Bat
Bat
Bat
COMPANY BACKGROUND
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people, products, systems and processes and tools. They are the first
company in Bangladesh to be awarded Class A status as part of the
international and prestigious total business excellence program, MRPII,
audited by internationally renowned consultants Oliver Wight. They have
a total company commitment to excellence and drive for continuous
improvement, aspiring to be among the very best in the world. Their world
class people work as a team to meet challenges in an ever-changing
business environment. They have an open and transparent culture with
customer service that exceeds expectations. They continuously seek to
improve their manufacturing efficiency without compromising on quality.
As a result their company is recognized as benchmark for quality in the
region when they were the first company to be given the license to
manufacture Benson & Hedges in-house, within this region of BAT Group
which stretches from Pakistan to Australia. Their utilization of information
technology is at the core of their business strategy and is a benchmark
among other fast moving consumer goods companies in the country.
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1.2. Vision of BATC:
The Vision that motivates their people and drives their operations is the
desire to extend their market leadership through world class performance
across all areas of their business.
They are proud of their reputation for manufacturing high quality cigarette
brands, which are enjoyed by millions of adult smokers. Their portfolio
includes a range of brands for different consumer preferences. Well-known
international brands such as Benson & Hedges (Lights and Regular), State
Express 555 and John Player Gold Leaf (Lights and Regular) complement
the national Star, Scissors and Capstan families of brands. Always mindful
that they are in business to serve their customers and consumers, they
continuously seek to improve their products and services to deliver world
class quality standards.
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1.4. People of BATC in Bangladesh:
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practices, resulting in increased velocity and efficiency in their (partners)
own internal process.
Over the years British American Tobacco Bangladesh has made significant
contributions to the socio-economic development of the country. They are
one of the highest taxpayers in the country, contributing more than Tk1400
crore to the government exchequer annually. Through various projects and
initiatives, they are involved in improving the environment, supporting
philanthropic organizations and promoting arts and culture and assisting
with disaster relief.
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• Commitment to the principles of sustainable development
through high international standards of environmental, health
and safety practice.
Figure 1
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2. ORGANIZATION’S VALUES
BATC are committed to building value for their shareholders, and they
believe there is real value embedded not only in how they run their
business but in how a company is put together; in its ability to see the
world as it really is; in it's ability to pick and retain talent; to build
relationships of trust with consumers, suppliers, distributors and partners,
and to manage high quality brands. Perhaps above all in today’s economy,
there is particular strength in the ability to root local businesses in a vast
range of different cultures around the globe. Their guiding principles
describe key characteristics of their organization, which they aim to
nurture.
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of their people and their ideas creates opportunities and a
competitive edge.
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At British American Tobacco, many of their most senior and prominent
external-facing managers are women and as such, naturally, they are seen
fulfilling a number of public speaking engagements and are seen quoted in
the press on a regular basis. At their London Press Office at Globe House
which fulfils a number of roles including orchestrating the Company’s
contact with all UK national and London-based international media,
overseeing media communications on trans-national issues such as the
WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and crisis
communications, two of the three press officers/Company spokespeople
are women.
Since 2002, British American Tobacco has been running The Golden Leaf
Award, an annual program that celebrates examples of excellence within
and across Group operating
companies, regions and functions. The Awards not only recognize the
outstanding achievements of markets or teams but furthermore
demonstrate the business impact of these achievements or behaviors and
ultimately, share both success and knowledge across the Group. The award
celebrates the achievement of groups of employees rather than individuals,
however, many women were essential and valued members of the eventual
three winning teams in 2002. In 2004 two women won the Golden Leaf
Award. These women had to ensure continued delivery in the US
marketplace even in the thick of the merger process.
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3. ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES
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to the inherent requirements of the role to be performed. A fundamental
aim is to ensure a diverse and representative workforce profile through the
promotion of employment equality. They shall observe national legislation
relative to positive discrimination.
2. OPEN-MINDED
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appropriate, to consult with the relevant company – within the
framework of applicable law, regulations, the prevailing labor
relations and practices, and company procedures. They
acknowledge the activities of recognized worker representative
bodies such as Trades Unions (where such activities are practiced
in accordance with national law) and they ensure that workers are
able to carry out their representative activities within agreed
procedures.
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• Dignity at Work: BATC finds all aspects of harassment and
bullying unacceptable and they are committed to removing any
such actions or attitudes in the workplace.
• Against Exploitation:
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unacceptable, as is the requirement to surrender identity
papers or pay deposits as a condition of employment.
Where national legislation or employment procedures
require the use of identity documents, these will be used
strictly in accordance with the local legislation and
procedures. We do not condone exploitation or the unlawful
use of immigrant labor.
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• Performance Responsibility: They expect their employees to make
a meaningful and confident contribution to the success of BAT and
their (workers) own place within it. As such, employees will be
held accountable for their performance. They therefore provide
employees with clarity on their expectations of them (workers) and
feedback on their (workers) performance. The mechanisms for this
will be determined as appropriate at the local level. Where poor
performance continues, despite the prior provision of opportunities
for improvement, BAT companies will terminate the employment,
applying the framework of applicable law and company labor
relations procedures.
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Economic contribution: BAT seeks to create
opportunities for skills development for employees
and communities in markets where they operate.
They also aim to work in harmony with the
development objectives and initiatives of host
governments.
• Business Information Security: Business information security is a
multifaceted challenge requiring effective co-operation between all
parts of the business, their business partners, employees and
employee representatives. Their policy embraces all elements of
business information security including physical records,
electronic data, e-mail, personal data held by the company,
information processes and data management, legal and audit
considerations and communications systems (telephones, fax,
internet etc.). Their policy is to maximize the business leverage of
their information, ensuring that it is reliable and available to those
who need it. It is of paramount importance to ensure that all their
employees are fully aware of their personal responsibilities in this
regard. They will honor the privacy of workforce data according to
the requirements of national legislation and the security and
interests of the business.
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3.4 Valued Business Partners
Whilst they are not responsible for standards of employment practice
throughout their supply chain, they seek to influence our business partners
to avoid:
• The employment of children particularly in any industrial process, or
agricultural process which uses chemicals (other than in genuine
apprenticeships);
• The selling of cigarettes to minors;
• The use of forced or illegal immigrant labor;
• Working conditions which do not meet BAT standards on health, safety
or hygiene;
• The denial of access to, or unfair application of, a transparent grievance
procedure;
• Any form of unlawful discrimination, harassment, abuse or bullying.
4. ENTERPRISING SPIRIT
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4.1. Physical and Material well-being
Elements of this are:-
• Occupational Health and Safety: BAT companies will all have, and
comply with, internal health and safety policies and procedures and
national regulations to ensure a safe working environment. BATC
are committed to working with their employees to ensure that
health and safety standards are maintained and improved. This
process involves the effective application of an environmental,
health and safety management and monitoring system. BATC work
continuously to maximize the physical security of their employees
wherever they (workers) are employed. BATC will ensure that
their standards and policies are understood and training will
• Be provided so that all employees understand the health, safety and
security issues and requirements concerning their (workers)
job/position.
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BAT recognizes the need for their remuneration policies to be competitive
and they have been designed to ensure a real differentiation amongst
individuals and teams within companies, using criteria such as:
qualifications, skills, performance, contribution and responsibility. BAT
uses objective instruments in determining the level and seniority of roles
within the business by means of a well-defined method of job evaluation,
which defines roles, scope and subsequent salary positions and ranges.
These are then compared against the local labor market to ensure their
competitiveness. Prevailing market conditions are a key point of reference
for establishing remuneration in each operating company. BAT will
comply with legislation imposing a national minimum wage; however,
their strategy will be to ensure that their reward levels are highly
competitive within the local area. BATC use remuneration and reward as
an active tool to build and maintain a high performance, highly motivated
culture. Their approach is based on a mix of financial and non-financial,
long and short-term incentives. Each operating company has the
opportunity to structure their reward and benefits packages according to
local circumstances. All employees are provided with clear information for
each pay period, including any and all deductions from their pay.
Where possible BATC fills vacancies internally, although they will seek
out external talent as this provides the opportunity for fresh thinking, new
ideas and experiences. Their recruitment strategy is based on retaining and
attracting the most suitable people at all levels of the business and this is
reflected in their objective approach to recruitment and selection. The
approach is based on the inherent requirements of the job (both now and in
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the foreseeable future), matching the ability and potential of the
individual.
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They cover a wide range of practices, including:
- Equal opportunity to everyone.
- Internal communication and the free flow of ideas
- Worker representation and freedom of association
- Fairness at work and the unacceptability of harassment and bullying
- The unacceptability of child labor or unlawful use of immigrant labor
- Performance responsibility
- Health, safety, and environmental responsibility
- Community contributions by employees
- Personal development and learning
- Reasonable working hours and family friendly policies
- Fair, clear and competitive remuneration and benefits.
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4. RECRUITMENT AT BATB
They see recruitment as part of their business strategy, ensuring that their
company is equipped with managers of the highest caliber who can build
their future. It is a long-term strategic exercise to continually improve the
quality of management, with a consistent focus on future requirements.
Year after year they select, train and develop some of the brightest and
most talented graduates. Their unique management development program-
The Challenge Initiative-has been designed to train the very best people to
a global standard of excellence. Graduates are therefore not recruited to
fill a vacant slot but as management trainees, and are recruited over and
above the company's current manpower requirements. They will have
recently completed 4-year graduate level education and will be seeking a
first professional post. The company also invites talents to submit their
applications for positions other than management trainee or entry level.
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• They entertain application from recognized universities from home
and abroad
• They are free from any prejudice against any race, sex, religion,
age what so ever. Positions will be offered to the candidate on the
basis of his/her ability and requirement of the company.
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the opportunity to demonstrate your skills and suitability through
your performance in a number of participative and individual
exercises. You will also have the opportunity to meet their
managers and to gain first hand experience of what it is to like to
work for British American Tobacco Bangladesh. Regardless of the
outcome, participants find it a unique opportunity to demonstrate
their strengths.
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5. PAYMENT PRACTICE AT BATC
It has always been standard practice at Globe House, London, to check the
gender distribution of the annual pay award and to monitor gender
variance in terms of proximity to salary range mid-points. This is a
practice which is also encouraged globally. In 2002, they went a stage
further with a full equal pay review looking back over five years and
examining issues such as part-time pay and length of service. In 2002, the
first five management grades
(the last two most senior grades represent numbers too small for
meaningful analysis) showed pay differentials of between 1%-4%. These
differentials are in favor of male employees for the first four grades, but at
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the fifth grade the average salary is 3% higher for women than men. The
pay picture for part-time female employees is even more encouraging with
average salaries of women part-time workers being higher than male full-
time workers in the same grade. Pay determination processes are
structured to ensure maximum objectivity and equality. Annual pay
reviews are influenced by performance ratings against agreed annual
objectives, and the annual bonus is based on 50% Company performance
and 50% team performance with the bonus paid in full for women on
maternity leave.
In 2003 they continued examining the issue of equal pay between male
and female UK Headquarters’ employees. The overall picture indicates
once again that pay at headquarters has been managed equitably resulting
in minimal evidence of any gender-based discrepancies. In 2003 one of the
two most senior management grades were added into the study so that
altogether six management grades were analyzed. The review showed
differentials of 1%-8% between men and women pay. Apart from one
grade where the result was equal, these differences favored male
employees in three instances and females in two. This is an improvement
for female employees compared to pay review in 2002 (in 2002, female
employees were only favored in one grade). Besides there was a 10%
decrease in the pay difference favoring male managers over female
managers in one of the most senior grade. The analysis also showed that in
contrast to the marker trend, their part-time female employees do not
suffer from a pay disadvantage compared to full-time males.
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6. WORKING, COMPENSATION, AND
BENEFIT AT BATC
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6.2. Flexible Benefits:
Globe House was awarded the title of ‘Best National Office Fit-Out’ by
the British Council of Offices in 1999. Staffs have access to all-day free
drinks vending and a free three-course lunch. Takeaway or eat-in
sandwiches and soup are available as an alternative to a hot lunch and
there is a Starbucks coffee franchise at reduced prices. A full breakfast
service is available each morning at low cost. A weekly treat of cakes is
also delivered to each floor on Thursday afternoons. There is a large staff
coffee lounge which is used as a meeting space during the day, a coffee
lounge at lunchtimes, and a subsidized licensed bar on Thursday and
Friday evenings. If staff doesn’t have the time to visit the shops at nearby
Covent Garden, there are bank cash and stamp points on site and a small
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shop selling a range of magazines, greetings cards, confectionery and
toiletries. For a wider choice of goods, the Facilities departments arrange
regular in-house sales of discount brands such as Timberland or French
Connection, and also available is Jump leads; an internet shopping service
whereby goods from shops such as John Lewis can be delivered to the
office. The Electronic High Street is another web-based facility which
enables employees to take advantage of locally negotiated discounts on
goods and services, e.g. Holidays or banking. And if the prospect of
cooking at the end of the journey home is not appealing, employees can
use the Rocket meal service to purchase healthy, fresh ready meals to take
home. The Staff Council (an elected body of employees) provide a forum
for two-way communications between employees and the Board, giving
staff a voice and the Board a means of consulting with employees. The
Sports and Social Committee is a sub-group of the Staff Council and runs
a range of sports and social events from horse-riding to theatre trips,
which are subsidized by the Company. The Committee also organizes
children's parties at Christmas, quizzes and other events during the year.
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full medicals (depending on age and grade), eye tests and subsidized
spectacles for computer use, medicals and inoculations for business
travelers, a variety of medical reference books available on loan, and
occasional alternative therapies such as reflexology and massage. Private
medical insurance is provided for all staff. For managers immediate family
is also covered, and for business support staff family cover can be
arranged at a reduced rate.
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For general peace of mind for employees and their families, BAT also
gives generous life assurance and personal accident insurance cover to
staff at all levels. The pension scheme is final salary, non-contributory,
offers excellent family pension benefits and was rated as among the most
generous in the UK by the 2003 Union Pension Services survey. Published
every three years, Pension Scheme Profiles 2003 covers the pension
benefits offered by 250 leading UK employers according to criteria
including death-in-service
benefits, the spouse’s pension and the rate of annual increase. Private
medical insurance is provided for all staff. For managers immediate family
is also covered, and for business support staff family cover can be
arranged at a reduced rate. Parental and compassionate leave provisions
are also available.
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7. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT AT
BATC
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While they are looking for ways to push the diversity issue up the
organizational agenda, the existing picture of female performance at BAT
is very positive. On a global scale, there is a higher proportion of women
than men with high-potential ratings and the data also tells them that
women are spending less time than men in each position which implies
that the female population are tracking more quickly through the
organization. They recognize and embrace the importance of having a
diverse workforce and the increased competitive advantage that diversity
can create. Therefore, consideration of diversity metrics and the messages
received from the global Viewpoint employee opinion survey are two
standard items on all CDM agendas. Organizational Development Heads
at Globe House are also looking at ways of stimulating further discussion
and action within the CDM framework; in the search for a more
progressive way forward there is an exercise currently taking place to
examine the data on under-represented senior management groups. From
2003, there will be specific attention paid within the CDM to the
development of women and minorities at the highest level.
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The objectives are:
• to energize for life-long continuous learning and growth
• to accurately assess capabilities against critical success factors
• to create specific Individual Development Plans, which make good use
of a variety of
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training, in-house and external training courses, e-Learning and a drop-in
Learning Resource Centre in Globe House. The aim is to enable
employees to learn and develop ‘anytime and anyplace’. Employees
studying for professional qualifications also receive comprehensive
assistance in terms of exam leave and costs for fees, subscriptions and
materials. The portfolio of their e-learning courses is comprised of more
than 50 on-line courses across 12 development areas. The e-learning
website provides opportunities for everyone to acquire management skills,
such as Leadership & People Management, Mentoring, Coaching, as well
as business awareness through courses in Operations, Marketing and
Finance. Their
approach to learning and development is very much tailored to individual
needs; employees are encouraged to explore and understand their own
learning styles, with the Peter Honey Learning Styles Questionnaire
available to all employees on the internal intranet site (Interact).
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7.6. Mentoring & Coaching:
To set objectives and to work towards achieving them in order to meet the
needs of the business and the personal development objectives can be a
challenge. British American Tobacco strongly supports and encourages
mentoring relationships to help employees face these challenges.
Mentoring relationships are encouraged at all levels at British American
Tobacco as a valuable means of helping their people to learn and develop.
They take a structured approach with our Management Trainee population,
ensuring that each graduate trainee is assigned to a Mentor. Mentors are
senior members of staff from a different function to the trainee, enabling
their graduates to benefit from their (workers) wider experience and
guidance. For other employees, they take a tailored approach to ensure
that mentoring partnerships are beneficial for both mentor and mentee and
mentoring workshops are run to ensure that mentors are well equipped to
manage the relationship to its full potential.
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The relevant policies are accessible by all staff via Interact and this is
explained to staff as part of their induction. BATC has a team of
professional HR staff trained to give guidance to managers and staff in the
implementation and application of the policies.
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8. WORK-FORCE DIVERSITY AT BATC
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recruitment materials because any intelligent, educated applicant will be
concerned to demystify any apparent ‘hype’ or ‘spin’ especially where it is
associated with a controversial industry like tobacco. Based on research
and feedback on previous generations of materials their new recruitment
branding aims to portray a less corporate look and a more inclusive feel.
They are currently taking a critical approach to ensure that their literature
‘speaks to’ and addresses the interests of women readers. Amongst other
aspects, they are examining whether their publications describe the jobs
and achievements of women and men at all levels of the organization,
whether there is equal gender representation in terms of quotations or
interviews with employees, and whether the literature uses language that is
inclusive of women. From a cultural diversity perspective they
consciously attempt to represent BATC by using a broad range of males
and females from different ethnic backgrounds in our recruitment
literature.
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Their corporate literature including recruitment and training manuals are
gender appropriate. Their approach to gender diversity is documented in
reports and guidebooks and clearly values women as part of their key-
stakeholders. Available to HR Managers throughout the BAT world, the
'Strength from Diversity' training materials have been designed to support
our Guiding Principles and to help end-markets leverage the diversity
within their organizations. Topics covered include defining diversity, the
key elements of an organization that manages diversity, developing
policies and strategies, and 'selling' the benefits of diversity to key
stakeholders. They promote gender equality by applying gender diversity
globally. The guiding principles are aimed at all employees to observe
performance and behavior, involving a number of elements such as
leadership, managing self, managing others and managing managers.
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8.5. Women's Networks:
British American Tobacco is well aware of the importance of women’s
networks. These networks provide an interactive platform to exchange
business related information and news and to discuss career development
opportunities.
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8.7. Supporting External Women's Networks:
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Corporate Social Responsibility, Nominations and Remuneration
Committees.
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9. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AT
BATC
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high, while others mark low. When evaluators are positively lenient in
their appraisal, an individual’s performance becomes overstated. In doing
so performance is rated higher than it actually should be. Similarly a
negative leniency error understates performance, giving the individual a
lower appraisal. Subjective assessment defeats the very purpose of
performance appraisal. Ratings are lenient for the following reasons:
• Anyone under the rater jurisdiction who is rated unfavorably
reflects poorly on his or her own worthiness.
• Anyone who has been rated unfavorably has been discharged from
the organization.
• A derogatory rating is reveal to the rate to determine the relations
between rater and rate.
• Rater rate leniently in order to win promotions for the subordinates
and, therefore, indirectly increase his or her hold over them.
• Rater is projecting.
• In order to gain approval for him and her (rater), he or she always
approves others.
• Because there exists, in the culture, a response set to approve
rather than disapprove.
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• Accuse of being partial,
• Bosses view about appraisal and influence of bosses’ appraisal
process,
• Influence on subordinates appraisal process.
Grading method:
Under this method, the rater of BATC considers certain features and marks
them according to the scale. Certain categories of worth had been
established and carefully defined by BATC. The selected features are--
analytical ability, cooperativeness, dependability, self-expression, job
knowledge, judgment, leadership, and organizing ability, etc. The grading
scales are –
Outstanding = A, Very good = B, Good = C, Average = D, Fair = E, Poor =
F, Very poor = G, Hopeless = H. The actual performance of an employee is
then compared with these grade definitions, and he or she is allotted the
grade which best describes his or her performance.
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Graphic rating method:
Under this method a printed form one for each person at BATC is rated.
The factor this method of BATC contains is that – employee
characteristics and employee contribution. The qualities that included in
employee characteristics at BATC is – initiative, leadership,
cooperativeness, dependability, industry, attitude, enthusiasm, loyalty,
creative ability, decisiveness, analytical ability, emotional ability, and co-
ordination. The qualities that included in employee contribution at BATC
is – quantity and quality of work, the responsibility assumed, specific
goals achieved, regularity of attendance, leadership offered, attitude
towards superior and associates, versatility, etc.
The most frequently used modern performance appraisal method at BATC
are-
• Management by objectives (MBO).
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10. FINDINGS
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BATC also tries to focus on quality from the employees and to
improve them BATC has conducted in house training for its
employees. Hence the entire new pool of employees have to under
go in house training on the specific category such as
communication skill, innovation, leadership, creativity in his own
field.
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• As it is an old organization BATC has no problem in downsizing.
Because for their expansion through out the country they need lots
of labor force from the country, so thus they will not face any
downsizing with in some year.
• BATC likes take its employees from its external source and also
from its internal source but it can face its supply and demand by
taking action of sacking and hiring people form the organization.
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• But the most favorable assistance an organization get from its
HRIS software that it can Provide a HR planning, which means
that according to the demand how many people are needed and
also how much workforce are needed to overcome shortage. Also it
provides a short description of every employees job, job evaluation
and performance appraisal.
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11. CONCLUSION
BATC is the world's most international tobacco group, with brands sold in
180 markets around the world. They make high quality tobacco products
for the diverse preferences of millions of consumers, span the business
‘from seed to smoke’ and are committed to embedding the principles of
corporate social responsibility Group-wide. British American Tobacco
Bangladesh (BATB) offers excellent compensation package and benefits
as per the company policy. A world class company demands nothing less
than a world class approach from its people. BATC management,
including their senior level, is committed to support their employees. They
provide advice in career developing matters, training issues and general
queries regarding their business. Women are advanced to enrich their
corporate culture and their reputation as ‘Employer of Choice for Women’.
They hold Career Development Meeting (CDM) and performance reviews
where employee’s goals and achievements are listed. Individuals who have
CDM’s are critically evaluated against external benchmarks. They conduct
these as they strive to match the needs of the organization and individual
aspirations and encourage personal fulfillment, regardless of gender.
Based on their values and principles they developed an ‘Equal
Opportunity Policy’ and various employment policies to assure diversity
within their company. The policies are documented and can be accessed
via the intranet. In support of women's advancement they also have in
place a maternity policy. Their disciplinary policy and sexual harassment
policy, for example, applies to all employees regardless of gender.
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Reference
1. Official website of BAT.
www.bat.com
2. www.researchandmarket.com
3. Articles from The Daily Star.
4. Articles from The Independent.
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