Letter of Transmittal

To

Critically examine its human resource management policies and practices of a M

Jasim Uddin (JDN)

Lecturer, School of Business

North South University

Prepared For,
Jasim Uddin (JDN)
Subject : Submission of HRM 460Research
Report
Lecturer,
North South University
Date: Noveber 26th, 2013

Dear Sir,
As part of our International Human Resource Managementcourse, I have completed this

Prepared By,
Alamgir
resource management policies and practicesin theMayisha
light of underlying
theories and concepts.
ID: 1010227030,
For my research report, I have chosen
Multinational
HRMa 460,
Sec:1Company called Siemens Bangladesh. I

report under your instructions. The topics you have assigned to us are relevant to the human

havegathered the necessary information and tried my best to answer the questions as required by
this project in the context of this organization.
I humbly request your acceptanceSubmission
of our submissionDate:
of this report.
November
Sincerely yours,
Mayisha Alamgir (ID: 101 0227 030)

Declaration Statement

26, 2013

This research paper contains academic analysis done by me.The main text is the work done by
using information derived from primary,secondary and tertiary sources. Theories and ideas
borrowed from other sources havebeen properly cited and referenced. The sections of this paper
contain confidentialinformation about a Siemens Bangladesh, used with permission on condition
that theconfidentiality is maintained. This research was done as part of an academic course
andthe information contained herein must be used only for academic purposes and onlyupon
authorization by the course instructor.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to our course instructor Muhammad Jasim Uddin (JDN) for
giving me the opportunity and guideline to conduct this research, as well as for teaching us the
definitions, theories and techniques that I have used in writing this paper. I also greatly
appreciate the warm welcome we received from the staff at Siemens Bangladesh. I am grateful to
the managing director directing me towards this organization. Heartfelt thanks to the Associate
Managerfor his time in giving me a most enlightening orientation. Special thanks to the senior
executive for rearranging her busy schedule to let me interview her regarding the human resource
management policies, and also for trusting me with the confidential appraisal forms. All of these
individuals have provided immense support to me and will not be forgotten.

Table of Contents

Topic Name

Page No.

Executive Summary
Introduction
Objective
Scope
Methodology
Literature Review
International Human Resource Management
Analysis
Discussion
Conclusion
Reference

5
6
7
7
7
8
9
10-15
16
16
17

Executive Summary

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical

engineering, operating in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors. For over 160 years,
Siemens has stood for technical achievements, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality.
The association with Bangladesh began in 1956, and since then it has been involved in a number
of Bangladeshs major modernization and infrastructure development programs. SBL is
operating in Bangladesh for last 50 years with the aim shaping a better future and enhance the
lives of people.
The purpose of the report is to identify the HR system and practice of Siemens Bangladesh
limited. Being a multinational company SBL has a structured HR system with both global and
local touch. Siemens regards its employee as most essential asset and resources in ensuring
continued success and development. The growth of Siemens all around the world has provided
promising prospects for all competent and highly motivated employees in a continuous manner.
By providing rich Human Resources practices and offering of competitive benefit package,
Siemens believe in ensuring a working environment where management and employees put
combined effort towards the growth of the company and accepts new challenges in a diversified
environment. Acknowledgment of success is ensured here to motivate our staff.
The SBL human Resource practices determine to ensure every employees growth with highest
potentiality by providing a healthy & competitive work environment where the employee gets
opportunity to excel their knowledge & skills .It also ensures the appropriate career opportunities
in line with the capabilities & performance through Siemens Performance Management Process
Finally recommendation was provided to make the HR system more effective and efficient for
the organization. If SBL follows the HR system thoroughly then it will be always in upper hand
to retained best employees in the organization in the future.

Introduction
5

Siemens is a leading technology business and one of the largest electrical and electronics
engineering companies in the world. In the UK, it employs over 20,000 people and is in the top
three electrical and electronics companies in the world.It has been a pioneer in innovation since
1843 when Siemens installed the first street light in Godalming, Surrey. In 2006, Siemens UK
invested over 74.4 million on research and development. The company designs and
manufactures products and services for both industrial customers and consumers. It operates in
three main sectors: In industry, Siemens develops systems for transport, for example, Londons
traffic monitoring for its congestion charge scheme. It is also the second largest provider of trains
for major UK rail companies like FirstGroup. Siemens also provides lighting and electrical
systems for major construction projects. In energy, Siemens' work is wide-ranging. It makes
systems for transmitting and distributing power for power companies including building power
stations and wind farms. It also provides energy metering services, for example, water meters for
businesses and consumers.
In healthcare, it specializes in equipment to help medical diagnosis, such as MRI scanners and
imaging technology. It also provides equipment for testing blood in laboratories.
Siemens' technology appears in every aspect of everyday life, for example: the electronic 'eye'
(Hawk Eye) helps umpires in tennis and cricket matches 9 out of 10 cars contain Siemens
products 20,000 domestic products like toasters are used in homes every day systems such as
Pelican crossings keep people safe. Car parking systems help guide traffic quickly to free spaces,
keeping traffic moving and reducing pollution on the roads.
To keep its world-leading position and grow in a competitive environment, Siemens aims to
deliver quality products and services. To do this, it needs people with first class levels of skill,
knowledge and capability in engineering, IT and business.
The size and varied nature of its business means that Siemens requires many different types of
people to fill a wide range of roles across the company. These include skilled factory workers,
trade apprenticeships, designers and managers.

Objective
6

The purpose of this report is to discover how certain aspects of human resource management
policies apply to Siemens. Since traditionally has a very organized HR activities or policies, this
can be a very good example of IHRM policies. Using Siemens as an example, I will try to find
out the extent to which modern methods of HRM policies, appraisal and training can be used in
MNEs, the degree of improvisation that may be required, and the benefits or drawbacks of doing
so. The HR function has become very dynamic and significant in the corporate world. Similarly,
as MNEs grow larger, the need for a more organized Human Resource Management system
becomes more evident. The question of how these HR activities can be carried out by these
charity organizations is definitely an issue worth exploring.

Scope
I will essentially introduce the programmes of Siemens Bangladesh, and then identify certain
human resource management activities. I will have a brief look over different programmes of
Siemens, followed by detailed exploration of those whichare relevant to the field of research. My
scope of analysis is bounded by the applications of human resource management policies and
practices in Siemenss programmes and operations.

Methodology
The major findings in this report come through a series of interviews arranged with the Associate
manager of Siemens, at their head office in ZN Tower,Gulshan, Dhaka. The information
provided by him corresponds to the human resource objectives and activities ofSiemens. The
organization has a department dedicated to human resource management and the organization is
growing large enough. Consequently, current HR activities are limited to the importance of
human resource management in international business, principal types of staffing policies used
by international companies, the qualifications of international managers, how MNEs select,
prepare, compensate, and retain managers etc. Detailed information about other aspects of the
venture was collected from the internet.

Literature Review
7

According to Boxall and Purcell HRM includes anything and everything related to the
management ofemployment relationships in the organization. We do not associate HRM only as
a high-commitment model of labour management or with any particular ideology or style of
management (Boxall and Purcell, 2000, p. 184).
Human resource management is the most familiar topic that has been the focus of research on
management side overthe last twenty years (Sparrow & Budhwar, 2002). Storey (1987) has
pointed out two dimensions hard and soft. The hard dimension of human resource
management is about the usage of something in terms of quantity while soft manner emphasize
towards motivation and leadership.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) 2004 mission statement says that
Peoplemanagement professionals need to continue to demonstrate and deliver the links between
people management andorganizational success. We need to work with our colleagues on the
board, our fellow managers and our staffcolleagues at every level to boost performance by
people. This view demonstrates about the management of people and how to work with and
through people for future success (Foot & Hook, 2005, p.14).

International Human Resource Management (IHRM)

The research done by different intellectuals has shown that international human resource
management (IHRM) is important for global market or business achievement and successful
IHRM makes difference between the success/failures of MNCs like Siemens. IHRM is the
management of human resources across different nations, which is different and complex from
local/national HRM. According to Chen and Lin (2003) the human capital can be defined from
three angles with the help of three theories the transaction cost economy theory, the human
capital theory and resource based view of the firm theory.The study shows that international
human capital enables firm to compete globally (Ling & Jaw, 2006).
Mergers and Acquisitions
Cross-border mergers and acquisition is one of the major ways in which firms
haveacknowledged themselvesworldwide (Edwards & Rees, 2006). The UN (2004) report cited
by Edwards and Rees (2006) has shown theincrease in cross border mergers and acquisition from
$150 billion in 1990 to $1,080 billion in 2000 and the fallbetween 2000 to 2003 is still three
times high than ten years earlier. Mergers and acquisition fails due to ignoranceof international
human resource management and intention towards local one Stahl et al. (2004). Edwards and
Rees(2006) suggest that mergers and acquisitions across borders are of particular concern for
those having interest ininternational human resource management. Different issues of HR come
up with the process of merger likemanagement of employees, communication, pay and benefit
policies and employment cost for reformation.
Expatriates
According to Bartlett and Ghoshal (1995) expatriates plays an important role in the transfer of
knowledge across transnational organizations. Schuler (2000) says that companies are giving
importance to the management ofhuman resources in global perspective and success of a
company is not possible without effective management of their employees. Over the last 20 years
research conducted for IHRM was mainly focused on expatriates, who are sent to different parts
of the world as corporate missionary to improve the management and company (Schneiderand
Tung, 2001).

Analysis
9

Now that we have introduced our organization and identified our topics for investigation, we
begin by finding relevant information that will help us answer thefollowing questions about
Siemens.

What is the Human Resource Management policy of Siemens?

What are the employee recruiting and selection process that Siemens follows?
What are the Employee Training & Development programmes of Siemens?

The following pages will help us address the above questions. The entire analysis section is
based on information collected at the Siemens Head office and internet.

Human Resource Management Policy

Siemens Bangladesh Limited is one of the regional companies of SIEMENS AG where the
employees are diverse in aspect of their religious belief, nationality, race & gender. To ensure the
equal opportunity policy, the company is committed to treat every employee with respect, fair
judgment and assess with their performance & capabilities.
The SBL human Resource practices determine to ensure every employees growth with highest
potentiality by providing a healthy & competitive work environment where the employee gets
opportunity to excel their knowledge & skills .It also ensures the appropriate career opportunities
in line with the capabilities & performance through Siemens Performance Management Process.
The main objective is to provide an honest & open communication practice in order to retain
highly motivated workforce who are entirely dedicated towards their respective job
responsibilities in order to obtain company objectives.
If we look into the existing HR flow chart of SBL then we can easily identify that SBL follows a
very basic HR process and each process are inter-related. As we know the objective of any
business organization is to maximize profit through its companys strategic goals. The only way
to achieve organizational goal and performance is through the human resources within the
organization. Thus the role of HR comes into play to provide its organization with high qualified
and skilled employee in order to achieve organizational goal.
10

SBLs motto is to achieve highest performance with highest ethics. So the HR of SBL needs to
consider the fact that in every step of the HR process how it can add value to get the best and
qualified human resources keeping in the mind its ethical standard and policies. As we know the
organizational performance can be only be achieved if the HR process is effective & efficient.
Employment in SBL
Siemens Bangladesh limited employs about 215 persons. Siemens considers its employees to be
the lifeblood that keeps the company one step ahead all the time. Thats why they recruit high
potential individuals and offer them competitive salaries and extensive social benefits. If we look
into the HR structure or department of SBL comprises of a team of four. The HR head is
responsible for the development of the policies and strategies along with the concern of the
Executive Management. Regarding the job specification for respective divisions are joint effort
of the HR head and the individual division heads based on their requirements.
Siemens uses geocentric approaches under the staffing policies. They seek for the best people for
key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of their nationality.
As with any senior management role, there are basic requirements that managers need for
success. Executive roles based in overseas countries have extra layers of risk to them because
expatriates must adapt themselves to entirely new work environments and lifestyles. The
possibility of failure is therefore higher than assignments within their home countries.
Failed expatriate postings are those that either are forced to end early or are deemed
unsatisfactory by senior management. Failure rates for such postings are generally accepted to
vary between 20% and 50% -- very high indeed.

Choosing Expatriate Managers

It used to be understood that expatriate appointments to emerging countries were much higher
risk that those to so-called advanced countries. But that was because most expatriates used to
11

originate from so-called developed countries. Today, more expatriates are from other emerging
countries and have a somewhat better track record of integration in countries more like their
own. Given the high risks and costs involved in expatriate postings in Siemens, it is foolish not
to reduce risks as much as possible by selecting managers who have attributes that make their
success as likely as possible.

Key Attributes of Successful Expatriates

Attribute 1:Extroverted
People who have outgoing personalities seem to adapt faster than desk-bound introverts.
Extroverts are able to build necessary relationships with their new staff and key stakeholders
quickly and with more ease. Shyness is not an advantage in a foreign country when you need to
get results through other people in short order.
Management Rule: Select expatriates with outgoing personalities.

Attribute 2:Adventurous
People who are naturally interested in new experiences and meeting new people often adapt
easier in offshore environments than those who do not. Managers who are comfortable travelling
overseas and have done so regularly are obvious examples, as are people with a history of
participating in activities involving working closely with others in uncertain situations. Group
sports, community involvement, volunteer work are examples.
Management Rule: Select expatriates with a history of adventurous behavior that includes
involvement with other people.

Attribute 3:Cultural Sensitivity

People who have experience with ethnic diversity tend to adapt better than those who are
unfamiliar with international cultures. Look for candidates from an ethnically diverse
12

background. Perhaps their parents were immigrants or they grew-up with or worked among an
ethnically diverse environment.
Management Rule:Select expatriates who have a background or experience with ethnic diversity.

Attribute 4:Independent
People who are self-reliant are generally better expatriates than those who are used to layers of
administrative support. Working overseas can be a lonely and daunting experience. Cut off from
established support networks, as well as family and friends, expatriate managers will need to be
self-supporting to succeed.
Management Rule: Select expatriates who function well independently.

Attribute 5:Career Motivated

People who believe strongly that successful international experience is vital to their long-term
career success will be more inspired to make an overseas posting work. Given that senior
management roles today are almost always international in scope, this should not be a difficult
attribute to uncover. However, there are many people who are not motivated in this way and such
people will have a lower chance of overseas management success.
Management Rule: Women need to be chosen more carefully than men for expatriate postings in
emerging countries.

Major Steps in Employee Recruiting And Selection Process

1. Requisition
The HRM dept. first decides upon the requirements of the position to be filled up.
13

2. Advertisement
The advertisement personnel in change circulates advertisement for the employees through Papers: newspaper, weekly magazines
Online: online advertisements
3. Primary Screening
A pool of candidates formed on the basis of their background information, education and skills.
There can be:
Internal Candidates- potential applicants within the organization
External Candidates-potential applicants outside the organization
Primary screening depends on the requirements that are needed to be fulfilled in the designated
positions.
4. Interview
Interview conducted in different ways described in the interview section.
5. Selection
Based on the testing methods the candidates are judged by the management who best suits the
position.
6. Appointment letter
After selection appointment letters are being sent by post.
7. Confirmation letter
Confirmation letters are then sent back by the appointed person.
Employee Testing and Selection
Once the collection of potential candidates is done, the next step is to select the best person for
the job. This is one of the important steps in the recruitment process. Identifying the right kind of
person for the right job is essential for the organization.
14

Employee Training & Development

Employee training is very important for the company to keep the performance standard intact as
well as for attempting to enhance worker productivity. Training is the process of teaching new
employees the basic skills they need to perform their jobs. Training processes are broader today
than they have been in the past, which used to focus on production process training. However
today there is a new trend for training and development programs. Employees now adapt to rapid
technological changes, improve product and service quality, and boost productivity to stay
competitive. Siemens is also trying their best to achieve these qualities by conducting their
training programs.
Training and pre-departure preparations can lower the probability of expatriate failure.
Increasingly, preparation activities include the spouse.
Siemens training system in Bangladesh
Major Training programs:
Vocational Training- Vocational training is based on special skill attributes and interests.
On-The-Job Training- OJT means training a person to learn the job while working at it From a
CEO to a clerk who joins the company gets some kind of on the job training. There are several
types of OJT. Siemens Bangladesh is now using some of them according to their requirements on
the specific task that needed to be performed by the employees efficiently.

Discussion

15

Being a multinational company SBL is in the upper hand as it has an effective HR system than of
the local giants. The HR system of SBL very much organized and specific in terms of policies
and strategies for dealing employees and other parties both inside and outside of the
organization. The HR policies and strategies are pursuing to ensure that the recruiting, selecting,
training, appraising and compensation systems are consistent with the companys strategic plan.
As said by a writer that in a growing number of organizations human resources are now viewed
as a source of competitive advantage. A high quality workforce enables organization to compete
on the basis of market responsiveness, product and service quality, differential products and
technological innovations. Thus SBL HR system takes into consideration employees as much as
possible to develop and trained them both personally and professionally.

Conclusion

Siemens Bangladesh Ltd. follows very strong and healthy HR policies which not only focus on
human resources but also consider organizational goal while developing any human resource
strategy. SBL has a flatter HR structure which faster the speed of doing business more efficiently
and effectively. Even though with such effective HR structure and policies, still there lays merits
and demerits and hence provide a scope of improvisation for better organization.

References

16

Appelbaum, E. and Batt, R. (1994) The New American Workplace: Transforming Work

Systems in theUnited States, New York: ILR Press.

Alder, N. J. and Bartholomew, S. (1992) Managing Globally Competent People,
Academy ofManagement Review, vol. 6, part 3: pp.52-64, doi:

10.1108/00483480510571851 (Permanent URL) .

Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P. (1992) Debates, dilemmas and contradictions. In P. Blyton
and P. Turnbull(eds.) Reassessing Human Resource Management, London: Sage

Publications.
Begin, J. P. (1997) Dynamic Human Resource System: cross-national comparisons,

Berlin: Walter deGruyter.65J. Basic. Appl. Sci. Res., 3(2)60-67, 2013

Beechler, S. and Yang, J. Z. (1994) The Transfer of Japanese-Style Management to
American Subsidiaries:Contingencies, Constraints and Competencies, Journal of

International Business Studies, vol. 25, part 3:pp.467-491

Black, J. S., and Gregersen, H. B. (1999) The right way to manage expats, Harvard

Business Review, vol.77, part 2: pp.52-63

Duerr, M. G. (1986) International Business Management: Its Four Tasks, Conference

Board Record,October: 43.

Deresky, H. (2000) International Management, Managing Across Borders And Cultures,

3rd ed. London:Prentice Hall.

Engardio, P., Bernstein, A. and Kripalani, M. (2003) The new global job shift, Business

Week,3rdFebruary.
http://www.siemens.com/answers/bd/en/

17