volume.of 12 month survivors in the appropriate monthly income require ment group.25
22 A. F. Kurtz, "Recent Research in the Selection of Insurance Salesmen,” The Journal of Applied Psychology, 25:11-19, September 1§41.
23 Infra, p. 6 9 . 2i* Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Recruiting Results (Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 19^9 )> P* 1.
25 s. Rains Wallace, Jr., and Constance M. Twichell, "Managerial Procedures and Test Validities," Personnel Psychology, 2:277-92, Autumn 19^9.
30 Another prominent research worker in the field, Strong, in 1934 set up the requirements of three years in the business and a yearly production of over $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 . In the revision of the Strong Interest Blank for Men,2^ the author so described his criterion group: Includes 204 managers, 2 2 5 agents (salesmen) averaging at least $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 paid for business during a three year period, and 167 agents averaging at least $2 0 0 ,0 0 0 paid for business during a threeyear period. Of the above agents, ninety have the title Chartered Insurance Underwriter. About one half of the agents are from the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company; the remainder of the agents and the managers are from about 50 different Life Insurance Companies. Average age, 39*9 years; education 1 3 .6 grade.2? Achilles and S h u l t z , 2^ Kahn,29 and possibly other investigators in the field have completed studies which have considered success in terms of producing above some average or a certain cut-off point.
The various companies
have each established standards for certain recognitions, honors or prizes.
However, the recognitions are too
innumerable for description. 2 6 Infra, p. 6 8 .
2? Edward K. Strong, Jr., Manual for Vocational Interest Blank for Men (Stanford: Stanford University Pfeas ,'^9W T p ~ •--2& Paul S. Achilles and R.S. Shultz, "Characteris tics of Life Insurance Salesmen,” Personnel Journal, 12:260-63, 1934. 29 David F. Kahn, ”An Analysis of Factors Related to Life Insurance Selling,” (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Purdue University, 1948), 7 9 pp.
31 Problems In determining agent1s earnings , as related to success. An analysis of the literature reveals many basic problems as to a method of determining an exact or even representative figure of an agent's earn ings which can be used for comparative purposes.
The
following list of factors were developed as an aid for interpretation:3° 1.
Converting production totals into earnings.
Inasmuch as there is considerable variability among and/or within the various companies as to commissions paid and as to kinds of policies, there is no easy way of estab lishing amount of earnings on production.
Average com
missions on all types of life policies vary from $ 1 0 to $ 1 8 per $ 1 ,0 0 0 of face value of policy; $13 per $ 1 ,0 0 0
is
considered a liberal figure and will be used herein for interpretative purposes.31 2.
Closely allied to the above problem is the
difficulty of obtaining accurate production records.
It
is widely recognized that each agent, even though he is
30 The above list was developed from information obtained from Verne Steward, Charles J. Zimmerman, Associate Managing Director of Life Insurance Agency Management, and many general agents and managers in the Los Angeles area. 31 Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, The Value of an Agent (Hartford: Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, 1943), p. 6 1 -6 5 .
32
employed by just one company, may place 10 or 15 per cent of his business with other companies which may better handle a particular type of policy desired. 3.
Another factor which must be considered is the
fluctuation of the value of the dollar and cost of living indices according to geographical location and period of time. 4*
The method of financing an agent in terms of
percentage of compensation received from commissions and amount from salary is equally perplexing to those who seek representative income figures based on production totals. 3.
From the individual agent’s point of view, the
basic problem is whether or not the earnings are sufficient to meet his cost of living.
This factor emphasizes the
meaning which must be placed on a numerical figure.
A
supplementary problem is the business expense involved in securing the volume and kind of business which yields maximum commission. Earnings and success.
The production totals and
incomes required by Steward^ and Strong33 to meet their
32 steward, "The Use and Value of Special Tests in the Selection of Life Insurance Underwriters, ' 1 op. cit., P. 193. — * 33 Strong, op. cit., p. 5 .
33 criteria of success are described above.
However, they
do not represent the picture of the amount the average agent produces in a given period of time.
Table I pro
vides a representative picture of average production of various samples of agents.
It is obvious that the more
recent the research the higher the amount of production. This may indicate the changing economic cycle or it may indicate improved selection of agents.
However, if the
average first year commission is $ 13 per $ 1 ,0 0 0 of insur ance sold, it is inconceivable to assume that a living was being earned by those agents below the median amounts of $73,000 per year.
The group studied by Steward in
1 9 3 3 , with the median of $37,261, were apparently under
considerable financial pressures. It is questionable as to whether or not the agents who are reportedly producing less than $7 5 ,0 0 0 are full time agents.
And, as indicated above, it is possible
that the reporting company may not have accurate informa tion as to the extent of full time effort or as to the amount of insurance sales placed with other companies. Another factor enters the picture in the form of amount of expense involved in producing the gross amount of sales.
This suggests that research should be initiated
which would indicate expense relative to various levels of production.
TABLE I
SUMMARY OF■REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS OF FULL TIME AGENTS* AVERAGE PRODUCTION
Group
Investigator
Average production
Year of production
Yearly LISEB32f H
ft H
Steward33
Experience of eight U.S. Companies all entrants, 1938-41 survey t» " (maximum)
First Fifth Tenth Nineteenth
2 0 ,9 3 2 persons licensed
37,261
First Second Fifth Tenth
2 3 .7 0 0 5 2 .7 0 0
First First First
-6,271
U.S. companies, hired 1947 12 -month survivors terminate before 12 months
First First
1 1 ,7 0 0
242 agents of seventeen smaller U.S. Cos., 1947 12 -month survivors terminate before 12 months
First First
8 ,0 0 0 3 ,2 0 0
463 Canadian agents, hired 1947 survive 12 months terminate before 12 months
First First
8 ,5 0 0
4700 Canadian agents, cross-section survey (1938-40) survivors only ft tt
f! ft ft
n
liama 37
Monthly
Inexperienced Ordinary survivors terminators
9 ,7 3 5
3,604
791 agents of seven large
LIAMA39
LIAMA^0
Steward4I
3,900
3,400
51 agents hired by one company, 1946 36 survivors First 18 months
9 terminators
Kahn^2
58,300 7 1 ,8 0 0
2300 Canadian agents hired 1945
liama 38
6 1 .0 0 0 7 5 .0 0 0 8 3 ,8 0 0
*>
in California in 1933 LISRB36
$ 2 3 ,6 0 0
76 agents attending Purdue University Insurance School 1947
ff
rt
n
First
2 1 ,1 3 9 1 3 ,7 8 0
Weekly 5 ,1 6 3
34 Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, The Survival and |E£gu.£^ Qg 2f Agents in the United States (HartfordsTTfe' Insurance Sales Research Bureau, 194377 p. ilj~
35 steward, Analysis of Sales Personnel Problems, op. cit., p. 2 2 . 36 Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, The Survival and Production of Agents in Canada (Hartford: Life Insurance”Sale'i~T?ftRftRrr>.h Bureau, 194TJ, p. 7 . 37 Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 2300 Recruits a Iggg Bater (Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association— l9?8) p.o. 79 ^ Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Recruiting Results , op. £it., p. 5 . 6 39 Loc. cit. Loc* cit. ,
st©ward, Production and Survivorship of Apprentice Agents Iglg _EZ a Life Insurance Company which Used TOe~5Teward SeTeoTTon Materials^or Ten^ears (South G a t ~ CalifornlajH^nF^tevararanE------Associates7n[9¥9j, p. 2 . Kahn, op. cit., p. 4 5 .
35 Survival and success.
In addition to data pre
sented in Chapter 1,43 The Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, in 194-1, found that of 1,000 agents hired bytwelve Canadian companies, 261 terminated the first year, 3 5 9 the second year, 141 the third year, 66 the fourth
year, and so on until only 62 had survived ten years, 39 fifteen years and 28 twenty years.^
The 1948 census
report of the Life Insurance Agency Management Associa tion, based on questionnaire returns of I57 companies, reported that of 100 full time Ordinary agents beginning 194 -6 , 51 more agents were added, and of the total of 151
agents, 31 terminated.
While the induction of new agents
declined in 1947 and 194 -8 , the termination of agents con tinued at the rate of 31 P©** cent of the agents beginning the y e a r . ^5
Another report from the Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1949, compiled from reports of representative U. S. companies which inducted new agents
^3 Supra, pp. 6 -7 . 44 Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, The Survival and Production of Agents in Canada, op.~cTt., p. 6 . ^5 Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Census of Life Insurance Personnel in the United States, op. cit., pp. 6 - 1 3 .
36 in 1 9 ^7 , states that 51 per cent of those hired by large companies survived twelve months; smaller companies had a 35 Per cent survival and Canadian agencies had only 46 per cent survival, ^6
Approximately the same percentages
are given in other reports listed in Table 1.^7
Steward
found, in a study of 466 male agents contracted by X company in 1946, 338 had terminated by October 1 9 4 8 ; of the 126 surviving, Steward found 47 were not earning a living,2*'® Another smaller company, he found, hired only 51 in 1946 and by 1948 only 15 had terminated. ^
Situational factors and survival.
In the same two
studies Steward found that apparently factors other than general turnover were operative.
In the X company it was
determined that of seventy-eight recruiting sales agencies,
Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Recruiting Results, op. cit., p. 1. ^7 Supra, p. 3 4 . Verne Steward, f,Analysis of Test Data and Production Record for 466 Male Agents Contracted by X Company in 1 9 4 6 ,” (unpublished mimeographed material, Verne Steward and Associates, South Gate, California, 1949), PP. 1-5. ^9 Verne Steward, Production and Survivorship of Apprentice Agents Hired in 1946 by a T I f e Insurance Company which used "the Steward Selection Materials for Teh Years, op. cit., p. I.
37 only nine had a survival rate of 50 Per cent or more; twenty-eight agencies recruited a total of 12J agents with not one survivor; and twelve agencies of the twenty-eight had each recruited five or more men.
In the other com
pany , reported in the preceding paragraph, Steward found that nine of the fifteen terminators were employed by only two of the eleven agencies. From their study of 2 3 0 0 agents recruited in Canada in 1945, the Life Insurance Agency Management Association concluded: The performance of agents is definitely affected by the province and the size of city in which they work. This conclusion is particularly true for the inexperienced agent. The experienced group seems less affected by such external conditions.50 Personal history items as related to success. Based upon their definition of success, the Life Insurance Agency Management Association, in their 1 9 4 8 ^^ and 1949^2 studies of post World War II agents, found that young men of under twenty-five have low survival rate and little
The Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 2300 Recruits a Year Later, op. cit., p. 1. Loc» cit. 52 The Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Recruiting Results, op. cit., p. 2 .
38
success, whereas men over forty-five have a high survival rate, hut poor production.
Strong found an average age
of 39.9 fov his criterion group.53
when Steward applied
his definition of success (1 9 3 4 ) he concluded that the young man entering the business (under twenty-five) had a better chance of success; however, his most productive years were from thirty-one to forty-five.5^
Those over
thirty years of age at time of entry were more successful than the younger ones, according to
K a h n .
Other items which the above cited
55 investigators56
seem to have been in general agreement were: 1.
Married men and those with dependents have
better chance of success than those who are single. 2.
College graduates, including those with post
graduate credit, have a better chance for success. 3.
In general, it was found that those agents who
were financed, either by salary or by advance, have a higher success rate than those who sell only on a commis sion basis.
Two hypotheses, posed by W a l l a c e 5 7 and
53 strong, op. cit., p. 5 . 5^ steward, ,fThe Use and Value of Special Tests in the Selection of Life Insurance Underwriters," op. cit., P. 6 3 . 55 Kahn, op. cit., p. 5 0 . 58 Supra, p. 3 4 . 57
Wallace and Twichell, op. cit., p. 282.
39 Steward,5® as to reasons for such findings were: (1) finan cing of a young agent gives him status, security, or moti vation; and (2 ) perhaps those agents which were financed were more carefully selected. 4.
There is considerable relationship between cost
of living and chance of success, with those in the lower budget requirement having less chance than those in higher brackets.
Steward emphasizes this as a point requiring
special interpretation. 5.
Amount of life insurance owned at time of entry
shows a slight relationship to success. 6.
Those having had previous sales, professional,
and administrative occupational experience had greater chance of success than those with skilled labor or no experience. 7.
While the Life Insurance Agency Management has
found that agents whose wives work do not do as well as those whose wives do not work, Steward claims that it is frequently necessary for the wife to work during the apprentice period.
Steward, "Analysis of Test Data and Production Records for 466 Male Agents Contracted by X Company in 1946," op. cit. , p. 1 .
40 III.
SELECTION TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTS
The low survival rate of the members of this occupa- tion, as compared with persistency in the recognized pro fessions, is partially due to the inability of the agent to earn a living.
But, as the rewards are high for those
who succeed, it has stimulated people interested in selec tion to investigate the field. Principal techniques.
Research concerning extent
of use of selection techniques, available to the present investigator, was limited to studies made by the Life Insurance Agency Management Association in 1946.
Investi
gation of nearly all of the major Ordinary life companies in United States and Canada revealed that 96 per cent of the company Home Offices set forth standards that should be met.
Following are the basic conclusions relative to
current selection practices: . . . (2) Almost all new-agent contracts must be approved by the Home Office. (3) 8 7 $ of the Ordinary companies have company financing plans under which some of their new agents are contracted. (4) Less than half of the Home Offices have prepared recruiting aids and selection guides for use by their agency heads. . . . (7 ) Among Ordinary companies more age restric tions are imposed at the younger age levels. (8 ) Physical examinations are required . . . by less than one quarter of the Ordinary companies. (9 ) Approximately two-thirds of the Ordinary companies have no requirements concerning the amount of formal schooling of recruits. (10) Inspection reports are
41 almost universally required. (11) Bonding is usual with ordinary a g e n t s .............. .............. (15) An interview with the wife of the recruit is either required or recommended as a good selection technique by approximately 7 out of every 10 com panies. (16) Listing prospects or acquaintances (lists ranging from 20 to 500 names) is more often required of financed agents. . . (lo) The Aptitude Index is in current use by approximately 9 out of 10 companies contracting Ordinary agents.59 Husband has reviewed the general field of salesmen (including Ordinary Life Insurance agents) selection and has classified the major techniques into four groups: (1 ) test data, (2 ) interview, (3 ) clinical analysis, or ratings, and (4) personal history.
This writer concluded
that the technique of clinical analysis was the most effective. ^0 Tests used. According to the Life Insurance Agency Management report, the Aptitude Index^ 1 is the most widely used in the field.^
In the original validation of this
59 Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Selecting the New Agent (Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association 1946), pp. 1 -2 . 6 ° Richard ¥. Husband, "Techniques of Salesman Selection,” Educational and Psychological Measurement, 9:129-48, Summer 1$49.
See further description of test, Chapter III, P. 6 9 * Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Selecting the New Agent, op. cit., pp. 1-2.
42 combination personality and personal history item rating scale, a validity coefficient of plus .40 was reported by K u r t z . S u b s e q u e n t reports^ attest of its discriminative value in differentiating between more successful and less successful agents, when success is interpreted according to Life Insurance Agency Management Association. The Steward battery was probably the first battery of tests used in the field.^5
Based on scores of an abbre
viated Otis mental ability test, he found that agents superior in mental ability were more successful than either the high average or average.
Also related to success were
scores on Dominance and Stability parts of Bernreuter, and scores made on a background knowledge test. Strong stated, in 1934, that interest scores on the Strong Interest Blank for Men correlated plus .37 with ability.^
In his 19^5 manual Strong assumed $150,000
63 Kurtz, op. cit., pp. 11-19. 6 ^ Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, Measuring
Aptitude for Life Insurance Selling (Hartford: Life Insurance Sales ResearciinSureau, X93 B), pp. 5-13. ^ Life Insurance Agency Management, The Value and Use of the Aptitude Index (Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management, 19 4 8 ), pp. 8-14. 65 steward, "The Use and Value of Special Tests in the Selection of Life Insurance Underwriters," op. cit., PP. 33-80. 86 e. K. Strong, "Interest and Sales Ability," Personnel Journal, 13:204-16, 193^.
43 annual production the cut-off point, and found that 67 per cent of the agents scoring A produced over this figure in contrast with 6 per cent scoring C.^7 Kahn found the Kuder Preference Record identified life insurance salesmen according to the interest pattern in the Kuder manual,68 hut did not differentiate between his criterion groups of successful and unsuccessful agents. The same writer found no significant differences between the successful and unsuccessful groups of salesmen on the three components (Agreeableness, Cooperativeness, and Objectivity) of the Guilford-Martin Personnel Inventory No. 1.
The same lack of significant differences was also
found from use of a mental ability test, The Adaptability Test.69 Lewis investigated relationship between measured occupational interests and personality tendencies of fifty life insurance salesmen, using the Kuder Preference Record and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Group Form, and found a relationship existed.
He further found
67 Strong, Manual for Vocational Interest Blank for Men, op. cit., p. 15. 4.
68 Kuder Preference Record, Reports Nos. 2, 3 , and (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1945).
69 Kahn, op. cit., pp. 3 -10.
44 that on the D, Hy, Pd, Mf, Pa, and Ma scales of Multlphasic means were elevated toward abnormality; differentiating from the '’normal” norm group at the 2 per cent level of significance.
On the Kuder Persuasive scale, mean score
was at the 9 0 th percentile, thus lending to the validity of the Kuder test.70 The Klein Institute of Hew York City, reported by Fleming, worked up a completely objective battery of tests for selecting salesmen.
Included In the battery were:
Strong; Bernreuter; Moss, Social Intelligence; Washburne, Social Adjustment Inventory; Otis S-A; and a "Sales Sense Test” designed by Klein Institute.
Using executive ratings
as criterion of success, scores made by 348 applicants of various kinds of sales jobs indicated the battery had pre dictive value.
Separate norms for life insurance agents
only have not been published.71
7° John A. Lewis, "Kuder Preference Record and MMPI Scores for Two Occupational Groups," Journal of Con sulting Psychology, 11:194-201, July-August, 1947. 71 E. G. Fleming and C. ¥. Fleming, ”A Qualitative Approach to the Problem of Improving Selection of Salesmen by Psychological Tests,” Journal of Psychology, 11:127-150, 1946.
45 IV.
CRITIQUE OF RELATED INVESTIGATIONS
The evaluation of the related investigations are based upon the representative investigations reviewed within this chapter.
It is recognized that there are much
data and many investigations which have not been reported in the literature.
The investigator is well aware of many
researches made by various individual companies which have not been publicly reported; also there are some researches which have not been located by the investigator. The Life Insurance Agency Management Association and its predecessor, The Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, has taken the job of the agency manager, as its special research province.72
This fact plus the one that it is
financially supported entirely by member insurance companies, places the onus upon the leadership of the organization to emphasize research which would assist the agency manager to increase production and profit of the agency.
Another
traditional factor enters into the picture; the historical method of selecting salesmen has been that of the "mud against the wall" method; in other words, out of the many who are placed under contract there are bound to be some who will succeed.
While the Life Insurance Agency Manage-
72 stalson, op. cit., p. 5 9 2 .
46 ment Association undoubtedly approaches the problem of agent selection and training from an humanitarian point of view it can only realistically operate for the benefit of the managers and companies paying for the research services.
It must move slowly away from the traditional
practices to the more current personnel practices. Another factor facing the research Association has been the fact that data obtained by them has cleared through the home offices which may have been a limiting factor, especially in light of the fact that agencies and home offices may not have complete records and may, there fore, unintentionally do such things as label some men who are actually working full time as just part-time workers or give incorrect production records.
Where an
investigative organization stresses large samples, it is essential to operate through home offices.
In spite of
these handicaps it is well recognized that the research Association has been of inestimable value in raising the standards of selection, training and general agency operation.
More of their researches are needed and without
them, an occupational information worker would be handi capped; however, they are not enough to do a complete guidance job. Following experiences as agent, associate general
47 agent, and college Instructor in insurance, Steward entered the field of research by attempting to develop a battery of guidance tests into a selective instrument.
He has
attempted to take an altruistic educatorrs point of view to the occupation and at the same time develop selection procedures practically for the field.
For the purposes of
the guidance worker, his researches have great value in lending clarity to the problems in the occupation.
However,
it appears to the present investigator, that perhaps Stewardfs research may be misunderstood by some of the insurance men in the field who may not have understood his "dual frames of reference." The research work of Strong is well known and respected.
However, future validation studies of the Life
Insurance Salesmen scale should include a failure group. Kahn's research presents evidence that the colle giate training of active salesmen has value and promise of much assistance to the occupation. Other researches in the field have seemingly had as their objective, the development of selection devices for sale to salesmen recruiting agencies for improvement of selection based upon "the average." Summary.
In this review of the related investi
gations, two factors were kept in mind, (1 ) a historically
48 and currently descriptive picture of the status of the occupation today, and (2 ) an added clarification of the research project proposed by this investigator in Chapter I. Following the historical setting, the various definitions of success used by various research workers were reviewed.
From this review it was concluded that the
following criteria were most frequently employed in var ious combinations:
(1 ) gross volume of sales, (2 ) total
earnings--used as a single criterion or in relation to cost of living requirements, (3 ) length of survival, and (4 ) other miscellaneous factors such as number of sales Interviews and job satisfaction. Many psychological tests have been used in the field.
Most frequently used was the Aptitude Index,
probably followed by Steward Materials, and then other less widely used tests such as the Strong Interest Blank, Kuder Preference Record and the Otis Mental Ability Test. Based upon a careful review of the literature, the following conclusions were drawn, which here serve as a justification of this research project: 1.
Most of the research heretofore done has been
from the employerfs frame of reference and for the purpose of developing selection devices for objective elimination of potential failures.
However, the high rate of turnover
49 seems to indicate that either the managers have failed to use them properly or that their objective validity is low. Even in this area new research is needed. 2.
The researches have been limited in that they
investigated few pre-defined variables and have not sampled the many involved in the occupation in terms of their dynamic personal meanings. 3.
Few, if any, case studies, the normal method of
the guidance worker;, have been presented. 4.
In light of the information presented by the
above scientific investigations, most of the occupational information in the field appears to this investigator to be a combination of "arm-chair'1 writing and recruiting propaganda. In the next chapter are described the procedures, participants, research instruments, and logic of interpre tation employed in the present study.
CHAPTER III SOURCES OP MATERIAL AND PROCEDURE The last chapter reviewed the reports of related investigations and provided a background against which a better working basis for this investigation could be established.
This chapter describes the pattern of the
research and materials and procedures used. ized under the following major headings:
It is organ
(1 ) the method
of research employed, (2 ) selection of the participants, (3 ) selection of the materials used, (4 ) methods used in the collection of data, and (5 ) analysis and interpreta tion of data.
I.
THE METHOD OF RESEARCH EMPLOYED
This study attempted to execute the purposes through methodological processes which were somewhat varied and not neat and distinct in any one category.
The
process used for the development of the thesis embody four distinct phases:
(1 ) available subjects were selected
from whom the most meaningful information could be ob tained; (2 ) the data for the study were gathered and collated; (3 ) the raw data were critically analyzed,
51 statistically weighted and presented in meaningful form with concomitant tables for clarification; and (4) the basal relationship of all the data reviewed was accorded close scrutiny and inferences were drawn.
It was hoped
that the essence of the solution would obtain from these interrelationships.
The purpose of the procedure was pri
marily for coherence, the procedure being subordinated to it more than is usually done. It was assumed that the evolvement of a study is the important function of any dissertation.
The technique
does not necessarily have to conform with the recognized ones.
Weersing defined this position:
An acceptable dissertation may or may not utilize a clearly definable method of research. . . . The method of a particular investigation must be adapted to the type or types of evidences that are available. A particular study may involve several general types of research technique or it may hot have any special ized technique at all beyond the demands of good logic and scholarly procedure in general. 1 In its procedural connotations, the investigation emphasized the interrelationships of all facts of informa tion gathered in a complex and total pattern.
The basic
assumption of the procedure lies in the fact that life
^ Frederick J. Weersing (unpublished mimeographed material, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1948), p. 1.
52 as we know it in any one of its spheres is in the nature of a dynamic continuum. Since complexity and diversity are indissoluble phases of this study, with these in mind, procedure had to be evolved to cope with them.
When it was seen that the
very nature of substance of the subject matter dealt with was diffuse and did not lend itself to the ordinary modes of procedure, new ones were organized.
So the procedure
may be said to-be also in the nature of a continuous pro cess.
When it was required, one phase was utilized, in
another instance, another phase was used; all for the purpose of lending meaning. From the studies within the investigation the pro cedure attempted to draw, in line with Dewey*s theory, certain warranted assertions.
p
The method most likely
would have failed if it had begun with arbitrary generali zations.
On the contrary, the methods sprang from the
problem itself.
To have drawn deductively from informa
tion already known would have added little to our present store of knowledge.
As the procedure evolved subordinate
problems manifested themselves.
To cope with them,
certain arbitrary limitations, as heretofore expressed,
^ John Dewey, Logic, The Theory of Inquiry (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 193&), p.~T.
53 were imposed.
Because of the immense amount of data the
investigator selected only those most relevant and perti nent to the study.
Again, the criteria of the methodology
arose from the aim. It is, however, recognized that the investigator leaned heavily upon the case study method as described by Wallin: . . . a relatively intensive analysis of a single instance of the phenomenon being investigated. In a case study of an Individual it is possible, ideally, to see the interrelationships of all the factors in the case which are presumed to be related to future success or failure in a given activity. . . . methods of collecting data include: (1 ) the orientation questionnaire, (2 ) the standardized test, (3 ) projective techniques, (4) the oral interview, (5 ) the written narrative report, (6 ) participant observation, and (7 ) spectator observation.3 A review of Table III indicates that all of these tech niques and instruments listed by Wallin, with the possible exception of number five, were used.
In the use of the
case study method, it was the intent of the investigator to use it in two ways:
(1) application to the Individual
participant, and (2 ) application to the phenomenon of the occupation, as seen from the frame of reference of the
3 Paul Wallin, "The Prediction of Individual Behavior from Case Studies,” The Prediction of Personal Adjustment (New York: Social Science KesearcTT'Council, Bulletin"i|8, 19^1), PP. 183 -8 7 .
54 individuals active in and terminated from the occupation. In other words, as an intensive analysis of an organiza tion is made for various business purposes, so was it the intent of this investigator to study the occupation of life insurance agent for guidance purposes. Wallin further states: There are at least four conditions which case study data must satisfy, or at least approximate, in order to be considered adequate. These may be described as: (1 ) relevancy, (2 ) sufficiency, (3 ) representativeness; and (4 ) reliability.4 As applied to the individual case studies of apprentice agents, it was assumed that the characteristics which were studied and listed in Table III, met the above conditions. As applied to the occupation, the investigator attempted to meet the above conditions, at the exploratory level, by obtaining samples of information from active and terminated representatives of the occupation at the entry level.
Information was obtained at three stages of their
development in the occupation:
(1 ) test scores and
personal history at entry, (2 ) test scores and more per sonal information after two years (or less) in the busi ness, the focal point of the case studies, and (3 ) inasmuch as it took eighteen months to collect the data, the
^ Ibid., p. 1 9 8 .
55 survival and trend of production of the agent was obtained at a three or four year point of experience.
Not only was
the man in the apprentice stage studied, but a follow-up study was made of 150 career agents who were considered "successful" in 1 9 3 3 , *nd for whom test and personal his tory data were available.
In addition to the study of
the men at the entry and senior levels, certain information was obtained from the managers of the apprentice agents concerning the factors involved in the occupation and rating of effort and training achievement. The pattern of the whole individual, as applied to the apprentice agents, was accomplished in the interview. And as applied to the occupation, patterns have been developed by the investigator during the interpretation of data obtained in the investigation. It is again emphasized that the evaluation of the methodology was considered by the investigator to be in terms of the accomplishment of the purposes of the research.
II.
SELECTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS
Selection of criterion groups of active and terminated apprentice agents.
One of the biggest prob
lems facing such a research plan as this one, has
56
persistently been that of securing the cooperation of worthy and representative subjects who could be motivated to spend from five to ten hours of their time in a project seemingly just remotely related to their normal activities. Closely allied were the temporal and financial limitations of the investigator. It was preliminarily planned that each criterion group would be composed of seventy-five subjects.
However,
after eighteen months of persistent effort the number of the sample of the active group was reduced to fifty and the number of the terminator group was reduced to thirtythree.
Twenty-one Los Angeles sales agencies were repre
sented.
See Table II for breakdown of participants
according to agency. The following methods were used in the selection of the participants and in getting their cooperation: 1.
A preliminary luncheon meeting was arranged by Verne Steward.
Present were five of the most
prominent agency managers in Los Angeles.
The
plan and method of the research project was explained and their cooperation was obtained. Also they agreed to use their influence in persuading other managers to cooperate. 2.
The investigator visited twenty-eight of the sixty-seven general agents or managers who are
57 TABLE II DISTRIBUTION OF PARTICIPANT APPRENTICE AGENTS ACCORDING TO AGENCIES
Agency A B
(100-109)* (110-119,
D E F G H I
(130-139! (140-149 (I5 O-I69 (170-179 (180-189 (190-199
c
J
(120-129
Active" Agents 0
4 2 1
4
6
Terminated Agents
0 1
4 3 4
4
1
10
K L
(230-239; (240-249
5
3 1 4
N
(260-269
P Q R s T U
(280-289 (290-299 (300-309 (310-319 (320-329 (330-339
1 2 0 1 2 1 0
0 0 1 1
0
21
(250-259
(270-279
total
1
1 0 0 0 0
(200-229
M
Total 4 2 1
4 10
3 5 5 15 3 1
5
2
4
6
1 0 1 2 1
1 1
3
4
7
50
33
83
* Indicates class limits of punch card numbers assigned to each participant.
3 3 1
58 members of the Los Angeles Life Insurance Managers Association, explained the project and solicited their cooperation to furnish the investigator with the names of their "success ful" and terminated agents who met the follow ing requirements: a.
Hired since the termination of World War II.
b.
Wo previous experience as a life insurance agent.
c.
A recognized selection system was used in the original selection.
It was preferred
that either the Aptitude Index or the Steward Basic Factors, or both, tests were used. d.
Successful agents were to have had approxi mately two years of full time service and to have demonstrated marked potentiality in the occupation.
e.
Terminated agents (carefully selected at time of hiring) were to have had at least ninety days of full time service and to have made an honest effort to succeed in the occupation.
3.
Of the eighty-five names of active agents,
59 seventy-three met the requirements and were available in the Los Angeles area.
Fifty-nine
of these men cooperated, although five later terminated and were made a part of the ter minated criterion group. plete all of the tests.
Four failed to com Of the fifty-six
names of terminated agents, forty-eight met the requirements and were available In the Los Angeles area.
Twenty-four of these men agreed
to cooperate.
Later four men were contacted
and five of the active group were added to the total number to increase this criterion group to thirty-three. 4.
The following procedures were used In solicit ing the cooperation of the individual agents: a.
All active agents were contacted by their general agent or manager and invited to participate in the research.
In two
instances the general agents took the men to dinner.
In instances where little
cooperation was received from the general agent, the Individual agent was contacted by telephone or personally visited by the investigator and Invited to cooperate.
6o b.
In the case of the terminated agents the task was much more difficult.
The poten
tial participants were first contacted by a letter written on University of Southern California stationery, in which the re search project was partially explained; and they were requested to telephone the investigator at the University of Southern California Veterans Guidance Center for further explanation.
This was followed
up with telephone calls, telegrams, or personal visits to those who did not respond to the first letter. c.
The preliminary orientation and/or sales approach included the following:
The
University of Southern California, the insurance companies, and Steward were cooperating in the task of determining the standards and characteristics of the occupation so as to better assist all active and potential agents to better succeed in the occupation.
Secondly, the
investigator, then assistant director of the University of Southern California
61 Guidance Center, would individually and confidentially assist each person in an appraisal of his abilities, interests, aptitudes, etc., as is usually done at the Guidance Center.5 Selection of criterion groups of active and ter minated career agents.
To accomplish the task of select
ing the groups that would yield the maximum amount of information, it was concluded to make a follow-up study of the agents studied by Verne Steward, in 1933.
Realizing
the difficulty of locating all of the 3 0 9 subjects, and inasmuch as emphasis was being placed upon the character istic of success, it was determined that the "success group" of 163 agents would be studied.
The number was
reduced to 150 by eliminating the women and the men whose records were not complete.^ The major portion of the work of locating these participants was accomplished by and through the office
5 That this approach was effective was indicated by the fact that of the thirty-three terminators, eleven returned, at a later time for vocational counseling; and of the fifty actives, six returned for further counseling, ten made contact by telephone or letter for information; and all participants expressed an interest in reading the research after completion. 6 See Table XXI, Infra,
p. 124.
62 of Steward. agent.
Everything possible was done to locate each
Present heads of agencies or their assistants were
first contacted.
Where a change of management had occurred,
some of the older surviving agents were contacted.
In
some cases cashiers were contacted in an effort to learn whether renewals were still being paid the agent on busi ness sold or whether life insurance premiums were being paid on insurance bought.
Finally the records of the
California Insurance Department were checked to learn whether the missing persons were now licensed to sell any kind of insurance in the state. Of the total of 150, of whom 122 were known to be living, the addresses of 113 were found.
A single page
questionnaire with a letter of transmittal was sent to each of them.
Forty-two active and ten terminated career
agents responded; a 46 per cent return.
This group should
not be confused with the fifty active and thirty-three terminated apprentice agents. Selection of the jury used in the validation of the proposed criteria of success of the apprentice,agents. The twenty-one general agents or managers of the agencies cooperating in the supply of participating apprentice agents were polled by letter. 81 per cent return.
Seventeen responded; an
See Table IX, page 114.
63 III.
DESCRIPTIONS OF INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNIQUES USED
Of prime importance to the reliability and validity of any research investigation are the techniques and in struments employed in gathering the data.
Those employed
are listed in Table III. There were four major sources of data:
(1) stand
ardized tests used widely in the field of vocational guidance, (2 ) special aptitude tests used exclusively by companies selecting sales personnel, (3 ) questionnaires and inventories especially constructed for this research project which were used for gathering data directly from the participants and their employers, and (4 ) data yielded from the interview. Standardized tests as a source of data. Within the vocational guidance field it is the general practice to employ examining instruments to yield data for assistance in appraising the basic or core areas of mental ability, vocational interests and personality characteristics.
It
was the desire of the investigator to utilize those tests which would yield the most valid and reliable information. Mental ability tests selected.^
The Wechsler-
7 David Wechsler, The Measurement of Adult Intelligence, Third Edition; (Baltimore: TEe Williams and Wilkins Company, 1944).
64 TABLE III INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR GATHERING DATA
Characteristic studied
Instrument or technique used Apprentice Agents
Intelligence
Wechsler Bellevue Intelligence Scales
Personality
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study
Interest
Strong Interest Blank for Men
Aptitude
Aptitude Index* Stewardfs Personal Inventory of Basic Factors**
Personal history information: Family background Occupational history Education and training Financial factors Health Memberships and activities Reasons for termination Mis cellaneous
Interview (form used) Company application form Stewardfs Personal Inventory of Background Factors > Personal Background Inventory Production Record Form
Termination Form for Managers Termination Form for Agents Included in forms listed above Other miscellaneous tests and forms
* Composed of personal history items and personality test. ** Includes mental ability, personality, arithmetic and interest tests.
65 TABLE III (continued) INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR GATHERING DATA
Instrument or technique used
Characteristic studied
Career Agents Present status
Questionnaire Telephone
Factors studied in 1933: Steward1s Composite Inventory and Intelligence Background Examination for Life Insurance Knowledge Salesmen Personality Individual data cards held by Personal history Steward items
Jury Criteria of Success
Questionnaire
66 Q Bellevue Intelligence Scale for Adolescents and Adults. This widely known and respected test was selected for the following reasons:
(1 ) its reputation in the field of
adult testing; (2 ) as an individually administered test it could he utilized for getting information more special ized to the individual under consideration; (3 ) it was anticipated that such sub-tests as Information, Arith metic, Vocabulary, and Picture Arrangement, etc., would provide significant data; and (4 ) the factors of speed and age differentials, so frequently problems of grave importance in adult testing, are adjusted for within the test.
Such factors as validity, reliability and test
description are of common knowledge within the field and have not been reported here. Personality tests selected. Multiphasic Personality Inventory.9
1.
The Minnesota
while the investi
gator was aware of the many personality tests and inven tories currently being used in the field, the subject test was selected for the following reasons:
(1 ) its reputation
® See section under Aptitude Tests for description of mental ability test incorporated as part of Stewardfs Personal Inventory of Basic Factors. 9 Starke R. Hathaway, and J. Charnley McKinley, The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Hew York: The Psychological Corporation, 1$43, revised edition.)
67 as an inventory for diagnosing personality maladjustments; (2 ) it included a "Lie" scale; (3 ) It was anticipated that the Psychopathic deviate and the Hypomania scales would provide data useful for interpreting the popular concept of the sales personality as being, a "club- joining, truthtwisting" sort of individual; and (4 ) a breakdown of the items into the various classifications of health, family, etc., might provide useful supplementary material. 2.
Rosenzweig P-F Study, Revised for Adults.
The Picture Frustration Study is a projective instrument for measuring frustration tolerance which Rosenzweig defines as the capacity to stand frustration without resorting to inadequate modes of response.
It was ori
ginally devised as a research tool, but is now often used in clinical diagnosis.
The test consists of twenty-four
cartoon-like pictures each of which depicts two persons who are involved in a mildly frustrating situation of common occurrence; mildly frustrating, everyday situations were chosen to get the subjectfs usual pattern of response to frustration.
Underlying the Picture-Frustration Study
1(3 Saul Rosenzweig, and others, Revised Scoring Manual For the Rosenzweig P icture-F rus trat ion S tudy (Pittsburgh; Western State Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 1947).
68 is the assumption that the subject consciously or uncon sciously identifies with the frustrated individual in each pictured situation and projects his own bias in the replies given. Scores are obtained for three directions of aggres sion: extrapunitiveness, intrapunitiveness and impunitiveness; and scores are obtained for three types of reactions: obstacle dominance, ego-defense, and need persistence. Another score for group conformity is obtained. This test was utilized for the following reasons: (1 ) it was assumed that a projective type test would yield information not gathered in the usual paper and pencil personality test, (2 ) it was anticipated that fur ther information concerning the so-called aggressive behavior of the agent would be found, (3 ) the test is interesting and adds variety to a testing program, and (4 ) norms for life insurance salesmen had not been established. Interest test selected. Test. ^
Strong Vocational Interest
Probably more widely used than any other interest
test at the adult level, the Strong Test is well known in the vocational guidance field and by insurance companies.
Strong, op. cit., pp. 1-10.
69 It was used in this research for the above as well as the following reasons:
(1 ) it was anticipated that the life
insurance salesmen scale would be discriminative; (2 ) the test rounded out the battery of tests; and (3 ) in the validation of the test, Strong did not use terminated agents, thus a sub-research could be undertaken. Special life Insurance sales aptitude tests selected.
1. Aptitude Index to Measure Aptitude for Life
Insurance Selling.
The manual describes the nature of
the Aptitude Index as: . . . a seven-page blank composed of two parts. Part I Is a personal history Hating Chart in which scores are obtained on each of ten personal history items. These ten scores are added together to obtain a total numerical score which is interpreted in terms of the prospective agent’s age to give a rating of A, B, C, D, or E. Part II (personality characteristics) consists of six pages (9 6 questions) of questions on various aspects of a prospective agent’s personality which are important for his success in the life insurance business. The total score on the questions in Part II is also converted into one of the five letter-ratings. Finally, in a manner depending upon the age of the applicant', the rating on Part I is combined with the rating on Part II to give a Combined Rating on the Aptitude Index.I2 12
Life Insurance Agency Management Association, "The Value and Use of the Aptitude Index, ” (Hartford, Conn.: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 19^8)* In 19^9, Form 4 of the Aptitude Index was pub lished by the Life Insurance Agency Management Associa tion. Analysis of the new form indicates that Part II
Part I, the manual further states, was based on the records of 10,111 full time agents; and Part II was constructed from 500 items administered to 1 ,0 0 0 men already in the business.
While the manual does not quote coefficients of
correlation on validity and reliability, charts and graphs are given which show that the chances of survival of an A man were about five times as great as those of an E man; and furthermore, that among those who did survive, the average first-year sales of A men were considerably more than twice as high as for E men. Obviously any research project of the nature of this one, would not be complete without the use of the most frequently used selection system in the occupation. 2. 19^6 edition.
Steward - Personal Inventory of Basic Factors, This battery of tests serves as the basic
part of the Steward Personnel Selection Materials, and is probably the most widely used battery of tests employed by insurance companies in the selection of agents.
The
-1-2 (continued) remains unchanged and slight change was made in Part I; however, weighting of Part I items has been changed. An experimental form of an Interview Guide and Experience record was also published. These forms are carefully protected. See Chapter II, Review of Related Literature, for description of original validation.
71 publisher describes it as follows: 'An 8 -page battery of tests to aid in the appraisal of (a) aggressiveness, initiative, (b) stability, mental health, (c) traits, (d) mental ability, (e) arithmetic ability, (f) vocational interests, and (g) earnings in relation to age. . . . Its use and arrangement are based upon many years of study, research and field experience. Its use makes for greater economy of time in appraisal procedure rather than less as might be expected.13 The battery was developed from the original "Com posite Examination" used by Steward in his doctoral re search.
The mental ability test is a shortened revision
of the Otis Self-Administering Test of Mental Ability (Higher Examination), with ten items involving arithmeti cal computation serving as the arithmetical ability test. A revised Bernreuter Personality Inventory gives the scores for aggressiveness and stability; on ten of the items the applicant is asked to amplify his response with two or three sentences of explanation.
In lieu of the
"Background Knowledge" test an interest test of forty-two items is listed. There has been some criticism of the battery on the basis of Its subjective elements and lack of valida tion statistics covering the entire battery.
However,
13 Verne Steward, Manual of Instructions and Keys for Using the "Personal Invent orTes~" In Building Sales Organizations (South Gate, California: Verne Steward and Associates, 1946), p. 2.
72 Steward has supplied the investigator with unpublished reports from companies which have used the materials for several years.
This, Steward states, adequately refutes
this criticism. This battery of tests was used for the following reasons:
(1) it is probably the second most frequently
used selection system in the field;
(2) as most of the
cooperating agencies had used the battery of tests in the selection of the participants of the study, its informa tion should prove useful;
(3) the test battery and its
sister eight-page, personal history form, Personal Inven tory of Background Factors,*2* more nearly provided a more complete sampling of information desired than other mater ials provided; and (4) the availability of Steward for assistance in interpretation of his materials. Personal history information.
In order to obtain
sufficient samples of information representative of the background of the participating apprentice agents, it was necessary to devise or secure several instruments.
The
purposes of these instruments were to assist in securing information which would better describe the individual and lend insight into his basic motivations relative to
1J* Ibid., pp. 9-11.
73 success in the occupation.
Validity-, therefore, of the
Instruments, either singly or collectively, will partially he determined in the final analysis of the study.
Relia
bility of the instruments was not statistically determined. The following measures were taken to eliminate errors of ambiguities and inconsistencies: 1.
The language of the instruments was in the
common parlance of the persons completing the forms.
This
was done through the cooperation of Steward, an exper ienced writer and lecturer in the field. 2.
The instruments were criticised by two members
of the investigatorfs doctoral guidance committee. 3.
Counselors working with the investigator at
the University of Southern California Guidance Center read and criticised the items. 4.
The investigator personally supervised the com
pletion of all forms and could, therefore, clarify in required instances. Below are brief descriptions of the instruments, samples of which are found in the Appendix. Personal Background Inventory.
This questionnaire
was composed of seventy-four alternative-response ques tions covering the areas of family, health, education, finance, work experience, and miscellaneous related areas.
74 Items were obtained from literature in the field and experiences of Steward and investigator. twofold:
Its purpose was
(1) to add new items not covered by Steward's
Personal Inventory of Background Factors, and (2) to serve as a cross-check against information given at time of hiring.
Probably one of its most serious limitations
was that it requested the respondent to depend upon memory of conditions which had existed two years previ ously. Production record form.
This form had been
developed by Steward and used in previous research where It had been accepted as a satisfactory tool.
It was
assumed to be satisfactory for the purposes of this re search. Termination form, for agents and managers.
This
rating form and questionnaire was developed by Steward and revised for use in this research by Steward and the investigator.
It represents a "shot-gun" approach to the
various reasons (forty) given for termination with a four scale rating to indicate the relative importance of the item. Miscellaneous forms obtained from agencies. addition to the questionnaires developed by the
In
75 investigator and the standardized biographical forms, each agency manager was requested to supply the investigator with all forms, such as company application forms, or rating scales, which were used in appraising the agent for the job.
There was considerable variation as to the
number and kinds loaned by the companies. Interview.
The purpose., of the interview was to
provide a permissive situation in which the participant could freely evaluate himself in terms of the occupation, evaluate data previously obtained by tests and question naires, and develop new information and insights helpful to himself and the investigator.
The interview form
developed by the investigator was not employed as guide but as a recording form.
If, at the end of an interview,
certain desired information was missing, only then did the interviewer ask direct, objective questions. All interviewing was done by the investigator. His background experience,
in addition to academic train
ing, included three and one half years experience as a counselor at the University of Southern California Guidance Center; occupational information from association with his fatherfs occupation of a life insurance agent, and conversations with Steward; and one year*s experience of handling governmental insurance for naval personnel at
76 a large naval base during World War II. Questionnaires to active and terminated career agents.
This one-page questionnaire of items and blank
spaces for answers was designed to secure an historical picture of the individual as to his changing status and attitudes relative to the occupation.
As many of the
respondents are busy and important men, brevity was essen tial.
Appropriate adjustments were made in the question
naire to provide for answers of either active or ter minated status, which had been previously determined by the investigator. signed by Steward.
A personal letter of transmittal was Inasmuch as most of the respondents
were known to Steward,
information was subject to check
and validation. Letter to jury.
The letter contained a five point
rating scale of the criteria of success proposed by the investigator which he intended to apply to the apprentice agents.
A subsequent group meeting with half of the
participating managers was held, at which time their reaction to the criteria was clarified and their sugges tions obtained. Miscellaneous.
In addition to the above instru
ments and techniques, the investigator, in special
77 situations, used one or more of the following:
(1 ) in two
instances the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception tests were used and interpreted by a competent psychometrist in the fieIdj (2 ) in five instances the agents (apprentice) were referred to a personal counselor for counseling, against which the investigator could check; (3 ) in eight of the cases interviews were held with wives of the participants; (4) where more than one agent was cooperat ing from one agency, even though strict confidence was maintained, one agent freely discussed the strong and, sometimes, weak points of his fellow agents; and (5 ) the reactions of the psychometrists in the individual testing situation were available.
IV.
COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA Collection of data.
1.
Apprentice agents. As
the instruments and techniques employed by the investi gator were described in the previous section, this section will be primarily limited to precations taken to insure accurate and reliable collection of data. 1.
All testing and interviewing were done at the
convenience of the participants and at appointed times. 2.
An orientation of the research project was
given each participant, either singly or In groups.
At
73 that time each one was assured that all data of an indi vidual nature, except that authorized for release, wpuld he held in strict confidence. 3.
All testing, including completion of question
naires, was done under the personal supervision of the investigator. 4.
Nearly all individual testing and interviewing
was done at the University of Southern California Guid ance Center.
That done elsewhere was either in the private
offices of the agency or at the home of the agent.
In all
instances privacy was maintained. 5.
Group testing was done mostly in the offices
of the agency under satisfactory conditions. 6.
The investigator always worked free from the
pressure of time.
In
instances where the participants
unexpectedly found themselves under pressure of time, other than in time tests, other appointments were made. 7.
The Wechsler-Bellevue and the Bosenzweig P-F
tests were administered individually and only by exper ienced and trained personnel.
Approximately 8 5 per cent
of the Wechsler-Bellevues and 30 per cent of the P-F tests were administered by others than the investigator. 8.
Scoring was standardized as follows: a.
Wechsler-Bellevues were scored by the
administrator immediately following the administration. b.
Rosenzweig P-F tests were all scored by
one psychometr1st-especially trained in this field. c.
The Minnesota Multiphasic were all scored
by a trained operator on IBM equipment. d.
The Strong Vocational Interest tests were
sent to Northwest Engineers, Minneapolis, for scoring and construction of profiles. e.
The Steward Personal Inventory of Basic
Factors and the Aptitude Index were scored by one espe cially trained person; and in the approximately 50 per cent of cases where completed tests were borrowed from agencies or home offices, scores were checked by this person. f.
Scores of the Personal Background
Inventory and termination questionnaires were transferred to IBM sheets for machine scoring. 9.
The interview which followed the administration
and scoring of the tests provided an opportunity to check Incomplete data. £•
Career agents.
As previously stated every
effort was made to locate each successful agent previ ously studied.
In many instances, each of the partici
pants was previously contacted by telephone prior to the
80 forwarding of the questionnaire for completion.
Test
scores obtained in 1 9 3 3 an& loaned to this investigator were accepted. Tabulation of all data.
Data were transferred to
punch cards, IBM scoring sheets for use in scoring machine, or tabulation sheets, according to which tool seemed to lend itself best to the purpose.
All dataware tabulated
by personnel (mostly Guidance Center personnel) who were familiar with the study, and according to forms estab lished by the investigator who also checked all tabula tions . Pattern of analysis.
In order to make the tremen
dous volume of data meaningful it was necessary to reduce the numerous amount of items to representative values. For the standardized tests and questionnaires of alter native or multiple response type little difficulty was encountered; however, interview data and narrative data did not so easily fall into objective form.
In the latter
situation the investigator, after careful analysis of the information, set up certain classifications into which the data seemed to approximate.
The related literature
was intensively read for assistance.
Data which did not
seem relevant to the purposes of this dissertation were
81 not used.
All relevant data, whether positive or negative,
were retained. The following statistical procedures were employed: 1.
The scores of the standardized tests were
analyzed by appropriate measures of central tendency and variability.
In certain instances, such as the Strong
Vocational Interest test, where rating standards are es tablished, percentages of frequency of occurrence were determined for basis of comparison.
Measures of central
tendency and variability have been calculated in per centages, which were rounded to nearest whole number. Where money values have exceeded $1,000, cents are not reported. 2.
Item analyses were made of the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Personal Background Inventory, and Termination forms for agents and managers. 3.
The method used in analysis of comparison of
significance of differences of items was the t-ratio. The standard (Fischer) formulae employed for determining significance of differences of means and percentages are as follows:^
^ J. P. Guilford, Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education (New ifcrk: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., second edition!, 1950), pp. 2 2 8 -2 9 .
82 M , - M s
t=
t
£X?+JXg-\ N,+Mz A/'+A/^-Z
N
=
V,A£
']
_____
\ /e £Je (#, *#*)
L'
The t-ratio test was applied to those items of the stand ardized and especially constructed tests and inventories which investigation seemed to indicate significant dif ferences of means or percentages.
It was not routinely
applied to personal history items, 4.
The chi square test was applied to the items of
the Termination forms for determination of amount of agreement of the responses of the terminators and their respective managers.
The following standard formula was
used
5.
Frequencies of occurrence of the personal his-
tory responses were calculated in percentages$ which were rounded to nearest whole number. 6.
Case studies were evaluated by non-statistical
methods. Interpretation of data.
*6
ibid., p. 2 7 6 .
Inasmuch as this study was
83 essentially an exploratory study of the occupation of life insurance agent, the agents employed in the occupation and the patterns of success or failure indicated by them, the quantity and depth of interpretation was geared accordingly.
In this quasi-case study approach statis
tical treatment of data was made primarily of objective test data.
In the total concept, emphasis was placed upon
development of patterns of information and their implica tions for the counselor, and for future research work planned by the investigator.
The investigator was con
stantly aware of the limitations of the sample of partici pants and the samples of information representative of the occupation.
There was constant recognition of the
small samples of participants; and of the fact that the apprentice agents had been pre-selected. Summary of the chapter.
Sources of materials and
procedures were outlined under the following headings: (i) the method of research employed; (2 ) selection of the participants; (3 ) descriptions of the instruments and techniques employed; and (4 ) collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
This involved the rationale of
the methodology and its subordinate relationship with the purpose.
Descriptions of instruments and techniques
of analysis which are widely used in research were given
84 minimal breadth, while those less frequently employed were given broader descriptions. The next chapter synthesizes the intents and pur poses of the three preceding chapters into the basic assumptions of the research project and the hypotheses through which the investigation was projected.
CHAPTER IV ASSUMPTIONS AND HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY This study may perhaps be more clearly comprehended if the implied assumptions and hypotheses which were in strumental in the evolvement of this investigation are set forth.
The study bases its justification upon the
assumptions herein presented.
The hypotheses grew out
of the assumptions set forth and provide theories for validation. Assumptions of the study.
This study involves
certain basic theories which were first posited and then assumed.
The following assumptions are some of the more
important ones which are fundamental to this study: 1.
Potential agents, vocational counselors, and
insurance company leaders are very much interested in the problem. 2.
This study may offer data which will be helpful
to school guidance workers and business personnel workers in their attempt at resolving the general problem of matching men and jobs. 3.
An exploratory study describing the general
patterns of characteristics of the occupation is neces sary to serve as a guide for future investigation.
86 4.
Occupational life patterns are in terms of an
experiential continuum and no one strict one-for-one correlation is possiblep- This study attempts to describe and utilize the holistic, dynamic approach to the indi vidual in the occupation. 5.
Human behavior is lawful and, therefore, lends
itself to prediction.^ 6.
A variety of methodologies is extremely useful
in disclosing information significant to the study of a unique problem, such as the vocational adjustment of the 1 ife insurance agent.3
7.
Information derived from the data is authentic
and lends itself intelligibly to the purpose. 8.
Logical patterns ensue from research if it is
controlled,^
These patterns, while not final and fixed,
are none-the-less cogent for the practicable solution of vocational problems.^ 1 John Dewey, Logic, The Theory of Inquiry (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 193*3), pp. 2 ^5 -6 3 .
2 Snygg and Combs, op. cit., p. 1 3 . 3 Weersing, op. cit., p. 1 . ^ Dewey, op. cit., pp. 3-4. 5 Allen Mark Schmuller, flThe Hole of Education in the Rehabilitation of the Prussian Empire, ” (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1949), p. 57.
87 9.
All research in the field of human relations
involves subjective interpretation; hence, it is impos sible to avoid some error and maintain strict objeetivIty . 6 10.
The findings and conclusions of the study are
significant for present vocational counselors. Hypotheses of the study.
The hypotheses of this
study have evolved from careful study of the available literature and from the experiential background and know ledge of the investigator.
They are presented here to
add to the comprehensibility of the report, and most of all, to state the frame of reference or boundaries of the study through which the investigation was directed. 1.
Workable criteria for determining the relative
success of each of the participating apprentice agents can be established. 2.
Certain psychological tests will differentiate
between the active and terminated apprentice agents. 3.
There are patterns of personal history data
which have value for predicting the amount of success or failure of the job applicants. 6 c. C. Ross, Measurement in Today's Schools (Hew York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 194?, second edition), p. 18.
88 4.
There are certain characteristics of the occu
pation which attract individuals with particular "kinds” of occupational ambitions. 5.
In the process of matching a man with the job
of life insurance agent all occupational data must be related to an individuals frame of reference in order to have predictive value. 6.
There is no one traditional life insurance
personality stereotype who becomes successful as an agent. 7.
Failure as an agent does not assure a coun
selor that the individual will be a failure in other occu pations. 8.
Information derived from the study of the
active apprentice agent only is not within itself suffi ciently complete to describe the characteristics of the occupation or determine the prerequisites essential for a successful career as a life insurance agent. Summary.
The preceding chapters and this chapter
are the introductory chapters.
In them were presented the
purpose and framework of the study as well as the related literature.
It is again reemphasized that a basic rela
tionship of literature, purpose, procedure, and logical form has been assumed.
This chapter, as an aid to com
prehension of the purpose and framework, has given in
89 outline the primary assumptions and working hypotheses of the study.
The main part of the study begins in the next
chapter in which an operational definition of apprentice agent success will be developed.
CHAPTER V CRITERIA OF SUCCESS AS APPLIED TO APPRENTICE AGENTS It was the purpose of this chapter to present and analyze the data used in the development of the criteria of success which were applied only to the apprentice agents participating in this research project.
As related to
other chapters, this chapter serves as an introductory and transitional chapter to the main body of the disser tation.
The chapter was organized under three major
headings:
(1 ) problem and procedure, (2 ) development of
criteria of success, and (3 ) validation and application of criteria of success.
I.
THE PROBLEM AND PROCEDURE
More specifically, the purpose of this chapter was to answer the question:
"What criteria can be established
relative to evaluating the amount of success of an appren tice agent?"
The Investigator attempted to do this
through the following procedure:
(1 ) the related inves
tigations reviewed In Chapter II, were checked for fre quency of mention of criteria of success, and a basal list developed; (2 ) the data related to establishment of success criteria, which were collected by this investigator, were
91 tabulated and analyzed and items of criteria which were logically derived were added to the basal list; (3 ) these criteria were then evaluated according to the basic assumptions and hypotheses of this study; (4 ) from this screening the criteria proposed by the investigator were developed and sent to a jury of twenty-one for rating; and (5 ) the finally selected criteria were applied to the apprentice agents included within this investigation.
II.
DEVELOPMENT OP CRITERIA OP SUCCESS
Criteria of success listed by other investigators. Inasmuch as the studies from which the following items were taken have been reviewed in a previous chapter,1 the listing here is considered adequate for purposes of this chapter.
While no attempt was made to list them in exact
order of importance or frequency of mention, an attempt was made to place the more important ones at the head of the list. 1.
Amount of production a.
Above median for age group
b.
Above median for cost of living group
1 Supra, pp. 2 7 - 3 9 .
92 c.
Above median for particular company or agency
2.
3.
4.
d.
Produced over $100,000 per year
e.
Produced
f.
Produced over $200,000 per year
over $150,000 per year
Earnings a.
Earned equivalent to cost of living
b.
Earned over $6,000 per year
Surv ival a.
Survived over twelve months in business
b.
Survived over three years
c.
Survived longer than average for group
d.
Likely to remain in business
Miscellaneous a.
Number of sales interviews per week
b.
Job satisfaction
c.
Status within the community
There are, perhaps, many more items which may be added to the list; however, research of the literature has not indicated that they were beyond the "arm-chair,f level. Gross volume of sales (production) of active and terminated apprentice agents.
Cognizant of the problems
of getting accurate production records for each of the
93 eighty-three p a r t i c i p a n t s t h e investigator used the following procedures:
(1 ) a q u e s t i o n n a i r e 3 was either
mailed or personally taken to the respective managers requesting listing of total production and number of sales per month for first twenty-four months, (2 ) in the inter view each participant stated his yearly production and indicated the approximate percentage not placed
with the
agency he represented,^ and (3 ) these two amounts were checked against each other and in cases of observed sig nificant disagreement the participant was contacted by telephone and a compromise amount determined. Trend of sales.
Total volume of sales was calcu
lated and averages obtained, based upon production of first two years only, or less for terminators.
Means,
medians, quartile deviations and ranges of the average 2 As an aid to interpretation of problems of secur ing accurate production records, the investigator listed some items in Chapter II. Briefly, they are: (1) most agents place from 10 to 15 per cent of their sales with other agencies, and (2 ) there is variability among agencies of computing amount of certain unusual policies. As re lated to earnings, the above problems apply, as well as: (1 ) variation of earnings per $ 1 ,0 0 0 production; (2 ) earn ings from supervisory duties; and (3 ) variation in.value of earnings according to business cycle, geographical area, or cost of living requirements.
^ See Appendix B, p. 341-42. 4 A few agencies reported to investigator the amount of production placed elsewhere.
94 monthly volume sales were computed for both criterion groups and are given in Table IV. Inspection of the raw data indicated that for some agents, but not others, there was considerable fluctuation of amount of monthly sales.
However, further inspection
indicated the emergence of various trends of production. All actives indicated good production very early in their employment, while there was much more fluctuation or delayed production for the terminators. The differences between the mean, $25,808, and the median, $18,165, indicates the lack of symmetry of a curve of distributions of volume of sales of the active agents. This variation is not so obvious for the terminators; however, the' differences between the monthly production of the terminators and the actives Is all too obvious.
If,
however, a criterion of success were placed solely upon monthly production, some of the terminators would definite ly fall within the more successful group.
Three of the
terminators produced, on the monthly average, over $30,000 worth of business, but six of the actives produced less than $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 . Most obvious was the fact that two of the actives each produced over a million per year In each of the first two years under contract; on the other hand, one of the
95
TABLE IV AVERAGE PRODUCTION, NUMBER, AND SIZE OF POLICIES SOLD PER MONTH BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Actives Item Monthly production Mean Median Quartile deviation Range
(H-50)
Terminators (N-33)
$25,900 18,165 6,500 85,667-6,126
$9,337 8,333* 2,650 40,070-0.00
Number of policies per month Mean 4.01 Standard deviation 2.31 Range ll.58-l.OO Size of policy sold Mean Standard deviation Range Median Quartile deviation
*N-32
$6,452 3,845 21,058-2,530 5,100 2,771
2.23 1.36 6.17-0.00 $4,200 2,437 10,207-1,500 3,577 1,445
96 terminators did not sell any during his three months under contract. If a $100,000 per year cut-off point were used in determining success, then all actives hut one would he in cluded and fifteen of the thirty-three terminators would he included.
Comparing the production records of the cri
terion groups with records reported in the literature and presented in Table I, page 34, it is noted that average production of the actives was superior to all of the groups.
Even the terminators produced an amount equal
with twelve-month survivors hired since World War II, and much more than the average post-war terminator. Significantly related to the total volume of sales is the average amount of each sale and the average number of sales per month.
Although these factors are frequently
discussed at sales conventions they, apparently, have not been taken into consideration in determining criteria of success.
On the average, the criterion group of actives
sold four policies per month while the terminators placed only 2 . 2 3 per month, with only three men.selling over four per month.
As indicated in Table IV, there was a wide
range within the actives group of number of policies sold per month. If it were assumed that each successful apprentice
97 agent were to sell fifty policies per year in order to produce $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 worth of business, then the average size policy would be only $2,000.
However, inspection of the
records of the criterion groups indicates that the average size, $ 6 ,^5 2 , of policies sold by the active group was nearly one and one half times as large as that of the terminators, and that a positive relationship exists between number of policies sold and size of policy.
To
illustrate the ratio of number of policies to size as related to total volume, one of the two top producers averaged 1 0 . 6 9 policies per month at an average size of $8,000 while the other averaged 4.75 Per month and $ 1 7 , 6 8 2 per policy.
As to which one is the most successful and
displayed the most effort is not known. Determination of monthly earnings.
More difficult
than determining accurate production was the determination of monthly earnings.
To accomplish this the investigator
assumed the following variables to be operative:
(1 ) var
iation of amount of commission earned per $ 1 , 0 0 0 of pro duction, (2 .) differences between commissions earned on first year production and payments to agents, (3 ) compen sation for supervisory or administration duties undertaken in addition to regular sales work, (4 ) variation of earn ings according to financing plans, including subsistence
98 received under Veteran's training, and (5 ) discrepancy between manager's and agent's reports of earnings, due primarily to lack of knowledge on the part of the manager of total production of agent. It was decided by the investigator that for pur poses of comparison of monthly earnings an amount repre sentative of actual value of sales and/or services should be determined.
From the following records, the most
representative amount was determined:
(1 ) commissions
earned on first year production, as reported by manager, (2 ) compensation paid for other services rendered, and (3 ) statement of agent as to earnings.
In cases of dis
crepancy that amount which seemed most reasonable, in light of all information available, was used.
Averages
were computed based on total earnings of first twentyfour months, or for whatever length of time the agent was under contract, if less than twenty-four months; • Determination of amount of monthly payments received. The same variables which were assumed to be operative in the above paragraphs were assumed to be operative relative to calculation of payments, other than loans, which were received by the participants.
However, in this situation
all payments received under salaries, drawing accounts, and Veterans subsistence when the hiring agency was under
99 contract with Veterans Administration as a training insti tution, and commissions paid on first year production were included.
In this situation reports "by agents were favor
ably accepted in the few instances where contradictions seemingly occurred.
Averages were computed as above. R
Compensation plans in which agents were employed.^ Essentially two basic plans were employed with seven different variations.
Over half, 56 per cent (Table V)
of the actives and 51 per cent of the terminators, were contracted under commission plans only. subsistence
Veterans training
under Public Law 346 or 16, was received by
2 8 per cent of the actives and 33 per cent of the ter
minators.
Several of the companies did not contract with
Veterans Administration for training purposes.
Those under
Veterans training were employed under a combination com mission and subsistence or combined with drawing account. There was only one agent, a terminator, who claimed the occupation an independent business venture and claimed the Veterans $100 monthly guarantee; and he did so without the knowledge of his hiring general agent. For all intents and purposes, the drawing account
5 See definitions of terms used in Chapter I, supra, pp. 1 2 - 1 6 .
100
TABLE V
TYPE OF FINANCING PLANS IN WHICH ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS WERE EMPLOYED
Plan
Actives Terminators (N-50) (H-33) Num Per Num Per ber cent ber ceni
1* Straight Commission
18
36
10
30
2. Advance and Commission
10
20
7
21
3. Advance, Commission and G.I,
6
12
9
27
4. Combined Drawing Account and G.I., and Commission
8
16
2
6
5. Drawing Account and Commission
3
6
2
6
6 . Drawing Account
3
6
7 . Salary plus Commission
2
3
9
.
4
101
and the salary plan operate the same way, although In some agencies the drawing account is subject to repayment by the agent if commissions do not cover it. terminators, advances
In two cases of
(or loans) had amounted to over
$2,000 and the terminated agents were making payments to their former employers two and three years later without having repaid the entire amount.
As is indicated in Table
V, there was little difference between the number of agents in either criterion group as to the type of compensation plan.
The most successful agents, of course, preferred to
work under straight commission. DeterminatIon of amount of cost of living require ments .
A maximum of four records of cost of living re
quirements, sometimes called budget requirements, were available, depending upon whether the agency had utilized the Steward Materials and/or the Aptitude Index in the selection of the agent.
If, however, neither of these had
been used, usually an application form was available to the investigator.
In addition to the responses to the
cost of living statement required in the three instruments just named, the manager indicated a g e n t fs cost of living requirements on the Production Record form.
Also, at the
time of the interview, statements were made of cost of living requirements at the time of hiring and at the time
102
the study noted.
was made.
General
A representative
gator.This was usually It
agreement of amountswas
amount was chosenby the investi
the modal amount.
was found that the statements of
budget require
ments made at time of hiring were usually, the very mini mum amount possible.
It was also noted that the lapse of
time between time of hiring and time of study may have been the reason why the statement made in interview was usually the highest amount. Interrelationships of monthly earnings, payments received, and cost of living requirements.
In Table VI
are presented the mean amounts with standard deviations and ranges.
Based upon the above data and their inter
relationships, the following conclusions and implications are drawn: 1.
While the average cost of living requirements
were approximately the same for the actives and termina tors at time of hiring, there followed a much more rapid increase on the part of the actives than on the part of the terminators, even though the terminators changed jobs and increased their income over the amount received as insurance agents. 2.
The average earnings of the terminators,
$116.52 per month, even though supplemented by Veterans
103
TABLE VI AVERAGE MONTHLY EARNINGS AND COST OF LIVING REQUIREMENTS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Monthly earnings Mean Standard deviation Range
Actives (N-5 0 )
Terminators (N-3 3 )
$3 1 8 . 0 0
$1 1 6 . 5 2
1 6 5 .0 0 9 5 0 . 0 0 - 8 0 .i DO
Monthly payments received Mean 328.50 Standard deviation 1 5 7 .0 1 Range 950.00 - 140 . 0 0 Monthly cost of living requirements at time of hiring Mean 2 5 4 .2 8 Standard deviation 5 4 .8 2 Range 3 5 0 .0 0 - 125 .0 0 Monthly cost of living requirements at time of study* Mean 361.83 Standard deviation 99.87 Range 6 0 0 . 0 0 - I50 . 0 0
7 4 .1 1 3 2 5 .0 0 - 0 .0 0 1 8 3 .2 1 6 4 .8 9 3 2 5 .0 0 - 8 5 .0 0
2 4 2 .7 7 6 8 .3 1
425.00 - 140.00
2 8 2 .9 8
67.39
4 2 5 .OO - I5 0 .OO
* Elapsed time between time of hiring and time of study varied from two to four years.
104 subsistence, drawing accounts, and salaries which increased it to $1 8 3 .2 1 , was much below that required for monthly living costs.
Savings accounts, advance, and supplemental
income from the wives* earnings were, therefore, essential to survival.
Several were receiving gifts and long range
loans from parents.
How long could hope for a more reward
ing day persist over realistic gambling on future income, was a question each one faced. 3.
Increased payments for Veterans subsistence,
salaries, etc., to the actives amounted to only ten dollars over that actually earned by services and first year com missions on sales, but it added sixty-seven dollars to the income of the terminators.
This income was still
short of that required to meet living costs.
Except for
four, all of the terminators (and four of the actives) were seriously gambling their savings on the future.
As to
what point a ”failing agent” should terminate with mini mum loss, is a question not finally determined by this research; however, its need for decision is apparent. The relationship between freedom from need of financial assistance in the apprenticeship period and success is apparent. 4.
Inspection of the production records and earn
ings of the active apprentice agents indicates that they
started to make sales much more quickly and, on the average, develop an upward trend in their volume.
This was accom
panied by increase in cost of living requirements, on a proportionate basis. Length of service of terminated apprentice agents. The percentage of termination of this criterion group within the first twelve months of service was fifty-eight.^ Inspection of the average monthly earnings, however, does not indicate that those who persisted over twelve months were any more "successful” than those who terminated more quickly.
See Table VII for length of service of termina
tors . Another obvious factor related to length of employ ment stated by managers, is that of the problem of the manager knowing just when the agent begins to reduce time and effort put into the occupation.
It was found in some
instances that the agents had even been working on another job several weeks before the manager was informed.
In
other cases the agent was continued on a part time basis while employed full time in another job. Relation of effort and training achievement to
106
TABLE VII NUMBER OF MONTHS SPENT IN OCCUPATION BY TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Total Number
Months 0 - 5
4 7 10 15
16 19 22 25 28 Over
6 9 12 15 18
21 24 27 50
50* total
11.56 7.45
5 4 2 8 4 1 1 5 0 2 1 55
Median Quartile deviation
* 58 months.
Per cent 15 12 6 24 12 5 5 15 0 6 5
Cumulative Per cent 15 27 55 58 70 75 76 91 91 97 100
107 success.
Although no information was obtained as to the
number of sales interviews held per month or the number of hours spent per week oh the job, managerial ratings of effort and training achievement were made.
Two limitations
of these ratings are immediately apparent:
(l) lack of
agreement of managers as to degree of effort required for superior, adequate, marginal, little or no value rating, and (2 ) the probable prejudice of the manager against the terminated agent.^ Means of the average (mean) monthly effort and training achievement ratings were computed and are presented in Table VIII.
The t-ratio of the significance of the dif
ferences of the means are, 4.2^ for effort and 4.06 for training; both are significant at the 1 per cent level of confidence.
When this is interpreted in light of above
financial needs of the terminated agents, the question is raised as to why greater effort was not put forth.
If mo
tivation is the key to the answer, what, then, are the psy chological needs underlying the required motivation? Frequently the statement was made by the managers or training supervisors, in speaking of the terminated agents, Mhe did so well in his training program, I can't understand
7 Cf. infra, p. 244.
TABLE VIII AVERAGE MONTHLY RATING OF EFFORT AND TRAINING ACHIEVEMENT OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS, AS INDICATED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE MANAGERS
Component
Actives (H-50)
Terminators (H-33)
t-ratios of differences of means
Effort Mean Standard deviation Range
3.53 .62 4.00 - 1.90
2.50 .89 3.50 - 1.00
4.23*
Training achievement in agency and company training programs Mean Standard deviation Range
3.67 .50 4.00 - 2.30
2.85 .75 4.00 - 1.50
4 .06*
Note: Ratings were made by manager on request of investigator, and were based on following standards: 4, superior; 3, adequate; 2 , marginal; 1, little; and 0, none. * Significant at 1 per cent level of confidence.
109 why he failed to make as good a showing in his sales work.rl This, plus the above factors, indicates need of further research,' such as that reported by Kahn.^ Relation of success and managerial assignments.
In
Table XI are presented data indicating that 20 per cent of the most successful agents were given managerial responsi bilities which were accepted as part or full time jobs in lieu of full time selling.
Although most of these manager
ial opportunities came after the first twenty-four months of apprenticeship training, they nevertheless probably represented a direction of level of aspiration, and achieve ment of success.
These points will be discussed more fully Q
in later sections.^ Suggested criteria.
Conclusions based upon the find
ings of the present investigator concur with the suggested items of criteria of success found in the literature; however, the arrangement of the items, listed at the begin ning of this section, is crucial to the development of a criteria of success based upon the more positive aspects of the occupation.
When the interpretation is based upon
^ Kahn, op. cit., pp. 1-799 Infraj p. 117
110
the individual as a whole, including an awareness of the group inferences, the meanings determined from fundamental relationships offer potential criteria of success. The investigator, herewith, proposes certain criteria of success which are seemingly worthy of individual appli cation and interpretation.
At this point the proposal is
tentative, based upon findings of the literature and eval uated in terms of the investigator *s related findings. These criteria were validated by a jury, and are given greater value and meaning in later chapters of this study. The criteria and reasons for their proposal are: 1.
Ratio of earnings to budget requirements.
criterion, borrowed from Steward , 10 is considered basic, and is arbitrarily given an approximate weighted value of 50 per cent of the total criteria of success.
As applied
to the first twenty-four months of the apprenticeship period, the ratio of earnings to budget requirements are again borrowed from Steward.
Their values, as applied to
the customary four-point rating scale, are:
1 0 Verne Steward, "The Problem of Determining the Degree of Success Achieved by Apprentice Life Insurance Agents,1’ Personnel Reports for Sales Executives, Report 4, pp. 1-5, July 1947.
11 Loc. cit.
This
Ill IV, very successful III, successful
97 P^p cent and above 8 3 to 9 6 per cent 66 to 8 2 per cent
II, marginal
65 per cent or less.
I, failure
While these amounts are arbitrary, they were de veloped by Steward, a recognized expert in the field, and they fit the distributions of related amounts of earnings (not payments received) to time of hiring budget or cost of living requirements of the apprentice agents participating in this study. 2.
Trend of production (and concomitant earnings),
whether up or down.
This proposed criterion is arbitrarily
considered to be of approximately 25 per cent weighted value.
It was intended to meet the problem of increasing
cost of living requirements, and to meet the agent's "dream” of increased income. 3.
Probability of agent remaining in the business.
This criterion is arbitrarily given an approximate weighted value of 25 pep cent of the total.
It was intended ,to meet
the problems of the rating to be applied to the more suc cessful terminators who might be rated "very successful” by the first two criteria, but would be reduced one point on the four-point rating scale.
There were, also, some
agents who declared their intent of leaving the occupation
112
within a short time.
These agentSj and others who showed
little long range interest, could with this criterion be rated down.
On the other hand., there were some agents who
enjoyed special privileges and seemed to have long range interest in occupation, even though they were doing only marginal production, would probably remain in the occupa tion. The above criteria represent rough criteria of suc cess by which standards the agent or manager might evaluate the relative achievement of the agent on an individual basis.
III.
VALIDATION AND APPLICATION OF CRITERIA OF SUCCESS Although the investigator had employed logical in
ferences and !lrule-of-thumb11 fittings of the proposed cri teria to the data concerning the apprentice agents, it was considered advisable to secure ratings b y a jury. Ratings by jury.
The managers of the active and
terminated apprentice agents were contacted by letter in which they were requested to rate on a five-value rating scale, their favorability to lack of favorability to the proposed criteria. managers responded.
Eighty-one per cent of the twenty-one Their favorable responses are presented
115 in Table IX.
Their responses are considered, by this
investigator, to be validation of the criteria of the relative success of each of the participating apprentice agents.
It is assumed that these criteria are also valuable
for general purposes of the apprentice agents, as an esti mate of his status within the occupation. Subsequent to the polling of the jury, the inves tigator met approximately half of them in a meeting and further explained these criteria to them. was indicated.
Again agreement
One suggestion was added; provision should
be made for the very outstanding young agent.
The fact
that two of the active agents were members of the Million Dollar Round T a b l e d seemed to suffice for this suggestion. Application of ratings of success.
The investiga
tor applied the criteria to only the fifty active and thirty-three terminated apprentice agents.
Difficulty was
encountered in but six of the eighty-three cases.
In
those cases the investigator checked with the managers of the agents for additional production data which added insight into the classification of the agent. The results of the ratings of the participating apprentice agents are presented in Table X.
In addition,
12 A recognition for million dollar producers.
114
TABLE IX JURY RATINGS OP PROPOSED CRITERIA OP SUCCESS Response Rating Very favorable
Number
Per cent
1
5
15
71
Fairly favorable
1
5
Unfavorable
0
Very unfavorable
0
Favorable
no response total
4
19
21
100
TABLE X DISTRIBUTION, MONTHLY PRODUCTION, AND EARNINGS OP ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS, ACCORDING TO SUCCESS RATINGS Actives (N-50) Factor Distribution of agents
IV
III
50
16
Terminators (N-3?) Success Ratings II I IV III
4
0
0
4
II
I
7
22
Average monthly production
1 2 9 ,1 5 7
15,900
9,050
$28,575
10,180
6,446
Average monthly earnings
4 0 5 .0 0
2 0 5 .0 0
1 5 5 .0 0
2 5 5 .0 0
144.00
8 2 .0 0
116
average monthly productions and earnings are presented. Two of the thirty in class IV are the million dollar pro ducers mentioned above.
Considering those in classes XXI
and IV as being reasonably successful, then only four actives are rated marginal.
Thus, inasmuch as all but
four actives meet the criteria of success here developed, the actives are generally considered successful.
Apply
ing the same procedures to the terminators then, all but four are marginal or failures, with two thirds in the latter classification.
Thus, the term of failure (in the
life insurance business) may be generally applied to the group of terminators.
However,
the appellation of active
and terminated apprentice agents will be continued. The discrepancy of amount of earnings of the four terminators in class XXI, as compared with the earnings of the actives producing similar amount of business, is accounted for by the fact that some of the actives were receiving compensation for supervisorial or managerial work performed and the type .of business produced was of higher quality and/or more remunerative. Those who were performing managerial or supervisor ial duties during their first twenty-four months of em ployment or within the three subsequent years (depending upon length of service), are listed in Table XI.
Only
1X7
TABLE XI MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES OF ACTIVE APPRENTICE AGENTS Actives (N-50) Type
Num ber
Per cent
Success Rating IV III II
Agency Manager
1
2
Co-General Agent
1
2
Assistant Agency Manager
1
2
1
Manager of a subordinate agency office
2
4
2
Supervisor within agency
5
10
3
2
10
20
7
3
Number offered supervisory positions, other than above according to agents 96
12
total
1 1
118 one of the more successful terminators was given managerial responsibilities.
It Is observed that at least one third
of the actives are considered by insurance company offi cials to be of managerial caliber.
Whether this is unique-
to this select-group of successful young agents, or can be applied in general, is not known . ^ Evaluation of criteria.
The above criteria include
the four basic elements of definitions of success used by the investigators in the fields.
14
Application, however,
to the individual agent requires considerable knowledge of the subject and some subjective judgment.
The value of
the criteria as a tool of the guidance worker needs fur ther evaluation. For purposes of this dissertation, the criteria were developed to serve as an added clarification of the status of the participants, and as an instrument for pos sible use by those Interested in the occupation.
It is
not used within this research project as a standard or criteria for statistical evaluation of data based upon the small sub-classes.
^
^
infra* PP* 124-26. Supra, PP« 91-92.
119 Summary.
Within this chapter were developed cri
teria of success for application to the relative per formances of the apprentice agents participating in the study, and as possible standards for use of those interes ted in the occupation.
The various elements of defini
tions of success used by the investigators in the field were re-evaluated in terms of findings from the parti cipants.
The elements of volume of sales, earnings,
length of survival, and miscellaneous elements of job satisfaction, effort and community status, were rearranged into ratio of earnings to cost of living requirements, trend of production, and probability of remaining in business.
These were favorably rated by a jury.
Ratings
of the participants indicated that all but four actives were reasonably successful and all but four terminators were marginal or below. Additional findings are as follows: 1.
The mean monthly production and earnings of
the active apprentice agents were nearly three times as great as the terminators.
Two antecedent factors indi
cated that the actives sold nearly two times as many policies per month and that the average size was one and one half times as large. 2.
The actual earnings based on income from sales
120
and salaries of the actives approximated their cost of living requirements while the terminators earned less than half of their cost of living requirements. 3.
Over half of the participants were employed
under compensation plans limited to commissions only. Approximately one third of the participants received Veterans subsistence under a training program. 4.
Over half of the terminators survived less
than twelve months.
Of those who survived longer than
twelve months, in spite of the fact that they were receiv ing some assistance from drawing accounts or Veterans subsistence, their relative success standing was no high er than those who terminated more quickly. 5.
Based on managerial ratings, there were sta
tistically significant differences of mean ratings of effort and training achievement.
Comparatively, the
ratings for training achievement were higher than those for effort, for both groups. 6.
One third of the actives were assigned or had
been offered managerial or supervisorial responsibilities while only one terminator had been so assigned. The following chapter presents the status of relative success of a group which had been considered successful.
CHAPTER VI FOLLOW-UP STUDY OF ONE HUNDRED FIFTY CAREER AGENTS The last chapter presented the patterns of success of the apprentice agents, and criteria for individually rating their degree of success.
It was the purpose of
this chapter to describe the present status of 1 5 0 career agents who had been reported as earning a living In the business in 1 9 5 5 * or fifteen years prior to the time the present study was initiated.
This follow-up survey is
presented under the following headings:
(l) problem and
procedure, (2 ) present status of the participants, (5) factors related to success, and (4) summary of find ings.
I.
PROBLEM AND PROCEDURE
Introduction and background setting.
It is well
recognized by vocational guidance workers that any con sideration of an occupation should include information about the entry as well as the senior or career level. To accomplish this it was decided to make a follow-up study of ”successful” agents studied by Steward in 1955 1 Steward, ”The Use and Value of Special Tests in the Selection of Life Insurance Underwriters,” op. cit., pp. 1-203.
122
As this study was also done in the Los Angeles area and some of the participants in the apprentice groups reported in the last chapter were employed in the same agencies which cooperated with Steward, the setting was considered to be similar. While Steward*s original study included 3 0 9 agents classified into four success groups, it was decided, for purposes of this study, that only the groups which were reported by him as either earning a living (122) or, in the case of the top group of forty-two, earning in excess of $6,000 per year would be included.
It was considered
that inasmuch as many of the marginal or failure groups had terminated, the problem of locating them would have gone beyond the limits of a single doctoral research pro ject.
The procedure of locating the participants was
described in Chapter III.^ Technique.
Specifically stated, the problem of
this chapter is, "What patterns of success are described by a follow-up study of one hundred fifty career agents who were considered successful fifteen years previous to the time of this study?11
^ Supra, pp. 61-62.
123 Of the 122 living agents or ex-agents located, fifty-two responded to a questionnaire*^ sent to them. Forty-two were still active in the business and ten had terminated.
These two criterion groups are not to be con
fused with the active and terminated apprentice agents. While a 43 per cent return on the questionnaire is a little low, and questionnaire returns of 3 6 per cent of'the entire group of 1 5 0 might not be a representative sample, the data are sufficiently meaningful in terms of giving a fairly good descriptive picture of the career man in the occupation, to give a broad general pattern.
II.
PRESENT STATUS OF PARTICIPANTS
Occupational status.
The present status of the 122
former agents, as related to the insurance business, are presented in Table XII.
In Table XIII are presented the
positions within the insurance field, held by the fortytwo active and ten terminators who responded to the ques tionnaires.
The new principal fields of work engaged in
by the ten terminators are presented in Table XIV. It Is noted that, other than the number of those
3 See questionnaires in Appendix B, pp. 347-52.
TABLE XII
Agency
Active same agency
Promoted . same company Retired
Deceased
General insurance broker
Changed companies
Left the insurance business
Where abouts unknown
0 4 1 2 12
0 2 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
2 0 1 0 0
2 0 1 0 0
0 5 1 0 0
2 0 1 0 0
1 0 0 0 0
G H I J
5 4 0 5 6
0 1 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0
0 2 0 2 0
0 1 0 1 0
5 0 1 0 1
4 0 0 0 3
1 5 3 0 0
K L M N 0
4 2 2 1 0
1 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
1 2 1 2 0
1 1 5 0 1
0 0 3 1 0
1 1 0 2 1
P Q R S
4 0 0 2
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 1 0
1 0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1 2
2 0 2 0 6
1 1 0 0 2
57
5
0
9
14
22
24
19
Per cent-- 58
5
6
9
15
16
13
A B C
D E F
Totals
Fj
* Miscellaneous.
frST
FOLLOW-UP STUDY OF 150 MALE LIFE INSURANCE AGENTS REPORTED AS EARNING A LIVING IN THE BUSINESS IN 1955 (15 YEARS AGO)
125 TABLE XIII POSITIONS HELD BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS
Position General Agents
Actives Terminators (N-42) (N-10) -49 1953 19^8 1933 ~Num- Per Num Per Num- Per ber cent ber cent ber cent 4 10 12 0 29
Managers
1
2
5
7
District Managers {Home Office)
2
5
1
2
Sales Managers (Home Office)
1
2 1
2
Director of Field Training (Field Office) Assistant General Agent
3
7
Assft. Agency Managers
5 4
12 10
2
17
41
1
10
5
1
10
9
21
7
70
Owners of Insurance Brokerages
4
10
Brokers and Agents
6
14
1
10
Agency Supervisors Agents
Consultant in Estate Planning
1
2
1
2
District Agent 1 Retired General Agents 42 Total Number with part or full time managerial or nonselling responsi 21 bilities
2
1
2
2
5
50
25
60
2
20
Number of full time agents
50
17
40
8
80
21
42
10
126
TABLE XIV PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF WORK ENGAGED IN BY TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS AFTER LEAVING THE LIFE INSURANCE BUSINESS
Work
Terminators (N-10) N o . of Per responses cent
Engineering
4
19
Manufacturing
5
14
Mining
1
5
Navy
1
5
Industrial Management
1
5
Ministry
1
5
Heal Estate
1
5
Trust Work
1
5
Automobile Insurance
1
5
Purchasing, Tangibles
1
5
Manufacturers Representative
1
5
Sales Executive
1
5
Personnel Management
1
5
Student
1
5
Experimental Work (Physical Sciences)
1
5
Merchandising (Export-Import)
1
5
Total jobs Average number of jobs per man Range of jobs per man Average length of service per job
21 2 .1
1-5 5 . 2 9 years
127 not located who might have terminated, only twenty-four, 16 per cent, had left the insurance business.
The remain
der were still active in the business or had died while in the life insurance field.
Thirty-eight per cent were
still active within the same agency, 15 per cent had changed companies, and only 9 per cent had become general insurance brokers.
Significant is the fact that two of
the twenty agencies reported that all of their agents are still active.
Five of the agencies reported no active
survivors. As to the changing pattern of the part or full time managerial responsibilities of the two groups totaling fifty-two agents who responded to questionnaires, the most obvious thing is that half of the actives held managerial Jobs then and at present time three fifths hold managerial jobs.
In contrast, only 20 per cent of the terminators
held managerial positions in 1933 •
Any subsequent change
of managerial status of terminators within the insurance field is not known. The terminated agents indicated, on the whole, two general trends of occupational interests (or possibly levels of aspiration) by going primarily into two broad fields of either technical work at the professional level, or into business administrative work of some sort.
Only
128
two entered full time sales work, tut on an independent entrepreneur basis.
However* the terminators* on the
average* changed Jobs every five years* or had held two different jobs in their post-insurance years. 4 Financial status of responding career agents. The usual question asked by any job applicant is* flHow much will the job pay?,f The answer to this question, as given by forty-two career men and ten who worked several years in the field* is given in Table XV.
Additional find'
ings concerning 1 0 5 men who were still in the business indicate that fifty-four of them were found to have earned an average of $10*000 or more per year since World War IX* or were earning this amount at the time of their death. Further examination of the table reveals lack of symmetry of the curves of distributions of net worth and earnings of both groups.
The low amounts of earnings of
the actives are those of one of the agents who is par tially retired.
And the high figures of net worth and
earnings of the terminators are those of a member of a prominent family engaged in the manufacturing business.. h.
Hereafter all findings of active and terminated career agents are based upon those responding to question naires only and are not presumed to apply to Steward*s total groups.
TABLE XV
NET WORTH AND EARNINGS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS Terminators
Actives Factor Net worth, 1933 Median , Quartile deviation Range
Num ber
Amount
40
$5,300
•
Num ber
Amount
10
$5,500
8,333
4,000
75,000 - 1,000
150,000 - 500
(15,000)* Net worth, 1948-49 Median Quartile deviation Range
40
53,000 35,000 350,000 - 4,000
10
26,167 15,000 900,000 - 5,000
(60,000) Value of home, 1948-49 Median Quartile deviation Range Average annual net income, past three post-war years Median Quartile deviation Range
32
37
28,500 9,958 75,000 - 12,000
6
9,750
10
4,750 40,000 - 1,400
21,250 14,125 70,000 - 15,000 (45.000)
8,000
5 125 49,000 - 4,200
(15.000) 129
* as tnere was one respondent wnose worth was extremely high" the next'E'lgEest amount Is given In parentheses.
TABLE XV (continued) MET WORTH AMD EARNINGS OP ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS
Actives Factor Average annual earnings, five pre-war years Median Quartile deviation Range Average annual earnings, last five years in life insurance Median Quartile deviation Range
Terminators
Num ber
Amount
36
6,300
Num ber
Amount
25,000'- 2,500
9
4,750 825 13,500 - 2,700
151 No effort was made to determine the cost of living of either of the criterion groups; however, from informa tion obtained from the questionnaires, conversations, and contacts made by Steward, there are few, if any, who are not earning a living. Both groups had approximately the same amount of net worth, $5*000, at the time of Steward’s study; however, the actives have multiplied this amount by ten to an average of over $5 0 , 0 0 0 which is twice that of the terminators. Of the thirty-two out of forty-two actives and six out of ten terminators who own their homes, the value of the homes of the actives is one and one fourth times as high. It is observed that none of the homes are less than $1 2 , 0 0 0 in value.
III.
FACTORS RELATED TO SUCCESS
Introduction.
In the original study Steward inves
tigated the following personal history items:
highest
grade completed, kind of education, age at entry, prior experience, financial status, marital status, and social activities.
In addition to these standardized tests of
mental ability, emotional stability, dominance, and back ground knowledge were administered.
Each of these factors
132 was correlated with success ratings^ and yielded + . 2 0 and +.44 mean square contingency coefficients.
The lowest
was for financial status, and the highest for dominance. Inasmuch as the number of respondents, here considered, amount to only fifty-two of the original number of three hundred nine, Stewardfs statistical calculations are not usable.
Rather, in accordance with the procedure of this
chapter, these factors are individually considered in terms of their general, over-all contributions to the study. Personal history information.
1.
Age.
Findings
in this area of investigation have been obtained from Steward’s individual data cards and from questionnaire responses.
They are presented in Tables XVI, XVII, and
XVIII. As to the age at time of hiring (28.45 mean years), the actives, even though five years younger, display less homogeneity than the terminators.
The approximate age of
thirty within ranges of twenty-five and thirty-five appear to be the optimum age for entering the life insurance field.
Two, among other reasons, appear to be operating:
(1 ) maturity of the individual, and (2 ) physical
6 Steward, r,The Use and Value of Special Tests in the Selection of Life Underwriters," op. cit., p. 119.
133 TABLE XVI PERSONAL HISTORY ITEMS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS Item Age, time of hiring Mean Standard deviation Range
Actives (N-42) 28.45 6 .79 45.00 - 18.00
Age, time of study (1 9 4 8 - 4 9 ) Mean 52.19 Standard deviation 7.05 Range 68.00 - 41.00
Terminators (N-10) 33.00
3-95 42.00 - 28.00 55*50 5*35 62.00 - 44.00
Years in business* Mean Standard deviation Range
5.44 48.00 - 16.00
26.00 - 4.00
Years of Education** Mean Standard deviation Range
14.97 2.47 20.00 - 8.00
16.20 1.25 18.00 - 14.00
2 3 .7 4
Academic courses completed 1933 to 1948-49 Median 1.13 Quartile deviation 1.07 Range 8.00 - 0.00 Number completing none 1 3 . 0 0 - (3 1 P©** cent) Organizational memberships, 1948-49 Median number 4.07 Quartile deviation 2.05 Range 2.00 - (5 per cent)
12 . 5 0 6 .3 3
1.50 1.00 30.00 - 0.00 3 . 0 0 - (3 0 per
cent)
2 .8 3
1.33 2.00 - (20 per cent)
* Obviously, actives are still in business or occupation. ** Adjusted to include all courses to date.
134 vigor.
Further research is needed to amplify these
theories. The present age of the participants centers around the early and middle fifties, which is probably at the time of their most productive years.
When this is re
lated to amount of years spent in the business, and to the increase in net worth of the participants, it gives a person an idea of the income possible from the occupation. It is, of course, recognized that this is a select group. It is interesting to note that the terminators spent 1 2 . 5 mean years in the occupation, with one spending
twenty-six years before terminating. amount is not ascertained.
Normalcy of this
On the other hand, one of the
actives is still in the occupation after forty-eight years of service and earning over $ 5 , 0 0 0 per year. 2.
Education.
As to years of education it was
found that the terminators had completed more years of education than the actives.
All of the terminators
had had the equivalent of two years of college while six of the actives have not had college training other than a possible course in insurance.
When this factor
of the high academic training of the terminators is studied in the light of their post-insurance employment, probably several had their major training in technical
135 fields.
Even though the figures have been adjusted to
Include their equivalent yearly value of their accumulated collegiate courses, it is still very evident that the majority of the career agents are of college caliber and have had considerable scholastic training. Closely associated with the amount of training is the prominent fact that JO per cent of both groups have taken courses simultaneous with their full time employment. Probably most of these courses were in the field of life insurance for twenty-two of the forty-two actives and six of the ten terminators had completed the extensive colle giate program required for membership in the Chartered Life Underwriter Society. 3.
Organizational memberships.
Steward found that
of the total group of 1 6 3 successful group of agents, of which the present groups of fifty-two were a part, twentythree gave no time, sixty-six gave little time ( 5 per cent or less), and fifty gave much time (over 5 per cent) to group activities, such as church and social activities.^ He further found that those agents ranking in second group of financial circumstances, those agents having the most children, highest amount of education, and prior
? ibid., pp. 105-108.
136 experience in professional or technical fields, gave most time to group activities.
The same measure was not used
by the present investigator, rather only the number of memberships were secured.
In this it is revealed that
only two of the forty-two do not belong to groups, while two of the ten do belong.
There was also manifested a
much stronger interest and activity on the part of the Q actives over the terminators. 3*
Marital status.
Several observations can be
made from the data collected concerning this factor which are presented in Table XVII.
Four fifths of both groups
are married and have children ; . 1 0 per cent or less of both groups have a history of divorce, and only one of the total fifty-two has never been married. There was further information given in the ques tionnaires which indicated the high regard for family life and the amount of time and money which had been devoted to the education and care of the children.
Many
of the children are now grown and established vocation ally. Health.
Practically all of the respondents
indicated that they had enjoyed excellent good health; however, nine of the forty-two actives reported that g Cf. Infra, Chapter VIII, pp. 199-202.
137
TABLE XVII MARITAL STATUS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS Actives (N-42)
Marital status Single
Terminators (N-10)
1948-49 1933 1933 1948-49 Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per her cent her cent her cent her cent 6
14
1
5
Married, with no children
11
26
5
12
4
40
2
20
Married, with children
24
57
35
83
6
60
8
80
1
5 1
5
Separated or divorced Widowers Total Total with history of divorce
42
42
2
10
10
10
1
10
138 within the past two years their health condition had lowered somewhat, as presented In Table XVIII.
In spite
of six responses, there was a general air of optimism concerning the quality of health. Test scores.
Measures of central tendency and var
iability were computed for each of the four sub tests used by Steward in his original Composite Inventory and Examina tion for Life Insurance Salesmen.^ sented in Table XIX.
These data are pre
Only description of the data is here
given for the investigator does not assume that the samples are sufficiently large and representative for statistical determination of correlations or significance of differ ences . Review of the table reveals the obvious finding of the terminators scoring higher on all tests than the ac tives.
The second astonishing finding is that on each of
the four tests there were low scorers who have succeeded in the occupation. Those people who are familiar with the twenty-min ute Otis test of mental ability appreciate its short comings for use with older men forced to work under a time limit.
The average age of the present groups was over
thirty at the time the test was administered.
An inter
esting point is that the one terminator who scored 1 0 5 9 ibid., p. 1 8 9 .
139
TABLE XVIII HEALTH HISTORY OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS
Actives (N-42) Quality of health, according to agent
Terminators (N-10)
Nunther
Per cent
Excellent
12
29
6
60
Good
20
48
4
40
Fair
1
2
Good now
2
5
Poor now
3
7
Fair now
2
3
Poor now
2
5
Excellent until last two or three years:
Good until last two or three years:
Numher
Per cent
140
TABUS XIX TEST SCORES OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS AS DETERMINED FIFTEEN YEARS (1933) PREVIOUS TO THIS STUDY
Test
Terminators (K-1 0 ) Score
Actives (H-42) Score *
Mental ability (Otis) Mean I.Q. Standard deviation Range
113.64 7.72 124.00 - 9 5 . 0 0
Background Knowledge Mean Standard deviation Range
17.17 6.44 3 0 .0 0 - 3 .0 0
1 1 9 .1 0
5.13
1 2 5 .0 0 - 1 0 5 .0 0 1 8 .6 0 7 .1 6 3 0 .0 0 - 3 .0 0
Aggressiveness (Bernreuter) Median percentile 75.00 Quartile deviation „ 17.71 Range 9 8 .0 0 - 6 .0 0
9 8 .0 0 - 6 5 .0 0
Stability (Bernreuter) Median percentile Quartile deviation Range
9 2 .5 0 1 6 .0 3 9 8 .0 0 - 5 3 .0 0
68.34 1 6 .0 4 9 7 .0 0 - 5 .0 0
9 0 .0 0
«
15-2§
141 I.Q. later obtained a professional degree from a state university. or higher.
All other terminated agents scored 118 I.Q. Two of the forty-two actives scored less than
100 I.Q., two in the range 100-104, and nine in the I.Q. range of 1 0 5 - 1 0 9 . Scores on the Background Knowledge test were quite similar, and, inasmuch as this test is no longer used, little discussion is justified. Further investigations were made concerning those agents (some not included in groups of questionnaire respondents) who had scored at the forty-fourth percentile or less on the stability part of the Bernreuter Person ality Inventory.
It was found that of the eighteen cases,
eleven had had slight to severe business or personal prob lems.
Two had embezzled agency funds, others had dis
played poor adjustment within the agency in which they were working or In their family life. While Steward found dominance or aggressiveness correlated + . 4 4 with success, scores found within this follow-up. study indicate that low scores on this factor do not in and of themselves limit success. Contributing and handicapping factors related to success of active career agents.
Responses to the ques
tions of what strong and weak points had contributed or
142 handicapped their success in the life insurance field are presented in Tables XX and XXI.
Interesting, but with
unknown value of significance, is the fact that eightyfour responses describing strong points were given, while only fifty responses describing weak points were given. The fundamental strong points seem to center around the factors of motivation and ability to recognize the needs of friends and clients and to provide high quality of services to those clients.
On the other hand, lack of
aggressiveness, planning, organization of time, and the accumulation of frustrating factors seem to handicap the individuals.
IV.
SUMMARY OP FINDINGS CONCERNING THE PATTERNS OF SUCCESS INDICATED BY A FOLLOW-UP STUDY OF I50 CAREER AGENTS Findings concerning present status of I50 agents
reported as earning a living In 1 9 3 3 .
The following
statements can be made: 1.
Terminations among agents who have at one time
earned a living in the business were less than one out of five. 2.
Considerable variability among agencies as to
the rate of survival was indicated. 3.
Fifty-four of the 105 who were still in the
143 TABLE XX FACTORS WHICH HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO SUCCESS, AS INDICATED BY ACTIVE CAREER AGENTS
Frequency of Response Actives1 (N-42) Num ber
Per cent
Knowledge of insurance and ability to analyze clientfs problems, and ability to interrelate the two
18
21
High integrity and honesty in rendering service
16
19
Capacity to make and keep friends who give assistance
16
19
Ability, energy, and willingness to do an efficient dayfs work every day.
16
19
Sold on the business
4
5
Continued study and education
3
4
Ability to assume responsibility and to make decisions
3
4
Imagination
2
2
Good family life
2
2
Drive towards success
2
-2
Maturity
1
1
Miscellaneous
1
1
Responses
Total
84
144 TABLE XXX PRINCIPAL WEAK POINTS WHICH HAVE HANDICAPPED SUCCESS, AS INDICATED BY ACTIVE CAREER AGENTS
Responses
Frequency of Response Actives (N-42) Per Num cent ber
Dislike prospecting for new clients
8
16
Can't regulate own time
7
14
Lack of organizational capacity to handle all potential business
5
'10 10
Lack of enthusiasm or incentive
5 4
Too idealistic, spends too much time in social-welfare activities
4
8
Lack of education
2
4
Too opinionated
2
4
Illness in family
2
4
Tendency to worry
1
2
Reluctance to approach friends
1
2
Lack of self-confidence
1
2
Poor management of own money
1
2
Doesn't put in enough hours
1
2
Poor health
1
2
5 50
10
Too soft-hearted
Miscellaneous Total Average per agent No response
1 .2 8
3
8
insurance business were found to have earned an average of $ 1 0 , 0 0 0 or more per year since the war or were earning this amount at the time of their death. Findings concerning present status of fifty-two respondents reported as earning a living in 1 9 3 3 .
The
following statements can be made: 1.
Those agents who were in managerial positions
remained in the business longer than those who did not have managerial positions. 2.
There seemed to be a trend toward technical
and managerial occupations at the professional or manager ial level after termination from the life insurance field. 3.
The active agents increased their median net
worth ten times and the terminated agents only five times during the fifteen year period. 4.
The active career agents earned approximately
a median amount of $ 2 , 0 0 0 per year more during the three post-war years than did the terminators in their new fields of employment. 5.
Median post-war earnings of actives were nearly
one and one half times higher than pre-war earnings. 6.
The median post-war earnings of the terminators
were nearly twice as high as the median annual earnings of the terminators in their last five years in the life
146 insurance occupation.
Part of this was no doubt due to
the inflation arising out of the recent war. 7.
The mean age at time of hiring (28.45) was
nearly five years younger for the actives. 8.
The indicated median age for entering the life
insurance business was around thirty. 9.
Terminations occur for reasons other than
financial success and number of years spent in the occu pation. 10.
Only 12 per cent had earned a living or
better in the occupation who had not had some college education.
However, the terminators had completed 16.20
mean school years, with none completing less than fourteen years. 11.
Seventy per cent of both groups have continued
to take formal training, mostly in the field of life insurance, while working full time. 12.
More actives than terminators participated in
group or organizational activities.
The number of activi
ties was also higher. 13.
Over 50 per cent of both actives and terminators
had earned membership in Chartered Life Underwriter Society. 14.
Four fifths of both actives and terminators are
147 married and have children.
Only one has not been married,
and only three report having had a divorce. 15.
Practically all report a history of good or
excellent physical health. 16.
Mean or median scores on the mental ability
(Otis); background knowledge, aggressiveness (Bernreuter) and stability (Bernreuter) subtests of Steward’s original battery were higher for the terminators than for the actives. 17.
Twelve actives who had scored in the Otis I.Q.
range of 9 5 -IO9 have all earned over $5,000 per year in the first three post-war years. 18.
Eleven of eighteen of the total group of
three hundred nine agents who had scored below fortyfourth percentile in stability have manifested some emo tional maladjustment. 19.
The fundamental strong points which the active
career agents reported as contributing to success were: high motivation and ability to recognize the needs of friends and clients and to provide high quality of service. 20.
Lack of aggressiveness, planning and organiza
tion of time, and the accumulation of various frustrating factors seem to have been the most handicapping as related to success . 10 10 More information concerning the attitudes and reactions of responding career agents is presented in Chapter VIII.
148 In the following chapter are presented the test data of the apprentice agents and an analysis of the data.
CHAPTER VII APPRENTICE AGENTS» TEST DATA Preceding chapters have presented information con cerning the relative amount of success of two groups of apprentice and career agents.
Of comparable interest and
utility to the guidance worker is the topic of the value of several recognized psychological instruments for dis criminating between an active group of apprentice agents and a group of terminated agents. In the following discussion tests of mental ability, interest, personality, and aptitude are presented and analyzed.
Statistical procedures have been used, where
applicable, for purposes of indicating discriminative value of the instruments.
No calculations have been made
for purposes of indicating the relationship of one test with one or more other tests. More specifically, it was the purpose of this chapter to answer the question:
nDo certain psychological
tests differentiate between active and terminated appren tice agents?” , It was the hypothesis of the investigator that these tests will differentiate between the two cri terion groups of pre-selected agents.
The chapter is
divided according to the type of test discussed.
150 Peter mina tion of mental ability of the apprentice agents.
The Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, Form I,
was administered to each of the eighty-three participants. In addition, as a part of the Steward Personal Inventory of Basic Factors, a revised fifty-five item Otis had been administered at the time of hiring or was administered by the investigator.
The results of this test are discussed
under the caption of aptitude tests. Mental ability of agents involved in the study. Data concerning the mean verbal performance and full scale intelligence quotients of the participants are presented in Table XXII on the following page.
In addition are
presented the mean weighted scores and appropriate stand ard deviations and ranges of each subtest or scale.
The
most7 significant result is the high mean I.Q. score of each of the groups, 1 2 5 . 1 0 for the actives and 1 2 6 . 8 2 for the terminators, indicating superior mental ability.
Other
than one- foreign born, poorly educated participant who scored 103 I.Q., 1 3 8 I.Q.
scored above 1 1 2 , and as high as
None of the terminators scored below 117.
Wechsler-Bellevue and Otis I.Q.'s were not correlated. Verbal mental ability appears to be consistently higher than performance mental ability.
Twelve actives
and five terminators scored more than ten *I.Q. points
151
TABLE XXII WECHSLER-BELLEVUE INTELLIGENCE SCALE MEAN SCORES, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Scale
Actives (N-50) Mean S .D .
Verbal
Range
Terminators (N-33) Mean S.D. Range
Weighted. Scores
Information
1 3 .3 6
1.62
1 7 -1 0
13.27
1.38
1 6 -1 0
Comprehension
1 3 .5 0
1.92
1 8 -1 0
14.06
2 .2 0
17-11
Digit Span
1 2 .2 4
3.44
17- 3
12.36
3.04
17- 7
Arithmetic
1 4 .3 6
3 .1 0
18- 7
14.27
2 .8 6
18 - 9
Similarities
13.84
2 .2 9
17- 8
14.64
1.72
17-11
(Vocabulary)*
13.34
1 .6 8
1 7 -1 0
1 3 .0 0
1 .1 6
1 5 -1 0
total Verbal 67.30
7.46
78-49
6 8 .7 0
4.84
7 8 -6 1
Performance Picture Arrangement
1 1 .2 0
2.24
15- 7
11.58
2.37
17- 8
Picture Completion
1 3 .0 0
1.70
15- 6
1 2 .7 6
1 .6 9
15- 8
Block Design.
1 2 .9 0
2 .1 8
17- 7
13.85
2.19
1 8 -1 0
Object Assemblyl2.20
2 .1 8
15- 4
12 .94
2 .2 7
17- 7
1 1 .54
2 .4 6
16- 5
1 3 .0 0
1 .6 5
1 6 - 10 .
60.84
7.40
73-31
64.03
5.70
7 5 -6 0
Digit Symbol total
Total Weightedl28.14 11.96 1 4 8 - 8 0
132.73 12.33
120-147
* Vocabulary scores not included in total verbal scores.
.152 TABLE XXII (continued) WE CHS LEE-BELLEVUE INTELLIGENCE SCALE MEAN SCORES, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS Actives (H-5 0 ) S.D. Mean
Range
Terminators (N-3 3 ) Mean S.D. Range
Intelligence Quotient Verbal
124.96
8 .4 8
1 3 6 -9 8
1 2 6 .3 0
6 .0 9
137-117
Performance
1 2 1 .5 6
6 .5 9
136-97
1 2 3 .0 3
6 .8 5
1 3 8 -1 1 2
Full Scale
1 2 5 .1 0
7 .0 6
1 3 8 -1 0 3 1 2 6 .8 2
5 .2 3
135-117
153 higher on verbal than performance mental ability.
On the
other hand, seven actives and two terminators scored more than ten I.Q. points higher on the performance scales. Means of the total subtest scores are 12.81 for the actives and 13.27 for the terminators.
Largest
deviations from these means by any one subtest are I . 6 5 for terminators and 1.60 for actives.
Both are devia
tions downward. It was observed by the five test administrators that the actives tended to display more anxiety in the testing situation than did the terminators.
Fear of fail
ure was the type of anxiety most frequently manifested. Inspection of the intelligence quotients indicates no statistically significant differences.
However, It is
significant that above average mental ability Is essential or a characteristic of those who either enter or succeed in the occupation. Determination of interest patterns of the appren tice agents.
The Strong Vocational Interest Blank for
Men (scored by the Northwest Engineers of Minneapolis and reported on the Hankes Report Form) was administered to all of the active and terminated apprentice agents.
Scores
of the interest subtest in the Steward Battery were ob tained and are presented under aptitude tests.
154 Vocational Interests of active and terminated apprentice a g e n t s Mean standard scores for all occupa tions and the three subtests of Interest Maturity, Masculinity-femininity, and Occupational Level are pre sented in Table XXIII.
In general, the mean standard
scores of both groups bear out the pattern of relationships indicated by Strong's table of inter-test correlations between Life Insurance Salesman and other occupations.^ Occupations, other than sales,
in which B ratings
of mean standard scores were made, are as follows: actives, Personnel Director, Office Man, Mortician, Advertising Man, and President of Manufacturing Concern; and terminators, Personnel Director, Purchasing Agent, Office Man, and Mortician.
The terminators scored no mean
standard scores in the A ratings while the actives scored A in all of the sales group and none in the B+ ratings. Possibly of importance is the fact that both criterion groups were most alien to occupational Groups I and II composed of the independent professional workers and the physical scientists. Inspection of Table XXIII reveals that in only one occupation is there a difference of means of more than
1 Strong, op. cit., p. 12.
TABLE XXIII STRONG INTEREST BLANK MEAN STANDARD SCORES, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Group I
II
III IV
V
Occupation
Actives (n-5 0 ) Mean Sigma
Terminators Mean
(H-33)
Sigma
4 .8 0 1 1 .2 0 1 3 .2 0 2 2 .5 0 1 2 .2 0
6 .8 6 8 .0 6
13.94 8.33
7.36 9.27,
8.34 7.41 8.44
1 1 .8 1
8 .8 6
8.57
8 .5 0
16.51 24.55 14.39
Mathematician Physicist Engineer Chemist
4.70 -0 .3 0 14.90
8 .1 5
7.73
8.74
1 .8 2
8.17 9.36
9 .0 0
1 1 .6 8 1 1 .2 7
18.79 13.64
1 0 .6 6 1 0 .8 9 ..
Production Manager
3 0 .8 0
8 .6 8
33.78
9.54
Farmer Aviator Carpenter Printer Math. Phys. Sci. Teach. Policeman Forest Service Man
24.70 24.00
8 .2 1
2 6 .3 6 2 7 .2 7
8 .1 9
1 0 .2 0
1 1 .8 3
1 1 ,2 0
16.40 23.40
12.49 9.56
13.94 24.70 2 7 .1 2
1 0 .0 0
2 5 .0 0 1 5 .2 0
8 .2 5 8 .6 6
28.64 18.49
8.64 9.09
Y.M.C.A. Phys. Director 2 9 .3 0
9.49
29.39
9.59
Artist Psychologist Architect Physician Osteopath Dentist
14.30
9.70
9 .8 8
9.19
9.93 9.84
t-ratios
TABLE XXII (continued) STRONG INTEREST BLANK MEAN STANDARD SCORES, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Occupation
Group
V (continued) Personnel Director Public Administrator Y.M.C.A. Secretary Soc.Sci.E.S. Teacher City School Supt. Minister VI VII VIII
IX
Actives (N-5 0 ) Mean Sigma
35.30
1 0 .3 6
3 2 .6 0
8.14 9.96
Terminators (N-3 3 ) Mean S igma
1 0 .2 9
28.90 32.70 23.30 16.40
10.54
3 6 .9 7 3 4 .2 4 2 7 .5 8 3 4 .2 4 2 4 .5 5 1 6 .5 2
Musician
2 0 .2 0
10.39
2 1 .8 2
11.34
C.P.A.
2 7 .1 0
4.35
2 3 .1 8
8 .8 6
Accountant Office Man Purchasing Agent Banker Mortician
2 8 .3 0
8 .9 2
35.50 34.10 31.30
7.77 7.79 7.1-3
3 8 .0 0
7 .2 8
2 9 .0 9 3 6 .5 2 3 5 .0 0 2 9 .3 9 3 5 .1 5
Sales Manager Real Estate Salesman Life Insurance Slsm.
45.20 46.20 48.20
7.94 7.25
8 .9 0 8 .8 7
9 .2 6
41.97 42.12 39.55
* Significant at 5 per cent level of confidence.
t~ratios
7.19 8 .4 5 9 .0 6
7.92 1 0 .6 2
9.73 1 0 .1 1 6 .9 6
7.04 7.73 8 .7 8
1 ,2 2
6.75
1.84 2.47*
1 2 .5 8
TABLE XXIII (continued) STRONG INTEREST BLANK MEAN STANDARD SCORES, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Group X
XI
Occupation
Actives (N-5 0 ) Mean Sigma
Terminators (H-3 3 ) Mean Sigma
Advertising Man Lawyer Author-Journalist
37 . 0 0 30 . 8 0 26.50
8.25 8.0 2 6.87
33.64 29.39 2^.70
8.10
President-Mfg. Concern
35 . 2 0
7.28
32.88
8.17
Interest Maturity Occupational Level Masculinity-Femininity
54.10 57.20 44.60
6.06 6.01 8.11
53.49 55 . 6 1 47.73
6 .21 5.74 8.18
8.7 7 6.96
t- ratios
158 five points; and that is in the occupation of Life Insur ance Salesman where a significant difference was found at the 5 per cent level of confidence.
However, this point
'should he considered in interpreting the data concerning the pattern of interests centering around the Life Insur ance Salesman:
the actives took the interest test while
active in the occupation and the terminators took the test reasonably soon after termination from the occupation. This may or may not have affected test responses; however, there is reason for consideration. The percentages of those of both groups scoring in each of the letter ratings are presented in Table XXIV. Again, differences in percentages of those scoring in the A rating are significant only in the occupation of Life Insurance Salesman.
And, as indicated in the table, that
difference is significant at the 5 per cent level of con fidence.
Further analysis of the data indicates that the
difference of the percentages of those scoring in the A and B+ ratings combined Is also significant at the 5 per cent level of confidence.
The t-ratio for the computation
is 2 .1 6 . Taking the data as obtained, a cut-off point of B+ (eliminating all those with B or lower ratings) would rate 8 6 per cent qualified by this test for the actives and
TABLE XXIV COMPARISON OF PERCENTAGES OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS SCORING IN LETTER RATINGS OF STRONG INTEREST BLANK
Percentages Actives
Terminators
(H-50) Group
I
II
III
IV
Occupation
(H-33) A
C
C+
B-
B
B+
A
0 0 0 0 2 0
85
12 6
3
0 0 0 6
0 0 0 0 6 0
0 0 0 0
2
O' 0 0 0 2 0
0 0 2 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 2 0
94 97 58 76
21 12
0 0 0
3
0 0 0 0
24
21
9
0 3 0 6 6
C
C+
B-
B
90
0 0 0 6 22 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 16 12
B+
100 98 80 50 90
10 0 2 16 20 8
Mathematician Physicist Engineer Chemist
100 100 72 82
0 0 8 6
Production Manager
18
18
26 18
10
10
12
21
21
Farmer Aviator Carpenter Printer Math.Phys.S e i.Teach. Policeman Forest Service Man
44 46
33 33 79 52 39
13 30 9 15
30 12 3 12
14
10 0 2 2 2 0
2 2 0 0
80
16 14 22 2 10 0 16 10 14 10 12 18 6 0
4
48 48 40
20 18 10 24 22 26
80
4
3
4 2 0
88 82
79 42 76
15 9 24 18 6
3
27
21 21
73
15
6
3 6 18 6
3 0
0 0 0 0 6 15 9 0 0
9 0 9 15 12 12 12 21 6 0
18 3 3
9 15 6
3 0
3 0
159
Artist Psychologist Architect Physician Osteopath Dentist
t-ratios
TABLE XXIV (continued) COMPARISON OF PERCENTAGES OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS SCORING IN LETTER RATINGS OF STRONG INTEREST BLANK
Percentages Actives
Terminators
Group V
VI VII VIII
Occupation
(N-33)
C
C+
B-
B
B+
A
C
C+
Y.M.C.A. Phys. Dir. Personnel Director Public Administrator Y.M.C.A, Secretary Soe.Sei.H.S. Teach. City School Supt. Minister
26 10 12
12
24 22
6 28 12 0
18
21
52 64
0
Musician
B-
B
B+
A 12 30
39 73
6 27 15 3 18 30 9 27 27 15 15 9 15 27 15 12 21 27 18 3 15 33 9 12 0 3 12
22 22 26 20
26
16 24 20 18 22 6
4 4
10 20 18 12 18 2 0
66
18
2
8
4
2
61
21
9
6
0
3
C.P.A.
42
22
26
4
4
2
55 21
12
3
3
6
Accountant Office Man Purchasing Agent Banker Mortician
20
30
18 18 28 32 18
16
10 22
6 16 18 6
24 18 6 15 3 15 15 21 9 12
18 15 12 12
12
30 12
4 6 10 2
4 12 8 18
14
10 10 20 6
30 24 10 12
14 12 38
14 4
24
9 3 30 6
27
15 27 27 36 12 12 15 15 33
t-ratios
9 3 15 0 0
9 27 12
3 15 091
(H-50)
TABLE XXIV (continued) COMPARISON OP PERCENTAGES OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS SCORING IN LETTER RATINGS OF STRONG INTEREST BLANK
Percentages Actives
Terminators
(N-50) Group
IX
X
XI
B
B+
A
C
C+
0 0 0
8 10 0 16 4 10
18 14 16
64 70 70
3 3 3
4 10 22
14 28 38
10 18 20 18 20 14
28 14 6
26 8 0
4
10
22 28
20
16
Occupation
C
C+
Sales Manager Real Estate Salesman Life Insurance Slsm.
0 0 0
Advertising Man Lawyer Author-Journali st Pres. Mfg. Concern
(N-33)
B-
B
B+
A
t-ratios
3 3 12
6 15 6 9 9 9
27 27 18
46 52 48
1.62 1.66 2.01*
6 27 39
27 15 18
12 15 15 15 30 12
27 27 0
12 0 0
12
12
27 15
18
15
B-
T9I
* Significant at 5 per cent level of confidence.
162 6 6 per cent qualified for the terminators.
A cut-off
point of B, eliminating all below this rating as being unqualified for the business, would have eliminated but 4 per cent of the actives while eliminating 2 ^ per cent
of the terminators.
It would appear, therefore, that the
test has value if used with discretion.
That discretion
is needed is indicated by the fact that 6 6 per cent of the terminators still scored A or B+, even after having left the occupation. Determination of personality patterns of the apprentice agents.
Two personality tests were adminis
tered to all of the participants, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study.
In addition scores were obtained for
the aggressiveness and stability subtests of Steward's battery and the sales personality inventory part of the Aptitude Index.
The latter two are presented under
aptitude tests. Personality characteristics of active and ter minated apprentice agents as indicated by test scores; Mean T scores of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory are presented in Table XXV.
Item analyses
were made to the extent of determining differences of
163
TABLE XXV MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY MEAN T SCORES ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Scale
Actives (N-50) Mean Sigma Range
Terminators (N-33) Mean Sigma Range
Lie score (L)
51.50
3 .7 6
63-50
5 1 .8 0
4 .2 5
7 0 -5 0
Validity
51.70
3 .5 8
70-50
5 2 .8 0
4.64
70-50
61.42
7 .7 8
74-38
6 0 .7 0
7.56
75-48
Hypochondriasis(Hs) 5 3 . 5 8
8 .1 8
8 3 -2 9
51.70
5.63
65-41
Depression (d)
5 3 .7 2
8 .1 3
75-39
50.70
4.98
68-39
Hysteria (Hy)
5 8 .3 6
6 .8 8
76-44
5 6 .2 0
7 .0 2
69-35
Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) Interest (Mf)
5 6 .1 2
6 .8 7
74-43
55.60
9.50
76-41
5 8 .6 6
4.98
73-43
5 8 .2 0
8 .0 6
71-45
Paranoia (Pa)
5 4 .8 6
5 .8 2
82-41
53.70
1 .3 6
62-41
Psychasthenia(Pt)
5 5 .4 0
6.75
75-44
5 2 .9 0
7.34
73-34
Schizophrenia(Sc)
5 4 .0 6
7.49
84-34
52.70
7.39
73-42
Hypoman ia (Ma )
5 7 .7 0
8 .6 5
75-40
5 8 .1 2
9.04
81-43
(f)
K scale
All participants scored 50 on (?) scale.
164 percentage of affirmative responses and computing t-ratios for each of the differences which, by inspection, indi cated any degree of significance.
These are presented in
Appendix A. The most obvious fact is that there are no sig nificant differences between the mean T scores of both groups.
Furthermore, only in thirteen of the three
hundred seventy-three items are there significant differ ences at the 5 per cent level of confidence.
This amount
is well within the range of chance. All mean scores fall within the area of normalcy. Elevations, in order of height, are as follows: K scale, actives 61.42 and terminators 60.70; Interest (Mf); actives 5 8 . 6 6
and terminators 5 8 .20; Hypomania (Ma),
actives 57.70 and terminators 58.12; Hysteria (Hy), ac tives 5 8 . 3 6 and terminators 5 6 .20; and Psychopathic deviate (Pd), actives 5 6 . 1 2 and terminators 5 5 .6 0 .
All
others are below fifty-five. The question is raised as to amount of abnormalcy of the elevations above norm.
The interpretation of any
abnormalcy is questioned by the investigator, for mean scores of nearly 500 physical education majors at the University of Southern California are practically identi cal with the above pattern of elevations 1 Marguerite Mochel,
"The Minnesota Multiphasic
165 On five of the personality scales, plus the K scale, scores above the 70th T score were made by one or more terminators.
On all but one of the scales, plus the
K scale, the actives had someone score above the 7 0 th T score.
These are as follows:
K scale, three actives and
two terminators; Hypochondriasis (Hs), one active; De pression (D), two actives; Hysteria (Hy), two actives; Psychopathic deviate (Pd), three terminators; Interest (Mf), four actives and one terminator; Paranoia (Pa), two •
actives; Psychasthenia (Pt), two actives and one ter minator; Schizophrenia (Sc), one active and one termina tor; and Hypomania (Ma), five actives and four termina tors. It was supposed that the item analyses would re veal differences significant beyond the range of chance. However, failure of this supposition does not preclude the possible descriptive value of each item standing by itself. A.
Complete listing of items are found in Appendix
The items significant at the 5 per cent level of
confidence or higher are as follows:
(continued) Personality Inventory as a Factor in the Selection and Guidance of Physical Education Major Students," (unpub lished Doctor’s dissertation, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 19^-9).
166 1 . I like mechanics magazines.
(50 - 7 6 )
2
26.
I feel that it is certainly best to keep my mouth shut when I'm in trouble. ( 3 4 - 30) 6 5 . I loved my father. (4 - 79) *103. Sometimes when I am not feeling well I am cross. (J2 - 5 0 ) 113. I believe in life hereafter. (82 - 5 5 ) *165.
I like to know some important people because it makes me feel important. (88 - 61 ).
274.
My eyesight is as it has been for years.
293.
I liked Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. (44 - W J ---------Life is a strain for me much of the time.
301.
(68
-
88)
(12 - 0 )
*314. 320. 371.
Once in a while I think of things too bad to talk about. (2 8 - 9 ) Many of my dreams are about sex matters. (14 - 0 ) 1 have often met people who were supposed to be experts who were no better than I. ( 6 6 - 40)
It is Interesting to note that three of the above items (marked with asterisks) were In the Lie scale.
These
plus the general interest item at the beginning leave few items worthy of consideration. In contrast with the lengthy alternate-response type inventory, the Hosenzweig P-F Study afforded the use of a short projective type test.
The mean scores,
standard deviations, and equivalent percentage value for each mean score are presented in Table XXVI.
In all
scored personality characteristics, no statistically
^ Percentages of "yes" responses by actives and terminators.
167 TABLE XXVI ROSENZWEIG PICTURE-FRUSTRATION STUDY MEAN SCORES, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS Terminators (N-33>
Actives (H-5 0 ) Factors
Per Per Mean S.D. centage Mean S.D. centage
Direction of aggression Extrapunit ivenes s
9.92 2.83
Intrapunit ivenes s
6.79 1.64
41* 9.79 2 . 2 2 (42)** 28
(2 8 )
41 (42)
6.59 1.43
27 (2 8 )
7 . 2 3 2.04
30 (30)
7.54 2 . 0 1
31 (30)
4.19 1.70
17 (19)
4.04 1.67
17 (19)
12.45 2 . 1 8
52 (58)
12.40 2.09
52 (58)
Need-persistence
7-30 1.99
30 (25)
7.51 2.43
31 (25)
Group Conformity ""Rating .... . .
8 .9 9 1 .6 7
Impunitiveness
Type of reaction Obstacle-dominance Ego-defense
75 8.93 2 . 2 9 (45-90)***
74 (45-90)
* Percentage obtained by dividing mean by twenty-four. ** Number in parenthesis is norm for males. *** Numbers indicate limits for normals.
168 significant differences are found.
Also all mean scores
are well within the range of normalcy, according to the norms described by the author. In general, the only variations from the norms were in types of reactions.
Both groups, according to mean
scores, tended to score higher in Weed-persistence and lower in Ego-defense.
This suggests there is a tendency
to shoulder responsibility, perhaps too much at times, and the tendency of not resisting enough when other people tend to shift their burdens to their shoulders.
While
not abnormally high to the point of rigidity, there seemed to be tendencies in the direction of group conform ity. It was the belief of the investigator and the psychometrist who scored all of the tests that new scor ing methods may be devised which may possibly better dif ferentiate between the two groups. Determination of sales aptitude of the apprentice agents.
The two aptitude tests used most frequently by
insurance c o m p a n i e s ^ for the selection of agents were utilized: The Aptitude Index and the Steward Personal
^ Cf. ante, pp. 41-42 .
169 Inventory of Basic Factors.
Two factors, however, limit
the usefulness and meaningfulness of the two tests: (1) the tests were used hy approximately 50 per cent of the managers•in the selection of the participating agents, therefore the same subjects can not be used for evaluation of the very tests used to select them, except by correla tion with a criterion of success; (2) there was an eight een months to three years variation of time of adminis tration and a change of purposes for administration, thus limiting value of findings.
However, the scores do pro
vide some descriptive value. Aptitude of active and apprentice agents as indicated by test scores.
Mean raw scores for Part II
of Aptitude Index and all of the Steward subtests^ are presented in Table XXVII.
Part I and total score of the
Aptitude Index are not presented because a correction for age is used, thus the scores are of incomparable unit values.
As each of these tests is given ratings, numer
ical values were applied in the following manner:
Apti
tude Index, A - 4, B - 3, C - 2, D and E - 1; and Steward
^ The time factor on the Mental Ability test was assumed to be constant in the computation of mean scores. Steward's standards were recognized in the computation of mean ratings.
TABLE XXVII PART II, APTITUDE INDEX AND STEWARD PERSONAL INVENTORY OF BASIC FACTORS MEAN SCORES, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS . Actives (N-44)
Terminators (N-31)
Hum ber
Mean
S.D.
Range
6 9 .5 -2 8
29
45.00
5.79
5 4 -3 6
4.40
5 5 -4 1
31
48.71
3 .8 0
54-42
31.70
4.02
38t 19
31
29.87
5.30.
37- 9
44
3 1 .8 7
3.93
37-20
31
31.65
4.57
37-21
Arithmetic
44
8.57
0 .5 0
10 - 5
31
9.07
1 .0 1
10 - 5
Trait Illustration
29
7.48
2 .0 1
10 - 1
24
7 .0 0
2.31
10 - 1
Selling Interest
43
5.63
1 .1 8
7- 2
31
5.36
1 .2 1
7- 2
Supervisory Interest 44
5.40
1.34
7- 1
31
5.32
1 .1 1
7- 2
Combined Selling and 44 Supervisory Interest
H .0 5
2 .0 8
14- 3
31
1 0 .6 8
1.98
13 - 6
Factor
Num ber
Mean
S.D.
Range
48
4 5 .8 3
6 .3 0
Mental Ability
44
48.84
Aggressiveness
44
Stability
Aptitude Index Part II Steward Basic Factors
171 subtests, IV - 4, III - 3, II - 2, and I - 1.
Mean
ratings for eacb of the subtests were computed and are presented in Table XXVIII. Inspection of the data* presented in both tables yields two obvious findings:
(1 ) no significant differ
ences between the mean scores of the two groups are found for any one of the subtests; (2 ) no significant differ ences exist between the mean ratings of any one subtest of either one of aptitude test as compared with any other subtest. The range columns of the tables further reveal that there were low scorers who have succeeded in the occupation.
Amounts of variability from the means are
nearly equivalent on all subtests. According to the manuals for both tests, all mean scores are within the second highest rating, described as predictive of success.
Most of the mean scores approach
the top rating. Summary of findings concerning mental ability, interests, personality characteristics, and life insurance sales aptitudes of active and terminated apprentice agents.
Based upon test scores obtained, *fche following
statements can be made: 1.
Other than in the Life Insurance Salesman
TABLE XXVIII COMPARISON OF MEAN RATINGS SCORED BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS ON APTITUDE INDEX AND STEWARD PERSONAL INVENTORY OF BASIC FACTORS Actives
Terminators Range
Num ber
Mean
S.D,
Range
0 .6 3
4-2
29
3 .3 8
0 .8 5
4-2
3.15
0 .9 1
4-1
29
3 .1 0
0 -i80
4-1
48
3.58
0 .6 1
4-2
29
3 .2 8
0 .7 8
4-2
Mental Ability
44
3.52
0.75
4-1
31
3 .5 8
0 .8 7
4-1
Arithmetic
44
3.57
0 .6 5
4-2
31
3 .7 1
0.77
4-1
Aggressiveness
44
3.38
0.75
4-1
31
3 .1 0
0.77
4-1
Stability
44
3 .6 8
0 .6 3
4-2
31
3 .6 1
0 .6 0
4-2
Selling Interest
44
3.46
0.84
4-1
31
3 .3 2
O .8 9
4-1
Supervisory Interest 42
3 .2 1
O .8 7
4-1
31
3 .2 3
O .8 7
4-1
Num ber
Mean
S.D.
Part I
48
3.71
Part II
48
Combined I and II
Test Aptitude Index
Steward Basic Factors
173 occupation scale only of the Strong Vocational Interest test no statistically significant differences of mean scores of the two criterion groups were found. 2.
Mean Wechsler-Bellevue I.Q. scores of 1 2 5 and
127 indicate superior mental ability of both groups.
With
the exception of one man who scored 103 I.Q., all parti cipants were of high average to very superior mental ability. 3.
scales are:
Possible clinical findings of Wechsler-Bellevue higher verbal mental ability over performance
scores; largest deviations downward (1 .6 0 ) from total scale mean weighted scores were found for the Picture Arrangement subtest; and it was the consensus of reactions of the five administrators that the actives displayed more anxiety in the testing situation than the terminators. 4.
Statistical significance of differences at the
5 per cent level of confidence were found for the mean
standard scores and the percentages scoring A or A and B+ ratings on the Life Insurance Salesman occupation of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Men. 5.
In general, agreement was found with Strong's
pattern of relationships between the Life Insurance Sales man occupation and other occupations. 6.
Normal patterns of emotional adjustment were
174 Indicated by the mean scores of the Minnesota Multiphasic and the Bosenzweig Picture Frustration Study. 7.
Highest elevations on the various multiphasic
scales, in-order of height of mean T scores ( 6 1 to 5 5 ), are K scale, Interest (Mf), Hypomania (Ma), Hysteria (Hy), and Psychopathic deviate (Pd). 8.
Analysis of each of the 373 Multiphasic items
revealed only thirteen significant at the 5 per cent level of confidence, an amount of items well within range of chance. 9.
Median percentages were slightly higher above
norms in Need-persistence and lower in Ego-defense types of reactions of the Picture Frustration study. 10.
Mean scores on each of the subtests of the
Aptitude Index and the Steward Personal Inventory of Basic Factors were s i m i l a r . 5
However, the only warranted
assertion in this instance is that high scores on either of the two tests are not guarantees of success.
5 Limitations of interpretation of this finding are discussed on p. 1 6 9 .
CHAPTER VIII PERSONAL HISTORY DATA OF APPRENTICE AGENTS I n 'the preceding chapter the results of a study of the discriminative value of certain vocational tests were summarized.
In the ensuing chapter attention will he
focused upon the personal history data of the apprentice agents.
More specifically, it was the purpose of the
investigator in this chapter to answer the question: "What patterns of success or failure are indicated by a study of certain personal history items of active and apprent ice agents ?" For purposes of discussion the data are organized into the following categories:
(1 ) questionnaire results,
(2 ) family background, (3 ) education and training, (4 ) occupational background, (5 ) financial factors, (6 ) activities, (7 ) health, and (8 ) miscellaneous.
Find
ings are drawn from the total field of relationships as well as the individual Items. Sources and methods employed in securing data are presented in Chapter III, Table III.
Included are ques
tionnaire, application, test and interview data.
176 I.
QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Item analysis of each of the items of Personal Background Inventory was made and are presented in Tahle XXIX,
Complete statement of each item may be found in
the appendix.
This questionnaire, administered to each
of the participants, was intended to survey those personal history items not usually found in application blanks. For each of those items which by inspection indicated significant differences, t-ratios were calculated. Examination of the table indicates five out of seventy-five possible responses
are significant at the
5 per cent level of confidence, which is just one item more than than expected by chance. lty.
Those five items are:
Have you completed a college course of one or more years in public speaking or debating? Have you read three or more business books during the past three years?
25.
Have you earned more than $3,000 in the past two years and more than $2,000 in the past year?
54.
Have you attended a civic, lodge, fraternity, or church meeting during the past three months ?
69.
Have you made a thorough investigation of the nature of the work (life insurance)?
In addition four more items are significant at the
^ Item 74 Is composed of two parts, the first of which is listed as item number 75.
177 TABLE XXIX PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF PERSONAL BACKGROUND INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number
Percentage of Termina tor Group Responding Yes (N-33)
1 2
14
18
58
3 4 5
88 2 2
55 79 3 3
6
12
3
8
9
10 11 12
13 14 15
4 4 9 1 1
+ 9 + 4
4 94
3
100
+ 1 - 6
0
0
3
+ 5 +16
1.72 2 .2 6 **
9
+24 + 5 +10 +27 +12 0 + 2
2.43** 1.04
0 8 28
42 14 34 72
48 6
0
.
12 18
24 45 36 6
20
32
30
21 22
30 27
24
34 44 38 74
25
88
23
+ + -
t-ratios
0
16
19
Differences
0 0
4
17 18
*
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50)
39 73 64
^
+ 4 +17 - 1 + 1 +24
• 1.54 2.64*
8 leant at I per cent level of confidence. Significant at 5 P©** cent level of confidence.
178 TABLE XXIX (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF PERSONAL BACKGROUND INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number
26 27 28 29
30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50)
Percentage of Termina tor Group Responding Yes (N-33)
94 4 44 98 98
91
12 2 6 12 0
6
9 . 97 98
3
6 12 6 0
2
0
54 72
33 54 79 48
Differences
+ + + + +
3
2
5 1 1
9 4 6 6 0
+ 2 +21 +18
39 40
82
41 42 43 44 45
74
8
3 9
+13 - 2 + 2 + 1 - 1
46 47 48 49 50
■22
12
+10
66 60
52 64 70 70
+14 - 4 + 6 + 6
48 68 2
4
76 76
61 70 0
t-ratios
1 .8 5
1.64
+ 3 0
1 .2 9
1.32
179 TABLE XXIX (continued) PERCENTAGES OP POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OP PERSONAL BACKGROUND INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS Percentage of Active v Group Responding Yes (N-50)
Percentage of Termina tor Group Responding Yes (N-33)
52 72 68
46 70
+ 6 + 2 +10
80
58 58
0
3
56 5i 58 59 60
0 14 94 30 96
3 15 97 42 97
61
42 79
63
62 86 14 10 8
66 6? 68
16 36 74
18 36 70
92 0
70 0
100 2 22 10
100
54
72
Item Number 51 52 53 54 55
62 63
64
69
70 71 72
73 74 73
-
18 18
15
0 27
3
Differences
t-ratios
+22 - 3
.97
2 .3 8 **
- 3 -
1
- 3 -12 -
1.16
1
+20 + 7 - 4 - 8 - 7 - 2 0 + 4 +22 0
1.75
2 .66*
0 + 2 5
. _ +
rj
-18
* Difference significant at 1 per cent level of confidence. ** Significant at 5 per cent level of confidence.
1 .8 1
180 10 per cent level of confidence: 13.
Have you completed college courses in one or more years in marketing or merchandising?
37.
Have you saved 10 per cent or more of your earnings during the past five years?
6l.
Will your wife work to help financially during the apprentice period?
75.
Do you drink alcoholic liquors?
Review of other items in which there was agreement indicated that both groups and their families were in good health and expressed positive responses toward the factor of maintaining good health.
They indicated a
minimum number of changes of educational majors and/or jobs.
Positive attitude toward work and the effort
required to "get ahead" were stated.
Good financial
reputation and stability were quite apparent.
Also seem
ingly important is the fact that all but one were
op
posed to change of the present economic system of the United States. of marking.
The one response may have been an error
One very successful young agent remarked
"As a youngster in college I was more liberal, but you can’t stay in the sales field without becoming completely identified with the capitalistic system."
Good family
relationships were indicated as well as family back grounds comparatively free from marital separation or divorce.
Significant was the item of attendance at group
181 meetings,2 These patterns are amplified in later sections of this chapter.
II.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
The factors of marital status and adjustment, number of dependents, education and occupation of wives, and occupational background of fathers are presented in Tables XXX and XXXI. Examination of Table XXX reveals few, if any, single items of information in which statistically sig nificant
differences might exist.
However, in nearly
every condition the actives seem to have just a little more of that characteristic, except in the item of number with history of divorce.
There are only four out of the
fifty actives that have ever been divorced, which is less than half the percentage of terminators who have been divorced. Data concerning the wives and parents were obtained In the interview in which the investigator asked each participant to give a thumb-nail sketch of his wife,
2 Item 95 of the Multiphasic (attendance at church) confirms this item.
TABLE XXX MARITAL FACTORS AS RELATED TO ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS Actives (W-5 0 ) Factor
Num ber
Amount
Per cent
Terminators (H-33) Per Num ber Amount cent
Married, time of hiring Married, time of study
38 49
76 98
27
70 82
Single, time of hiring Single, time of study
10 l
20 2
5 2
15 6
Divorced, time of hiring Divorced, time of study
2 0
4 0
5 4
15
History of divorce
4
8
6
18
Dependents, (including wife) time of hiring, mean . time of study, mean
50 50
Marital adjustment, according to agent: Very good 24 Good 23 Fair 1 Poor 1 Incomplete data 1
23
33 33
1.54 2.00
48 46 2 2 2
6 17 3 1 6
12
1.46 1.81
18 52 9 3 18
TABLE XXX (continued) MARITAL FACTORS AS RELATED TO ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Actives (N-50) Factor
Num ber
Amount
Wives employed, time of study 12 Type of employment: Clerical 6 2 Teachers Managerial 2 Writer 1 Beautician 0 Not known Highest school grade completed by wives , mean Not known
37
13
Per cent 24
Terminators (N-3 3 ) Num Per ber Amount cent 18
6
3 1 0 1 1 1
14.60
26
7
13.72
184 TABLE XXXI PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION AND HIGHEST YEARLY INCOME RECEIVED BY FATHERS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Factor Occupational group: Professional (a) Managerial Large company* (a) Small company (b) Sales Life insurance (a) Other (a) Agriculture (land owner) (a) Clerical (b) Skilled (b) Semi-skilled or laborer (b) Unknown Total (a.) occupations Total (b) occupations
Actives (N-50) NumPer ber cent
Terminators (N-33) NumPer ber cent 1 2 .1
9
1 8 .0
4
11
2 2 .0 8 .0
4
1 2 .1
10
27.3
4 4
5 9 4 -2 ** 2
8 .0 1 0 .0 1 8 .0 8 .0
4.0 4.0
2 1 1 2 6 1 2
6 .1
3.0 3.0 6 .1 1 2 .1
3.0 6 .1
7 6 .0 2 0 .0
12
10
19
36.4 57.6
9
1 8 .0
4
1 2 .1
Fathers earning $5,000 and over (including above) (d)
29
5 8 .0
9
27.3
Fathers in professions and earning near $ 5 , 0 0 0 (d)
3
6 .0
1
3.0
32
64.0
10
30.3
Fathers earning*over $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 per year*
Total (d)
38
* In one instance mother was included in classification in lieu of deceased father. ** Both were college graduates.
185 father and mother.
It was on the basis of their spon
taneous descriptions of their marital adjustment that the investigator made the ratings recorded in the table.
All
but two of the actives described the cooperative attitude of their wives toward the occupational adjustment of the agents.
Perhaps the fact that some of the terminators had
recently failed in a job in which time and money had been invested on the hope of success may have been a contri buting factor to the degree of marital adjustment.
On
the other hand it may have been an antecedent factor. An interesting point is that eleven of the actives were married in the two or three year period between time of hiring and the time the investigator made the study. In contrast only four of the ten single or divorced terminators had married.
This was undoubtedly a contri
buting factor to the increased budget requirements of the a c t i v e s . 3
However, It is remembered that an increase
in earnings of actives occurred. It was observed that the wives of the actives came from families of higher economic and social status than did the wives of the terminators.
This is somewhat mani
fest in the amount of education completed and the
3 cf. supra, p. 103.
186 occupations -engaged in by. employed wives.^ In Table XXXI are reported the data which the investigator has attempted to manipulate to provide added meaning.
Such manipulation probably limits the useful
ness of the findings as to generalizations, however It adds to the descriptive value of information concerning the two criterion groups. The occupational groupings of fathers1 occupations were clear cut.
The only question might occur as to the
separating point between small and large companies.
These
companies which employed over fifty employees were con sidered to be large companies.
While not a harsh rule,
it is clearly evident that sons of fathers whose principal occupations were in the managerial, professional, sales and landowners levels and (fathers) who had earned over $5,000 per year were given a better chance for success in life Insurance sales work.
A t-ratio (3*03) was calcu
lated for the last item (percentages of fathers earning approximately $5,000 or above) in Table XXXI.
Difference
Is significant at the 1 per cent level of confidence.
III.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Personal history data concerning education and
^ Cf. infra, p. 198.
187 training have been summarized in Table XXXII.
Again the
investigator has attempted to manipulate the data into certain patterns of major fields of study.
Disregarding
the groupings within the table, it is obvious that the highest percentage of both groups were commerce majors. The next largest number were in Science-MathematicsEngineering.
And the third largest group are those who
had not clarified their majors; included within this group were many who had not graduated from college. If the groupings in the table are considered, then the commerce and humanities (social sciences, education, and language arts) schools provided more actives than terminators.
The latter seemed to have a much wider
spread or diffusion of training background.
The same lack
of definiteness was observed from the interest patterns of the vocational interests tests.^ A t-ratios of the differences of percentages of actives and terminators graduating from college was com puted with a value of 2.45.
This is significant at the
5 per cent level of confidence.
However, of the two top
producers, one was only a high school graduate and the other completed three years of college.
5 Cf. supra, pp. 154-57.
Comparison of the
188 TABLE XXXII EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AND MAJOR FIELDS OF STUDY OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Factor
Terminators Actives (N-50) (N-33) Num Per Num Per cent ber cent ber
Level of educational achievement College graduate work Earned bachelorfs degree (including above) Partially completed work for bachelorfs degree Completed high school or less
6
12
27
54
20
40
3
6
4 9
12 27
16 8
48 24
Highest grade completed, mean
50 15.0
Scholastic average*
49
1 .7 6
29
1.73
23
46
12
36
4
8
2
6
4 3 7
8 6
14
1 0 10 1
0 30
1 8
2 16 .
.7
21
70 30
18
45 55
33 13.9
Major field of study Commerce (almost exclusively Business Administration and General Commerce) (a) Social Science including one lawyer (a) Education (four Physical Education) fa} Language Arts (a) Science-Mathematics-Engineerlng(b) Music (b) Foreign Language (Spanish) (a) Major field not decided (b) Total (a) majors Total (b) majors
35 15
3 3
* Scholastic average based upon A, 3 grade points; B, 2; C, 1; and D, none.
189 mean highest grade completed by both groups and their wives indicates practically identical amounts*
Of those
doing graduate work/ five actives and two terminators earned graduate degrees. From the total pattern of colleges attended by both groups of participants, inspection of the data indicates more actives than terminators came from prominent private and state colleges and universities.
Three of the actives
and one of the terminators were Princeton graduates.
One
of the actives stood second in scholarship in his grad uating class at Princeton. The extent of participation in extra-curricular activities, while in school, by both groups was indicated by some of the participants; however, the total amount of data was insufficient for tabulation.
The general trend
seemed to be toward some participation in the various activities from football to dance bands.
One of the
actives was a nationally prominent football player. Another was president of the student body at a large pri vate university.
Those who were not active in school
activities claimed they were working part time.^
6 See Table XXXIII.
190 IV.
OCCUPATIONAL BACKGROUND
Occupational background patterns.
These patterns
of principal, full time, civilian work experiences have been tabulated into the various categories and are pre sented in Table XXXIII.
In addition, the highest military
ranks held by the participants are presented in Table XXXIV. The patterns of civilian experiences bear notice able relationship and conformity with, the patterns of educational majors, Table XXXII; and, to a certain extent, the patterns of the principal occupations of the fathers are comparable. Both groups had averaged approximately ten years of time out of school prior to going into the life insurance field.
It is noted that 22 per cent of the actives, in
contrast with only 6 per cent of the terminators, had not had any full time employment prior to entering the life insurance field.
However, all of these participants
were in the military service.
These recent students were 7 among the younger men at the time of hiring. Very obvious is the fact that over 80 per. cent of the actives came from a student, sales, managerial,
^ Infra, p. 205.
191 TABLE XXXIII MOST SIGNIFICANT, FULL-TIME, CIVILIAN OCCUPATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND NUMBER HAVING WORK EXPERIENCE WHILE STUDENTS, ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Experience Student (with limited part-time or no work experience Sales, Intangibles Sales, Tangibles Managerial, Business Teacher, High School Industrial Engineers (production) Actuarial and mathematical clerks Accountants Clerical, Office Work Skilled, Manual Supervisor, factory Co-owner-manager of company offering technical services Actor Insurance Examiner Retail Salesperson Draftsman, mechanical Army Air Corps Officer Part or full time employment while a student Yes No Incomplete data
Actives Terminators (N-5 0 ) (N-•33) Num- Per Num Per cent ber cent ber 11 10
22 20
7 4 4 3 3
14 8 8 6 6
2 2 2 1
2
1
2
4 5 4
12
35
70 24
3
6
* All students Have been In military service.
2
6
3 5
1 1
9 15 3 3
5 7
21
15
1 1 1 2 2 1
3 3 3
23 7 3
70
6 6
3
21
9
192 TABLE XXXIV HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED AND LENGTH OF MILITARY SERVICE OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Factor Highest rank Colonel, Air Corps (career man) Lt. Colonel, Air Corps Army Intelligence Major, Air Corps Lt. Commander, Navy Captain, Army Lieutenant, Navy 1st Lieutenant, Army Lieutenant (Junior Grade), Navy 2nd Lieutenant, Army Ensign, Navy Total officers Master Sergeant, Army' Chief Petty Officer, Navy Technical Sergeant, Army Petty Officer, 1st Class, Navy Staff Sergeant, Army Petty Officer, 2nd Class, Navy Sergeant, Army Petty Officer, 3 rd Class, Navy Corporal (Air Corps Cadet) Private, First Class, Army Private, Army
Terminators Actives (N-3 5 )* (N-24)* Num- Per Num- Per cent her cent her 1
4
1 2 1
8
4
16
1 1 2
4 4
3
9 3 9
8
25
71
13
54
1 1
3 3
1
4
1 1
4 4
2
8
2
8
3
12
1 1 1
4 5
2
4 3 1
1 1
3 1 2
Total enlisted men
10
Length of time in service Mean Median**
32
3 3 3
11
14 6 11
3 3 9 3 6
29
4 4
1
4
11
46
3-40 years 22
2 .5 0
years * Fifteen actives and nine terminators not in service. ** One terminator had twenty-one years service.
193 business or education (teaching) background.
On the other
hand, 57 P©** cent of the terminators came from sales, clerical and skilled occupational background.
The remain
der of the terminators were widely spread over several miscellaneous occupations, more of which were at the lower end of the scale than at the upper end.
However, it is
not to be assumed that all of the terminators were from lower level occupational backgrounds.
Later analysis of
earnings bears this out. In addition to the fact that all of the students, who had not had any full time civilian work experience, had served in one of the branches of the military services, another point is made, that is, 7 0 per cent of total groups indicated they had worked part or full time while a student. Seventy per cent of both groups served in the last war.
Over half of the terminators were officers and
nearly three fourths of the actives were officers.
The
Air Corps and the Navy were very popular branches.
None
served in the Marine Corps.
The modal highest rank
attained by both groups centered around the ranks of first lieutenant and captain, and their equivalent naval ranks. While the actives served a longer time in the military services, this may be accounted for by the fact
194 that they were a slightly older group than the terminators. Occupational earnings.
The highest amount of
monthly civilian and military earnings were tabulated. Compensation amounts for part time and early pre-war short duration employment were eliminated.
This was done
so as to better present earnings at equivalent periods of the economic cycle:
immediate pre-war, war-time, and
immediate post-war period.
Measures of central tendency
and variability of those data are presented in Table XXXV. The means, other than military earnings, accounted for in the last paragraph, are approximately the same. In this situation, as in previous ones, there is greater variability on the part of the terminators.
There was
only one active who had not earned $ 2 0 0 per month or over.
There were five terminators who had not done so.
Also there were three terminators who had earned over $600 per month, but only one active.
The two actives who
had earned the highest amounts are also the two million dollar producers.
On the other hand, the three terminators
who had earned $8 0 0 , $ 9 0 0 and $ 1 ,0 0 0 per month all found that they could not earn a living in life insurance.
TABLE XXXV COMPARISON OF HIGHEST AMOUNT OF MONTHLY COMPENSATION RECEIVED FROM PREVIOUS CIVILIAN AND MILITARY JOBS BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS Actives Job
Num ber
Terminators Humber
Full-time Civilian Mean Standard Deviation Range
33
$355.55 80.55 600.00 - 250.00
27
$350.37 220.26 1,000.00 - 150.00
MilitaryMean Standard Deviation Range
35
306.74 139.52 661.00 - 100.00
24
262.54 165.47 900.00 - 100.00
Civilian or Military Mean Standard Deviation Range
50
371.98 97.37 661.00 - 125.00
33
356.97 199.78 1,000.00 - 125.00
196 V.
FINANCIAL FACTORS
Closely related to the amount of earnings, dis cussed in the last paragraph, are the financial factors of net worth at time of hiring and the amount of finan cial assistance "being received at the time this study was made.
Data are presented in Tables XXXVI and XXXVII
which describe these factors. Probably a ^significant finding is the difference of the amount of net worth at time of hiring.
Further
comparison of the differences indicates that only 16 per cent of the
terminators were of financial worthover
$5,000, the
approximate median for the actives. On the
other hand,
only 2 6 per cent of the actives were below
$ 3 ,0 0 0 , the
approximate median of terminators.
Although there were no differences as to the amount of insurance in force at time of hiring, there are obvious differences at the time the study was made.
Other than
the one active, a marginal producer, none of the actives had less than $8,500 of life insurance coverage.
The
experience of being a life Insurance agent, whether successful or not, apparently Influences the person to expand his insurance coverage.
The amount of yearly
premium costs, according to the few reporting, seemed to vary with kind of insurance and income of the particular
197
TABLE XXXVI COMPARISON OF NET WORTH AND LIFE INSURANCE IN FORCE ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Financial factor
Actives Num ber Amount
Terminators Num ber Amount
Net worth, time of hiring Median 48 $5,050 $ 3 ,1 8 3 33 1,042 Quartile deviation 3,750 Range 3 2 ,5 0 0 - 500 63,300 - 750 Amount of insurance, Time of hiring Median Quartile deviation Range Amount of insurance time of study* Median Quartile deviation Range
47
29 1 0 ,2 5 0 1 1 ,0 0 0 3 ,0 6 2 3 ,0 0 0 2 7 ,0 0 0 - 0 .0 0 3 7 ,0 0 0 - 0 . 0 0
• 32
3 8 ,5 0 0 1 3 ,0 0 0 29 3,596 7 ,8 3 3 5 2 ,0 0 0 - 3 ,0 0 0 6 5 ,0 0 0 - 1 ,0 00
* Elapsed time Between time of study arid time of -hiring was approximately two to four years.
198
TABLE XXXVII HUMBER OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS RECEIVING ASSISTANCE, OTHER THAN INCOME FROM EMPLOYMENT, TO MEET COST OF LIVING REQUIREMENTS
Type of assistance
Actives (N-50) NumPer ber cent
Terminators (N-33) NumPer ber cent
12
24
6
18
As s istance from parents, either wife's or own
4
8
4
12
Income from stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.
5
10
1
3
14
28
12
36
1
3
Wives employed
G. I. subsistence Army retirement Small Veterans Disability pension
2
4
2
6
Total receiving assistance
27
54
14
42
Total not receiving assistance
23
46
19
58
199 participant. Information in Table XXXVII clearly presents the picture of the number receiving financial assistance from sources other than employment.
At this point of discus
sion of the findings and relative to this single variable, there are no obvious explanations as to contributing or handicapping value of the wife working.
Several did
state that it was necessary for their wives to work or to get some assistance from other sources in order to survive in the business.
8
VI.
ACTIVITIES
The characteristics of social and recreational activities have traditionally been a point of discussion and a source of information relative to selection of salesman.
Emphasis, presumably, has been laid upon the
extroversIve qualities of the individual and, as related to the occupation of life insurance, the social or busi ness sources of prospects.
The latter factor, more than
the others which have more frequently been studied, is the central emphasis of this section.
^
The data collected
suPra, p. 39, and infra, pp. 217-18.
200 on this point are presented in Tables XXXVIII and XXXIX. Examination of Table XXXVIII reveals some Inter esting relationships.
The difference at time of hiring
between the number who did not belong to any organiza tional groups and those who belonged to one or more was small.
However, two or three years later more of the
actives joined more groups and more terminators joined fewer or no groups.
At the time of this study the ac
tives belonged to more than twice as many as the termina tors.
As this finding became apparent to the investiga
tor during the course of collecting data, some of the participants were asked why they joined more groups. The actives replied that they had more money and enjoyed belonging to the groups; the terminators stated that they felt the lack of money and time to enjoy more member ships . The value of memberships in social, business, religious, and fraternal organizations for purposes of getting prospects was found to be of negligible amount. Rather, memberships were found to be more of a manifes tation of the social interests of the participants.
This
was further emphasized by the response to the question concerning their choice of friends.
To this question
they described people with whom they found more common
201 TABLE XXXVIII NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS HELD BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Memberships Number
Actives Time of Time of hiring study Num- Per Num- Per ber cent ber cent 1
10
Terminators Time of Time of hiring study Num- Per Num- Per ber cent ber cent
2
6
3
6
5
1
2
3
6
1
3
4
2
4
12
24
1
3
3
9
18
12
24
3
9
2
3
2
11
22
3
6
.12
36
6
18
1
15
30
9
18
8
24
9
27
0
11
22
8
16
10
30
12
36
2
6
33
99*
Incomplete data .
total 1.74 1.50 2,64 1.24 1.16
50
100
50
100
33
99*
Mean, Actives--time or hiring Median, Actives--time of hiring Mean, ActIves--time of study Mean, Terminators--time of hiring Mean, Terminators--time of study
* Percentages have been rounded out to nearest whole number, thus accounting for loss of one percentage point.
202
TABLE XXXIX PROSPECTING VALUE OF ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS HELD BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Response Never solicits fellow members, will sell only upon invitation
Actives Terminators (N-48) (N-30) Number Per cent Number Per cent
41
85
24
80
Occasionally prospects fellow members
6
13
3
10
Considerable prospecting in organization where memberships held
1
2
3
10 .
203 Interests and who tended to represent the goals for which they were striving. The data concerning the recreational interests of the participants were incomplete.
But, "based solely on
the limited data, the patterns of recreational interests were the usual social patterns of young college graduates. There were few, if any, interests of the actives which were of the individual participant variety. big exception was reading interests.
The one
A very few, more
terminators than actives, indicated interests in mech anical materials.
VII.
HEALTH FACTORS
It was one of the original intentions of the study to obtain valid objective information concerning the health of the participating apprentice agents. this was not done.
However,
One question concerning health was
asked in the Personal Background Inventory. already been reported.
g
This has
There is the other obvious,
conclusion that all but two in each criterion groups were discharged from the military service without pensions for disabilities.
Only very minor disabilities
9 See item 3, Table XXIX, supra, p. 177.
204 were reported by the four who were given veterans dis ability pensions. Placed in the category of health for want of a better place is the factor of age at time of hiring. Data concerning this factor are presented in Table XL. Examination of the table reveals the actives were slightly older than the terminators.
The medians for
both groups, however, were approximately thirty years of age.
The modal age was from 2 7 - 3 0 for both groups.
Ten,
seven terminators and three actives, were twenty-five or younger at time of hiring.
Each of these young
actives, however, seemed to have unique special advan tages.
One was the son of a prominent and very success
ful agent, another was the son-in-law of a very success ful general agent, and the third one was very mature for his age and has rapidly moved into supervisorial work. The young terminators were not so fortunate.
It is also
noted that the two actives who were over forty-five at time of hiring have not been most successful. Inasmuch as application blanks usually require information of height and weight, these factors were obtained and the mean amounts are presented in Table XLI.
While there are no apparent differences which
might be significant, it is interesting to note that the
205
TABLE XL AGES OF ACTIVE AM) TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS AT TIME OF HIRING Success Ratings Num ber
Ages
I
II
III
IV
1
1 5 12 6 4
Actives 2 0 -2 3
2
24-26
7 19 9 8 3 1 1
2 7 -3 0 3 1 -3 5 3 6 -4 0 4 1 -4 5 4 6 -5 0 5 1 -5 5
Total
0 0 2
1 0
2
5
2
4 1 1
50
4
16
32.32 Mean 7.12 Standard Deviation Terminators 2 0 -2 3
4 4 5
1 3
3
2
24-26
5 6
2 7 -3 0
10
31-35 36-40 41-50
7 3
2
2
2
33
22
Total
2
1
2 9 . 2 7 Mean 5 . 5 3 Standard Deviation
1 1 2
1
7
4
30
206
TABLE XLI
WEIGHT AND HEIGHT OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Factor Height Mean Standard Deviation . Range Weight Mean Standard deviation Range
Actives (N-5 0 )
7 1 .1 6
inches
Terminators (N- 33)
2.16 77 - 67
70.46 1.94 73 - 66
1 7 3 .92 pounds
170.06
11.74 207 - 150
1 8 .6 9 2 1 5 - 1^0
207 average active, successful agent was nearly six feet tall and weighed 1 7 ^- pounds. In the area of personal appearance and voice no objective data were obtained.
It was the impression of
the investigator that the participants tended to repre sent the "all-American" youth stereotype.
In other
words, they appeared to be clean-cut, acceptable indi viduals.
Within the active groups there were none who
dressed in extreme fashions or wore their hair in the fashion of the stereotype of the "long-haired musician." It was the impression of the investigator borne out by the impressions of the Wechsler-Bellevue administrator, that there were some of the terminators who varied from this picture. foreign accent.
Only two of both groups spoke with a One terminated and the other was
"just getting along."
VIII.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTORS
This catch-all section was included to present two factors which appeared in the various personal his tory forms and/or in the interview.
The factors of
length of time lived in California and sources and methods of prospecting are presented in Tables XLII and Table XLIII.
TABLE XLII LENGTH OF TIME LIVED IN CALIFORNIA BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Terminated (w-3 0 ) .
Actives (H-44) Factor Years Mean Standard Deviation Range
Num ber
44
Amount
Per cent
Num ber
30
9.73 10.69 37 - 0.10
Per Amount
cent
7.57 6.43 26 - 0.10
Number living in Cal. one month or less*
5
11
2
7
Number living in Cal. six months or less
11
25
2
7
Number living in Cal. two years or less
14
33
5
17
Number living in Cal. over two years
30
67
25
83
* Time of hiring. 208
209 TABLE XLIII SOURCES AND METHODS OF PROSPECTING USED BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Responses Sources Occupational groups Professional
Actives (N-50) Number of re- Per sponses cent
Terminators (N-33 )
Number of re- Per sponses cent
12
25
2
4
15
23
5
10
Military officers
2
3
Skilled workers
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
3
6
Lower income groups
5
10
Just anyone
3
6
4
8
Business (primarily young ■business executives or business owners)
Semi-skilled and laborers Social and Industrial groups Recent fathers
3
5
Home owners
2
3
Newlyweds
2
3
Employees of petroleum Industry
1
2
Middle class
1
2
Methods of prospecting Referred leads
17
26
210 TABLE XLIII (continued) SOURCES AND METHODS OF PROSPECTING USED BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Responses
Actives (N-50) Number of re- Per sponses cent
Terminators (N-33) Number of re- Per sponses cent
Cold canvass
2
3
12
25
Newspapers (new business, vital statistics)
2
3
3
6
6
12
3
6
Direct mail Telephone book total average per agent
1
2
65
49
1.3
1.5
Classification of type of selling "Low pressure” (according to agent) "High pressure
-a* 46
92
31
94
4
8
2
’6
211 Inspection of the mean and standard deviations of the years lived in California indicates a skewed curve. From a sociological point of view, most of the partici pants moved to California within the war period of the 1 9 4 0 ‘s . ' In fact, one fourth, of the actives lived in
California less than six months at the time of hiring. The patterns presented in Table XLIII evolved from the statements made by the participants during the interview.
The implications are apparent that the
actives solicited the professional and managerial groups or those prospects within the higher income levels, and used the more acceptable methods of referred leads for prospecting.
By contrast, greater scatter of sources
and patterns of prospecting were indicated by the ter minators.
Relationships to the occupational patterns of
the fathers and to the factor of size of policy sold are indicated by the occupational and social patterns of the people prospected.-^ IX.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Based upon the integration of findings reported above, the following statements of patterns of informa tion can be made. 10 See Table XXXI.
212 1.
There Is an apparent cluster of factors around
the family syndrome which differentiates, generally speaking, the actives from the terminators.
Evidence of
this is seen in such areas of information as the occu pational and financial background of the fathers, the marital relationship, and the educational and family background of the wives. 2.
The percentage of actives graduating from
college is twice that of the terminators, 54 and 2 7 per cent.
Seventy per cent of the actives and only 45 per
cent of the terminators had majored in either commerce or in the humanities.
Only 6 per cent of the actives and
24 per cent of the terminators had not attended college. No difference in scholastic achievement was reported. 3.
The occupational background pattern of the
terminators is more diffuse than that of the actives who cluster around the sales and managerial fields; however, 22 per cent had not had full time civilian work experience.
The terminators cluster around skilled,
clerical and sales.
Three fourths of the participants
were in military service.
Seventy-one per cent of the
actives and 54 per cent of the terminators were officers. Greater diffusion of amount of highest monthly compensa tion from previous jobs is also indicated for the ter minators.
Means of both groups were above $350 per month.
»
213 4.
The median net worth of the actives when they
entered the occupation was $ 5 ,0 5 0 and the terminators, $ 3 ,1 8 3 .
Further comparison Indicates that only 16 per
cent of the terminators were of financial worth over $ 5 ,0 0 0 and only 6 per cent of the actives were.below $3,000.
No difference of amount of insurance, at time of
hiring was found; however, at the time the study was made the actives averaged more than twice as much.
Fifty-
four per cent of the actives and 42 per cent of the, ter minators indicated that they were receiving financial assistance to supplement their earnings.
The two most
important sources were found to be from income from employed wives and Veterans subsistence. 5.
At the time of hiring, 22 per cent of the
actives and 30 per cent of the terminators did not belong to any organizations; however, at the time of the study 84 per cent of the actives belonged to a mean of 2.64 organizations and 64 per cent of the terminators belonged to a mean of 1.16 organizations.
Four fifths or more of
both groups declared that they never solicited their fellow organizational members. 6.
None of the participants indicated that they
were not in good health. their families.
The same condition applied to
Mean age at time of hiring was 32.32
for the actives and 2 9 . 2 7 for the terminators; the modal
214 age was in the 2 7 - 3 0 age interval.
Of the ten who were
under twenty-five, only three survived, and they seemed to have .special advantages.
The average height and
weight was found to he 7 1 . 1 6 inches and 1 7 3 .9 2 pounds for the actives and 7 0 . 4 6 inches and 1 7 0 .0 6 pounds for the terminators.
The general appearance of both groups,
but more especially the actives, was observed to be of the well-dressed, vigorous young business man.
Only
one terminator and one active spoke with noticeable speech limitations; both spoke with foreign accents. 7.
Mean years in California is larger for actives
than terminators, 9 . 7 3 a^d 7.54; however, one fourth of actives and 6 per cent of terminators had lived in California less than six months at the time they entered the occupation. 8.
There appears to be a definite pattern of
relationships between agent success and social and economic status of clientele, and success and methods of prospecting.
The terminators did more cold canvass and
the actives more frequently used referred leads for contacting the upper income group.
Practically all of
both groups classified themselves as "low pressure" salesmen. 9.
The active agents had done more college
215 debating, read more business books, recently earned more money, and bad more thoroughly investigated the occupa tion before entering it.
CHAPTER IX THE OCCUPATION:
REACTIONS OF APPRENTICE AND CAREER
AGENTS TOWARD IT AND REASONS GIVEN FOR TERMINATION An important aspect of any occupation is how the human beings who are working or have worked in the occu pation feel about it, what their problems are and why some may have left the occupation.
It was the purpose
of this chapter, following previous chapters 1 summaries of findings of patterns of success and psychological characteristics of the participants, to report the find ings concerning the reactions of the apprentice and career agents toward the occupation and some of the reasons why some of the participants terminated. More specifically, answers to the following two questions are reported:
"What positive and negative
reactions toward the occupational field were expressed by the apprentice and career agents?"
and "Why do
agents leave the business?" The chapter is organized under the following headings:
(1 ) reactions of apprentice and career agents
toward occupation, (2 ) participants 1 reasons for termina tion, and (3 ) summary of findings. Methods of securing the information are reported under the respective headings.
217 I.
REACTIONS TOWARD THE OCCUPATION
Apprentice agents 1 reactions.
The reactions
toward the occupation were given in the interview.
No
special question or schedule was used to elicit the responses, rather as the participant talked about him self and his job he made various statements concerning what the job meant to him, what he entitled his job, what his problems were, what he thought of the training program, and what his aspirations within the insurance marketing field were.
These responses were classified
into the various natural groupings and are presented in Tables XLIV, XLV, XLVII, XLVIII and XLIX. Examination of Table XLIV reveals the many titles applied to the occupation by the agents and their wives. It is interesting to note that the wives reflect the probable normal attitude of the public toward the occu pation by merely saying that the husband is in the life insurance
business.
The frequency of an appellation by
both groups is approximately the same.
The variations
indicate the problems of developing a job analysis applicable to the occupation which has particular and peculiar meanings and values to each of the individuals in the occupation. It Is obvious from a review of Table XLV that the
TABLE XLIV COMPARISON OF TITLES APPLIED TO OCCUPATION BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS AND THEIR WIVES
Titles
Actives Agents Wives (N-50) (w-47) Num Per Num Per cent ber cent ber
Life Underwriter 16 12 Life Insurance Agent Life Insurance Salesman 8 In the Life Insurance business 3 Life Insurance 5. Representative 3 6. Special Agent 3 1 7 . Insurance Advisor 1 8. Life Insurance Man Field Underwriter 1 9. 1 Estate Analyst 10. 1 11. Financial Advisor 12. Insurance Broker 0 Insurance 13. WIth Company 0 14. Associate, Agency 0 1. 2. 3. 4.
Terminators Agents Wives (N-30) (N-23) Num Per Num Per cent ber ber cent
32 24 16
1 3 8
2 6 17
8 10 3
27 30 10
3 5 3
13 22 13
6
30
64
1
3
10
43
6 6 2 2 2 2 2 0
0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
1 3 1 0 0 1 0 1
3 10 3 0 0 3 0 3
0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
0 0 0 4 0 4 0 4
0
2
4
0
0
2
9
0
0
0
1
3
0
0 218
TABLE XLV REACTIONS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS TOWARD OCCUPATION OF LIFE INSURANCE AGENT
Responses
Positive or Negative
Actives (N-50) Number of Per responses cent
Terminators (H-33) Number of Per responses cent
Unlimited ceiling, pay and advancement according to effort
P
18
18
8
12
It is a very good occupation
P
17
17
Ej
7
It is the best occupation known
P
14
14
An occupation which performs a social service
P
12
12
5
7
P and N
9
9
15
22
You are your own boss
P
8
8
7
10
There are many difficulties involved, including too much night work, too many hours required, difficulty of selling intangibles, and lack of security
N
7
7
6
9
It is a hard road for beginner or apprentice agent
N
2
2
4
6
It is a good occupation for the right man
TABLE XLV (continued) REACTIONS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS TOWARD OCCUPATION OF LIFE INSURANCE AGENT
Resnonses ... ,yv , I t ,,
Positive or Negative
Actives (N-50) Number of Per responses cent
Terminators (N-33) Kumber of Per responses cent
N
2
2
3
4
you meet many people and you can choose your own clientele
P
3
3
1
2
It compares with most respected professions
P
1
1
If you succeed there is always a job and a product to sell
P and N
2
2
5
7
Insurance is a way of life, based upon a logical plan
P
2
2
1
2
Satisfying and dignified occupation
P
6
9
Not sold on insurance or the occupation
N
3
4
220
There is need to improve the reputation of occupation, to standardize and profession alize it
«
TABLE XLV (continued) REACTIONS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS TOWARD OCCUPATION OF LIFE INSURANCE AGENT
Responses It is difficult to know when to stop in satisfying ambition Total responses Average per agent
Positive or Negative
P and N
Actives (N-50) Number of Per responses cent
1
Terminators (U-33) Number of Per responses cent
1 69
99 2 ,00
2.10
Total positive responses
76
76
33
49
Total negative responses
11
11
16
23
Total qualified responses
12
12
20
29
221
222
TABLE XLVI BIGGEST PROBLEMS IN THE OCCUPATION, ACCORDING TO ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Responses Prospecting Self-discipline, keeping on the job Organizing work and time for optimum efficiency Financial, earning a living Keeping up morale Closing the sale Night work and long hours Completing the paper work Lack of technical knowledge Working too hard Adjusting to market Avoiding use of friends to gain own ends Slow progress Too many competing salesmen Wife objects to occupation No problems Total responses Average number per agent
Actives Terminators (N- 50) (N-33) Number- of Per Number of Per responses cent responses cent 27
35
17
28
12
15
3
5
12
15
3 17 5
5 28 8 10 8
5 4 4 4 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
78 1 .59
6
5 5 5 3 3 3
6
5
2
3
1 1
2 2
1
1 1 1 60 1 .8 2
223
TABLE XLVII AMOUNT OF BASIC TRAINING AND SUPERVISED FIELD TRAINING, AS INDICATED BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Amount
Actives (N0 5 0 ) Num- Per ber cent
Terminators (N-33) Num- Per ber cent
Basic training - weeks ^One *Two Three Four Six Eight Twelve Incomplete data
2
4
14
28 22
11
7 3 3 5
14
4
6 6 10
5 13 4 2 1 1
15 39 12 6
3
3 3 9
8
4
12
26
52
16
49
3
6
5
15
4 4
8 8
2
4
12 6
13
‘26
6
18
Supervised field training One day or less Less than a week, but more than a day Less than a month, but more than a week Over a month Incomplete data
224
TABLE XLVIII EVALUATION OF COMPANY AND/OR AGENCY TRAINING PROGRAM AND QUALITY OF AGENCY SUPERVISION, BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Rating*
Actives (N-5 0 ) Num Per ber cent
Terminators (K-3 3 ) Per Num cent ber
Company and/or agency training program Very good or excellent Good Fair Poor Very poor Incomplete data
18
31* 4 8 2 0
68 8 16 4
6 12 8 6 0
36 24 18
2
4
1
3
26 7 10 4 0
52 14 20 8
13
3
6
Quality of supervision of agents Very good or excellent Good Fair Poor Very poor Incomplete data
9 6 4
39
27 18
12
0
1
* Ratings were made by investigator based upon qualita tive statements made by agents during interview.
3
225 active and more successful persons in the occupation are more positive and kindly in their reactions toward the occupation than are the terminators.
According to the
investigator's classification of responses, the actives made one and one half times the number of positive re sponses toward the occupation than the terminators.
On
the other hand, half of the terminators were favorable in their responses; however, their positive responses were tinged somewhat by nearly one third of the responses having qualificatory remarks, such as "it is a good occupation for the right man. ff The "great American" hope of the aggressive young man, to have his own business, to be his own boss or to have no ceiling on his economic efforts, seems to per vade the pattern of responses of the actives.
While the
same idea may have been present when the terminator entered the occupation, he looks back upon it with mixed feelings.
The comparison of these responses with the
responses of the career agents indicates many common points.•** Equally significant are the statements of the present and former workers in the occupation as to the
1 See Table LI, p. 232.
226 major problems they faced. in Table XLVI.
Their responses are exhibited
For the actives, the biggest problem was
keeping at the difficult job of prospecting.
While the
terminators had the same problems, in addition they faced the equally difficult one of earning a living.
Both
groups seem to have found the occupation a continuous challenge, an occupation which does not permit "coasting along." It is interesting to note that only two of the actives and none of the terminators felt the lack of technical knowledge or training, in spite of the fact that many of them had not had training in the marketing of life insurance.
To check the amount of training given
to the beginning agent, questions were asked concerning their attitude toward the training and supervisory pro gram of the agency.
The responses to these questions are
reported in Tables XLVII and XLVIII. training of the actives is 3.48 weeks.
4.22
Length of basic
weeks and the terminators,
Whether the discrepancy is due to variations
of agencies represented or to the faulty memory of the terminators is not known.
Both groups, however, indicated
a modal number of two weeks. It is recognized that all of the companies are required by California state law, to develop an acceptable
227 training program for purposes of assisting the neophyte agent to pass the qualifying examination for a license. All of the participating agencies seemed to have met that requirement.
None of the agents complained about the
training program being too short.
The terminators were
less kindly than the actives in their evaluation of the training program.
By comparison, 44 per cent of the ter
minators rated the program as either fair or poor, while only 20 per cent of the actives rated it fair or poor. All of the agents indicated that, in varying amounts, regular staff meetings, special conventions, home office schools, correspondence courses, Life Under writer Training Council, and the Chartered Life Under writer programs were available to them. All of the actives and some of the terminators had been to some of the special company training schools or local conventions and had reported favorable reactions. Many of them offered to demonstrate their sales materials and techniques to the investigator.
Two of the agents
whose fathers were agents or general agents declared they were receiving intensive training from their fathers.
It
might be said that of the two agents, one is successful and the other is borderline, remaining in the occupation due to his father's financial assistance and cooperation
228 in supplying prospects. Although half of both groups of apprentice agents declared.that they had one day or less of supervised selling where they actually attempted to appraise and supply the insurance needs of a prospect, few of them expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of that kind of training.
Some of the agents declared that they preferred
to solicit individually rather than split the commission with the supervisor.
Others stated that they were of
fered more supervised field training; however, they declined it to go on their own. Apparently the relations between the agent and his supervisor and/or manager were not unsatisfactory.
Only
four of each group rated the supervision as poor, but 66 per cent of the actives and terminators rated it good or excellent.
There was only one terminated agent who was
antagonistic in his attitude toward his former manager-not as an individual, but as a manager. Level of aspiration of apprentice agents.
A var
iation of attitudes toward the occupation is expressed by the agentfs aspiration or ambition concerning his future plans.
The pattern of responses seemed to have meaning
in terms of the success ratings. Table XLIX.
These are presented in
Inspection of the table suggests a relation-
229 TAB IE XLIX DIRECTION AND LEVEL OF AMBITION WITHIN THE INSURANCE FIELD OF ACTIVE APPRENTICE AGENTS
Response
Actives (N-5 0 ) Num- Per ber cent
Success Rating IV
III
II
High personal producer
15
30
11
3
1
Managerial
10
20
6
3
1
To combine high personal production with managerial
6
12
3
3
D o n ’t know what the future will bring, it all depends
4
8
3
Either high personal producer or managerial
2
4
2
To earn over $25,000 per year
2
4
2
To be a regular million dollar producer
2
4
2
To be recognized as a special ist in Estate planning
2
4
2
To have own office, in general insurance field
2
4
2
To earn $10^000 per year
1
2
1
To have more free time
1
2
1
Too old to be too ambitious
1
2
1
. 1
2
--
1
2
1
To earn a fair living Retire by age 50
1
1
230 ship of success to the degree of definiteness of ambition. Those who clearly stated their goals seem to have achieved higher degrees of success.
It is interesting to note
that personal satisfactions take the direction of either rewards of the earnings from the occupation or the status certain achievements might. Obviously, the same responses were not elicited from the terminators.
However, several expressed their
aspirations in terms of earning a living, proving to themselves that they could earn more money, or advancing from the skilled level to the white-collar level.
A
couple of them indicated interest in scientific experi mental work; these two have returned to college for advanced training. Career agents* reactions.
The reactions of the
career agents toward the occupation, in terms of the advantages, disadvantages, how their clientele has changed within the past fifteen years, and their recom mendations for improving the occupation, were gathered as responses to the questionnaire.
These responses are pre
sented in Tables L, LI, LII, and LIII." The pattern of advantages of the occupation as given by the career agents bears striking relationship to those of the apprentice agents.
This relationship Is
231 TABLE L PRINCIPAL ADVANTAGES OF OCCUPATION AS INDICATED BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS .
Responses
Frequency of responses Terminators Actives (H-42) (N-10) Nunt- Per Num- Per cent ber cent ber
Can be your own boss
22
24
2
11
Service to others
19
21
3
17
Unlimited income possibilities
10
11
3
17'
You can pick your own clientele
10
11
3
17
Earnings are in proportion to effort, ability, etc.
9
10
1
6
Good income with secured financial future provided by renewals
7
8
2
11
An occupation with a long life
6
7
2
11
Freedom from boring work, strikes, shortages of products
2
2
0
No advantages
1
1
1
6
Miscellaneous
5
6
1
6
total
4
1.
o
No response
2 .14
18 00
average responses per man
90
232 TABLE LI .PRINCIPAL DISADVANTAGES OF OCCUPATION AS INDICATED BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS -
Responses
Frequency of responses Actives Terminators (N-42) (N-10) Nura- Per Num- Per ber cent ber cent
Irregularity of income
8
13
Too hard to regulate own time
7
11
Too many night calls
5
No momentum can he built up; you have to keep everlastingly at it
2
7
8
2
7
4
6
3
11
Lack of prestige
4
6
Too little time left for own use
4
6
Disadvantages few
4
6
Too much "feather-bedding and high-handedness" at home office
3
5
5
18
Job puts you under too much nervous tension
3
5
2
7
Low earning apprenticeship
3
5
1
4
Inadequate security for old age
3
5
1
4
Ordinary life insurance is too intangible and specialised
3
5
Too much competition from poorly trained and/or unscrupulous agents
2
3
4
14
233 TABUS LI (continued) PRINCIPAL DISADVANTAGES OF OCCUPATION AS INDICATED BY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS
Responses
Frequency of responses Terminators Actives (N-42) (N-10) Num- Per Hum- Per cent her cent her
Dislike for continual need of prospecting for new clients
2
3
Unless you are among few top level producers, standard of living is mediacre
2
3
Ho disadvantages
2
3
General agents too selfish with time and assistance
1
2
CJ
Not a repeat Business
1
2
1
4
3
11
Too many disappointing interviews Miscellaneous Total Average per agent
3 64 1.50
2
5 28 2. 80
7
234 TABLE LII RECOMMENDATIONS OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS FOR IMPROVING THE BUSINESS AND MAKING THE OCCUPATION MORE ATTRACTIVE
Recommendations *
Frequency of responses Terminators Actives (N-42) (N-10) Numr- Per Num- Per ber cent ber . cent
Better selection of new agents
8
12
2
13
Stricter state laws for controlling standards of entering and active agents
8
12
1
7
Put all agents under Federal Social Security
5
7
1
7
Better introductory and field training of agents
5
7
1
7
Salary for beginners
4
6
1
7
Reorganize commission and renewal schedules and procedures
4
6
4
27
More practical men In home offices
4
6
2
13
Give career men more training and assistance
3
4
1
7
More nationwide advertising describing qualities of insurance agents
3
4
1
7
Provision for pension plan for all agents
3
4
1
7
More insurance courses in high schools and colleges
3
4
235 TABLE LII (continued) RECOMMENDATIONS OP ACTIVE AND TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS, FOR IMPROVING THE BUSINESS AND MAKING THE OCCUPATION MORE ATTRACTIVE
Re commendat ions
Frequency of response Actives Terminators (N-42) (N-10) Num Per Num Per cent ber cent ber
Build agency training program around needs of agents rattier than stereotype training
2
3
Better training for managers
2
3
Better supervision
2
3
Elimination of brokers and part-time agents
2
3
Discontinuance of door-to-door canvassing
1
2
Compensation for servicing "orphan” policyholders
1
2
Improved team-work in agency
1
2
No recommendations
7
10
Total responses Average per man
69
1.64
15 1.50
236 TABLE LIII WAYS IN WHICH CLIENTELE HAS CHANGED DURING PAST FIFTEEN YEARS, AS INDICATED BY ACTIVE CAREER AGENTS Frequency of response Actives (N-42) Number Per cent
Response Just managerial or supervisory work now
6
14
More general insurance
7
16
No change
5
12
Fewer cases
3
7
Older people
3
7
3
7
Higher income bracket
3
7
More professional men
3
7
More executives
2
Larger average size of
policy
v
5
Estate planning and annuities only
2
5
More programming, less package selling
2
5
More corporations
2
3
1
2
1
2
More skilled and white
collar
More cases Total Average No response
responses per man
43 1 4
237 exhibited hy comparison of Table L and Table XLV.
The
same desire to be one's, own boss, achieve according to abilities, and have unlimited income possibilities are almost identical with those of the apprentice agents. Even the wording is identical.
This leads to the possi
bility that these words are the ones used by the insur ance companies to sell the men on the occupation.
Per
haps they may have evolved with the occupation. The career agents, both active and terminators, were free in their criticism of the occupation.
Again
the pattern of disadvantages, listed in Table LI, are similar to those problems of the apprentice agents.
They
.seem to center around the difficulty of regulation of time, irregularity of income, lack of prestige of the occupation and the pressure of keeping on the job.
Unlike
the apprentice agents, some of the career agents, es pecially the terminators, were vigorous in their attacks against some of the insurance company practices.
Another
interesting observation is that the active career agents averaged I . 50 negative aind 2.14 positive responses toward the occupation but the terminators gave 2 . 8 0 nega tive and 1 .8 0 positive ones. To further check the attitude of the career agents toward the occupation, the question was asked as to
238 whether the respondent would recommend the occupation to a career seeking son.
The results are as follows:
none
of the terminators would recommend their son.enter the occupation of life insurance agent.
However, it was
found that none of them had sons who might he eligible to go into the occupation.
The active career agents
responded more favorably, twenty-three out of the fortytwo responded affirmatively, thirteen gave qualified responses, four gave negative responses and two did not respond.
The most typical qualified responses were
those which indicated that the occupation was a good one for the right man. Recommended changes for improving the occupation were made by the career agents and are presented in Table LII.
It is evident from their responses that the problem
of selection of agents is one of the major problems of the agency and company leaders.
The needs of regulating the
members of the occupation so as to give it more profes sional status, the need for reorganization of the com pensation structure, and improved training programs for agents and managers were the basic recommendations.
It
is intimated from 40 per cent of the responses of the terminated agents that the blame for their leaving the business rested upon the factors of improperly trained
239 home office and unsatisfactory compensation plans. Changing occupational pattern.
In Chapter VI,
Table XIII, page 1 2 5 , are listed the positions held by the participating career agents.
That information may
serve as background for better interpreting the data in Table L, concerning the changing marketing practices of the career agents.
The emphasis and trend of the mar
keting practices of the more successful career agents are toward fewer cases of probably larger average size. Further emphasis is upon "programming the insurance needs of the clients" and selling accordingly.
The practice
of one agency which limits its marketing to estate ana lysis and programmed insurance only may be a forerunner of future practices.
It is evident that the career agent
who has earned up to $40,000 per year in the occupation has been required to so establish himself that his ser vices and insurance are marketable in the top income group.
II.
PARTICIPANTS1' REASONS FOR TERMINATION
A more complete picture of the occupation is pro vided when the factors which were associated with the termination from the occupation are considered.
Within
240 this section are presented the reasons given for termina tion by thirty apprentice agents and their managers and the -responses of ten terminated career agents.
In addi
tion are given the new jobs of both groups. Determination of apprentice agents 1 reasons for termination.
The four point value rating sheets listing
forty reasons wepe completed by thirty of the apprentice agents and their respective managers.
2
In addition both
terminators and managers stated other reasons for ter mination.
Weightings of four, three, two, and one were
applied to the responses of each of the responding groups. The total value of the weightings of each item were accu mulated into an index value.
Since a weighting of one
was given to lowest point on scale, it is obvious that those items with index values of thirty are considered to be of no importance.
To determine the confidence with
which differences existed between agents * and managers 1 ratings of each item (as indicated respective index values) chi squares were calculated for those items which, by inspection, appeared to be significant.
All items with
their index values and appropriate chi squares are pre sented in Table LIV.
^ See Appendix for copy of Termination Form.
241 TABLE LIV COMPARISON OP RATINGS OF REASONS FOR TERMINATION GIVEN BY THIRTY TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE MANAGERS
Item
Index Value Agents
1. Lacked ability to persuade prospects to buy 2. Too slow in learning tech nical details of the business 3. Lacked interest in selling activities as vocation 4. Too young for the business 5. Too old for the business 6 . Appearance often too poor to meet prospects successfully 7. Lacked ability to express thoughts fluently 8 . Lacked sufficient vitality to do a good d a y 's work 9. Poor health of family interfered with work 10. Didn't have enough general informational background 11. Didn't have enough business experience background 12. Didn't show good judgment in financial matters 13. Lacked conviction concerning value of product sold 14. Earnings too little to justify special financing 1 5 . Lacked natural contacts to solicit though territory good
Index Value Managers
Chi Square
53
62
2 .0 6
31
41
7 .7 8 ***
42 45 30
45 50 30
.4 9 1 .2 9
31
34
38
36
31
34
2 .0 2
35
36
1 .2 2
42
35
2 .5 3
47
51
2.74
35
45
5.46
34
50
5 .8 2
80
74
57
59
.75
10.39**
** Significant at 2 per cent level of confidence. *** Significant at 10 per cent level of confidence.
242 TABU) LIV (continued) COMPARISON OF RATINGS OF REASONS FOR TERMINATION GIVEN BY THIRTY TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE MANAGERS
Item
Index Value Managers
33
35
44
39
1.36
40
41
.53
37
38
63
69
1 3 .6 1 *
51
72
1 2 .9 1 *
43
51
2 .0 6
90
68
6 .3 8 ***
35
42
4.18
35
37
3.18
47
39
80
30
93 30
36
40
40
52
Chi Square
0 •
0J
16. Lacked sufficient prospects "because territory poor 17. Members of family opposed continuance in the work 18. Family quarrels or separations interfered with work 1 9 . Didnft acquire good know ledge of the functions of insurance 20. Didn't acquire skill in prospecting 21. Didn't work enough hours during the day 22. Didn't follow through with evening appointments 2 3 . Lacked sufficient capital to survive apprenticeship 24. Lacked incentive or need for earnings 2 5 . Didn't get along with manager or supervisor 26. Went with another insurance company or agency 2 7 . Got a job in another business 28. Moved to another community 2 9 . Other business activities interfered with work 30. Spent too much time in visiting and social affairs
Index Value Agents
3.93
* Significant at 1 per cent level of confidence. *** Significant at 10 per cent level of confidence.
2^3 TABLE LIV (continued) COMPARISON OF RATINGS OF REASONS FOR TERMINATION GIVEN BY THIRTY TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE MANAGERS
Item 31. Family made too many demands on my time Caused trouble with office 32. and/or agency personnel 33. Got into sex difficulties 3^. Too much intoxicating liquor and carousing 35. Violated insurance laws of state 36. Failed to qualify for license to do business 37. Embezzled employer and/or client funds 38. Developed a mental disorder 39. Lacked self-discipline in carrying out objectives 40. Other reasons
Index Value Agents
Index Value Managers
39
43
31 30
30 32
30
38
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
44
46 44
Chi Square 2 .6 8
3.29
244 Reasons for termination according to terminated apprentice agents.
Examination of the table reveals
that the terminators disagreed with their managers as to the importance of several reasons.
Significant at the
1 per cent level of confidence are the items concerning
the basic skills of the occupation, prospecting tech niques and proper utilization of time.
Both agents and
managers recognized the importance of special financing as a means of reducing the amount of turnover. The order of importance of the various items are: Managers, 27, 14, 21, 20, 23, 1, 1 5 , 3 0 , 11, and 22* and Terminators, 2 3 , 14, 2 7 , 20, 1 5 , 1, 21, 11, 26, and 1 7 . Less importance is attached to the items subsequent to these first ten.
It is apparent that the managers (and
agents) side-stepped the issue of termination by indicat ing that the agents left the occupation because they got a job in another business.
Whereas the agents stressed
lack of money as the underlying factor in termination, the managers emphasized the lack of effort of the agents to achieve in the business.
Both points of view may be
significant to each group of respondents and these reasons are probably basic to the problem of motivation. New employment of terminated apprentice agents. To assume that the low monthly income from earnings in
the life insurance field are representative of the earn ing power of the terminators is not borne out by their subsequent earnings in other jobs.
The new jobs of the
terminators and mean monthly earnings are presented in Table LV.
The occupational background of the partici
pants prior to their entry into the life insurance field, presented in Table XXXIII, page 191, bears considerable resemblance to the new pattern of occupations of the terminators.
The sales field seems to be within their
pattern of interests; however, the merchandise and methods of marketing are more tangible and definite than life insurance.
The four most successful terminators
seem to have made excellent job adjustments or, in the case of one of them, to have made careful long range plans for completion of his doctoral program in public opinion polling and market analysis.
Three of the less
successful have had some problems in making a good job adjustment.
Other than financial problems which accrued
from their experience in the occupation, most of the terminators seemed to have had few regrets.
Some indi
cated that they might return to the field after they had had more business experience.
This last statement seemed
more typical of the younger men. Comparison of the average monthly earnings (Table
*
2k6
TABLE LV TYPE OF NEW EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE MONTHLY EARNINGS OF TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Job Sales, tangibles
Num ber
Terminators (N-33) Success Rating Per cent III II I 3
10
1
1
1
1
1
1
13
39
General Insurance
3
9
Student, College
3
9
Skilled, manual
2
6
2
Tool crib clerk
1
3
1
Retail Store salesman
1
3
l
Executive, business
1
3
Purchasing agent
1
3
Office clerk, high level
1
3
1
Social worker
1
3
1
Insurance investigator
1
3
l
Credit man
1
3
Actor
1
3
l
Manager of cleaning plant
1
"3
1
Not re-employed, according to available information
2
6
33
99
Total Earnings per month Mean Standard Deviation Range
27
1 1
1
A
1
1
7
22
$2 9 9 .8 5 8 0 .5 1 500 i.OO - 200 .0 0
247 LV) of their subsequent employment with their previous highest monthly earnings,^ indicates larger mean amounts in the previous employment.
However, part of this dif
ference may he due to the business cycle.
It is inter
esting to note that there is less variability and that the minimum has been from $150 to $200 per month.
Fur
ther comparison of earning and budget requirements^ indicate that the means and ranges of earnings are con gruous . Reasons for termination according to career agents. ‘The responses of the terminated career agents as to why they left the occupation are presented in Table LVT. Their reasons are simple and clear-cut, they either dis liked the occupation or decided that they liked some other occupation better. Present employment of terminated career agents. The pattern of disadvantages^ which the career agents ascribed to the occupation appear to have been eliminated by the present employment of the terminators.
^ SuPra 3 P* 195. ^ Supra, p. 102. 5 cf. supra, p. 2 3 2 .
Their
2 48
TABLE LVI REASONS FOR LEAVING THE BUSINESS AS GIVEN BY TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS Frequency of Responses Terminators (N-10) Reasons
Number
Per cent
To enter another business more compatible with interests
7
47
Disliked prospecting
4
27
Found other business more lucrative
2
13
Disliked insurance company practices
2
13
Total Average per man No response
15 1 .50 1
249 present employment and its advantages over the occupation of life insurance agent are presented in Table LVII. Although according to the patterns of occupational activities in which the terminators have tried subsequent to their termination from the insurance field, there is evidence that some explorations and re-adjustments were necessary before the present indicated satisfactions were reached.
III.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Based upon the complete findings presented above, the following summary statements can be made: 1.
The occupation of the life insurance agent
seems to symbolize the hope and aspiration of the young man of the American economic system.
Evidence of this
is seen by the fact that nearly one half of the actives of both apprentice and career agents emphasized the fac tors of unlimited income possibilities, earnings in pro portion to effort, and a right to be one’s own boss. The terminators were in general agreement with the actives; however, their responses were more scattered and more of a qualificatory nature. 6 Cf. supra, p. 126.
They, primarily
250 TABLE LVII PRESENT WORK AND ITS ADVANTAGES OVER LIFE INSURANCE SELLING, AS INDICATED BY TERMINATED CAREER AGENTS Terminators (N-10) Factor
Number of Number of Per cent agents responses of total
Present work Executive, manufacturing company Personnel administration Sales Engineering Ministry Merchandis ing (Export-Import) Estate planning Total
30 20 10 10 10 10 10
3 2 1 1 1 1 1 10
Advantages Higher income No pressure for prospecting Set working hours Steady income More creative More compatible with interests No night work Broader scope of activity Easier to sell tangibles No response Total
3 3
.
2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
10
17 17 11 11 11 11 6 6 6 6
251 apprentice agents, emphasized that the occupation is a good one for those'who succeed.
Responses from both
groups indicated their belief in the social service value of life insurance; however, it is interesting to note that the active career agents indicate that their clientele had changed to the upper income level where they could sell fewer cases and larger amounts of "pro grammed” insurance. 2.
The problems and disadvantages of the occupa
tion. as reported by the apprentice and the career agents center around the apparent dislike for prospecting and the problem of having to keep everlastingly at it.
From
one third to one quarter of the respondents had so indi cated.
Closely allied to that problem was another major
one of being able to organize and discipline one’s self so as to keep on the job.
The terminated apprentice
agents agreed with the above problems; however, they stated their major problem was that of merely earning a living.
The terminated career agents further emphasized
a dislike for some of the practices of the home office and agency supervisors.
Both the junior and the senior
groups indicated the need for control and standardization of the occupation before professional status of the occu pation could be achieved.
Of the entire number of 135
252 respondents, only two of the active apprentice agents considered the lack of technical knowledge of the busi ness a problem to them. 3.
The apprentice agents, the actives more than
the terminators, indicated that the basic training pro gram which they received was satisfactory.
The average
length of introductory training was three to four weeks with half of both groups receiving less than two days of supervised field training.
Two thirds of both groups
considered their supervision within the agency as being good or excellent. 4.
The direction of ambition of the active appren
tice agents is first toward earning high incomes as a personal producer and secondly, a managerial position, or combination thereof.
Those whose objectives were more
definable seem to be achieving more success than those whose objectives are not defined. 5.
The terminated apprentice agent emphasized lack
of earnings or sufficient capital on hand as the most important reason for leaving the business.
While the
manager agreed with this reason, his (managerfs) first reason sidestepped the issue by saying that the agent got another job.
Basic reasons given by the manager
center around the lack of motivation or effort on the part
253 of the agent.
Only on three of the items of the rating
chart were there significant disagreements between agents and manager as reason for termination.
These differences
are significant at the 2 per cent level of confidence. 6.
The terminated apprentice agents1 mean earn
ings in their subsequent jobs is $300 per month which is sufficient to meet their budget requirements.
Half
of the terminators found their employment in the sales field. 7.
Sixty per cent of the terminated career agents
left the business to enter another business more lucra tive or compatible with interests.
Forty per cent of
their responses indicated negative reactions to the prob lems of the occupation.
Eight of the ten are presently
employed in business management,
(Median earnings are
$8,000 per year.)
7 See Table XV, supra, p. 129.
CHAPTER X INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS PATTERNS OF THE APPRENTICE AGENTS In previous chapters the apprentice agents' suc cess patterns, psychometric findings, personal history data, and reactions toward the occupation of life insur ance agent have been summarized.
It was the purpose of
this chapter to relate the various patterns of success to the individual.
More specifically, the purpose of
this chapter was to attempt to answer the question, r,To what extent are the patterns of success or failure related to a particular individual?" It was assumed that the descriptions of eight representative case studies would partially provide some insight into the answer of this difficult question. Inasmuch as much more data were available concerning the apprentice agents than the career agents, only apprentice agents have been selected.
This is further justified
by the fact that the apprentice agents, active and ter minated, more clearly represent the entry level of the occupation.
However, a very recent follow-up of these
eight cases has been made by the investigator.
Data
presented, therefore, portray the first four or five years in the business.
255
Factors considered in the individual patterns. In the previous chapters the various variables which appeared to be operative in the lives of the real people working in the occupation, were given equal weighting and meaning as they were considered in terms of central tendency, variability, or frequency of occurrence.
In
this chapter these variables or factors are considered in terms of their relationships or values according to a particular individual.
In other words, the personal
equation is given to the mass of data which has beencol lected concerning each of the individuals.
In past
chapters these data have been discussed in terms of the following factors:
family, health, education, financial
status, activities, occupational background; and accord ing to psychological tests of mental ability, personality, interests, and aptitudes.
In addition are the factors
related to the occupation of life insurance agent, such as degree of success, clientele, in-service training, and attitude toward the occupation.
These are reported as
extensively as it is believed by the investigator that they are pertinent to a better understanding of the Indiv idual. The cases have not been typed, except as they seem to represent the various patterns of success, mediocrity,
256 failure or variability only as related to the occupation. Fictitious names have been applied.
I.
SUCCESS
Bill Green represents the dream of every newcomer into the occupation.
He was a million dollar producer
each of the first two years in the business and has con tinued at the same high level of production. The son of a southern city high school principal and the younger member of a brother team, Bill parti cipated in the usual youth activities.
For example, he
was an Eagle Scout, and his brother was not, he explained. After graduating from high school he attended the local state university and began a major in business adminis tration.
He once sold automobile insurance as a part
time job. When war became imminent Bill, in his junior year, left college and joined the air corps.
Six years later
at the age of twenty-six he was released to inactive duty, a Lt. Colonel who had seen action in nearly all of the war theatres. While he was in the service he married an attrac tive, young Texas girl who had been reared in a well-tohome.
They now have one child.
Subsequent to moving
257 to California, Bill's wife had done some modeling. As the end of the war became evident, Bill began to speculate about the future.
He stated that his specu
lations were planned and comprehensive and from them he concluded that the sales field offered the best oppor tunity for highest financial returns.
By chance he met.
an agent who sold him on trying the occupation of life insurance agent in Los Angeles.
Immediately following
his release Bill started selling insurance in a city which was not familiar to him. According to indications of the psychological tests Bill's personality (as indicated by Minnesota Multiphasic and P-F Study) is very normal, he is of superior mental ability (127 Wechsler-Bellevue I* Q. and 45 on the Steward subtest), and the Strong interest test scores indicate interests in the sales field. However, Bill had problems to meet:
how to main
tain his $500 a month cost of living standard? and where to sell life insurance? were two of the problems.
Bill's
basic insight into the problems and their ramifications is probably his greatest quality, for when he decided to go into insurance he began realistically appraising his qualifications and limitations and with the assistance of the general agent concluded that the "risk” field of
258 the air corps personnel was both a good market in which .to work and a market with which he was familiar. Bill has developed a formula of success which he believes may help other young agents and himself in his problems of adjusting to another market which is not exhaustible.
The formula is:
Success equals effort
times time times market over competition, or as Bill writes it, $ = E x T x M/C. Tom Clark, on the other hand, stated that the objective of salesman was not just recently determined. Similarly, the idea was not new with Tom's present gen eral agent who has had his "eye" on him since the young college student with his family moved from the middlewest to Los Angeles.
Immediately after the subject re
turned from naval service, a Lt. Commander and ex-skipper of a P. T. boat, Tom was placed under contract with a combination drawing account-commission-G. I. financing plan.
The general agent did not even bother to give him
any aptitude tests, Tests subsequently administered reveal superior mental ability (Wechsler-Bellevue I. Q. of 127); normal personality pattern (according to Minnesota Multiphasic and P-F Study); interests similar to those in the sales field, plus advertising man and mortician; and superior
on all aptitude tests. Tom's clientele, rather than military, is related to that of his father's former occupational field— business management.
In the field of department store
management the father had been a $20,000 a year man.
To
young businessmen, Tom has sold over a half million dol lars worth of insurance each year and is now approaching the million dollar mark.
It is also interesting to note
that the subject was married after entering the life Insurance field and that the wife's family background of financial and religious factors are similar to Tom's. Tom, when asked why he was succeeding, stated that he was aware that he was well liked by most people and consequently had an expanding clientele.
However, he
indicated that he was willing to work hard and give good service to his clientele.
Evidence of interest in the
occupation is noted by his completion of courses leading to a Chartered Life Underwriter recognition. In appearance and manner the subject is well-dressed and displays a casual, friendly,
11interested
in you’1 air.
His usual relaxed demeanor, however, was slightly contra dicted in the Wechsler-Bellevue testing situation where he displayed what was interpreted as ^failure anxiety.” Miscellaneous information:
age twenty-nine at time
260 of hiring; budget requirements at time of study, $600 per month; average size of policy, $14,380; average number per month, four; and had, just before going into Navy and following graduation from college (with marketing major), spent two years in sales of tangibles.
IX.
MEDIOCRITY
Richard Smith grew up in Chicago, the son of a skilled worker in a utility company and a dominant mother who enjoyed belonging to the community women*s organiza tions.
In high school Richard was well liked; he joined
a few organizations and was a varsity football player. He later attended the technical junior college in the city.
He started a science major, but then switched
over to a business course.
Following graduation from
the junior college in the middle thirties, Richard found a job as an apprentice draftsman in a printing shop. Before he had worked over six months he was able to get a job as an accounting clerk which he held for two years. When the war started in Europe, greater pay seemed to attract Richard into the mechanical fields where he became a torch cutter in a steel company.
But it was not
long before Richard was drafted into the army.
261 In the army Richard began to display to better advantage the qualities which those people who have met him ascribe to him.
At the time of discharge Richard
was a Captain, confident that he could face the civilian world ahead.
He moved to California.
To assist him in
determining what occupation to follow he visited a Veterans Guidance Center where he was advised that his interests were similar to those of a salesman (and not like those of a physician which had been his adolescent ambition).
Other tests indicated superior mental ability
and good personality adjustment, which would be of value in sales work.'*' Richard’s first month production was one $5,000 policy, the next month he sold six policies totaling $11,300, then he had a month of five policies totaling $ 1 9 ,6 5 0 , but then he dropped to less than half that amount, and finally lower.
His interests waivered as he
went back into the army for a three month tour of duty. Following this he returned to the agency and has averaged approximately $204,000 per year production, with an average number of 7.67 sales per month, and an average size of $ 2 , 5 3 4 per policy.
1 Tests subsequently administered by the investi gator and by the insurance agency verify these findings.
262 In the meantime Richard married a very capable and socially poised young woman who is a college trained medical hygienist.
Her family background is somewhat
the same as Richardfs in that her father was a service station owner and operator.
The couple now have one
child. Richard1s manager recently reported that this very pleasant, cooperative and clean-cut appearing young man is continuing on the same production level, but that the clientele which Richard seeks to serve is not the kind which permits higher level selling. When asked about his level of aspiration, Richard replied that he hoped to earn $10,000 per year within the next five years.
He stated that the life insurance field
was very satisfying and that he planned to stay as a per sonal producer rather than working for a managerial position. Unlike Bill and Tom, Richardfs market planning is not as definite and as insightful.
He Is plodding along,
attempting by hard work to compensate for the smaller size average size policy.
He is meeting his budget re
quirements of approximately $300 per month. Henry Taylor was thirty-seven in 19^5 , when he became an insurance agent.
He told the investigator that
263 the occupation has all kinds of possibilities for inde pendence.
His low budget requirements of $150-200 per
month were not met the first two years by Henry*s earn ings based upon $100 salary and 40 per cent commissions on sales, but his wife has worked so that they have had sufficient income to easily satisfy their needs. He stated that he and his "very conscientious, practical, attractive and very friendly wife” enjoyed the groups at the church.
There they found upper white
collared workers who were "friendly, generous, and liked nice things.”
Henry, at this point, sort of regretted
that their rental home was not in as desirable a neigh borhood as he would have liked to live in. For twelve years, he said, he had been a bank teller, with a top income of $195 Per month.
After quit
ting that job during the war he worked in the aircraft industry and then found the job as a life insurance agent. Henry stated that his father was an Oxford grad uate and was a surgeon and minister in England, enjoying reasonable success.
His mother, now a widow, is a
"kindly, generous soul," who was born in Texas, the daughter of an Army Brigadier General.
The details of
the meeting, marriage, and subsequent home life (in California) of his parents were not explained.
However,
26k Henry started to work as a salesperson In a dry goods store Immediately following graduation from high school. He worked there eight years before going into banking. In appearance, Henry is tall and slender (six feet, five inches, and weighs 180 pounds), and courtly in his mannerisms.
Perhaps the description by the
Wechsler-Bellevue administrator depicts him;
"His per
sonality was pleasant enough--but stickily pleasant. This man overtaxed his energies and penalized himself in his desire to appear of great intelligence.” Psychometrics indicated that the subject is of high average to superior mental ability.
His verbal I.Q.
on the Wechsler is 128, his performance I.Q. 103, and his full scale I.Q. 117.
Lowest score was in Object Assembly.
While his interests, according to the Strong, are similar to those of the Life Insurance Salesman, Public Adminis trator and Social Science High School Teacher, scatter in each of the groups reduces the value of his A interests. Personality pattern as indicated by the Minnesota Multi-, phasic is normal; however, the Picture Frustration Study indicated excessive Need-persistence reactions and lacking Ego-defense reactions.
Direction of aggression was impu-
nitive and not extrapunitive.
This somewhat verifies
the psychometrist1s description written above.
No Steward
265 Materials were obtained; Aptitude Index scores were superior at time of hiring. Henry averages 2.29 policies per month with an average size of $4 ,457.
There is considerable fluctua
tion of number of sales varying from seven per month to none.
However, he states that his future in the occupa
tion is very good and that he intends to stay in per sonal production.
There (in the occupation) he can
associate with the people he likes— primarily, white collar and a few of the better skilled workers--and achieve "reasonable success."
III.
FAILURE PATTERNS
Stephen Richards was the fourth in a family of seven children and the only one so far (another may) to graduate from college.
Both Stephenfs and his wife is
fathers were in sales and business management.
Probably
her father was a little more successful until he was disabled with arthritis at the age of thirty-eight. However, both families are financially stable.
The
investigator visited the apartment of Stephen and found indication of good marital adjustment and satisfaction with their youngster. As to appearance, Stephen is five feet, eleven
266 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds.
His clothes were
conservative and carefully chosen.
Each guidance worker
who talked with him found him approachable and friendly. There appeared to be no deviate mannerisms. Stephen graduated from high school in 1933 and then went to work in a manufacturing company in his mid west home.
He worked there, either part or full time,
until 1940.
The last three years he was working part
time were spent in a college course in business adminis tration.
He left both activities to join the naval air
corps training program. In the Navy he advanced up the line to the rank of Lieutenant, saw service in nearly all theatres of the war zones and was given several citations or awards, including the Distinguished Flying Cross.
His last year
in the service was spent in experimental work which he has continued to do in a reserve status.
This has assis
ted to earn him rank of Lt. Commander. After release to inactive duty he made the same decision which so many other young men did, that is, he moved to California to complete his collegiate training. He worked in a men's clothing store until he had gradua ted with a business administration major.
Immediately
after he was given a position as a supervisor-clerk in a
267 warehouse; however, he decided he liked sales work and he visited a Veterans Guidance Center to check.
There,
.on the basis of the tests, he was advised that he should go into business contact occupations.
The Kuder Prefer
ence Record indicated high interest in persuasive fieldsand low interests in technical, scientific, social serv ice, or business detail occupations.
"Personality tests
indicate no severe emotional problems and suggest sales ability.
Personal appearance and manner are very super
ior and indicate a refined and cultured background. ft Tests subsequently administered by the investiga tor (done one year after termination from job as agent) indicate superior mental ability (Wechsler-Bellevue I.Q. of 135), and normal personality pattern.
However,
the Strong interest test reveals a very homogeneous pattern with no A scores. around C+ and B - .
Most of the scores centered
Steward interest subtest verified the
lack of sales interest and the Aptitude Index rated his sales personality as D; (Personal History Rating Chart of Aptitude Index rated the subject A, with combined score of B). Stephen accepted the advice of the counselor and found a life insurance sales job which was financed under the salary plan.
In three months he sold two policies
2 68 totaling $3,000.
The agency manager, believing that the
first three months are indicators of future progress, released Stephen. When asked why he thought he did so poorly in the occupation, Stephen indicated that he disliked prospect ing sales work in general where a person must persuade another person to buy something which may or may not be for his best good. It is interesting to note that following his dis missal from the insurance company he was employed by a governmental agency as a social worker.
Presently he is
considering returning for an advanced degree in either social work or education. Harry Brown's occupational history, according to him, had centered around ten to twelve years employment in various automotive or aircraft parts departments. Part of the time he had worked under his brother who, Harry emphasized, has recently advanced to a lucrative position as the manager of a parts department for a big automobile assembling plant.
As a youngster, while going
to the local high school in suburban Chicago, and follow ing graduation from high school, he had worked in skilled work in his fatherfs orthopedic shoe repair shop. To further motivate him into changing from his
269 occupation to that which offered more money, status, and opportunity for advancement, Harry’s home and his circle of friends were in a very respectable residential area. In that community he was recognized as a very pleasant and acceptable person.
He was active in the church where
he was one of the youth leaders.
His wife, a trained
nurse, was quite talented as an amateur artist and their two children were considered "among the popular youngsters of the neighborhood."
So as not to give the impression
of over-ambition, Harry declared that he and his wife lived conservatively and within their income.
Their cost
of living requirements in 1 9 4 6 were $ 2 5 0 per month. In casting about for an occupation which might offer the satisfaction he wanted, Harry rationalized that he liked public relations, supervision and sales work. Consequently, he considered selling insurance. he moved cautiously.
However,
Eventually he talked with one
general agent whom he liked and accepted the offer to take the aptitude tests (Steward). His scores were 2 superior. It was planned that Harry would continue 2 Tests subsequently administered by the investigat or verify the findings of -the Steward tests. Definite sales and social service interest patterns are indicated by the Strong; Wechsler-Bellevue scores are 120 verbal and performance I.Q. and with a full scale score of 126; and no significant scatter or deviations are noted on any of the tests.
270 working at one of the aircraft factories where he was a tool dispatcher and simultaneously take the insurance company training program.
This Harry did religiously for
six months. He worked full time for fifteen months as an insurance agent and sold $ 1 0 7 ,0 0 0 worth of insurance. His earnings amounted to $l,500j and he had spent $2,000 of his savings, partly to repay notes on advances.
He
sold 1 .2 1 policies per month, but the variation was from none to five.
Average size of policy was $4,066 and his
source of prospects was primarily from the skilled trades men level. Before terminating his contract with the insur ance company agency, Harry was hired as a tile setter by a building contractor to whom he had sold a policy. As to the reason for Harry's termination from the occupation, he explained that he was not earning enough to pay expenses.
He still desired very much to sell
insurance and he believed that he could.
Recently the
investigator was asked to write a reference which would assist the subject to get a job as an Industrial agent with a Debit. It is the investigator's opinion that the sub ject's most handicapping factor was his personal
271 appearance.
It is that of the skilled craftsman who has
cleanly scrubbed his face, put on his "Sunday suit" and gone to church.
His mannerisms are quaint, and his con
versation, though interesting and witty, is of the homespun rustic variety.
It is believed that he would prob
ably have greater success as an agent of Industrial insurance.
IV.
PATTERNS OF VARIABILITY
James Morton 1s father died when he was a small child.
His mother, a capable and stimulating woman pro
vided him with good school training.
(She and her hus
band were both just grade school graduates.)
In high
school, James, an amiable, good-looking, athletic-appear ing person, was very popular in nearly all of the activi ties.
Following graduation he attended a business college
for a short time; however, at that time one of his more affluent relatives loaned him $ 5 ,0 0 ° thus making,it pos sible to attend one of the nationally prominent techno logical institutes.
There, plus successfully carrying a
major in mechanical engineering, he continued his student activities by being captain and all-conference quarterback of the football team and chairman of several important committees.
272 Graduation came at the time the United States was preparing to enter the war and James found a production engineering job.
Within four years he was earning $7,000
per year and was one of the youngest men to ever become a department head.
He held two other post-war jobs in
industrial planning, earning $ 6 ,5 0 0 and $ 6 ,0 0 0 , before entering the life insurance field in 1 9 4 6 . James figured at the time he entered the insurance field that the amount required to support himself and his wife was $ 4 2 5 per month.
Realizing that he would prob
ably not earn that amount the first few years in the insurance business, James used his assets of $5,000 to purchase and sell real estate at a profit.
(It might be
stated here that he had repaid all but $ 8 0 0 of his school indebtedness.) Carrying the same inexhaustible energy into his sales work, James sold a half million dollars worth of insurance in his first fifteen months.
He was sent to a
home office training program and there made one of the most outstanding records of any person who had attended. Other companies offered him junior managerial positions. His own agency manager retaliated by giving him a super visorial position and the promise of assisting him to eventually attain a general agency managership.
273 Needless to say is the fact that James scored superior in all of the aptitude tests, normal on all of the personality tests and an I.Q. of 137 on the WechslerBellevue . According to James and his manager, something happened at this point of the subjectfs rapid climb up the ladder.
James started to inquire about all of the
ramifications of the life insurance program and of its social implications.
He also began to inquire about his
own basic drives, motivations and satisfactions.
He spent
considerable time at a private vocational guidance center taking psychological tests.
At about this time he met the
investigator who offered another source of scientific aids.
His interest was manifest in the first interview
which lasted three hours.
He was disappointed when the
interviewer would not tell him to stay in or get out of life insurance.
James described his own pattern of
special abilities as "structural" rather than those applicable in the sales field.
It is interesting to note
that his scores on the Strong are A ratings for Production Manager and President-Mfg. Concern, and B+ ratings for the sales occupations, Advertising man and Lawyer. Soon after that time James left the insurance field and entered the services of a growing business services
274 company.
His first job as manager of a small branch
office has grown into the general managership of .the company (with profit-sharing arrangement).
James states
that he is happy and feels that he is now climbing the ladder of success where his effort can really pay off. In addition, he states, he still enjoys his weekly poker party. Valter Jones had the enviable position of being one of the top beginning producers in one of the agencies; his monthly average for the first two years was $2 5 ,0 0 0 per month with an average size policy of $5,000.
His
earnings of $ 2 5 0 to $ 3 0 0 per month easily met his budget requirements of $200 to $ 2 5 0 .
However, toward the end of
his third year in the occupation he dropped from his high average to only $6,000 per month.
At the time he came
to the guidance center, by appointment, to see the inves tigator, he was on the verge of leaving the business, in fact, he (not known to his manager) had already taken a part time job. At the guidance center Walter was cooperative, friendly, always neat and well-dressed, and with the exception of the last one, he always kept his appointments. He was interviewed by four of the staff members and another interested industrial psychological worker made a
275 visit to his home.
In addition to the battery of tests
included in this research project,3 the Rorschach, TAT and a word association tests were administered. Test findings are:
119 Wechsler-Bellevue I.Q.
score, but with 1 0 8 verbal and 127 performance scores. Subtest scatter indicated 15 per cent deterioration.
The
psychometrist who administered the Wechsler-Bellevue observed him as being very insecure, with a persistent, self-conscious laugh.
Although the F score is at 7 0 ,
other scales on the MMPI are all above 5 5 , and the Pa, Sc and Pt scores are 82, 84* and 7 5 , indicating some maladjustment.
The Picture Frustration Study results
are within the quartile deviation of normalcy; with higher scores in Extrapunitiveness and Obstacle-dominance. Following is the psychologists summary of find ings from the various projective tests: 1.
A diagnosis of behavioral maladjustment
utilizing essentially neurotic, ego defensive mechanisms. 2.
The focal source of anxiety is seen as a basic
fear reaction, or a reaction to superego values which are primarily associated with a fear of punishment as a
3 Unfortunately the Steward Personal Inventory of Basic Factors test, which was administered at time of hiring, was lost at the home office. It was not readministered.
276 consequence of behavior.
This fear is seen to be uncon
sciously associated with an anticipation of self-destruc tion involving.mental pathology.
Indications are that
the source of anxiety is generated by a specific, con sciously experienced, traumatic incident occurring after adolescence. 3.
The underlying personality structure is
essentially adequate.
It is felt that psychotherapy can
be tolerated to an advantage. 4.
The manifest expression of the neurosis in
volves diffused feelings of hostility as a reaction against feared hostility from others.
While hostility
is not consciously directed to the family and marital situation, the basic fear reactions are unconsciously associated with these and inappropriately generate fur ther anxiety in this area. 5.
Motivation, ambition and ability are specif
ically well oriented and appropriate in the area of vocational adjustment, except when unconscious associations interpret lack of success as being related to a feared, anticipated loss.
Social adjustment and vocational
adjustment are, therefore, precarious since defensiveness against people sets up barriers which aggravate the initial anxiety.
277 6.
Psychotherapy of a non-directive or possibly
brief interpretive type is recommended to increase tolerance for insight and a working through of anxiety related to the specific trauma. Here is part of Walter's story. a mid-west farm of 640 acres. and worth over $30,000.
He was raised on
His father is now retired
Walter attended the local schools
and was captain of the high school football team.
His
grades were good so he decided to go into the state agriculture college and take training to become a county agent.
However, the war came along and Walter dropped
out of college at the end of his first year and took a two months course as an aircraft mechanic. at the same time, he was married.
Approximately
They moved to Califor
nia where Walter worked all during the war as an aircraft sheet metal worker. in
His relation to military service was
the capacity of an inactive reserve. Walter and his wife now have two
home life, he says, is fairly good.
children.
Their
She was very anta
gonistic toward his plans of becoming a life insurance agent in 1 9 4 5 ; however, after he began to earn "good money
and the chances to earn a lot of money were
apparent” she was very cooperative.
Their social life has
centered around the church where he has sponsored an
278 adolescent group.
He Is also a member of the American
Legion and Life Underwriter Association. When asked as to the reasons for his early success in the life insurance field, he replied that he had a good general*agent with whom to work and that he (Walter) tried to contact a lot of people and to perform a service for them.
Prospecting had been done through preferred
leads; however, Walter stated, that technique had now been exhausted.
Later in the interview Walter stated
that he felt he had changed from the noisy high school leader to a person who still likes to be a leader, but not being selected for leadership of a group, he will now sort of "run and hide.” Arrangements were made by the investigator for Walter to take (free) psychotherapy treatments.
He came
for only two sessions in which he appeared to be trying to establish a working relationship with the therapist; however little progress was made.
There were some indi
cations of a pre-schizophrenic pattern, but this was just a hunch, reported the therapist. Apparently Walter had rationalized the problem of his failing pattern and that one of the factors contri buting to it was social pressure of the highly urbanized area in which he lived.
He moved to another county and
279 a more rural community.
Gradually his production has
increased until, according to the last information from his manager, it is now.approximately at the level of his first two years of production.
Any previous indications
of marital discord seems to have passed and he and his wife and their two children seem to have made a much better social and economic adjustment.
IV.
SUMMARY
In this chapter have been briefly summarized eight cases of active and terminated apprentice agents.
These
cases are illustrative of the various levels and patterns of success and provide data for evaluation of the data in terms of its interrelationships and individual mean ing.
From information presented in these cases (and the
body of cases they represent), the following assertions are warranted: 1.
An individual test score, such as Wechsler-
Bellevue I.Q. score, does not have within itself dis crimination value. cases.
This is illustrated by all of the
However, there is some evidence in the cases of
Henry Taylor and Walter Jones that the arrangement of subtests within a test or tests with each other, has clinical values.
However, the latter case illustrates
280 the factor of manipulation of environment as counteract ing the clinical hunches and analyses provided "by tests. In another instance, not reported, where all test patterns were normal, the individual changed from failure to suc cess by manipulation of environment.
This further
emphasizes that test scores have meaning in terms of individuals and environments. 2.
The family background of both the participant
and his wife seem to set a level of accomplishment which usually manifests itself in terms of the social and economic levels prospected.
This is illustrated in the
cases of Tom Clark, Harry Brown, and Richard Smith. However, the case of Henry Taylor illustrates that even those from socially recognized background are conditioned by long employment periods to the economic level which their job history describes. 3.
Motivation of the individual toward attainment
of success in the occupation, while not definable and clearly described, seems to have grown out of the success patterns of the individual or his family.
However, those
patterns of his family or his own should have meaning and respect at the desired level of activity involved in the occupation.
There is further indication that the
motivation of an individual toward success manifests
281 Itself in the pattern of activities of the individual. 4.
In an occupation which is full of pressures
and tensions, there is a danger of an individual who displays considerable success anxiety to re-evaluate himself and the occupation and then leave or fail within the occupation.
This danger is probably more acute with
the more "intellectually” intelligent individuals.
CHAPTER XI THE EVALUATIOM OF THE HYPOTHESES The last chapter with its individuation of success patterns concluded the main body of research findings. It was the purpose of this chapter to evaluate in summary fashion the hypotheses of the study stated in Chapter IV. These eight original hypotheses had evolved from careful study of the available literature and from the exper iential background of the investigator.
Their statement
in one of the introductory chapters has provided a frame of reference for this study. The criterion for the evaluation of the hypotheses has been whether or not the findings of the Investigation have warranted the acceptance or rejection of the ori ginal hypotheses.
It has been found that most of the
original hypotheses stated in Chapter IV have been accepted as assertions worthy of use in vocational counseling and as suggested direction for future research. Criteria for evaluation of the degree of success achieved by each apprentice agent have been established. The various individual and combinations of characteristics of success which have been utilized by research workers in the field were determined from the literature and have
283 been described in Chapter II.
These characteristics,
evaluated in terms of the findings of the study, were combined into a workable formula for determining the relative success of the apprentice agents included within this study.
Further validation was given these criteria
as indicated by favorable evaluation of them by seventeen of twenty-one qualified general agents and managers who were polled from the area of Los Angeles.
The criteria,
described in Chapter V, are limited for use in individual studies of each agent.
They are, according to the find
ings of this study and the evaluation by the experts, flexible enough to provide for the variable patterns of the individual and the occupation. The vocational guidance tests employed within this research have not differentiated between the pre-selected active and terminated apprentice agents included in this study. tenable.
The original hypothesis, has been found to be not With the exception of the Life Insurance
Salesman occupational scale of the Strong Interest Blank for Men, the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scales, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study failed to yield any differences statistically significant.
The Life Insurance
Salesman scale of the Strong yielded differences
284 significant at only the 5 per cent level of confidence which limits the practical use of the test.
The Aptitude
Index and Steward^Personal Inventory of Basic Factors yielded no statistically reliable differences; however, the use of these aptitude tests in this instance does not permit logical inferences.
More complete interpretations
are found in Chapter VI, where in addition to other information, emphasis was made of the fact that the apti tude tests were employed by over half of the managers in the original selection of these participants. There are patterns of personal history data which have apparent value for predicting the amount of success or failure of the job applicants.
This original hypo
thesis is held to be worthy of retention; however, further research is needed to identify and validate more com pletely those patterns which have accrued from this exploratory study.
It was shown in Chapter VIII that the
occupational backgrounds of the fathers of the two groups of apprentice agents were significantly different.
When
this isolated item was related to the occupational level of the prospects solicited, a cluster of relationships began to display discriminative qualities.
There also
appeared to be a pattern of relationships centering around the marital status of the participants which has
285 meaning in terms of the success ratings.
The interest
patterns ‘ displayed hy the tests and the educational and occupational areas of experience seem to he worthy of retention and further validation.
A more complete list
of the patterns recommended for further study are listed in the next chapter. There are certain characteristics of the occupa tion which attract individuals with particular "kinds" of occupational ambitions.
An analysis of the reactions
toward the occupation as given hy the career and the apprentice agents, presented in Chapter IX, clearly indicates the attraction of the occupation to those indi viduals who wanted to get into an occupation with no ceiling on earnings, where pay is according to effort and in which they could he their own boss.
The acceptance
of this hypothesis, however, does not assume to imply that young men with such ambitions would succeed only within the occupation of the life insurance agent.
Fur
ther evidence of the tenahleness of this hypothesis is indicated hy the attitude of all hut one of the eightythree participating apprentice agents toward maintaining the status quo of the present U. S. economic system with its emphasis on free enterprise and competitive market ing.
It was further found in the study of several
286 individual cases that those individuals who questioned the social worth of insurance by government control soon left the occupation.
All
the participants who succeeded
in the occupation gave evidence of possession of what the investigator has termed as the "capitalistic drive." In the process of matching a man with a job of life insurance agent all occupational data must be related to the individual1s frame of reference in order to have predictive value. Analysis of the eighty-three case studies of active and terminated apprentice agents, eight of which are presented in Chapter X, revealed the conclu sion stated above.
While this hypothesis is not con
sidered to be here validated by statistical standards, it is assumed to be a fundamental procedure to be utilized by those who select or advise young men interested in the occupation of life insurance agent. The findings from both the apprentice agents and the career agents indicate the difficulty of establishing cut-off scores on any tests, cumulative weighting systems or other rigid, objective forms of analysis.
Rather, in
accordance with the conclusions of the authors cited in Chapter I, it is the organization of the particular characteristics of the Individual that distinguish him as a unique individual.
Each item of information or
287 Individual trait is not of comparative and equal value, but its significance is determined by its place within the pattern of the whole individual who is also evaluated against the social background of the occupation. There is no one traditional life insurance sales man personality stereotype who becomes successful as an agent.
The traditional belief that a person must be an
extrovertive, "club-joining," "back slapping," "Mainstreet" type of character has not been borne out by this study.
It was seen from the reactions of the
apprentice agents concerning the value of organizational memberships that memberships are not essential to success.
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
profiles of the most successful agents reveals no such patterns.
Rather, the patterns of all the personality
tests indicate normalcy.
It is, however, accepted that
the normal group of emotionally stable individuals who can effectually utilize their abilities for the attain ment of their goals are the ones from whom the best agents are selected.
Of course, there are exceptions
to this rule. It is, therefore, concluded from the evidence presented within this research that factors other than, or In addition to, the one characteristic of social
288 extroversion are essential for success as an agent. Failure as an agent does not as sure a counselor that the individual will be a failure in other occupa tions .
Frequently counselors have been guilty of
inferring that failure in one occupation is indicative of failure in other occupations.
The employment and
financial earnings of the terminators of both the career and apprentice agent groups warrant the statement that their termination from life insurance did not preclude their earning their cost of living requirements in other occupations.
This included those who failed from the
occupation as well as those who left the occupation due to lack of interest or other miscellaneous reasons. The nature of the occupation of life insurance agent is such that chance for failure (financial) is higher than in many other occupations. Evaluation of the similarities and differences between active and terminator (or failure) groups is essential In determining prerequisites required for success in the occupation.
Conclusions obtaining from
the lack of significant differences between the test scores and many personal history items warrant confidence i
in the above assertion.
The findings in all of the
289 chapters of the main body of the dissertation have shown that, at the present time, the patterns of success are not sufficiently clear-cut so as to assume complete con fidence in the findings from successful apprentice agents only. The problems and reactions of the active agents only toward the job are not sufficiently representative to provide a picture of the occupation.
It was further
shown in Chapter IX that the reasons given for termina tion by both the terminators from the apprentice group and the career groups that reasons for termination pro vide insightful information concerning the occupation which loses approximately 50 per cent of its beginners each year. The success patterns of the career agents, both actives and terminators, are shown to have yielded information which better describes the occupation and its changing pattern. Summary.
In this chapter evaluation of the eight
hypotheses originally listed in Chapter IV, was made. Evaluation was made in terms of the findings and the assertability of the conclusions in terms of their values for guidance counselors and as direction for future research.
290 They are limited in validity in accordance with the exploratory nature of this study. It was found that of the eight original hypotheses, six warranted assertions were drawn from logical inferences of the findings.
The hypotheses concerning further dis
crimination of the pre-selected apprentice agents by certain vocational tests, other than the Strong Interest Blank, has been rejected. limitations.
The Strong has practical
The scores on the Aptitude Index and
Steward Personal Inventory of Basic Factors have been used only for descriptive purposes. Relative to the hypothesis concerning patterns of personal history information, it is accepted in terms of its broad general patterns; however, individual and isolated items require further research for determining predictive value. The statements made in this chapter are the basic conclusions of the study.
In the next chapter the study
is recapitulated in terms of a review of the problem, procedure, patterns of findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
CHAPTER XII SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS This final chapter was organized into three major sections.
In the first, a brief background for the study
was sketched, the problem was restated, plan of research, sources of data and methods of procedure were summarized. The second section was devoted to the patterns of find ings evolving from the study, and to the basic conclu sions.
The third section has been organized to present
the recommendations for use by vocational counselors, and suggested hypotheses for further research.
I.
SUMMARY
Background for the study.
One of the basic prob
lems facing-the vocational counselor is that of making available to the counselee vital information concerning the configuration of factors concerning a particular occupation and the people who are and have been employed within the occupation.
Probably in no other occupation
is this type of information more needed than concerning the occupation of the life insurance agent.
While the
occupation is widely known, few people are aware of the pressures, tensions, problems, and motivations of the
292 people who work in an occupation which is practically indigenous to America.
Pew people are aware that 50 per
cent of the beginners drop out before the end of the first year; and that many of those who survive are not earning a living.
In contrast, there are many who earn con
siderable amounts of money in the occupation. It was recognized that the research in the field was centered around the function of selection of the agent.
There was little research, if any, which attempted
to relate the patterns of factors involved in the occupa tion; and to make these patterns usable for the guidance worker in either vocational counseling or to serve as hypotheses for future research. Statement of the problem.
The purpose of this
study was to analyze some of the factors prerequisite to a successful career as a life insurance agent, in terms of the total pattern of its man-job relationships.
More
specifically, the purpose of this study was to seek answers to the following questions: 1.
What are some of the characteristics considered
by other investigators as essential for success In the occupation? 2.
What criteria can be established relative to
evaluating the amount of success of an apprentice agent?
293 3.
What patterns of success are described by a
follow-up study of one hundred fifty career agents who were considered successful fifteen years previous to this study? 4.
Do certain vocational tests differentiate
between active and terminated apprentice agents? 5.
What patterns of success or failure are
indicated by a study of certain personal history items of active and terminated apprentice agents? 6.
What positive and negative reactions toward
the occupational field are expressed by the apprentice and career agents? 7.
Why do agents leave the occupation?
8.
To what extent are the patterns of success or
failure related to a particular Individual? 9.
What conclusions and implications can be
presented as having significance for guidance workers? The research plan.
The procedure of the study
grew out of the purposes.• In its procedural connota tions, the investigation emphasized the interrelation ships of all available facts of information gathered in a complex and total pattern.
The basic assumption of
the procedure lies in the fact that life as we know it in any one of its spheres, e.g., the life Insurance agent,
294 is in the nature of a dynamic continuum. It was the intent of the investigator to see the occupation from the frame of reference of the guidance worker who is assisting an applicant or counselee to better understand the implications and meanings involved within the occupation.
To develop such a picture of the
configurations involved, the following plan was conceived. Against the background of information gleaned from the literature in the field there were superimposed two fields of information, one was that of the senior man in the field whose records were known and who somewhat represented the ultimate or top level of aspiration to the beginner.
This group has been designated as the
career agents.
The second field of information was that
representing the apprentice in the occupational field. Information obtained from the active and terminated apprentice agents was gathered according to the case study plan of research as normally employed by vocational counselors. These three fields of interrelated information were considered to have merged into one multi-dimensional pattern descriptive of the occupation.
In one sense this
was actually a case study of the occupation of the life insurance agent.
It was not assumed .that such a study
295
would be considered a job analysis of the occupation. However, in addition to the broader configurations of the occupation, individual patterns of success and prerequisites for success in the occupation were con sidered and evaluated.
This was then a study of the
individual apprentice agent within the broader study of the occupation. This study has not assumed to be a statistical study; however, statistical procedures have been used for purposes of evaluation of psychological instruments of defined entities, and for clarification of the immense amount of data. The par tic ipant s .
Three groups of participants
(all males) were included within the investigation. They were selected from the Los Angeles area. 1.
The first group of participants was composed
of eighty-three apprentice agents who had been carefully selected at time of entry into occupation and who had entered the occupation since World War II.
This group
was further subdivided into a group of fifty active agents and a group of thirty-three terminated agents who had made a conscientious effort to succeed in the occu pation by giving at least ninety days of full time effort. Only their first two years (or less) of gross sales were
296 considered.
These eighty-three participants represented
twenty-one of the sixty-seven agencies in the Los Angeles area.
The selection of the eighty-three parti
cipants was made on the basis of availability and their willingness to cooperate.
The actives represent seventy-
three whose names were originally supplied by the managers; and the terminators represent forty-eight of those suggested by their former managers. 2.
The twenty-one cooperating managers were
selected by virtue of the fact that they, out of approxi mately thirty-five solicited, were willing to cooperate and could supply names of participants who met the requirements set forth.
The same twenty-one managers
also served as the jury. 3,
This group was composed of 150 agents who were
considered to have been successful in 1 9 3 3 .
parti
cipants were the "successful" members of Stewardfs original study. 122 were located. group.
Of the total of 150 original agents, This group served as one sub-criterion
Of this 1 2 2 , 42 actives and 10 terminators re
sponded to questionnaires.
This group of participants
are labeled career agents. Methods of procedure.
The four major sources of
data were standardized tests, company records,
297 questionnaires, and inventories especially designed for this study, and interview data.
In addition, the related
literature was used as a source of information for development of criteria of success. To the group of apprentice agents were adminis tered the following tests:
Wechsler-Bellevue, Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Hosenzweig Picture Frustration Study, Strong Interest Blank for Men, Aptitude Index, and Steward Personal Inventory of Basic Factors.
In addition, personal data were obtained from
a new Personal Background Inventory, company application forms, and Steward's Personal Inventory of Background Factors.
The agencies provided the amount of each
agent's production on a standardized form and, on a standardized rating sheet, rated the suggested reasons for the terminators leaving the occupation. form was completed by the terminators.
The same
It was within the
interview that the data obtained from the tests, ques tionnaires, and inventories were given individual evalua tion.
The Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test were
used in two instances. The second group of participants, the managers, cooperated by supplying production records on the parti cipants, rating sheet for terminators, and evaluated the
298 proposed criteria of success. The third group of participants were contacted by telephone, letter, or personal visit. sponded to questionnaires.
Fifty-two re
In addition, data were
obtained from Steward*s original study which included a "Composite Inventory and Examination for Life Insurance Salesman" and certain personal history information. Treatment of the data.
In order to make the
tremendous amount of data meaningful, it was necessary to reduce the numerous amount of items to representative values.
Measures of central tendency and variability
were used for the standardized tests.
Also, an item
analysis was made of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, as well as the rating sheet for terminators and their managers, and the Personal Background Inven tory of seventy-five items.
The personal history data
were classified into appropriate categories and analyzed according to frequency of occurrence. No statistical measurement of relationships were employed.
Differences between percentages of occurrence
and differences between means were statistically analyzed by use of t-ratios and chi squares.
These measures were
employed in those instances where apparent differences were indicated and where logic warranted their use.
299 Basically the data were treated according to the procedures which would make those data most meaningful in terms of the developing patterns of information.
II.
PATTERNS OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
Each of the chapters in the main body of the dissertation has reported the findings of that particular phase of the study.
Rather than restating each of the
questions and the related findings, this summary draws from the findings of all the chapters and restates those findings according to the broad patterns which seem to have evolved.
These patterns seem to focus on three
points, each of which will serve as the core around which the patterns of findings are formed.
They are:
(1 ) the occupation, (2 ) success, and (3 ) pre-requisites. It is assumed that those patterns of findings are in partial answer to question nine of the problem. The occupational pattern.
The occupation has
grown simultaneously with the development of* the United States of America and its basic capitalistic structure. While the life insurance salesman was introduced to the United States In 1807 by an English company, the salesman or agent as recognized all over the nation is practically
300 indigenous to this country.
l
A recent census indicates
that there are approximately 100,000 agents for Ordinary companies operating in the United States.
These
Ordinary companies (plus industrial and group life insur ance companies) represent over fifty-five hillion dollars of assets and two hundred twenty billions of life insur ance coverage. The sales representative of this giant financial enterprise has traditionally had only quasi-employee relationships with the insurer he represents.
His rela
tionship has been that of commissioned worker selling under a contract.
Inasmuch as the rewards of the suc
cessful have been high and the ease of securing a contract has been simple, the occupation has drawn a variety of individuals.
Its reputation has varied accordingly.
Those people who have been attracted to the occu pation seem to have represented the f!American hope '1 of having a job or business where the profits are unlimited and accumulated in accordance to the effort put forth, and where one could be his- own boss.
This dream or hope
seems to have been almost entirely nourished in the personalities of those people who are in full harmony n
All researches summarized here have been cited and documented in Chapter II.
301
with the capitalistic values and who have identified with a person or composite person who symbolized ac complishment of the success pattern of American life. The findings which warrant such statements are: (1 ) only one agent (apprentice) hinted at the thought of a more socialized economic structure; (2 ) both the apprentice agents and career agents responded that the most Important advantages of the occupation were those of unlimited ceiling on earnings, one’s own boss, and pay according to effort; (3 ) the most successful of the apprentice agents came from family backgrounds where their fathers were primarily from successful professional, managerial, sales or agriculture backgrounds. Marketing practices in recent years have been away from "policy peddling" and in the direction of selling according to the needs of the client.
However,
one agent remarked, "When I don’t have much Income it is pretty hard not to sell according to my needs."
This
change seems to have brought with it increased demand for higher quality and better trained salesmen.
To encourage
this requirement of improved training, nationwide train-^ ing programs such as the Chartered Life Underwriters Society and Life Underwriter Training Council have been established.
However, no special training is required
302 for entry into the business other than that required to pass the State's qualifying examinations.
Only one of
the apprentice agents and none of the career agents indicated lack of technical knowledge.
The amount of
introductory training provided by the agencies of the apprentice agents averaged three to four weeks.
Few of
the agents were given more than one day of supervised field training.
It is added that very few of the appren
tice agents complained about inadequate training. Approximately one fourth of the successful career agents thought that more training should be given the managers and supervisors. Further evidence that the marketing practices are changing was clearly evident by the near unanimous re sponse of the active career agents who reported selling fewer and larger cases after careful rlestate analysis” of the men and companies which warranted higher amounts of insurance.
This somewhat contradicts the statement of
nearly all of the agents that the occupation is one of service to all mankind.
The service is apparently aimed
toward those who can purchase larger insurance coverage. However, there are probably many mediocre or low level producers who seek the lower-income groups. To assume that all those who gamble on the higher
303 incomes of the occupation succeed as compared with other occupations, which require few training prerequisites, is erroneous.
The related literature in the field indicates
that approximately one out of every two who enters the occupation terminates before the end of a year.
This
ratio varies according to company, agency, time, or special situation.
One of the more recent reports indi
cates an approximate 30 per cent per year turnover of all sales employees.
Of those who survive, approximately
half sell less than $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 per year which means approxi mately $ 1 2 0 0 to $ 1 5 0 0 earnings in first year commissions with renewal commissions extra. The reason for termination most frequently men tioned by the terminated apprentice agents was that of lack of finances to survive.
The managers claimed the
men did not put forth enough effort, but they too recog nized the serious problem of lack of income.
To counter
act this the trend has been toward financing plans. However, of the two criterion groups of apprentice agents who were apparently carefully selected, only one third were given drawing accounts, salaries, or combinations and commissions.
Reports from the related literature
indicates that those who are given assured incomes produce more business; however, it is commonly believed
that such agents are more carefully selected. The terminated career agents left the business for two apparent reasons; they found other "businesses or occupations more satisfying and more remunerative or else they disliked the pressures, tensions,, and demands of the occupation.
Most of all they disliked having to
keep everlastingly at prospecting.
The follow-up study
of 150 career agents indicated that terminations amounted to only one out of six. It was further found that only one of the ter minated apprentice agents had been given managerial or supervisorial duties, while one third of the actives had been given such duties.
In general, the same situation
occurred with the terminated career agents.
Such a
situation may indicate that both more security and status were given the man.
It may also indicate that leadership
qualities are related to prerequisites for success as a salesman of insurance. Patterns of success.
The above findings have
overlapped into this section and are, therefore, assumed to be a part of it.
By comparison with average earnings
and production of agents through the United States and Canada, the apprentice agent criterion groups, both active and terminators, were much higher.
Mean monthly
305 production of the first twenty-four months in the occu pation was found to he $ 2 5 ,9 0 0 for the actives and $9,337 for the terminators.
Medians for both groups were
$ 1 8 ,1 6 5 For the actives and $ 8 ,3 3 3 for the terminators. Two of the agents were million dollar producers each of the first two years in the occupation. A very significant aspect of this information is that the actives sold a mean amount of four policies per month averaging $ 6 ,4 5 2 each, while the terminators sold only 2.23 per month averaging $4,200.
This suggests
that the successful agent sells approximately fifty to seventy policies
per year and that amount
will depend upon the size of policy sold.
of earnings Earnings
based solely upon compensation for services or commissions amounted to an average (mean) of $ 3 1 8 per month for actives and only $117 For
the
terminators. Including
Veterans subsistence and salary the mean monthly earn ings of the actives was $ 3 2 8 , and for the terminators, $1 8 3 .
The added income from compensations other than
sales apparently were negligible for the actives and, though much more for the terminators, was insufficient to keep them in the business. Another aspect of the pattern of success of the apprentice agents is that of budget requirements.
The
306 actives required an average (mean) amount of $ 2 4 5 when they entered the occupation and $ 3 6 1 at the time of the The terminators required $243 &nd $2 8 3 , respec
study. tively.
The mean monthly earnings, $300, of the ter
minators in their jobs subsequent to leaving insurance indicated that they were able to earn the required liv ing.
Many of the terminators regretted having spent an
average of twelve months in an occupation which exhaus ted their savings. The managers rated the actives statistically sig nificantly higher (1 per cent level of confidence) than the terminators in effort and training achievement. However, none of the managers seemed to have noticed the nature of the sources of prospects were very similar to the occupational backgrounds of the fathers of the actives and terminators.
The prospects were also similar
in occupational make-up to the occupational background of the participants. The career agents were earning a minimum living or better in the occupation in 1933.
-It was found that
out of 107 located and known to have remained in the insurance business, 54 were were earning $ 10^,000 or over. The median net worth of the forty-two actives who re sponded to the questionnaire advanced from $ 5 * 3 0 0 to
307 $53.,000.
The ten terminator respondents indicated simi
lar net worth in 1933, hut $26,167 at the present.
Their
median present earnings amounted to $8 ,0 0 0 and their median earnings the last three years in the occupation of life insurance agent amounted to $ 4 ,7 5 0 . From the interrelationships of the findings given above, the proposed criteria for determining the amount of success of the apprentice agents were developed and favorably recommended by seventeen of the twenty-one managers.
Four did not respond.
The criteria are listed
in the conclusions, page 3^2 . Patterns of prerequisites essential for success. The overlapping of the information presented in this section with that of above is again recognized.
The most
obvious pattern centers around that of the family.
It
was found that the family background of the successful apprentice agents was primarily from the occupational levels of the professional, higher level managerial, sales and farmers who owned reasonably large farms. Whereas three fourths of the actives 1 fathers came from this background, only 3 6 per cent of the terminators were from similar homes.
The fathers of the terminators were
primarily managers of small businesses, skilled workers, and a wide scatter of other occupational levels.
308
This pattern of occupational background is further evidenced by the fact that 58 per cent of the fathers had earned $5,000 per year or more.
By contrast, only 27
per cent of fathers of the terminators had equal records. Similarity of this occupational background pattern is seen when it is compared with that of the wives 1 parents and, very significantly, when compared with the occupational levels solicited by the sons.
Another
resemblance is indicated when the pattern is compared with that of the interest profiles of the participants. Family stability as reported by the career agents was indicated by virtue of the fact that only three of fifty-two had a history of divorce.
The fifty active
apprentice agents reported four and the terminators reported six out of thirty-three.
All but two of the
active apprentice agents reported good or excellent marital adjustment.
This record was not so high for the
terminators. The highest grade completed by both apprentice agents and career agents varied from 1 3 .9 0 mean years for terminated apprentice agents to 1 6 .2 0 for terminated career agents and 14.90 for active career agents.
The
active apprentice agents had completed 1 5 .0 0 mean years. Equally significant is the fact that 54 per cent of the
309 active apprentice agents graduated from college in con trast with only 27 per cent of the terminators.
Again
the mean highest grade completed by wives approximated that of the apprentice agents. Major subjects of active apprentices were commerce and humanities courses, while greater spread was indi cated by terminators, with many more with indefinite main course or major in science or technical fields.
This is
in general agreement with interest test profiles and with subsequent employment of apprentice agent terminators. All of the participating apprentice agents reported excellent health for themselves and families.
The
career agents indicated the same thing, except in the past three or four years, health of six of the actives was somewhat impaired.
One of the agents blamed his
comparatively low production on wife’s ill health. The modal age at time of hiring was in the 2 7 - 3 0 step for both active and terminated apprentice agents, although the first group averaged 3 2 .3 0 and the latter 29*30 years of age.
It was found that those under
twenty-five who survived had special advantages. The active apprentice agents had a median net worth of approximately $ 5 ,0 0 0 at time of hiring, and the terminated apprentice agents had a median net worth
310 of $3,000.
This may reflect age or occupational back
ground or even family background.
That an effort was
made to maintain this net worth was indicated by the number of wives working; 24 per cent for the active and 18 per cent for the terminated apprentice agents.
Other
assistance was obtained from Veterans subsistence, income property, and from the parents of both groups. The occupational background of the terminated apprentice agents clustered around skilled, clerical and sales; while that of the actives clustered around sales and managerial; however, 22 per cent had not had civilian work experience.
Three fourths of the participants
(apprentice) were in military service; 7 1 Per cent of the actives and 54 per cent of the terminators were officers.
Subsequent work experience of the apprentice
terminators was in the same general pattern as the pre vious civilian experience.
The ten career agents who
terminated entered occupations which were more technical or more along managerial lines. It was generally found that more actives than terminators of both groups participated in the same or more group activities.
However, it was found that the
differences between the actives and terminators of the apprentice group was not as wide at time of hiring as at
311 time of the study.
Four fifths of the apprentice agents
indicated that they never used their organizations for soliciting. Mental ability test results concerning the appren tice groups indicated that all but one person probably was of college caliber.
Wechsler-Bellevue mean scores
were 125 and 127 I. Q. for actives and terminators.
The
ten terminated career agents had an average Otis I. Q. score of 119 while the actives had a mean score of 114 . However, twelve of the forty-two scored in the 95-109 range, yet each earned $ 5 ,0 0 0 or more in the post-war years.
These same agents also scored high in dominance
or aggressiveness. Personality patterns of the apprentice agents as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic and the PictureFrustration Study were described to be normal.
In the
case of one active who showed marked deviation, better adjustment has come about from change of environment. It was found that eighteen of three hundred nine original Steward group had scored below forty-fourth percentile on emotional stability.
Of this group of eighteen, eleven
have manifested some emotional maladjustment. The Strong interest test yielded differences between the test scores of active and terminated
312 apprentice agents which were significant at the 5 per cent level of confidence.
The Life Insurance Salesman
scale, however, found half of the terminators scoring A. Mean ratings on the Aptitude Index and the subtests of Steward Personal Inventory of Basic factors were similar, with mean scores in the ^acceptable classi fication.
However, as these tests had been used in the
original selection of the agents, it is expected that scores for both active and terminator groups would be similar. When the data concerning each individual was related to his particular frame of reference, as indi cated by the eight representative case studies briefly described in Chapter X, the patterns became more evident and meaningful. Conclusions.
The evaluation of the hypotheses
has provided the basic conclusions of this study.
Those
conclusions are again restated; in addition, other con clusions which have grown out of the summary of the patterns of findings are stated: 1.
The basic criterion of success for the
apprentice agent is that of ratio of earnings to cost of living requirements.
Closely allied are the factors of
trend of earnings and the probability of agent remaining
313 in the business. 2.
Mean test scores were not significantly dif
ferent so as to warrant dependence upon them for dis criminating between the two criterion groups of appren tice agents.
Those tests are:
The Wechsler-Bellevue,
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study.
The Life Insurance
Salesman scale of the Strong Interest Blank for Men, while discriminative at the 5 per cent level of confidence, does not warrant dependence upon it unless other personal history data are available.
High scores on the Aptitude
Index and Steward Personal Inventory of Basic Factors are not guarantors of success; however, their value has not been here determined. 3.
There are patterns of personal history data
which have apparent value for predicting the amount of success or failure of the job applicant.
Those patterns
seem to center mostly around the family, occupational, and educational backgrounds. 4.
Those individuals who desire to be their own
bosses, work in an occupation with unlimited ceiling on earnings, and are compensated according to effort, as per the hope of the individual in the capitalistic system, are most frequently attracted to the occupation.
314 5.
Personal history data, as well as test data,
have predictive value and meaning when employed and interpreted in terms of the dynamics of a particular individual.
In turn, that particular individual must be
considered in the light of the needs, demands, and pressures of the occupation of the insurance agent. 6.
The post World War II agent In Los Angeles
does not appear to be the traditional "back-slapping,ft "club-joining," untrustworthy sort of individual.
Rather,
he is intelligent, socially confident, emotionally stable, conforms •to middle-class social standards, welleducated, and has clear-cut plans for achieving his goals. 7.
Inasmuch as the chances for failure and ter
mination are- high, the fact that an individual has failed or terminated as an agent does not assure a counselor that the individual will probably be a failure in other occupations. 8.
The problems of the former worker in the occu-,
pation, and his reasons for termination contribute essential information to the understanding of the occu pation.
Without information from the high percentage
who have terminated, sampling of the sources of Informa tion concerning the occupation would not be complete.
315 9.
For those who are successful In the occupation
the amount of earnings may he very high as compared to the marginal man.
The marginal man and below may hope
lessly gamble time and money on a future for which he is not suited.
Ill.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for improvement of occupation. Many recommendations for improvement of the business of life insurance and the occupation were made by fifty-two career agents.
Inasmuch as many of these men are prom
inent leaders in the field, their recommendations, previously listed in Table LII, are summarized here: 1.
Better selection of apprentice agents.
2.
Stricter state laws for controlling standards
of the apprentice and senior agent. 3.
Improve the training and supervisory programs
by having better introductory and field training for agents.
The training program should be constructed
around the individual needs of the agents rather than a single fixed program. 4.
Reduce the insecurity of the occupation by
putting all agents under Federal Social Security and by providing a pension plan for all agents.
316
5.
Reorganize commission and renewal schedules
for the established agent; and develop and employ financing plans for the carefully selected agent. 6.
Promote a nation-wide advertising program
describing the qualities, of the agents who are becoming financial advisors for the American public. 7.
Organize the agency for assisting career
agents to better assume the responsibilities of finan cial advisors. 8.
Reorganize the
exploitation of the agent 9.
agency set-up to eliminate by the agency manager.
Improve the training program for managers.
Suggestions for the guidance worker.
To the
above recommendations for improvement of the occupation might be added others which the guidance worker may do to assist the potential agent: 1.
Publish occupational monographs which
realistically present the information to the applicant. 2. in a
Recognize that
the potential agent should be
counseling situation rather than a recruiting one. 3.
Emphasize the use of intensive individual
case study rather than group elimination. To these recommendations are added suggested subjects for further research.
317 1.
Relationship of personality of the agent with
the market solicited. 2.
The use of financing plans for the reduction
of turnover of agents. 3.
Test score scatter and patterns of success.
4.
The development of improved selection
systems. 5.
The relationship of turnover of agents and
qualifications of agency managers. 6.
Improved training programs for agents and
agency managers. The final conclusion recalls the opening para graph which emphasized the need for more cooperative research and effort for further assisting each person so concerned to achieve a more satisfactory vocational adjustment.
It is the realistic attainment of this hope
that gives vigor to the efforts of vocational counselors.
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
BIBLIOGRAPHY A*
BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS
Brubacher, John S., A History of the Problems of Education. New York: McGrraw-HIll Book Company, Inc., 1947. 688 p p . Cummings 3 0. Sam, How to Build a Successful Life Insurance Agency. "Tndianapolis: The Insurance Research and Review Service, 1 9 5 0 ., 424 pp. Dewey, John, Logic, The Theory of Inquiry. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1 9 3 8 . “5 4 6 pp. Gardner, Burleigh B . , Human Relations in Industry. Chicago; Richard Irwin, Inc., T94T5-] 307 pp. Guilford, Joy P., Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. Second edition; New York: "McGrawHill Book Co., Inc., 1 9 5 0 . 442 pp. Hathaway, Starke R . , and J. Charnley McKinley, Manual for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventoryl Revised edition; New York: The Psychological Corporation. 16 pp. Horst, Paul, editor, The Prediction of Personal Adjust ment, Bulletin 48. New York: So'cTal Science Research Council, 1941. 455 pp. Institute of Life Insurance, A Career in Life Insurance Sales and Service. New York: Educational Division, Institute of Life Insurance, 1950. 16 pp. , Life Insurance Fact Book, 1949. New York: Institute of Life Insurance, 1949. 96 pp. Kluckhohn, Clyde, and Henry A. Murray, editors, Personality in Nature, Society, and Culture. New York; AlTFed A. Knopf” Inc., 1 9 4B^ 561 pp . Lewin, Kurt, A Dynamic Theory of Personality. New York McGraw-Hill Rook Company, Tnc., 1935^ ^86 pp.
319 Life Insurance Agency Management Association, Census of Life Insurance Personnel in the United States’! Hartford; Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1949. 2 3 pp. ■ , It1s all in the D a y 1s Work. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1946. 35 PP. , Let!s Look at Life Insurance. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency"”Management Association, 1949. 60 p p . , The Life Insurance Career. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1949. 2 0 pp. , Life Insurance Information, Attitudes and j£xperTence, 1949. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1949. 83 PP. , Managing an Agency. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1949. 1 58 pp. , The Miracle of Life Insurance. Seventh revised edition; Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1949. 63 pp. , Recruiting Results. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1949. 57 PP. , Selecting the New Agent. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1946. 23 PP. , 2 3 0 0 Recruits a Year Later. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1948. 33 PP. , The Value and Use of the Aptitude Index. Hartford: Life Insurance Agency Management Association, 1948. 24 pp. Life Insurance Managers Association of Los Angeles, Life Insurance Agency Management in the Postwar World. Hartford: Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, 1944. 18 pp.
320 Life Insurance Sales Research Bureau, Measuring Aptitude for Life Insurance Selling. Hartford; Life InsuranceSales Research Bureau, 1938. 1 6 pp. , The Survival and Production of Agents in Canada. Hartford; The Life Insurance SaIes~Hesearch Bureau, 1941. 7 6 pp. , The Survival and Production of Agents in the United states. Hartford;' Life Insurance saTes Research Bureau, 1943. 42 pp. , The Value of an Agent. Hartford; The Life Insurance SalesHResearch Bureau, 1943. 68 pp. Mathewson, Robert H . , Guidance Policy and Practice. New York; Harper and Brothers, 1^49. 294 pp. Mayo, Elton, The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Boston; Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1945. 150 pp. The National Association of Life Underwriters, Guiding Principles in Agency Management. 11 Nest 42nd Street, NewTork: The National Association of Life Underwriters, 1947. 7 PP. Roethlisberger, Fritz J., and William J. Dickson, Management and the Worker. Cambridge; Harvard University Press, 1939. 615 pp. Rosenzweig, Saul, et al., Revised Scoring Manual for the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study." Pittsburgh; Western State Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 1947. 2 0 pp. Ross, Clay C., Measurement in Today1s Schools. Second edition; Ne w‘~Yo rk :’“Frenflce-HaTI'7 T547.~55l PP. Sherif, Muzafer, and Hadley Cantril, The Psychology of Ego Involvements. New York; Wiley and Sons, Inc., t w i t 525 pp. Snygg, Donald, and Arthur W. Combs, Individual Behavior. New York; Harper and Brothers, 1949. 3 8 6 pp.
321 Stalson, J. Owen, Marketing Life Insurance. Cambridge: Harvard University Press~ 19421 9 n PP. Steward, Verne, Analysis of Sales Personnel Problems. Los Ange1es: Verne Steward and Assoclates, 1943. 128 pp. , Manual of Instructions and Keys for Using the “— ““TersoriaF'Triventor.ies" " TH'TuTTdingTaTes--------Organizations. 'South Gate, California: Verne Steward and Associates, 1946. 16 pp. , Problems of Sales Personnel Research and Their Solution. Eos Angeles: Verne Steward and Associates, — 8 pp. What to Look for in Selecting Sales Personnel. 8outh Gate, California: Verne Steward and Associates, 19^9. 32 pp. Strong, Edward K . , Jr., Manual for Vocational Interest Blank for Men. Stanford,: Stanford University Press, 1 9 4 5 . ~ 16 pp. Thai, Helen M . , Careers for Youth in Life Insurance. New York: Educational Division, Institute of Life Insurance, 1947. 72 pp. Wechsler, David, The Measurement of Adult Intelligence. Third edition^ Baltimore: The“”WilTl~ams and. Wilkins Company, 1944. 2 5 8 pp. Yoder, Dale, Personnel Management and Industrial Relations”! Hew York: Prentice-HalT^ Inc., 1945• 644 pp".
B . PER IODICAL LITERATURE Achilles, Paul S., and R.S. Schultz, "Characteristics of Life Insurance Salesmen," Personnel J ournal, 12:260-263, February, 1934.
322 Flemming, Edwin G. , and Cecile ¥. Flemming, "A Quali tative Approach to the Problem of Improving Selection of Salesmen by Psychological Tests,” Journal of Psychology, 21:127-150, January, 1946. Husband, Richard W . , "Techniques of Salesman Selection,” Educational and Psychological Measurement, 9:12914b, Summer I$49. Kurtz, A. F., "Recent Research in the Selection of Insurance Salesmen,” The Journal of Applied Psychology, 2 5 :11-19, September l^PFl. Lewis, John A., "Kuder Preference Record and MMPI Scores for Two Occupational Groups,” Journal of Consulting Psychology, 11:194-201, July-August, 1947. Strong, Edward K . , Jr., "Interest and Sales Ability,” Personnel Journal, 13:204-216, December 1934. Wallace, S. Rains, Jr., and Constance M. Twichell, "Managerial Procedures and Test Validities,” Personnel Psychology, 2:277-292, Autumn 1949.
C.
PARTS OF SERIES
The Institute for Research, "Careers in Fire and Casualty Insurance,” Careers Monograph, No. 111. Chicago: The Institute for Research, 1§41. 32 pp. , "Careers in Life Insurance," Careers Monograph, N o . 40. Chicago: The Institute for Research, 1$46. 32 pp. Science Research Associates,' "Insurance Agents," Occupational- Outlines, No. 3 9 . Chicago: Science Research Associates, ['n. d,] pp. 1 5 3 - 1 5 6 . , "Insurance Salesmen," Occupational Briefs, No. 174. Chicago: Science Res ear ch As so c fate s , 1947. 4 PP, "Insurance Workers," Occupational Briefs, No. '
1 4 1 . Chicago: Science Research Associates, X§46. 4 pp.
323
Steward, Verne, flThe Problem of Determining the Degree of Success Achieved by Apprentice Life Insurance Agents,” Personnel Reports for Sales Executives, Report 4. South Gate, Californla: Verne Steward and Associates, July 1947. U. S. Congress, Senate, Temporary Rational Economic Committee. ”Study of Legal Reserve Life Insurance Companies," Investigation of Concentration of Economic Power, Monograph TTd'.-287 Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1941. 465 pp. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ’’Employment Outlook for Insurance Agents and Brokers,” Occupational Outlook Summary. Washington, D. C .: Government Printing Office, 1949. 2 pp.
D.
UNPUBLISHED MATER IALS
Kahn, David, ”An Analysis of Factors Related to Life Insurance Selling^’’ Unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, Purdue University, 1948. 7 9 pp. Mochel, Marguerite, ’’The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory as a Factor in the Selection and Guidance of Physical Education Major Students.” Unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1949. 127 pp. Rogers, Carl R., Unpublished mimeographed material, University of Chicago. Schmuller, Allen Mark, ’’The Role of Education in the Rehabilitation of the Prussian Empire.” Unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1949. 3^6 pp. Steward, Verne, ’’Analysis of Test Data and Production Record for 466 Male Agents Contracted by X Company in 1946.” Unpublished report, Verne Steward and Associates, South Gate, California: 1949. 5 pp.
324 Steward, Verne, "The Use and Value of Special Tests in the Selection of Life Underwriters." Unpublished Doctor*s dissertation, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1934. Weersing, Frederick J., "Proposed Standards for the Doctoral Dissertation in Education. ** Unpublished mimeographed material, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
A P P E N D I X
A
325 TABLE LVIII PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY OF ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number 1 2
3 4 5
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50) 50 94 76 2
8
30 42 96 92
9
86
6
7 10
4
11 12
60
4
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (H-33)
Differences
76 100
73 9 27
-
-
+
61
_
97
—
88
+
97
-
0
+
3 73 24
+ -
26 6
19
1
13
+ 18 + 12 + 15
16
0 100
3 97
94 32 90
82 18 85
3 + 3 + 10 + 14 + 5
12 0 0 0
18
6
19
21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28
29 30
44 54 4
30 3
20 6
18
90
82
15
1 .6 7
_
3
0 6 52
1 .6 6
4
36
20
1 .6 6
4 11
0 21
18
1.44
1
42
17
2 .3 6 **
3 7 3
13 14 15
12
t-ratios
3
_ -
0 6 8
+ 24 + 1 + 2 -f 9 + 8
2 .1 3 **
326 TABLE LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES A N D T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE A N D TERMINATED A PPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number 31 32 33 34 35 36
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50) 6
14 12 6 20
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33) 6 12
9
12 6
Differences + + -
0 2
4 6
4
82 88
76
38
42
39 40
20 8
64 27 9
+ 6 + 0 - 22 - 7 - 1
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
36 4
27 6 0 0 58
+ + + -
80 2 0 2 0
88 0 0
+
51
74
52 53 54 55
6 2 100 82
91
56 57
14 92 28 44 92
58
59 60
20 2
52
88
3 3 6
3
t-ratios
1.93
9
2 2 2 6
-
8 2 0 1
-
3
- 17 - 0 l
1.91
-
100
76
+
0 6
15 94 39 49 94
-
1
- 2 - 11 - 5 - 2
1 ,0 9
327 TABLE LVIIX
(continued)
PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (H-50)
61 62
8 8
63 64 65
94 42 94
66
8
67 69 70
24 84 14 36
71
78
68
72
73 74 75 76 77 78 79
4 40 3 96 4 24 44
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33) 15
21 82 ■61
79 3 15 91 12
46 64 9 36 0
97 0
33 46 58
Differences _
7 — 13 + 12 19 + 15 -
+ + -
-
+ —
27
34
42
_
12
_
85
12 96 16 0
21 0
86
8
87 88 89
4 98 14
15 21
—
90
98
91
-
81 82
§3 84
5 9 7
+ 2 - 10 + 4 - 5 + 4 + 3
56 18
80
t-ratios
— -
94 —
1
4 9
2 2
9 8 0 2
5
0 „.
6
7
2 1
97
7 7
1.74
1 .8 9 1 .6 6 2 .0 8 **
328 TABLE LVXXI (continued) PERCENTAGES OP POSITIVE RESPONSES A N D T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OP MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE A N D TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Group ]Responding Yes (N-5 0 )
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33)
91 92 93 94 95
62
52
4
0
96 97 98 99
Percentage 1of Active
Item Number
Differences
3f
+ 11 + 4 + 2
18. 18
+ 22
88 8
6
100
50 64 50
42 70 49
3 -f- 2 + 7
101 102
44
52
58
103 104 105
38 12
40
90 0
72
88 0 50
3 94
108 109 110
24
36
111 112
26
107
113 114 115
2
72 96 4 82
116
50
117
22
119
44 76 70
118 120
.95
6 2 .1 0 **
—
2 96 10
10 6
-
t-ratios
0 0 21 61 10
3 55 55 33 46 82
70
-
+
6 2
8 6 2 0 + 22 _
+ +
_
2.03**
1
+ 2 + 10 -
+
12 2
+ 5 + 11 4 + 1 + 27
1 .2 2
1.09
5
11 2 6 + 0 —
1.14
329 TABLE LVIII
(continued)
PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES A N D T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE A N D TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number 121 122 123 124 125
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-5 0 ) 0
96 0 30
6
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33) 0 100 0 49
3
126
76
61
127 128 129
50 74
49
130 131 132 133
26 92 90 26
78
82 18
94 82 18
73 79
134 135
80
34
24
136 137 138 139
28
18 85
140 141 ■
142
143
94 28 0 52
27
64 30 30
61
0 67
33 39
144
12
21
145 146 147 148 149
14
-9
8 24 24
0
150
26 96
9 24 9 100
Differences
t-ratios
0 —
4 0
19 3
1.71
+ 15 + 2
1.50
—
+
_
8
+ 8 - 2 + 8 + 8 + 5 + 1 + 10 + 10 + 9 + 1 0
- 15 + 3 3 9
1 .3 3
—
_
_
9
+
5
+ 8 + 15 0
+ 17 4 —
1 .7 3 1 .9 1
330 TABLE LVTII (continued) PER CENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES A N D T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50) 0 80
93 100 90 4 . 2 8 8
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33) 0
76 100 91 94 0 6 3 3
160
64
67
161 162 163 164
2 32
6 46 88 91
80
90
Differences 0 -
+ -
4 2 9 4
+
4 4 5 + 5 3 4 14 8 1 + 27 —
-
_
—
88
166 167 168 169 170
32 16 2 94 24
27 27
3 94 24
11 1 + 0 0
+
16
12
172
14
15
173 174 175
84 72
88 88 100
171
94
176
70
177
100 94 8 8
17 8
179 180
82 100
97
3 12
1.24
—
165
61
t-ratios
+
5
—
2 .9 1 * 1 .2 5
-
4 1
4
_
16 6
1.72
+ 11
1 .2 1
_
-
0 _
+
3 5 4
331 TABUS LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE-RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC.PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED- APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number 181 182 2.83
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50)
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33)
64
73
-
42 3 94
+ +
0 94 70
+ 8 + 2 - 10
184
0 50 0
185
94
186 187 188 189 190
191
192
8
96 60 2 92 18 96 88
0
3 94 27
94
Differences
-
+ + -
9
0 8
3 0
1 2
9 3
4
82 6
88
94
94
97
70 90 2
0 58 88 0
- 3 + 2 + 12 + 2 + 2
18 2
12 0
32 46
49 42
0
+ 6 + 2 - 17 + 4
0
0
206
18
12
207
90 56
97
193 194 195 196
197 198
199
200
201 202 203
204 205
208 209 210
2
2 0
58 0
3
+ + -
8 2 6
6
7 2 2
3
t-ratios
332
TABLE LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND. TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50)
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33)
Differences
211 21 2 213
0 0 2
0 0 0
214 215
58
73 30
+ - 15 - 8
3 39 3 52
+ + + +
216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223
224
22 2
40 8
58 98 66
48 46 6
94
76 36 36 6
225
92
94
226 227 228 229
18 0 86
21
230 231 232
233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240
64 84 46 38 36 34 90 2
70 26 20
36
3 79 70 88
64 24 24 27 88
6
76 24 24 30
t-ratios
0 0 2
1 1
5
6
4
- 10 + 11 + 9 - 0 - 2 + -
1.03
3 3 7 6
4
- 18 + 14 + 12 + 7 + 2 + +
1.37
4 6 2
4 6
1.57’ 1.31 1.13
333 TABLE LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Humber
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50)
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33)
241
14
242
88 92 18 0
88
0 0
0 0
250
34 34 14
36 33 24
251 25 2
4 6
0 18
243 244 245 246
247 248 249
253
70 46
9
97 12 6
Differences + + + -
t-ratios
5
0
3 6 6
0 0 2 + 1 12 -
1 .1 8
4
—
12
1.75
82
79 42 76
2
0
2
94 94 15
12
+ 4 + 0 + 13 + 8 10 8 + 4
1.40
22
18 88 18
265
56 14
12
39
+ 17 + 2
1 .4 8
266 267 268
16 16
12 9 61 0 67
41
254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262
263 264
269 270
98 94 28 20 8
96
64 6 58
—
+ +
+ +
9 4 6
j
6 9 \mS
1 .3 6
334 TABUS LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50)
271 272 273 274 275
16
276 277 278 279 280
98 32
96 2 68 2
12
24
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33) 12 100 6 88 0 92 27 6
8
24 15
281 282
86 12
88 12
283 284
70 14 94
76 3 97
0
0 49
285 286 287 288 289 290
0 62 36
3 55 24
291 292
2 12
0
293
4
64
294 295
72
296 297 298
48
299 300
44 12 20 28 60
9 3
82 67
52 6 18
36 55
Differences + 4 - 4 - 4 - 20 + 2 + + + -
t-ratios
2 .0 7 **
7
5
6 0
7
- 2 - 0 - 6 + 11 - 3
1 .6 6
0
*f 15 - 3 + 7 + 12 + 2 + 3 ■+ 1 - 10 - 23 + + +
4 6 2 8 6
1.40 1.13
2 .0 5 **
335 TABLE LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number 301 302
303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-5 0 ) 12
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33)
90
0 88
6 16
3 30
4
0
94
94
22 10 96 88
21 21
40 4 40
52
28 0 26 24 92 20
14 18
TO 12 0 8
97
88
Differences
t-ratios
+ 12 + 2 + 3 - 14 4- 4
2 .0 7 **
+ 0 + 1 - 11 - 1 + 0
36 9
- 12 + 4 + 4 + 19
0
0
27 24 85 21 0
- 1 - 0 + 7 - 1 + 14
15 61 18
+ + +
0
3
0
1 .0 3
2.09**
2 .2 5 **
6
3 8
0
6
6
49 15 58 91
- 1 - 7 + 20 - 1
8
1 .4 2
3 9
48 76 90
1.55
1.98
336 TABLE LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (n -50)
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33)
Differences
331 332 333 334 335
4 8 0 8 6
3 9 3 9 3
+
+
1 1 3 1 3
336 337 336 339 340
26 10 8 2 36
24 9 6
+ + + + +
2 1 2 2 9
341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350
0 6
3 0 6
0 27
-
4 0
0
19 90 24 0 0
12 0 0
3 6 16 + 4 3 + 6 1 6 0 0
351 352 353 354 355
0 10
3 6
96
88 6 6
3 4
356 357 358 359
12 10 2
360
22
4 2
14 0
3 91 30
15 6
3 15 3
+
-
+ ^m -
+
8 2
4 3 4 1 1
-
3
t-ratios
337 TABLE LVIII (continued) PERCENTAGES OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND T-RATIOS OF ITEMS OF MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY ACTIVE AND TERMINATED APPRENTICE AGENTS
Item Number
Percentage of Active Group Responding Yes (N-50)
Percentage of Termi nator Group Responding Yes (N-33)
361 362
26 26
21 21
363 36^
2 0 2
3
365 366
367
368
369 370 371 372 373
4 42 30 72 56 66
30 8
0 0 0
42 27 85 46
39 27 6
Differences + + +
t-ratios
5 5
1 0 2
+ 4 - 0 + 3 - 13 + 10 + 27 + 3 + 2
1.31 .94 2.39**
* Significant at the 1 per cent level of confidence. ** Significant at the 5 per cent level of confidence. Note:
In computation of the t-ratios all calculations were carried out three places.
A P P E N D I X
B
PERSONAL BACKGROUND INVENTORY 338 N a m e.
....................................:...................................................................................................................................................... S ex......................T e le p h o n e ......................................................... Print last name First Middle
P r e se n t A d d ress.............................................................................................................................................................. -...................... Street and Num ber C ity Zone County
State
A g e......................
T his inventory was prepared for research purposes only. All inform ation given will be held strictly confidential. In d icate your answers to the questions by encircling “Y es” or “N o ” on the line at the right if a definite answer is possible, otherw ise encircle the “ ?” instead. Answer the questions as though you were com pleting the inventory at the tim e you entered the life insurance business. 1. H a v e you changed your address three or more tim es during th e past tw o years?...................................... Y es
? No
2. H a v e you a telephone listed in the directory in your own nam e?...................................................................... Y es
? No
3. D o you have superior health and v ita lity ?
....Yes
? No
4. D o you use headache m edicines or sleeping tablets five or more tim es per m onth?.............................. .....Y es
? No
5. D o you have indigestion four or more tim es per m onth, or ulcers?.................................:....... ;...................... .Yes
?
No
6. D o you stam m er or perspire freely when engaged in an im portant interview ?
Y es
?
No
7. D o you have dizzy or fainting spells three or more tim es per year?
Yes
? No
8. D o you have attacks o f hysteria, epilepsy or convulsions one or more tim es yearly?
Yes
? No
;..
9. H a v e you had heart trouble, high blood pressure, or low blood pressure during the p ast year? 10. D o you believe in the use o f vaccines for the prevention o f disease?
Y es
? No
Yes
? No
11.
H a v e you ever sp en t any tim e in a hospital or rest hom e for a nervous or m ental condition?............ Yes
? No
12.
H a v e you com pleted college courses o f one or more years in insurance?
? No
13.
H a v e you com pleted college courses o f one or more years in m arketing or m erchandising?..................Yes
? No
14. H a v e you com pleted a college course o f one or more years in public speaking or debating?..................Yes
? No
15. H a v e you com pleted a correspondence course o f 30 or more assigm uents in business subjects?
? No
Y es
Y es
16. H a v e you attended six or more public business lectures during the past three years?...............................Y es
Copyright, 1948, by Verne Steward, 10248 Bowm an Avenue, South Gate, California.
M ust not be reproduced w ithout permission.
? No
Printed in U.S.A.
17. H a v e you read three or more business books during the past three years?..
:.
Yes
? No
Y es
? No
19. D id you change your major field o f stu d y tw o or more tim es w hile in school or college?...................... Y es
? No
20. D id you ever repeat a grade or course work in school or college, or fail in any course?......................... Y es
? No
21. H a v e you ever enrolled as a college m ajor for two or more years in science, engineering, literature, languages, m usic or art? Y es
?
22. H a v e you had successful outside selling experience for one or more years?....................................................Y es
? No
23. H a v e you had successful sales clerking experience for one or more years?
Y es
? No
24. H a v e you done supervisory, training, m anagerial or directing work for six or more m onths?...............Y es
? No
25. H a v e you earned more than £3,000 in the p ast two years and more than £2,000 in the past year?..Y es
? No
26. H a v e you volunteered to take added responsibility in your work during the past two years?.......... ....Y es
? No
27. H a v e you held four or more job s during the p ast two years?............................................................................... Y es
? No
28. H a v e you changed from one typ e o f work to another three or more tim es in the past two years?....Y es
? No
29. H a v e you gotten along well w ith your former em ployers and supervisors?
? No
18. H a v e you subscribed to one or more business m agazines during all o f the p ast three years?
Yes
No
30. H a v e you found your fellow em ployees friendly and considerate?..................................................................... .Y es
? No
31. H a v e you ever been disciplined for infraction o f em ploym ent rules or regulations?
Y es
? No
32. D o you think it is true th at the m ajority o f people are prom oted because o f “p u ll” or luck?
Y es
? No
33. H a v e you been unem ployed three or more m onths during the past two years?
Y es
? No
34. H a v e you been absent from work five or more days during the past year, excluding vacations?................Y es
? No
35. H a v e you been involved in two or more accidents during the past year?
i.Y e s
? No
36. H a v e you ever been accused o f theft, or em bezzlem ent o f funds?
...Y es
? No
37. H a v e you saved 10% or more o f your earnings during the past five years?
:
Y es
?
38. H a v e you cash on hand equivalent to three m onths budget requirem ents
Y es
? No
39. H a v e you enough life insurance to project your earnings three years in case o f death?
Yes
? No
40. D o you have an eq u ity o f 25% or more in your hom e an d /or 75% or more in hom e furnishings ?.—Y es
? No
41. H a v e you an eq u ity o f 50% or more in an autom obile w ith a m arket value o f $800 or more?............ Y es
? No
42. H a v e you any open (unsecured) charge accounts with stores or gasoline station s?....................................Y es
? No
43. H ave you ever been refused a fidelity or surety bond?.
? No
Yes
No
44. H a v e you ever been in financial arrears or default in a previous em ploym ent or business?....................Yes
? No
45. H a v e you ever lost $5,000 or more in business or $1,000 or more in investm ents?..................................... Y es
? No
46. Are you a m em ber o f a cham ber o f com m erce, business service club or T oastm aster’s Club?...............Yes
? No
47. D o you have 50 adult relatives, friends, and acquaintances within a radius o f 10 m iles?........................ Y es
? No
48. H a v e you questioned a public speaker during or after his address on tw o or more occasions?..............Y es
? No
49. H a v e you ever solicited funds o f $10 or more for a cause, or members for an organization?................. Y es
? No
50. H a v e three or more adult people com e to you for advice within the past year?
...........:
Yes
?
Y es
? No
52. H a v e you taken the lead to enliven parties o f six or more adults on tw o or more occasions?...............Y es
? No
51. H a v e you appeared as a speaker before groups three or more tim es during the past tw o years?.
.
No
t
53. H a v e you been a leader o f a group (president, captain or chairm an) within the past five years?....... Y es
? No
54. H a v e you attended a civic, lodge, fraternity, or church m eeting during the past three m onths?.........Yes
? No
55. D o you feel th at the econom ic system o f the U .S. should be replaced by one o f another typ e?.......... Yes
? No
56. D o you h ave a feeling o f dislike for 25% or more o f your acquaintances?
? No
Y es
57.
D o 50% or more o f your friends earn less than $2,700 yearly— $2,400 if you are under age 28?......... Y es
58. D o you u sually vote for candidates o f one o f the tw o m ajor political parties?
;
.....Y es
? No
?
No
59. H a v e you played cards or bet so as to lose o f win $25 or more during the p ast year?............................. Y es
? No
60. W ill your wife (your parents, if single) cooperate to help you succeed in your work?
_.Yes
? No
Y es
? No
61. W ill your wife work to help financially during the apprenticeship period?
62. D o you and your wife (your parents, if single) agree on the budgetary spending o f your incom e?.-.Y es
?
63. H a v e you ever been divorced, separated or very unhappy because o f your m arriage?
Yes
? No
64. H as your wife (your parents, if single) urged you to enter another occupation?......................................... Y es
? No
65. W ere your parents separated or divorced while you were under 18 years o f age?...................................... Yes
? No
66. D o you have a father or brother who is successful in this business?
? No
67.
Yes
D id you first seriously consider m arketing or selling as a perm anent occupation before age 21 ?......... Y es
68. H a v e you seriously considered entering this occupation for two or more m onths?
.Y es
No
? No
? No
69. H a v e you m ade a thorough investigation o f the nature o f the work?............................................................... Y es
? No
70. H a v e you ever been rejected when applying for life insurance?
Y es
? No
71.
Are the m em bers o f your im m ediate fam ily in good h ealth ?................................................................. ............ Y es
? No
72.
H a v e you ever had gonorrhea, syphilis, or other venereal disease?................................................................... Y es
? No
73.
D o you sm oke more than 20 cigarettes, 10 pipes, or five cigars daily?............................................................Y es
? No
f
74. D o you drink alcoholic liquors?................ If so, do you drink to the point o f talking too m uch, or argu ing too m uch, or disregarding the passing o f tim e, or losing your better ju d gm en t, or acquiring an u n stead y gait, or being an unsafe autom obile driver? Y es
? No
339 C O P Y ■ I N T E R V I E W Agent
G U I D E
_____________________ Agency__________Date_______
A 1 . Appearance..........................
1
2
34
A 2 . Speech f l u e n c y ......................
1
2
34
A3. Health, p h y s i c a l .................. ..
12
3 If
A4. Emotional s t a b i l i t y ................
1
2
3 if
A 5 . Personal w a r m t h ....................
1
2
3 if
A 6 . Aggressiveness, initiative..........
1
2
3 if
Bl. Attitude toward occupation..........
1
2
3 if
B 2 . What are alternative occupations....
1
2
3 if
B3. What is his future in occupation....
1
2
3 if
1 2
3 4
Cl. Wife’s attitude toward occupation. . . .
1 2
34
C2. Parents’ attitude toward occupation
1 2
34
B4. What are his problems in occupation
...
...
C3. Financial assistance from wife and/or p a r e n t s ................................
1 2 3 4
C4. How many besides your wife and children live in same home? ................ ..
.
12
3 4
C5. Are your living conditions congenial and satisfactory........................
1 2 3 4
Dl.
Budget r e q u i r e m e n t s ....................
1 2 3 4
D2.
Income from others o u r c e s ...............
1 2 3 4
D 3 . Compensation plan with company orG.A. . . El. Nature of training r e c e i v e d ........
1
12 2
34 34
340 E2. Attitude toward training
........
1 2 3 4
E3. Attitude toward supervision
........
1 2 3 if
FI. Source of p r o s p e c t s ....................
1 2 3 if
F2. Social relationships............ ..
1 2 3 if
Gl. Average earnings last two years before entering life insurance ........
1 2 3 if
G2. For terminators, earningsin new work
. .
1 2 3 if
G3. War service, if a n y ....................
1 2 3 if
H. Review of items not fully covered by tests and questionnaires
I. Total R e a c t i o n s ........................
1 2 3 4
341 C O P Y P R O D U C T I O N Name of agent
R E C O R D *
_______________Agency
Total Mo. of Effort Training Cases Volume First-year payment service rating rating sold sold commissions to agent 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 3 th 6 th 7 th 8 th 9 th 1 0 th 1 1 th 12 th 1 3 th
*INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING ABOVE TABLE EFFORT RATING. Enter ri4 n if superior, ri3 n if adequate, ”2 n if marginal, "1 ” if little, and "0 ” if none. TRAINING RATING. Enter ”4" if superior, ”3 " if adequate, H2 fl if marginal, ”l ,f if little, and f,0 fl if none. FIRST-YEAR COMMISSIONS. Include deferred firsts hut not renewals. If this method is inconvenient, multiply volume sold by agents average commissions per $ 1 ,0 0 0 .
342
Mo. of Effort Training Cases Volume First-year Total service rating rating sold sold commissions payment to agent 14th 1 3 th 1 6 th 17 th 1 8 th 1 9 th 2 0 th 2 1 st 2 2 nd
23rd
24th Total
xxxx
xxxx
xxxx
xxxx
Date began considering work_________Date began work Months of service
Budget requirements per month
Method of Financing________ _______________________
343
C O P Y T E R M I N A T I O N F O R Name of agent
R E P O R T
A G E N T S Date terminated
Name of agency This report is to be completed by each terminating agent included in the study. The section below lists many reasons which cause ineffi ciency, failure or resignation. Each reason is to be considered carefully and checked as follows: "IIf if the reason alone was sufficient to cause termination. ”11" If the reason was important but not sufficient to cause termination. "Ill" If the reason had a slight bearing on the degree of success achieved. r'IVu if the reason had no bearing on the degree of success achieved. I II III IV 1. Lacked ability to persuade prospects to buy.............................. ()()()() 2. Too slow In learning technical details of the business .................... ()()()() 3. Lacked interest in selling activities as a vocation ...................... 4. Too young for the business ........ 5 . Too old for the business .......... 6 . Appearance often too poor to meet prospects successfully ............ ()()()() 7. Lacked ability to express thoughts fluently .......................... ()()()() 8 . Lacked sufficient vitality to do a good day's work .................... ()()()() 9. Poor health of family interfered with work .......................... )()()() 10. Didnrt have enough general informational background .......... )()()() 11. Didnft have enough business experience background .............. )()()() 12. Didnft show good judgment in financial matters .................. )()()() 13. Lacked conviction concerning value of product sold .................... )()()()
344
I 14. Earnings too little to justify special financing .......................... 1 5 . Lacked natural contacts to solicit though territory good . . . . . . . . 16. Lacked sufficient prospects because territory poor . . . . 1 7 . Members of family opposed continuance .................. in the work 18. Family quarrels or separations interfered with work .............. 1 9 . Didnft acquire good knowledge of the functions of insurance ............ 20 Didn’t acquire skill in prospecting . 21 Didnft work enough hours during the d a y ............................ 22 Didn’t follow through with evening appointments ...................... 23 Lacked sufficient capital to survive apprenticeship ............ 24 Lacked incentive or need for earnings .......................... 25 Didn’t get along with manager or supervisor ........................ 26 Went with another insurance company or agency .......................... 27 Got a job in another business . . . . 28 Moved to another community ........ 29 Other business activities interfered 30
31 32
33 34 35 36
Spent too much time in visiting and social affairs .................. Family made too many demands on Caused trouble with office and/or agency personnel .............. Got into sex difficulties . . . . Too much intoxicating liquor or carous ing . .................. Violated insurance laws of state Failed to qualify for license to
Embezzled employer and/or client f u n d s .......................... . 3 8 . Developed a mental disorder . . . , 39. Lacked self-discipline in carrying out o b j e c t i v e s ................ . 40. Other reasons (name) .......... . 37
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F O R Name of agent
R E P O R T
M A N A G E R S Date terminated________
Name of agency_____________________________________________ This report is to be completed by manager of each ter minating agent included in the study. The section below lists many reasons which cause inefficiency^ failure or resignation. Each reason is to be considered carefully and checked as follows: MIn if the reason alone was sufficient to cause termination. if the reason was important but not sufficient to cause termination. "Ill” if the reason had a slight bearing on the degree of success achieved. rlIVri if the reason had no bearing on the degree of success achieved. I II III IV 1. Lacked ability to persuade prospects ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) to b u y .............................. 2. Too slow in learning technical details of the business ...................... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 3. Lacked interest in selling activities as a v o c a t i o n .................... .. 4. Too young for the business ........ 5 . Too old for the business .......... 6 . Appearance often too poor to meet prospects successfully .............. ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 7- Lacked ability to express thoughts fluently ............................ ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 8 . Lacked sufficient vitality to do a good dayfs work ...................... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 9. Poor health of family interfered with w o r k ............................ ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 10. Didnft have enough general informational background ............ ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 11. Didnft have enough business experience background ............ ; ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 12. Didn't show good judgment in financial matters .................... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 13. Lacked conviction concerning value of product sold ...................... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
346 I 14. Earnings too little to justify special financing......... ................. 15. Lacked natural contacts to solicit though territory g o o d ............ .. 16. Lacked sufficient prospects "because territory p o o r .................... 17. Members of family opposed continuance in the w o r k ........................ 18. Family quarrels or separations interfered with w o r k .............. 19. Didn't acquire good knowledge of the functions of i n s u r a n c e ............ 20. Didn’t acquire skill in prospecting . 21. Didn’t work enough hours during the d a y ............................ 22. Didn’t follow through with evening a p p o i n t m e n t s ...................... 2 3 . Lacked sufficient capital to survive a p p r e n t i c e s h i p ............ 24. Lacked incentive or need for earnings .............. 2 5 . Didn’t get along with manager or supervisor .............. 2 6 . ¥ent with another insurance company or agency ........................ 2 7 . Got a job in another business . . . 28. Moved to another community ........ 2 9 . Other business activities interfered with w o r k .............. 30. Spent too much time in visiting and social affairs .................... 31. Family made too many demands on my t i m e ........................ ( 3 2 . Caused trouble with office and/or agency personnel . . . . . . . . . . 33. Got into sex difficulties...... ( 34. Too much intoxicating liquor or ........................ carous ing 35. Violated insurance laws of state . . 3 6 . Failed to qualify for license to do bus i n e s s........................ 37. Embezzled employer and/or client f u n d s .............................. 3 8 . Developed a mentaldisorder ........ 39. Lacked self-discipline in carrying out objectives . . . ........... ( 40. Other reasons (name) ..............
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347
C O P Y FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CAREER LIFE UNDERWRITERS (First studied "by Verne Steward in his 1932-34 Research) Name
___
Home address
^Telephone____________ _______________________
-
1. Give your position, title and connection in 1933______ Give your position, title and connection n o w _____ 2. Give health history since 1933 *nd health conditions at present________ ________ _________________________
3. List educational courses completed since 1933 4. Did you serve in the armed forces during the recent war?___________ If so, give top rank reached?_______ 5 . Give present marital and family status,
including ages
and occupation of children; also any changes in marital status since 1 9 3 3 ?__________ ___________ ________________
6 . Give present number of memberships
organizations_____
_____
__
and names of ___
___
7. Do you own your home?______ If so, give approximate Present value?
3^8
8 . What was your approximate net worth in 1933?_________
What is it now?
___________ _______________________
9 . What was your average annual production of life
insurance during the last five pre-war years?
______
Your average net earnings during the same period?____ 10. What has been your average production of new business during the past three years?_________Your average net earnings during the same period?_____________________ 11. In what way has your clientele changed since 1933?
12. List your strong points and other factors which have contributed to your success.
_____________________
1 3 . List your principal weak points, if any, and factors
which have handicapped you._________________________
14. What are the principal advantages of life insurance selling as an occupation?________________________
1 5 . What are the principal disadvantages of life insurance
selling as an occupation______________________________
16 . What changes would you recommend to improve the business and its operation and make it more attractive as a career occupation___________
17. If you had a career-seeking son, would you recommend the business to him?
350 C O P Y FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONNAIRE FOR FORMER LIFE UNDERWRITERS (First studied by Verne Steward in his 1932-3^ Research) Name
Telephone
_____
> address Give your position, title and connection in 1 9 3 3 ?
Give your position, title and connection now?
Give health history since 1933 and health condition at present?
3. List educational courses completed since 1933?
4. Did you serve in the armed forces during the recent war? _________If so, give top rank reached
____ ____
5 . Give present marital and family status, including ages
and occupations -of children; also any changes in marital status since 1 9 3 3 ?_______
' _________;____
6 . Give present number of memberships?________ and names of
organizat ions ?
351 7. Do you own your home?______ If so, give approximate present value?
__ ______________________ _
8 . What was your approximate net worth in 1933?__________
What is it n o w ? _____________________________________ 9 . What was your annual average production of life insurance during your last five years in the business? ____________Your average net earnings during the same period?_______________________ ______ _____________ ____ 10. Why and when did you leave the business?______________
11. List the principal fields of work you have engaged in since leaving the life insurance business, with dates?
12. What is your present work and its advantages in contrast with life underwriting?_______________
13. Give your average annual net earnings during the past three years?______ _____ ____________________________ 14. What are the principal advantages of life insurance selling as an occupation?
________
______
352
15. What are the principal disadvantages of life insurance selling as an occupation?__________________________
16. What changes would you recommend to improve the business and its operation and make it more attractive as a career occupation?_______________________________
17. If you had a career-seeking son, would you recommend the occupation to him?
__________________