British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco P.L.C. is the worlds most international tobacco group.
Based in London, UK it is a market leader in more than 50 countries selling over 300
brands in some 180 markets world-wide with the strength of almost 90,000
employees.
British American Tobacco Bangladesh, a market leader in the country, is a subsidiary
of British American Tobacco p.l.c. Operating in Bangladesh since pre-independence,
the company headquarters and cigarette factory are based in Dhaka, with a tobacco
leaf processing operation in Kushtia. The company employs more than 1300 people
and provides indirect employment to a further 24,500 farmers, distributor and
supplier. British American Tobacco Bangladesh is a company with world class
people, products, system, process and tools.
We are the first company in Bangladesh to be awarded Class A status as part of the
international and prestigious total business excellence programmed, MRPII, audited
by internationally renowned consultants Oliver Wight. We have a total company
commitment to excellence and drive for continuous improvement, aspiring to be
among
the very best in the world.
Our world class people work as a team to meet challenges in an ever-changing
business environment. We have an open and transparent culture with customer
service that exceeds expectations. We continuously seek to improve our
manufacturing efficiency without compromising on quality. As a result our company
is recognized as benchmark for quality in the region when we were the first
company to be given the license to manufacture Benson & Hedges in-house, within
this region of BAT Group which stretches from Pakistan to Australia. Our utilization
of information technology is at the core of our business strategy and is a benchmark
among other fast moving consumer goods companies in the country.
BATB give too much priority to internal communication so that they can meet
customer need effectively. They have own intranet within their organization to
maintain communication to everyone in the company. They always try to meet
customer expectation by maintaining a standard level of communication.
1.1 Background:
To be operating in a controversial and challenging industry like the cigarette
industry successfully, communication plays a very important part. It is the
responsibility of the
communication and the trade marketing team together to let the consumers know
about the new products or changes in the existing products; this becomes even
more challenging as they can not promote their products using any media vehicle.
Besides tasking care of the new regulations and talking to stakeholders is also a
very important role for the communication team. Internal communication, that is
letting the employees and factory workers know more about their product and

leasing their cognitive dissonance through proper communication and keeping them
informed about the company happenings, is even more important.
1.2 Objective of the study :
Measuring the effectiveness of the tools used for internal communication in British
American tobacco Bangladesh.
1.3 Scope :
The study was limited to the permanent employees of British American Tobacco
Bangladesh. No comparison or analogy has been drawn taking other BAT companies
or other tobacco companies in Bangladesh. The survey respondents were asked
questions about the tools and services driven by BAT Bangladeshs CORA
Communications team. Other forms of organizational communication were not
taken into consideration.
1.4 Methodology :
The report is mainly based on the survey findings. So major part of the report
represents the survey result and analysis; hence most of the information is primary
a few officials were questioned regarding the products, their price and placement.
Some information about the company and its operations has been taken from the
brochures and previous reports.
1.5 Sources of data collection:
The primary respondents were the employees of company. Both management and
non management employees were considered to get a clear and non biased answer.
The sample size taken was 37 for management and 33 for non-management
employees that make it a total of 70 employees.
The sampling method adopted is stratified clustered sampling. It was kept in mind
that almost all the strata have at least one representative in the survey. to keep the
survey unbiased, employees from all job grades and territories were brought under
the survey. Separate questionnaire (English and Bangle) for both management and
non management employees were prepared. The questionnaire was prepared based
on semantic differential and Likert scale and ratings. The sample questionnaire can
be found in the annexure.
1.6 Activity Schedule:
Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A
B
C
D

E
F
G
H
I
J
Activities:
A= Collecting information about the research contents and theory.
B= Preparation of proposal for research.
C= Collect informal information about priority banking.
D= Directly observer
E =Selection of samples.
F =Asking the internal employees.
G=Organizing and evaluating collected information.
H=Preparing the final report.
I=Assessment by the course instructor.
J=Submission of final report.
1.7. Limitations:
Although while conducting the survey, the employees of BAT provided great support
but there were sonic unavoidable problems that worked as limitations.
Conducting the survey proved to be a bit difficult as it included both the
management & non management workers. The management employees part was
manageable as they more or less were able to comprehend the questionnaire.
Although they were not willing to sacrifice much time for the survey but they
answered by understanding the essence of the survey.
Though some questionnaire was sent outside Dhaka, but the number was not
substantial, so the survey results are biased towards die employees of the Dhaka
Head office to some extent.
But with the non-management workers, it was a bit difficult to make them
understand the scale and rating, and in some cases, they gave wrong ratings.
Getting the factory workers in the working hours was a bit difficult, so 1 had to
wait for the road show. I was able to attend only one road show as others were
scheduled in the night shift.
1.8 Conceptual framework of the report:
This study seeks to analyze the role played by Internal Communication in British
American Tobacco Bangladesh; how this role is accomplished and how effective

Internal Communication has been in fulfilling this role. The problem statement
from the client (British American Tobacco Bangladeshs Corporate Communications
Team) Was:
How effective are our Internal Communication tools and service in aligning our
employees with the companys business strategies and objectives; and how
satisfied are the users with the tools and services?
2.0 Overview of the Industry:
The industry background includes the background of the product category, current
situation of the industry, the competition, the segments in which the companies
operate and the environmental analysis.
2.1 Major Brands, Manufacture and Segments:
British American Tobacco Bangladesh has been present in Bangladesh for a very
long time and it is still doing its business dominantly with four of its key drive
brands i.e.
Benson & Hedges, John Player Gold Leaf, Pall Mall and Star. Among the competitors,
Dhaka tobaccos Navy gives good competition to Star into he Tk 1 segment. The
other brands present in the market are:
The industry life cycle has been shown in the following:
The cigarette industry in our country is still in a growth stage mainly because,
among all the tobacco products most are Bidi and low priced brands. Among the
cigarette brands, the most sold ones are tk 1 brands; like for BAT the brand that
sells with the largest volume is star. The following table represents the current
situation of the brands sale:

The table shows that a higher priced brand that is in the higher segment of the
market is far below the sales volume of the other lower priced brands. The highest
selling brands are Star and Navy. This shows that the cigarette industry is mainly
depending on the high volume but the profit margin is very minimal. With star, BAT
is selling a lot, but they are literally making profit near to zero. An industry liked this
which is living on volume more than value can be called to be in the growth stage.
2.3 SWOT Analysis:
SWOT analysis is done to find out the factors important to the operation of a
business in the environment, both internal and external. The internal factors help to
find out the strength and weakness; the threats and opportunities can be
comprehended by scanning the external environment. The SWOT analysis of the
cigarette industry is given below:

 Strength:
Because of high regulations, high cost and high entry barriers, new entrants are
discouraged, which is good for the current and already established market players.
As they are not allowed to go for public promotion, the tobacco companies can
use their resources for other purposes. Like BAT is investing for and increasing their
filed force.
Weakness:
Dealing with a product which is sensitive in may issues.
Can not promote their products using public media vehicle.
A high volume but low value industry
Opportunity:
In Bangladesh, tobacco market is pretty strong. Among the sale of all tobacco
products, 68% is Bidi and the rest 32% is cigarette. But with the up gradation of
purchasing power and good economic condition, high rate of migration from Bidi to
cigarette is also expected. Even now; the migration rate is good enough to sustain
the cigarette industry. Total no even if reduce, but the migration will make it
sustainable. The cigarette market depends not on increasing number of customers,
but on switching to cigarette brands.
Threat:
Increasing amount of awareness among the consumers about the health hazards
caused by smoking.
Increasing number of regulations and laws imposed by the government about
smoking and selling cigarettes.
2.4 PEST analysis:
A PEST analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all
firms. PEST is an acronym for the political, economic, social and technological
factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors are usually beyond
the firms own control and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this
reason, some say. PEST is an appropriate term for these factors. However, changes
in the external environment can also create new opportunities and so the letters
can be rearranged to construct the more optimistic team of step analysis. The next
page shows how PEST analysis is helpful in analyzing the overall environment.
The following are examples of some of the factors that might be considered in a
PEST analysis:
Political:
Government regulations have increased in the recent years. Tobacco companies can
not use any vehicle to promote any of their products and they also can not organize

any event.
Or competition with their brand name. That is the reason BAT had to stop organizing
a popular program of their B & H Star search.
Economic:
Usually price increased do not affect the brand loyal segment, but the lower
segment gets influenced with he price increase. Like, even if BAT increases the price
of B & H, it might not affect the brand loyalty of the customers, but the price
increase of JPGL or star may influence the customer to shift to navy. Price increase
may depend on lot of factors, like increase in tax or the price increase of the raw
materials. And with his increase in the purchasing power and economic
emancipation, consumers will shift to higher segment brands; like every year a big
number of people migrate to cigarette from bidid.
Social:
Increasing awareness of the consumers might well affect the sale of the brands.
Increasing health campaign, awareness and lifestyle of people also affect the
consumption of cigarettes. Like more stressful life can lead to more consumption of
cigarettes. People also get influenced in choosing their brands influenced by their
peer or reference group.
Technical:
The production of cigarettes and quality control and checking can have influence on
the overall production process to a great extent. Import of new machinery includes
a lot of internal communication with the factory workers to make them understand
the operation and also to reduce their fear of getting laid off because of the new
machinery.
2.5 History of Tobacco:
1,000 BC
Ancient temple caring depicts Mayan priests in Central America Smoking tobacco
through a pipe. Tobacco leaves become widespread in medicine for use on wounds
as a means of reducing pain. Later the Aztecs incorporate smoke inhalation into
religious rituals.
Two castes of smokers emerge: the pipe smokers at the court of Montezuma and
lesser Aztecs who roll the leaves into crude cigars.
470-630 AD
Mayan tribes begin to scatter and tobacco travels with them. The leaf moves
southwards to South America where it is wrapped in maize and palm leaves and
smoked and north where it is introduced to the native Americans into him
Mississippi area.

In North America pipes are made from clay, marble or lobster claws. Some pipes
with two stems, are used for inhaling through the nostrils. Tobacco chewing is
common, especially in South America, where the leaf is mixed with lime.
1492
Arawk people in the Bahamas, on an island Christopher Columbus christens San
Salvador, offers the explorer dried leaves. Not understanding their significance,
Columbus discards them. A month later Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis Torres returning
from a trip into the interior of Cuba- Stumble on villagers inhaling the smoke from
burning dried tobacco leaves through a hollow Y-shaped piece of cane called a
tobacco or tobacco. Jerez is though to be the first smoker outside the Americas.
When Jerez returns to his home town of Ayamonte, during the Spanish Inquisition,
the holy inquisitors accuse him of consorting with the devil when they see smoke
coming from his mouth. He is imp rosined for seven years. By the time he is
released, smoking is a custom in Spain. Jerez perhaps sets a precedent for the
plants controversial future.
1518
The discoverer Juan de Grijalva lands in Yucatan, Mexico, and sees local people
smoking tobacco leaves. The following year, the conquistador Cortez finds Aztecs in
the capital of Mexico smoking strong, scented tobacco.
1526
In his history of the West Indies, Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes writes: Among other
evil practices, the Indians have one that is especially harmful, the inhaling of a
certain kinds of smoke which they call tobacco. I cannot imagine what pleasure they
derive from this practice.
1561
Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Lisobon recommends tobacco snuff to his
royal
Patron, Catherine de Medici, who suffers from sever migraines. The snuff provokes a
relieving sneeze which astonishes her staff but becomes fashionable. In Nicots
honors, the tobacco genus Nicotinic was later given its botanical name.
1570
Conquistadors bring tobacco back to Spain as a luxury for the wealthy. But when
Seville beggars begin to pick up discarded cigar butts, shared them and roll them in
scraps of paper for smoking, they become known as cigarillos, meaning little cigars.
1570
King Philip II of Spain ponders tobaccos medicinal properties not for the benefit of
his subjects, but for commercial gain. He charges Royal Physician Francisco
Hernandez with making a study of the plants properties.

 1571
Nicolo Monardes, a famous physician at the University of Seville, recommends
tobacco as a cure for more than twenty ailments, including tooth ache and asthma.
Certainly not recommended today!
1573
Sir Francis Drake returns from the Americas with what is through to be the first
consignment of tobacco to the UK.
1587
Virginian colonists disembark at Plymouth smoking clay pipes.
1592
A century after Columbus voyage, tobacco is grown in Belgium, Spain, Italy,
Switzerland and England, and by the turn of the century the crop has spread to the
Philippines, India, Java, Japan, West Africa and China- from where merchants take it
to Mongolia and Siberia.
1603
By the time of Queen Elizabeth its death, England has become the wealthiest
country in Europe (partly thanks to its dominant role in the tobacco trade) and is
taxing the crop at 2d (2 shillings) per pound weight.
King James I publishes A Counterblast to Tobacco, one of the first anti-smoking
polemics. But his disapproval doesnt stop the King from increasing the duty on
tobacco
by more than 40 times as much as the tax levied by Queen Elizabeth, to 6/10d ( 6
10 shillings) per pound weight. Consumption of tobacco increases as belief spreads
that the leaf helps ward off the plague.
1606
King Phillip III of Spain decrees tobacco could only be grown in Spanish colonies.
Production by foreigners is punishable by death.
1614
James I grant two traders exclusive rights to import tobacco-paying 3,500 for the
first year, raising to 7,000 each year for the next decade.
1619
King James I bans domestic cultivation of tobacco and announces that it is to
become a royal monopoly.
1623
Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III bans tobacco drinking under threat of indeed
but smoking continues.

 1624
Pope Urban VIII bans snuff claiming it takes users too close to sexual ecstasy. King
James I decrees that all tobacco should arrive at the port of London. Smuggling
increases and sizeable amounts of duty are lost. The British Government widens the
number of ports where tobacco can land.
1629
Following the advice of his minister Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII of France levies a
tax of 30 sols on every pound of tobacco. Two centuries later Napoleon III would
observe: This vice brings in one hundred million francs in taxes every year. I will
certainly forbid it at once- as soon as you can name a virtue that brings in as much
revenue. Government monopolies prove so lucrative them persist in several
European countries late into the twentieth century.
1633
Turkish sultan Murad IV forbids smoking with the threat of execution. He also
demolishes coffee-houses in Constantinople and confiscates the assets of executed
1640
Tsar Michael of Russia declares smoking a deadly sin. Arrested smokers are flogged
or have their lips slit. A 1643 visitor to Moscow says: Those convicted of taking
snuff, both men and women, can expect to have their noses taken away.
1699
The court physician to Louis XIV, Fagon, offers a contemporary view: When he
opened his snuffbox, did he not know that he was opening a Pandoras Box, from
which would spring a thousand ills, each worse than another? Louis XIV is said to
hate tobacco but does not ban it, as it would have meant giving up money from the
state monopoly.
1700
An increasing number of protectionist barriers are created, particularly in the
eastern United States, to safeguard English interests.
1725
Following the fashion of the day, Pope Benediet XIII allows the use of snuff in St
Peters Church, reversing a ban imposed 75 years earlier by Innocent X.
1779
Scenting a business opportunity, the Vatican opens its own tobacco factory.
1800
British and French soldiers fighting in Spain during the Napoleonic wars bring cigars
back home. Their popularity grows quickly.
1820
A smoking room is established in the British House of Commons.

 1827
Cigar consumption increases with the invention of the friction-activated
phosphorous match.
1846-48
The Mexican war leads to a huge increase in the popularity of cigars smoked by
soldiers trying to relieve fatigue and quash hunger. Soldiers develop a taste for the
darker tobaccos from the south.
1850
In the United States, tobacco is linked to the temperance movement. Reverend
George Trask, a former smoker, sets up the American Anti-Tobacco Society for which
he serves as president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and auditor.
1868
Smoking compartment is introduced on English railways.
1881
James Bonsack, a Virginian, invents a machine that can produce 120,000 cigarettes
a day. James Buck Duke, destined to become the first chairman of BritishAmerican
Tobacco 21 years later, buys two machines and his familys tobacco company
moves into cigarettes.
1890
In America, 26 states pass laws banning the sale of cigarettes to minors.
1899
Lucy Page Gaston, an Illinois teacher and journalist and member of the Womens
Christian Temperance Union, establishes the Chicago Anti-Cigarette League.
1900
The Anti-Cigarette League publishes a pamphlet claiming links between cigarette
smoking and brain disease.
1902
The Imperial Tobacco Company of the United Kingdom and The American Tobacco
Company of the United States agree to end a trade war by forming a joint venture,
the British-American Tobacco Company Ltd. James B. Duke becomes the ventures
first Chairman.
1908
The New York City authority bans women from smoking in public, Two weeks later
Katie Mulcahey is arrested for violating the rule. As she is led away she declares,
No man shall dictate to me. Cigarette smoking was often seen as a symbol of
womens emancipation.

 1914
Outbreak of World War I. General John J. Pershing, commander-in-chief of the
American forces in France in 1917, calls tobacco indispensable to the daily ration.
In Europe, troops use cigarettes to pass time and to try to calm their nerves. The
popularity of cigarettes in the armed forces associates tobacco with patriotism.
1921
US State of Idaho bans cigarette sales.
1925
Despite the bans, cigarette sales continue to increase. The American Mercury
reports, The more violently it has been banned, the more popular it has become.
1941
US President Roosevelt makes tobacco a protected crop as part of the World War II
war effort. His wife Eleanor was dubbed the first lady to smoke in public.
1945
During World War II, smoking increases. By the middle of the next decade, more
than a quarter of American women and more than half of American men smoke
cigarettes.
1952
Two British researchers, Richard Doll and A. Bradford Hill, report the results of a four
year study comparing 1,465 lung cancer patients to an equal number of patients
with other diseases, matched for age, sex and region. They conclude that lung
cancer patients are considerably more likely to be smokers and much more likely to
be heavy smokers.
1960s
Public health warnings emerge.
1964
The American Surgeon General publishes a 387 page report stating: Cigarette
smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant
appropriate remedial action. For the first time smoking is banded in the State
Department auditorium.
1980s
The tobacco industry sees substantial annual duty increases which result in
cigarette taxation increasing by 85 percent or more in several countries, including
the UK.
1990s
Litigation issues tend to dominate the news headlines around the tobacco industry.
In the US, five years after the first State lawsuit was filed, major US tobacco
companies signed a Master Settlement Agreement with 46. State Attorneys-

General, giving these US states more than $200 billion in total over 25 years in
settlement of lawsuits seeking reimbursement for the Medicaid costs of treating sick
smokers. The Master Settlement Agreement restored stability to the tobacco
companies, allowing them to concentrate again on running their business.
2000 and beyond
Litigation continues to be a significant issue for the tobacco industry, especially in
the US, but the de-certification of lawsuit activity. The Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FCTC) is adopted by the World Health Organization; it calls for
restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorships, new labeling standards clean
indoor air controls and stronger action against cigarette smuggling. Tobacco
companies work with governments to reduce smuggling. Bans on public smoking
are enacted in some places and proposed in other; the ban in New York State is
unpopular with a majority of voters. British American Tobacco test-markets Swedishstyle snus in Sweden and South Africa, giving smokers the chance to enjoy a less
harmful form of tobacco, without lighting up.
2.6 About British American Tobacco Bangladesh:
British American Tobacco Bangladesh began its operations in the subcontinent in
1910 as Imperial Tobacco Company Ltd with its head office in Calcutta; where
cigarettes were made in Carreras Ltd Calcutta. Imperial and Can-eras merged into a
single company in 1943. After the partition Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) came
into existence with its and office in Karachi in 1949. The then PLCs East Pakistan
office was situated in Armanitola and ultimately moved to ALICO Building, Motijheel
Dhaka. In 1954 PTC established its first cigarette factory in Chittagong although
high-grade cigarettes still came from West Pakistan.
The Dhaka factory of PTC went into production in 1905. Currently, our only Cigarette
Manufacturing Factory (Dhaka Factory) along with the 1-Icacl Office premises is
situated in Mohakhali, Dhaka while we run the Green Leaf Threshing Plant (GLT) in
Kustia. After independence, Bangladesh Tobacco Company Pvt. Limited (BTC) was
formed ill 1972 with British American Tobacco holding majol-i1y shares in
Bangladesh Tobacco Company. In March 1998 Bangladesh Tobacco Company
changed its name and Identity to British American Tobacco, Bangladesh
pronouncing its common Identity with all other operating companies of the group.
History of BATB
1910 Formation of Imperial Tobacco Company
1949 Formation of Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC)
1954 PTC opened its first factory in Fouzdarhat, Chittagong
1965 Building of a factory in Mohakhali Dhaka
1972 Incorporation of Bangladesh Tobacco Company with a paid up capital of Tk
400 million

1998 Changed its identity from Bangladesh Tobacco Company (BTC) to British
American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Limited (BATB)
British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Limited is a subsidiary of British
American Tobacco Group and is one of the oldest and largest multinational
companies operating in Bangladesh The UK-based BAT group holds G5.91% share in
the company.28.7% is owned by Government of Bangladesh agencies while 5.39%
share Is owned by other shareholders.
This leading business organization in the industrial sector is employing more than
1,300 people directly and a further 40,000-+- indirectly as farmers, distributors and
suppliers. They have business contracts directly with 18,000 registered farmers who
produce high quality tobacco leaf.
In 2002 BATB developed a new corporate slogan Success and Responsibility go
together.
2.7 Guiding principles and People Management at BATB:
British American Tobacco Bangladesh is 11uidcd by a set or principles and follows n
vision of Extending leadership through world class performance. The four guiding
principles describe key characteristics of the organization and guide its employees
in their working lives. They attempt to capture the way BAT employees work
together, deal with or (Tanzanians, communities, partners and other Companies and
are tile key to its success. The company pronounces and interprets its guiding
principles in the following manner.
Strength from Diversity: We actively utilize diversity of people, cultures,
viewpoints, brands, markets and ideas- to create opportunities and strengthen
performance.
Open minded: We strive to be an active listener, genuinely considering others
viewpoints without pre-judging.
Freedom through responsibility: The freedom to take decisions and act on them
obliges us to accept personal responsibility for the way they affect our stakeholders.
Enterprising spirit: The confidence to seek out opportunities for success, to strive
for innovation, and to accept the considered risk taking that comes with it.
BATB has consistently developed high quality people. At this moment, more than 25
Bangladeshi managers are working in BAT companies around the world. Many of the
todays business leaders in Bangladesh are the ex-employees of BATB. This strong
tradition remains even today and BATB still is the employer of choice for the talent
pool of Bangladesh.
2.8 BAT Bangladeshs business:
BATB is the leader in the local cigarette industry currently holding nearly 51/o
volume share and 70% value share of the Bangladesh cigarette market. The total

volume (18.9 b in 2004) has grown by nearly 90% since the 1999 levels of 10 b.
They have also been able to grow annual contribution to the Government revenue
to nearly Taka 17 b in 2003 and Taka 18.5 b in 2004.
Product Profile:
The market presence is summarized as below:
Super Premium: Dunhill cigars have been launched through an exclusive Cigar
Lounge in the Hotel Sheraton.
Premium: Launched in 1997, B & H maintains BATBs dominance in premium
segment and drives the growth of premium segment in Bangladesh market. Within
a short time Bangladesh became a leading B& H market across the BAT world. After
a price increase ill Q1 2004, B&I-1 still remains a Successful and happening muscle
in our portfolio. British American Tobacco Bangladesh was the first market to launch
the new pack of E&1-1 at the beginning of September 2005.
Medium: Launched in 1980, John Player Gold Leaf is one of the highest selling
brands of BATB the medium segment. In 2005 they launched three flavored Limited
Edition Product and Packs under the Taste the World campaign, which were
extremely well received by consumerLow: Star, launched 40 years ago is till a dominating brand in this segment.
Recently a new pack of Star was launched and currently it is the highest volume
generating brand for the company (more than 900m per month). On August l3,
2005 the new Anchor Pack of Star was launched in the market while the cigarette
stick also wore a new look with brighter paper and bi-color dye.
Pall Mall
Pall Mall has been launched in March 2006 with three variants full flavor, lights and
menthol; it is one of the leading brands in the global BAT portfolio. It offers choice to
the adult informed smokers with a full range, great taste and innovative packaging.
Pall Mall, with all its innovation, is seen to be offering more value for the
consumers money.
The market situation of the products of BATB can be described with the help of BCG
matrix. BCG matrix has two determinants-market share and growth. Based on these
two, products are defined as star, question mark, cash cow and dog.
For BATB the BCG Matrix will be like the following:
Market Share
H Ma
Ir
G ke
Ht

L Gr
O ow
W th
2.9 About cigarette:
Not all cigarettes are the same. Smokers around the world prefer many different
tastes and strengths and our companies aim for excellence in every step of
manufacturing.
Cigarette design is more complicated than it may seem. Our companies work to
understand the preferences of adult consumers and to design cigarettes to meet
them. Its
the preferences Of adult consumers that guide our tobacco blends- the mix of
tobaccos that we use- and we work to ensure that these grades are available longterm to keep the tastes of our products consistent.

The tobacco in the rod includes tobacco lamina (the flat part of the
tobacco leaf), tobacco stern (midribs of the leaf), and expanded lamina.

The cigarette paper includes paper and adhesive. The filter is made
mainly from Cellulose acetate fibers, known as tow. Cellulose acetate is derived
from wood pulp. The fibers are bonded together with a hardening agent, triacetin
plasticizcr, which helps the filter to keep its shape. The filter is wrapped in paper
and scaled with a line of adhesive Sometimes charcoal is added to filters. The filter
paper includes paper and adhesive.

Nicotine is not added in making cigarettes. It occurs naturally in all

varieties of tobacco plants. Design adjustments achieve different strengths and
tastes, and can reduce smoke yields of various smoke components, as measured by
a standardized machine method.
Effect of burn cigarette:
To understand cigarette design, it helps to know how a cigarette burns. It is the
combustion process the burning of the cigarette that produces tar. If hay were
burned instead of tobacco, it would also produce a type of tar. When an item burns,

it produces tiny particles mixed with gases this is smoke. A cigarette filter traps
some of these Particles. When a smoker puffs on a cigarette, whole smoke, including
both fine particles and access is sucked through the tobacco rod and the filter.
Gases pass through the filter, and some particles are trapped in it. It is this
particulate matter, minus nicotine and water that is called tar.
Smoke has over 4,000 constituents, many of them also found in the air we breathe
and our food. These constituents include the emissions listed on packs, such we
branch and our food. These constituents include the emissions listed on packs, such
as tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. Water vapor is also produced by the
combustion, because the burning of any organic material breaks down the chemical
components and produces water.
Tobacco blends:
Cigarettes often contain a selection or different types of tobacco Leaf from different
countries, blended for aroma, taste and character to meet smokers taste
preferences. Three main types of tobacco are used in cigarettes: Virginia or Fluecured, Burley and Oriental.
Virginia, or flue-cured a selection of tobacco, is named after the US state where it
was First Cultivated. It is also called `bright tobacco because of tile yellow to
orange colour it achieves during curing. It grows particularly well in subtropical
regions with light rainfall, such as Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas in the USA,
Southern Brazil and Zimbabwe. Cigarette brands like Dunhill use effusively Virginia
tobacco. Virginia blends contain only flue-cured Virginia tobaccos.
Burley is a slightly lighter green than Virginia. It requires behavior soils and more
fertilizer than Virginia. Some of the best Burley IS Irown in US statcs such as
Maryland and Kentucky, in Central America, Malawi, Ubatllla and Indonesia. After
being air-cured, it turns brown with virtually no sugar, it an almost cigar-like taste.
Along with Virginia and Oriental tobacco, it makes Lip all American Blend for
cigarettes, as used iii brands like Lucky Strike or Pall Mall. Typically, air-cured
tobacco is treated with sugars such as molasses or liquorices, and the blend may
also contain added flavors.
Oriental is the smallest and hardiest of all tobacco types, grown in the hot
summer of the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East. These conditions and a high
plat} ting density create an aromatic flavors, chanced 1)y sun-curing, as in a
traditional Turkish cigarette. An Oriental blend can contain up to 100% sun cured
tobaccos.
Several factors can influence the smoking characteristics, including the variety of
plant, how it is harvested and influences such as soil, climate and weather. All these
can affect the tobaccos taste and aroma.
2.10 Ownership Status of the Company:

BATB is a public limited company listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange with an
authorized share capital of 1k 600,000,000 comprised of 60,000,000 ordinary
shares of Tk 10 each. British American Tobacco, London has 66% of the shares. The
government initially held 32% of its shares but it gradually sold most of the
holdings to different organizations of the country. The companion of shareholders
(as of 2004 end) is as follows:
Holders Shares (%)
Raleigh Investment Company Ltd., UK 65.91
Investment Corporation of Bangladesh 23.6
Shadharan Bima Corporation 2.86
Bangladesh Shilpo Reen Shangstha 1.06
Govt. of Bangladesh 0.64
Shena Kalyan Shanstha 0.52
Others 3.39
Total 100
2.11 Structure of the organization:
The structure is much decentralized with the parent company retaining aLlth0l-ity
for overall strategic direction of the Firm and financial control. BATB operates in the
operates in the following functional areas:

Operations (Production and Supply Chain) a

Leaf
Finance
Human resource
Marketing (Brand and Trade Marketing- Demand Chain)
Legal & Company Secretarial
Information Technology
Corporate & Regulatory Affairs (CORA)

Overall activities of tile company arc governed by the Board of Directors and
Executive. The Board of Directors is composed of 10 members headed by a
chairman. Chief Executive of British American Tobacco Bangladesh is called the
Managing Director who is normally appointed by BAT Holdings. Managing
Director of the company is the chairman of the executive Committee. This
committee includes the head of all the functional departments.
3
The decision making, infrastructure is participatory to a very high extent. All the
plans and decisions that are made are communicated from the top level of the
organization and the decisions are made after discussing the issue with the related
authority and the grass root level. Every possible input from every relevant level of
workforce is taken before getting into any decision.

2.12 Core business activities:

BATBs core business is to manufacture and market cigarettes. In addition to this,
the company also exports tobacco and vegetables. The main activities taking place
in the business are:
Tobacco Leaf Growing: There are registered farmers who grow the tobacco in the
regions of Kushtia, Chittagong and Rangpur.
Leaf Processing: The leaf is processed in two factories; the green leaf threshing
factory where the stern is separated from the leaf and the Dhaka Factory (Primary
Department) where the leaf cut to make it ready for production.
Cigarette Manufacturing: The cut tobacco is sent to secondary manufacturing
department or the Dhaka Factory where it is combined with wrapping materials to
make the final product. The factory runs in three shifts for 24 hours to give a daily
production of around 60 million sticks.
Distribution: The product is sent out to various distribution houses across the
country. The distributors work with the BATB trade marketing team I ensuring
distribution to all retail outlets in the country.
With ever increasing number of outlets (currently, this is one of the major
challenges the company faces.
Brand Activities: With the ban on promotion activities, the company has to look
towards innovative ways of communicating their brands to the cigarette consumers.
Responsible Product Stewardship:
BATB follows a globally accepted set of standards for marketing [lie products. British
American Tobacco, Phillip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International the
worlds three largest companies in this sector have committed their compliance with
International Tobacco Products Marketing Standard (ITPMS). Besides, they have also
initiated tailoring their operations to comply with the newly enacted regulation oil
tobacco products in Bangladesh.
The companys Responsible product stewardship principle suggest that:
Responsible Product Stewardship is about our belief that we should develop,
manufacturer and market our products and brands in a responsible manner. Our role
is to meet adult consumer demand in a way which recognizes the health risks
associated with our products and seeks to address legitimate concerns about them.
We need to do this in a way that conforms with our legal and social obligations as
well as recognizing our need to innovate and respond to the changing
environment.
2.13 BAT Bangladeshs Corporate Social Responsibility:
British American Tobacco Bangladesh is unique in the country with respect to the
depth of their commitment to be a development partner for Bangladesh while doing
business ill the most responsible manner.

2.13.1 International Standard in EHS Practices:

They arc committed to the principles of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) best
practices which include: The countrys only Factory Bio-filter, Zero Lost Workday
case (LWC) for three consecutive years which has won us the Groups Zero Accident
Award, high EHS awareness levels among employees, regular, l-:HS reinforcement
activities (i.e. EI-1S Week 2004 observed with a lot of Success).
2.13.2 Leaf Tobacco Export:
The company achieved the National Export Trophy (Gold)) for three consecutive
years under, the `Agricultural Product category for 1999-2000, 2000-2001 and
2001-2002 fiscal. British American Tobacco Bangladesh exported 7.5 mn KGs (worth
12.23 mn USD) of leaf tobacco in 2005. Quality assurance to foreign buyers was the
key factor to the increasing trend in tobacco export volume. Increase ill export is a
reflection of our dedication to represent Bangladesh as an exporting country in the
agricultural sector. This initiative in aligned with the Government focus in the
agricultural sector supporting the , country to (Cigarette foreign currency.
2.13.3 Corporate Social Investment:
Success and responsibility go together is the philosophy that has driven British
American Tobacco Bangladesh over the years. They are the number one taxpayer in
the tobacco industry of Bangladesh. One of their core business philosophies is doing
business in the most ethical and socially acceptable manner. They are taking
forward their commitment for contributing in the development of the country
through their endeavors in the various social, economic and environmental sectors
of the country.
Dishari:
Dishari- basic IT education centre has been initiated by BATB to contribute to the
promising I1 sector of the country which is a thrust sector of the Government. The
education centre is aimed at providing basic computer education to those who can
less afford it.
Afforestation:
British American Tobacco Bangladesh initiated this well recognized program to
create mass awareness of the need for afforestation with the free sapling
distribution program in 19S0. Today, after more than two decades, they have
contributed more than 50 million saplings to the countrys affrorestation initiative.
Community Services Initiative in leaf growing areas:
Thousands of Bangladeshi farmers are benefiting from British American Tobacco
Bangladeshs Community Services Project which has recently kicked off. It reaches
out to support nearly 25000 farmers (and their families) who are closely linked with
their

Way of life. The initiatives taken under this project are: Education Assistance,
Primary Health Care Support, Malarial Prevention, Sanitation Support, Commercial
Afforestation, Compost Pits, Green Manuring, Neem Decoction, and Vegetables
Growing.
.
Biodiversity:
British American Tobacco Bangladesh Is one of the first t companies in the country
to embrace biodiversity in its way of work. The objective is t0 raise awareness
among companys internal and external stakeholders promote biodiversity and
sustainable use principles in the operations of British American Tobacco Bangladesh,
showcase best practice examples and influence others to participate in
biodiversity conservation.
2.14 About Corporate and Regulatory Affairs (CORA):
Our Strategy for building sustainable shareholder value is based on growth,
productivity, responsibility and being a winning organization. CORAs particular
focus is on responsibility.
Michael Prideaux, Director, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs
British American Tobacco is .1 responsible companies in a controversial industry. A
major part of helping it to be seen that way is the responsibility of Corporate and
Regulatory Affairs (CORA). Our job is to reassure those stakeholders who directly or
indirectly influence our business that British AmCr1Ca11 Tobacco is achieving its
commercial objectives in a manner consistent with reasonable social expectations
of a responsible tobacco company in the 21st century.
As societys expectations of corporate responsibility change, they are changing
some of the ways to address stakeholder concerns. They are engaging in
constructive dialogue with a wide ran-c of stakeholders including governments and
their agencies, the media, business partners, employees, investors, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local communities about all aspects of our
product. Our social reporting process lends transparency and accountability to this
process.
CORA Strategy:
CORA wants to achieve
To drive recognition as a responsible tobacco company, thus improving long term
business suitability.
This can be achieved by developing constructive engagement With those
stakeholders who directly or indirectly influence the license to operate to reassure
them that the company is meeting the commercial objectives ill a transparent

manner, consistent with reasonable public expectations for a responsible tobacco

company.. CORA thereby delivers tangible business benefits in the two key -area-,
Proactive reputation management
Proactive regulation management
CORA strategy in a nutshell
Behavior
+
Communication
=
Reputation
=
Balanced regulation
=
Business sustainability
Proactive reputation management
Managing reputation effectively means understanding the stakeholders
expectations. To do that CORA needs to internalize these expectations and initiate
organizational change as appropriate in order to respond to them.
Finally, they need to develop effective two-way communication with the
stakeholders and show how the company is responding.
A continuous process of understanding, responding and communicating is the Key
CORA reputation management capability.
Proactive regulation management
In order to effectively manage regulation, e the regulatory environment needs to be
anticipated and proactively advocate company views.
Where necessary (as a last resort), they may also need to litigate to ensure that
tobacco regulation balances the preferences of consumers with the interests of
society, establishes

an open-minded approach to harm reduction as a policy and ensures that the

business can compete and prosper.
In BAT Bangladesh CORA roles are clustered within these three sections:
Regulatory
Regulatory Affairs
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Communication

Regulatory Affairs section is responsible, among others, to promote sensible tobacco

regulatory environment, to advise marketing on compliance with applicable external
and internal standards, and to support Top Teams engagements on excise and other
industry regulation issues. Today, perhaps more than ever, stakeholders expect BAT
Bangladesh to use the companys economic strength for broader social goals and to
demonstrate environmental responsibility, to support the communities, and to
behave with transparency and accountability.
The Corporate Social Responsibility section oversees BAT Bangladeshs corporate
social investment initiatives such as afforestation, various programs in leaf growing
areas, corporate donations and IT education. In addition, the section also manages
the Companys social reporting process.
Meanwhile, the Corporate Communication section works closely with Regulatory
Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility to manage the communication of key
messages to the external and internal stakeholders of the Company. This team is
also responsible for managing the companys corporate brand.
3.0 Project plan:
3.1 Internal Communication (IC) at BAT Bangladesh:
The more elaborate our means of communication,
The less we communicate Joseph Priestley
In todays rapidly changing business environment the need for clear, engaging,
aligned employee communication is greater than ever. While all employees are
responsible for communicating effectively, the role OF internal communication teat
ions is to facilitate good communication between leaders and teams. BAT does this
by providing strategic communications support, operational and change
management support and channel management.
Internal Communications is a part 0i the corporate communications team of CORA.
It is the function which engages with the internal stakeholders of the company. The
recipients of the internal communications are all the 1300+ employees, belonging
to both management and non management.
The responsibilities of Internal Communications include planning and developing
appropriate communications tools, methods and messages as well as advising other
Functions in developing cross functional communications tools or activities.
3.1.1 Objectives of Internal Communications:
Communicate corporate projects, events, achievements etc.
Provide counseling service for cross Functional teams for communicating projects,
events, achievements etc.

 Generate positive shift in employee comprehension of company objectives and

directions.
3.1.2 Importance of communication process:
British American Tobacco believes that empowered and motivated employees are
the prerequisite for creating a winning organization. To this end, it is necessary that
employees have the right information and it is Internal Communications that
facilitates the information flow. It provides the employees with sufficient information
to perform their roles and it aligns them with the company vision and directions.
This enables informed decision making and promotes cohesiveness among the
business units. Thus Internal Communications helps ensure that the employees at
all levels have all, understanding of tile business and are able to engage and inspire
individuals around them to deliver winning performance.
Internal Communications also plays a catalytic role in upholding the guiding
principle Open Minded. This guiding principle requires that one listen actively,
communicate openly, value feedback, foster a climate of support, encourage
creativity, and constantly challenge the status quo.
3.1.3 Types of Internal Communication:
Internal Communication at BAT is conducted in 3 ways:
Branded two-way: These tools are designed to get feedback of the things
communicated. Like
Road show
Skip level meeting
Open Forum
Alaap
Banded one-way: The name suggests that these tools do not get feedback. These
tools include:
Magazine/Newsletter
BATB news
SMS (Instanews)
Contingency communication: These tools are designed when some need arise.
Like, recently, when the company decided to increase the price of their products, a
video was made to educate the brand promoters and the people in the filed.
Each of these tools will be discussed later.
3.1.4 Internal Communication Tools and processes:
The company has to decide what to communicate and how to communicate it and
British American Tobacco has a portfolio of tools for the purpose of communication
to words its employees. Depending on he number of people infected and the

importance of the communication a particular tool or a combination of tools is

selected. All these tools are designed to meet specific needs and together they
provide a comprehensive communication with no gaps.
For each tool the following are detailed

Target audience for that tool

Core contents to be communicated
Frequency of communication
Language and tone
Tool name each tool usually has branded name
Production budget

3.1.5 Focus (Quarterly Magazine):

Focus is a magazine published for the exclusive consumption of the employees.
The magazines sore contents are Success Stories achievements by a person, department or business
People News- Sharing of experiences by an employee
Values/Principles- demonstration of values in the work place
Lifestyle- light articles for entertainment
Fun/Humorous articles
The contents of the communication are less formal and are people oriented. If an
employee were to have shown excellent performance by driving a project, his
success would ideally be thought the Focus Magazine. The events are
communicated in detail and thus, Focus can act as archive of information as well.
Communication process
The communication is in the form of articles published in the form of a magazine,
each issue contains around 6 to 7articles. Two versions of the magazine are printedone for the management in English and the other for the non management in
Bengali these publications are hand delivered to all the employees in Dhaka and
mailed via courier to employees placed outstation.
Production process
The frequency of publication is usually once every three months. The magazine
content is compiled by Internal Communications with the help of an editorial Board
referred to as the IC editors. There are eight members who represent different
groups Finance, Marketing, CORA, HR, and Legal, Leaf, Operations, IT and the Trade
Union. Their responsibility is to identify which news/ event from their area should be
published in the magazine and also to motivate employees from their area to
contribute articles for Focus.

Accompanying the articles pictures have to be selected. Photos of events are

usually taken during the event and Internal Communications keeps conies of these
photographs. According to need, photos for other articles are obtained from stored
photo archives or photo shoots are arranged as and when required.
The design and publication of Focus are done by means of an agency and Internal
Communications has to work within a given budget for Focus publication. Often
BATB works with two agencies for this purpose- one for the design and artwork and
the other for the printing. The design of the magazine is done by an advertising
agency and after approval of the design the dummy is sent to a printing agency.
The advertising agency usually supervises production and is paid 15% of the
production cost as commission.
3.1.6 BATB News (Video news):
The publication of BATB News or may not coincide with that of Focus; however,
these two tools serve distinct purposes in the overall IC portfolio. While Focus
contains more people news and in-depth features, BATB News covers project news
and events.
The core contents of BATB News are

Business performance
Corporate Events
Strategic Initiatives
Projects
Other success stories

The objective of BATB News is to align the employees to company vision and
direction. This is done through.
Tracking monthly company performance against target and highlight activities on
ten strategic directions of the company and the four guiding principles month by
month.
Bringing strategic direction to life by using creative, visual format, featuring
interviews with individuals and team on their activities and achievements and
offering a glimpse of operations.
Highlighting examples of behavior aligned with guiding principles and
achievement of tangible results.
Communication process
The news is communicated through a fifteen to twenty minute video production.
BATB News is produced only in Bengali and is made for all the employees
(expatriates get an English transcript).
This video newsletter is shown to the employees via several mediao From video archives on an Intrusive

o From a projected screen in the Canteen

o From CDs sent out from CORA
Most managers watch BATB News from the Intrusive where they can access the
video at any time. The non management employees watch BATB News in the
canteen. The News with their team members (T.O.s in Marketing, and employees in
Leaf and Operations) during monthly meetings. The distribution process of BATB
news is detailed out belowDhaka based Managers- The video file is uploaded on the intranet and an email is
sent out to all users notifying the publication of BATB News. The email also gives a
gist of the main news items covered. The managers can log onto the intranet and
view
The news whenever they want to and as many times as they wish. Each BATB News
remains on the intranet fir 12 months.
Dhaka based non management- The factory workers are shown BATB news during
meal times in the canteen. It is shown for five consecutive days in a large projected
screen placed at a visible location in the canteen, Sine the factory operates 24
hours a day, non management have in total seven meals. break fast, lunch, tea ,
dinner, evening tea, night tea night tea and early breakfast. During each of these
meals, which last from half an hour to and an hour to an hour, BATB News is
repeatedly played. Taking into account the number of shifts the worker has during
those five days he may be exposed from a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 15
projections.
Outstation- A day after BATB News is uploaded; CDs are mailed to the managers in
various locations who share the video with their team members during the monthly
meeting. Other than the manager who has the CD, the other employees thus get to
watch BATB News once and on a laptop screen. The CD takes around three days to
reach the managers in the various regions and before receiving the CD they get an
email notifying them about the new BATB News. Managers in kushitia have
connectivity to the head office and thus can view BATB News multiple times.
Production process
BATB News is a bi-monthly production. An agency is hired for the video and audio
recording. The script is prepared by Internal Communications and the voiceover is
given by a BATB employee. Ideally mangers from different functions should be
selected by rotation for the voiceover to crate involvement across the company.
3.1.7 Alaap (Monthly meting for non-mgt employees):
This tool communicates news on Business performance, Strategic Initiatives and
projects. It is a focused, interactive tool targeted towards the non management
employees to create greater understanding and retention at that level, It recounts

detailed news such as Sales, Brands, Market Share, production, Wastage levels,
Quality (RQI) and important corporate news such as Annual General Meeting,
Corporate social Responsibility activities etc. The need for this tool arose as
exposure to other tools is limited at the factory floor.
Communication process
Alaap sessions take place on the factory floor where the line manager makes a
power point presentation to the factory workers for duration of 45 minutes. Alaap is
carried out every month and each session has. The audience consists of 25 to 30
employees who report to that manager. Alaap sessions are highly interactive and
generate a lot of feedback. The content has two parts- Corporate part that contains
companywide information and Team part that contains performance feedback of
that particular team (e.g. Cell or shift or warehouse).
At the end of each session the line manager fills out a feedback form which is
emailed to Manufacturing HR and Internal Communications. This form indicates the
turnout in each session and the important queries that where left unanswered.
Queries, obtains answers from the right source and emails the answers back to the
line managers. These questions are then addressed in the immediate next Alaap
meeting.
Production process
Internal Communications collects relevant information from across the company,
edits the material and prepares PowerPoint slides which are emailed via Lotus Notes
to line managers, at the factory, who conduct the session.
3.1.8 Baithak (Internet site):
All the workstations of BAT across the globe are connected to networks based on
the internet but accessible to only members of BAT. This internet is referred to as he
Interact site and is used by all BAT companies. In addition to Interact, BAT
Bangladesh has its own Local intranet accessible only by manager in Bangladesh.
This has been given the brand name Baithak and has the same architecture as the
Global Interact page.
Baithak provides users with the following features.
News from the Global Interact page- news and feature items on the Global page
are linked to Baithak.
Local news-Every week one news item is published on Baithak by internal
Communications. This news remains in the archives for three month before it
Is Deleted. This tool also provides Internal Communications a platform to make
communication s a platform to make communications to managers on an ad hoc
basis.
Bangladesh Bulletin Board- This feature can be used by all managers who have

access to Baithak. The bulletin board is like an electronic notice board. Three type of
notice are uploading- company, personal, Leisure. Internal Communications uses
this tool to upload relevant information and also edits/ deletes notices uploaded by
others according to need.
A Media Desk system which provides an archive of newspapers are scanned and
uploaded in this section. This responsibility of maintaining this archive is
outsourced.
Room Reservation facilities- This is tool that can be used to reserve rooms for
meetings.
Chat room-this facility allows employees to share views across the company.
Functional pages There are three functional pages IT, CORA and Marketing these
pages provide information relevant to the departments.
In addition to all these features, the page has a search option facilitating managers
to find information they need in an easy and quick manner. Thus, Baithak
compliments the existing set of branded IC tools developed to provide a consistent
platform for effective, regular, relevant and 2 way communication.
Communication process
Baithak provides a simple solution to company wide information on demand. It
provides common access and a single entry point to various business critical tools
and information. The tool is targeted towards the managers of the company. The
limitation of this tool is that it is available only to the managers based in the Dhaka
Head office and the Green Leaf Trashing (GLT) plant in kushtia. Managers in remote
locations do not have connectivity and hence they cannot be using Baithak.
Production process
The content on Baithak is managed by the Internal Communications manager.
Free flowing discussion and give them opportunity to voice their ideas, grievances
etc.
Internal Communications prepares meeting minutes which are then shared with
managers via electronic bulletin board.
3.1.9 Email or Lotus Notes:
Lotus Notes is an email tool which is used to communicate with managers (from one
to-one personalized to mass level communication). This tool is used on an ad hoc
basis,
3.1.10 Notice board:
Notices that placed on the electronic bulletin board are communicated to the non
management employees in Dhaka through a print version of the notice place on a
notice board at the Dhaka Factory premises,
3.1.11 Short message service (SMS) called Inasta News:

The SMS tool is used for crisis communication. Internal Communication maintains a
database of mobile number of all managers. Messages are sent out x to multiple
people to make a communication on an emergency basis.
3.1.12 Open Forum:
This tool has been introduced recently this tools is supposed to be more informal
and give the employees, both management and non management, a better
opportunity to place their demands and give suggestions or talk about problems.
Employees will feel more comfortable in sharing their problems with this tool as this
would maintain confidentiality better as in this process they communicate with the
Managing Director on a one-to-one basis.
So, the tools for management & non-management are like the following:
4.0 Survey Findings And Analysis
4.1 Performance of the tools:
4.1.1 Focus:
Every year, 4 issues of the magazine are published; that means the magazine is
published once in every 3 months until the time of conducing this project, the total
number of issues published was 3. From the survey, it came out that people are
satisfied with the current frequency, 38% of the management employees think once
in every 3 month is the right frequently as almost 50% of them wanted it to be
published in every two months and 42% of them seemed satisfied with the current
frequency.
The most preferred section in the magazine is personal experience followed by
project update. People are very much satisfied with the availability & appearance of
the magazine and it is apparent from the survey. (For availability the mean was 4,
which was the highest) So, overall, people are happy with the magazine and a few
suggestions accumulated from the survey are like the following:
Use a professional agency
Should include more items from outside Dhaka
Before publishing, consult the relevant person or department
The excel files are shown in the appendix section, the main and analyzed part is
presented below:
Frequency:
Managers Employees
Frequency No of people % No of
People %
1/yr 0 0% 0 0%

1/6 months 4 11% 1 3%

1/4 months 10 27% 2 5%
1/3 months 14 38% 16 42%
1/2 months 9 24% 19 50%
Total 37 100% 38 1
Management:
Non- Management:
Preference by section: (For Mgt)
Section Mean
P.U. 4.2
P.E. 5
I.N 4.2
B.P 4
Life 3.6
Quiz 3.1
Jokes 3.2
Number of issues read:
Managers Employees
No of
issues
Read No of
People
% No of
people
%
0 0 0 0 0%
1 3 9% 3 9%
2 11 34% 11 34%
3 17 53% 17 53%
More than 1 3% 1 3%
Cant recall 0 0% 0 0%
Total 32 0.99 32 0.99
Features of focus:
Availability Content Appearance
Mgt 4.4 3.8 4.2
Non-mgt 3.6 3.4 3.2
All 4 3.6 3.7

4.1.2 BATB News:

The frequency of this tool is once in every 2 months, and until this project, 5
editions have been published. On an average, most of the people have seen 3 out of
the 5 episodes (24%-Management, 28% Non management.) According to majority,
the frequency should be once in every 3 months with more content. (Management
44% Non management-56%). People are satisfied with the content and style and
they like the current style.
Few of the suggestions were:
participation of employees should be encouraged
Could use a newsreader
News should be more project, initiative based
Frequency of BATB news:
Frequency No of person % No pf
people %
1/3 months 15 44.12 18 56%
months
6 17.65 12 38%
Every month 13 38.24 2 6%
Total 34 100 32 100%
Management:
Non-Management
No. of news seen by the BATB employees:
Number of BATB news No of People % No of People %
0 3 8% 0 0%
1 2 5% 3 10%
2 2 5% 8 25%
3 9 24% 9 28%
4 5 14% 2 6%
5 3 8% 1 3%
6 1 3% 2 6%
7000
8000
9000
10 1 3% 0 0%
Cant Recall 11 30% 7 22%
Total 37 100% 32 100%
Features of BATB news:

Content Style Length

mgt 3.9 3.9 3.5
Non-mgt 3.3 4 3.2
All 3.6 4 3.4
4.1.3 Skip level meeting:
Skip level meeting seems to be liked by the management employees than the nonmanagement people; from the survey it was apparent as 97% of the management
people said that they like the concept whereas 88% of the non management people
said they like it. 69% of the management employees have attended at least one
meeting where only 53% of the non management people ever attended it.
Management people like it so much as they admire the confidentiality factor of this
concept. Most of the people said they would like the current frequency of the
meeting that is every month (35% management, 41% non management).
The only suggestion was:

The outcomes of the meeting should be followed up

Participation in Skip Level Meeting:
Participated in SL Number % Number %
Yes 24 69% 15 47%
No 11 31% 17 53%
Total 35 1 32 1
Popularity of Skip Level Meeting:
Liked the concept Number % Number %
Yes 32 97% 28 88%
No 1 3% 4 12%
Total 33 1 32 1
Management:
Frequency of Skip Level Meeting:
Frequency Number % Number %
1/month 11 35% 13 41%
month 10 32% 11 34%
1/3 month 10 32% 8 25%
Total 31 99% 32 100%
Management:

 Non-management:
Features of Skip Level Meeting:
Content Style Length
Mgt 4.1 4 3.4
Non Mgt 4.2 3.4 2.5
All 4.15 3.7 2.95
4.1.4 Baithak:
It is a tool for the management employees and almost 39% of them visit the site
regularly that is everyday. . Among all the sections, bulletin board, which notifies
the employees about the day to day activities in BAT, is the most popular section.
People think that the site is easily accessible and user friendly but the information
should be update on a more regular basis.

The suggestions are:

The music section should be updated regularly
Bangla interface can be used
Speed should be faster
Frequency:
Frequency of visit No of people %
Every day 12 39%
At least twice a week 11 29%
Once a week to once in 15 days 5 14%
Less than once in 15 days 6 14%
Never 3 4%
Total 37 1
Preferred sections of Baithak:
Sections Mean Score
News 7.2
Bulletin Board 8.2
E-media 5
Room reservation 6.3
Online chat 3.4
Music 5.4
Cora 4.4

Business tools 6.7

Global tools 6.2
Features of Baithak:
Features Mean Score
Accessibility 4.5
User friendliness 4.2
Updated information 3.8
4.1.5 Road show:
Majority of the people have attended at least one road show (46% Management,
44% non management). People like the content and the presentation style of road
show.
The suggestions are:
Road show should be more action oriented
Q & A session should be more strong
Attendance
Participation in Skip Level Meeting:
No of Road show No of people % No of people %
0 2 5% 7 22%
1 17 46% 14 44%
2 14 38% 7 22%
3 2 5% 0 0%
Cant recall 2 5% 4 12%
Total 37 0.994 32 1
Management:
Non-management:
Features of Road show:
Aspects Mgt Non Mgt All
Content 4.2 4.5 4.35
Duration 4 4 4
Ease 4.1 2.6 3.35
Response 4.1 3.1 3.6
Ease feedback 3.9 3.9 3.9
4.1.6 Alaap:
Alaap (monthly presentation on factory floor) is a tool that has been recently
introduced and it has highly successful. Most of the non management employees

look towards their monthly Alaap to receive feedback on performance and business
updates. Attendance has been very high and almost 31% of the people have at
least attended 9 Alaap sessions this year.
No of Session No pf people %
0 0 0%
1 0 0%
2 0 0%
3 0 0%
4 2 0%
5 1 6%
6 1 3%
7 4 3%
8 5 13%
9 10 31%
10 9 28%
11 0 0%
12 0 0%
Cant recall 0 0%
Total; 32 1
Feature of Alaap:
Aspects Non Mgt
Content 4.3
Duration 4.1
Ease 3.5
Response 2.7
Ease of feedback 2.8
4.1.7 Open forum:
Open Forum has been introduced recently and it is held every month. 84% of the
people have heard about it 70% never attended any session. Of the people who
know about it, 94% liked the concept. 91% think it is a very effective tool. 47% think
it should be held once in every 2 months.
Participation:
Participated in OF Number %
Yes 11 30%
No 26 70%
Total 37 1
Popularity:

Liked the concept Number %

Yes 32 94%
No 2 6%
Total 34 1
Frequency:
Frequency Number %
Twice in a month 3 9%
Once in every month 15 44%
Once in every two month 16 47%
Total 34 100%
Effectiveness:
Effectiveness OF Number %
Yes 29 91%
No 3 9%
Total 32 1
4.2 Overall Performance:
4.2.1 Favorite Tools:
Tolls Mean of Ratings Mean of Ratings Overall
Baithak 4.2 N/A ..
Focus 3.97 4.6 4.3
BATB news 3.94 1.6 2.8
Road Show 3.6 4.5 4.1
Open Forum 3.2 N/A
Skip level 3 1.8 2.4
Alaap N/A 5.4 .
For the management employees, the internet site or Baithak is the most popular
tool and for the non management people, Alaap is the most popular one.
And overall, the most popular tool is focus whereas skip level meeting got the
lowest ratings.
So, the preferences of the employees for the internal communication tools are like
the following:
(In order or preference)
Mgt Non-Mgt
Baithak Alaap
Focus Focus
BATB news Road show

Road Show Notice board

Open Forum Skip level
Skip level BATB news
:
4.3 Effectiveness :
67% of the management people think the tools are extremely effective and there is
still room for improvement 74% of the non-management employees think that the
tools are very effective and they are happy with the way the company
communicates with them.
Effectiveness No of people % No pf people %
Very effective 5 14% 16 50%
Effective 19 53% 11 34%
Somewhat effective 12 33% 4 13%
Not effective 0 1 3%
Total 36 100% 32 100%
Overall:
Management people prefer co-tools (like lotus notes) for internal communication
69% of the mgt employees think that the internal communication tools are very
effective in cross functional projects (Ref: Table in Appendix)
65% think these are very helpful in business decision making (Ref: Table in
Appendix)
Most of the management people (53%) think the tools are effective
50% of the non management people think these tools are very effective
5.0 Recommendations:
Focus could include some more personal experiences and can a bit more
informal. The Pakistani version of Focus named Sticks in comparison to Focus
seems to be more employee-oriented whereas Focus is more company based.
Delivery of Focus could be mad personalized to ensure that everybody gets it.
After skip level meeting, the issues raised should be discussed with the relevant
process owner. The corrective action or explanation should be documented and
written feedback send to all the participants of the skip level meeting. This will
complete the communication loop and the participants will feel that topics raised
are being dealt with.
Online Chat in Baithak is not that popular and not of much use, hence it could be
scrapped.
The music section should be updated regularly at Baithak.
To make BATB news more interactive a newscaster selected from the employees
can be used.

 According to majority, the BATB news should be once in every 3 months with
more content. (Management 44% Non management-56%).
BATB News should be more projects, initiative based.
In BATB news participation of employees should be encouraged.
They could use a newsreader at BATB news.
At the Baithak, the information should be update on a more regular basis.
Bangla interface can be used at Baithak.
Speed should be faster for Baithak.
Road show should be more action oriented.
Q & A session should be stronger in road show.
To make the open forum more successful it should be held once in every 2
months.
The open forum concept should be communicated to every employee so that
they can participate effectively in this session.
They should take initiative to make popular the skip level meeting.
6.0 Conclusion:
British American Tobacco Bangladesh is a subsidiary of British American Tobacco p
l.c world second largest tobacco group. They are a public limited company with an
authorized capital of Tk. 60 corer listed on both Dhaka and Chittagong stock
exchange. The UK based British American Tobacco group holds 65.91% share in the
company. Government of Bangladesh agencies own 28.70% share, while 5.39%
share is owned by other shareholder.
They are leading the cigarette industry in Bangladesh with a market share of more
than 50%, employing more than 1,300 people directly. They provide indirect
employment to more than 30,000 people as farmers, distributors and local
suppliers.
They grow tobacco in four regions of the country, Kushtia, Chittagong, Manikganj
and Rangpur. Currently, our only cigarette manufacturing factory alone with the
head office premises is situated in Mohakali, Dhaka. We run a Green Leaf Threshing
Plant (GLTP) in Kustia and a redrying plant Manikgang.
British American Tobacco Bangladesh is a company with world class people,
products, systems and processes and tools. They are the first company in
Bangladesh to be awarded Class A status as part of the international and prestigious
total business excellence programmed, MRPII, audited by internationally renowned
consultants Oliver Wight. We have a total company commitment to excellence and
drive for continuous improvement.
Our world class people work as a team to meet challenges in an ever-changing
business environment. We have an open and transparent culture with customer
service that exceeds expectations. We continuously seek to improve our
manufacturing efficiency without compromising on quality. As a result our company

is recognized as benchmark for quality in the region when we were the first
company to be given the license to manufacture Benson & Hedges in-house, within
this region of BAT Group which stretches from Pakistan to Australia. Our utilization
of information technology is at the core of our business strategy and is a benchmark
among other fast moving consumer goods companies in the country.
For a company like BATB, operating in a highly controversial and sensitive industry
and working with more than 1300 employees, internal communication is very
important to facilitate decision making and making them able to face the
stakeholders. Thought challenging, BATB is doing a successful job in devising a
successful portfolio of tools for internal communication and the process of
continuous improvement keeps their model functional.
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