Report On

Learning & Development Practices at ACI Limited

By

Atashi Chakma
17204088

An internship report submitted to the BRAC Business School in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Business Administration

BRAC Business School

BRAC University
June 2021

© 2021. BRAC University

All rights reserved.
Declaration

It is hereby declared that

1. The internship report submitted is my/our own original work while completing degree at

BRAC University.

2. The report does not contain material previously published or written by a third party,

except where this is appropriately cited through full and accurate referencing.

3. The report does not contain material which has been accepted, or submitted, for any other

degree or diploma at a university or other institution.

4. I/We have acknowledged all main sources of help.

Student’s Full Name & Signature:

___________________________________________
Atashi Chakma
17204088

Supervisor’s Full Name & Signature:

___________________________________________
Ms. Sohana Wadud Ahmad
Lecturer, BRAC Business School
BRAC University

2
Letter of Transmittal

Ms. Sohana Wadud Ahmad

Lecturer,
BRAC Business School
BRAC University
66 Mohakhali, Dhaka-1212

Subject: Submission of internship Report

Dear Sir Madam,

This is my pleasure to submit my internship report on “Learning & Development practices at

ACI Limited” which is a partial requirement to complete my Bachelors of Business

Administration degree.

I have tried my best to combine my academic knowledge with the practical experience of

working as an intern for three months to finish the internship report with the essential primary

and secondary data I gathered.

I trust that the report will meet the desires.

Sincerely yours,

_______________________
Atashi Chakma
17204088
BRAC Business School
BRAC University
Date: 9th June, 2021

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Non-Disclosure Agreement

This agreement is made and entered into by and between ACI Limited and the undersigned

student at BRAC University named Atashi Chakma.

4
Acknowledgement

At first, I want to express my gratitude towards my organizational supervisor Mr. Robiul

Hasan to help me immensely by providing proper guidance and information’s that I needed to
complete my Internship Report. Without his assistance, it was nearly impossible for me to
complete the report within specific time in this pandemic situation. Besides, I am grateful
towards every individual of the organization who gave me support to adapt in new situation.

I also want to show heartfelt gratitude to my academic supervisor Ms. Sohana Wadud
Ahmad. The way she took update of everything and solved any queries/problems right away,
it was commendable. Without her help and guidance, it would be very difficult to complete
the report in structured way.

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Executive Summary

This is an internship report which showcases about the learning and development practices
undertaken by ACI Limited. Here, I have talked about the functions and policies regarding
training programs that occurs in ACI Limited. Training function is a very important activity
to focus on as this particular department works relentlessly to make the workforce competent
and achieve the strategic goals set by the upper management. Besides, the other departments
who works as a pillar to support the organization to achieve success. All of the company
history, analysis, performance, support functions etc. are discussed in this report. During my
internship period, I got the opportunity to get insight about the organization work process
which I have discussed in the organization part. In the organization part, there are
information’s related with the practices of management, marketing, finance etc. Due to
confidentiality and Covid-19 pandemic situation, I could not manage to gather information’s
in more detailed way. However, the data I have shared here maintaining report guidelines
would be sufficed.

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Table of Contents

Declaration................................................................................................................................ 2

Letter of Transmittal ............................................................................................................... 3

Non-Disclosure Agreement ..................................................................................................... 4

Acknowledgement .................................................................................................................... 5

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 6

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... 7

List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................... 11

Chapter 1 - Overview of Internship ..................................................................................... 12

1.1 Student Information ........................................................................................ 12

1.2 Internship Information .................................................................................... 12

1.2.1 Details of the internship ................................................................................. 12

1.2.2 Details of the supervisor ................................................................................. 12

1.2.3 Job description................................................................................................ 12

1.2.4 Job Responsibilities ........................................................................................ 12

1.3 Internship Outcomes ....................................................................................... 13

1.3.1 Contribution to the company .......................................................................... 13

1.3.2 Benefits that I obtained from the internship ................................................... 13

1.3.3 Difficulties faced during the internship .......................................................... 14

1.3.4 Recommendation ............................................................................................ 14

Chapter 2 - Organization Part .............................................................................................. 15

2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 15

Objective ...................................................................................................................... 15

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 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 15

Scope ............................................................................................................................ 15

Limitation..................................................................................................................... 15

Significance.................................................................................................................. 16

2.2 Overview of the company .................................................................................... 16

Mission, Vision & Values (ACI Limited).................................................................... 17

2.3 Management Practices......................................................................................... 21

Human Resource Department ...................................................................................... 21

Organizational Structure .............................................................................................. 23

2.4 Marketing Practices ............................................................................................. 23

4P’s of ACI Limited..................................................................................................... 23

2.5 Financial Performance & Accounting Practices ............................................... 24

Financial Performance Results of ACI Limited........................................................... 25

2.6 Operation Management and Information System Practices ........................... 26

2.7 Industry & Competitive Analysis ....................................................................... 29

SWOT Analysis ........................................................................................................... 29

2.8 Summary & Conclusions..................................................................................... 30

2.9 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 30

Chapter 3 – “Learning and Development practices at ACI Limited” .............................. 31

3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 31

Background .................................................................................................................. 31

Objectives .................................................................................................................... 31

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 Significance.................................................................................................................. 32

3.2 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 32

3.3 Findings & Analysis ............................................................................................. 32

Learning and Development Department ...................................................................... 32

Types of Training Program of ACI Limited ................................................................ 33

Training Process of ACI Limited ................................................................................. 35

3.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 39

3.5 Recommendation.................................................................................................. 40

References ................................................................................................................... 41

List of Figures

Figure 1: Mission, Vision & Values of ACI Limited...............................................................17

Figure 2: Companies of ACI Limited.......................................................................................20

Figure 3: List of management of ACI Limited.........................................................................21

Figure 4: Organizational Structure of ACI Limited.................................................................23

Figure 5: Turnover Contribution of ACI Limited....................................................................25

Figure 6: Capital Structure of ACI Limited.............................................................................26

Figure 7: Analysis and Comparison of Turnover & Costs.......................................................26

Figure 8: Distribution centers of ACI Limited.........................................................................28

Figure 9: SWOT Analysis of ACI Limited..............................................................................29

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Figure 10: Organogram of Learning and Development Department.......................................33

Figure 11: Training Programs of ACI Limited........................................................................33

Figure 12: Training Process.....................................................................................................35

Figure 13: Training Evaluation Model.....................................................................................37

Figure 14: Training Feedback Form.........................................................................................38

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List of Acronyms

ACI Advanced Chemical Industries

SWOT Strengths, Weakness and Opportunities

ICI Imperial Chemical Industries

SHE Safety, Health and Environment

GMP Good Manufacturing Practice

USP Unique Selling Proposition

ISO International Organization for Standardization

CC Crop Care

TVC Television Commercial

QMS Quality Management System

MIS Management Information System

IT Information Technology

ADDIE Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate

KSA Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

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 Chapter 1 - Overview of Internship

1.1 Student Information

Name: Atashi Chakma

Id: 17204088

Program: Bachelor of Business Administration

Major: Human Resource Management & Marketing

1.2 Internship Information

1.2.1 Details of the internship

I have completed my internship program at ACI Limited from 6th February 2021 to 6th May
2021. I was assigned as an intern for the Learning and Development Department at ACI
Centre, Tejgaon Industrial Area.

1.2.2 Details of the supervisor

Initially I was under direct supervision of Head of Training, Mr. Masud Karim but later role
of my supervisor went to Assistant Manager, Mr. Robiul Hasan.

1.2.3 Job description

During the internship program, my main job was to support the functions of Learning and
Development Department. My office hour was from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm 5 days in a week. I
was given an attendance sheet monthly wise where I had to sign my office enter and
departure time and submit it at the end of the month to get my salary on time. Every day I
was occupied with various tasks given by the Learning and Development Team. Sometimes I
had to attend training programs conducted by the trainers.

1.2.4 Job Responsibilities

➢ Making Phone calls for the training invitation: When any training program date is
scheduled, I was given participant’s list and contact number by my supervisor. I had to
make phone calls to notify them about the training and ensure whether they will attend or
not.

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➢ Sorting the file of attendance: I had to maintain and sort down the attendance file of the
participant’s according to dates, months and title.
➢ Searching training materials & trainers: Though it was the final call of the trainer to
decide training content and materials for the training but I had to research and collect
latest modules, pdf, ppt, videos etc. and provide it to the trainer. I had to search
information’s about good external trainers and put the list into MS Excel with contact
information.
➢ Maintaining training Evaluation Form: After the training program, feedback form is
given to the participant’s to evaluate about the training and the trainer. My duty was to
collect the form and input it in MS Excel by using SPSS Software.
➢ Attending training programs: Sometimes I had to attend the training programs to gain
practical knowledge about how actually the training program is being conducted.

1.3 Internship Outcomes

1.3.1 Contribution to the company

Even though my role was small in the Learning and Development Department and I didn’t
get the chance to do major works but my small activities has also contributed for the
betterment of the department and ultimately for the ACI Limited.

I participated in the process of skill development and Return of investments of the employees
of ACI Limited by supporting the functions of Learning and Development Department.

1.3.2 Benefits that I obtained from the internship

As a student, it is necessary to gain practical knowledge alongside with theoretical. I have

learnt theoretical knowledge about the training in MGT423 course. When I actually faced the
real scenario of corporate world and workplace because of my internship program, I got to
learn that not everything goes according with the bookish knowledge. There are certain things
which are needed to be handled practically. I got the opportunity to experience corporate
work culture, operations of training department, office etiquettes, policies and
communication methods.

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 1.3.3 Difficulties faced during the internship

➢ I observed lack of employee motivation to work. During my internship period, there was
World Women’s Day and no one did anything to celebrate. This thing demotivated me to
a great extent to work in such place.
➢ The internet connection was not stable.

➢ Adaptation problem as I was the only intern at Learning and Development Department.

1.3.4 Recommendation

➢ They should have transportation facility for the interns as well.

➢ Salary process system for the interns is very much dissatisfactory and lack of
transparency. They tend to give salary of the interns after the 15th of the month and even
though there is a certain amount fixed salary, they cut it down without validating any
logical explanation whereas they don’t even mention that salary might get cut if anyone
violets certain rules.
➢ Refreshment facilities should be arranged for the interns as well like other employees of
the company.

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 Chapter 2 - Organization Part

2.1 Introduction

Objective

➢ To get the detailed insight about the organization (ACI Limited)

➢ Learning about the work culture of ACI Limited

➢ To understand the clear concept of the functions of Learning & Development Department

➢ SWOT analysis on ACI Limited

Methodology

The information’s which has been used in this report is extracted from both primary and
secondary sources.

Primary Source: One to one interviews with the employees and my personal experience
which I have gathered during this three month long internship program.

Secondary Source: Annual reports, articles, office website of ACI Limited and previous
internship report.

Scope

There are many reports available which focuses on the other functions of the ACI Limited but
Training function part is uncovered. This report is about the detailed insights of the practices
of Learning & Development at ACI Limited and has a huge scope for further studies.

Limitation

➢ I was compelled to choose work from home at the last time because of the pandemic
situation and so I didn’t get the chance to collect more information’s.

➢ Time frame of the internship program is not adequate enough.

➢ Maintaining confidentiality.

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➢ Unwillingness of the employees to give answers in detailed way.

Significance

This report provides detailed information about ACI Limited. One can easily understand and
analyze the policies and practices undertaken by ACI Limited for their Learning &
Development department as well as others. ACI Limited can analyze their position and bring
some positive changes in their organization from this report.

2.2 Overview of the company

Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited

Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited is now one of the largest conglomerates in
Bangladesh. At first, it was subsidiary of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) which later on
incorporated in Bangladesh as ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers Limited. The company
changed his name into Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited in 1992.

Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited is a diversified company with Strategic

Business Units consisting of four segments- Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Brands &
Commodity Products, Retail Chain and Agribusiness. It has also 15 Subsidiary Companies as
well as Joint Ventures and Associates of 5 companies. In Bangladesh, ACI is the one who
obtained certificate first for Quality Management System (ISO 9001) across all categories. It
has some policies for Quality, Environmental, SHE, UN Global Compact etc. which makes
them potential. (ADVANCING POSSIBILITIES, 2021)

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Mission, Vision & Values (ACI Limited)

Figure 1: Mission, Vision & Values of ACI Limited

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ACI Pharmaceuticals

ACI Pharmaceutical is the initial company in Bangladesh for bringing in the idea of quality

management system by achieving ISO 9001 certification in 1995. Currently, it is marking its

success in the pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh. Dedication towards the health of the

people is the reason that ACI Pharma is continuously working for the improvement in all of

its functions by following the quality & environment management policy and introducing

innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products.

Their strength is their ability of excelling in the manufacture by developing generics and

technologically complex products with the help of quality control department, skillful,

proficient team and process re-engineering. From the 4 continents, their pharmaceuticals are

exported to 30 countries and got certification of GMP from Ivory Coast, Kenya and

Philippines.

ACI Pharmaceutical aims for ensuring high quality & affordable medicines across the world

to fulfill the medical requirements of patients & their families which is unmet.

ACI Consumer Brands

In 1995, ACI Consumer Brands started its journey with ACI Aerosol and Savlon which are

the two major brands ruling the market now as leadership position. Through off shoring and

local manufacturing, ACI launched new products in the market and started joint venture with

two famous companies. One is an Indian company named Dabur and another one is a UK

company named Tetley. Aerosol, Savlon, Mosquito Coil, Pure Spices and Flour of ACI are

the brands by which ACI has captured the market and among from them Aerosol and Savlon

are the market leaders with 80% share.

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The ACI Consumer Brand is now aiming to achieve consistent growth so that ACI can

become stronger company than before. They believe benefitting the consumers, people of

ACI and the shareholders of ACI is the best method to continue the success.

ACI Agri businesses

In the field of agricultural sector in Bangladesh, ACI Agri business is considered to be in

leading position which is making impact through its division of Agri business on national

food security. It can be considered as the largest amalgamator in Livestock, Fisheries and

Agriculture sector as they have separate subunits like Agri-machineries, Seeds, Public Health

& Crop Care, Fertilizer, Cropex and Animal Health.

Research institutions, Companies of National and International Research & Development and

universities have well association with ACI. Because of the good support of them, new

products get tested at the field as well as laboratory before launching.

ACI Retail Chain (Shwapno)

ACI Logistics Limited operates Shwapno. In 2008, ACI Logistics has entered the retail sector

with the motto of “Fresh and Near” and with the vision of “Seed to Shelf” meaning building a

connection directly from farmers to the consumers. Shwapno is not just a retail chain but also

the largest retail chain in Bangladesh to reach households daily over 40,000.

At present, Shwapno runs outlets numbering of 129 in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and

Comilla. Total space for the retail is of square feet of 310,000 and employees over of 2,500.

Achieving market share of 45% is the proof that it has secured its position in the market as

leader. The reasons behind this success are not only quality of products and service but also

19
in creating value as it is the first one in Bangladesh to maintain world class level of

architecture.

To ensure fresh products from farmers over the country in Shwapno outlets, a source of

network has been built with them by ACI Logistics. In 2006, company joined Global G.A.P

and with the help of it, Shwapno is also working for the betterment of the growers in

Bangladesh as well as ensuring fresh products. Right now, it has customers numbering of

600,000, fellow workers of 2500 and thousands of distributors.

Group of Companies

Figure 2: Companies of ACI Limited

Support Functions (Departments of ACI Limited)

➢ HR Department
➢ Finance & Planning Department
➢ Distribution Department
➢ Commercial Department
➢ MIS Department
➢ Training Department

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2.3 Management Practices

Good management practice defines the success story of an organization. There are amazing
aspiring leaders and management team in ACI Limited who worked together to make ACI
Limited achieve its desired position. Board of Directors of the ACI Limited directs how to
manage the management and set strategic goals.

The Board of Directors holds the supreme power of the ACI Limited to administer the
operations and conducting the functions according by the law. They have entrusted the
authorities of operational and financial to the Executive Management and guided them to
ensure the achievement of desired success.

Figure 3: List of management of ACI Limited

Human Resource Department

Vision: To connect dynamic and dedicated people to create a work environment where one
can foster her creativity, innovation, production to achieve business excellence.

21
ACI HR believes in valuing their employees and hence organizes different social events to
strengthen their bond to work together. They apply modern policies and strategies in their HR
functions for forecasting labor requirements, recruitment, performance appraisal, planning for
manpower and succession etc.

▪ Recruitment & Selection: Both external and internal recruitment occurs in ACI
Limited. In the matter of external recruitment, job posting is given by the HR team at
different platforms like Facebook, Bdjobs, LinkedIn etc. Current employees are being
considered in terms of internal recruitment.

Training is a part of Human Resource Management. Learning and Development Department

handles the functions of empowering their employees by providing training. To maintain
corporate values of ACI, they embrace best innovation based modules, resources in their
training functions.

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 Organizational Structure

Figure 4: Organizational Structure of ACI Limited

2.4 Marketing Practices

4P’s of ACI Limited

1. Product: Best quality product is the USP and main goal of ACI Limited. They run
various tests and analyze quality of the products by the requirements of ISO before
launching in the market. Their products have unique features. ACI mosquito coil, aerosol,
pure salt, Savlon hand wash, hand sanitizer, etc. are the products that makes them market
leader.

23
2. Price: Their pricing is a bit high comparing to other competitive brands in
pharmaceuticals sector. On the contrary, pricing of ACI CC products are bit low so that
the farmers can easily afford it.

3. Place: Product distribution network of ACI is considered to be very strong and they
maintain 26 distribution centers covering every place in Bangladesh. Their products can
be found anywhere in Bangladesh. ACI exports their food products to 20 countries though
their focus is local market.

4. Promotion: ACI uses slogan to promote their brand focusing by highlighting their
product quality with integrity. Apart from slogan strategy, they use various promotional
methods such as advertisement on newspapers, sales promotion, sponsoring shows, TVC
ad, social media campaign, print media etc.

2.5 Financial Performance & Accounting Practices

Finance and planning department of ACI plays the main part in running the activities of
financial and accounting services. It manages the whole ACI Limited and also its subsidiaries
in terms of financial and accounting practices. Major subject of activities includes
management of new business, risk and insurance, credit and accounts payable. Besides, it
also deals with finance of corporate, costing, treasury, subjects of taxation and general
accounting.

Financial instruments such as electronic banking, integrated system of accounting, use of

hedging and derivatives for well management of foreign exchange etc. are introduced by ACI
finance to get the best outcome in performance. It has built a good connection with every
major bank of Bangladesh and international, institution of non-financial (leasing companies).
The vision of becoming the most value adding business partner, keeps driving the ACI
Finance to work proactively to help business by giving correct and prompt data, research,
management of budget and joining the diversified team.

The Planning functions works for compiling and coordinating the plan of company. In
addition, it provides in depth analysis about macroeconomics & microeconomics condition
on Bangladesh and also worldwide which helps to take right decision related with strategic
planning. In the area of new business development, they forecast the potential areas of growth

24
and analyze carefully by matching with ACI's competence which helps them in the path of
developing.

Financial Performance Results of ACI Limited

Turnover Contribution by Business Unit

Figure 5: Turnover Contribution of ACI Limited

It can be seen that ACI Pharmaceuticals has contributed the most in turnover contribution and
it has increased by 8% of last comparative year. Consumer Brands has decreased by 4% of
last comparative year in terms of turnover contribution but it is not the least contributor.
Though Animal Health is the least contributor in turnover contribution but it has increased by
2% of last comparative year.

Capital Structure

In terms of major sources to raise the capital of a company are long term liabilities, equity
and bank loan. The parts of these three categories in raising capital from 2014 to 2020 of ACI
Limited are mentioned.

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 Figure 6: Capital Structure of ACI Limited

Comparison of Turnover & Costs

It can be seen that Net Income Profit has been increased than last comparative year which
indicates that ACI Limited is in a very good profitable position in terms of business.

Figure 7: Analysis and Comparison of Turnover & Costs

2.6 Operation Management and Information System Practices

Distribution Department

Distribution department works in very strategically in terms of locating distribution centers. It

has tactically positioned 26 distribution centers all over in Bangladesh and also enlarging its
network of distribution to reach everywhere with the motto of giving good services to the
customers of ACI. They make sure of keeping above 500 capable trained people for delivery

26
and vehicles above 150. To handle the large quantity of various products from several
sources, distribution system works in digitally and automatic way.

ACI is very careful in handling the special type items of cold chain including vaccines and
insulin and hence uses state of the art equipment’s. Handling hundreds of products efficiently
has only become possible because of the mixture of this modern operation and multi-level
abilities. From starting till the end, ISO 9001-2008 Quality Management System (QMS) is
strictly followed in the distribution system of ACI.

27
Figure 8: Distribution centers of ACI Limited
28
Commercial Department

Operation of supply chain is managed by the Commercial Department of ACI. In order to,
run the operations of the businesses perfectly, commercial department employees try
diligently to keep good association with national and international consumers. Furthermore,
they secure the best cost of items so that ACI gets benefit of cost saving which indicates
unconquerable professionalization and proficiency in the commercial department functions.

MIS Department

The function of MIS department is to give IT linked assistance related with hardware
troubleshooting, managing database of sales inventory and software so that ACI can operates
its activities without any disruption. Learned and skillful expertise people runs the functions
of the MIS department and management gets custom-made report from them so that they can
implement the results in the process of decision making.

2.7 Industry & Competitive Analysis

SWOT Analysis

Figure 9: SWOT Analysis of ACI Limited

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2.8 Summary & Conclusions

ACI pharmaceutical is the first segment with which ACI Limited began its journey in 1992
with the vision of improving the living standard of people and values of life. Then, gradually
ACI expanded into crop protection chemicals and household insecticides in 1994. One of the
greatest achievements of ACI is to be the first company to secure Quality Management
System ISO 9001 and Environmental Management System ISO 14001 accreditation in
Bangladesh.

In the market, performance of ACI Limited happens to be very satisfactory. At present, they
have more than 2000 products in the market and they are leading the market with some
category of products. Ensuring high quality product is what makes them valuable and
different from other companies. Apart from the pricing, their slogan defining the quality
behind every product is commendable to attract the mass people. They have great opportunity
to grow if they can overcome their lacking’s.

2.9 Recommendations

❖ Regular delivery system of the products should be maintained strongly so that

products are easily available and customers don’t get the chance to switch brand
preference. Proper monitoring of sales representative and distributors is needed. They
have to keep balance between market demand and supply.

❖ Strong distribution coverage is needed because every people don’t spend time to visit
big shops. For Example: ACI Thai Noodles can be found only in super shops. It is not
readily available in nearer shops.

❖ There is no doubt that ACI is doing well in the market. They are the market leaders in
some products like ACI Aerosol, ACI Savlon etc. However, it should also focus on
upholding other products by various exciting trade offers and promotional activities.

❖ ACI Limited should utilize their resources effectively and efficiently.

❖ Market survey should be conducted on regular basis.

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 Chapter 3 – “Learning and Development practices at ACI

Limited”

3.1 Introduction

Background

An internship program is an opportunity for the students and graduates to learn and get the
taste of work experience before actually entering as professional. This is a part of “On the
job” experience which brings immense chance to apply theoretical knowledge and practices
into practical one. It is a great opportunity for us to utilize the time period of 3 months into
learning and gathering knowledge to adapt with the working environment.

Doing internship at ACI Limited was a great experience for me. As, I was assigned in the
Learning & Development Department of ACI Limited for internship, I got the opportunity to
get the detailed practical knowledge about corporate work culture, office etiquettes,
communication way etc. Writing down my internship experience into a report is a part of my
BBA courses and is mandatory for graduation completion. This report is prepared with the
help of my workplace supervisor Mr. Robiul Hasan (Assistant Manager of Learning &
Development Department at ACI Limited) and under the supervision of my academic
internship supervisor Ms. Sohana Wadud Ahmad.

Objectives

Primary Objective: To complete the graduation from BRAC Business School prior to the
requirement of completion the report.

Secondary Objective: To gain detailed insight of the process and practices of learning and
development of an employee at ACI Limited.

31
 Significance

Surely Learning & Development functions can create drastic impact on a human to overcome
skill lacking’s. Though there are many studies and reports regarding Learning and
Development practices in an organization but the information’s which has been used here is
based on the real experience. Every organization runs their functions differently and from this
study, people surely will get the idea of how ACI Limited runs their training activities to
overcome skill deficiency and making every employee competent.

3.2 Methodology

Primary Data: I gathered knowledge from my personal observation and experience and also
personal interview with Assistant Manager and Manager of Learning & Development
Department at ACI Limited.

Secondary Data: Annual Report and ACI Limited website.

3.3 Findings & Analysis

Learning and Development Department

Learning and Development Department works for increasing employee’s competency and
skill development. Employee’s competency increases if his skills get developed and
ultimately it impacts on the organization. Training programs conducted monthly around 44-
50 programs at ACI. Financial year begins with June-July and at the beginning of the year
training department has to approve a budget from the Managing Director for conducting
training programs. Costs for conducting training programs are on average monthly 4-5 lakhs
and 60 lakhs per year. Soft skills and hard skills training programs are the main focus area
while determining the content of training.

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Organogram of Learning and Development Department

Figure 10: Organogram of Learning and Development Department

Types of Training Program of ACI Limited

Induction External Training

On The Job Orientation Training

Off The Job Foreign Training

In House Training E-Learning

Figure 11: Training Programs of ACI Limited

❖ Induction: For sales force team, they arrange refresher induction training especially
because employees are new recruited fresher. Induction training varies by business
unit wise. Induction training takes place for 3 months in Pharma business unit and 1-
1.5 months in Agri business unit. Sometimes the training program time period

33
 requires being shorten on urgent basis and employees are directly sent for field work
but later on they have to take On the job training.
❖ On The Job: When employees lacks skill deficiency and asks for training, learning
and development department arranges On the job training instantly. For example, if
someone finds difficulty in Ms Excel data analysis, they resolve the matter as soon as
possible by conducting On the job training. Sometimes marketing people calls them to
gather knowledge or for skill development, and then they conduct On the job training
right away and solve the problems.
❖ Off The Job: Off the job training happens frequently at head office on weekends and
after office hours. Time length period for this training program can be daylong as well
as half day. Duration for the half day is 4 hours and full day is 8 hours.
❖ In House Training: ACI Limited has their own In house faculties (trainers) who
conduct the In house training. About 80% training programs are being conducted
through In house training.
❖ External Training: In every month, 20-30 employees are being selected for external
training and sent to various training institutes such as IPDP, Bangladesh Japan
Training Institute, IBA, BUET, BIM, DCCI etc. ACI Limited has corporate
agreement with these training institutes and get notified when these institutes offers
training programs.
❖ Orientation Training: Newly recruited employees must have to attend orientation
training. Senior position and experienced new employees have to go through
orientation training for one week and junior less experienced new employees have to
attend this program for longer time as per the situation.
❖ Foreign Training: Foreign training is being conducted in two ways. One is,
employees are being sent to foreign training institutes for training and another one is,
bringing faculties (trainers) from abroad. In every year, at least two training programs
are being conducted by foreign faculties for top management level. Employees are
frequently sent to IIM (Indian Institutes of Management), Japan, Singapore, Bangkok
etc. In the beginning of the financial year, learning and development department
collects training requirement form from the employees to analyze competency. There
are options in the form to choose training nationally or internationally. Employees
who choose exclusive training programs internationally, management team selects
from them by grading system. Top graded and mid-level employees are being chosen
for attending the foreign training program.
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 ❖ E-Learning: ACI digital learning is a website based platform developed by the
Learning and Development Department. They upload learning material including
videos, pdf, word file, case studies, small clips on various topics and send to every
field force, marketing, head office employees. Employees have access to that website
from anywhere in Bangladesh and do self-learning lessons.

Training Process of ACI Limited

ACI Limited follows the ADDIE Model for conducting the training programs.

Training Need

Assessment

Making Training

Calendar & Budget

Designing Training

Program

Implementation

Training Evaluation

Figure 12: Training Process

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Step 1: Training Need Assessment

Training need assessment is a systematic method to find out whether there is a performance
gap between actual performance and expected performance. This is the first stage to start the
training process for the employees and identify KSA deficiency. To keep pace with the
organizational goals and objectives, training need assessment is done with utmost
importance.

ACI limited focuses on skill development to ensure the best human assets in workforce. Need
based training assessments are done by the training manager. At the beginning of the
financial year, learning and development department collects training requirement form from
the employees through MDP (Management Development Program) and then sorting it down
by training subject title wise. If more than 25 employees want the same subject title training
then they divide it down by batch wise. Apart from that, some employees are being chosen
for training based on their performance.

Step 2: Making Training Calendar & Budget

Once training need assessment is completed, they prepare a training calendar monthly by title
wise. During preparing the monthly training calendar, they schedule the training programs in
batch serial wise and make participant’s list. They fix dates in the Microsoft Outlook
Calendar and forwards mail invitation, follow up phone calls to get the confirmation whether
employees will be able to attend the training program or not. Those employees who disagree
to attend get shifted to next serial batch training program. Manager of the training department
does the selection of the trainers and gets the budget approval from the Head of training. He
has to make sure that the training program must be completed successfully within the budget.

Step 3: Designing Training Program

After deciding the trainer and budget, they collects updated training model from the trainer
and set the venue for the training. While designing the program, they have to make sure that
the room is soundproof, isolated so that nothing can disturb, avoid distracting objects, breaks
for long training programs and arrangements for food & refreshment. Trainer develops the
content and learning materials of the training. They have to bear the costs of transportation,
foods and training equipment’s. If they hire any external trainer then they have to negotiate
honorarium after the training.

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Step 4: Implementation

They do dry run test before proceeding for the actual training program. In the dry run test,
they get the setup ready and conduct a rehearsal to check internet connection, backup
settings, lighting, position etc. If any modification is needed for the betterment, they do it
right away before the program.

Step 5: Training Evaluation

The Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation is being used for the training evaluation at ACI
Limited. This step is very important and done carefully so that they get to understand the
shortcomings and change it for the better. They measure how the trainer was, what
participant’s felt about the way of training program done, whether they got benefitted from
the training or not and what is needed to be changed.

Figure 13: Training Evaluation Model

Level 1: Reaction

Here, reaction of the trainee’s gets measured. Feedback form is given to them and there is an
option to write comments about the trainer and the training program.

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 Figure 14: Training Feedback Form

Level 2: Learning

Conducting a Mcq test and compare it before the training and after the training to identify
whether the trainees have learnt anything or not.

Level 3: Behavior

In this level, the behavior of the trainee’s gets evaluated to know whether they got benefitted
from the training or not and how much it could transfer the knowledge in the workplace. If
anyone’s performance is not satisfactory then he has to repeat the training session again.

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Level 4: Result

Finally, Learning and development department evaluates how much benefit ACI Limited
gained by these training programs. Based on the result, learning and development department
tends to make changes and planning for the future.

Impact of Covid-19 on Training

Covid-19 pandemic has brought severe changes in the activities of training operations. All the
activities have been shifted towards online platform. Designing training program was difficult
at first because everyone is not tech savvy person and transfer of learning was a great matter
of concern. However, conducting training programs through Zoom was a great learning
experience for everyone. Many trial and error sessions were conducted. Budget constraint
issues were solved because expenses related with transportation, place, foods etc. were cut off
for a time being and connecting everyone from anywhere was a great success. Learning and
development department conducted many foreign trainings by hiring external
faculties/trainers and they could do it easily because it was on online which could be time
consuming to fix dates and difficult if it was conducted on live sessions.

3.4 Conclusion

In Bangladesh, Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited is a diversified company with

multiple business units and also recognized as one of the leading and renowned
conglomerates. Learning and Development Department of ACI Limited is continuously
working to transform the human capital to achieve excellence in this competitive workforce.
However, they need to improve and make changes to be the best in whatever they do.

In this internship program, I was fortunate to learn and impose my academic knowledge into
practical one. During this pandemic period, it was very challenging for me to gather
information’s but I tried my best to input my knowledge and learning into this report.

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3.5 Recommendation

❖ They should include various types of business games, role play sessions to make the
training session more engaging.
❖ Trainer should prepare the learning materials in such a way so that understanding
level of every participant gets matched.
❖ Since most of the training programs are being held on the online platforms like Zoom,
Google Meet etc. because of the current pandemic situation, maximum trainees feel
uncomfortable to make interactions on online training. Ice breaking session should be
included.
❖ They have space limitations to conduct training. There should be separate
rooms/space for the in house trainers to conduct training program without any
disturbance.
❖ Return on investment of the training program should be evaluated seriously.
❖ They do not design the training program systematically and sometimes they have to
cut down the contents and make it short to finish within the time period. Duration of
the training program should be increased.
❖ There should be reward system so that trainees feel motivated to participate and do
better performance.
❖ Since there is a fixed allocated budget, they face budget constraint problems to hire
good external faculty. They should invest in bringing good external faculties.

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