Human Characters of Foundation Trainees of Islami …ibtra.com/pdf/journal/v8_n1_article1.pdf ·...

Human Characters of Foundation Trainees of Islami

Bank Bangladesh Limited and Its’ Impact on their

Performance

M. Mizanur Rahman1

A.N.M Tawhidul Islam2

Abstract

Training is an integral part of the professional development therefore as one of its strategy,

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has established Islami Bank Training and Research Academy

(IBTRA) to develop the manpower of all levels of the Bank on Economics, Finance and

Banking. The performance of the trainees varies significantly because of numerous human

factors. Therefore, the major focus of the study was to determine the impact of human

characters of probationary officers on their training performance. A total of 123 foundation

officers of 5 different but consecutive batches in the year 2008 were taken in to study and a

pre-structured and pretested questionnaire was used for collecting the data from the selected

respondents. The information was expressed both in statistical and econometrical way to

assess the impact of human characters of the trainees on their performance. The study

indicated that most of the resources speakers’ communication, presentation and lecture

relevancy with subjects matter were good but still there were some scope to improve them. So,

the speakers may be suggested to make their lecture more communicative and relevant with

the subject matter of the training. The physical and recreation facilities in IBTRA has to be

developed so that staying in the academy do not become monotonous for the trainees as this

monotony hampers the effectiveness of the training. The study also revealed that unmarried

and comparatively younger trainees performed well then their counterparts, therefore special

care should be taken to them so that they can receive the training effectively. The trainees

having banking related academic background performed well compare to the officers who are

from non-banking education. So, special accounting and finance related training program can

be arranged for the trainees who are having non-banking education. The trainees who were

more meritorious (in terms of academic results) had performed comparatively better than

their counterparts. So, along with the written and viva results, emphasis should also be given

to the candidate’s academic results for recruiting the probationary officers for the bank.

Key Words: Human characters, probationary officers, foundation training, impact on

performance

1 Dr. M. Mizanur Rahman, Senior Vice President, Research and Development Division, Head

Office, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited. 2 A.N.M Tawhidul Islam, Software Engineer, Islami Bank Training and Research Academy,

Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh.

Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance, Vol. 8 No. 1, Jan - Mar 2012

10

1. Background

In order to meet up the interest-free shariah based banking in Bangladesh Islami

Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) was established in 1983. This implies that IBBL

act as a system of financial intermediation that avoids receipt and payment of interest

in its transaction. This bank also conducts its operations in accordance with the

objectives of an Islamic economy.

Effective development of modern banking depends highly on the skill and expertise

of the officials serving in IBBL. In this respect training is considered to be one of the

most important tools. Training is a process of teaching, informing or educating people

so that they may become well qualified to do their work, and also to perform in

positions of greater difficulty and responsibility (Van Dorsal, 1962). Training

encompasses these activities that are deliberately addressed towards the improvement

of a person’s knowledge, skill and attitude on a job. Training can have impact on

organizations in a bigger way. If the staffs are not learning and developing skills

through their jobs, they are probably not having as much fun as they could. Training

(in its best form) keeps staff engaged, involved and de-stressed because they know

what they need to do and how to do it (Duffy, 2006). An effective and efficient

training can bring about tangible results. As one of its strategy, Islami Bank

Bangladesh Limited has established Islami Bank Training and Research Academy

(IBTRA) to develop the manpower of all levels of the Bank on Economics and

Banking with special emphasis on Islamic Economics and Banking concepts. IBTRA

has been providing different types of Banking training to the officials since its

establishment, of them foundation training is the most important. As of now, IBTRA

has imparted foundation training to approximately1110 participants in 40 different

batches.

Training is an integral part of every company's agenda. Because of the implications of

training, it is important to have training that is effective. Studies have proven that

more costly but effective training can save money that is wasted on cheap but

inefficient training. Unfortunately, there is no rule of thumb or "one for all" method

of effective training. Methods of training have to be analyzed and studied before

companies rely on them to train a competent workforce. It is very important to have a

needs analysis to determine which method works best. There are numerous factors to

be considered in making training method decisions. Factors such as training

objectives (what is aimed to be learned), cost, and trainee demographics are some

important issues to be considered.

Human Characters of Foundation Trainees of IBBL and Its’ Impact on their Performance 11

It has been observed from the very beginning that the performance of the trainees

varies significantly. It apparently appears that numerous human factors are

responsible for this kind of variation in training performances (Rahman et al., 1993

and Clarke, 2002)). Despite significant progress in the field of research on training

over the past two decades very little empirical research in the area has been conducted

within banking sectors, while in IBTRA this would be the first systematic research of

its kind which could identify the factors influence the performance of the trainees.

The present study is therefore an attempt to evaluate the factors affecting the

performance of trainees in IBTRA foundation training programme. Therefore, the

following specific objectives are formulated to give proper direction to the study:

2.1 Training Research Objectives

It is important to first differentiate education from training. Education is mainly

theory based. It teaches a person to think. It doesn't teach a person what to do in

particular situations, but it gives the person tools to figure out what to do in any

situation. Training on the other hand is more specific. It attempts to give a person

skills needed to perform in a particular situation or complete certain tasks. It does not

cover every situation.

This distinction makes it very important that training address the particular tasks that

an employee must do. It must be closely tied into work situations and tasks. Training

ideally should be "custom-made" to fit into the employee's needs; not only his

personal learning needs, but the particular tasks that he needs to be able to do. The

most specific objectives of this research are:

1. To determine and describe different demographic factors of the trainees;

2. To explore the relationship between the performance and selected factors of

the trainees;

3. To identify the problems face by the IBTRA trainees and provide suggestions

to solve that problems.

2.2 Review of the Literature

The previous studies along with some of their findings are summarized and presented

here by different sub-sections.

2.2.1 Demographic Factors

Age, sex, marital status and educational level are demographic variables that may

affect individuals’ performance towards creativity training. Younger individuals may


12

see greater utility in creativity training since they have a relatively longer life span to

make use of what they have learned from training, compared to their older

counterparts. They are also more likely to be in the stage of searching for a career

direction and have invested less time and effort in any mode of thinking or area of

specialization. These conditions may prompt them to be more willing to accept

training and change. Research has shown that a person’s work experiences may push

up his/her creative performance (Simonton, 1992; Rossman, 1964). Lacking such an

advantage, younger individuals may see greater need in attending creativity training

courses to improve their creative competitiveness against the older counterparts.

Richardson (1986) conducted an experiment with 320 Jamaican adolescents to

determine gender differences in creative performance. The female sample was found

to fare significantly better than the male counterpart on five creativity tests. Torrence

(1962) have found that creative individuals are willing to take risks, curious, and

receptive to new ideas, Richardson’s (1986) research findings suggest that female

managers and executives may be more positive towards creativity training, compared

with the male counterparts.

There is no prior research on the relationship between marital status and creative

performance. However, we expect that singles are more positive towards creativity

training than married people. In general, married people can be expected to have

more financial and family responsibilities. These responsibilities may demand their

attention and reduce their willingness to spend time on attending training courses.

The responsibilities may also pose constraints on married individuals’ ability and

willingness to take “creative risks” since their dependents may be adversely affected

if they fail. These conditions point to a less favorable evaluation of creativity training

among married individuals compared with singles.

The relationship between education and creative performance is not strictly a linear

one. Simonton (1983) found that the relationship between education and creative

performance was curvilinear, resembling an inverted-U shape. Among the less

educated, an increase in education was accompanied by an increase in creative

performance. Among the more educated, in contrast, an increase in education led to a

decrease in creative performance. Simonton (1983) attributed this finding to the

narrow focus of university education, which tended to emphasize areas of

specialization. In the present study, we subscribe to the assertion that tertiary

education tends to be specialized and may erode individuals’ orientation towards

creative thinking. Higher educated individuals may be less positive towards creativity

training since it may be less apparent to them that such training will add to their core

technical competency.


2.2.2 Job Factors

Organizational tenure, job nature, organizational position, teamwork, managerial

style, and work performance are job-related factors that may affect individuals’

performance towards creativity training. With respect to organizational tenure, we

expect that the longer an individual stays in a company, the more he/she will be

trapped in the status quo, prompting them to conform to prevailing practices and

norms. As such, the motivation to be creative and imaginative should reduce with an

increase in organizational tenure. Further, in his/her initial years with the company,

the employee is likely to be in the learning stage. He/she is likely to be more willing

to go for courses that will improve his/her chances of promotion. In the later years,

however, the perceived chance of moving up may diminish, motivating the employee

to strive for job security and avoid risk taking.

In terms of job nature, we expect that individual’s nature of jobs that are subject to

greater pressures from the top in terms of initiative, imagination, and creativity will

be more likely to be positive towards creativity training. Sales and marketing

positions, in particular, have been widely regarded to require a high degree of

creativity and responsiveness to customers’ needs (Amabile, 1988).

This is because sales and marketing personnel have to deal with many customers, in

particular those who have bought or will buy the company’s products or services.

These customers may exert a great deal of demand on the company for satisfactory

value in return for their purchases. Further, top managers may pay more attention to

the performance of sales and marketing personnel since they deal directly with

customers, who provide the bulk of corporate revenues, The compelling need to think

creatively and manage diverse customer service situations therefore may cause sales

and marketing managers and executives to be more receptive to creativity training,

compared with incumbents of other jobs, such as those in finance, human resource,

and administration. Note that this assertion is based on the greater pressures for

creative performance on sales and marketing personnel, but does not rule out the

possible need for different styles of creativity in non-sales and non-marketing

occupations.

Roach (1988) put a sample of 420 organizational decision makers through a series of

creativity tests and found that higher level decision makers were more creative than

their lower level counterparts. Higher level managers tend to make more strategic

decisions and steer the course of the organization. The path-finding decisions

involved are often unique and require decision makers to come up new and untried

solutions. The ability to think creatively thus constitutes an important value-added


14

activity in higher level managers’ job. Lower level managers, on the other hand, may

tend to focus on the execution of higher-level decisions and engage themselves in

relatively more routinized decisions. Facing the need for creative thinking, higher

level managers should be more receptive to creativity training compared with lower

level managers.

Several studies have shown that individuals might require independence and

autonomy to achieve creative performance (Whiting, 1988; Yamada, 1991). Yamada

(1991) has found that teamwork may be an obstacle to creativity. Working in a team

requires that members conform to group norms in order to achieve results and group

longevity, which may limit their creative behavior. Supported with extensive

empirical evidence, however, Kirton’s (1944) research has shown that individuals

may differ in their creative style. While creative adaptors may prefer to work under a

certain level of structure and look for solutions within the current paradigm, creative

innovators may prefer to look beyond the current paradigm and work with little

regard to existing norms or structure. From this perspective, the fact that an individual

is engaged in teamwork does not necessary point to an across-the-board reduction in

creativity, as teamwork may generate a better condition for creative adaptors, but a

less desirable condition for creative innovators. Nevertheless, to the extent that

teamwork exposes the individual to more criticism if he/she fails, or creates greater

pressures on the individual to produce only ideas that will succeed, it may discourage

some creative behavior from taking place. Individuals who try to come up with

creative ideas, only to find themselves scrutinized and upset by other group members,

may reduce their creative efforts to some extent. Teamwork thus may lead to a loss of

motivation for creative thinking on the part of individuals through unconstructive

social interactions or experiences.

In general, a manager can adopt either an authoritative or a participative managerial

style. The authoritative style is associated with emphasis on managerial prerogatives,

whereas the participative style is associated with employee involvement (Lamming &

Bessant, 1988). Plunkett (1990) recently found that there was a positive correlation

between participation and creativity. For individuals using the participative

managerial style, they were more willing to accept the ideas of other people and were

also more open to fresh perspectives. Since creativity training encourages free flow of

ideas and open discussion, participative managerial style should be associated with a

more positive attitude towards creativity training.

Torrance (1962) compiled a list of characteristics from several studies to differentiate

highly creative individuals from the less creative counterparts. Individuals who were


more creative were found to possess higher levels of desire to excel, determination,

persistence, self-confidence, and need for goal attainment. Stein (1991) also found a

strong orientation towards achievement among creative people. Given that creative

individuals are goal achievers and are determined to perform well on the job, there

should be a positive linkage between performance and creativity. Further, high

performing employees may have attained some leverage against the lower performing

counterparts by virtue of their good performance. They may have more buffers for

risk taking and therefore are more willing to subject themselves to making creative

decisions. This willingness may make higher performers more positive towards

creativity training.

Finally, when the employee feels satisfied on the job, he/she may be more or less

willing to go for creativity training. For employees with high need for growth and

challenge, the attainment of satisfaction on the existing job may propel them to seek

new challenges and growth opportunities, which will make them more positive about

creativity training (Stein, 1991). Conversely, for employees with low growth needs,

their satisfaction with the status quo may lead them to avoid changes and see

creativity training in less positive light. We expect that managers and executives

possess high growth need, which means that job satisfaction should make them more

positive towards creativity training.

2.2.3 Factors Affect the Job Training

If any company is looking to hire new employees, it probably needs to train them in

some capacity. All businesses want to have the greatest employees ever, and they

want to make sure that they have the tools to be successful. However, training isn't

always the greatest, nor does it teach everyone the same. What are some factors that

can affect how employees are trained?

The first factor is the time factor. I have been with companies that have spent multiple

weeks training me and getting me ready for the job that I needed to do. Others have

literally just thrown me in after a couple of hours and expected me to know what I

was doing. It is safe to say that I did better when given more time to train and get

comfortable with what was going on.

Another factor is how much money a company has to train its employees. Some

companies have a small training budget, or don't incorporate training hours into the

overall payroll cost. The companies that don't do this need to train employees as

quickly as possible, and they have to rely on trainees to do the job because they can't

waste payroll by scheduling new employees.


16

The ability of those doing the training has an impact on the overall quality of training.

If the trainer isn't very patient, isn't very knowledgeable or just doesn't care, it can be

hard for a new hire to really learn what is going on. It seems odd that a company

would hire poor trainers, but not everyone can be a good teacher, or is willing to be a

good teacher. This can set even a good employee back when they start.

The ability of the employee is just as important in the training process. A new hire

that doesn't take training seriously is going to be hampered when they start working

for real. It is important that the employee take the process seriously and make sure

that they are asking questions and taking notes on how things are done.

Training is so important in the development and retention of good employees. There

is so much that can go wrong that it is important that a good training routine is

established to make sure that it goes smoothly for everyone involved. There is too

much money at stake for a company to not take training its employees seriously.

3. Methodology

The methodology of the study along-with sources of data and analytical techniques

are presented in this section.

3.1 Sources of data

This empirical analysis was based on cross sectional data which was directly

collected interviewing the probationary officers coming to the foundation training in

different batches in the year 2008. Participants who took 1-month foundation training

course at IBTRA constitute the population for the present study. A total of 123

foundation officers of 5 different but consecutive batches were taken in to study and a

pre-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used for collecting the data from the

selected respondent. At the beginning of the interview, trainees was approached and

informed that the research was for the betterment of IBBL and its trainees. It was

hoped that the report would lead to suggestions to the recruiting authority of the bank

for proper selection of the probation officers. It was also hoped that this research

would help resolving the problems facing by the trainees in IBTRA. This introduction

of the researcher helped to gain the trainees confidence, and therefore aided the

collection of reasonably accurate information.

The impact of age, education, academic background, university, year of schooling of

the probation officers of the foundation trainings were the major interest. So, all the

foundation trainees of IBTRA who received training during the study period were


interviewed. The data were collected by the researcher himself and the collected data

were checked, and then coded and entered in to the SPSS (Statistical Package for

Social Scientists), Version 12.

The data were then analyzed in accordance with the objectives of the study. The

conventional tabular method was used in describing the training status and different

characteristics of the trainees. The responses were expressed in terms of

percentage/frequencies. Besides, the collected data were analyzed economically,

statistically and econometrically. In order to explore the relationship between the

concerned variables, multiple regressions was used following Gomez and Gomez

(1983) to determine the contribution of the variables to the performance of the

trainees. Descriptive statistics such as percentage, range and mean were also used to

describe the level and comparison of different parameters of the trainees.

3.2 Analytical frame work

The major concern of this study was to assess the impact of demographic factors of

the trainees on their performance so their training examination results were collected

from the co-ordinators of the respective courses. The results were the cumulative

figures of all the examination like class test, mid-term test, assignment, presentation

and class performance. All the collected data were analysed and the conventional

tabular method was used in describing the demographic factors of the foundation

trainees of the probation officers. The information was expressed in terms of

percentage/frequencies. Besides, in order to test the hypothesis and to meet up the

objectives, the collected data were analyzed economically, statistically and

econometrically.

3.3 Model Specification

The following multiple regression model was used to estimate the influence of

different demographic factors of the trainees on their performance:

ij

n

jijiij

UXY ++= ∑=1

0βα ……………………. (1)

Where,

Y = Performance of the Trainees

=ijX a vector of exogenous characteristics (such as age or education of the trainees)


18

β and δ unknown parameters have to be estimated

ijU error component in the equation

3.3.1 Measurement of the Dependent Variable

Performance of the trainees was the dependent variable of this study, which was

evaluated on the basis of the examination score of individual trainee. In other words,

the performance of the trainees was measured on the basis of knowledge and skill

gained on the given subject matter as a result of the training. The efficiency of a

trainee was judged or measured through taking formal written and oral examinations,

assignment and field trip report. The trainees were also judged on the basis of some

extra-curricular activities like, book review, group discussion, problem based

assignment, Quran recitation, dars programme etc,.

The training co-ordination authority evaluated the performance of the trainees using

formal methods. There were different criteria used in scoring the overall performance

of a trainee. Total marks were distributed among these criteria and different per cent

of marks were taken out of the total marks. A participant could obtain 0 to 100

depending on the extent of answer he could correctly provide. Training performance

was determined by summing up their scores for all the criteria rated accordingly.

3.3.2 Selection of Independent Variables

Ten different characteristics of the trainees were selected as independent variables of

the study, which were Marital Status, Participant’s attendance, Age, Relevancy of

education with Job, Merit, Years of Schooling and academic background of the

trainees.

Age was measured by the number of years since the birth of the respondent. Sex was

male or female. Marital status was defined as whether the respondent was single or

married. Educational level was the highest level of accredited education the

respondent had attained. Four levels of education were detected: Secondary (junior

high) or below, Higher secondary (senior high or 2-year college), university degree,

and Masters’ degree or higher.

Service tenure was measured as the number of months the respondent had spent

working in the present company. Participant’s total attendance was counted from the

class attendance register. Relevancy of education with the job was defined with the

academic degrees which are relevant with the banking nature of job like, BBA, MBA,

Economics, Banking, Finance, Accounting and Marketing. Participants merit was


also calculated converting their academic results (grade point/division/class) in to

numeric value (like, first class=3, second class=2). Academic field/area of the study

was divided in to three main groups like, absolute general education, absolute

madrasa education (Islamic educational institution) and mix education (part of the

study was in madrasa and part of the study was in general educational institution).

4. Results and Discussion

This empirical analysis was based on cross sectional data which was directly

collected interviewing the foundation trainees in different batches in the study period.

The data were analyzed using tabular method and results were presented in absolute

and percentage form. Regression results are also presented in this section.

4.1 Descriptive Statistics of the Variables

This study considered the demographic factors of the selected trainees and regressed

with their performance of the foundation training. The descriptive statistics of the

variables which have been considered in to analysis are summarized and presented in

Table 4.1. Results revealed that 100 per cent of the sampled trainees were male.

Majority of the trainees were unmarried (72%) i.e., only 28 per cent trainees were

married. More than 74 per cent of the trainees received general education throughout

their schooling, while 20 per cent of the trainees had mixed educational background

i.e., some levels of schooling was completed from general educational institution

while rest of the levels were completed from Madrasha. Forty four per cent of the

trainees were graduated from Dhaka University while rest were from other different

public, private and National universities.

Trainee’s academic results show that all most 100 per cent of the trainees had first

class in SSC level where 86 per cent had first class in their HSC level. But, only 14

per cent of the trainees had first class in their graduation while 56 parentages of them

had first class in master’s level which implies that percentages of first class in masters

level was comparatively more than graduation level. Information on educational

disciplines shows that in SSC level 72 per cent trainees had science background

while, it was 57 per cent in HSC. But, only 3 per cent had commerce background in

SSC level and 10 per cent in HSC level. Educational discipline data also show that

only 18 per cent of the trainees had banking related education (like, economics,

finance, accounting, marketing and BBA) in graduation level. While, the same was 19

per cent in Master’s level which imply that most of the probationary officers were

from non-banking discipline. Results also show that this foundation training was the

first training for 79 per cent trainees. Only 21 per cent trainees had previous training


20

receiving experience of them 15 per cent trainees had banking related training

experience that is they had been serving in different banks before joining IBBL as

probationary officer.

Table 4.1: Descriptive Statistics of the Variables

Sl

No Variable Frequency

Per

cent

Male 123 100 1 Gender

Female 00 0

Single 89 72.4 2 Marital Status

Married 34 27.6

Absolute general Background 91 73.98

Mixing Background 24 19.51 3 Education

Absolute Madrasa Background 08 6.51

Dhaka University 54 43.90 4

Graduation

University Other University 69 56.10

Dhaka University 50 40.65 5

Masters

University Other University 73 59.35

First Class 122 99.19 SSC

Second Class 01 0.81

First Class 106 86.18 HSC


First Class 35 28.46 Graduation


First Class 56 47.06

6 Result

Masters Second Class 63 52.94

Science 89 72.36

Humanities 30 24.39 SSC

Commerce 04 3.25

Science 71 57.72

Humanities 39 31.71 HSC

Commerce 13 10.57

Bank Related

Subjects 22 17.89

Graduation

Other Subjects 101 82.11

Bank Related

Subjects 23 18.70

7 Discipline

Masters

Other Subjects 100 81.30

Bank Related Training 19 15.45

Other types of training 07 5.69 8 Training

No training received 97 78.86


4.2 Reason of Joining at IBBL

The study also considered the reason for joining IBBL and found that 77 per cent of

employee said that they have joined in IBBL as they liked to work in Islamic banking

job. While, 18 per cent employees said that they needed a job and they got in IBBL

and hence joined in there. Although not significant in number, but 3 per cent of the

employees said they liked to be a banker and they got it in IBBL, hence joined in

here.

Table 4.2: The Reasons for joining IBBL

Reasons Frequency Percent

Needed a job 22 17.89

Like any banking job 4 03.25

Like Islami Banking Job 95 77.24

It has attractive salary 1 00.81

Other reason 1 00.81

Total 123 100.00

4.3 Nature of Works of the Trainees at IBBL

The study was on the probationary officers who attended for foundation trainings in

IBTRA. So, all the probationary officers were newly recruited and their service

period in the bank was around six months. They were asked about their working desk

which were summarized and presented in the Table 4.3. Results revealed that

majority (60 %) of the probationary officers were working in general banking desk

which was very likely as the needed to learn general banking to know banking before

they work in any specialized desk. Although, some percentages of the probationary

officers had been working in investment (16 %) and foreign exchange (15 %) desk

and they were doing very introductory works in those desk. Table also shows that 4

per cent of the trainees had been working in computer section in their respective

branches.

Table 4.3: Nature of work at IBBL

Nature of work Frequency Percent

General Banking 74 60.16

Investment 20 16.26

Foreign Exchange 18 14.63

Others 6 04.88

Computer Section 5 04.07

Total 123 100.00


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4.4 Trainees Comments on the Length of Training

The trainees were also asked about the length of the training that is whether the one

month training duration was sufficient. Their response revealed that 47 per cent of the

trainees mentioned that the duration was short for foundation training of IBBL, while

46 per cent trainees said that duration was optimum. On the contrary, 7 per cent

trainees mentioned that it was lengthy.

Table 4.4: Trainees comment about the duration of training

Comments Frequency Percent

Lengthy 8 06.50

Optimum 49 39.84

Short 66 55.65

Total 123 100.00

4.5 Qualities of the Class Presentation

The qualities of class presentation of the resource speakers were also asked to the

trainees and 69 per cent of the trainees said that it was good while, 25 per cent of

them opined it was excellent. On the contrary, 6 per cent of the trainees said that the

resource speaker’s class presentation was just moderate.

Table 4.5: Trainers class presentation quality


Excellent 30 24.39

Good 85 69.11

Moderate 8 06.50

Total 123 100.00

4.6 Qualities of the Class Communication

The class communication skill of the resource speakers were also evaluated asking

the trainees and more than 71 per cent of the trainees mentioned that it was good

while, 20 per cent of them opined it was excellent. On the contrary, only 8 per cent of

the trainees said that the resource speaker’s communication skill was moderate.

Table 4.6: Trainers class communicativeness


Excellent 25 20.33

Good 88 71.54

Moderate 10 08.13

Total 123 100.00


4.7 Qualities of the Class Relevancy

The qualities of classes were also assessed asking them about the relevancy of the

lecture with the subjects and 57 per cent of the trainees said it was moderately

relevant while, 42 per cent mentioned that it was quite relevant. On the contrary, only

one per cent of the trainees said that the resource speaker’s lecture material was not

relevant with the topics.

Table 4.7: Relevancy of the lecture


Quite Relevant 52 42.28

Moderately Relevant 70 56.91

Not Relevant 01 00.81

Total 123 100.00

4.8 Different Physical Facilities of IBTRA

Trainee’s comments on different physical facilities of IBTRA were also collected and

summarized in Table 4.8.

Table 4.8: Comments on various facilities provided by IBTRA

Types Comments Frequency Percent

Very Good 38 30.89

Good 84 68.29 Hostel

Not Good 01 00.81

Very Good 44 35.77 Dining

Good 79 64.23

Very Good 64 52.03

Good 58 47.15 Mosque

Not Good 01 00.81

Very Good 61 49.59

Good 61 49.59 Class Room

Not Good 01 00.81

Very Good 86 69.92

Good 36 29.27 Electricity Supply

Not Good 01 00.81

Very Good 32 26.02

Good 70 56.91 Phone Facilities

Not Good 19 15.45

Very Good 08 06.50

Good 84 68.29 Other

Not Good 11 08.94


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Results revealed that more than 68 per cent of the trainees mentioned that hostel

facilities of IBTRA were good but not up to the mark, while 31 per cent mentioned

that it was very good. On the contrary, only a negligible per cent of the trainees

mentioned that it was not good. About the standard of dining facilities more than 64

per cent trainees mentioned that it was good but could be improved while, 36 per cent

of them mentioned it was up to the mark. IBTRA has its own prayer room and

majority of the trainees mentioned that in context of IBTRA this facility was very

good while, 47 per cent mentioned that it was okay but not up to the mark i.e.

facilities can be improved. About class room standard 50 per cent of the trainees

mentioned it was very good while, rest of the 50 per cent mentioned that it was okay

but could be better. IBTRA has its own generator to provide electricity when there

was power cut. So, most of the trainees (70 per cent) were happy with the power

supply. IBTRA has not got any special phone facility for the trainees to contact with

their respective branch and their families hence most of the trainees (57 per cent)

expressed their dissatisfaction in this aspect. The trainees who have not had their own

mobile were faced problem to make contact with their office and families. Most of

the other physical facilities of IBTRA were good but not up to the mark although 9

per cent of the trainees mentioned that it was below standard.

4.9 Different Library Facilities of IBTRA

Library is an important component for the trainees to acquire knowledge. Therefore,

IBTRA has developed its own library where there are a lot of books and journals for

the trainees and faculties.

Table 4.9: Comments stated by the Trainees about the Library of IBTRA

Items Comments Frequency Percent

Sufficient 100 81.30 Books and Journal

Not Sufficient 23 18.70

Very Good 46 37.40

Good 74 60.16 Services

Not Good 03 02.44

Very Good 45 36.59

Good 74 60.16 Furniture and decoration

Not Good 04 03.25

Most of the trainees (81 per cent) mentioned that available books and journals in the

library were sufficient while, a small (19) percentage of the trainees mentioned that

these were not sufficient to meet their requirement so they suggested for collecting

more books and journals. Regarding library services most of the trainees mentioned

that it was okay but not up to the standard while, 37 per cent of them were very happy


with the services library provides. On the contrary, only 2 per cent of them were not

happy with library services. About decoration and furniture fixture of the library only

37 per cent of the trainees expressed their full satisfaction while, majority (60 per

cent) of the trainees opined their moderate satisfaction but mentioned that this

facilities should be upgraded.

4.10 Different Recreational Facilities of IBTRA

IBTRA is a residential training institution, where almost 75 per cent trainees stayed

overnight in the dormitory so during the leisure period recreation is essential to

acquire knowledge with full satisfaction. But, these facilities were very limited so,

most of the trainees mentioned that staying IBTRA was very boring which hampered

their knowledge gaining progress. Specially, the foundation trainees who

continuously stayed one month in the dormitory become bored and monotonous

without enough recreation facilities. Results show that 40 per cent of the trainees

were suggested to provide some indoor games facility, which was not that costly and

does not take that space to arrange, they mentioned.

Table 4.10: Suggestion stated by the trainees about recreation facilities

Items Frequency Per cent

Arrange indoor games 61 56.5

Arrange a gymnasium for exercise facilities 10 9.3

Arrange Cultural Program 19 17.6

Provide a common room & guest room 5 4.6

Arrange Educational tour & increase field visits 4 3.7

Other facilities 9 8.3

Total 108 100.0

A good percentage of trainees also suggested organizing cultural program so that they

can take part of it and which makes their staying in IBTRA livelier and enjoyable.

Some of the trainees also suggested providing computer facilities with internet

connection which also would act as computer training and as well as help them to get

up-to-date news and knowledge and also will help them to pass their ideal time.

Although not significant, but some percentages of trainees suggested to organize

more field visits and educational tours.

4.11 Medical Facilities for the Trainees

IBTRA also provide treatment and medication facilities for the trainees so they were

asked if the facilities were sufficient and satisfactory. More than 46 per cent trainees

said that these facilities were sufficient and timely while, 40 per cent of them

mentioned that these were sufficient but not timely. Although, 14 per cent of them did


26

not need any medication hence did not make any comment on it. Regarding this issue

some trainees suggested that IBTRA should appoint at least one per-time doctor and

there should be a medical room with required first aid facilities.

Table 4.11: Comments stated by the trainees about medication facilities


Sufficient and Timely 57 46.34

Sufficient but not timely 49 39.84

Not Applicable 17 13.82

Total 123 100.00

Table 4.12: Trainees suggestions for better medication facilities

Suggestions Frequency

A health officer or doctor should be appointed 8

A specific medical room with all facilities are required 6

4.12 Field Trips Organizes for the Trainees

IBTRA organizes a field trip for each batch of the foundation trainees which was very

much enjoyable, they mentioned. This field trip is also a learning process for them as

they were taken to visit an investment project of IBBL so they were able to acquire

practical experience on their investment process.

Table 4.12: Comments stated by the trainees about selecting the spot of the field visit

Comments Frequency Per cent

The place is very good 78 66.10

Not very good or sufficient 7 5.93

Poor management system & poor transport system 24 20.34

Need more time for the tour 4 3.39

Study tour brings benefits 5 4.24

Total 118 100.00

The trainees were also asked their comments on this field visit program and

summarized their comments in Table 4.13. Trainees mentioned that spot/site selection

was very good but management and transportation systems were very poor. Although

a small percentages of the trainees opined that even though site selection was not

good enough, while, some of them suggested making the program longer to make the

program more effective.


4.13 IBTRA Officials Cooperation with the Trainees

The trainees stayed in IBTRA dormitory more than a month so the cooperation of the

officials was very much needed. Therefore, they were asked about their comments on

cooperation of the IBTRA officials. There comments in this regard were summarized

and presented in Table 4.16. Results shows that more than 50 per cent of the trainees

mentioned that official’s cooperation were good but could be better. While, 46 per

cent of them opined it was good enough. Only a small percentage of them were not

happy with cooperation IBTRA officials and they expected more cooperation for

making the training more success.

Table 4.13: Trainees comments about the cooperation of IBTRA officials


Very Good 57 46.34

Good 62 50.41

Not Good 4 3.25

Total 123 100.00

4.14 Some Special Features of IBTRA

Some of the trainees also appreciated the Darse and Quran teaching program of

IBTRA and some of them also appreciated different motivational programs towards

Islam. Co-ordinators role about organizing courses and their brotherly cooperation

make the course lively, mentioned some of the trainees. Besides, having such a big

library with different types of books, journals and magazines were appreciated by a

good percentage of the trainees.

4.15 Different Demographic Factors of the Trainees

Trainee’s demographic factors were collected and summarized in Table 4.17. Results

revealed that the average age of the trainees were 27.58 while, the highest age was 31

and lowest was 24 years which implies that the age variations amongst the trainees

were not significant. Most of the trainees were attended the class regularly and the

average attended more than 28 days classes out of 30 days, i.e., majority of the

participants were attended in the class regularly although a few of them had missed

some classes. Trainees were regularly stayed in IBTRA dormitory although some

trainees who have residence in the capital had stayed in their home at night but their

numbers were not that many.

Some more demographic factors are also presented in Table 4.18. Results show that

more than 72 per cent trainees were married. More than 81 per cent of the trainees


28

were graduated from non-banking academic areas and the percentage was same in

Masters Level. On the other hand, 74 percentages of the trainees were from absolute

general background while, 20 percentage of the trainees had started their study in

madrasa but latter completed graduation and masters from general educational

institution. Although most of the trainees have freshly joined in IBBL i.e., they have

not had any job before joining IBBL but a few (6.5 %) of them had previous banking

job and 7.25 per cent of them had other non-banking job experience. As most of the

trainees had freshly joined in IBBL hence they have not had any previous training

experiences but a few of the trainees who had job before had received some banking

and non-banking trainings.

Table 4.15: Participants performance in the training course

Variables Unit Mean Stand. Dev. Minimum Maximum

Age Year 27.58 01.74 24 31

Attendance in the Class days 28.30 08.24 24 30

Days of staying at IBTRA days 26.30 08.24 00 32

Obtained Marks Marks 74.13 05.90 60 89

Table 4.16: Different demographic factors of the trainees

Statistics Items Frequency Percent

Unmarried 89 72.36 Marital Status

Married 34 27.64

Non Banking Subjects 100 81.30 Graduation Major

Subjects1 Banking Subjects 23 18.70

General Subjects 100 81.30 Graduation Major

Subjects2 Islamic Subjects 23 18.70

Absolute general Background 91 73.98

Mixed Background 24 19.51 Academic Background

Absolute Madrasa Background 8 6.50

Banking 8 6.50 Job Experience

Others 9 7.25

Banking 4 3.25 Previous Training

Received Others 6 4.75

4.16 Impact of Demographic Factors on Trainees Performance

The performance of the trainees was evaluated following the prescribed assessment

procedures and explained it in Section 3.3.1. To explain the factors which influenced

the estimated performance of the trainees some factors were regressed with possible

determining factors, which already have defined in Section 4.17. The estimated


performance of the trainees was the dependent variable. While, the determining

factors were Marital Status, Participant’s total attendance, Age, Academic Relevancy

with the Job, Merit, Years of Schooling and academic background of the trainees.

The OLS estimates of these explanatory variables are reported in Table 4.16. The

regression results revealed that there are a few significant correlations coefficient and,

in all cases, the degree is low, which is common in this kind of residual analysis

(Croppenstedt and Demeke, 1997). In spite of this, an analysis was being conducted

assuming that the insignificance of trainee’s characteristics is caused by

multicollinearity. However, the results did not suggest strong collinearity. Therefore,

it was assumed that the insignificance might be because the range of variation of

efficiency was very small.

The sign of age was negative although not significant which implies that the trainees

having younger age had performed better than those were having comparatively

higher age. The reason could be that the trainees who were higher aged had to remain

unemployed for some times meaning that they were comparatively less talent than the

younger’s who got job immediately after completing their education. Besides, these

trainees remain unemployed for some times hence were remained out of academic

touch which might have hampered them to concentrate to the academic activities.

Kauko (2009) also support that age and education have strong effects on

performance. La Voie and Light; Verhaeghen, et al., (1993) mentioned that memory

functioning decreases with advancing age. Across many studies, the age difference

between younger and older adults in recall and recognition from episodic memory is

about one standard deviation.

The sign of marital status was negative, although not significant, meaning that the

trainees who were married had comparatively poor performance then those were

single. Reason could be that the married trainees stayed IBTRA leaving their family

at back home so, they had to remain in tension for them hence may not properly

concentrated on their training activities. Besides, some of them had to go back home

on weekend to see their family hence had hampered their academic activities.

The coefficient of the participant’s total attendance in the training class was positive

which was very likely as those who missed the classes could not cover it later which

caused worse performance in the assessment. Although the coefficient was not

significant this could be because the variation of the class attendance amongst the

trainees was not that significant.

The sign of the academic relevancy with the nature of work was significantly positive

which was very likely as those students had studied in banking related subjects like,


30

economics, finance, marketing, accounting, and BBA & MBA they supposed to

perform better in banking foundation training than who were from non-banking

discipline.

Trainee’s academic merit was also estimated converting the class/CGPA of their

previous all academic background. This variable was regressed with their training

performance. Regression results show the positive sign which implies that those

trainees performed better in their academic examination had performed better in their

foundation training. This regression result is not unlikely as their academic results

were the indicators of their talent and sincerity so those trainees were meritorious and

sincere in their study hence performed better.

Trainee’s year of schooling variable also indicated positive sign which was not even

unlikely as those trainees completed their four years honours course along with

master degrees would performed better than those who completed three years honours

course and even did not complete masters or any higher degree.

Table 4.17: Impact of demographic factors on the trainee’s performance

Coefficients t Sig. Variables

B Std. Error

(Constant) 112.145 24.573 4.564 0.000

Age -0.239 0.321 -0.746 0.457

Marital Status -2.087 1.240 -1.683 0.095

Participant’s total attendance 0.216 0.149 1.449 0.150

Academic Relevancy with the Job 0.073 1.396 2.152 0.050

Merit 0.286 0.526 0.543 0.588

Years Of Schooling 1.912 1.273 1.502 0.136

General Background over Mix 1.627 1.393 1.168 0.245

Mix over Madrasa Background 0.961 2.466 0.390 0.697

a Dependent Variable: Marks

The impact of the educational field like, general education, Madrasa education and

mix-education (like, part of the education is in general institution and partly in

Madrasha) on their training performance were also taken into assessment. The

regression results revealed that the sign of the general education variable over the

mix-education was positive which implies that those trainees had come from general

education was performed better than those from mix background. On the other hand,

the mix education variable over absolute madrasa back ground was also positive

which implies that the trainees come from mix background had performed in the

training assessment than those were from absolute madrasa background.


It can be stated that the total attendance in the training, academic relevancy with the

job, year of schooling and merit had positive influence on the participants training.

Besides, the age and marital status of the trainees had negative influence on their

training performance. Results also show that the sign of all the variables were

plausible.

5. Summary Conclusion and Recommendations

Training is an integral part of every company's agenda. Because of the implications of

training, it is important to have training that is effective. It has been observed from

the very beginning that the performance of the trainees varies significantly. It

apparently appears that numerous human factors were responsible for this kind of

variation in training performances. Therefore, this empirical research on training was

undertaken to evaluate the factors affecting the performance of trainees in IBTRA

foundation training programme.

This empirical analysis was based on cross sectional data which were directly

collected interviewing the probationary officers came to the foundation training in

different batches in 2008. A total of 123 foundation officers of 5 different but

consecutive batches were taken in to study and a pre-structured and pretested

questionnaire was used for collecting the data from the selected respondent.

Results revealed that 100 per cent of the trainees were male and most of them were

unmarried. Study shows that 74 per cent of the trainees received general education

throughout their schooling while; a few of the trainees were also from Madrasha

background. Forty four per cent of the trainees were graduated from Dhaka

University while rest were from other different public, private and National

universities. All most 100 per cent of the trainees had first class in SSC level while it

was 86 per cent in their HSC level. Number of first class was only for 14 per cent in

their graduation while it was 56 parentages in master’s level which implies that

percentages of first class in masters level was comparatively more than graduation

level.

Only 18 per cent of the trainees had banking related education (like, economics,

finance, accounting, marketing, BBA and MBA) in graduation level. While, the same

was 19 per cent in Master’s level which imply that most of the probationary officers

were from non-banking discipline. Results also show that this foundation training was

the first in-service training in their life for 79 per cent trainees. Only 21 per cent

trainees had previous in-service training receiving experience and of them 15 per cent

trainees had banking related training experience that is they had been serving

different banks before joining IBBL as probationary officer.


32

Of the probationary officers’ 77 per cent had expressed their interest of joining Islami

Bank Bangladesh Limited. Most of the trainees had been working in general banking

desk. More than 85 per cent of the trainees opined their satisfaction about the

resource speaker’s lecture presentation qualities, communication skill and lecture

relevancy with the subject. Majority of the trainees were also happy with the physical

facilities of the training academy like, class room, library, dinning and prayer room

although they were not happy with recreation facilities of IBTRA. They mentioned

that as an academy there should have been game room, common room and TV room

with dish connection. They also suggested providing computer facilities with internet

access for the trainees. Regarding trainee’s medication facilities they mentioned that

it was sufficient but not timely so they suggested for part-time Doctors in IBTRA

during training period. Trainees also mentioned some minor problems they faced

during the training period and suggested to solve them. The trainees, on average, have

got 74 per cent number in their assessment with a range of 60 to 89 percent.

The regression results reveal that there were a few variables had significant impact

on their performance and, in all cases, the degree were low, which was common in

this kind of residual analysis. The results showed that the sign of the age and marital

status variables were negative which was plausible on the other hand the sign of the

education, academic back ground, merit, academic relevancy with the job were

positive which were very likely. Although, the sign of the most of the variables were

plausible but a few of them were significant which might be because the range of

variation of results was very small.

Recommendations

Most of the resources speakers’ communication, presentation and lecture relevancy

with subjects matter were good but still there was scope to improve them. So, the

speakers may be suggested to make their lecture more communicative and relevant

with the subject matter of the training. The physical facilities and logistic supports of

IBTRA should be improved to make the training more effective for the trainees.

Specially, recreation facilities in IBTRA has to be developed so that staying in the

academy do not become monotonous for the trainees as this monotony hampers the

effectiveness of the training. Special care should be taken to the married trainees so

that they can leave their family back home undisturbed and concentrate their mind to

the trainings. Also care should be taken to them so that they don’t need to go home

during weekend to take care their family; instead they can concentrate on their home

task during the weekend. The trainees who were comparatively senior did not

performed well which might be because they remained away from the study for some

years before they joined in service; hence it took time to bring back their habit to


concentrate on the study. So, special care should be taken for them so that they can

get their study habit back and concentrated on the trainings. Besides, comparatively

younger candidates may be chosen for recruitment. The trainees who were from non-

banking academic discipline did not perform well compare to the officers who were

academically from banking discipline. This could be because some of the training

classes were very similar with their academic classes so that they could easily follow

these lectures but the trainees from non-banking discipline could not follow them

properly and also could not keep pace with their counterpart. So, separate foundation

training may be arranged for the trainees who were from non-banking academic

discipline. Besides, special accounting and finance related training program can be

arranged for the trainees who were from non-banking discipline. Emphasis might also

be given to recruit the candidates who are from banking discipline in banking

recruitment policy. The trainees who are more meritorious (in terms of academic

results) had performed comparatively better than their counterparts. So, along with

the written and viva results, emphasis should also be given to the candidate’s

academic results for selecting the probationary officers for the bank.

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