Introduction:

The Texas Group of Bangladesh in order to better reflect its corporate philosophy, principals, core values and identity has changed its name to aamra. aamra is the Bangla word for ‘we’.

It recognizes the power that partnership and cooperation have in achieving any goal. It believes that by harnessing the strength of togetherness with all stakeholders, it will be able to surmount any obstacle in their path and scale new heights.

Who We Are

Bangladeshinfo.com is an internet web portal that has been created to present a three dimensional view of Bangladesh to the cyber world. The project was originally conceptualized in the advent of Y2K and the global internet revolution by the young and forward-thinking entrepreneurs of aamra-a leading business house engaged in indenting and supplying state-of-the art machinery and system solutions in Bangladesh, particularly in the Textile, Ready Made Garments and Financial sectors.

aamra is also a pioneer in the Information Technology industry in Bangladesh, having launched their Computer and Network services 14 years ago in 1987.

aamra infotainment limited is a 100% subsidiary of aamra networks limited, the Internet Service Provider enterprise of aamra. We are committed to the policy of introducing frontline technology and technology-based products and services in Bangladesh, which will act as the catalyst to a better and more modern Bangladesh.

aamra infotainment limited wishes to establish bangladeshinfo.com as the primary reference point for anyone seeking information on Bangladesh via the internet. We aim to fulfill the needs of not only local surfers but NRBs and also foreigners seeking information and news on Bangladesh.

aamra infotainment limited also aims to provide complete Web Solutions and information services to both local and foreign clients, as well as E-commerce services through direct or third party involvement such as providing product/services information, order processing, payment handling, product/services delivery, and all other pertinent services in the transaction cycle.

The team @ aamra infotainment limited

aamra infotainment limited is comprised of a group of competent individuals drawn from a wide range of pertinent professions. The company is divided into the following departments:

Portal

This department consists of programmers, designers and content providers, with backgrounds as diverse as medicine, journalism, art, business and fashion. The Portal Team works together in researching, developing and updating the content, as well as in designing the pages and creating back-end systems for the portal channels.

The Content team is comprised of talented and skilled young professionals who strive to provide quality information via an elaborate process of researching, collecting, and creating content relevant to Bangladeshis both locally and abroad.

The Graphics and Design team consists of members with a strong background in the fine arts as well as computer graphics. This is the team that is responsible for designing the look and layout of the portal, as well as creating the banners for advertisers shown on the portal pages.

The Programming team is comprised of skilled young professionals trained both locally and abroad, who provide the back-end systems for the portal channels, and who have designed and created intricate systems and programs such as the Bangla e-mail system.

The portal channels are as follows: News, Business, Sports, Cricket, Gadgets, Lifestyle, Music and Food. We also offer services such as Deshmail, a free web-based email service-including a unique system that allows users to send emails in Bangla.

 Web Solutions

This department provides a complete package for companies seeking quality web sites – from concept and design through to implementation, including back-end solutions and periodical updating (as required).

Advertising

The Advertising team carries out all the legwork to promote the portal in the local and international arena. They play an instrumental role in generating revenue through our various client services.

Vision

To become a company who delivers the best value to customers, employees, shareholders and communities.

Mission statement

To become the most preferred IT and communication infrastructure service provider.

Objectives of Organization:

Business Objectives and Goals of a bangladeshinfo.com

Bangladeshinfo.com meets the following objectives or goals:

We are also committed to provide customized Business Technology Solution that meets the current IT and E-Commerce needs corresponding to the demand of present business world. This program allows other companies to gain highly qualified IT and E-Commerce professionals without using their own resources and time.

We highlight the key mottos on which our organisations operate:

Quality

We do the necessary research to ensure that requirements of each client are thoroughly screened and afterwards outputs are properly checked.

Integrity

The aamra strives to establish a relationship of trust and loyalty with the clients and incorporates efficient process with the product that the clients are ultimately served with. Trust and honesty throughout the process is imperative to this group.

Service Excellence

Our companies are dedicated to the highest quality service on behalf of each of our clients. Our firm’s values reflect a passion for excellence, personalized service and integrity. We measure our success based on each client’s satisfaction with the service quality, timeliness and overall value of our work.

Unity:

And last but not the least, aamra works cohesively with its staffs across the Group and with its customers and partners around the globe, building strong relationships based on tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation.

“After being on a steady streak as a leading business house and household name in Bangladesh for more than two decades, Texas Group of Companies decided to change their Brand name along with the names of its 14 sister concerns. Having expanded both at home and abroad, Texas group is an amalgamation of textile & apparel industries, information technology industries and lifestyle services. The idea is to put all the sectors under one name that gives a holistic message summarizing the vision to empower companies and individuals to access personalized solutions, products and services when, where and how they may choose. Being rooted with the mother tongue, it was a pre-conceived notion that the new brand name is a Bangla word and with the focus concentrated on the “served mass”, leaping across cultural and language barriers- the new brand name has zeroed down as “aamra-the power of ‘WE’ “.

Functions of the organization:

Bangladeshinfo.com recognizes the up-to-date idea that Bangladeshi business companies need to apply in effective systems integration. Our corporate functions strive to provide all our customers with customized and integrated technology-based solutions that enable them to maximize their business potentials. Hence bangladeshinfo.com holds the patents, distribution and marketing rights of a number of world renowned high technology driven products. We at bangladeshinfo.com are continuously striving to satisfy our clients and target groups and also to serve them with the best by providing them authorized and complete service and maintenance for the same.

The Internet can open up new avenues for your business to buy and sell products or services online, with such activities generically referred to as ecommerce.

The business relationships provided by ecommerce can be broadly split into two main area:

1. Business to consumer (B2C) – where you sell products or services directly to individual consumers
2. Business to business (B2B) – where you sell goods or services to other businesses

Business to Consumer (B2C)

Selling goods in a B2C environment usually requires a website with an online shop.

Consumers anywhere in the world can then browse your online shop and view your products and/or services.

When they decide to make a purchase they go to to your electronic checkout where there would be some form of payment-processing function to accept their credit or debit card.

The payment-processing function will typically take place via a merchant account, which you would set up via an acquiring bank, and which is capable of processing the visitors credit and debit cards.

Business to Business (B2B)

As with B2C the B2B environment usually requires a website with an online shop, yet the shop is not accessible to the public – it’s only open to your clients or registered companies.

One of the most significant B2B developments recently has been the growth of online auctions.

Online auctions are computerized versions of traditional auctions where prices are set by buyers bidding against each other.

New Business Website

When starting a new business you’ll have enough worries without wondering how to develop a website. The section below answers some of the typical questions that you’ll have.

How much does it cost to develop a new website?

1. 1.      Components of the Project:

The different components of Internet site development are:

•    Requirement Analysis
•    Approval of requirement Analysis
•    Collect Content
•    Prototype Development And Approval
•    Beta version of the web site
•    Feedback from the client
•    Changes (If require)
•    Final Testing
•    Approval
•    Live operation

   2. Project Time line :

Project time line with estimated length details for each component has been given below (subject to change depending on requirement):

Note: The length of the project mentioned above will also depend on the timely feedback/supply of relevant information/support from the concern.

Development Cost:

The site shall be developed with Static Pages / dynamic modules.

The cost estimation of the development:

Note: Additional Pages and Dynamic Modules will charge extra cost

How long does it take to develop a website?

From 3 weeks and upwards.

Web Site Hosting for Businesses

Web hosts provide space on their servers for clients to place their websites on. A huge web hosting industry has been created to sell space on their servers for other companies to run websites from. The majority of websites nowadays are hosted by third parties and not the actual company promoted by the website.

We have our own server both in USA and Bangladesh. In USA our web server has been connected to the multiple carriers with multiple T1/T3 lines.

Different features are available from the vast selection of web hosting companies i.e. Templates, Emails, Shopping Carts etc.

Before deciding on which features you require it’s best to start be identifying which “flavor” of web hosting you require:

• Shared web hosting
• Dedicated web hosting
• Managed web hosting

Shared web hosting

Most businesses start with shared or virtual web hosting. Shared web hosting means that several web sites run from the same server. Shared web hosting has several advantages such as:

• Cheapest option for web hosting, with costs approx 2000 tk per year
• Standard scripts are normally available
• Simple to get website up and running

However there are also disadvantages:

• Your website is located on a server that runs multiple websites
• You don’t have access to server software or configuration

Dedicated web hosting

With dedicated web hosting your website resides on its own server. This has several advantages such as:

• You technical staff have full internet access to the server
• You decide exactly how it is configured
• You can run several websites from the one server

However there are also disadvantages:

• Costs start from approx 2700 tk per month

Managed web hosting

Managed web hosting, as with dedicated web hosting, allows your website to reside on its own server. However with managed web hosting the hosting company will physically install and configure the server for you. This has several advantages such as:

• You technical staff have full internet access to the server
• You decide exactly how it is configured
• You can run several websites from the one server

However there are also disadvantages:

• Costs start from approx 5000 tk. per month

Size of website

After deciding on which flavor of hosting you’ll require the next step is to determine the amount of space your website will need. Web hosting companies generally split their shared hosting into three categories:

• Beginners – up to 50Mb
• Small business – up to 100Mb
• Professional – 1Gb and above

Websites containing a small number of pages and graphics will be best served by the Beginners web hosting package. If you’re aiming to sell a large number of products via your website then you’ll probably want a professional package which has significantly more web space.

Remember that your website should grow overtime with new content being added frequently; therefore it might be worthwhile thinking about buying slightly more space than you initially require.

Website Extras

When buying web hosting you should also consider:

• Whether the web site address (url) is included in the price
• The number of email addresses you’ll require

Whether you’ll require:

• Databases
• The logs for the website to be analyzed
• A shopping cart
• Web page templates
  

Technical Description:

Bangladeshinfo.com uses the latest technology available here to create websites with visually appealing designs, attractively presented information, easy navigation, and user-friendly programs. The software normally used by us includes:

Graphics Tools:

1. Photoshop
2. 3D Studio
3. Macromedia Flash MX.
4. Macromedia Dream weaver.
5. Macromedia Fire Works.
6. Coral Draw 9
7. MS Front Page.

Programming Languages

ASP
PHP
DHTML
Java
Java Scripts

Database

MySQL

HTTP Service includes support for HTML pages, forms. With FTP Service you can allow your customers to download files. E-mail aliasing allows your company to have E-mail addresses linked to your own domain. Your address might be “info@yourcompany.com” and not an extension of your local access providers name. Copyright will be held by you on any HTML files that we develop for your organization.

Terms and Conditions:

• One screen page translates to the amount of information that fits on a standard 15-inch computer monitor with an area resolution of 800 X 640 pixels, without scrolling.

• As per the requirements of the client, extra Dynamic Modules will include extra cost.

• The length of the project mentioned above will also depend on the timely feedback/supply of relevant information/support from the concern.

• The concern person of client organization will give the all the softcopy of the contents.

Payment Terms (Website Development) 

• Once the client approves the prototype, 50% of the total cost has to be paid in advance, along with a Work order.

• Remaining amount has to be paid within 5 days of hosting the website on the Internet, failing which the website may be made unavailable on the Internet at the discretion of Bangladeshinfo.com Ltd.

Role of the organization in the economic development of Bangladesh:

Sharing of knowledge as a factor of production contributes significantly for the economic development and growth of a country. With the application of Information Communication Technology (ICT), dissemination and capacity to integrate and absorb human knowledge have grown immensely. The Internet and related technology facilitated the flow of information and knowledge and made it accessible to people at minimum cost and helped establish knowledge based society. To exploit the full potential of knowledge management for development, a sound national policy of a accessible ICT benefiting all strata of population, including persons with disabilities (PWDs), should be in place in all the developing countries.

Over the last few years, many nations in the region has made remarkable achievement in the socio-economic development of the country exploiting full advantage of ICT containing this within their national development policy framework.

Bangladesh is committed to become a ICT driven nation and envisages to ensure accessibility of ICT and internet services to all the citizen, including the PWDs, for equitable and sustainable development.

The main objectives of the national policy of ICT are to create all sorts appropriate infrastructural facilities and develop human resources enabling development of software industry both by the local and international participation. In order to establish direct connectivity with international communication back-bone, process of installation with fiber-optic sub-marine cable is underway in Bangladesh. This will open-up a new horizon in the export of software and data processing at a very cost-effective manner with high speed. Public-Private co-operation, collaboration and support for exploitation of full potential of ICT is essentially required for equitable growth and development. Fiscal policy support to be provided to the internet service providers (ISPs) ensuring the utilization of all government telecommunication facilities. All kinds of technical facilities for accessible ICT for the PWDs both by public and private sector are to be ensured for equitable development. This can be achieved through extension of basic telecommunication facilities to the rural and under-served areas to grater mass including PWDs to bring them in the main-stream of ICT activities.

Moreover, teledensity to be increased at an affordable price to broaden the coverage for inclusion of the PWDs in ICT related activities to improve their socio-economic condition.

Deregulatory measures are also to be undertaken to attract the private investors for establishing appropriate ICT infrastructures. Like other developing countries in the region, Hi-tech zones/technology parks are also to be established to facilitate export of software’s. GOB has already started work in this regard.

All sorts of facilities shall be built to promote ICT and computer aided training to meet the demand for skilled manpower in ICT. Special type of training facilities enabling PWDs to transform them into efficient human resources in ICT, should be provided. All educational institutions related to PWDs should be brought under ICT programme for equity in human resource development. Preference should also be given to the disabled students to have access to all technical institutions and Universities dealing with ICT. CD and Web-based coursewares may be developed, disseminated and its use shall be encouraged to promote computer aided education. PWDs may be provided with special incentives to have maximum access to these facilities. This will facilitate the PWDs to have better access to education and skill development training on ICT.

Along with others, PWDs, will be actively encouraged with financial and technical support to get involved in the ICT system for rural development activities, agriculture, health etc. for the improvement of the quality of life. In the health sector, telel-medicine system may be delivered for cost-effective health care services. PWDs, properly trained in ICT, will be able to exploit full advantage of tele-health care facilities.

Non-government organizations dealing with PWDs will be encouraged to establish centers at the rural areas for providing hardware/software or other support services to the PWDs. At the same time, concerned agencies of the government may use both formal and non-formal channels to disseminate information about application; advantages of the use of ICT to PWDs. Steps will be undertaken for the empowerment of PWDs to promote their full involvement as development agents and beneficiaries in ICT through bringing them accessible to digital connection.

Finally, appropriate and pragmatic measures to be taken to introduce a pro-PWDs ICT policy, creating enabling environment and infrastructural facilities appropriate to the need of PWDs, ensuring their accessibility for full participation and exploitation of the immense potential of ICT, for equitable, sustainable development and growth of the developing countries in this region.

Present program of the organization:

Bangladeshinfo.com is engaged in the following range of services:

The design for Study 2 was similar, except pages 2 and 3 were omitted from Phase 1, and eight rather than four treatment groups were used for the banner ad experiment.

Procedure

As neither study used a sampling frame, respondents had to be allocated to the different treatment groups after, rather than before, they came to the Web site to participate in the survey. Although a sampling frame existed for Study 1, access was denied. Study 2 had no sampling frame, which is a typical situation for Web groups. The allocation of respondents to treatment groups was accomplished by means of CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts.

In a web-based survey, different versions of a question (i.e., different treatments) exist as separate files, one for each version. So, rather than having a series of complete questionnaires to cover all combinations of questions (treatments), as would be necessary in a mail survey, CGI scripts are used to construct each respondent’s questionnaire as required.

In this study, the questionnaire was broken into separate sections. Submitting one section invoked a CGI script, which determined which section (treatment) the respondent was allocated to next. Because the first page of the Web survey was common to all respondents, it was used to collect webographic and demographic data. This webographic information was used; for example, to ensure that a respondent was not allocated to a treatment involving sound if their computer was not equipped to handle it.

Each time a respondent submitted a page, it was sent automatically via email to the researcher. As the different pages of the questionnaire were submitted separately, it was necessary to have some way of identifying these as belonging to a particular respondent, so they could be collated for analysis. This task was accomplished by using a “cookie”. A cookie is the message sent to a Web browser by a Web server. A respondent’s Web browser saves the message as a text file (cookie.txt). Every time the browser requests a page from the server, the message is sent to the server.

The cookie saved the email address when a respondent submitted the first page of the survey, and attached this to subsequent pages submitted by that respondent. The cookie also retrieved the Web page, to which the CGI script assigned a respondent.

The final step was to collate the emailed questionnaires for analysis. This was done using a Paradox script, which matched email addresses, and codes put in the subject field that identified the page number of the questionnaire, and put the extracted data into a Paradox database. This database was then imported into SPSS.

Results

Speed of Response

The daily responses to Study 1 are shown in Figure 2 and the weekly responses are summarized in Table 1. While the responses came in quickly over the first week, they rapidly tapered off, although responses were still being received in the fifth week.

The rates of response to Study 2 are shown in Table 2. As one might expect, the first listing on the newsgroups elicited the highest response, with the response to subsequent listings dropping off steadily. After almost a month, the final sample size was still quite small.

Table 2. Number of respondent acquired after each newsgroup posting.

Responses

The results of these studies suggest that it is probably unreasonable to expect a speedy response to a Web based survey, at least without some sort of incentive to encourage a quick response. While the incentives used in the first study may have increased the rates of participation, this is not certain, and they certainly were not particularly effective in this regard. The sample sizes, even after a month, were still quite low. Furthermore, the incentives were not very effective at producing a speedy response. For the newsgroup sample, however, it is unclear whether the low response was due to a low response rate, or because the newsgroups did not have many visitors, as the level of participation in the newsgroups is unknown. Either way, more research is needed to identify techniques that can substantially improve both the speed and level of participation, in a situation where individually directed reminders are not an option. Otherwise, one of the potential advantages of conducting a survey via the Web is lost.

 Attrition

Although 220 people responded to the first page of the questionnaire in Study 1, almost 30% failed to complete all three pages (see Table 3), leading to an unacceptably high loss of data. There are several feasible reasons for this, although it is not possible to draw firm conclusions. It may be that some respondents simply didn’t wish to continue the survey. Some may have been unable or unwilling to complete the whole survey at one time, although it was not very long (about 10 minutes), and did not come back. At least seven respondents were known to have completed different parts of the survey at different times. Unfortunately, their data had to be excluded from the analysis because they had been assigned to different treatment groups on the different occasions, thereby invalidating the results. Others attempted to complete different parts of the survey using a different computer or browser, and because the cookie couldn’t track them, the different sections could not be collated.

A likely explanation for the majority of cases was that either the respondent refused to accept the cookie, or was using a version of browser unable to do so. This would explain the over 120 emails (submitted pages) received for which the respondent could not be identified. It is also likely that some browsers could not cope with the JavaScript and cgi scripts used to format and allocate the pages, which meant that they would have been unable to view the scales or graphics used in the questionnaires. While a considerable number of potential respondents alerted us to these problems via email, it is likely that a possibly large number of those who experienced these problems simply abandoned the survey.

It is also possible that quite a high proportion of the potential respondents had their screens set at a low resolution (e.g. 640 x 480) whereas the graphics used in the questionnaire were optimized for a resolution of 800 x 600. Although this would not have stopped respondents from completing the survey, it would have altered the way they viewed the questionnaire. That is, those respondents who had their screens set to 640×480 would have had scroll bars across the page, whereas the other would not have. The effect this may have had on responses, if any, is unknown.

Another observation of note is the drop off between Phase 1 and Phase 2 in each study. In Study 1, the response rate for phase two was 63.2% (see Table 3). This is much higher than the response rate of 46% obtained in Study 2 (see Table 4), and much higher than the 47% reported by aamra networks (2007) in their study conducted for the reports. Also of note is the low initial refusal rate. Very few respondents in either study refused permission to be contacted for Phase 2.

Discussion

The results of these two studies suggest that conducting a survey via the Web is unlikely to produce a fast rate of return unless an appropriate incentive is used, or the topic is one of particular interest to potential respondents. It is not clear, however, what form an incentive should take, but it is clear that the prize draws used in this study were not effective.

A large number of responses in Study 1 could not be identified. This meant that data was lost because these pages could not be collated. This problem of unidentifiable emails is likely to be the result of participants either refusing a cookie or not being able to accept one. Unfortunately, it is not possible to easily overcome this problem. The problem associated with respondents not being able to accept cookies will reduce over time as more Web users upgrade to newer Web browsers. However, it is difficult to predict whether the proportion of people who refuse to accept cookies will rise or fall. Some people consider cookies an invasion of privacy, and therefore refuse them. Fortunately, only a minority of Web users currently feel this way. An alternative to using a cookie would be to have respondents enter their email address, or some code of their own choosing, onto each page of the questionnaire. However, the rate of compliance one might expect needs to be investigated.

Some attrition was due to some respondents completing the different phases of the study, and sometimes even attempting to complete different pages of the survey, on different computers or using different browsers, or both. As a result, the cookie was not activated for some pages. Although the need to use the same computer and browser was stated in the email inviting respondents to participate in Phase 2, this message was clearly not forceful enough. Programming in an error message may help.

The survey in Phase 1 of Study 1 could easily have been undertaken as a mail survey. Although respondents were recruited by mail, they were required to use their computer to respond to the survey. As this probably requires more effort than simply finding a pen, or responding to a request received on-line, one might expect the initial response rate to be lower than to a comparable mail survey. The (estimated) response rate of 22% is poor, and somewhat lower than what one would expect from the first mail out of a well designed mail survey. Thus these results suggest that, as in mail surveys, Web based surveys may require the use of reminders in order to produce respectable response rates. Of course, this is not possible unless a list is available. Further research is needed to determine the relative cost effectiveness of using reminders, either via email or, if feasible, by mail.

In addition, it is now common practice to use some type of incentive to encourage people to respond to mail surveys. Prize draws are among the least effective types of incentive. Further research to identify suitable incentives for Web survey research is needed. Some caution is required, however, for a very attractive incentive may well prompt multiple submissions from people wishing to increase their chances of winning. Multiple submissions can be impossible to detect and their impact on results would be unknown but potentially large. Thus methods for minimizing multiple and frivolous participation need to be developed.

One of the potential benefits of conducting surveys via the Web is the presumed availability of large samples. While sample size will be limited by the size of the list or newsgroup used to recruit respondents, in theory this can be overcome by increasing the number of these groups in the study. Study 2 demonstrated that this limitation might be more difficult to overcome than it appears. A large local (Bangladeshi) sample was required. Even the five major Bangladeshi newsgroups used in the study were insufficiently large to produce the desired sample size in an acceptable time period. In this case, the five Bangladeshi newsgroups were the only ones suitable for selection due to the nature of the advertisement used. While other newsgroups exist in Bangladesh, a posting to these may have generated a hostile reaction, as the posting may have been considered spam (junk mail) which is not tolerated.

An alternative procedure for obtaining respondents is to use an interruption technique, in which the Web users are interrupted while loading a Web page at a site they are trying to access. The technique involves adding a piece of code to the homepage of the participating Web site that instructs the Web browser of potential participants to load a page containing the survey’s introductory letter. The potential participant at this point has the option of either completing the survey or of refusing. The key advantage of this technique is the ability to easily record refusals at the first stage. aamra networks (2007) reported success with the interruption technique and has shown that a response rate of 45 percent can be achieved. However, the downside of this technique is the difficulty in getting a Web host to allow this intrusion on their readers.
Conclusions

The Web has enormous potential as a survey medium, but suffers from serious limitations, at least for the immediate future. As there are no easily accessible sampling frames for the general Web population, it is not possible to draw a probability sample, and even if it were, the sample might not be representative of the population at large. (Although this is not necessarily a major problem for experimental studies). However, this does mean that for experimental studies the assignment of respondents to treatment groups has to occur after an initial response, rather than before. Unfortunately, some widely-used versions of browsers cannot handle the scripts required to make these assignments. This problem will decrease in importance over time, as people upgrade their software. But the problem of recruiting respondents will remain, at least until there is a comprehensive directory of URLs.

Currently, the most common procedure for recruiting respondents via newsgroups is less than satisfactory, partly due to the relatively slow response times and the possibility of considerable bias. Further research is required to identify effective incentives to improve this means of recruitment. A more promising approach may be to use a multi-modal recruitment strategy, involving a range of techniques such as snowballing via email, print and Web banner advertising. Work is currently in progress to assess the effectiveness of such an approach.

Findings and analysis:

Brief description of the corporation:

Bangladesh Info.com is a horizontal web portal, developed to facilitate the delivery of quality information for the netizens those are interested in Bangladesh, its society and economy. Our target group covers NRBs (Non Resident Bangladeshis), RBs (Resident Bangladeshis), Investors, Donor Agencies and others. Born three year back on the 23^rd day of January 2001, today Bangladesh Info.com is a portal with its horizon widely and strategically spread. Backed by a team of professionals, Bangladesh Info.com is the most browsed and referred site of Bangladesh. Today it records an average hit rate of 24.09 million per month and during some events, like the last Jatiya Sangsad Nirbachon (National Election), the hits went up to above 3.00 millions per day.

Planning and decision making process:

There seems to be a common myth regarding site visitors and the buying process these days. I’ve heard this statement more than a few times over the last several months: “My visitors find me when they use search engines. They type in the exact key phrases I’m listed under. So when they get to my site why aren’t they buying?” The simple answer is that they aren’t ready to buy yet.

Just because surfers type a specific key phrase into a search engine does not mean they are ready to buy. In fact, it could mean just the opposite.

The buying process is made up of several stages, and your site visitors could fall into any one of the five. Let’s say a surfer typed “water filtration systems” into Google. This same key phrase can be used by people in all five of the buying-process stages. Take a look at the steps, and I’ll show you why – during each one – your visitors might come to your site.

Step One – Need/Want Recognition
deciding there is, in fact, a need or a want to be filled.

During this stage a site visitor may be wondering. Take yourself for example. Suppose someone told you about a new water filtration system that is just awesome. Being a health-conscious person, you want to determine if this is something that would be good for you and your family. You jump on the Internet and begin looking for general information about the product.

Right now you aren’t the least bit interested in price or sales pitches. You just want to know what this filtration system is all about so you can decide IF there is a need or want on your part.

Likewise, a site visitor in the need/want recognition stage is looking for solid, unbiased information.

Step Two – Information Search
trying to determine what’s available.

So now you’ve found out that these filtration systems are fabulous, and you’ve decided your family needs one after all. Next step? Jump back on the Internet and start searching for information.

Are there various styles or sizes? What’s the price difference? What features/accessories come with the system?

This is one time to focus on benefits, to make yourself available for questions, and to direct your site visitor toward your product/service.

Step Three – Evaluation
eliminating products/services/companies and deciding who’s best.

After you’ve gathered a good bit of information, you’ll begin to weed through the product, brands, and companies to determine which one you will actually buy.

A site visitor in this stage will likely come to your site for additional information, to find the answers to questions he/she came up with since the last visit, or to double check facts and figures.

This is a good time to not only focus on benefits, but also to have customer service, warranty, price incentive, and other information available.

Step Four – Purchase
Actually buying your product/service.

Finally! After all this time, the customers are ready to buy! Support their decisions by making your ordering process and shopping cart quick and simple to use.

Step Five – Buyer’s Regret
wondering if they made the right decision.

This is where money-back guarantees can save you! Most people simply need the reassurance that they *can* get their money back if need be. Especially with high-ticket items, buyer’s regret is common. Reinforce their buying decisions by letting them know they can contact you with any problems they have.

So, as you can see, even though every stage in the process is different, the same exact key phrase could be used to search the ‘Net for information. Create your site to accommodate every step in the buying process. Don’t assume that – just because someone typed your keywords into a search engine – they are automatically ready to buy.

Attract the Right Visitors

By understanding the site visitors’ stage in the decision making process and providing them with the right information, you can convert more visitors to purchase. Attracting more of the *right* visitors can improve conversions as well.

In Part 2, “Generating Targeted Web Site Traffic”, I will take a look at some tips for matching information on the site with visitor stage in the decision making process and give ideas for profiting through information sites.

Attracting Targeted Traffic to a Sales Web Site

In first part I have explained the multi-step buying decision and why many visitors may not yet be ready to purchase. On a sales site, those early in the decision process are not likely to buy from you.

There are ways; however, you can attract better targeted visitors to your site (i.e. Web site traffic composed of more people approaching the purchase stage). One way is to have a presence on information sites that attract visitors in your targeted audience. This because on the information sites visitors are gathering information and evaluating options. In other words, they are preparing to make a purchase.

For those on a limited budget, I suggest purchasing advertising on sites that participate in pay-per-click programs like Overture or Google AdWords.

“When you list with Google and others on your own, you may have to pay more than your ROI would justify. However, when you advertise with an informational site, that site can afford to pay more for the clicks, since they are supported by multiple vendors/advertisers. Ask the site if they’ll offer a trial period so you can see how much traffic it is producing.”

Targeted Web Site Traffic for Information Sites

If you run an information site, the majority of your Web site traffic will be interested in researching the subject, too early in the decision process to purchase. So how can you both attract targeted Web site traffic (i.e. visitors in the early decision stages) *and* earn revenue?

You can attract information seekers by structuring each page in your Web site so it gives information on a specific topic. This expands the list of key words through which searchers might find your site.

Other ways to earn revenue from traffic to information Web site:

• Initiate the two step process.
• Participate in a few select affiliate programs, which you can promote on topic-specific pages in your Web site.
• Join a targeted advertising network such as Google’s AdSense.
• Sell your own advertising space.

In any case, targeting Web site traffic in the “right” decision making stage creates a win-win situation. Your visitors find the information they need and you profit – through sales, advertising, or affiliate revenue – by meeting those needs.

Organizing technique

Each of the following techniques can be implemented without a considerable investment (except perhaps time). While some of them might be more accurately described as bangladeshinfo.com advice rather than internet marketing techniques (most notably #5), each of them can have a positive impact on your internet marketing organizing technique initiatives.

1. Track and analyze your web site traffic.
   Most web hosts offer traffic analysis data to their clients, and it is arguably the most important tool at your disposal in measuring the effectiveness of your internet marketing techniques and overall website performance. By taking the time to understand this data, you can begin to understand the motivations and interests of your audience. Are many of them leaving on one particular page? Perhaps you should make some changes to keep their interest. Are most of them looking at one particular part of your site? Perhaps you should make it a more featured area. Since this data updates on a regular basis, you are also able to gauge the effectiveness of any changes that you make. These are the most basic examples, as there are many more useful bits of information available- what search terms your visitors are using to find you, what sites are bringing you the most traffic, how long your visitors are staying, etc. Maintaining a successful website is an ongoing process, and visitor data is crucial to getting optimum results.

2. Request links from non-competing, quality companies related to your industry.
   This is a simple but effective piece of internet marketing advice. Links allow you to get quality traffic while increasing the prestige of your business. Visitors that enter your site from a link that they find on another site are predisposed to believe that they will find something of value there (if not, why would the site take the time and effort to link to it?). The added benefit to link building internet marketing techniques is that they can give a tremendous boost to your link popularity, which is a major factor in determining how your site gets ranked in search engines.

3. Write informative articles about your business or products and make them available to online publications and webmasters.
   There are numerous sites that will allow you to offer original informational articles for others to publish. In fact, our own company routinely publishes articles containing news and information about products. Such an exchange benefits you in several ways. First, all of these sites require anyone who is reprinting your article to provide a link back to your site, which can provide highly targeted visitors (visitors that most likely already have a good impression of you from your article). This is also another way to boost your link popularity, which is vitally important to your search engine rankings (as discussed above and in our last issue). Moreover, if you offer a service, a reputation is your most valuable asset. Widely distributed articles can help to establish you as an expert in your field and help you to gain credibility with your future clients. Although internet marketing techniques such as these may require a considerable time investment, the payoff can be well worth the trouble.

4. Give your website visitors a clear call to action.
   If your site isn’t intended to sell a product or gain a customer, then what is it for? Your internet marketing techniques should have a clear purpose, meaning that every page on your site should focus on getting the visitor to take an action. This could be purchasing something online, filling out a form or sending an email, making a phone call, or even simply moving on to the next step in the process. Your website should be more than a static billboard proclaiming that you are open for business- it should compel your visitors to follow a specific path that leads to a sale. The answer can be as simple as placing a prominent offer on your pages.

5. When it comes to your site, don’t overlook the obvious.
   As previously mentioned, this might fall better into the category of internet marketing advice, rather than internet marketing techniques. However, it is important that you compare your website to an actual store. Is everything clean and organized, or is everything messy and cluttered? Many websites give bad first impressions with issues that could easily be avoided. Broken links are a sign of sloppiness that are fairly common. To combat this, there are several websites that will automatically scan your site and identify any broken links. Seeing little red “x’s” where a graphic or photo should appear is another common problem that is easily addressed. Does your site maintain its look and functionality with most browsers? People are sometimes dismayed to learn that their site (which looks great in Internet Explorer) doesn’t maintain its look or functionality with other popular browsers such as Firefox. The time and resources required to fix these problems are small when compared with the cost of tarnishing your professional image.

Staffing pattern and practices:

1 a) Employee Name:  Name of each employee/volunteer who performs duties directly related to management.  Also list positions for which no salary contributions are requested, but who perform management services, and may be expected to travel, attend classes, or incur other management related expenses.  Such positions may include Trainer, Communications Personnel, Exercise Officials, Planners, Chiefs of Services, etc. (Use second page if necessary.)

2)  Position title, i.e., Director, Coordinator, Manager, Administrative Assistant, Typist.

3)  Date Appointed or Hired should agree with resolution/ordinance action for Director/Coordinator/Manager positions, and/or date of hire under the merit system.

4)  Employment Status – Type of Appointment:  The type of appointment for Directors/Coordinators/Managers is usually “Permanent (status) – Exempt (type of appointment)” or “Permanent – Contract,” while other employees are either “Provisionary,” “Probationary,” or “Permanent” status and may be Exempt, Non-Exempt, or contract.  Exempt employees are similar to salaried; their hours may exceed normal hours without comp time or overtime.  Non-exempt employees are subject to overtime rules.  Some employees may be listed as Contract if not hired directly by the jurisdiction, and may be required to pay office expenses out of the contract amount.  If this is the case, note on the funding request.  Please note if the employee is a volunteer.

1b)  PAID employee name:  Positions which perform job duties directly related to the jurisdiction’s management functions; their salaries may be used as match for the EMPG LEMS grant.

5)  Gross annual salary: Gross annual salary (before taxes and other deductions) collected from the jurisdiction ONLY.

6) Gross Annual Employer-provided and -paid benefits, not included in gross salary for LEM position; such as FICA, County/City retirement, Life and Medical and/or Dental Insurance, Accident Insurance, Longevity, or Other.  If a car is included as a benefit, but expenses can be broken out, please put under TRAVEL on Funding Request Form.

7)  TOTAL hours per week worked for this jurisdiction.

8)  TOTAL LEMS Hours: Total Hours a week devoted to local emergency management duties.

9)  To determine your percentage of LEM employment: Use the number of hours devoted to emergency management per week: divide by the total number of hours worked for the jurisdiction; take the result times 10.   Example: 20 ÷ 40 = .5 X 100 = 50%.

10)  LEMS-Eligible Salary:  Use gross annual salary and percentage of LEM hours [item 5) x item 9)] to compute the amount of salary for hours devoted to emergency management duties for each employee.  (REMEMBER: the percent is computed using a decimal, i.e., for 50%, use .5; for 2%, use .02.)  Enter total in slot A on Funding Request (Part II).

11) LEMS Eligible Benefits:  Compute the amount of benefit for LEM benefits for each employee [item 6) x item 9)] and compute as shown in 9) above.  Enter total in slot B on Funding Request (Part II).

Bad news, as they say, travels fast.

And the fast-moving bad news that’s inescapable these days is that the economy is in trouble. Profits are down. Overhead is up. Red ink stains the balance sheets. The black ink is on “E.”

It’s hard for staff to do their best when they’re consumed with concerns about keeping their jobs and making their mortgages. Yes, it’s true that those very concerns can go a long way toward motivating people in the short term. But research indicates that a different pattern emerges when the steady drumbeat of economic insecurity has been beating for some time, as it has been lately.

Fortunately, business owners and managers can influence that beat — and even change it — with positive attitudes and actions.

Now is the time for the savvy business owner or manager to take full advantage of this “slower” economy and take the time to train employees to be integral to producing sales for company. Now just may be the best time to make our people better.

I have great people. I have to learn to use them

An employee who participates in producing sales for the company will feel more involved and be more eager to take a role in the success of the company. In addition, investing on staff often generates an emotional buy-in that rivals a generous Eid bonus. The results pay dividends. An employee with business development skills becomes more valuable to the organization and enables the organization to grow, thus creating additional advancement opportunities — along with higher revenues.

The challenges facing business today are clear — a competitive global economy, advancing technology, dynamic markets, and evolving regulation pose only a few of our daily hurdles. And having every key employee trained to bring new business in your door is one way to successfully fuel your organization.

Of course, keeping current customers happy is often even more important than bringing in new business. Now is also the time to be sure to remember those clients who brought you our success.

It may be a cliché but it’s a fact: 80 percent of work typically comes from 20 percent of our clients. In addition to training employees to uncover new business opportunities, now is also a great time to ensure that they also possess the skills to maintain existing client base.

Investing in focused training and development programs for employees will reverberate through the ranks of business. Think of it as in-house marketing. Employees understand, of course, that our goal is to make business more profitable, and that certainly benefits us. But the investment in their capabilities also benefits them, and valued employees understand this. It’ll show, and they’ll share the good news. And right now good news is something we all can use.

Grow our business strong, build infrastructure, and nurture our two greatest assets; our employees and clients. Take advantage of today’s challenging economy to implement positive change in organization now.

Leading process:

• Scoping
• Collecting Information
• Selecting the Team
• Leading a Meeting
• Documenting Results

Leading process model:

Motivation processes are:

Self-Determining (could apply to rates, loans, bill pay, insurance and also to self directed investing

Support Autonomy (could apply to IRA, savings in case of job loss, pensions, future planning like part-time work and more adjustable schedules.

Positive emotional tone (The smiling faces, optimism, tranquility of Yoga, Fun and Games…not by finger printing…)

Being Credible (success rates, number of members, how do you communicate credibility? by discussing achievements.

Informational Feedback (through calculator, bangladeshinfo.com does it by message boards.

Task Involvement (rather than Ego Involvement) (This is done by searches, registrations, and ……bangladeshinfo.com has Share Your Story.

Novelty and Interesting (This is important…what type of creative or innovations have they done that other credit unions have not done… bangladeshinfo.com has Learning and Technology at  their websites.

Effective in interaction (can be better, bangladeshinfo.com does it by message boards:

Inducing Curiosity (maybe finger printing falls into this category.  First, how does Finger Printing really work?  Let’s say I did finger printing of my kids…then what? Where do you keep the record?  Is it safe?……)

Originality (Where is it for this credit union.  How have they achieved that?)

Playfulness (Maybe calculator is…but is there more?  Can we create more?

Imagining Future Outcomes (this is important..How can I see myself better off after doing business with this bangladeshinfo.com.  How can they communicate this better?

Feeling of Efficacy (adequacy, capableness, effectiveness, efficiency, energy, influence, performance, potency, power, productiveness, strength, success, sufficiency, use, vigor, virtue)

Knowledge Enhancing (They have done this through providing News…but as you see, does this have priority to be way at the top? bangladeshinfo.com has this interesting page on academic research:

Career planning and development scope:

Career Planning

• Aligns strategy and internal staffing requirements
• Develops promotable employees
• Facilitates international placement
• Assists with workforce diversity
• Lowers turnover
• Taps employee potential
• Furthers personal growth
• Satisfies employee needs
• Assists affirmative action plans

Career development

• Performance (career meltdown)
• Exposure – self promotion essential
• Qualifications – which institution?
• Employer reputation – T&D, choice
• Nepotism – neutralize? How?

Pay structure and benefits:

Rewards & Benefits

The bangladeshinfo.com Company offers valuable rewards and benefits packages. What makes our approach to rewards and benefits successful is our ability to balance local practices with broad companywide approaches. The end result is a motivating pay structure combined with an array of valuable benefits.

As an example, here is a brief overview of pay and benefits for eligible business employees. In addition, each location has more detailed information.

• Compensation
• Benefits
• Flexible Health and Welfare Benefits
• Future Financial Security
• Travel
• Time Away From Work
• Professional / Personal Development
• Giving Back to the Community
• Other Benefits

Compensation

Our Company provides competitive base salaries. Moreover, based on a compensation philosophy that links pay with performance and depending on role and responsibilities, person may be eligible for additional upside financial opportunities through one or more of our short- or long-term incentive plans.

Benefits

Our benefits offerings make us competitive with the best of what other organizations provide. What follows is a sampling of our benefits package for eligible employees.

Benefits and compensation are governed by the actual plan documents and factual circumstances and not by this summary. Nothing in this summary constitutes a contract for, or guarantee of, any level of compensation or benefits, or employment. bangladeshinfo.com Company reserves the right to amend and/or terminate any of these plans at its sole discretion. Please note: This information does not pertain to employees who are covered under collectively-bargained agreements.

Flexible Health and Welfare Benefits

Medical Coverage. Our Company offers two comprehensive medical plans through Shield, ensuring that you and your family have easy access to health care benefits across the country. Both plans include annual physicals, well woman care, well baby care, and informational resources and assistance. At certain Company locations, offering benefits within that system may be available as well.

Once you enroll in medical coverage, you automatically get prescription drug coverage at no additional premium. The prescription drug plan is administered by hospital and provides the greatest benefits for generic and formulary drugs.

In addition, you are automatically eligible for managed mental health and substance abuse care benefits through Value Options, with a national network of mental health and substance abuse care providers.

Dental Coverage. The dental plan is administered by Dental hospital and is designed to encourage preventive and ongoing dental treatment to help you and your family avoid serious dental problems. The plan covers preventive services, and basic and major restorative services. There are also orthodontia benefits for children and adults.

Vision and Hearing Care Coverage. The vision plan provides exams, lenses and frames from network providers each year. After co pays for exams and eyewear, the plan reimburses 100% up to plan maximums, based on the type of lenses, frame or contacts selected. In addition, there are network discounts on additional pairs of prescription glasses, contacts and laser surgery. The hearing care benefit covers one hearing exam every two years and offers discounts on hearing aids.

Short-Term Disability (Sick Leave) and Long-Term Disability. Sick leave benefits protect all or part of your income if you are temporarily absent from work because of non-work related illness or injury. Long-term disability coverage is designed to replace a portion of your income after you are totally disabled for five months.

Life Insurance. Your life insurance protects your assets in the case of your death. Our Company automatically provides Basic Life Insurance of one times your annual base salary at no cost to you. You can opt to add more coverage at group rates. What’s more, you can purchase coverage for your spouse and children (statement of health required for spouse’s coverage in excess of 50,000 lakh tk).

Accidental Death and Personal Loss. This plan pays a benefit in the event of an accidental death or loss of a limb or eye as a result of an accident.

Long Term Care Coverage. This benefit plan can help you cover the costs associated with long term care services that are needed in the case of an extended physical illness or extended disability.

Flexible Spending Accounts. Flexible Spending Accounts help you save on taxes with every paycheck by letting you use before-tax taka to pay for many of your out-of-pocket health care and dependent care expenses.

Future Financial Security

401(k) Savings Plan. You save money toward your future financial security through convenient payroll deductions on a before-tax basis, after-tax basis or a combination of both. You may be eligible for Company matching contributions that will help your own contributions grow faster. You have choices among nine investment funds that help you allocate your assets. In addition, you can tap into a wide range of services, such as market updates, investment planning assistance and retirement planning tools.

Pension Plan. The Company pays the full cost for your participation in this plan, which is designed to provide you with a steady source of income after you retire. Through this plan, you can access educational services, including an online tool that you can use to create “what-if” scenarios based on salary and length of service to estimate your future benefit and enrich your financial planning.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You can purchase shares of our Company stock through convenient payroll deductions. Moreover, the Company pays the broker’s fee for the purchase and sets up an online account for you. (Offering by prospectus only.)

Travel

Business Travel Accident Insurance. The Company pays the full cost to cover all eligible employees under the Business Travel Accident plan automatically. The plan pays a benefit if the employee is in an accident or dies while traveling for bangladeshinfo.com Company.

Travel Arrangements. You can access Web-based travel booking tools through credit cards and Corporate Travel. You can use these resources to make your business or personal travel plans.

Time Away From Work

Vacation. When you start out at our Company, employees are eligible for two weeks of paid vacation each calendar year. You earn more vacation over time based on your location.

Personal Days and Holidays. Employees are eligible for paid personal days and holidays each calendar year based on location and hire date.
Holidays: Employees are paid for holidays during the calendar year based on location and hire date.

Sick Leave Leaves of Absence, including Maternity Leave. Our Company permits time off for a variety of reasons, including leaves of absence in support of employees who need to be away from work for a period of time due to medical, family, disability or other issues.

Professional / Personal Development

Tuition Reimbursement Plan. Our Company is committed to helping employees grow and develop professionally through undergraduate and graduate education and certificate instruction.

Leadership Development and Other Learning Opportunities. Our Company develops leaders at every level of the organization, offering a variety of programs to meet an array of business needs. In addition, there are live workshops and online training tools, to help sharpen your technical skills and managerial proficiencies.

Personal Growth. Our Company offers live sessions and online Webinars on a variety of topics of interest, including yoga and fitness, recreational activities and hobbies, parenting, interpersonal relationships, pet care, vacation planning and more.

Giving Back to the Community

Matching Gift Program. When you contribute 100 tk to eligible cultural, educational and journalism institutions, and organizations engaged in protecting the environment, our Company matches your contribution by adding 150 tk to your donation.

Charity Drive. Our Company has a more than 8-year tradition of supporting charitable organizations in keeping with our Core Purpose of enhancing society. Each year our Company holds charity drives for worthwhile causes.

Community Outreach. Our employees make a difference by contributing their time, energy, and talents to their communities through local volunteer efforts, drives and other community events.

Other Benefits

bangladeshinfo.com Company operates in cities across the Bangladesh and countries around the world. The following benefits are offered by the location, so depending on where you work you may be eligible for some or all of these offerings:

Transportation Reimbursement. Our Company’s Transportation Reimbursement Incentive Program (TRIP) helps you save money by using pre-tax dollars to pay for mass transit or parking expenses as part of your commute to and from work.

Adoption Assistance. Our Company’s Adoption Assistance Plan is designed to help with adoption costs, reimbursing up to a maximum of 10 tk per qualified adoption 5 lakh for a special needs child).

Life Skills and Work/Life Assistance. The program is designed to make it easy for you and your family members to get the help you need to keep the demands of professional lives and personal lives in balance.

Employee Assistance Program. Our EAP provides assistance on issues of personal concern, such as stress, distress, depression, grief, loss, substance abuse and eating disorders. Be assured that confidentiality is the foundation of this program.

Employee Perks/Local Discounts. You can take advantage of the many offerings available to employees and their families, including discounts on products, subscriptions and services, free admission to a variety of cultural institutions and museums – such as the Museum of Art and the Museum of the City of Bangladesh. You can also take advantage of reductions on theatre, concert and sporting event tickets – such as the cricket, if offered – money off retail purchases such as autos, books, cell phones, computers and flowers, and discounts to local restaurants. Offerings are updated regularly.

Emergency Child Care. At some locations, our Company provides our working parents with a supportive and safe child care environment for their children when faced with nanny or baby-sitter difficulties, day care center closings, snow days, school holidays and summer vacations.

Dependent Child Care and Elder Care Referrals. You and your family can obtain referrals to licensed facilities and individuals who offer child care or elder care services, using national databases.

Information and Services for Your College Bound Child. Our Company is committed to education and development and that is why it makes a comprehensive set of links and resources available to college-bound children to help them locate and identify colleges in which they will succeed.

Financial Planning Basics, Referrals and Legal Advice. You and your family can get financial planning basics or consult with legal advisers on a variety of issues.

Other Amenities. You can take advantage of discounted memberships to local health and fitness facilities, recreational clubs, special interest groups and a credit union.

A competitive compensation package

The compensation structure in Borealis is comprised of base pay and variable pay. In both these elements, we ensure that an individual’s contribution to the business is rewarded.

Your base pay is determined by our salary structure, your pay position and your performance in your role.

Variable pay compensates for the achievement of agreed targets, which are formulated at company, business unit and individual level.

Disciplinary Action & Termination

Aims of a policy

The aim of a disciplinary procedure is to encourage and maintain standards of conduct and ensure consistent and fair treatment for all. It should allow the employer to seek an informal resolution, where appropriate, but allow for more formal proceedings should the circumstances justify disciplinary action.

Who is it for?

New minimum statutory disciplinary procedures are set out in Schedule 2 of the Employment Act 2002 and must now be followed by all employers regardless of size, where they contemplate dismissing or taking relevant disciplinary action against an employee. “Relevant” disciplinary action does not include warnings (whether written or oral) but will include demotion, reallocation of duties, suspension without pay and probation, among other things.

Failure to follow the procedure where an employee has more than one year’s service will result in the dismissal being classed by a Tribunal as automatically unfair. Following the procedure, however, does not guarantee that the dismissal will be fair, as dismissal is still subject to employment law principles of equality and fairness.

Section 35 of the Act requires all employers to provide employees with accurate written particulars dealing with company disciplinary procedures. Failure to do so can result in the tribunal making an additional compensation award to a successful claimant.

Essential elements – the standard procedure

Below are the steps, set out in Schedule 2 of the Act, which must be complied with when taking relevant disciplinary action and which must, as a minimum, be set out in the company disciplinary procedure:

Step One: Statement of grounds for action and invitation to meeting

The employer must set out in writing the employee’s alleged conduct or characteristics, or other circumstances, which lead him to contemplate dismissing or taking disciplinary action against the employee.

A copy must be sent to the employee, inviting them to attend a meeting to discuss the matter.

Step Two: Meeting

The meeting must take place before action is taken, except in the case where the disciplinary action consists of suspension.

The meeting must not take place unless:

• the employer has informed the employee what the basis was for making the allegations in the Statement of Grounds under Step One; and
• the employee has had a reasonable opportunity to consider his response to that information.

The employee must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.

The employer must inform the employee of his decision and notify him of the right to appeal against the decision.

Step Three: Appeal

If the employee does wish to appeal, he must inform the employer. The employer must then invite the employee to attend a further meeting. The employee must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.

The appeal meeting need not take place before the dismissal or disciplinary action takes effect. The employer must inform the employee of its final decision.

Essential Elements – The modified procedure

Where an employee is guilty of gross misconduct, a disciplinary policy should allow for summary dismissal.

It is almost always unfair to dismiss an employee without first making any investigation of the circumstances. However, in very rare cases it has been known for tribunals to rule that an instant dismissal was fair because the circumstances made an investigation unnecessary. This is the two-step, Modified Procedure.

Step One: Statement of grounds for action

The employer must prepare and send to the employee a written statement setting out what the employee has done, or failed to do, which has resulted in their dismissal. The employee must be informed of their right to appeal.

Step Two: Appeal

If the employee wants to appeal they should inform the employer, who should then arrange an appeal meeting.

Following the appeal meeting the employer must inform the employee of its final decision.

There are few instances in which an employer should dismiss “on the spot” and employers would be wise to follow the Standard Procedure described above, even in the cases of more serious misconduct.

Essential Elements – General requirements and underlying principles

Part III Schedule 2 of the Act sets out the basic requirements that will apply at all stages of the procedures above:

• Each step must be taken without unreasonable delay
• Timing and location of meetings must be reasonable
• Meetings must be conducted in manner allowing both parties to express views
• At appeal meetings, (as far as is reasonably practicable) a more senior manager should represent the employer than the manager who held the first meeting.

Similarly, the underlying principles of the Act should be reflected in any company policy:

• No disciplinary action should be taken until an employee’s case has been fully investigated
• The employee should always be advised in writing of the nature of the complaint and given the opportunity to state their case before any decision is made
• Written notice of the disciplinary hearing should be given to the employee at least one day before the date of the hearing
• The employee should have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union official
• A disciplinary hearing should be adjourned if further investigation is required
• No employee should be dismissed for a first breach of discipline except in cases of gross misconduct
• An employee must have the right to appeal against any disciplinary penalty imposed
• The procedure may be implemented at any stage if the employee’s alleged misconduct warrants such action.

Best practice: Handling disciplinary problems – informal proceedings

The first priority should be to help the employee to improve their behaviour, making sure that they understand what they are doing wrong and what they have to do to come up to standard. Make a note of the date when the issue was discussed and what action was agreed, and then confirm this in writing to the employee.

Handling disciplinary problems – formal proceedings

Stage 1: Gather all the facts and give the employee notice

Find out facts quickly, collecting witness statements and relevant documents;

If the matter is serious, decide whether to suspend the employee to facilitate the investigation. Suspension should be on full pay and the employee should be provided with written notice.

Following investigation, if there is not enough evidence to proceed further, no action should be taken;

• If there is evidence of misconduct, consider whether an informal discussion or a disciplinary hearing is appropriate
• Give the employee written notice of the disciplinary hearing, outlining
• The nature of the complaint including all details of the alleged conduct or characteristics, or other circumstances
• Appropriate evidence / documentation
• The date, time and place of the interview
• Details of the employee’s right to have a union representative or colleague present and to bring any witnesses
• Where appropriate, notice that dismissal is one of the penalties being considered.

Stage Two: The disciplinary hearing and decision

Ensure another manager is present to take notes and act as a witness. Introduce those present and explain the purpose of the interview.

Go through the main issues, allowing the employee to reply and question as appropriate. Listen carefully to the replies and make notes.

Allow the employee to call witnesses and make full statements if requested.

Summarize the evidence and adjourn the proceedings.

Consider company precedent prior to making a decision and review employee’s own disciplinary record for unexpired warnings.

Consider whether further investigation is required.

Inform the employee in writing of the decision, the reasons for the decision, the penalty imposed and the employee’s right to appeal.

Stage Three: The appeal hearing

Provide the employee with written notice of the hearing, details of who will be hearing the appeal and confirm their right to be represented by a trade union official or colleague.

Conduct the appeal in the same manner as the disciplinary hearing at stage two described above.

Treat the appeal as a re-hearing rather than a review of the management’s earlier decision.

Adjourn to consider what action to take.

Inform the employee of the result in person and confirm the final decision in writing.

Grey Areas

As the legislation was only recently introduced, there remain some grey areas:

• At what point does an appraisal or review become a disciplinary meeting?
• What constitutes “reasonable” in terms of notice, timing, date and location of meetings, as well as reasonable attempts to attend meetings?
• What constitutes an “unreasonable delay” in terms of taking each step under the procedure?
• How will appeal hearings work in small, single director or owner managed businesses where that director or owner is directly involved in the incident?

Employer protection

Follow the correct dismissal procedure as described above.

Make the most of the probation period before matters get too serious.

Always keep accurate records of disciplinary matters as they may be needed at tribunal.

Ensure those who will deal with issues on the front line are aware of the procedure and how to implement it.

Key Legislation

• Employment Act 2002
• Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004
• Employment Rights Act 1996

Welfare Facilities of bangladeshinfo.com

Welfare can be one of the most important factors for the overall well-being if the firm and even its profitability as if your staff have the proper facilities it will make them more contented in their job and therefore more productive.

Space

You should make sure that there is adequate space for all elements that have to inhabit the workspace eg. Employees, furniture, plant and goods that need storing etc. The volume of the room should allow at least 11 cubic meters per person but only up to a height of 3 meters (i.e. if you have extremely high ceilings this does not mean that you can allow for less ‘width’ per person); there are certain exceptions to this rule such as retail kiosks but if in doubt you should check the relevant legislation.

Washing facilities

Cold and warm water into wash basins, soap and clean towels should all be provided by the employer with at least one wash basin to five employees. Drinking water should also always be provided. If any substances which are harmful to the skin are used then showering facilities should also be provided.

Sanitary facilities

These should be provided in segregated areas for men and women and there should be some ventilated space between the toilets and the work area.

Eating facilities

If meals are regularly taken at the workplace then facilities should be provided for the eating of meals. Segregated areas for smokers and non-smokers should be provided.

Clothing

There should be provision for the storage of outdoor clothing during working hours which is secure and offers the opportunity to dry the clothing. Any protective clothing which is required for a job should have its own storage area particularly if it is likely to be contaminated at any time.

First Aid

If more than four people work on your premises then you need to have a fully equipped first aid box on your premises (Details of what would be needed for your company can be obtained from the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) who can be contacted through the HSE (Health And Safety Executive). Although it is generally not compulsory for small firms to have a qualified first aider, unless there is a special risk on the premises, it is often a good idea to have someone on hand. An official Accident Report book must be kept on hand for employees to use; it is also a good idea to display useful telephone numbers e.g. Local doctors, hospitals etc. in a prominent position for use in an emergency.

Trade Union (Connecting the workers of the world)

The advent of wide-spread use of information and communications technologies represents a double challenge to trade unions. On the one hand, these technologies are an integral part of profound modifications underway in the nature of work and as such transfigure the very things trade unions are centered on: workers and working conditions. A great deal of work is being done by the ILO and elsewhere about these changes in particular in relation to the development of telework. At the same time, the pressure on trade unions to adopt these technologies themselves necessarily questions their own ways of working, whether that be in militant action, contact with workers, or worker awareness and education,… as well as trade unions’ own internal administration. These two challenges are interwoven and need to be met simultaneously.

Universal up-take?

The move to extensive use of such technologies is generally perceived as inevitable within the trade union movement even if it is sometimes seen with misgiving. In the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) report on the use of the Internet by media trade unions, an earlier survey carried out be the International Committee of Entertainment and Media Unions (IEMU) is quoted as stating “The question posed to media unions is not to know whether or not the developing digital age is a positive step for humanity but rather to understand how New Information Technologies can be tamed and thus intelligently used for the benefit of all union members.” In a rather similar vein John Monks writes on the British Trades Union Congress (TUC) site “Unions must become agents of change in a skills revolution and the drive for a first class, high skill, high productivity economy”. In the face of this seeming unanimity, there may well be a need to question the wide-spread perception of inevitability in the up-take of these tools.

Are unions connected?

But are unions getting connected to the Internet? Judging from the 350 web sites listed by Institute for Global Communications’ (IGC) LaborNet, even if most of them are in North America, a move is underway. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) lists 85 union web sites. Half of the listed sites are in the US, whereas, apart from South Africa, no African of Latin American sites are mentioned. At the same time, a number of unions and affiliated organizations are encouraging trade unions to get connected. The International Federation of Journalists, for example is taking part in a European Union initiative called Musenet aimed at assessing “the needs of European media trade unions regarding information and training related to the development of the Information Society”.

Providing information

Most union web sites provide information about themselves. Some also include information about campaigns underway. The ICFTU, for example, carries statements from the General Secretary endorsing action carried out by local unions and encouraging other unions to support them. A second, albeit very different example would be the web site of the Californian Nurses Association (CNA) which, at the time of writing, figures regular up-dates on troubles with a Californian hospital.

Workers’ education

Another facet of providing information is worker education. The International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (IFWEA) publishes a monthly bulletin on the web. They have also published a booklet called “Workers’ Education and the World Wide Web”. Many union web sites publish advice to members. The ICFTU, for example has a series of pages called Union Builders’ Toolbox containing amongst other things practical advice about organizing campaigns.

Commitment?

The fact that union web sites tend to provide information rather than establishing an on-line dialogue may well have something to do with the level of access of workers to the Internet of Bangladesh. It would be interesting to know how many individual union members actually have access to the Internet. It would also be interesting to know to what extent unions are sufficiently convinced that the step to the Information Society is inevitable and worthwhile. Should the numbers of union members connected to the Internet turn out to be quite low, how far would trade unions be prepared to commit themselves in helping their individual members get connected, trained and participating?

Management Function of Coordinating / Controlling: Overview of Methods of bangladeshinfo.com

Basically, organizational coordination and control is taking a systematic approach to figuring out if you’re doing what you wanted to be doing or not. It’s the part of planning after you’ve decided what you wanted to be doing. Below are some of the major approaches to organizational control and coordination.

Many People Are Averse to Management “Control”

New, more “organic” forms or organizations (self-organizing organizations, self-managed teams, network organizations, etc.) allow organizations to be more responsive and adaptable in today’s rapidly changing world. These forms also cultivate empowerment among employees, much more than the hierarchical, rigidly structured organizations of the past.

Many people assert that as the nature of organizations has changed so must the nature of management control. Some people go so far as to claim that management shouldn’t exercise any form of control whatsoever. They claim that management should exist to support employee’s efforts to be fully productive members of organizations and communities — therefore, any form of control is completely counterproductive to management and employees.

Some people even react strongly against the phrase “management control”. The word itself can have a negative connotation, e.g., it can sound dominating, coercive and heavy-handed. It seems that writers of management literature now prefer use of the term “coordinating” rather than “controlling”.

“Coordination” Must Exist or There’s No Organization — Only an “Experience”

Regardless of the negative connotation of the word “control”, it must exist or there is no organization at all. In its most basic form, an organization is two or more people working together to reach a goal. Whether an organization is highly bureaucratic or changing and self-organizing, the organization must exist for some reason, some purpose, some mission (implicit or explicit) — or it isn’t an organization at all. The organization must have some goal. Identifying this goal requires some form of planning, informal or formal. Reaching the goal means identifying some strategies, formal or informal. These strategies are agreed upon by members of the organization through some form of communication, formal or informal. Then members set about to act in accordance with what they agreed to do. They may change their minds, fine. But they need to recognize and acknowledge that they’re changing their minds.

This form of ongoing communication to reach a goal, tracking activities toward the goal and then subsequent decisions about what to do is the essence of management coordination. It needs to exist in some manner — formal or informal.

The following are rather typical methods of coordination in organizations. They are used as means to communicate direction and guide behaviors in that direction. The function of the following methods is not to “control”, but rather to guide. If, from ongoing communications among management and employees, the direction changes, then fine. The following methods are changed accordingly.

Note that many of the following methods are so common that we often don’t think of them as having anything to do with coordination at all. No matter what one calls the following methods — coordination or control — they’re important to the success of any organization.

Various Administrative Controls

Organizations often use standardized documents to ensure complete and consistent information is gathered. Documents include titles and dates to detect different versions of the document. Computers have revolutionized administrative controls through use of integrated management information systems, project management software, human resource information systems, office automation software, etc. Organizations typically require a wide range of reports, e.g., financial reports, status reports, project reports, etc. to monitor what’s being done, by when and how.

Quality Control and Operations Management

The concept of quality control has received a great deal of attention over the past twenty years. Many people recognize phrases such as “do it right the first time, “zero defects”, “Total Quality Management”, etc. Very broadly, quality includes specifying a performance standard (often by benchmarking, or comparing to a well-accepted standard), monitoring and measuring results, comparing the results to the standard and then making adjusts as necessary. Recently, the concept of quality management has expanded to include organization-wide programs, such as Total Quality Management, ISO9000, Balanced Scorecard, etc. Operations management includes the overall activities involved in developing, producing and distributing products and services.

Environment, Politics & Practices:

Health, Safety and Environmental Polices (HSE)

• Educate, train and commit employees to HSE issues, involving suppliers, communities, competent entities, entities representing employees and other related parties;
• Stimulate work force to registering and addressing HSE issues and consider their HSE performance in the company´s consequence and recognition programmes;

• Promote health and protect the human being and environment by identifying, controlling and monitoring risks, adapting safety processes to the best world practices and being prepared for emergencies;
• Ensure sustainability to projects, enterprises and products throughout their life cycles, taking risks and opportunities into account on economic, environmental and social scales;
• Consider eco efficiency of operations and products, minimizing adverse impacts inherent to the activities of the industry.

Guidelines:

–Leadership and Accountability

-Regulatory Compliance

-Risk Evaluation and Management

-New Projects

-Operation and Maintenance

-Management of Chance

-Goods and Service Procurement

-Training, Education and Awareness

-Information Management

-Communication

-Contingency

-Community Relations

-Accident and Incident Analysis

.Product Stewardship

-Assessment and Ongoing Improvement

1. Leadership and accountability: by integrating health, safety and environment in the corporate strategy, petrobras confirms that all employees and contractors strive for excellence in these areas.

2. Regulatory compliance: company activities shall comply with current health, safety and environmental laws.

3. Risk assessment and management: risks inherent to company activities shall be identified, assessed and managed to prevent accidents and/or to minimize their effects.
4. New projects: new projects shall comply with legislation and adopt the best health, safety and environmental practices throughout their working life.

5. Operation and maintenance: company operations shall be performed according to established procedures, and by using adequate facilities and equipment, inspected and apt to meet health, safety and environment requirements.
6. Management of change: temporary or permanent changes shall be assessed in order to eliminate and/or minimize implementation risks.
7. Goods and service procurement: health, safety and environmental performance of contractors, suppliers and partners to be consistent with the petrobras system.
8. Training, education and awareness: training, education and awareness shall be constantly promoted in order to reinforce workforce commitment to health, safety and environmental performance.
9. Information management: information and knowledge regarding health, safety and environment shall be accurate, updated and documented, for easier consultation and use.
10. Communication information concerning health, safety and the environment shall be reported clearly, objectively and promptly to be productive.

11. Contingency emergency scenarios should be predicted, and emergencies must be responded to promptly and efficiently to reduce their impacts.
12. Community relations: the company shall strive for the safety of the communities where it operates, and keep the communities informed about impacts and/or risks that may be caused by its operations.
13. Accidents and incidents analysis: accidents and incidents caused by corporate activities shall be reviewed, investigated and documented to prevent their recurrence and/or minimize their effects.
14. Product stewardship: the company shall take care of all health, safety and environmental aspects of its products from their origin to final destination, as well as agree to continuously reduce potential impacts possibly caused by its products.
15. Assessment and ongoing improvement: guaranteed health, safety and environmental performance shall be promoted at all company levels, in order to ensure improvements in these areas.
Company Politics:

Myths of the Business World

• Executives make decisions about the people in their corporations based solely on merit.
• Bosses use objective facts – rather than attempt to please people or pay back favors – when they allocate money and material.
• There’s very little favoritism where you work.
• You don’t have to toot your own horn; people will notice you because you do good work.
• Management knows who’s really doing the work.
• Eventually, all the lousy workers will be revealed for the goldbrickers they are.
• Every dog has his day, and in due time, my coworkers will realize how much I contribute to the smooth running of this office.
• The company would fall apart without me; I really am indispensable at work.
• I’m safe in my job because I have tenure, a contract, or topnotch skills.
• Socializing with my coworkers isn’t important.

Issues

v  Rewards/Respect based on Personality/Connection/Visibility vs. Performance (from authority)

v  Unfair Credit Taking, Backstabbing (from colleagues)

v  Limitation of Effectiveness (Statement about individual)

Suggested Perspective

Goals

• Conflict of Goals is Reality -Corporation’s, Colleagues’, Mine
• Bangladeshinfo.com of Goals is the Winning View
• Prioritize goals

Effectiveness

• It Matters
• Work on it, Be Wise as a Serpent
• Practice the Presence of God and Rejoice

Company’s Goals for us

• Contribute Results towards Company/Unit Goals

ü  as an Employee

ü  as a Member of a Team

• Contribute to a Workplace Attractive to Work at

My goals:

• Enjoy work, respect, recognition
• Fulfill Potential.
• Build Friendship

Bangladeshinfo.com Goals – Winning View

• As long as the Company goal is “ok”
• Company’s Success provides basis for Recognition/Reward
• Good “Neighbor” Dynamics Contribute to Company Success
• Strong Colleagues make for a Winning Team

Conflict of Goals

Due largely to:

• Small Pie Mentality – It exists all too often
• Mismanagement
• Human Nature

Effective Employee

• Study the culture, dynamics, and processes, for effective leadership.
• Supervisor’s Function – recognizes and accepts his/her role.
• Don’t get distracted by the disparity between your values/ethics, and your Supervisor’s.
• Make others–especially your boss—look good.
• Live in harmony. Accept others the way they are.
• Relate to your colleagues – Find Common Ground to Build Bridges
• Give credit, a win-win proposition.
• Help others to succeed.
• Exercise forgiveness

Effective, People Smart, Team Player

• Build Networks, within the company and in the industry.
• Make friends, not enemies, with mutual understanding, respect, and trust.
• Improve communications with others at all levels.
• Listen more.
• Be assertive without being abrasive.
• Be willing to admit you’re wrong.
• Learn to negotiate. Compromise.
• Resolve interpersonal disputes quickly.

Effective, Politics Exterminator, Manager

• Build a strong cooperative culture larger than politics.
• Build a clean reporting system and strong integrity culture so politics and gossip have no place to fester.
• Communicate clearly the company results which may affect any employee. With trust, politics (which is fear-based) diminishes.
• Inform employees how to get ahead in the company. Make the game plan open to all.
• Provide training for communication, conflict resolution, value of different perspectives, people skills.

Quality Of Working Life (QWL)

The sustained vitality and profitability of any company is clearly linked to the satisfaction of its workforce. This is intuitively obvious, and the research is compelling.  A company that does not measure and improve employee satisfaction may quickly face increasing turnover, declining productivity from the people that remain, and a limited ability to attract and retain qualified replacements.  Employee satisfaction and the quality of work life directly affect a company’s ability to properly serve its customers, and if it is not measured, it cannot be effectively improved nor maintained.

We can help. Bagladeshinfo.com ltd will assist you in your efforts to isolate and identify those attributes, which affect quality of work life within your company. We will provide customized QWL Measurement, which includes education, questionnaire development, testing, implementation, and analysis. Upon completion of our work, we will present a report that identifies specific drivers of overall employee satisfaction, allowing for targeted and more effective strategies, aimed at the continuous improvement of work life for your employees.

Our customized QWL measurement will help you efficiently and effectively allocate those resources targeted to enhance the productivity and stability of your workforce. QWL measurement will complement your efforts to create:

• Positive employee attitudes toward their work and the company
• Increased productivity and intrinsic motivation, and
• Enhanced organizational effectiveness and competitive advantage.

You have working-life quality when you:

1. Burn for your work, because it is an extension of what you want to do with your life.

2. Develop and become master in your chosen field.

3. Experience fellowship with colleagues and management and is proud of your place of work, and

4. Create real value for customers and the surrounding world by producing products and services of high quality.

These four elements are called personal quality of life, mastery, fellowship and creation of real value.

Creating a healthy organisation

To create and maintain a healthy organisation, the following three basic elements must be in place:

1. Good working conditions
2. A supportive work climate
3. Healthy employees

1. 1.      Working conditions

To create healthy and safe working conditions the following processes should be in place:

• risk assessment and evaluation:  a list of health and safety risks must be in place, together with the control measures
• safety:  of workplaces, tools and working procedures
• industrial hygiene:  a clean workplace environment, with low exposure to chemicals, noise and other hazards.
• Psychosocial environment: a good working atmosphere, communications and management style
• communication:  clarity about goals and objectives, changes and results
• workplace improvement and ergonomics
• work-life balance:  a reasonable workload which does not adversely affect the quality of life of the employee

This calls for teamwork involving management, employees and experts to develop an action plan, and identify the goals to be reached.  A process of continuous improvement must be established, in which employees also have responsibility in the process.

1. 2.      Work climate

A sound working climate is of paramount importance. This calls for:

• a value-based company culture
• management commitment:  active and visible policies and leading by example
• management style; must be stimulating and inspiring
• human resources management; must be active, enabling employees to use their potential to the full, and should influence decision making at management level
• development of the company culture; management practices, as well as employee satisfaction and well-being should be followed-up regularly eg, with employee surveys

1. 3.      Healthy employees

Healthy employees create economically successful enterprises.  Employees themselves also carry an important responsibility towards their own health. The following supports the realisation of healthy employees:

• healthy work and lifestyle; work-life balance, nutrition, smoking cessation, avoidance of drugs, controlled drinking, participation in sports and exercise
• health surveillance; focus on health risks
• advice and support; relationships, work and health advice; intervention, referral; employee assistance programs
• management of absence behaviour; advice, intervention, referral for treatment, rehabilitation
• knowledgeable about health and safety risks at work
• safe working habits

Model for quality of working life:

SWOT analysis

Strength:

• Brand value

• Most expensive

• 100% corporate website, serving only in the corporate sector since 2001

• Redundancy in each and every point of failure

• We use the latest technology, software’s products and services

• Biggest and number one web portal of Bangladesh

• 99.5% uptime

• 24/7 service and support with online desk service

Weakness:

• Infrastructure

• Proactiveness

Opportunity:

• Diversify value added product

• Multiple target market

• Entering into new communication sector

Threats:

• Other players in the market with a very low charge

• Rival’s can take the position to serve the corporate only with less amount of charge.

CONCLUSION

Bangladeshinfo.com ltd is a website design company from Bangladesh with sole emphasis on providing professional and quality web design, graphics design, and multimedia solutions. We are professional, dedicated, flexible, experienced and affordable. Aesthetics, user friendliness, and functionality are built into all our solutions to ensure that your web venture is a success.

Whether you need a simple but effective web presence, a multimedia flash presentation to showcase your services, or dynamic website application with the flexibility of php, mysql, we can help. We build custom designs and solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements or customize other open source web scripts to give you an affordable solution without compromising the quality and dependability of your mission critical web site.

Sales and marketing department has a significant role in any organization. The sales people fuel up the engine to any organization to run smoothly and all the other departments are helping them so they can perform well. in here the scenario is not different, even the organization is sales focused organization since this is service base organization. One can make the best career here from sales department. this is the most booming department in bdinfo, I have learned and learning a lot being a part of this department. Survey helps me a lot to reach the customer. Now they are totally happy with our services but the price is the one major factor. bdinfo is working on that issue.

Besides catering to clients from Bangladesh, we also provide outsource services. If you want to outsource to Bangladesh, your web design needs you have come to the right place. It does not matter if you are an individual person, small company or very large enterprise; we will give you the professional website solution for website design, dynamic web applications or graphics and multimedia creations.