University of Dhaka

Department of International Business

Course Code: IB-101
Report on
Recruitment and Selection process of Square Pharmaceutical

Prepared by:
Md. Sakib Hossain

ID No. SM-030-113

Department of International Business

University of Dhaka

Supervisor:
Dr. Khondoker Bazlul Hoque

Professor

Department of International Business

University of Dhaka

Date of submission:

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April 9, 2020

Department of International Business

Faculty of Business Studies

University of Dhaka

Subject: Submission of a report on “Recruitment and selection process of Square Pharmaceutical

Limited.”

Sir,

It is a pleasure to present a report on the topic “Recruitment and Selection process” which has been
suggested to us as a partial requirement for the completion of our BBA program. I have collected
what I believed to be the most relevant and current information to prepare a reliable and complete
report. Despite several constraints, I have given efforts to make this report a meaningful one. I truly
hope that my efforts will serve the purpose properly.

Sincerely yours

Md. Sakib Hossain

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 Table of Contents
Chapter No. Tittle Page No.
1. Introduction 4
1.1 Statement of Research Problem 5
1.2 Rationale to Study 5
1.3 Scope and Objective of Its Study 6
1.4 Methodology of Its Study 6
1.5 Limitations of The Study 6
2 Literature Review 7
2.1 History of Human Resource Management 8
3 Overview of The Sector 9
3.1 Overview of the Organization 10
3.2 Corporate History 11
4 Company Profile 13
4.1 Profile of SPL 14
4.2 Founder Chairman’s profile 15
4.3 Mission, Vision, & Goals of the Company 16
4.4 Square Quality Policy 17
4.5 Present markets 18
4.6 Departments 18
5 Recruitment & Selection process of SPL 20
5.1 Steps of Recruitment 21
5.2 Selection Process of SPL 22
6 Conclusion and Recommendation 24
6.1 Recommendation 25
6.2 Conclusion 26
6.3 Bibliography 26

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Chapter 1:
Introduction

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1.1: Statement of Research Problem
SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (SPL) is the leading Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company and it
is the most successful venture as well as the ‘Flagship Company’ of the ‘Square Group’, a
renowned local business conglomerate. It has been continuously holding the first position among
all national and multinational companies since1985. It was established in 1958 and converted into
a public limited company in 1991. It was listed in DSE (Dhaka

Stock Exchange formerly known as DSEX) in the year 1995. The sales turnover of SQUARE

Pharmaceuticals Ltd. was more than Taka 30.28 Billion with about 16% market share having

a growth rate of about 7.4% according to the 2014-2015 annual report of SQUARE
Pharmaceuticals.

SQUARE today symbolizes a name – a state of mind. But its journey to the growth &

prosperity has been no bed of roses. From its inception in 1958, it has today burgeoned into

one of the top-line conglomerates in Bangladesh. SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the India,

flagship company of SQUARE Group, is holding a strong leadership position in the

pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh since 1985 & is now on its way to becoming a high

performance global player. SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited is the largest pharmaceutical

company in Bangladesh.

SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited has extended its range of services towards the highway

of the global market. She pioneered exports of medicines from Bangladesh in 1981 and has been

exporting antibiotics and other pharmaceutical products. This extension in business &

services have manifested the credibility of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited. Not only that

they are the biggest exporter of drugs to 40 countries among 4 continents (Approved by the UK

MHRA & TGA- Australia). They maintain Quality Assurance at each step & give equal

emphasis on leadership, technology, quality & passion.

With strong leadership & the implementation of the best HR policy in Bangladesh, they

surely are a force to be reckoned with.

1.2: Rationale to Study

The main reason to study is to become familiar with some parts of HRM of SPL, specifically the
recruitment and selection process. Like other companies, SPL also recruits its employees
carefully. It is important because it can make or break a company. SPL recruits its employees
based on their skills which are needed to accomplish the job. To maintain the quality of the
products, it’s crucial to recruit and select employees carefully. Effective recruitment and selection
processes can increase the success rate. The process helps to find well-qualified and perfectly
suited candidates by reducing unskilled ones.

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1.3: Scope and Objective of Its Study:

 The main reason to make this report is to investigate and gather information about the
recruitment and selection process of SP Ltd.
 To study SP Ltd.
 To examine the recruitment and selection process
 To identify problems regarding the recruitment and selection process.
 To suggest some improvements.

1.4: Methodology of Its Study

Primary Data: Primary data is a type of data that is obtained directly from first-hand sources
utilizing surveys, observation, or experimentation. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I couldn’t visit
the company, thus this report is based only on secondary data.

Secondary Data: I have used various kinds of sources to collect data to prepare this report. These
sources are reliable and trustworthy, like Wikipedia, books, the official website of SP Ltd. some other
websites as well.

1.5: Limitations of The Study

 The report is based on online information. It is like I could get information only
which the company wants me to know.
 It does not explain the whole concept of HRM as I discussed only the topic, I
have selected which is only partial.
 There is a limitation of time too. If I had more time, I could manage more
information.

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Chapter 2:
Literature Review

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2.1 History of Human Resource Management
The history of Human Resource Management is the strategic and coherent approach to the
management of an organization’s most valued assets- the people working there who individually
and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business. The terms
“Human Resource Management and “human Resource have largely replaced the term ‘personnel
management” as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations.
Human resource management is evolving rapidly. Human resource management is both an
academic theory and a business practice that addresses three theoretical and practical techniques
of managing a workforce of a workplace.

According to Gary Dessler, the policies and practices one needs to carry out the ‘People’ or
human resource aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening, training,
rewarding, and appraising.

Human resource management has its roots in the later and early 1900s. When there is less labor
than there is more working with machinery. The scientific management movement began. This
movement was started by Frederick Taylor when he wrote about it in a titled book “The Principle
of Scientific Management.” The book stated, the principal object of management should be to
secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each
employee. Taylor believes that the management should use the technics used by scientists to
research and test work skills to improve the efficiency of the workforce. Also, around the same
time came the industrial welfare movement. this was usually a voluntary effort by the employers
to improve the conditions in their factories. The effort also extended the employee’s life outside
of the workplace. This movement was influenced by the Hawthorne Studies.

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Chapter 3:
Overview of The Sector

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3.1: Overview of the Organization Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the flagship company, is
holding a strong leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh since 1985 and
is now on its way to becoming a high-performance global player. Square is a group of more than
30 companies that are operating throughout the country. Most of these companies are renowned
around the nation for their quality product/service and also for transparent and ethical business
policies. SQUARE today symbolizes a name – a state of mind. But its journey to growth and
prosperity has been no bed of roses. From its inception in 1958, it has today burgeoned into one
of the top-line conglomerates in Bangladesh. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the flagship company,
is holding a strong leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh since 1985
and is now on its way to becoming a high-performance global player. SQUARE Pharmaceuticals
Limited is the largest pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh and it has been continuously in the
1st position among all national and multinational companies since 1985. It was established in
1958 and converted into a public limited company in 1991. The sales turnover of SPL was more
than Taka 5 Billion (US$ 90 million) with about 15% market share (April 2003 – March 2004)
having a growth rate of about 16%. SPL was-
 First to manufacture and market Metronidazole, Ampicillin, and Cotrimoxazole
after the expiry of patents.
 First to export antibiotics and other ethical drugs overseas.
 First to develop sustained release technology locally.
 First to achieve an all-time industry high record sales turnover of US$ 25 million.
 First to locally produce high-tech Metered-dose Inhalation (MDI) formulations.

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3.2: Corporate History
The company was founded in 1958 by Samson H. Chowdhury along with three of his friends as a
private firm. It went public in 1991 and is currently listed on the Dhaka Stock exchange. Square
Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the flagship company, is holding a strong leadership position in the
pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh since 1985 and it has been continuously in the 1st position
among all national and multinational companies since 1985. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd is now
on its way to becoming a high-performance global player.

1958 Establishment of SQUARE Pharma as a

Partnership Firm.
1964 Converted into a Private Limited Company.
1974 Technical Collaboration with Janssen
Pharmaceuticals, Belgium, a subsidiary of
Johnson and Johnson International, USA.
1982 Technical Collaboration with Janssen
Pharmaceuticals, Belgium, a subsidiary of
Johnson and Johnson International, USA.
1987 Licensing Agreement signed with F.
Hoffman-La Roche & Co Ltd., Switzerland.
1991 Achieved market leadership in the
pharmaceutical market of Bangladesh among
all national and multinational companies.
1994 Pioneer in pharmaceutical export from
Bangladesh.
1995 Converted into a Public Limited Company
1997 Initial Public Offering of shares of SQUARE
Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
1998 The Chemical Division of SQUARE
Pharmaceuticals Ltd. starts production of
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API).
2001 Won the National Export Trophy for
exporting pharmaceuticals.
2004 The Agrochemicals & Veterinary Products
division of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals starts
its operation.
2005 US FDA/UK MCA standard new
pharmaceutical factory goes into operation
built under the supervision of Bovis Lend
Lease, UK.
2007 SQUARE enlisted as UNICEF's global
supplier.

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2009 New State-of-the-Art SQUARE
Cephalosporins Ltd. goes into operation; built
under the supervision of TELSTAR S.A. of
Spain as per US FDA/ UK MHRA
requirements.
2012 SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Dhaka Unit
gets the UK MHRA approval

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Chapter 4:
Company Profile
Corporate Headquarters SQUARE CENTRE 48, Mohakhali
Commercial Area Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh

Factory Shalgaria, PabnaTown, Pabna

Established 1958

Constitution Public Ltd Company

Founder Chairman Mr. Samson H Chowdhury

Chairman Mr. Samuel S Chowdhury

Managing Director Mr. Tapan Chowdhury

Details of Business 1. Pharmaceuticals Products

2. Bulk Chemicals
3. AgroVet

Products Manufacturing Units 1. Pharmaceuticals Division

2. Agro Vet Division
3. Chemical Division

4.1: Profile of SPL

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4.2: Founder Chairman’s profile

Late Mr. Samson H Chowdhury was born on 25 September 1925. After completing education in
India, he returned to East Pakistan and settled at Ataikula village in Pabna district where his
father was working as a Medical Officer in an outdoor dispensary. In 1952, he started a small
pharmacy in Ataikula village which is about 160 km off capital Dhaka in the northwest part of
Bangladesh. Samson H Chowdhury then ventured into a partnership pharmaceutical company
with three of his friends in 1958. When asked why t5he name SQUARE was chosen he
remembers- “We named it SQUARE because it was started by four friends and also because it
signifies accuracy and perfection meaning quality” as they committed to manufacturing quality
products. His unfortunate demise occurred on 5th January 2012.

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4.3: Mission, Vision, & Goals of the Company

Mission

The Company’s mission is “to produce and provide quality and innovative healthcare relief for
people, maintain stringently ethical standard in business operation also ensuring benefit to the
shareholders, stakeholders and the society at large.”

Vision

The company views “business as a means to the material and social wellbeing of the investors,
employees, and society at large, leading to accretion of wealth through financial and moral gains
as a part of the process of the human civilization.”

Objectives

Their objectives are “to conduct transparent business operations within the legal & social
framework with aims to attain the mission reflected by our vision.”

Corporate Focus

To emphasize the quality of product, process, and services leading to the growth of the company
imbibed with good governance practices are the main corporate focus. Business Slogan

Square Pharmaceuticals Limited always upholds the dictum: “Dedicated to advanced

technology.”

The Corporate Slogan

Square Group of industries has a common corporate Slogan which is: “Jiban Bachatey, Jibon
Sajatey.”

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4.4: Square Quality Policy

 Ensure strict compliance with WHO CGMP standards and local regulatory norms in
every phase of sourcing & procuring quality material, manufacturing, quality assurance,
and delivery of medicines.
 Ensure all activities through documented Quality Management System (QMS) complying
International Standard requirements of ISO 9001 through continuously developing
Human Resources by regular training and participation
 SQUARE is committed to undertaking an appropriate review, evaluation, and
performance measurement of processes, business activities, and Quality Management
systems for continual improvement to ensure the highest standard, customer satisfaction,
development of human resources, and company's growth
 Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human
rights within their sphere of influence.
 Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
 Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including exportation and
bribery.
 Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
 Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility
 Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the
right to collective bargaining

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4.5: Present markets
SQUARE Pharmaceuticals is already supplying products to the following markets:

 Africa: Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania
 South America: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala
 SQUARE Pharmaceuticals is also supplying to the UK further to the approval of its
general plant by the MHRA.

Existing Program of the Organization:

 Offers quality products at a competitive price

 Offers more than 250 off-patent and on-patent molecules
 Offers facilities for contract manufacturing
 Assists in product promotion and training in overseas markets

Markets under exploration:

 Asia: Hong Kong, Iran, Laos, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand,
UAE
 Africa: Algeria, Chad, Comoros Island, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria,
Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa
 Europe: Germany, Kosovo, Romania, Russia, Ukraine
 South America: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador

4.6: Departments
As the leading market shareholder in its industry, the 2nd most profitable pharmaceuticals
company, and one of the best conglomerates in the country, SPL composes of various
departments, some of them being “cross-functional” due to operational requirements. The number
of departments shows the complexity the SPL management has to go through to make the
company work in sync. The departments are as follows:

• Sales Department

• Medical Services Department (MSD)

• Accounts & Finance Department

• General Service Department (GSD)

• Information Technology (IT) Department

• International Marketing Department

• Marketing Supply Chain Management

• Technical Service Department (TSD)

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• Distribution Department

• Human Resources

• Share & Corporate Affairs

• Supply Chain Management

• Quality Assurance

• Engineering

• Production

• Product Development & Validation

• Internal Audit

• Quality Management & Audit

• Market Research & Planning Cell

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Chapter 5
Recruitment & Selection process of SPL

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Recruitment is concerned with searching for and obtaining a pool of qualified job candidates.

SPL believes in company growth by increasing the efficiency level of employees. So, effective
planning and recruiting for the HR department is very much needed for this company.
Recruitment follows HR planning and goes hand to hand with the selection process by which the
organizations evaluate the suitability of candidates for the post.

5.1: Steps of Recruitment

Employee Budget:

Every department prepares a budget for employees according to the requirements in their
department. It may be at the beginning of the year or when a vacancy is created or when someone
leaves one’s job.

Requisition:

After making an employee budget they give a requisition to HRD mentioning a specific number
of employees they need. Moreover, the job description, job specification, and other requirements
are mentioned here.

Justification:

Given requisition is verified, justified & confirmed through analysis whether the requisition is
logical or not. If HRD thinks the requisition is reasonable it precedes the recruitment process
otherwise not.

Approval:

After getting the authenticity of the requisition HRD approves of it.

Advertisement:

When the requisition is approved, they give advertisements in a different way to attract probable
employees. The means they use to attract the employees are-

 Newspaper
 Prothomalo jobs
 Square website
 Mailing to the existing employees through E-mail

Candidates get 10 days to apply for a job.

Receiving CVs:

After that, selected CVs are received & the selection process starts from here.

Sort out:

From here selection is started. From huge of candidates, someone is selected for the next step and
most of the candidates are rejected due to inferior quality.

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5.2: Selection Process of SPL

What is selection all about?

The main objective of the selection process is to choose the right person for the right job. All the
selection activities, from the initial screening interview to the physical examination if required,
exist to make effective selection decisions. Each activity is a step in the process to identify which
applications will be successful if hired. Successful, in this case, means performing well on the
benchmarks the organization uses to evaluate and appraise personnel.

COMPLETION OF APPLICATION FORM

The application form is the specific employment form used to get specific information that the
organization wants. In this step, the application is asked to complete the organization application
form.

Preliminary Screening of Applications

The number of applications normally received against any vacant position is usually very large.
This makes it especially challenging to select the right people from this huge pool. Moreover, it
should be remembered that conducting tests and interviews for all the candidates may not be
always feasible and cost-efficient. For these reasons’ SQUARE screens, out candidates who don’t
meet the specific standards for a particular position before going ahead with the selection process.

Primary Interview

After screening the CVs, SQUARE arranges primary interviews for the remaining candidates.
These interviews are used as a method of judging the candidates to see if they are worthy of the
final shortlist prepared for the next step. Interviews are intended to get information from
candidates regarding their, background, experience, education, training, and interests to evaluate
their suitability as per the requirements of the organization.

Assessment Centre

In this stage, several candidates who remain for consideration are asked to give different types of
tests. These tests can be group tests, individual tests, critical problem-solving sessions, role play,
management games, and presentations. All of their activities are monitored by the respective
assessors. They are then judged according to the factors like their leadership quality, decision
making, influencing capability, etc. SQUARE’s Assessment center evaluation is very structured
where every assessor is given an evaluation sheet using which they score the candidates.

Final Interview

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The candidates who perform well in the assessment centers are called for the final interview.

This interview is usually with the functional heads. During this interview, the interviewer mainly
checks the candidate’s intentions, commitments, enthusiasm, and optimistic outlook towards the
role. References are checked to identify the accuracy of information provided by the employees,
to detect damaging information, and to avoid negligent hiring at this stage.

Medical Check-up

Once all the required tests are done, SQUARE Pharmaceuticals conducts various physical tests.
Some of these Physical tests include the strength and fitness test, drug test, etc. As an employee,
they should check it. Also, it is done for the safety of their employees as it is important to know if
any medical limitations must be considered and if the person is physically fit to work in the
organization. These tests are especially important for those candidates who will work in the
factory, field, and operations.

Job Offer

After a candidate successfully passes all the selection criteria, SQUARE Pharmaceuticals offers
the job to that individual. These individuals are then offered employment contracts and asked to
fulfill other procedures for formal hiring.

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Chapter 6:
Conclusion and Recommendation

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6.1 Recommendations
1. To make the recruitment and selection process more effective, top management, as well as
executives, should be aware of the length of time consumed for the total hiring process.

2. Top management should respond promptly about their final selection decision to the HR team.

3. Top management should make the total recruitment and selection procedure easier and faster to
overcome all the drawbacks of the present hiring procedure and to ensure that managers cut down
unnecessary bureaucratic rules and processes.

4. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd should be much careful about the Recruitment and selection
process so that the turnover rate is reduced than the previous year as SPL is facing a problem with
the huge turnover rate in the field force.

5. The key to reducing bureaucracy for managers is to ensure that they are properly trained and
fully understand the implication of the legal framework; the aims of the authority and good
practice in the recruitment and selection process.

6. HR often faces difficulties to accommodate trainees as there is not enough room to conduct a
training session. Therefore, HR should ensure several new training rooms to conduct training
smoothly.

7. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd should hire more employees in HR as they often face problems
dealing with the huge field forces.

8. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has a lot of departments, so they can follow a Decentralized
management strategy.

6.2 Conclusion
Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd is a very well-known organization in Bangladesh, which always
thrives for success. They have a very reputed working ambiance for the employee. They always
value and respect their current employees. Because of this, their employees perform better than
the employee of their competitors' companies. Square Pharmaceutical Limited has a strong
recruitment and selection process. Before taking employees, they analyze those positions. They
find out what are the responsibilities they should perform. They also have a very well-organized
and fair selection process. In the above discussion, we can easily understand that Square
Pharmaceuticals Company mainly depends on their Human Resource distinguish of departments.
Their total HRM is very well defined, that’s why their employees are more active than any other
pharmaceuticals company.

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6.3 Bibliography
1. Dessler, Gary, Human Resource Management
2. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Annual Report 2013
3. Finance Department of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
4. Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Training Report 2012, Dhaka Unit.

Websites:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry
2. http://www.squarepharma.com.bd/history-growth.php
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/square pharmaceuticals
4. www.squarepharma.com.bd
5. http://www.assignmentpoint.com/
6. http://www.scribd.com
7. http://www.slideshare.net

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