Final Term Paper Business Environment

Part-I (Introduction)
1. Origin of the term paper
The term paper was originated in the Prerequisite Course of the Business Environment (MKT-510), by the honorable course instructor Lecturer Afreen Choudhury at the end of the 2nd midterm exam. The term paper is based on the topic of the course named “Business Environment in Robi” and an integral part of the study of Business Environment .
2. Methodology of the Term Paper
The term paper was based on two sources of Data.
Primary Data:
The primary data was accumulated by us from the Books, Internet, the journal and much other relevant stuff directly related with the literature of the term paper. As the text books gives me many theoretical support to complete this term paper.
Secondary Data:
The secondary data was taken by us through the clients, employees and related persons to the company of the Robi. This helped us a lot by analyzing the real situation of the Robi’s business environment.
3. Executive summary
The term paper will lead us to know about the overall business environment in telecom industry and that will at least give us chance to know how the domestic and international environment affects the telecom sector. As we have learned the various component of business environment from the text book then we came to know about the real life scenario in a multinational company like Robi.

Part-II (Strategic Focus and Plan)
Axiata (Bangladesh) Limited (Robi) is a dynamic and leading countrywide GSM communication solution provider. It is a joint venture company between Axiata Group Berhad, Malaysia and NTT DOCOMO INC, Japan. Axiata (Bangladesh) Limited, formerly known as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh), commenced its operation in 1997 under the brand name ROBI among the pioneer GSM mobile telecommunications service providers in Bangladesh. Later, on 28th March, 2010 the company started its new journey with the brand name Robi.
4. Vision
To be a leader as a Telecommunication Service Provider in Bangladesh
5. Mission
Aims to achieve its vision through being number ‘one’ not only in terms of market share, but also by being an employer of choice with up-to-date knowledge and products geared to address the ever changing needs of our budding nation.
6. Core Competency
Core Competency is a unique ability that a company acquires from its founders or develops and that cannot be easily imitated. Core competencies are what give a company one or more competitive advantages, in creating and delivering value to its customers in its chosen field.
Robi is a leading telecommunications service provider that empowers people because they provide relevant solutions by empathizing and understanding people’s real needs as they work with, and for all Bangladeshis, drawing from the expertise of their world-class associates. To some extent Robi has the following core competency.
They are Bangladeshi: proud of our heritage
They are easy to relate to
They are driven, outgoing yet approachable and non-threatening
They are witty, but not sarcastic
They are confident
They are down-to-earth, and not arrogant
They are family-oriented
They are generous and sincere, with no hidden agenda
They are reliable and consistent
They are caring, helpful, supportive and empathetic

7. Sustainable Competitive Advantage
In case of competitive advantages Robi is seeking Differentiation focus, Cost focus and Cost leadership at the same time.
Differentiation Focus
A DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY is one of creating a product or service that is perceived as being unique “throughout the industry”. Robi was the first telecommunication company to introduce GPRS, entertainment packages like Fun Dose etc. Their step to setup “CLUB MAGNET” for their loyal customers with special offers from them & affiliated companies are also an indication of the differentiation focus.
Cost Leadership
A COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY is based on the concept that the company can produce and market a good quality product or service at a lower cost than its competitors. These low costs should translate to profit margins that are higher than the industry average. Robi’s recent package “Exceed” gives the indication that the company is trying to attain this strategy and command over the competitors.
Cost Focus
A FOCUS STRATEGY may be the most sophisticated of the generic strategies, in that it is a more ‘intense’ form of either the cost leadership or differentiation strategy. It is designed to address a “focused” segment of the marketplace, product form or cost management process and is usually employed when it isn’t appropriate to attempt an ‘across the board’ application of cost leadership or differentiation. Robi’s new offerings, redefining the post packages indicates that they are trying to follow this strategy as well.

Part-III (Situation Analysis)

8. Industry Analysis
The mobile telecommunication sector of the country made history in April 2012 by reaching the 100m mark for active subscribers. During this period, mobile penetration has increased to 66.36% from 61.83% (total population as per Population & Housing census of BBS). The subscriber base was 90.63 million at the end of April 2012.Besides Bangladesh, only 12 other countries across the globe enjoy the 100m active subscribers’ status.

China is the only “billion subscribers country”. India is another leading country in terms of mobile users, with 861.6m. Other 100m subscribers countries are: USA (237.5m), Brazil (263m), Russia (265m), Indonesia (236.8m), Pakistan (122m), Japan (121m), Germany (107m), Philippines(106) and Nigeria(101).

Experts said that with the advent of 3G services in the country, the mobile phone user-base grew faster than what the telecommunication industry had anticipated. Robi has gained great performance in the market place as

Robi is on top of gaining market share (in %) whereas BL is at the bottom of the rank
In terms of new subscriber in Mn., Robi is the 2nd best where GP is leading the table.

Detail status in the below table:

Operators
Active Subscribers in Mn.
Mobile Market Share in %

End of Apr'13
End of Apr'12
Change
End of Apr'13
End of Apr'12
Change
Grameen Phone
42.37
37.75
4.62
41.87%
41.65%
0.21%
Banglalink
26.31
25
1.31
26.00%
27.58%
-1.59%
Robi
21.7
18.24
3.46
21.44%
20.13%
1.31%
Airtel
7.56
6.54
1.02
7.47%
7.22%
0.25%
Citycell
1.43
1.8
-0.38
1.41%
1.99%
-0.58%
Teletalk
1.84
1.3
0.54
1.82%
1.43%
0.39%
Total
101.21
90.63
10.58
100.00%
100.00%
N/A
Source: BTRC website

From the above information it is apparent that the mobile telecommunication industry is still in the growth phase of the market as a whole. Form analyzing the characteristics of the product life cycle the characteristic, marketing objective & strategies the companies are setting up to. The sales in the mobile industry are rapidly increasing. The cost is average per customer. Profits are marginally increasing. Customers are more or less early adopters. They are aware of the services that have been offered to them more precisely. The competitors are growing in number. The common marketing objective of all the companies is to maximize their market share. On the market strategies segment the product strategy is on the offer product extensions and on service orientation. More and more offers of value added service and added features are included in the package. The pricing strategy is to penetrate the market. So they are all more or less following the penetration pricing strategy. In distribution strategy the industry is the building on intensive distribution. More and more emphasis is given on gaining the market. So distributing the product to the far corners of the country has become a priority. In case advertising & promotional strategy the companies are all in aggressive advertising policy. Using all the possible media uses to increase the market share & reaching potential customers in mass market. Lastly in sales promotion the companies are on a rampage. They are offering enormous amount of services with the same package & low cost rate with different events all-round the year.
8.1. Porters 5 Forces Model
To survive in an industry, grow, sustain in competition & differentiate a company must understand the dynamics of the industry competition among firms. Mr. Michael Porter has developed a framework known as 5 forces model. His model focuses on following 5 five forces that shape competition within an industry, i.e.
a) Potential Competitors
b) Bargaining power of buyers
c) Bargaining power of suppliers
d) Closeness of substitutes to an industry’s products
e) Rivalry among established firms
After analyzing the above factors we can know the competition prevailing in the mobile phone industry.

Fig: Porters 5 forces model

a. Potential Competitors
Potential Entrants are companies that are not currently competing in the industry but have the capability to do so if they choose. The risk of entry by potential competitors is a function of height of Barriers to Entry.
I. Brand Loyalty
Large companies enjoy a brand loyalty in the market through its huge customer base, customer retention ratio, reputation, high product quality & after sales service. There are large established companies in mobile telecommunication sector, i.e. GrameenPhone, Banglalink, CityCell & Teletalk who have brand loyal customers & enjoy a competitive position in the market. So whatever product/service they come up in the future they can easily capture market share. This makes it difficult for new entrants to fight with these established brands for gaining market share.
II. Absolute Cost Advantage
Absolute Cost Advantage arise from following sources; i.e. – product diversification, pricing strategy etc, they represent lower risk than entrants.
In mobile telecommunication industry companies have long experience in this sector. Some of them have experience in doing business in different parts of the world. Using that experience here & following those successful strategies gives the companies some cost advantages as well.
III. Economies of Scale
The sources of economies of scale are i.e. – discounts on bulk purchases cards, advantages gained by spreading fixed production cost over a large production volume and cost savings associated with spreading marketing/advertising expense over a large output.
In telecommunication industry the companies get 2% – 5% discounts from card making companies because of bulk purchase, can spread fixed cost over huge number of conversions & save advertising costs over their large output.
IV. Customer Switching Costs
Switching costs arise when it costs a customer time, energy & money to switch from products offered by established firms to products offered by new entrants.
Because of intense competition in the market the switching cost is very low right now. The companies are offering very low connection fee. So there is a tendency of customers using multiple company service at the same time.

V. Government Regulation
Government regulation summarizes government’s policy towards setting up new industry.
The newly imposed tax of Tk 1,200 on every mobile SIM (subscriber identification module) card and connection
The government had reduced the mobile handset tariff in fiscal 2004-05 to Tk 1,500 from the previous Tk 4,000
b. Bargaining Power of Buyers
An industry’s buyers are individual customers who consume products, as end users & retailers are who buy it for selling to customers. The customers and the dealers are the main buyers in the mobile industry. It gives them more bargaining power over the company.
c. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
It refers to the ability of suppliers to raise input prices, threat to stop selling products & delay in delivering products. The suppliers are the mobile SIM card providers. They don’t have that much of bargaining power with the company
d. Closeness of substitutes to an industry’s products
Substitutes are products that of different business that can satisfy similar customer needs. In mobile telecommunication the close substitute is the BTTB land phones & some other new wireless fixed phones. BTTB land phone connections have been there for the last 30 years and so but the mobile phone connection outnumbered them in a couple of years. So they are not a big threat now. The new wireless FIXED phones are relatively new in the market so they are not opposing any direct threat to the mobile sector as well. Moreover these phones are targeting some specific segments of the market.
e. Rivalry among established firms
Rivalry refers to the competitive struggle between companies in an industry to gain market share from each other using price, product design, superior product offering, advertising spending, after sales service & support. The intensity of rivalry among companies in an industry is a function of industry competitive structure, demand condition & height of exit barriers in the industry.
I. Industry Competitive Structure
It refers to the number & size distribution of companies within that industry.
In Bangladesh the mobile phone industry falls under consolidated industry representing a small number of large companies, i.e. GrameenPhone, Robi, Banglalink, CityCell & Teletalk.
II. Demand Conditions
The current demand in the market for connection is very high. On a average every company is launching a new product or extensions every month. Price sensitive customers are really switching connections every time a new package comes out.
III. Exit Barriers
Exit Barriers represents investment in fixed asset, high fixed cost, equipment & economic dependence on industry. All the companies entered the market with huge initial investment and strong market commitment strategy. So the exit barrier is very high.
9. Company Analysis
9.1. Value Chain Analysis
The value chain analysis describes the activities the organization performs and links them to the organizations competitive position. Value chain analysis describes the activities within and around an organization, and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the organization. Therefore, it evaluates which value each particular activity adds to the organizations products or services. This idea was built upon the insight that an organization is more than a random compilation of machinery, equipment, people and money. Only if these things are arranged into systems and systematic activates it will become possible to produce something for which customers are willing to pay a price. Porter argues that the ability to perform particular activities and to manage the linkages between these activities is a source of competitive advantage.
Porter distinguishes between primary activities and support activities. Primary activities are directly concerned with the creation or delivery of a product or service. They can be grouped into five main areas:
Inbound logistics
Operations
Outbound logistics
Marketing and sales service.
Each of these primary activities is linked to support activities which help to improve their effectiveness or efficiency. There are four main areas of support activities:
Procurement
Technology development (including R&D)
Human resource management
Infrastructure (systems for planning, finance, quality, information management etc.)

9.2. Robi’s Value Chain Analysis
Robi’s value chain is centered on the idea of lowering the cost structure and increase the perceived value if the products and service through differentiation.
Primary Activities
I. Research & Development:
R&D is not only concerned about the product design and production process but also the segmentation and the needs of the customers. The customers are at the core of the activities of the function of Robi. So the needs of the customers are always a preference for the company. The R&D department are continuously on the market research to find out about the demand of a product which may be about to launch or will be launched in the future. The R&D function can help to lower costs or permit a company to charge higher prices.
II. Production
Production is considered with the creation of a good or service. In the case of Robi it is in the service sector. To the production really takes place when the service is delivered to the customers. By performing its activities efficiently the production function of a company helps to lower its cost structure.
III. Marketing & Sales
There are several ways in which the marketing and sales functions of a company help to create value. Through brand positioning and advertising, the marketing functions can increase the value that customers perceive to be contained in companies product. This is the most important value creation activity of Robi in a sense that this is the way to survive in the market in Bangladesh at the moment. The rivalry is so high right now those competitors are putting cent percent effort on big ad campaigns. A detailed marketing plan of Robi has been included in the AUDIT.
IV. Customer Service
The roles of service function of an enterprise are to provide after sale service and support. This function can create a perception of superior value in the minds of the customers by solving customer problems and supporting customers after they have purchased the product. Robi lacks behind in this value creation category comparing to their competitors. The customer care service isn’t up to the mark. The after sales service is also not up to the expectations.
Supporting Activities
The supporting activities of the value chain provide inputs that allow the primary activities to take place. These activities are broken down in the following fuctions:
I. Infrastructure
Company infrastructure is the companywide context within all the value creation activities takes place; the organizational structure, control system, company culture. Because the top management can exert considerable influence in shaping these aspects of a company top management should also be viewed as part of the infrastructure of a company. Robi’s organizational structure is basically a flat one with the view to smooth the communication process with upward and downward communication. But there are times when this gets affected. There are sometimes interdepartmental conflicts. On the other hand the control system is fairly centralized. The company practices strong intergrated culture within the organization.
II. Human Resource Management
There are a number of ways in which the human resource functions can help a company to create more value. This function ensures that the company has the right mix of skilled people to perform its value creation activities effectively. Robi has a sound HR practice and tries to motivate the employees to keep up the good works. From giving incentives to organizing cultural activities to inspire the employees and give them the feeling of being a part of the family is given importance in Robi.
III. Technology
This is for managing inventory, tracking sales, pricing products, selling products, customer service inquires etc. The technologies used in the company are state not state of the art. The customer service center needs to be up to date.

Different Levels of Strategy
9.3. Functional Level Strategies
Functional level strategies are the strategies that the companies take to improve the effectiveness of the company’s operation and thus its ability to attain superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer responsiveness. In each functional area identified by the strategist as needing goals and action plans, the aspects of the domain of each and the degree of detail entered into are matters of choice. Management’s concern in setting functional strategy should be to provide the firm’s functional officers with sufficient guidelines to carry out the functional parts of implementing other levels of strategy Robi focuses on achieving superior quality throughout the functional level of the organization. Even though the service provided by the company may be of higher standard that does not imply that the company has achieved superior quality. Any company that has achieved superior quality would be able to reduce rework and delay costs. It would be able to service provider in such a fashion that would require less rework and less delays. It would be able to better utilize the time and materials of production. Hence, cost would ultimately go down- making it more efficient in manufacturing. In order to achieve such a state, Robi should consider implementing Total Quality Management. At its essence, the strategy is build around the notion that doing something correctly in the first time is more profitable for the company. Even though zero defect tolerance policy might be too extreme for such a company as Robi, it must make sure its defect and rework rate is at the minimum. The easy way to ensure that is by making sure that it is able to produce the required quality service.
9.4. Incorporating TQM with corporate culture
TQM initially might increase the cost of production due to the strategies devotion to superior quality. However, as the company rides down the experience curve, the cost of production will go down substantially. Thus, at first the TQM policy might not be well accepted among the employees of the service providing companies. They might view the policy as inefficient and redundant. Hence, care must be taken so that the benefits of the policy are well-communicated among the employees of the organization. Historically it has been seen that self-managed teams are more effective in implementing TQM. However, self managed teams require substantial amount of decentralization. The concept of decentralization might be met with significant resistance from the upper management of the company. Still, Robi should consider the possibilities offered by self-managed teams.
9.5. Business Level Strategy
In the business level, the company follows the strategy of Focused Differentiation. It enables to provide its targeted market with quality service that is clearly differentiated from its competitors’ offerings.
However, mobile phone service is the kind of products for which the rates of innovations are fast. Innovation in the aspect of mobile phone service is product based. The companies in the market are practically in a war situation. They are at each others throat to get the customer. Robi in that sense have to come up with new better ideas than the competitors if they want to sustain the competition. So differentiation strategy is a must for the company. The company can also
9.6. Incorporating Differentiation strategy with corporate culture
Adopting a differentiation strategy would require a number of changes within the organization. Management of Robi must work hard to minimize the bureaucratic costs. Grouping tasks and functions and efficiently using integrating mechanism to better coordinate the tasks and functions is highly recommended. In addition, the company must clearly allocate authority and responsibility and properly define its goals to its employees. Flattening the organizational structure might prove fruitful.
9.7. Corporate Level Strategy
The principal concerns of corporate level strategy are to identify in the business in which should participate, the value creation activities it should perform in those businesses and the best means for expanding or constructing in different businesses.
9.8. Strategic Outsourcing
Robi’s corporate strategy revolves around strategic outsourcing. It involves spreading out some of a company’s value creation activity within a business and letting them be performed by a specialist in that activity. In other words strategic outsourcing is concerned with reducing the boundaries of the company and focusing on the fewer value creation functions. From the setup of the network to distribution of its card Robi has outsourced many of its works. Robi engaged in strategic outsourcing because they believe that they can better execute their business model by doing so and thus increase profitability.
9.9. Reducing cost through outsourcing
Out sourcing is an activity that will reduce cost when the price that must be paid to a specialist company to perform that activity is less than what it would cost the company to perform that activity internally.
Robi’s distribution is strictly based on outsourcing. Refill cards are distributed through a third party. This way they reduce the distribution cost and overhead cost of running an vertically integrated distribution channel.
9.10. Performance Oriented
For both service and marketing department performance will be one of the criterions to evaluate employee performance. Profit sharing will be part of the pay package of the employees that will ensure the higher employee performance.
9.11. Corporate Social Responsibility
Robi is a dynamic and leading end-to-end countrywide GSM mobile operator. As a committed corporate citizen of Bangladesh, Robi provides yearly scholarships to meritorious and financially needy Bangladeshi students for Bachelor degrees in Multimedia University, Malaysia. ROBI will offer scholarships for the academic year 2006-2007.
9.12. Strategic Control
These are the formal target setting measurement and feedback system that allows managers to evaluate whether the company has achieving superior efficiency, quality, innovation and customer responsiveness. Personal Control is the desire to shape and influence the behavior of a person in face to face interaction in the pursuit of the company’s goal. For Robi this is more applicable because managers can questions and probe subordinates about the problems or issues they are facing to get a better understanding. Output control is a system where managers’ estimates or forecasts appropriate performance goals for each division and employees and then measures actual performance on these goals. It motivates the employees. For Robi it is going in to a broad focus business in the future can help to keep track of the business by implementing this control system.
9.13. Implementing Differentiation Strategy
In pursuing a differentiation strategy the company will start to produce a wider range of packages and serve more market segments, which means it has to customize its products to the needs if different groups of customers. So to implement this managers should develop a more sophisticated control system increasingly make use of technology.
9.14. Implementing a Broad Focus based Product Line Strategy
Because the recommended strategy is to go for more broad focus based product line differentiation the company must first decide how to group overall product line into product groups or categories so that each product groups can be developed at lowest cost consistent with permitting the differentiation needed to create value for customers. Now to keep costs as low as possible the decision is made to centralize the support value chain functions like information system at the top management of the organization and the different product groups share their services. Strategic control system can now be developed to measure the performance of each product group separately from the others. Thus the performance of each product group is easy to monitor and evaluate. Strategic reward system can be more applicable here.
9.15. Existing Market Strategy
Robi’s marketing strategy is diverged. They use different type of marketing strategy to get the desired market share and the target segment.

Market Scope Strategy
Robi is serving at different distinct segment of the market without focusing on a particular one. This gives them an opportunity to expand their coverage in the market. To implement this multi-market strategy the company is focused to those segments that it feels most comfortable and in which the company is able to avoid confronting the companies that serve the entire market. Their implementation is done through selling different products in the different segments.
Market Geographic Strategy
From the start the company has taken a national marketing strategy to cover the whole Bangladesh market. Gradually they set upped the network and now they are covering almost 60 districts of the country.
Market Commitment Strategy
Robi follows a strong market commitment strategy. With Telecom Malaysia & AK Khan group in its backbone the company invested heavily in the market. The strong commitment strategy gives the company a chance to operate in a market optimally by realizing economies of scale in promotion, distribution and so on. Challenge from competitors like GrameenPhone, Banglalink for the position in the market is handled by Robi by aggressively fighting back with different forms of product, price, promotion & distribution strategies. In other words because the company has a high stake in the market it does all it can to defend its position.
9.16. Product Strategy
The implementation of the product strategies requires cooperating among different groups: finance, research and development, the corporate staff, and marketing. This level of integration makes the product strategies difficult to develop and implement.
Product Positioning Strategy
The term positioning refers to placing a brand in that part of the market where it will receive a favorable reception compared to competing products. Robi’s single brand positioning gives them benefits to play a dominate role in the core segment. This strategy gives them the flexibility to attract customers for the other segments outside its core segments.
9.17. Pricing Strategy
Broadly speaking pricing objective can be either profit oriented or volume oriented. Robi pursue both at the same time.

Pricing Strategy for New Products
For their new products Robi follows penetration-pricing strategy, so they can enter the market with a low initial price and capture a greater market share. Because of high price elasticity of demand they are adopting this strategy. It also gives them option to achieve economies of scale.
Pricing Strategy For Established Products
In case of their established prepaid & postpaid product Robi is following reduces price strategy. For all existing prepaid & postpaid services the company uses the reduced tariffs. It can identified as a defensive strategy responding to the competition, offensive in nature because suing the experience curve concept costs across the board go down by a fixed percentage every time experiences double or it can be because of the customer needs. Lowering the prices sometimes becomes prerequisite for inducing the market to grow, customers’ need may then become the pivot of marketing strategy, all other marketing aspects are developed accordingly.
9.18. Distribution Strategy
Robi distribution strategy is not vertically integrated with the organization. They outsource the distribution to a third party. They have
NERO (nonexclusive retail organization)
Dealers
Exclusive distributors
9.19. Promotional Strategy
Promotional strategies are concerned with the planning, implementation and control of persuasive communication with the consumer. For Robi these strategies are revolved around advertising, sales promotions and special offers.
9.20. Promotional Mix Strategy
Robi in promotional aspect follows the promotional mix strategy. It basically covers the following factors
Product factor
Market factor
Customer factor
Budget factor
Marketing mix factor
Environmental factor
They follow this strategy to adequately blend the three types of promotion to complement each other for a balanced promotional perspective. To advertise their products and services to the market Robi uses various types of media that are available. From television commercials to Newspaper and magazine they are now even sponsoring the evening news headlines. This of course falls under their advertising copy strategy. One important factor is that Robi uses both PUSH & PULL strategy at the same time. They have their in house advertising campaign department. But they outsource their other big ad plans to ad firms as well.
10. Customer Analysis
This section is fully covered by the statistical data. Data were collected through a survey. The surveyor divides the questionnaire into two parts in the findings and analysis segment. These two parts will give a clear idea about the customer preference towards ROBI prepaid connection.
10.1. Findings and analysis segment
Profession of the respondents:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Service
43
43%
Business
7
7%
Student
40
40%
House wife
6
6%
Others
4
4%
The above picture shows most of the users of ROBI prepaid connection are service holder which is 43%. 40% of the total respondents are student, 7% are Businessmen, 6% are housewife and 4% are in other category. It indicates that most of the respondents are either student or service holder.
Monthly income of the respondents:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Below 6,000
11
11%
6,000 – 10,000
23
23%
10,000 – 15,000
35
35%
15,000 – 20,000
16
16%
20,000 – 25,000
9
9%
Above 25,000
6
6%
The highest percentage of respondent’s monthly income level is between Tk.10, 000 to Tk 15,000 which is 35%, second highest percentage is 23% which income level is Tk. 6,000 to Tk. 10,000. So the middle class people use ROBI prepaid connection most.

Age of respondents:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Below 6,000
11
11%
6,000 – 10,000
23
23%
10,000 – 15,000
35
35%
15,000 – 20,000
16
16%
20,000 – 25,000
9
9%
Above 25,000
6
6%
The above graph presents that 33% respondent’s ages are from 20-25 years and 34% respondents ages are from 26-30 years. 14% ages are from 31-35 years. Only 5% ages are from 13-19 years.
Recharging the mobile phone:
About the question of how much do you recharge each month using scratch card? The followings are found.
TK
Frequency
Percent
300
81
81%
600
12
12%
1200
5
5%
2400
2
2%
The above table show, most of the respondents’ recharge their mobile by Tk. 300 scratch card, which is 81 % and 12% are by Tk 600. It indicates that most number of ROBI prepaid users use Tk 300 scratch card.

Waiting for full expiry date of Card Validity:
About the question of whether the customer waits for the expiry date to recharge.
Particulars
Frequency
Percent
Yes
81
81%
No
19
19%
The above picture shows most of the customers’ recharge their cell phone after finishing the current prepaid scratch card duration which is 81 % and rest of the customers do not wait for the full expiry period. Maximum numbers of prepaid users are waiting for the expiry date to recharge.

Reason for Waiting for full expiry date of Card Validity:
This question gives the answer why the customer waits for the scratch card validity date.
Particulars
Frequency
Percent
Budget Constraint
61
75.31%
Can do without cell phone for certain duration
8
9.88%
Looking to switch to other operator.
0
0.00%
Buying Card Monthly
12
14.81%
The above graph shows that budget constraint is the main reason for waiting for full expiry date of call validity. 75% respondents do not recharge card before expiry because of budget constraint.
Reason for Using a Mobile Phone:
Particulars
Frequency
Percent
Keep in touch with family
47
47%
Business
7
7%
Keep in touch with friends
19
19%
Office use
23
23%
Others
4
4%
The graphs show that most people use mobile phone to keep in touch with their families. 47% respondent said that it is their main usage of mobile phone. 23% use mobile connection for official use and 19% to contact with friends. Only 7% uses mobile phone for business reasons.
10.2. Customer preference for using ROBI
In the second part of the survey which is addressed as the customer preference for using ROBI prepaid connection, is divide into six segment which are Quality, Recognition, Facility, Commitment, Promotion and Packing. This part will give us a clear picture why the customers give preference to ROBI prepaid connection.

The low startup cost:
After taking survey the following picture are to be invented.
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
24
24%
Agree
44
44%
Neutral
5
5%
Disagree
20
20%
Strongly Disagree
7
7%
After analyzing this data, 44% of the total respondents agree with the statement, 24% strongly agree while other 20% respondents disagree with it as well.
Satisfaction with the Network coverage:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
63
63%
Agree
22
22%
Neutral
0
0%
Disagree
12
12%
Strongly Disagree
3
3%
Customers are satisfied with the network coverage of ROBI. 52% of the total respondents strongly agree with the availability of the network coverage of ROBI, 33% agree with it. So there are a little bit objections about ROBI’s network coverage which is one of the main advantages of ROBI over its competitors.
Market Reputation of ROBI:
After taking survey the following picture are to be invented.
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
17
17%
Agree
54
54%
Neutral
6
6%
Disagree
16
16%
Strongly Disagree
7
7%
17% of the total respondents strongly agree that ROBI has a good reputation in the market, 54% agree with it. On the other hand 7% respondents are strongly disagreeing with the strong market reputation of ROBI. The market reputation is quite satisfactory for ROBI.
Providing New Technology & related services:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
19
19%
Agree
41
41%
Neutral
13
13%
Disagree
21
21%
Strongly Disagree
6
6%
The above table and graph illustrate ROBI’s new technology and services (SMS, Voicemail, AIRS, Information Service, GPRS etc) where 41% respondents agree with the related features, 19% respondents strongly agree with it. The respondents are agreeing with this statement that ROBI provides the latest technology and related services.
The Off-Peak Hour System:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
28
28%
Agree
35
35%
Neutral
7
7%
Disagree
17
17%
Strongly Disagree
13
13%
The graph reflects that the customer likes the off peak hour system of ROBI’s prepaid connection, where 28% respondents are strongly agree with it and 35% of the total respondents agree with it. It indicates the customers are happy with this service but there is objection about the time for the off peak hour system. People who disagree with it, their main complain was about the timing of the off/peak hour system.
“My easy number” option:

Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
27
27%
Agree
37
37%
Neutral
11
11%
Disagree
19
19%
Strongly Disagree
6
6%
From the above graph it can be clearly understood that people like the “Prepaid Standard ” the company provides. 27% strongly agrees that they like this service and 37% agrees with it. 11% are neutral. 19% disagrees with it and 11% strongly disagrees with it. Among the respondents who disagree with said that the option of selected number should be increased.
ROBI provides different prepaid package offers often:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
11
11%
Agree
38
38%
Neutral
20
20%
Disagree
22
22%
Strongly Disagree
9
9%

The above graph shows that 38% respondents agree that ROBI provides different package offers often. 20% respondents were neutral about the statement. 22% subscribers also disagree with the statement.
Satisfaction with the Duration of Scratch Card:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
9
9%
Agree
29
29%
Neutral
5
5%
Disagree
6
6%
Strongly Disagree
51
51%
Duration of prepaid scratch card is very important for the subscribers. The above picture shows that 51% of the total respondents strongly disagree with the validation time of the card and in contrast 29% respondents agree with it. So it can be a worrying factor for ROBI.
Low Call Charge per minute:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
6
6%
Agree
20
20%
Neutral
3
3%
Disagree
7
7%
Strongly Disagree
64
64%
64% of the respondents are Strongly Disagree about the low call charge per minute. Only 20% are agree and 6% are Strongly Agree, Which indicate a total of 26% are Satisfied with the call chare by the ROBI. It indicates the ROBI don’t give the low call charge over the customer with the ROBI Prepaid connection.

Take prompt action in case of any dissatisfaction:
Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
11
11%
Agree
23
23%
Neutral
17
17%
Disagree
39
39%
Strongly Disagree
10
10%
The graph represents that 23% agrees with the statement that GP take prompt action in case of any dissatisfaction with the service. 17% are neutral and 39% disagrees with the statement.
Promotional Activities:

Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
19
19%
Agree
46
46%
Neutral
3
3%
Disagree
26
26%
Strongly Disagree
6
6%
Advertisement plays a vital role in any business. When asked about this question 46% respondents agree that before buying this connection they were encourage to see the advertisement in billboard, newspapers, TV etc. 19% strongly agree with the statement.
Awareness of the Product:

Particulars
Frequency
Percentage
Strongly Agree
21
21%
Agree
44
44%
Neutral
16
16%
Disagree
12
12%
Strongly Disagree
7
7%

About the awareness of the product of the customers are at ROBI’s side. 44% of them Agree and 21% strongly agreed with it. No of disagreeing of people are small, only 7% strongly disagree

11. PESTLE Analysis

Fig: PESTLE Analysis
PEST analysis is concerned with the environmental influences on a business. The acronym stands for the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Ethical issues that could affect the strategic development of a business. Identifying PESTLE influences is a useful way of summarizing the external environment in which a business operates. However, it must be followed up by consideration of how a business should respond to these influences.
Political Factors
Marketing strategy is deeply affected by political perspectives. The government of Bangladesh has given mobile sector ample amount of freedom to do business. There were some stiff regulations that hindered the possible entry in the mid 90’s but as technology entered the new millennia government freed the way for companies to enter the market. Government in a way is the regulatory entity as well.
Economic Factors
This factor is also an important factor. Usually economic environment is analyzed with reference to the following key economic factors: employment, CPI, personal income, real GNP etc. The economy has been a major roller coaster ride. Though the government claims that the economy is stable and the GDP is on the rise, the personal disposal income is still in question. But these factors are not influencing the consumers. The growth has been tremendous over the last few years.
Social Factors
The ultimate test of a business is its social relevance. An important aspect of the social environment concerns the values consumers hold. Values mainly revolve around a number of fundamental concerns regarding time, environment, personal finance, diversity etc Orientation towards time: Convenience is a critical source of differential advantage, particularly in the service sector. Youth are making or influencing more household decisions. Moreover as the population ages time pressures become more widespread and acute. The interest to acquire and use new technology has been a big factor. Everybody wants to be connected with each other & having a mobile connection has become a social status for some part of the population. Diversity of Lifestyle: Mobile phones have given a diversified lifestyle to the society. The diversification & integration and doing multi-tasking has become more easy day by day. The connections in the rural areas have given a touch of focusing the rural business with the business of that of the capital.
Technological Factors
Technological factors include the use if technology in doing business. Up to date use technology helps to acquire the economies of scale for the company and cost savings. It also gives them the opportunity to expand in the future. Currently in Bangladesh the mobile phone companies are not exactly using the state of the art of technology. Although different multinational companies like Siemens, Nokia & Ericsson helping but they need to be updated more.
Legal Factors
Society has not only sanctioned business to operate according to the profit motive; at the same time business is expected to comply with the laws and regulations promulgated by federal, state, and local governments as the ground rules under which business must operate. As a partial fulfillment of the “social contract” between business and society, firms are expected to pursue their economic missions within the framework of the law. Legal responsibilities reflect a view of “codified ethics” in the sense that they embody basic notions of fair operations as established by our lawmakers. They are depicted as the next layer on the pyramid to portray their historical development, but they are appropriately seen as coexisting wit economic responsibilities as fundamental precepts of the free enterprise system.
Ethical Factors
Although economic and legal responsibilities embody ethical norms about fairness and justice, ethical responsibilities embrace those activities and practices that are expected or prohibited by societal members even though they are not codified into law. Ethical responsibilities embody those standards, norms, or expectations that reflect a concern for what consumers, employees, shareholders, and the community regard as fair, just, or in keeping with the respect or protection of stakeholders’ moral rights.
In one sense, changing ethics or values precede the establishment of law because they become the driving force behind the very creation of laws or regulations. For example, the environmental, civil rights, and consumer movements reflected basic alterations in societal values and thus may be seen as ethical bellwethers foreshadowing and resulting in the later legislation.

Part IV (Changes on Robi’s business environment in last few years)
12. Changing the brand name from “Aktel” to “Robi”
Aktel, one of the premier brands in mobile telecommunication in the country transformed to Robi in 28th March, 2010 after unveiling of the new logo and branding at a colorful ceremony at the Suhrawardi Uddyan in the capital.
Followings are some reasons for changing the brand name:
The company wants to develop an emotional link with the people of this wonderful country.
By changing the name to a Bengali word, the company aims at aligning its services to local culture and tradition. The word has been chosen as it carries a range of dominant meanings of emotional and cultural bondage of the people of this land. Robi brings the first gleam of light that shows us the day; Robi is the symbol of harvest that brings satisfying smiles on the faces of the farmers; Robi, meaning sun, is the source of energy that vitalizes agriculture, weather and life everywhere. The word Robi is also very familiar to all Bangla speaking people as it is in the Bengali name of their pride poet, Rabindranath Tagore.
In Bangladesh, telecommunication sector witnessed massive development during the last decade, mainly due to the penetration of mobile telephony. However, there remain enormous opportunities for further growth as the economic indices grow correspondingly. As the main thrust of development will be rural-based, identification of the name with a Bengali word is expected to add significant value.
Since its inception in 1997, Robi, has been providing a wide range of services to the growing mobile telecom market in Bangladesh. Currently, it holds about 26 percent of the subscriber market share. In order to boost its presence and market share, it has embarked upon this transformation endeavour to tap the possibilities to grow and at the same time contribute to the socio economic development of the country. In its new outlook, Robi is deemed to ensure greater customer satisfaction by offering quality services.

13. Changing in Guiding Principles
Up to June 2013 Robi was following eight guiding Principles.

Robi includes following three new guiding Principles.

Uncompromising Integrity:
We will be legally, ethically, and morally correct.
Our conduct will be fair and honest.
We will listen, seek understanding and encourage open dialogue.
We will be passionate in pursuing our beliefs
We will treat others with dignity, valuing and benefiting from diversity
We will be accountable for our actions and behaviors on fellow employees, customers, shareholders, and the communities in which we operate.
We will be courageous in sharing our work and bold to learn and improve from our mistakes
We will adhere to our Code of Conduct, protect and uphold it.
Customer at the Centre:
We will be customer centric delivering their needs in terms of value, quality and satisfaction.
Our customer focus will be unrelenting in creating positive experience, at every point of interface, sale and post-sale.
Simplicity will be the key for the customer to learn about us, buy from us, and get support from us whenever, wherever.
We will strive for continuous innovative solutions in every sphere of our work.
We will engagement with the customers to know their demands and design our actions to care for them better than our competitors can.
We will not be distracted from creating and providing value for our customers.

I Can, I Will:
Ensure our efforts produce desired results.
Seize opportunities at the right time and execute them on time.
Go beyond our scope, strive for and achieve excellence.
Do what it takes to ensure delivery of results not waiting for delegation.
Go that extra mile, setting ambitious goals to ensure our efforts bring success.
Have the courage to say and do what it takes in order to ensure success.
14. Gradually become a process oriented company
One or two years back Robi was not a process oriented company. For keep in pace with the competitor and the fastest growing market, Robi was gradually adopting the process. Now Robi become a fully process oriented company. Everything is going on a particular process so that the management can look after the issue and take immediate action if any hindrance observed.
15. Adaptation with new technology
Robi was starting its journey with GSM technology i.e.2G technology that supported only traditional voice conversation. Technology is continuously upgrading and new technologies are also invented. Customers are always interested to use the new technology. To keep in pace with the customer interest Robi is continuously upgrading its network. By incorporating the GPRS & EDGE tecnology , Robi upgraded its 2G network to 2.5G network. Now Robi is planning to incorporate 3G technology.
16. Changing marketing strategy
Robi was marketing its products all over the country. But Robi don’t have the 100% coverage in every location of the country. So this type of marketing didn’t bring any revenue, rather beard the marketing cost. Moreover the customers are now very conscious about the network coverage and quality. So false marketing doesn’t make any effect on the customer. So Robi is changing its marketing strategy. Now Robi is maketing its product in a particular area where the product is best suited and the network coverage and quality are in a satisfactory level. As a result the customers are taking the offers easily and the revenue is increasing day by day.

Part V (Corporate Social Responsibility of Robi)
In line with its business philosophy ‘Empowering People’, Robi is always committed towards society and aspires to be a powerful agent of change in the communities in which it operates. To enrich people’s lives, Robi focuses on Education, ICT, Health, Environment and Culture & Heritage with various types of programmers across the country. Among all the programmers, English in Schools (EIS) and GPA 5 celebration received huge response countrywide. To help students learn English, EIS is reaching 0.7 million students and 10,000 teachers of 1,000 secondary level schools.
Renewing its CSR philosophy, Robi is widening its core CSR area in 2010. In line with Government’s ‘Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021’, Robi will be working towards ICT development across the country especially in the colleges and libraries. With special focus on women, Robi is emphasizing on women health and women entrepreneurship.
To empower the underprivileged women of the society, Robi has embarked on various types of long term projects. Among these initiatives, we have been conducting vocational programs to enhance women’s skills and encourage home based businesses. Considering the importance of ‘Healthy women for healthy nation’, Robi has stood beside the underprivileged women of the society through providing monthly free health service `Shustho Nari, Shustho Paribar’ (Healthy Woman, Healthy Family) for the underprivileged women across the country.
Robi is always committed to the society. In fact, 2005 & 2006 were a year of exploration into Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for Axiata (Bangladesh) Limited. To actively identify and start establishing Robi as a concerned entity devoted to the development of many social interests throughout greater Bangladesh based on four core values. These are enlightened through education, Assure better health, Protect environment and Fight with poverty. In recognition of its CSR effort, Robi is the first among all mobile phone operators to win prestigious “Standard Chartered-Financial Express Corporate Social Responsibility Award-2006”.
17. A CSR Activity “Konthe O Tulite Bangladesh”
To imbibe the new generation with the true spirit of nationalism, Robi, a leading mobile phone operator in the country has taken a worthy initiative. It organized a CSR programme at different divisional areas under the banner “Konthe O Tulite Bangladesh”.
The theme of the programme is to enlighten students with the correct tune and lyrics of national anthem and at the same time to teach them how to draw country’s map correctly. A panel of judges drawn in from renowned singers and teachers of different universities made the selection of the winners. Six contestants were awarded for their best performance in different categories.
The program was organized in cooperation with the Shishu AcademyIt may be mentioned that the programme Konthey O Tulitey Bangladesh was first held at the Jatiyo Shishu Academy in Dhaka on 31st March. It will be held at different places of the country in phases.
“Konthe O Tulite Bangladesh” contest was a part of Robi’s year long CSR activity. This event shaped a delighted environment in Shishu Academy complex Rangpur. All participants were given certificates by Robi.
18. Corporate Responsibility (CR) Perspectives
As per policy, Robi approaches corporate responsibility (CR) from the five perspectives in line with 4 bigger perspective of CR: Marketplace, People, Community and Environment:
Marketplace Perspective
Committed to applying high standards of corporate governance across the organization and adhering to the rules and regulations established by Bangladesh Government.
Workplace Perspective
Aim to build Robi into a company that makes one feel proud and is enjoyable to work in and thus be an employer of choice.
Community Perspective
Committed to using its financial, technological and human capabilities to drive social, economic and environmental change in the nations in line with Bangladesh Govt. as well as group initiative.
Environment Perspective
Robi continuously adopts the ways to promote green activities and reduce the activities that creates negative impacts on our ecological footprint.
Robi believes education platform remains the main focus to develop a nation. To ensure an early jump into technology and intellectual transfer, Robi has established a tradition of providing scholarships every year to three promising individuals to complete their higher studies in Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. To provide a world-class teaching and learning resources for Bangladeshi professionals Robi joined hand with Chittagong Skills Development Centre (CSDC), Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programs (UCEP-Bangladesh), etc. Robi also aims to identify and supports indeed those in need of basic infrastructure to practice the fundamentals of Islam. This contribution goes in building orphanages and renovations of mosques all across the Bangladesh. To improve living condition of distressed people; Robi has always been providing support to them.
As a shared concern with the society at large, Robi also focused towards the roaming street children found throughout Bangladesh.
Not only will Robi continue its thrust towards identifying & involving itself with more avenues for CSR activities, we encourage the fellow enterprise of Bangladesh to participate in such activities on a regular basis. By becoming more aware of living & social community, Robi can certainly see so many areas to be involved in. Only through concerted efforts of the private sector, there will be emerged a socially responsible collective consciousness.
19. Recommendations
Broad Recommendations
If a financial services company wishes to comply with the Guidelines we would recommend taking the following steps:
1. Imbue vision statement with CSR philosophy.
2. Write a CSR strategy and appoint internal CSR Task and Finish Force to execute it.
3. Integrate CSR into core business operations such as public relations.
4. Integrate CSR into performance review procedure.
5. Undertake internal and external review of CSR.
6. Promote CSR activities via your external and internal website.
7. Prepare a CSR report before the end of June and submit to the parent company.
Specific Recommendations
1. Ensuring Strong corporate bonding:
2. Increasing the responsiveness of all the respective department:
3. Improve the Effectiveness of CSR activation agency:
4. Increase the Numbers of Health Camp program
5. Developing Effective Promotional Strategy
6. Add Different Sorts of Value Added Service (VAS)
7. Promoting the Tele-marketing Concept
8. Overall improvement of the Service Quality
20. Conclusion
Social responsibility is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society. This responsibility can be “negative”, meaning there is a responsibility to refrain from acting (resistance stance) or it can be “positive,” meaning there is a responsibility to act (proactive stance).There is a large inequality in the means and roles of different entities to fulfill their claimed responsibility.
Even though Robi are taking serious efforts for the sustained development, some critics still are questioning the concept of CSR. Based on my research, I come up with the conclusion that in comparison to other mobile operators, Robi has moderately good CSR awareness level and superior visibility among the general people. If Robi can move away the obstacles and bindings which I mentioned in my report Robi can reach the root level of the whole Bangladesh. There are people who claim that Corporate Social Responsibility underlies some hidden motives while others consider it as a myth. Is CSR really a stalking horse for an anti-corporate agenda? The reality is that CSR is not a tactic for brand building. Indulging into activities that help society in one way or the other only adds to the goodwill of a company.
Rural people can become a viable market for the corporate with a developmental approach of social marketing. Organizations can launch social responsibility initiatives in order to build brands in the rural areas. The social responsibility initiatives are far more effective in building brands in rural market than the commercial advertisements.
This study has attempted to describe the awareness level of the Corporate Social Responsibility activities of Robi. Major parts of the respondents are quite conscious about the CSR activities of Robi. As Bangladesh is still in the developing country, People are facing different sorts of basic needs problem. This is might be a good gap in terms of CSR mileage. General people don’t have enough choice. So if Robi cannot create positive image among the general people then they will lose its existing and potential customer as well as the market share.
The mission of Robi is to provide total customer satisfaction and help to make a digital Bangladesh. It is high time for Robi to satisfy and retain its existing customers. So the top management has to redefine their existing strategies regarding Corporate Social Responsibility and apply the new strategy properly. If the number of CSR service receiver will increase then it will not only increase the company’s revenue but also it can become the market leader within a very short period of time.