Operating at the Bottom of the Pyramid: A case on HRM

Strive Enterprise a small Chemical and Cosmetics Company is

about to float. It is a tiny Company with a capital base of Tk. 1
million only. The company belon!s to both chemical and cosmetics
industry. The entrepreneurs are a !roup of youn!" educated"
ener!etic but conditioned business people with an unusual motive
to reach the low price# low mar!in# hi!h volume business model.
The product line of the company for chemical and cosmetics
respectively are$
Chemical %mainly repacka!in!&
1. 'ydro!en per o(ide
). *lycerin
+. sodi bi carbe
,. -oric acid
.. /otassium perman!anate
Cosmetics
1. 0fter Shave lotion
). 0ntiseptic cream
+. Talcum powder
,. /etroleum 1elly
.. Tooth paste
2. Tooth powder
The company wants to be a low cost leader in an oli!opoly
market structure where few dominant firms 3both 4orei!n and
domestic5 en!a!e themselves in cutthroat competition throu!h
price war and heavy promotional activities. 0s a very small firm"
Strive Enterprise 6ust cannot effort to !o for cutthroat competition in
the aforesaid manner.
There is a hu!e se!ment of the market for low cost 7uality
products particularly in the northern districts of our country and the
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market is scattered in a hu!e !eo!raphic spread for a newly found
concern. There are established local manufacturers with reputed
and reco!ni8ed brands. Their market share and sales revenue is
reasonable" but the entrepreneurs runnin! them are not that
dynamic and are often vulnerable to !ood mana!ement and
marketin! strate!ies.
The company wants to float in at lest 2 northern districts namely"
9an!pur" :ilfamai" ;uri!ram" <almonirhat" 1aypurhat and =ina6pur
with the manufacturin! plant situated in 9an!pur. They want to
import the raw materials form India throu!h -urimari land port. 0
=haka based printin! and packa!in! company will establish an
re!ional plant to cater the needs of the newly floatin! company.
The Simple mana!erial hierarchy will consist of one *>" 2 district
mana!ers for sales and 0dministration separately. The company
wants to !o for a uni7ue distribution channel of its own by
emphasi8in! on the Thana level" 3the 0chilles heel for the
multinationals and lar!e local firms5 and by appointin! one sale
representative and two sales persons 3females5 from the local
community. The company will provide transportation and lo!istics
in the form of vehicles and offices in every Thana. The company
wants to utili8e the local orientation and personal connection of the
sales people as the uni7ue marketin! tools.
The chemical products are tar!eted for the >edicine stores and
the cosmetics for local >odi shops and the >onohari shops. The
products are relatively cheap but standard. The packa!in! and !et
up is okay.
=erive a '9 plan for the company for the comin! .#year span
showin! the followin! particulars$
1. The >ission and vision statement of '9
Human Resources Mission Statement
The mission of the human resource department is to support the goals and
challenges of Strive Enterprise by providing services that promote a work
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environment that is characterized by fair treatment of staff, open
communications, personal accountability, trust and mutual respect. e will
seek and provide solutions to workplace issues that support and optimize the
operating principles of the organization.
Human Resources Vision Statement
). The ?r!ani8ational Structure
!E" # $anaging %irector& Eng. 'uruzzaman (rodhan
)actories %irector &

(roduction *$ &

+i,uid detergents # personal care factory - *$
Soap )actory - *$
warehousing - *$
.ndustrial # Technical pro/ects - *$ &
$aintenance $anager
)inancial $anaging %irector
(lanning - *$
(urchasing - *$
!ommercial %irector
0uman 1esources # Training - *$
2uality %irector 3$anagement 1epresentative4
2uality !ontrol *$
+. The 9ole profiles@1= of the *>"=istrict >ana!ers" The
Thana Sales >ana!er and the Sales /eople.
Sales Force
The Strive Enterprise !osmetics sales force consists of a team of contractors called
.ndependent 5eauty !onsultants. 5eauty consultants buy their inventory from the
Strive Enterprise wholesale division and sell it directly to customers at in-home
parties and through personal websites. Similar to brick-and-mortar stores, consultants
keep the difference between what they sell their products for and what they paid for
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them. .n addition to sales profits, consultants earn commissions by recruiting and
supervising new consultants. "nce a consultant7s team consists of five consultants,
Strive Enterprise is eligible for a promotion to sales director. Subse,uent promotions
for building a successful team include senior sales director and national sales director.
These positions include bonuses and higher commissions.
Corporate Structure
The current !E" of Strive Enterprise is $r. 'uruzzaman (rodhan. %irectly reporting
to the !E" are the directors of finance, legal and public affairs, research, human
resources and customer information specialists. 5eneath these departments, the
corporation is organized into four departments& marketing8sales, operations,
development8manufacturing and distribution. Si9 regional directors serve as the
liaison between the corporate offices and the independent sales force.
,. The Salary and the benefit structure
.. The selection criteria for the above positions
2. 0 detailed 9ecruitment plan and how you will e(ecute it
A. 0 plan for the employee orientation
B. The Trainin! plan for the new recruits
Recruitment, Training and Support
The Strive Enterprise management philosophy is built on e9perienced consultants
helping new hires. To encourage this, established consultants are rewarded for
bringing in new consultants with a percentage of each sale the new hire makes.
5ecause this percentage is paid by the parent company and does not come out of the
new employee7s profits, this practice does not make Strive Enterprise an illegal
pyramid organization. .n return for a continued percentage of the recruited
consultant7s sales, the recruiter is e9pected to provide on-going training and support to
Strive Enterprise team.
Pyramid Schemes
The fact that consultants are paid a percentage of the sales made by anyone they
recruit to work for Strive Enterprise causes some people to wonder if their business
structure is a pyramid and therefore illegal. .n a classic pyramid organization, money
is made only through the recruitment of new employees, with very little goods or
services actually being sold. :lthough Strive Enterprise does pay consultants to
recruit new members, consultants do actually sell cosmetics and the compensation for
recruiting members is paid by the corporation not the recruits. :dditionally, recruiting
consultants are e9pected to earn their commissions by supervising and supporting
their team.
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C. >ake a draft of a Employee 'and book
:ecessary Tips
1. Consult the Instructor as and when neededD do take the pain
to make an appointment.
). >ake a draft firstD do not try to produce somethin! flawless in
the first place.
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