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Human Resource Management Practices in Telecommunication Companies of

Bangladesh: A Conceptual Study

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMERGING SOCIO ECONOMIC TRENDS & BUSINESS STRATEGY
Organized by International School of Business & Media, Kolkata (ISB&M) & Indian Economic Association (IEA)

Human Resource Management Practices in Telecommunication

Companies of Bangladesh: A Conceptual Study
Dr. Dhanonjoy Kumar1, Gowtam Kumar2, Joyanto Sarker3
1AssociateProfessor, Department of Management, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh.
2BBAStudent, Department of Management, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh.
3MBA Student, Department of Management, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh.

ABSTRACT: Human resources are considered to be the most valuable input and the organizations desire their
work force to be developed to a world class level. In present situation, companies can gain a strong competitive
advantage through applying effective and efficient human resource practices. Telecommunication industry is
considered to be the most competitive industry in Bangladesh. The main objective of the present study is to find
out the Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices in Banglalink Digital Communications Limited.
Secondary data has been used to achieve the objectives of the study. The study revealed that HRM is an
important aspect for all types of organizations. The selected company has practiced the HRM elements like,
human resource planning, recruiting, selection, training and development, motivation and maintenance, health
and safety program effectively
Keywords:Human resource, Management, Telecommunication, Banglalink Digital and Bangladesh.

1. Introduction
Human resource management (HRM) refers to the policies and practices including human resource
planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, orientation, compensation, performance appraisal, training
and development, and labor relations (Dessler, 2007). The purpose of human resource management is to
improve the productive contributions of employees and provide competitive advantage to the organizations
(Werther& Davis, 1996). Bangladesh is one of the developing countries in the world and its development
depends on some important sectors. Telecommunication is one of them. Use of various means of
telecommunication now has become an integrated part of society. Information is found to be one of the most
important elements for the efficient growth of an economy. With the efficient use of telecommunication one
can remove various constraints of all the sectors in the economy resulting in the increased productivity and
better administration. However, the telecommunication business is not only a capital-intensive industry, in
which accesses to capitals is a key factor to ensuring the development and expansion of a robust network,
management skills, competencies and the capabilities of qualified people are solid drivers in accelerating the
expansion and sustainability of the businesses (Guislain&Qiang, 2006). The present study is undertaken to
assess the human resource management practices by the telecommunication companies in
Bangladesh.Banglalink Digital Communications Limited (Bengali: বাাংলাললাংক) is the third largest cellular
service provider in Bangladesh.BanglalinkDigital Communications Ltd. (previously Orascom Telecom
Bangladesh Ltd.) is fully owned by Telecom Ventures Ltd.As of September 2018, Banglalink has a subscriber
base of 33.7 million with 21.88% market share.Banglalink as a brand dependably attempt to accept on
potential results and consequently after ground propelling in February 2005, its effect was felt quickly.
Overnight versatile telephony turned into a moderate choice for clients over an extensive variety of business
sector fragments. The achievement of Banglalink depended on a straightforward mission: "Conveying
portable telephony to the masses" This was the cornerstone of its methodology. With this mission available
Banglalink adjusted the cellular telephone status from extravagance to a need prerequisite for the basic
individuals of this nation and brought cellular phone to contribute in every last period of their job
accordingly making a spot in their souls. The cellular telephone has turned into the image for the positive
change in Bangladesh.

Significance of the Study

A good human resource management system brings consistency in human resource management practices
and improves human relations in the organizations. An effective human resource management system is
focused on a strategic objective and works by improving employee knowledge, skills, motivation and
contributions. In Bangladesh, there have been a lot of complaints about proper practices in human resource
management of organizations. At present, Telecommunication sector is an important service sector in
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Bangladesh. Practicing HRM in Telecommunication sector to control their employees properly and run their
company successfully is a must here. It is alleged that practicing human resource management is quite new
in Bangladesh and there might be a few research works that have been carried out on human resource
management practices in telecommunication industry in Bangladesh. Therefore, the purpose of this study
appears to be an apt one towards determining the ‘human resource management practices in
Telecommunication Company in Bangladesh’.

Literature Review
Various researchers have conducted lots of research works on different aspects regarding the impact of
human resource management factors on telecommunication companies. From among them some important
empirical research findings have been taken into consideration. HRM practices have been researched in
Bangladesh from different perspectives. Shelly (1994) examined the roles of human resources, and
infrastructure in the industrialization process of Bangladesh. He observed that ineffective human resource
management was one of the major problems faced by industrial sector of Bangladesh. Most of the HRM
practices such as HR planning, recruitment, selection, promotion, performance appraisal, compensation,
incentives, and industrial relations were not performed properly in industries. Mohiuddin and Mahmood
(2001) studied the transformation of personnel management into human resource management. Based on
different empirical and theoretical studies conducted in the western world, the authors distinguished
between personnel and human resource management. Another researcher (Ahmed 2001) discussed about
the linkage between human resource management and corporate strategy. He also revealed that corporate
strategies developed by Michel Porter such as cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies had
significant impact on HR strategies and practices. A research study (Mamun& Islam, 2001) examined the
human resource management (HRM) practices of the readymade garments (RMG) enterprises. The study
emphasized on improving productivity of the garments workers through proper HRM practices to face
challenges of globalization. They found the reasons for the low productivity of laborers such as unsystematic
recruitment and selection of workers, unavailability of training facilities, inadequate financial facilities, and
low motivation level of workers. Huda, Karim and Ahmed (2007) made a study on the HRM practices of 20
NGOs of Bangladesh. It was identified from the study that the HR challenges faced by the NGOs were the
shortage of qualified candidates, insufficiency of qualified female candidates, poor academic background of
applicants in the suburban and rural areas, and the lack of training infrastructure and training need analysis.
The above literature survey on different HRM practices demonstrates that like other developing countries,
HRM as an area of research has not received adequate attention in Bangladesh. Moreover, a few in-depth
comparative studies between the public and private sector in this context were conducted by the local
researchers. The study is, therefore, an endeavor to fill up this obvious research gap.

Research questions
This study is set out to address the following questions:
i. What is the human resource management system of Banglalink Digital Communications Limited?
ii. DoesBanglalink Digital Communications Limited use human resource management factors properly?

Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the Study are as follows:
i. To find out the human resource management practices in Banglalink Digital Communications Limited in
Bangladesh.
ii) To determine the significance factors of human resource management.

Methodology of the Study

The study followed a qualitative approach to achieve the objectives of this study, which was descriptive in
nature. Secondary data were collected for the purpose of the study. At present there are four mobile
telecommunications companies in operation here, namely Grameenphone Limited, Banglalink Digital
Communications Limited, RobiAxiata Limited, Teletalk Bangladesh Limited. Banglalink Digital
Communications Limited has been chosen for the study as because it is one of the growing mobile
telecommunication network in the country. To achieve the objectives of the study data were collected from
Banglalink Digital Communications Limited. Secondary data are cheaper and more quickly obtainable than
the primary data and also may be available when primary data cannot be obtained at all. However, the
secondary data have been collected from the published annual reports of some selected companies, related

26 IJRAR- International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews Special Issue

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMERGING SOCIO ECONOMIC TRENDS & BUSINESS STRATEGY
Organized by International School of Business & Media, Kolkata (ISB&M) & Indian Economic Association (IEA)
books, journals, articles, seminar paper, publications from national and international research institutions,
report of different financial institutions, public records and statistics, different research reports etc.

Conceptual Framework
Human resource management
HRM can be defined as a process consisting of four functions - acquisitions (estimating of demands and
supplies of labor. It includes the recruitment, selection, and socialization of employees), development
(changing of attitudes among workers), motivation (i.e. performance appraisal, compensation and benefits
administration), and maintenance (providing the working conditions to maintain the commitment of an
organization). In less-academic terms, we might describe these four functions as getting people, preparing
them, activating them, and keeping them. It is the result of many changes in management thought, society,
and the workers themselves (DeCenzo and Robbins, 1999).

Figure 3: Components of Human Resource Management

Source: DeCenzo and Robbins, 1999

All major activities in the working life of a worker-from the time of his or her entry into an organization until
he or she leaves — come under the purview of HRM. Specifically, the activities are-HR planning, job analysis
and design, recruitment and selection, orientation and placement, training and development, performance
appraisal and jobevaluation, employee and executive remuneration, motivation and communication,
welfare, safety and health, industrial relations (IR) and so on. All these functions can be categorized into
seven sections as in the following figure (Aswathappa, 2005)

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Figure 4: Scope of Human Resource Management

Staffing
Staffing ensures that the right people are available at the right time in the right place. This involves
identifying the nature of the job and implementing a recruitment and selection process to ensure a correct
match within the organization. In other words, the function of staffing involves hiring the required people,
selection amongst the available pool the persons most suitable for the job in question, and sometimes
retrenching or firing. When the people considered as fitting the required criteria are identified, HRM is
required to arrange for and where needed conduct the interviews. Both selection and interviewing are
performed in order to recruit the required personnel. One of the staffing objectives has always been and has
been advocated for ensuring that people are recruited, they should be retained (Ghauri & Prasad, 1995) and
this objective can be implemented with the right people in place.

Training and Development

This involves training and development of workforces and managers (Briscoe, 1995). Training and
development are often used to close the gap between current performances and expected future
performance. Training and development falls under HRD function which has been argued to be an important
function of HRM (Weil & Woodall 2005).

Performance Appraisal
Performance appraisal is a process that is carried out to enable both the individual and the organization to
analyze, examine and evaluate the performance of specified objectives over a period of time. This process
can take up formal and informal forms (McCourt & Eldridge 2003).

Compensation and Benefits

This involves the designing and implementation of individuals and organizations pay and benefits schemes.
Employee compensation and benefit practices differ across employment units (e.g., organizations, business
units, and facilities) on several dimensions (see e.g. Gerhart, Milkovich& Murray 1992) and organizations.

Union, Employee Relations, Health and Safety

Trade Unions are organization of workers, acting collectively, seeking to protect and promote their mutual
interests through collective bargaining. The role of trade unions is mainly to protect employees’ interests
and they tend to be the link between the organization management and employees. Therefore, there are a lot
of negotiations between management and unions in either resolving dispute between employees and
management or try to fight for the best interest to its members (employees).
28 IJRAR- International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews Special Issue
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMERGING SOCIO ECONOMIC TRENDS & BUSINESS STRATEGY
Organized by International School of Business & Media, Kolkata (ISB&M) & Indian Economic Association (IEA)
Discussion and Analysis
Telecommunication Sector of Bangladesh
There is huge ups and down in the mobile phone industry in Bangladesh. According to the number of
subscribers and profitability of Banglalink Digital Communications Limited is in the third position.

Information and Communication

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has been functioning since 2002 with the
view to providing reliable and affordable telecommunication services for the mass people irrespectively
with the effective utilization of Telecommunication and ICTs infrastructure. Since the establishment of BTRC
due to liberalization of telecom sector, the rate of subscribers (which was estimated 10 users per 100 people
in next 10 years as per National Telecommunication Policy 1998) increased exponentially surpassing the
estimation. Besides, effective management of BTRC has helped to introduce 3G technology, reduction of
voice call and SMS tariff, reduction of tariff on international outgoing calls, increase in international
incoming call volume including increased number of telephone and internet users. Above all coordination of
strength of capabilities and frameworks of both the government and private sector were possible with the
view to reaching the internet facilities up to all districts and Thana levels of the country. Presently the
penetration of telephone users especially the number of mobile subscribers is increasing beyond prediction.
The total number of Mobile Phone subscribers has reached 155.810 Million at the end of September,
2018.Table 1 shows the number of mobile and fixed phone subscribers, growth rate, internet users, tele-
density etc., from 2007 to June 2016 and table 2 shows the total number of subscribers of different mobile
operators during September 2018.

Table 1: Subscriber Number, Growth and Teledensity of Mobile and Fixed Phone

Subscriber Number,
Growth Rate and 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 *2016
Teledensity
Mobile Subscriber 3.44 4.46 5.24 6.87 7.30 8.66 9.74 11.48 12.68 13.13
Fixed phone Subscriber 0.12 0.13 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.11 .08

Total Subscriber(Crore) 3.56 4.02 4.71 5.64 7.47 8.76 9.84 11.59 12.79 13.21

Internet User (Crore) - - - - - 2.84 3.10 3.55 4.83 6.32

Yearly Teledensity (%) 24.71 27.91 31.95 38.05 44.6 60.9 63.91 76.44 81.93 84.43

Source: BTRC; * Up to June, 2016

Table 2: Number of Subscribers of Different Mobile Operators

S.L. Operators Subscribers (In millions)

1. Grameen Phone Ltd (GP) 71.413
2. RobiAxiata Limited (Robi) 46.753
3. Banglalink Digital Communications Limited (Banglalink) 33.699
4. Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd (Teletalk) 3.945
Total 155.810
Source: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), September 2018.

Table 3: Share of Employed Labor Force above 15 Years by Sector

LFS 1995- LFS1999- LFS 2002- LFS 2005-

Sector LFS 2010 2013
96 00 03 06
Transport, maintenance &
6.32 6.41 6.77 8.44 7.37 6.40
communication
Source: BBS Labour Force Survey (LFS), 1995-96, 1999-00, 2002-03, 2005-06, 2010 & 2013.
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List of HRM function ofBanglalink Digital Communications Limited

• Workforce planning.
• Recruitment (sometimes separated into attraction and selection)
• Induction, orientation and on-boarding.
• Skills management.
• Training and development.
• HR personnel administration.
• Compensation in wage or salary.
• Payroll (sometimes assigned to accounting rather than HRM)
• Employee benefits administration.
• Personnel cost planning.
• Labor relation.

Organizational structure of Banglalink Digital Communications Limited

Source: Banglalink digitalnet

Findings of the Study

As one of the leading telecommunication companies in Bangladesh, Banglalink Digital Communications
Limited is very much conscious of its Human Resource Management system and it practices following HRM
systems:
 Conducting careful recruitment and selection process, for example, ‘total quality recruitment’, ‘zero
defects recruitment’, ‘right first time recruitment’.
 Following widespread compensation systems for example, staff member with multiple skills are
awarded with bonus.
 Designing team work activities and offering flexible job design, for example, appreciating a sense of
integration and co-operation and designing authorized jobs.
 Providing training and learning opportunities which result in enhanced interpersonal and social skills.
 Monitoring employee participation, for instance, keeping staff intimated with major and important
changes in the organization.
 Periodic performance appraisals with reward systems, for example, collecting feedback from customer
to evaluate employee performance and their duties that may result in award of bonus for staff.
 The practice of HRM elements, Human Resource Management system of Banglalink Digital
Communications Limited is good.

30 IJRAR- International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews Special Issue

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMERGING SOCIO ECONOMIC TRENDS & BUSINESS STRATEGY
Organized by International School of Business & Media, Kolkata (ISB&M) & Indian Economic Association (IEA)
Conclusions
The telecommunication sector in Bangladesh has seen growth in mobile distribution that has exceeded all
expectations with over 12.83 crores subscribers as of January 2017. The rapid growth in mobile telephone
has undoubtedly had a transformative impact on the economy in terms of aggregate investment, FDI and
productivity levels. There have also been substantial benefits from greater connectivity in terms of social
consistency. Human resource is considered as the most important asset for any organization. Human
resource management system of any organization needs to be backed up by sound human resource
management practices to manage the human resources confirming that they are employed in the right
manner to achieve competitive advantage leading towards organizational goals. Banglalink Digital
Communications Limitedpracticed the HRM elements such as, human resource planning, recruiting,
selection, training and development, motivation and maintenance, health and safety program effectively.

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