Introduction

Under the brand name AKTEL, a leading communications service

company offering end-to-end countrywide GSM mobile communication
solutions of TM International (Bangladesh) Limited, was established in
the year 1996, and its services commenced in 1997. AKTEL is now one
of the leading telecommunication services available in Bangladesh,
introduced as a joint venture between Telekom Malaysia Berhad and
A.K. Khan & Co. Limited (Bangladesh). AKTEL is proud to be associated
as part of the Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) because it is both
financially strong and internationally famous for successful ventures
like Dialog Telekom Limited, the market leader of the
telecommunication industry in Sri Lanka

Since the beginning of its operation 9 years ago, AKTEL has had the
leading progressive growth in the telecommunication industry in
Bangladesh. It offers comprehensive GSM mobile solutions to more
than two million subscribers all around the country.
Compared to the other competitions in the market, AKTEL is ahead in
its services in several ways. Firstly, AKTEL is proud to offer the widest
International Roaming service in the market connecting 315 operators
across 170 countries. Secondly, AKTEL is the first mobile operator to
connect Tetulia and Teknaf, the northern and southern most points of
Bangladesh. Thirdly, it is also the first operator to provide seamless
coverage along the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
Today, AKTEL is recognized as a leading brand name in Bangladesh.
Behind this success lies their persistent pursuit of quality and
technology, leading to their superiority.

1
They are currently employing the best resources and latest technology
in offering many more innovative and exclusive products and services
in the coming years.

2
Company Overview
Under the brand name AKTEL, a leading communications service
company offering end-to-end countrywide GSM mobile communication
solutions of TM International (Bangladesh) Limited, was established in
the year 1996, and its services commenced in 1997. AKTEL is now one
of the leading telecommunication services available in Bangladesh,
introduced as a joint venture between Telecom Malaysia Berthed and
A.K. Khan & Co. Limited (Bangladesh).

AKTEL is proud to be associated as part of the Telecom Malaysia

Berthed (TM) because it is both financially strong and internationally
famous for successful ventures like Dialog Telecom Limited, the market
leader of the telecommunication industry in Sri Lanka. The TM Group is
globally operating in 12 countries, with staff strength of over 30,000.

TM has recently made a couple of new major acquisitions in Indonesia,

Pakistan and Singapore in the effort to stamp its presence
internationally. In Indonesia, TM has acquired 56.9 per cent interest of
PT Excelcomindo Pratama, the third largest mobile operator in
Indonesia, and 24.9 per cent in Mobile One of Singapore. TM hopes to
extend its regional and global presence with these new acquisitions.

Since the beginning of its operation 9 years ago, AKTEL has had the
leading progressive growth in the telecommunication industry in
Bangladesh. It offers comprehensive GSM mobile solutions to more
than two million subscribers all around the country.

Compared to the other competitions in the market, AKTEL is ahead in

its services in several ways. Firstly, AKTEL is proud to offer the widest
International Roaming service in the market connecting 315 operators
across 170 countries. Secondly, AKTEL is the first mobile operator to

3
connect Tetulia and Teknaf, the northern and southern most points of
Bangladesh. Thirdly, it is also the first operator to provide seamless
coverage along the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.

Some of the other promotional services that it offers to its customers in

recent times is the famous "F 'n' F" (Family 'n' Friends) numbers. In this
service, each individual user of AKTEL can choose any of the three
numbers in their phone books that are most commonly used. After
registering these numbers with AKTEL, any calls made to these three
numbers from the particular number that it was registered from, is at a
subsidized rate.

Another recent development is the choice of personalized screen

savers, known as 'AKTEL Expressions', and exclusive ring tones for
AKTEL subscribers. AKTEL Expressions include different moods to be
added to messages sent through the phones. As far as the ring tones
go, the subscribers can choose from an array of famous Bengal, Hindi,
and English ring tones that have really scored with the young
generation of our country!

One of the absolutely recent services that have been introduced to its
subscribers several weeks ago is the "AKTEL Exceed". It is the new
range of Sims from AKTEL that offers 50% savings in rates from the
second minute onwards and Tk. 1/min from fixed hours between 4am
to 6am.

AKTEL has a network covering all 61 (allowable) districts and with the
first Intelligent Network (IN) Prepaid Platform in the country, it is ready
to provide a range of exclusive services to all its valuable customers
around the country. The center of its success today, though, is a young

4
dynamic workforce comprising of over 600 highly motivated and skilled
professionals.

Today, AKTEL is recognized as a leading brand name in Bangladesh.

Behind this success lies their persistent pursuit of quality and
technology, leading to their superiority.

They are currently employing the best resources and latest technology
in offering many more innovative and exclusive products and services
in the coming years.

5
Findings & Analysis
Human Resource Planning:
Assessing Current Human Resource Needs:
The assessment of current human resource need is judged by the
performance appraisal results and the job analysis. The organization
follows succession planning. The junior managers are gradually
promoted in senior position. Aktel do not have any HRIS to support the
HRD.

Job Analysis:
Aktel has got a very systematic job analysis. Job analysis is done on
the basis of observation method and Technical Conference method.
Each and every employee has got specific job description & job
specifications. The job description of Aktel consists of
1) Identification: It consists of Job title, grade, division,
company, department, location and position holder.
2) Main purpose: The main job that the person has to
perform.
3) Key Responsibilities: The main responsibilities are
divided in a number of activities. The duties of a senior
human resource officer in Aktel are:
I. Recruitment
I. Disciplinary work
II. Correspondence
III. General
Future Planning
Each year the management body fixes the target revenue, the
expenses tolerable and other such control centers. Hence, the

6
organization is centralized. The lower level managers are consulted
prior to the meeting. The recruitment of new employees is determined
by this planning.

Throughout the year, the managers and employees works towards the
goal, which if achieved is rewarded, handsomely with bonus, benefits
and other related services.

Recruiting
Recruiting Sources
The main recruiting sources are:
1. Internal.
2. External.

Internal Source: This is the main source of their potential employee.

The internal sources are attracted through in-house advertisements.
External Sources: The external sources are attracted through
advertisement on the newspaper. Usually the entry-level position is
filled through external sources.
Another external source from where employees are recruited is Job
fair. When the company needs large number of technicians at a time,
they hold a job fair in BUET. From there they recruit 40 to 50 people at
once.

Selection
Steps of the Selection Process:
Aktel follows a five step selection process. It follows a discrete
selection process. The process is described below:

7
Written Test:
The applicants have to appear in the written test. They need to obtain
a minimum number to be considered for selection..
Work Sampling:
After the written test, the applicants who got through have to appear
in the work sampling test. Here carefully devised work sampling is
provided to the individuals. He/she has to successfully demonstrate
that he/she has the ability to do the job properly.
Interview:
The successful applicants have to face the interview. The interviews
are graded in a semi-structured evaluation sheet.
For managerial or higher position the applicants need to face more
than one interview.
Final Employment decision:
After the interview sessions the HRD gives the offer letter to the
selected applicant. The applicant has the option to negotiate about the
salary and other benefits with the HRD.
Medical Test:
After the interview, the selected applicant has to undergo medical test.
Here, the physical fitness of the employee is checked.

Selection Device:
The main selection devices of Aktel are The Employment Test and
Interview. The written test is the main test in the employment test. In
the technical division, work sampling is done and is given a great
amount of priority. But in the managerial level, work sampling is not
done. The interviews are graded in the interview evaluation sheet. The
interviews are semi-structured. Background investigation is
occasionally done. There are no assessment centers, graphology or
polygraph tests.

8
Provision Period:
The provision period of Aktel is six months. A letter of conformation is
send if the employee is selected. If needed the provision period is
extended on some occasion.

Socializing the New Employee:

The socializing is mainly formal in Aktel. If any new employee or a
group of employees are recruited then an orientation takes place. The
new employees report to the HRD and fill out the employee
information form. Then the HRD takes them for a tour where the new
employees get the ideas about the organization. They get introduced
to several top-level managers to get socialized. After that a
presentation takes place in front of the new employees to give them
the ideas about the organization’s norms and values. After that they
are sent to their corresponding division heads. There they get
introduced with the co-workers.

Job Design and Work Scheduling:

One of the most effective techniques that Aktel follows to motivate the
employees is Job Enrichment. Employees are given more freedom in
controlling their work. When the supervisor is in vacation or ill,
subordinates fill in. This way the employees get the first hand ideas
about being the boss.
The organization does not apply the Job Rotation or provide flextime
opportunity. The employees must come on time and their job is
specific. Even though they can practice more freedom in choosing their
duties, they are generally limited within their field of job.

9
 3.7 Performance Appraisal:
Goal of Performance Appraisal:
The goal of performance appraisal is to decide on the reward of the
employees. It is the base in Aktel to determine the promotion, salary
increase etc. of an employee. The “Performance Appraisal” program
has two parts
o Performance Appraisal
o Appraisal Interview

Intervals of Performance Appraisal:

The performance appraisal of employees is done at the end of each
quarter. The result of the appraisal is kept with the division head. At
the end of the second quarter and at the end of the year, the appraisal
record is sent to the HRD.

Steps of Performance Appraisal:

Objective Setting:
The appraisal process starts with the ‘setting up the objective’.
Therefore, for the new employees the first ‘Appraisal Interview’ is only
to decide on the objectives and introduce him to the appraisal program
in detail. The characteristics of the objectives are:
o Clearly defined.
o Measurable.
o Employees choose their own objectives.
o The division head negotiates with the employees for getting the best
out of them.
o Employees understand key responsibilities and the specific result
expected.

10
o Agreement is reached and signed by the manager and the employee
about the objectives.
o If any training is required in accomplishing the objectives, it is clearly
stated.
o For new employees ‘self development’ should be included as the
objective.

Periodic review
The manger arranges for quarterly performance review sessions to
monitor progress and provide feedback. Notes of important issues are
taken to use in the bi-annual and annual appraisal. Performance of
throughout the year is considered.

Performance Appraisal:
Performance appraisal is made and evaluations of results are also
done. Evaluations are made on quantitative term to the extent
possible. The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is used for doing the
performance appraisal. Here, the employees make their own objectives
and gives priority points. The total point equals to 100. The supervisor
verifies the KPI form and after negotiations, he/she certifies it.
Another tool for doing the performance appraisal is Behaviorally
Anchored Rating Scale. The assessor delineates specific
performance factors and rates them along the scale. The total point for
BARS is also 100.
The combination of both of this tool is combined to make the overall
rating. The rating consists of 100 points (80% of the KPI and 20% of
BARS).

Appraisal Interview:

11
The final part is the appraisal interview. It takes place once the
appraisal and evaluation of performance is complete. Comments on job
performance, necessary counseling on employee’s field of interest,
areas of improvement are done in this step. The summary of the
interview is shown to the employees. The employees sign and add
comments on the interview or on the evaluation made. Future
objectives are also set in the appraisal interview.

12
Recommendation FOR HRD:
Human resource management is a relatively new field in management
and has not been developed very much earlier compared with other
management functional areas even in the western countries. So it
cannot be expected that standard human resources practices can be
found in our local companies. In Aktel, however, many activities and
documents are present as it is considered inevitable by management
but they are not as extensive as books and like in some organizations
like IBM, Shell etc. It was not possible for us to conduct this study at
those organizations but we wanted to know the actual practices
followed by locally managed companies. So we have chosen Aktel and
benefited in such way that we have learned Bangladesh is not that
utopia presented in the book. The real situation in Bangladesh is more
or less different from that situation.

However At this point of analysis we may recommend in brief some

measures that can be introduced in Aktel to improve their HRM
management programs. Of course we acknowledge our limited
knowledge in this field.

The steps that can be taken are:

o The HRD must have computerized personnel inventory (HRIS).

o The HRD should give more priority on the universities as

recruiting sources.

o It should put more emphasis on the physical examination and

drug tests in the selection process.

o Introduce better motivational techniques like Job rotation,

flextime etc.

o The performance appraisal should be free from distortions like

Leniency error, Low appraiser motivation etc.

13
 o Performance Appraisal should be rated by more than one rater.
These raters should be well trained.

o Sophisticated techniques such as Peer Evaluations should be

introduced.

Conclusion FOR HRD:

In our report we tried to focus on the HR practices of Acquisition,

Development, Motivation and Maintenance in the organization. But we
did not have enough information about the work environment and the
HR budget of the organization to analyze about the organization to its
fullest extent.
Aktel has got a very structured Human Resource Department. They do
most of the jobs of a standard Human Resource Department which is
very good in the context of Bangladesh. But still some of the issues are
needed to be scrutinized carefully if Aktel wants to have a highly
motivated work force who will work really hard to keep them truly
ahead.

Marketing department:
Under the brand name AKTEL, a leading communications service
company offering end-to-end countrywide GSM mobile communication
solutions of TM International (Bangladesh) Limited, was established in
the year 1996, and its services commenced in 1997. AKTEL is now one

14
of the leading telecommunication services available in Bangladesh,
introduced as a joint venture between Telecom Malaysia Berthed and
A.K. Khan & Co. Limited (Bangladesh). AKTEL is proud to be associated
as part of the Telecom Malaysia Berthed (TM) because it is both
financially strong and internationally famous for successful ventures
like Dialog Telecom Limited, the market leader of the
telecommunication industry in Sri Lanka

Since the beginning of its operation 9 years ago, AKTEL has had the
leading progressive growth in the telecommunication industry in
Bangladesh. It offers comprehensive GSM mobile solutions to more
than two million subscribers all around the country.
Compared to the other competitions in the market, AKTEL is ahead in
its services in several ways. Firstly, AKTEL is proud to offer the widest
International Roaming service in the market connecting 315 operators
across 170 countries. Secondly, AKTEL is the first mobile operator to
connect Tetulia and Teknaf, the northern and southern most points of
Bangladesh. Thirdly, it is also the first operator to provide seamless
coverage along the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
Today, AKTEL is recognized as a leading brand name in Bangladesh.
Behind this success lies their persistent pursuit of quality and
technology, leading to their superiority.

They are currently employing the best resources and latest technology
in offering many more innovative and exclusive products and services
in the coming years.

BRAND POSITIONING :

15
Aktel is one of the leading telecom companies in Bangladesh. They have promoted their
product very widely and targeted many levels of customers. They have divided their
customers into many sections so they can give them their required service easily.

MARKETING DEPARTMENT VARITY SERVICES: aktel has divided their

services into three categories. These are given below
1: AKTEL JOY
2: AKTEL POWER
3: AKTEL PHURTI
This service gives different call rates for different customers. So the customer can get
their desired service easily.
PROMOTION ACTIVITY: aktel has promoted their product very wisely. They don’t
have a large promotional activity but what they have promoted they have done it superbly
so they can get the maximum benefit from the promotion. Some of the promotional
services that it offers to its customers in recent times is the famous "F
'n' F" (Family 'n' Friends) numbers. In this service, each individual user
of AKTEL can choose any of the three numbers in their phone books
that are most commonly used. After registering these numbers with
AKTEL, any calls made to these three numbers from the particular
number that it was registered from, is at a subsidized rate.

MARKETING IN PERSONILIZATION: Another recent development is the

choice of personalized screen savers, known as 'AKTEL Expressions',
and exclusive ring tones for AKTEL subscribers. AKTEL Expressions
include different moods to be added to messages sent through the
phones. As far as the ring tones go, the subscribers can choose from
an array of famous Bangla, Hindi, and English ring tones that have
really scored with the young generation of our country!

16
MARKETERS WORKS NEW SERVICES: One of the absolutely recent
services that have been introduced to its subscribers several weeks
ago is the "AKTEL Exceed". It is the new range of Sims from AKTEL that
offers 50% savings in rates from the second minute onwards and Tk
1/min from fixed hours between 4am to 6am.

MARKETING WORKS IN CUSTOMER NEEDS: aktel marketing department has

always looked for the benefits of the customers. That’s why they have many options for
the customers to choose from their various services. They have given many other services
like share-e-fill, AKTEL GOLDEN CALL, RECHARGE BONUS, ROAMING
SERVICES etc. so they are very much aware about their customer needs and they are
always ready to fill the needs of the customers.

COMPATITORS ANALYSIS IN MARKETING DEPARTMENT:

Aktel is doing business in Bangladesh for more then 9 years. Today, AKTEL is
recognized as a leading brand in Bangladesh and this is driven by our persistent pursuit of
quality and technology, putting it clearly ahead of the rest. The future with AKTEL is
promised to be exciting as we strive to employ the best resources and latest technology in
offering many more innovative and exciting products and services. But they don’t have
the desired market share what they would have achieved.

MARKET SHARE

17
If we look at the market share there is not much in the aktel share. But there is no doubt
about the potential of the aktel and they can achieve much more then that if they can
work hard.

CONCLUSION FOR MARKETING DEPARTMENT:

Since the commencement of its operation, AKTEL has been a force to be reckoned with
in the telecommunication industry of Bangladesh, being one of the fastest growing
mobile communication companies offering comprehensive GSM mobile solutions. So its
one of the leading companies. But to stay clearly ahead they need to do more hard work
and focus on the goal to satisfy the customer by providing them much more then they
have expected.

18