A Term Paper on

Strategic Human Resource Management in Action: A Study on

Unilever Bangladesh
HRM: 501
Strategic Human Resource Management

Submitted To
Dr. Nadia Newaz Rimi
Associate Professor
Department of Management
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka

Submitted By
Group: Maxim

SL No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Name
Md. Mizanur Rahman
Md. Mizanur Rahman
Shimul Sheikh
Emran Mollah
Mohammad Rasel

Program: MBA
Batch: 18; Section B

Date of Submission: September 07, 2016

Roll
204
217
247
251
266

Table of Contents
No.

Description

Page No

1.

Introduction

2.

Literature Review

3.

Brief Introduction About the Organization

4.

Strategic HRM Practices in Unilever Bangladesh

5.

Analysis and Findings

19

Recommendation

20

Conclusion

20

Bibliography

21

6.
7.
8.

Appendix
No
1.

Description

Page No

Questionnaire

22

List of Figures
No

Description

Page No

1.

Organizational Structure of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

2.

Selection Process of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

11

3.

Training Process of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

13

4.

Modes of Training at Unilever Bangladesh Limited at a Glance

14

5.

Learning Model of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

16

6.

Learning Model of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

18

1. Introduction
1.1 Preamble
Every organization or business is headed towards a future (vision) for which it focuses on its
purpose or current activities (mission). The business strategy is developed based on the vision and
mission (in line with why we exist and where we are headed). Thereafter, objectives are developed
which are measurable and quantifiable form of what are to be achieved. All these, vision, mission,
strategy, goals and objectives are set and carried out by human resources using other non-human
resources. Here, the importance of human resources emerges. Human Resource Management
(HRM) means planning and decision making regarding anticipating demand for and ascertaining
supply of human resources; organizing, leading, and controlling human resources. More
specifically, HRM involves acquiring (recruiting and hiring the best employees), developing
(training and development, learning, skills and competency development), motivating (offering
lucrative compensation package, creating a culture of employee involvement and learning,
excellent work environment); and finally retaining talented employees (offering lucrative
compensation package that is competitive in the market observing benchmarked companies). But
now-a-days, merely these activities are not enough; that is, to make it clear: only focusing on HRM
process or activities (ignoring the fact that HRM process and functions have no worth unless HRM
is aligned with strategic management and organizational or business strategy) is a myopia.
Therefore, HRM strategy has to be aligned with business strategy and for this purpose thereof,
Strategic HRM came into light. Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the practice
of attracting, developing, rewarding, and retaining employees for the benefit of both the employees
as individuals and the organization as a whole. Under SHRM philosophy, all departments works
interdependently rather than independently and this coordinated approach creates a sense of
employee involvement, participation, and development while at the same time conducting general
HRM process (rewarding and motivating and retention): the goal is to achieve organizational
objectives through happy and efficient workforce. Moreover, a committed, skilled and flexible
workforce is the key to sustained competitive advantage (Kramar et al., 1997). Hence, SHRM is
indispensable for organizational growth and stockholders value. This term paper is developed
focusing on the study of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) and action in a
Bangladeshi organization: A study on Unilever Bangladesh Limited.

1.2 Objective of the Study

The objectives of this term paper entails a set of measurable targets to be achieved within a time
frame using available resources. These objectives are classified into broad and specific which are
presented below:a) Broad Objectives:

To study and analyze the Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) practices
of Unilever Bangladesh Limited.

b) Specific Objectives:

To study talent management in Unilever Bangladesh Limited

To study the bundles of best HR practices applied in Unilever Bangladesh Limited

To explore the leadership, learning and development programs offered in Unilever

Bangladesh Limited

To scrutinize the acquisition (recruitment and selection), development (training and

development, learning and leadership), motivation (internal and external), and retention
policies and practices of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

1.3 Methodology of the Study

a) Data Collection:
i)

Primary Data:-

A survey was conducted of some key HR people through disseminating questionnaires.

i)

Secondary Data:-

More details were retrieved from the official website of Unilever Bangladesh and its last published
annual report.

b) Analysis:
As on the type of topic, there is little scope for quantitative analysis, so this paper is fleshed out
through quantitative analysis.

1.4 Scope of the Study

This term paper covers the study of SHRM practices of Unilever Bangladesh. The study has
been conducted on the Head-Office, Gulshan, Dhaka, it doesnt cover information of other
regional offices located in outside Dhaka.

1.5 Limitations of the Study

In spite of considerable efforts and hard work this report is still subject to some unavoidable
limitations:

Although the overall response was good and the employees were nice to help, some
information was difficult to access due to confidential purpose.

Employees are always busy with their works; so they were in that time also. Therefore,
they could not cooperate us through fulfilling all of our queries and some of them
neglected to support us.

Our study only covers the SHRM practices of Dhaka Office; other regional offices are not
taken into consideration.

2. Literature Review
2.1 What is strategic HRM (SHRM)?
Strategic HRM is an approach that defines how the organizations goals will be achieved through
people by means of HR strategies and integrated HR policies and practices. Strategic HRM is
concerned with seeing the people of the organization as a strategic resource for the achievement
of competitive advantage (Hendry and Pettigrew, 1986). It is A set of processes and activities
jointly shared by human resources and line managers to solve people-related business problems
(Schuler and Walker, 1990). It is also called The macro-organizational approach to viewing the
role and function of HRM in the larger organization (Butler et al, 1991). It is also called the
pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization
to achieve its goals (Wright and McMahan, 1992). Strategic HRM focuses on actions that
differentiate the firm from its competitors (Purcell, 1999). Finally, it is the central premise of

strategic human resource management theory is that successful organizational performance

depends on a close fit or alignment between business and human resource strategy (Batt, 2007).

2.2 What Strategic Human Resource Planning (SHRP)?

Strategic Human Resource Planning is a process which seeks to link the human resource needs of
an organization to its strategic plan to ensure that staffing is sufficient, skilled, and competent
enough to achieve the organization's objectives (Businessdictionary.com, 2016)

2.3 What is Gap Analysis?

Conducting a gap analysis for human resources gives leaders a reading on future employment
requirements by identifying the competencies their vision requires and comparing them to those
available from current employees.

2.4 What is Job Analysis?

Job analysis means examination of the jobs in an organization with a view to documenting the
tasks, duties and responsibilities of a job and the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes
required for the successful performance of these jobs (Belcourt, 2015)

2.5 What is Recruitment and Selection?

Recruitment is the process of identifying that the organization needs to employ someone up to
the point at which application forms for the post have arrived at the organization. Selection then
consists of the processes involved in choosing from applicants a suitable candidate to fill a post.
(Business case studies, 2016).

2.6 What is Talent Management?

Talent management is an organization's commitment to recruit, retain, and develop the most
talented and superior employees available in the job market.

2.7 What are High Performance Work Practices?

High performance work practices (HPWPs) are human resource management practices aimed at
stimulating employee and organizational performance.

3. Brief Introduction About the Organization

3.1 Unilever Global
Unilever is one of the leading multinational Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company in the world
owning many of the world's most popular consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning
agents, and personal care products. With 400 brands spanning 14 categories of home, personal
care and foods products, Unilever has shaped so many peoples lives in so many different ways
that many companies find it difficult to imitate. The company is one of the top 100 Fortune 500
companies in the world (Ranked 106 in 2006 in terms of revenue). Formed of Anglo-Dutch
parentage, its history can be traced back to the 1930s, when it started its operation with just soap
and margarine. Unilever was instituted and launched in 1930 by the amalgamation of the
operations of British soap-maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie,
a logical merger as palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines and soaps and could be
imported more efficiently in larger quantities. Today, the company has already expanded its
operation in massive scale not only becoming a local giant but also has enlarged its scope
worldwide by being incorporated into a renowned multinational corporation with operating
companies, factories and research laboratories throughout

the world. Instances of these

laboratories are :- Vlaardingen in the Netherlands, Colworth and Port Sunlight in England;
Trumbull, Connecticut, and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in the United States; Bangalore in
India, etc. In Asia, Unilever is present in twenty countries including Australia, Bangladesh,
Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan and enjoys the position of market leader in many Asia pacific
countries such as India, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Unilever has two parent
companies: Unilever NV in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Unilever PLC in London, England. Both
of these companies have the same directors and effectively operate as a single business. The
company is widely listed on the world's stock exchanges. For better control and management and

for reporting purposes the operations of Unilever around the world have been divided into different
regions.

Unilever owns more than 400 brands as a result of acquisitions; however, the company focuses on
what are called the "billion-dollar brands", 13 brands which each achieve annual sales in excess of
1 billion. Unilever's top 25 brands account for more than 70% of sales. The brands fall almost
entirely into two categories: Food and Beverages, and Home and Personal Care. To manage these
brands, Unilever employed more than 174,000 people and had worldwide revenue of 40.5 billion
as per figures available in 2008.

Unilever's major competitors include Procter & Gamble, Nestl, Kraft Foods, Mars Incorporated,
Reckitt Benckiser and Henkel.

3.2 Unilever Bangladesh Limited

It has been 52 years since Unilever had first started its operations in Bangladesh. Lever Brothers
Bangladesh Ltd. was a subsidiary of Unilever is leading the home care, personal care and food
product market of Bangladesh. On 25th February 1964 the eastern plant of Lever Brothers Pakistan
Ltd. was inaugurated at Kalurghat, Chittagong having a soap production capacity of approximately
485 metric tons. It was a private limited company with 55% shares held by Unilever and the rest
by the Government of Pakistan. After independence the eastern plant was declared abandoned. But
on 5th July 1973 it was registered under the name of Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd. as a joint
venture company of Unilever PLC and the Govt. of Bangladesh with a share arrangement of
60.75% to Unilever and 39.25% to the Bangladesh Govt.

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. has local manufacturing facilities, and reporting to regional business
groups for innovation and business results. The reporting regions for Unilever Bangladesh (UBL)
are Asia AMET (Asia, Middle East and Turkey), and CEC (Central and Eastern Europe), with the
regional headquarter being in Singapore.

Being operated in Bangladesh since 1948, UBL had set up its production plant in 1964,
manufacturing Lux and Lifebuoy soaps. Back in December of 2004 Lever Brothers Bangladesh

Ltd changed its corporate identity to Unilever Bangladesh Limited in line with the parent
companys global identity. Previously, both the head offices and the factory were located in
Chittagong, but as of 2002 the corporate offices are located in Dhaka, whereas production
remained at Kalurghat Heavy Industrial Area in Chittagong.

Over the years it has consolidated its strength in the FMCG sector and it is now the leading
consumer products manufacturer in the country. Over the last four decades, Unilever Bangladesh
(UBL) has been constantly bringing new and world-class products for the Bangladeshi people,
leading the market in most of the categories it operates in. Today the company is an integral part
of the lives of the people of this country, with over 90% of the households using one or more of
UBL products.
Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.s portfolio of mega brands includes Wheel, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair
&Lovely, Ponds', Close Up, Sunsilk, Dove, Axe, Rexona, Knorr and Lipton Taaza among others.
While many of its brands are big international names, the product mix are developed locally, based
on a deep understanding of local culture and markets, a strength shared across Unilever globally.

3.3 Mission
To add Vitality to life, to meet every day needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with
brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

3.4 Corporate Purpose

Unilever has an excellent corporate purpose in which they state that to succeed requires the
highest standards of corporate behavior towards everyone we work with, the communities we
touch, and the environment on which we have an impact."

3.5 Philosophy Towards People

In many respects, Unilever Bangladesh percepts itself as a community, rather than an
organization. This community is shaped and led by its people, who operate creatively within a
framework of shared values and business goals.

3.6 Organizational Structure

Figure 1: Organizational Structure of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

4. Strategic HRM Practices in Unilever Bangladesh

4.1 Strategic Human Resource Planning
Strategic Human Resource Planning is a process which seeks to link the human resource needs of
an organization to its strategic plan to ensure that staffing is sufficient, skilled, and competent
enough to achieve the organization's objectives.
4.1.1 HR Demand Forecasting Method
Demands are created when employees leave a position because of promotions, transfers and
terminations. The forecasting process is done through both subjective or judgmental and
quantitative analysis (trend analysis) which are conducted by managers and experts.
4.1.2 HR Supply Forecasting Method
In Unilever Bangladesh Limited, forecasting the availability of human resources is related to both
internal and external supplies. Qualitative technique (Markov Model) is used in HR supply
forecasting.
4.1.3 Gap Analysis
While conducting HR gap analysis, the company faces replacement problems and matching
problems. The company percepts this process as time consuming.
4.1.4 Job Analysis
Job analysis information is collected through face-to-face interview method; it is done twice a
year.

4.2 Recruitment and Selection

Unilever Bangladesh Limited recruits three types of talents:

Fresh graduates as knowledge worker

Specialist experienced people for special purpose

People for Skilled and labor based events

The employment decision is surrounded with both internal and external recruitment.
recruitment process begins after conducting need assessment.

The

4.2.1 Need Assessment

Unilever Bangladesh conducts need assessment to identify in which sector the employees are to
be recruited for achieving the business strategy and goals. While conducting this assessment the
company has to realize that it needs human resource (HR) in the following situation- vacancy in
existing posts, market expansion, increase in production capacity, launching new product,
introducing new system.
4.2.2 Recruitment options
The company recruits following two options:4.2.2.1

Internal Recruitment Channel

Promotion

Job Shifting

Organizational Issues

Administrative Issues

4.2.2.2

External Recruitment Channel

Walks-ins and write-ins

Employee referrals

Advertising

Private placement agencies & Professional search firms

Educational institutions & Professional associates

International recruitment

4.2.3 Selection Process

Recruiting

Failed to meet minimum qualification

Initial screening interview

Failed to complete application or job specification

Receiving and analyzing application forms
Failed Test
Employment test
Failed to impress interviewer
Comprehensive interview
Problems encounters

Rejected

Background investigation

Failed
Cognitive ability test
Unfitted for performing essential tasks for
jobs

Medical test
Inability to perform sample responsibilities
Work samples

Hiring decision

Figure 2: Selection Process of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

4.3 Learning and development

Learning means measurable and relatively permanent change in behavior through experience.
Training is a part of learning. Unilever designs its training programs seeking to improving three
types of skills:General/Core Skills: These are skills needed by everyone in daily life and business, and include
communication skills, interpersonal, writing skills etc.
Professional Skills: Those skills needed to do the specific job for which the employee was hired,
e.g. financial skills and knowledge of accounting practices for an accountant.
Leadership Skills: Skills needed to move the organization forwards and improve its competency.
4.3.1 The Training Process of Unilever Bangladesh Limited
4.3.1.1

Need Assessment

Unilever Bangladesh HR ensures that the employee training needs are met properly. For example,
a fresh graduate who joins the organization as a territory officer is groomed properly before he
actually starts working in his assigned territory.
Unilever Bangladesh is concerned of the fact that a graduate who is fresh out of university do not
have sufficient skills such as sales negotiation, managing people etc. Therefore, training needs are
identified accordingly. For this purpose need assessment is conducted. Three elements are
involved:Organizational Analysis: Unilever Bangladeshs management trainee program precisely feeds the
needs of the organization. Training is linked with business strategy leading to high growth and
increased market share.
Person Analysis: Unilever Bangladesh analyzes the profile of each employees and tracks who are
to be trained.
Job and Task Analysis: Unilever Bangladesh makes sure the training provided to the employees
are relevant to the job description and specification, therefore, a Marketing Executive would not
be trained on areas such as accounting or engineering as it is irrelevant to his job description or
specification.

4.3.1.2

Instructional Design

Once the HR recruits the suitable candidates for training, Unilever Bangladesh sets training goals
and specifics accordingly. In the instructional design, the skill assessment is initially done and then
the learning plan is made. The business input and the individual input is thoroughly analyzed and
then the training plan is designed. Subsequently, the training calendar is designed along with
developing the training project. Job rotation is kept in place for employees every three years, for
which they go through training, which could be regional or international.
4.3.1.3

Validation

Emphasis on the business input and the individual input reflects Unilever Bangladeshs priority
towards validation before implementing a full-scale training program.
4.3.1.4

Implementation

For approval of any training program within Unilever Bangladesh, the top management must give
green-signal to the whole project. Afterwards, line-managers from each department are appointed
to conduct, supervise and assess the training program. It is the duty of the line manager to ensure
that certain rules and regulations are maintained throughout the whole program. The line-manager
on the other hand has to report to a manager who is centrally appointed for the whole program. As
a result, Unilever Bangladesh ensures support from management in the training process.

Need
Assessment

Validation

Implementation

Instructional
Design

Figure 3: Training Process of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

4.3.1.5

Evaluation

Unilever Bangladesh makes sure that the line-managers are constantly evaluating the training
effectiveness during training as well as observing a thorough performance of the training after the

end of the program. Training progression of training programs within Unilever Bangladesh are
measured quarterly.

Unilever Bangladesh have the following tools of evaluation:

Written test
Interviews
Questionnaire
Performance Appraisal

4.3.2 Modes of Training at Unilever Bangladesh Limited

4.3.2.1

On the Job Training

Almost all modes of training conducted at Unilever Bangladesh fall under this category. This is
the most effective mode as employees are provided opportunity to learn new things while they are
actually on the job. The functional skills that are very important for the growth of an employee at
Unilever Bangladesh are usually taught through this mode of training. Territory officers who are
assigned in the remote places of the country are constantly being trained on sales by the on the
job training model.
4.3.2.2

Off the Job Training

Off the job training is less used in Unilever Bangladesh Limited. When training is conducted at
classrooms or other external venues, Unilever Bangladesh has association with other organizations
such as Accenture, who assists in providing off the job training to the employees. The top level
executives are often sent abroad for off the job training needed for higher level management.

4.3.3 The Training Process of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

On the Job Training

Off the Job Training

Learning opportunities on real job

experience
Territory managers of Unilever
Bangladesh Limited receive on the
job training.

Classroom training
Sending top level executives and
managers to abroad for receiving
off the job training.

Coaching or mentoring
by line managers

Figure 4: Modes of Training at Unilever Bangladesh Limited at a Glance

4.3.3.1

Coaching or Mentoring

Coaching and mentoring is the second most training mode used at Unilever Bangladesh.
Employees are constantly coached and mentored by the line-managers in honing their general,
leadership and functional skills.

4.3.4 Learning Model Used in Unilever Bangladesh Limited

Unilever Bangladesh follows the 70/20/10 learning model when it comes to training employees
through various modes.

70/20/10 Learning Model

20%
On the Job Training

10%
70%

Off the Job Training

Mentoring or Coaching

Figure 5: Learning Model of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

4.4 Talent Management

Talent management is an organization's commitment to recruit, retain, and develop the most
talented and superior employees available in the job market. Unilever Bangladesh has developed
a strong talent management culture and talent management strategy to attract the most talented
employees from the job market.
4.4.1 Talent Management Strategy in Unilever Bangladesh Limited
Unilever starts its talent management program from the beginning of recruitment process. Though
they usually do not disclose their whole recruitment processes as a part of their talent management

program; roughly the following process is usually followed by the Unilever HRD and talent
specialists. Unilever talent management process creates a comprehensive profile of their talents
which help organization in succession planning.
4.4.1.1

Attracting talent:

Design a talent management system

Unbiased reward and recognition

Flexible work environment and positive culture

Proper training

Effective appraisal system

Design job for talent people

Proactive visionary management and leadership

Provide proper research facility

4.4.1.2

Keeping talent:

Compensate talents as supplier

Right location to attract and retain talents

Assign right job to right talent

Career and succession plan

Balance age, race, gender, color

Create challenging environment

Create social bond with employees through adventure, sports, party, contest, etc

Compensation and profit sharing plan

Eliminate non-working people

4.4.1.3

Managing talent:

Establish effective communication and cooperation

Allow talent to create and apply knowledge

Build trust on talents

Set positive and constructive challenge

Performing XYZ analysis

Monitor talent as assets

Set challenging business goal

Take corrective action if necessary

4.4.1.4

Identifying talent:

Identify own talent before hiring talent

Performance based talent pool

Test based

Scorecard entries

Talent Management Strategy

Attracting Talent

Keeping Talent

Managing Talent

Identifying Talent

Figure 5: Talent Management Strategy of Unilever Bangladesh Limited

4.5 High Performance Works Practiced by Unilever Bangladesh

High performance work practices are bundles of HR practices that is bundles of various HR roles
which can contribute to superior performance if integrated. High performance work practices that
is different HR roles (diverse roles) that Unilever Bangladesh performs are:-

4.5.1 HR Business Partners

Partner each of the five functions (Marketing, Customer Development, Finance, Supply Chain and
Human Resources included) to identify the needs of the business in order to develop, manage and
implement appropriate strategies. They ensure that the right structure, culture, people and
capabilities are in place to foster positive working relationships.
4.5.2 HR Expertise Teams
Work on policies, processes, systems and tools that allow each business area to attract, select and
develop talented individuals. They also provide a connection with world-class external experts and
keep us up-to-date with industry best practice.
4.5.3 HR Services
Deliver and continuously improve services such as learning, payroll, recruitment, pensions and
benefits. They also track, monitor and aggressively manage service performance to ensure that
its delivered to the required quality and at the optimum cost.

4.6 Performance Measurement in Unilever Bangladesh

For the performance evaluation process, Unilever Bangladesh mainly follows Management by
Objective (MBO) method. They named this process Performance and Development Planning
(PDP) process. Through this process employees are engaged to identify and deliver the challenging
goals. They mainly participate in decision making process. By doing so they build up their
leadership skills and behavioral traits which helps them to grow and become more competitive.
Providing this opportunity, Unilever assesses their future leadership skills for the organizations.
The process is generated by effective feedback.

5. Analysis and Findings

From the analysis of Strategic HR Planning conducted in Unilever Bangladesh, it is found

that in determining HR demand and ascertaining HR supply, the company uses qualitative
techniques (using Markov Model).

Unilever Bangladesh develops leaders as it believes the philosophy leaders are made, they
are not born. It conducts various leadership programs to build leaders tank. It not only
develops leader but also train its employees and managers for performing jobs and tasks.

As Unilever Bangladesh Limited initiates many types of leadership and development

programs and offers higher compensation package that is better than industry standards, it
is successful to attract the most talented employees of the market.

In Unilever, Human Resource functions are not seen as merely the HR department
functions; rather HR relates to partnering with functional departments inside the
organization, partnering with experts worldwide, partnering with customers both local and
that of overseas.

Unilever allows employees to set their own goals, allows participating indecision making
process. The company shows the message that as the employees are the ones who closely
involve with customers, they know how to set their own goals and how to perform and
what decisions to be made to achieve those goals.

6. Recommendation
In determining HR demand and ascertaining HR supply, the company uses qualitative techniques
(Markov Model). Here, it is clear that, Unilever Bangladesh doesnt follow quantitative techniques
in HR demand and supply forecasting. Quantitative techniques would increase the accuracy and
reliability and precision of the process.

7. Conclusion
From the following study, it can be concluded that, the overall SHRM practice of Unilever
Bangladesh is worth to be mentioned. It conducts systematic and planned process to select, recruit
employees; undertakes numerous learning and development programs to grow them; offers
lucrative compensation packages to attract the best talent of the market; supports engagement and
participation and provides motivation to retain them. Finally, it creates a talent management culture
in which talents are develop that cant be copied or transferred. Still there is an issue to be taken
into consideration that is quantitative techniques should be used to precisely and accurately
forecasting HR demand and supply.

8. Bibliography
Armstrong. M. (2008) Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action. Ed. 4th. Kogan
Page.

Belcourt. M., McBey. K., and Margaret Y. H. Y. (2015) Strategic Human Resource Planning. Ed.
5th. Cengage Learning.

Businessdictionary.com. (2016) What is Human Resource Planning? Definition and Meaning.

Retrieved from www.businessdictionary.com/definition/human-resources-planning.html. Accessed
on 07.09.2016

Business

Case

Studies.

(2016)

Recruitment

and

selection.

Retrieved

from

businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/people/recruitment-and-selection.html. Accessed on
07.09.2016
Butler, J. E., Ferris, G. R., and Napier, N. K. (1991) Strategy and Human Resource Management.
Cincinati, OH: Southwestern Publishing Company.

R. Kramar, P. McGraw and R. Schuler (1997): Human resource management in Australia, Ed. 3rd.
Melbourne: Longman.

Schuler, R.S. & Walker, J.W. 1990. Human resources strategy: Focusing on issues and actions.
Organizational Dynamics, 19 (1): 4-20.
https://www.unilever.com.bd/
Wright, P. M., & McMahan, G. C. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource
management. Journal of Management, 18(2), 295

Appendix
A Questionnaire on Strategic HRM Practices in Unilever Bangladesh Limited

1.

Remuneration in this organization is better than industry standards

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

2. The rewards received are directly related to the performance and contribution at work
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

3. A part of the compensation package is linked to performance appraisal

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree

Strongly Agree

4. Performance appraisal method used

360 Degree Appraisal
Management by Objectives
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
Others

5. Leaves
_________________________________

6. HRM Perspective
Universalistic (universal common best practices)
Contingency (HR practices often changes in relation to organizational strategy)
Configurational (both universalistic and contingency, that is bundles of HR practices)
Others

7. Talent management culture is needed

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

8. Organizational Development is required

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

9. How employee participation is valued here?

Worth to be mentioned
Satisfactory
Poor
Other

10. Leadership, learning and development programs

_________________________________

11. Does the HR department benchmark with global excellent practices?

Yes
No

12. HR managers are coaches rather than regulators

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

13. There is strong staff commitment to the organization

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
14. Most of the persons recruited for supervisory and managerial levels are those with
professional training and professional qualification like MBAs.

Yes
No

15. Promotions are frequently made secretively

Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

16. Promotions based on

Seniority
Merit
Performance
Other

17. Information about job vacancies is easily available within the organization
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

18. Flexibility in Working Hours

Yes
No

The End