Introduction

Report onApplication of Motivational ConceptsIn Airtel

Submitted by:Rownok Rahman Joy 10204113Protiti Khan 11304018Rezwone Chowdhury 10204021Zayed Ashraf 10204108Ali Imran Khan 10204091Shawlee Tasreen Shiblee 07310029

Submitted to:Dr. Md. Jafar UddinCourse Instructor, MGT201BRAC Business SchoolBRAC University

Date of submission : 15th December, 2011

Letter of Transmittal

15th December, 2011ToDr. Md. Jafar Uddin Course Instructor, MGT201BRAC Business SchoolBRAC UniversitySubject: Submission of Term PaperDear Sir,It gives us immense pleasure to submit our report on Application of Motivational Theory in Airtel Bangladesh. This report was assigned to us as a completion of the course Organizational Behavior, MGT201.At every phase of making this report, we tried to enhance our knowledge about the policies that prevail in the industrialization of the countrys economy. This report will try to give the picture of our efforts and seriousness.We would be keen to assist for interpreting our report or any other further clarification if required. We will appreciate your valuable inquiries and suggestions on the report.Sincerely yours,

10

Rownok Rahman Joy 10204113Protiti Khan 11304018Rezwone Chowdhury 10204021

Zayed Ashraf 10204108Ali Imran Khan10204091Shawlee Tasreen Shiblee07310029

AcknowledgementWe are grateful to many individuals for the completion of the report

Successfully. First of all, we would like to take this opportunity to express

our heartfelt gratitude to our honorable course instructor Dr. Md. Jafar

Uddin, Lecturer, BRAC Business School, BRAC University, for giving us

the opportunity to experience of preparing a report on Industrial Policy of

Bangladesh. We also like to extend our gratitude to her for expert

supervision, constant guidance and inspiration during the preparation of the

report. A chance like this was a golden opportunity for us to get in touch

with the real business world. We would like to thank Mr. Mehadi Hasan Bin

Ghani, Executive HR of Airtel, for his immense cooperation in providing us

with information on the subject of our report which has helped us greatly in

the completion of the term paper. Lastly, our heartiest thanks go to our other

group members who were involved and helped directly and indirectly in

preparing this report. Without them this report would not be made possible.

Executive Summary:

Airtel is one of the most go-ahead industries currently in Bangladesh. We took the

term paper with Airtel which stands as a famous name in telecom industry. We

proud to work with Airtel and this experience will surely help us in our future

assignments as professional. By this term paper we are learning much about

application of Motivational Concepts in Airtel Bangladesh. And we got wonderful

experience during our working period to make this term paper. Last of all I thank

our friends who were always inspired us during the working period.

Chapter Page no.

Chapter One9

1.1 Introduction/Background- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -10

1.2 Objective of the report- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- -12

1.3 Methodology- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - -13

1.4 Limitations- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - --13

1.5 Mission & Vision- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - --- - - -14

Chapter Two 15

Literature review

2.1 What is motivation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- -16

2.2 Motivational theories - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -182.3 History and explanation of Maslows Hierarchy of needs - - - - - - - - 222.4 Empirical studies on employees motivation using Maslows model- -252.5 Airtels Motivation-- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - 282.6 Organizational Citizenship- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -382.7 Finding and Analysis- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - 39

Chapter Three 40 3.1 Recommendation- - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - -- - 41 3.2 Conclusion- - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - 41 Appendix - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - 42Bibliography - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - 44 Questionnaire- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- -- 47

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study was to assess the role of work motivation on employee

performance. This study in an assessment of this purpose used deductive approach in

which a qualitative survey was carried out among employees of Airtel. The survey was

intended to get their responses on what they feel are the best factors that could motivate

them in future. In this light the study sets to identify the most ranked factors among

the ten motivational factors. The analysis from the empirical findings showed that Job

satisfaction was the most ranked factor for both sub groups that made up the sample

survey. However a study from previous researches used in this study showed that

different results could be obtained from different groups of already working employees.

This study therefore can be seen as an introduction to a more detailed study to be carried

by future researchers on the field of employees motivation.

Chapter: 01

1.1- IntroductionCompany Overviewairtel Bangladesh Ltd is a GSM-based cellular operator in Bangladesh. AirtelBangladesh is the sixth mobile phone carrier to enter the Bangladesh market, andlaunched commercial operations on May 10, 2007. Warid Telecom International LLC, anAbu Dhabi based consortium, sold a majority 70% stake in the company to India's BhartiAirtel Limited for US$300 million. Bharti Airtel Limited will take management controlof the company and its board, and rebranded the company's services under its own airtelbrand from 20 December 2010. The Bangladesh Telecommunication RegulatoryCommission approved the deal on Jan 4, 2010.In January 2010, Bharti Airtel Limited,Asias leading integrated telecom services provider, acquired 70% stake in WaridTelecom, Bangladesh, a subsidiary of the UAE-based Abu Dhabi Group. Bharti Airtel ismaking a fresh investment of USD 300 million to rapidly expand the operations of WaridTelecom and have management and board control of the company. This is the largestinvestment in Bangladesh by an Indian company. Dhabi Group continues as a strategicpartner retaining 30% shareholding and has its nominees on the Board of the Company.The new funding is being utilized for expansion of the network, both for coverage,capacity, and introduction of innovative products and services. As a result of this additional investment, the overall investment in the company will be in the region of USD 1 billion. This is Bharti Airtels second operation outside of India. The company launched its mobile services in Sri Lanka in January 2009 on a state-of-the-art 3.5G network. On July 19, 2007, the company crossed the 1 million customers mark in the first 70 days of operation. Airtel Bangladesh had 5.045 million subscribers as of june 2011.Based on the NGN (Next-Generation) network, Airtel Telecom's operational activities in Bangladesh aim to achieve a new and modern corporate identity, which is congruent with the dynamic changes taking place in the telecom industry today. With a reflection of a new strategy, our aim is to be perceived not only as a telecommunication operator of voice services, but also as a universal provider of comprehensive communications services for both residential and business customers.The subscriber base of over 2 million users in our first year of operation alone serves as a testament to Airtel telecom's customer-driven business mandate. These achievements have only been possible due to Airtel's uncompromising commitment to provide maximum network coverage and clear connectivity at the most affordable price. Airtel(Bangladesh) aims to succeed in competition with other telecom companies. If

they are to achieve their ambitious strategic goals, the company has to expect even higher

standards of performance from their employees. It will, however, only be feasible for

them to meet these expectations if Airtel offers its employees attractive conditions in

which to perform. It is one of Airtels strategic objectives to be a highly attractive

employer. Such an employer ensures that the success of the company is equated with the

personal success of its employees.

The quality and efficiency of the work performed within a company depends above all on

the quality of its management and organization. Although Airtel is a new company in

Bangladesh and the management structure is not that complex as the other telecom

companies but still their approach has been effective. Both of these factors encourage a

readiness to perform much more than incentives which, while rewarding performance, do

not in themselves provide motivation. Because people have a fundamental urge to

achieve things, performance is an essential factor in personal development. Through

performance, goals are achieved; when the individual achieves goals, their ability to

identify with their work is strengthened. Performance translates into success.

Moreover, the people at Airtel are not merely part of an organization; they are part of a

community of performers. For example, the person we interviewed has told us that, how,

his idea regarding online application for the recruiting process of Airtel has been

positively taken with the organization. After his meeting with his immediate senior, he

was given a go ahead regarding his project and he was well appreciated for his interest in

the organization. Acknowledging performance and commitment is the basis for

appreciating what employees do and keeping them loyal to the company.

The paper analyzes the employee recognition program, the employee involvement

program and the basic motivational tools in motivating the employees.

1.2 - Objective of the reportThe primary objective of the report is to identify how Airtel Bangladesh is applying the

concepts of Motivational theories in the organization as well as the effectiveness of the

motivational programme used by Airtel compared to other motivational programmes that

are discussed in the study of organizational behaviour. Moreover in this report we tried to

gain some practical knowledge about how the internal environment of an organization i.e.

the employees are responding to the application of such motivational programmes in the

organization.

1.3 - MethodologyIn this report, our findings are to analyze the process how Airtel motivate

their employee. To do so we at first describe the company and organizational structure

and the usual ways of how a company can identify the needs of an employee in an

organization. Then we have discussed and analyzed the various motivational programmes

that are in use at Airtel Bangladesh. In the final stage we have included our overall

analysis on the use of motivational theories by Airtel and this has been followed by a

recommendation which includes our opinion i.e. our suggestions to Airtel based on our

knowledge of Organizational Behaviour we have acquired through this course.

We have mostly used the data from different websites and newspapers. Along with the

secondary data we also interviewed some personals from the company to better our

understanding about Airtel. In terms of analysis we have relied on relevant discussion of

our text book.1.4 - Limitations

In seeking information to write this report we faced some limitations of the information

which were kept confidential. The most important problems are as follows:

Lack of the sufficient information

Airtel is a private organization in Bangladesh and due to organization

limitation they usually do not provide sufficient information on their overall

plans and strategies regarding their organizational structure etc.

Research Limitation

As we have to prepare the report on motivational programmes of the

organization we have to evaluate their employee management skill. In this

situation we did not get sufficient information regarding how the managers

supervise the employee or how a team leader works in a group in this

organization.

1.5 - Mission: Establish and sustain as a consumer centric organization Provide high quality and innovative communication services, through state of the art infrastructure and a team of professionals Continuously develop, motivate and empower our people Achieve profitable growth for all our stake holders Vision:To become the essential communications provider in Bangladesh of high quality voice and innovative data services by offering affordable products and services to all market segments and to become an integral part of their daily lives.

Chapter: 02

Literature review

In this section I will describe and explain the concepts, models and theories that are

relevant in the field of motivation and necessary to facilitate a comprehensive analysis

and understanding of the research question .It may be useful to conceptualise the term

financial motivation and what its concepts are. A broader definition of motivation will be

introduced.

2.1- What is motivation?

According to Greenberg and Baron (2000 p190) this definition could be divided into

three main parts. The first part looks at arousal that deals with the drive, or energy behind

individual (s) action. People turn to be guided by their interest in making a good

impression on others, doing interesting work and being successful in what they do. The

second part referring to the choice people make and the direction their behaviour takes.

The last part deals with maintaining behaviour clearly defining how long people have to

persist at attempting to meet their goals. Kreitner (1995), Buford, Bedeian &Linder

(1995), Higgins (1994) all cited in Linder (1998,p3) defined motivation as the

psychological process that gives behaviour purpose and direction, a predisposition to

behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific unmet needs, an unsatisfied need, and

the will to achieve, respectively. Young (2000, p1) suggest that motivation can be defined

in a variety of ways, depending on who you ask .Ask someone on the street, you may get

a response like its what drives us or its what make us do the things we do.

Therefore motivation is the force within an individual that account for the level,

direction, and persistence of effort expended at work.Halepota (2005, p16) defines motivation as a persons active participation and

commitment to achieve the prescribed results.

Halepota further presents that the concept of motivation is abstract because different

strategies produce different results at different times and there is no single strategy that

can produce guaranteed favorable results all the times.

According to Antomioni (1999, p29), the amount of effort people are willing to

put in their work depends on the degree to which they feel their motivational needs will

be satisfied. On the other hand, individuals become de-motivated if they feel something

in the organization prevents them from attaining good outcomes. It can be observed from

the above definitions that, motivation in general, is more or less basically concern with

factors or events that moves, leads, and drives certain human action or inaction over a

given period of time given the prevailing conditions. Furthermore the definitions suggest

that there need to be an invisible force to push people to do something in return. It

could also be deduced from the definition that having a motivated work force or creating

an environment in which high levels of motivation are maintained remains a challenge

for todays management. This challenge may emanate from the simple fact that

motivation is not a fixed trait as it could change with changes in personal,

psychological, financial or social factors. For this thesis, the definition of motivation by

Greenberg & Baron (2003) is adopted, as it is more realistic and simple as it considers the

individual and his performance. Greenberg & Baron defines motivation as:

The set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain human behaviour towards

attaining some goal. (Greenberg &Baron, 2003, p190) Bassett-Jones &Lloyd (2005,

p931) presents that two views of human nature underlay early research into employee

motivation. The first view focuses on Taylorism, which viewed people as basically lazy

and work shy, and thus held that these set of employees can only be motivated by

external stimulation. The second view was based on Hawthorn findings, which held the

view that employees are motivated to work well for its own sake as well as for the

social and monetary benefits this type of motivation according to this school was

internally motivated.

2.2 - Motivational theories

Even though much research been conducted on the field of financial motivation and

manyresearchers and writers have proposed theories on the concept of financial

motivation, and its role in enhancing employees performance in every organisation some

of these models have been widely used and accepted by todays organisations leaders. In

this thesis discussion on some of the motivational theories will include Alders (ERG

theory), Maslow (Need theory), Vrooms (Expectancy theory), Adams (Social equity

theoty), Taylor (productivity theory), Herzberg (Two factor theory), Mac Gregory (theory

X and Y), Geogopalaus (path goal theory) and skinner (Reward theory). To better

understand this discussion a summary of the theories is presented and an indebt

discussion on Maslow and ERG theories on which I base my thesis overlooked.

Alder asserts in his Existence relatedness and growth theory commonly known as the

ERG theory that there are three basic human needs: Existence, relatedness and growth,

which must be meet by an employee to enable him, increase performance. Maslow

(1943) suggests that human needs can be classified into five categories and that

these categories can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance. These include

physiological, security, belongings, esteem and self-actualisation needs. According to

him a person is motivated first and foremost to satisfy physiological needs. As long as the

employees remain unsatisfied, they turn to be motivated only to fulfil them. When

physiological needs are satisfied they cease to act as primary motivational factors and the

individual moves up the hierarchy and seek to satisfy security needs. This process

continues until finally selfactualisation needs are satisfied. According to Maslow the

rationale is quite simple because employees who are too hungry or too ill to work will

hardly be able to make much a contribution to productivity hence difficulties in meeting

organisational gaols.

Vroom (1964) proposes that people are motivated by how much they want something and

how likely they think they are to get it he suggest that motivation leads to efforts and the

efforts combined with employees ability together with environment factors which

interplays resulting to performance. This performance interns leads to various outcomes,

each of which has an associated value called Valence.

Adams (1965) on his part suggests that people are motivated to seek social equity in the

rewards they receive for high performance. According to him the outcome from job

includes; pay, recognition, promotion, social relationship and intrinsic reward .to get

these rewards various inputs needs to be employed by the employees to the job as time,

experience, efforts, education and loyalty. He suggests that, people tend to view their

outcomes and inputs as a ratio and then compare these ratios with others and turn to

become motivated if this ratio is high.

Taylor (1911) observed the soldering by employees, which is a situation whereby

workers work less than full capacity. He argued that soldering occurs due to the fact

employees fear that performing high will lead to increasing productivity, which might

cause them to lose their jobs. This slow paces of work where promoted by faulty systems

however this situation is not what prevails with contemporary employees who

organisations evaluate them through their performance.Herzberg suggested that there are

factors in a job, which causes satisfaction. These he called intrinsic factors (motivators)

and other factor he refers to as dissatisfies (hygiene factors). According to him if the

motivational factors are met, the employee becomes motivated and hence performs

higher. Mac Gregory suggested that there exist two sets of employees (lazy and ambitious

employees) With lazy employees representing theory X, hard and ambitious workers

representing Y. According to him the lazy employee should be motivated to increase

performance in an organization Geogopalaus path Goal theory of motivation states that, if

a worker sees high productivity as a path leading to the attainment of one or more of his

personal goals, he will turn to be a high producer. But if he sees low productivity as the

path leading to the attainment of his goal he will turn to be a low producer and hence

needs to be motivated.This discussion on the above motivational theories explains the

fact that the concept ofemployees motivation has been a critical factor addressed by

previous authors as what determines the core competence of every organisation in

achieving a competitive position.

According to Bassette-jones & Lloyd (2005,p.932) expectancy, equity, goal setting and

reinforcement theory have resulted in the development of a simple model of motivational

alignment. The model suggest that once needs of employees are identified, and

organizational objectives and also satisfy employee needs .If poorly aligned, then low

motivation will be the outcome.

According to (Wiley, 1997,p264) modern approaches to motivation may be organised

into three related clusters: (1) personality-based views (2) cognitive choice or decision

approaches and (3) goal or self-regulation perspective; where personality-based views

emphasise the influence of enduring personal characteristics as they affect goal choice

and striving. Workplace behaviour is posited to be determined by persons current need

state in certain universal need category. Cognitive choice approaches to work motivation

emphasise two determinant of choice and action; expectations, and subjective valuation

of the consequences associated with each alternative. These expectancy value theories are

intended to predict an individual choice or decision. Goal framework to work motivation

emphasise the factors that influence goal striving which focuses on the relationship

between goals and work behaviour. The assumption is that an employees conscious

intentions (goals) are primary determines of task-related motivation since goals direct

their thoughts and action. It is worth noting that an in-depth review of all the different

theories mentioned above, is beyond the scope of this thesis. However, the personality-

based perspective of work motivation within which Maslow need theory of motivation

and Alders ERG theory falls will provide the main support and serve as a foundation for

the research reported in this thesis. Specifically, as organisational scholars have paid a

great deal of attention to the idea that people are motivated to use their jobs as

mechanisms for satisfying their needs. This thesis intend to use Maslows hierarchy of

need theory of motivation as a foundation to identify the factors that motivate todays

employees, and in the process determine a ranking order of factors that motivates these

employees, the original Maslow theory will be looked at more detail hereof.

2.3- History and Explanation of Maslows Hierarchy of Need Theory

The motivation to work published by Maslow probably provided the field of

organizational behaviour and management with a new way of looking at employees job

altitudes or behaviours in understanding how humans are motivated. Probably the best-

known conceptualisation of human needs in organisations has been proposed by this

theory. Abraham Maslow was a clinical psychologist who introduced his theory based on

personal judgement, which was generally known as the need hierarchy theory. According

to him if people grew in an environment in which their needs are not met, they will be

unlikely to function as healthy individuals or well-adjusted individuals. This idea was

later applied to organisations to emphasise the idea that unless employees get their needs

met on the job, they will not function as effectively as possible. Specifically Maslow

theorised that people have five types of needs and that these are activated in a

hierarchical manner. This means that these needs are aroused in a specific order from

lowest to highest, such that the lowest-order need must be fulfilled before the next order

need is triggered and the process continues. If you look at this in a motivational point of

view Maslows theory says that a need can never be fully met, but a need that is almost

fulfilled does not longer motivate. According to Maslow you need to know where a

person is on the hierarchical pyramid in order to motivate him/her. Then you need to

focus on meeting that persons needs at that level (Robbins 2001) According to

Greenberg and Baron (2003,p192) the five needs identified by Maslow corresponds with

the three needs of Alderfers ERG theory. Where as Maslow theory specifies that the

needs be activated in order from lowest to highest Alders theory specifies that the

needs can be activated in any order. His approach is much simpler than Maslows. Alder

specifies that there exist three main needs as opposed to five postulated by Maslow. This

human basic needs include existence, relatedness and growth. These needs according to

Alder need not necessarily activated in any specific order and may be activated at any

time. According to him Existence needs corresponds to Maslows physiological needs and

safety needs. Relatedness needs corresponds to Maslows social needs and growth needs

corresponds to esteem and self-actualisation needs by Maslow Below is a summary of

these needs that in this thesis are divided into Deficiency needs (psychological, safety,

social needs) and Growth needs (esteem, self-actualisation needs).

Factors Explanation:

Physiological needs are the need at the bottom of the triangle and include the lowest

order need and most basic. This includes the need to satisfy the fundamental biological

drives such as food, air, water and shelter. According to Maslow organisations must

provide employees with a salary that enable them to afford adequate living conditions.

The rationale here is that any hungry employee will hardly be able to make much of any

contribution to his organisation.

Safety needs: this occupies the second level of needs. Safety needs are activated after

physiological needs are met. They refer to the need for a secure working environment

free from any threats or harms. Organisations can provide these need by providing

employees with safety working equipment e.g. hardhats, health insurance plans, fire

protection etc. The rationale is that employees working in an environment free of harm

do their jobs without fear of harm.

Social needs: This represents the third level of needs. They are activated after safety

needs are met. Social needs refer to the need to be affiliated that is (the needed to be

loved and accepted by other people). To meet these needs organisations encourage

employees participation in social events such as picnics, organisations bowling etc

Esteem needs: this represents the fourth level of needs. It includes the need for self-

respect and approval of others. Organisations introduce awards banquets to recognise

distinguished achievements.

Self-actualisation: This occupies the last level at the top of the triangle. This refers to

the need to become all that one is capable of being to develop ones fullest potential. The

rationale here holds to the point that self-actualised employees represent valuable assets

to the organisation human resource. Most research on the application of need theory

found that although lower-level managers are able to satisfy only their deficiency needs

on the jobs, managers at the top level of organisations are able to satisfy both their

deficiency and growth needs (Greenberg &Baron 2003 p.194) this view was supported by

Shipley & Kiely (1988, p.18) Shiply & Kiely (1988,p.18) argue that as need satisfaction

is an attitude, and that it is perfectly possible for a worker to be satisfied with his/her

need, but not be motivated the reverse of which holds equally true. Hence, need

satisfaction and motivation are not synonymous and both need fulfilment and un-

fulfilment can have negative as well as positive influence on motivation.

2.4 - Empirical studies on employee motivation using the original and adapted Maslows model

If any person has to come up with the question that is there any need for employees

motivation? The answer to this type of question of-course should be simple-the basic

survival of every organisation be it public or private limited before, today and in the

foreseeable future lies in how well its work force is motivated to meet the objectives of

the organisation. This explains why the human resource department in todays

organisation is became a focus of its core functions. I think that motivated employees are

needed in this rapidly Business world where the principal-agent conflict is the issue

confronting most managers. Most organizations now consider their human resources as

their most valuable assets (a strategic or competitive advantage). Therefore, in order to

effectively and efficiently utilise this strategic asset, I believe managers and the

organisation as a whole, must be able and willing to understand and hopefully provide the

factors that motivate its employees within the context of the roles and duties they

perform. This is because highly motivated employees are the cause of high productivity

levels and hence higher profits for the organisation. Having noted this rationale the next

question one may ask is what factors motivate todays employees? According to Wiley

(1997, p265) at some point during our lives, virtually every person may have to work. He

claims that working is such a common phenomenon that the question what motivates

people to work is seldom asked. Wiley went on to say that we are much more likely to

wonder why people climb mountains or commit suicide than to question the motivational

basis of their work,. Therefore, exploring the altitudes that employees hold concerning

factors that motivate them to work is important to creating an environment that

encourages employee motivation. From the much amount of literature available on

employee motivation, it is clearly evident that a lot of surveys regarding employees and

what motivates them have been undertaking. These employee motivation surveys have

been conducted in many different job situations, among different categories of employees

using different research methods and applications. One of the very first survey to be

conducted was on industrial workers by (Hershey & Blanchard, 1969) over the years,

similar or different survey employees have been carried out see (Kovach, 1987, 1993)

(Wiley, 1995), (Lindner, 1998, 1999). According to a research carried out by Kovach on

industrial employees who were asked to rank ten job rewards factors based on personal

preferences where the value 1 represented most preferred and 10 being the least

preferred. The results were as follows (1) full appreciation of work done (2) feeling of

being (3) sympathetic help with personal problems (4) job security (5) Good wages and

salaries (6) interesting work (7) promotion & Growth (8) employees loyalty (9) Good

working conditions (10) tactful discipline During the periods of (1946, 1981 & 1986)

when employee surveys were carried out, supervisors were at the time asked to rank job

rewards, as they taught employees would rank them. The rankings by the supervisors

were relatively consistent for each of the years. These rankings were as follows: (1) Good

wages (2) Job security (3) promotion and Growth (4) working conditions (5) interesting

work (6) personal loyalty to employees (7) tactful discipline (8) full appreciation (9)

sympathetic help with personal problems (10) recognition (Kovach 1987 p.49-54)

The results from the supervisor survey indicated that their ranking had not changed over

the study period with regards their collective perception of factors that motivate

employees. This shows that they had a very inaccurate perception of what motivates

employees but also that they did not realise the importance of the need theory

In a survey by Wiley (1997, p.278) in which approximately 550 questionnaires were

administered to person employed at different industries and divided into 5 subgroups, or

categories namely: (occupation, gender, income levels, employment status and age) they

were asked to rank 10 factors according to the level of importance each is in motivating

them to perform best with the most important factor ranked 1 and the least important

ranked 10th. The survey concluded with the following collective rank order by

respondents: (1) Good wages (2) full appreciation of work done (3) job security (4)

promotion (5) interesting work (6) company loyalty to employees (7) Good working

conditions (8) tactful discipline (9) recognition (10) sympathetic help with personal

problems. The results from a representative sample of the labour force in seven different

countries by Harpaz (1991 p.75) showed that the two most dominant work goals were

interesting work and Good wages; He further concluded that these two factors were

consistent across different organisational levels, between genders and age groups.

Quinn (1997) also cited in Harpaz (1991 p.311) concluded, When the ratings of twenty

three job related factors (including the need factors) were carried out, the conclusion

reached was that no single factor was pre-eminently important. He further pointed out

that, The most aspect of the worker job was that of sufficient resources to perform a

task. From the above studies presented so far, the rankings by different subgroups have

shown semantic differences in the importance placed on different motivational factors.

For example (Kovach, 1987,Wiley, 1997 and Harpaz, 1990) .The discrepancies in these

research findings supports Nelsons (2001,p.2) positional view that what motivates

employees differs and may change for the same employee over time. It is appropriate at

this level to give a brief summary of the previous researches in this thesis. Even though

the original need hierarchy theory was presented some 50 years ago, some of its if not all

factors remain of significant importance to employees today. The large number of earlier

and recent studies investigating employee motivation using sometimes the original or

modified version of Maslows theory, may continue the appreciation of this theory and

the issue of employee motivation. The literature also shows that where the original theory

was lacking (short comings or criticised for), has been greatly taken into consideration.

Researchers have taken issues such as differences in gender, age, income, culture &

countries etc and how these may affect or influence employee work motivation

extensively. The commonality between these previous researches is the agreement that

certain factors are more important as motivational factors than others and that these

factors may change from one employee to another. These previous studies have also been

taken using different methods, from surveys, questionnaires, face-face interviews, but

their outcomes have not differed significantly. A possible explanation could be due to the

fact that even though these studies were carried out using different methods and target

population, the motivators factors remain same. The literature used in this thesis covers a

wide range of time period, highly relevant and useful for addressing the purpose of this

thesis.

2.5 - Airtels Motivation:Airtel's operational activities in Bangladesh aim to achieve a new and modern corporate

identity, which is fitting with the energetic changes taking place in the telecom industry

today. The aim is to be perceived not only as a telecommunication operator of voice

services, but also as a universal provider of complete communications services for both

residential and business customers.

The tools required to recognize the needs of the employees:

Prioritizing employee recognition, we can ensure a positive, productive,

innovative organizational climate. People who feel appreciated are more positive about

themselves and their ability to contribute. Employee recognition programs cover a wide

spectrum of activities. They range from a spontaneous and private thank you on up to

widely publicizes formal programs in which specific types of behavior are encouraged

and the procedures for attaining recognition are clearly identified.

When an employee has done his work properly, his effort is appreciated. For example,

the project head or his immediate senior sends the employee, an email which addresses

his involvement and determination in accomplishing the task that was assigned. The mail

is CC to the department head and also all the members in the project. The email works as

recognition for the task being well done. Airtel has a company magazine which is issued

quarterly every year, where the employees accomplishment is acknowledged to the

entire organization.

In May 2008, one year after the launch of Airtelin Bangladesh, the organization

organized an award ceremony for the employees. This was addressed to all the employees

who were there in helping the launching of the company in the Bangladesh market. Some

of the employees where given medals for there outstanding performance and many got

certificates for their devotion towards the organization. The certificate was signed by the

CEO of Airtel. For instance, twice a year Airtel has their appraisal of the employees to

judge their performance and evaluate them based on their given requirement of the

organization. This appraisal helps them in their advancement in the organization and also

identifies whether they need any sort of training to improve their performance. The

decision is based on their performance which they have performed throughout the year.

The major element that decides their advancement is how many times there work was

appreciated by the senior. As we have already said before, that they get written

acknowledgement from their manager which accounts for their advancement.

These are some of the reinforcement programs that are offered to the employees :

Consistent with reinforcement theory, rewarding a behavior with recognition immediately

following that behavior is likely to encourage its repetition. According to the theory,

recognition can take many forms. It could be in the form of personally congratulating an

employee in private for a good job, sending handwritten note or an email message,

acknowledging something positive. Public recognition can motivate employees who have

a strong need for social acceptance.

How the needs of an employee are met

The employee needs are indentified from the work that they have performed. Each

employee has their own task assigned to them and they have their seniors to whom they

have to account for the task progress. If the senior feels that the employee is not working

to his full potential or is being unable to perform the task, he will have a face to face

meeting with the employee to identify the latters needs. Since the span of control is

small in the organization, the manager can afford to have one to one meeting regarding

employee needs. This gives a positive feeling towards the organizational culture and is a

part of belongingness.

The need can be of many types. For example, an employee is not satisfied with the

environment of the work place, are in conflicting terms with the coworkers, the work

demands certain skill that the employee does not have and so on. To solve such problems,

the manager can address the employee by counseling him, assigning him other works

which he finds comfortable. Most important thing that the senior has to do is to make the

employee feel that he is a part of the organization and his work can account for attaining

the organizational goals.

Moreover, the needs can be attained by providing training to the employees where it is

needed. This training can help improve their performance in the organization and in some

situation they send their employees to local as well as foreign conferences, which

broaden their horizon. The need can also be met by providing workshop to employees to

better understand their work.

As employees are overworked and stressed out, this environment makes recognition

program particularly attractive. Recognition provides a relatively low-cost means to

stimulate employee performances.

Employee recognition programs currently in use:

In the Customer Service Department of Airtel: The names of the three best performers of

a month are put up on the Business Board that the company maintains. This helps the

company to recognize, during the appraisal, if an employee would fit a position of

Supervisor. Moreover, after measuring their performance each day, the best performer of

the day is being selected and his/her name is e-mailed to all the employees in the

department. Thus, he/she gets recognition for his/her hard work each day. The number of

times an employee was recognized to be the Performer of the day is counted and the

employee with the greatest value is therefore the Employee of the month.

Every three months Airtel issues magazine for their employees, which works as a

recognition tool for the organization. Here the success of an employee is recognized. For

instance, a project was undertaken within the organization and it became a great success

and to acknowledge the work of those individuals, an article would be published on the

magazine. This works as a moral booster for the employee and their work is being

recognized by each and every one in the organization. Moreover if an employee gets

married or has a baby, then they are also acknowledged in the magazine by the entire

staff of the company. Or something that happened in the company which is worth

knowing for the employees, it can be found on the magazine. It is a method of

communication for the employees. Moreover, there is another method through which an

employees work is appreciated and it is done through email which is send to the fellow

worker. It is to show that the employees commitment to his work was noticed and was

being appreciated by the organization. Such appreciation works as a motivator for the

employee. The employees also get immediate response when they face problems

regarding their jobs. These responses depend on the needs they have to accomplish the

specific job.

The responses could be through: training based counseling

Training is required for the employees who lack knowledge about a particular task of

their respective jobs whereas counseling is done to the employees who do not feel

interested to work maybe because of the working environment or conflict with colleagues

etc.

Motivational program those are currently available in Airtel

Motivational programs are designed to encourage an individual intensity and stabilizing

the persistence level towards attaining organizational goals.

Airtel runs many motivational programs to influence the job performance of its

employees. Among them is the promotion of the high skilled or high performing workers

who strive to excel in their job outcome. For Airtel, age is not an issue to increase the

grade level and even in many cases employees are rewarded with double promotion. But

in contrast, a government employee cannot be promoted or be a manager at the age of 25

even if the employee has all the qualities. This is because of age issue which becomes a

big obstacle for the promotion and compensations. Promotions are easy interpreters of

work appreciation for an employee. It directly motivates the individual to perform better

and grow in the organization.

Training is another method which motivates the employees to learn and enhance their

knowledge of the job. It helps to provide more impacts to the work and get better job

outputs in terms of rewards, benefits and recognition. Airtel classified training into two

parts, skill based training and personal training. They appraise the employee twice a year

and from the assessment they identify who might require training and lastly places them

accordingly into the two groups.

International conference helps to diversify knowledge, expand employees flexibility and

gives few privileged ones a chance to represent Airtel. These selective employees show

more loyalty and dedication to the organization. They also avail the scope to learn from

more experienced entrepreneurs managers and along with that can share their own

stories. It is assumed to be a very effective mean of motivation as they can now know

different methods to manage stress, pressure and keep up with the competitive

environment. Employees tend to become more flexible regarding job rotation, job

enlargement, transfers, schedule, etc. Many times employees might have to attend offices

on weekends to meet the work load; therefore this sort of flexibility comes after the

international seminars. When the privileged group returns from their tour, they are shown

more respect which on the other hand encourages the other employees to work harder to

attain these types of benefits.

Airtel also motivates by providing counseling to their employees. When their employees

performance level decreases or if the employees face some problem then the team leader

directly discusses the problems and tries to solve them. The leader eases his or her

influential power to inspire the employee and also shows a way to overcome the road

blocks. Through this method employee can share any form of grievance, inequality,

inability etc. Any personal troubles or cultural differences can come to the knowledge of

Airtel through this manner.

Another current move Airtel took was the introduction of transportation facility for the

women who work late at night, usually due for roasters. And, also for the call-centre and

customer department which operates till late night, transportation is provided to ensure

security to the women worker and to improve their performance instead of worrying the

whole time about safety and transportation obstacles. Airtel is currently giving a lot of

thought for the working mothers; therefore they are planning to launch day care facility

so that they can invest more time on their mental skills of the job.

The elements used to motivate an employee

Motivational elements are categorized as Career development, Morning meetings,

medical bills, magazines and lot more by Airtel. These elements act as intrinsic factors in

achieving job satisfaction among the workers. It helps the worker feel good or bad about

the job. Herzbergs two-factor theory proposes that an individuals attitude towards work

can help to determine his or her success level. In the same manner, Airtel employees can

be grouped as job satisfied employees; and it also reflects in the success level the telecom

company attained in such a short period of time, by becoming the third player in its

market.

Career development allows employees to grow in their respective field of work. It

provides them the chance to expand their knowledge limit and move up in the hierarchy.

Mr. Saiful Islam expressed how he is exposed to varieties of chances to diversify his C.V.

in here. He also compared his work experience of Grameen Phone with Airtel, and

concluded that, last 2 years helped him to advance his designation which might not have

been possible if he stayed back in Grameen. As they have already reached a matured

stage so there was less opportunity of development for the new comers. The significance

of this factor plays a big role in motivating the employees.

Airtel has a unique policy to use all the ideas, creativity and views of their staffs by

holding a morning meeting, department wise. On this meeting Heads of the department

introduce a new dimension and then the rest of the team member contributes their thought

about it. This is an integral part for the organizational citizenship that the workers feel. It

is perceived by the employees that their voices are counted before authorizing any new

plan or order. Through the morning meetings employees can also share the obstacles

they face during their work. Another direct factor is the publication of Magazines which

is done quarterly. It records all the important events occurred in the organization,

employee promotions, transfer, marriage or new born babies pictures. Basically, everyone

feels like a family when these magazines are delivered to their desktop.A huge portion of

the medical bills are taken care of by the Airtel organization. It makes the life of

employees more secure and helps to relieve them from the burden of medical expense

and concentrate on the work. It motivates them to keep working harder as the percentage

discounted also depends on the grade level. Motivation for Low Skilled EmployeesIn case of low skilled employees, respective line managers need to sit one to one with such employees and figure out reasons why they are not being able to perform as expected. After discussion, line manager needs to figure out their challenges and how it can be overcome. In most of the cases, trainings are arranged so that such employees can be brought up to the mark. The line manager needs to explain them their importance in the company and urge them to put additional effort to enhance their required skills. If an employees skills are not up to the mark for a particular department, he/she is sometimes given the opportunity to move to other departments for which he/she has adequate skills.

Motivation for Top Performers

This refers to that group of people who are already skilled and are doing their work pretty

well and has the capability to grow further in the company. Airtel prefers to send this

group of people for training which are based on Personal Development and on

Leadership. They are also being sent to different International Training Programs and

seminars which broaden their view and give them complete new dimensions as to how

their respective tasks could be done. Through such seminars these employees also come

across top performers of several other institutions from around the globe.

These steps taken by the company has proved to be very beneficial because the

employees take it as a privilege to be a part of such International Programs. This

enhances their self esteem and thus they strive to work harder.

Effectiveness of Current Motivational ProgramsAs a telecom operator, Airtel has several divisions (e.g. Sales, Customer Service, IT, Engineering etc). Each division has its own motivational program/s.Customer Service: Recently, as a motivation enhancement program,customer service division arranged a day out where all the employees were taken out of Dhaka for the

entire day. Top performers of the department were provided medals and certificates. Such programs are arranged quite frequently by Customer Service to motivate and rejuvenate employees and increase bonding between the employees.Sales: As a motivation program, employees of sales division are assigned monthly and quarterly sales targets and are provided with bonus on achievement. This motivates the employees to push harder for additional sales which contribute to addition of subscriber base and enhancement of revenue.Such performance based programs are designed and implemented by individual departments which both provides motivation to the employees and also contributes to the overall success of the organization.

2.6 - Organizational Citizenship

The factor which acts as the most important motivational tool and has a huge influence

on employee performance is the organizational citizenship.

Airtel portrays an internal structure which gives space to its employees to experiment

with new ideas, provides them a creative field to bring in innovation and change. This

means that an employee has more scope to bring out their talent and thus has a greater

scope to grow.When an employee feels that his/her idea is being accepted by the

management and is put into practice, the employee feels honored and endeavor for a

better performance. This not only increases his/her productivity but also the productivity

and performance of the company as a whole.Airtel, being a 4.5 year old company, has an

employee base, the majority of who are employed in the company since its pre-launched

period. These employees feel that they have built the company with their very own hands

and wherever the company stands today-in terms of attaining the 2nd position in the

Telecommunication industry and having a customer base of three million is because of

their hard work and dedication towards it. This feeling makes the employees have a

stronger approach towards the company which not only encourages them to attain their

individual/departmental goals, but also make them think of ways and strategies to firmly

stabilize the company in the Telecommunication sector of Bangladesh.

2.7 - Finding and Analysis

Compared to other telecom company, when Airtel is very new in this sector its market

operation was for only 2.5 years and it is already attaining the 4th position in the

Telecommunication industry and having a customer base of three millions, and now they

are in the second position which I have discussed earlier about their present situation .

We can make an assumption that in the future Airtel has lot to offer. Since, there

accomplishment speaks greater than words. Holding such a position would not have been

possible without the devotion of their employees. There employees are motivated enough

to be able to achieve their desire goal and even to go farther.

Chapter: 03

Recommendation

Airtel Bangladesh has been efficiently managing their employee and achieving employee

satisfaction by providing a good working environment and hence driving them to work

for attaining the company goals. Since, it has been already discussed that most of the

employees in Airtel have pre-experience of working in with the companys competitors

before it launched its business in this country, we believe that what these employees

would always compare between their past work place and the current one. The most

important thing is that, the company should be concerned that the employees feel the

respect in their current workplace which would highly distinguish their current job from

their past ones. So, for Airtel, garnering respect within the employee for the sake for

motivating them to work is a major challenge.

Conclusion

Airtel Bangladesh is operating in a market where competition is huge. In order to get the

best out of the market the only option that all the telecom companies in Bangladesh now

have is to focus on providing better quality service. Better quality service depends on

factors like employee satisfaction within the organization i.e. whether skilled labour force

is motivated to work for the organization. Since there is also a scarcity for skilled labour

in this industry, be it in the role of technical or management, it is important for a

company to keep track of the employee management. It is important for the company that

it cares about the employee as much as it wants the employees to care about the

company. The use of motivational concepts helps a company to identify the need of the

employee and then learn ways to achieve a favorable employee satisfaction.

AppendixGlossary

Self-esteem

The degree to which the qualities andcharacteristics contained in ones self concept

are perceived to be positive One's estimation of one's own self-worth. A construct that

enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1970ss but since has been considered

epiphenomenal not causal. A minority of psychologists consider positive and negative

evaluations of the self to be the sixth and seventh factors of personality. Possibly

grouped with self-efficacy, etc.

Big Five personality model

A model of the primary dimensions of individual differences in personality. The

dimensions are usually labeled extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness,

conscientiousness, and openness to experience, thought he labels vary somewhat among

researchers.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(MPTI)

A personality test designed to classify individuals according to their expressed choices

between contrasting alternatives in certain categories of traits. The categories, based on

Jungian typology, are extraversion-Introversion, Sensing-Intuition, Thinking-Feeling, and

Judging-Perceiving.The test has little credibility among research psychologists but is

widely used in educational counseling and human resource management

Type A/Type B personality

Type A personality is a personality pattern characterized by chronic competitiveness,

high levels of achievement motivation, and hostility. Type B personality is a

personality pattern characterized by low levels of competitiveness and frustration and a

relaxed, easy going approach.

Cognitive reflection

A specific mental ability. The tendency to reflect before taking an intuitive answer as

correct.

Motivation

The processes that account for an individuals intensity, direction, and persistence of

effort toward attaining a goal.

Hierarchy

A hierarchy (sometimes abbreviated HR) can link entities either directly or indirectly,

and either vertically or horizontally. The only direct links in a hierarchy, insofar as they

are hierarchical, are to one's immediate superior or to one of one's subordinates, although

a system that is largely hierarchical can also incorporate alternative hierarchies. Indirect

hierarchical links can extend "vertically" upwards or downwards via multiple links in the

same direction, following a path.

Telecommunication

Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to

communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals,

such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical

heliographs , or audio messages via coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, or sent by loud whistles.Bibliography

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Mailing address of Airtel customer care: customerservice@bd.airtel.com

Questionnaire

Keys:

Strongly agree - SA

Agree - A

Uncertain - U

Disagree -DS

1. My Manager/supervisor regards me as good worker

2. I receive the recognition I deserve for the work I do

3. I know exactly what is expected of me to carry out my daily task satisfactory

4. The training I receive enables me to perform well

5. If I disagree with my manager/supervisor I have an opportunity to discuss with him

6. I know what the companys objective is and how I can contribute towards the achievement thereof

7. If people in our section do not agree on a matter, it is ignored rather than discussed

8. If I compare my salary with that of people in other companies , I feel satisfied

9. My superior notices my hard work and gives me the necessary recognition for it

10. If I do my tasks I have sufficient opportunities for promotion

11. My senior is interested in the work I do

12. My work load is of such a nature that I can give sufficient attention to my tasks

13. The team spirit in our branch is very good

14. I have felt part of the organization since having been appointed here

15. My potential is fully utilized