A Quantitative Study on Push, Pull and Personal Factors Affecting Employees’ Turnover Intentions: A Case of Nationalized Commercial Banks (NCBs) in Bangladesh

‘Employee turnover’ as a term is widely discussed subject matter in business sphere. Organizations nowadays spend a lot of money to retain their valuable employees. But still employees leave their organizations and join new ones. There are various reasons for which employees leave their jobs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship among the factors and their contributions in turnover intentions of employees of NCBs in Bangladesh. A 5 point Likert scale format questionnaire was used to collect primary data. A total of 175 questionnaires were distributed to the employees of NCBs, of which 152 were found flawless to yield a response rate of almost 87%. A pilot study was conducted to test the questionnaire. The questionnaire had a Cronbach alpha coefficient of α = 0.936 suggesting that the instrument was reliable. Different factors i.e. personal, pull and push factors were considered as independent variables whereas the dependent variable was employees’ turnover intentions. There were number of facets for every independent variable. Pearson Correlation was used to find out the relationship between dependent and independent variables. On the other hand, Regression tests were applied to determine the contribution of each independent variable in employees’ turnover intentions. The results show that there is strong statistical positive correlation between dependent and independent variables. Besides this, all the factors have significant contributions in employees’ turnover intentions. However, the most significant factor is the push factors (30.1% contributions) due to which employees intend to quit a job. Finally it is recommended that NCBs can give more emphasis on the push factors followed by pull factors and lastly personal factors to retain their valuable employees. Keywords: Employee Turnover, NCBs, Tacit Knowledge, Personal Factors, Pull Factors, Push Factors

An Emperical Study on Human Resource Management practices of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh

Small and medium enterprises are playing a vital role for developing the economy of a nation as they play an essential role in poverty reduction through employment generation. So it is essential for SMEs to take human resources more seriously in this day and age as the good practice of HRM will maintain and attract highly qualified personnel therefore placing the organization at a competitive advantage. The aim of this study is to analyze the human resources practices of SMEs in Bangladesh. A sample of 160 respondents has been selected conveniently from Barisal City in Bangladesh to conduct this study. SPSS has been used to analyze collected data for descriptive statistics, t test, ANOVA, testing hypotheses and other general analysis. The result reveals that most of the enterprises are male oriented and educational level of 71.8% employees are up to SSC. In recruitment process, employers are relying on experienced but acquainted sources and 86.9% SMEs do not arrange any kinds of test for selection as well as 65.6% think that there is no necessity of training to perform their job. About 94.3% employees are working more than 8 hours in a day but among them only 15.60% get overtime facilities and 64.90% do not get overtime payment. But favorable colleagues’ behavior, overall job satisfaction, supervisor’s well behavior and convenient working environment are found as good human resource practices in SMEs. Study also found some drawbacks of the enterprises like lack of quality and expansion of product line, incapable of retaining skilled employees, to increase of investment, absence of modern technology, lack of convenient working environment and to increase of size and space of the organizations. Keywords: HRM, SME, Employees, SPS

DECIPHERING THE PHARMACOLOGICAL INSIGHTS OF FRACTIONATED ELATOSTEMA PAPILLOSUM WED. AND HOLIGARNA LONGIFOLIA ROXB. THROUGH IN VITRO AND IN VIVO STUDIES

The present research intended to explore the biological activities, namely acute toxicity test and hypoglycemic as well as in vitro anti-arthritic along with the antibacterial activity of crude methanol extracts with its different soluble fractions like petroleum ether (PESF), carbon tetrachloride (CTCSF), chloroform (CSF) and aqueous soluble fraction (AQSF) of Holigarna longifolia and Elatostema papillosum. Phytochemical screening was performed by established protocols. Acute toxicity and hypoglycemic effects were performed in experimental and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. In vitro anti-arthritic and antibacterial activity were conducted by protein denaturation inhibitory and disc diffusion methods. It was observed that no rats exhibit any lethality types, which reveal the safety of plant fractionates. It was also seen that both plants' fractionates showed significant (p < 0.01) activity on hyperglycemia compared to standard. Upon investigation, it was observed that crude methanol and its CS fraction of E. papillosum and only CS fraction of H. longifolia significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited denaturation of bovine serum albumin protein compared to standard diclofenac sodium. Moreover, it was observed that crude methanol extract and its CS fraction of E. papillosum showed significant inhibitory action on all Gram-positive bacteria's growth. In contrast, the PES fraction highlighted an inhibitory zone of 26.7 and 24.7 mm, respectively, towards B. subtilis and S. aureus. This study provides some support to explain the traditional uses of H. longifolia and E. papillosum.&nbsp

Antidiabetic Effects of Momordica Charantia (Karela) in Male Long Evans Rat

The hypoglycemic effect of Momordica charantia (Karela) has been reported from many laboratories. To our knowledge, the underlying biochemical mechanism of action of this important clinical effect has not been reported. During the course of investigation of this aspect of the herbal fruit, it was reported from our laboratory that ethanolic extract of Momordica charantia suppressed gluconeogenesis in normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats by depressing the hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase. The herbal extract had also enhanced the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of hexose monophosphate shunt (a pathway for the oxidation of glucose)

Antidiabetic Effects of Momordica charantia (Karela) in Male long Evans Rat

The hypoglycemic effect of Momordica charantia (Karela) has been reported from many laboratories. To our knowledge, the underlying biochemical mechanism of action of this important clinical effect has not been reported. During the course of investigation of this aspect of the herbal fruit, it was reported from our laboratory that ethanolic extract of Momordica charantia suppressed gluconeogenesis in normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats by depressing the hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase. The herbal extract had also enhanced the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of hexose monophosphate shunt (a pathway for the oxidation of glucose)

Exploring barriers to accessing healthcare services for older indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tract, Bangladesh

We aim to investigate the obstacles faced by elderly indigenous individuals in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh when accessing healthcare services. A qualitative research approach was utilized, and data collection was carried out in three distinct regions of the aforementioned area. A total of 30 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observations were conducted to achieve the research objectives. Thematic analysis utilizing both a deductive and inductive approach was employed to analyze the data. The Granheim method and Nvivo-12 software were utilized to process, analyze and code the data. The study's findings indicate that a lack of knowledge about healthcare needs, geographical barriers, poor financial conditions, higher cost of medical services, scarcity of hospitals nearby and communication barriers all contribute to inadequate access to healthcare services. By recognizing the factors that impede access to healthcare services in this region, this study offers valuable insight for policymakers and healthcare providers on how to enhance healthcare services for the indigenous population, especially the elderly. Furthermore, the government can adopt a more efficient approach to include these elderly individuals in various social safety net programs

A new estimate of carbon for Bangladesh forest ecosystems with their spatial distribution and REDD+ implications

In tropical developing countries, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is becoming an important mechanism for conserving forests and protecting biodiversity. A key prerequisite for any successful REDD+ project, however, is obtaining baseline estimates of carbon in forest ecosystems. Using available published data, we provide here a new and more reliable estimate of carbon in Bangladesh forest ecosystems, along with their geo-spatial distribution. Our study reveals great variability in carbon density in different forests and higher carbon stock in the mangrove ecosystems, followed by in hill forests and in inland Sal (Shorea robusta) forests in the country. Due to its coverage, degraded nature, and diverse stakeholder engagement, the hill forests of Bangladesh can be used to obtain maximum REDD+ benefits. Further research on carbon and biodiversity in under-represented forest ecosystems using a commonly accepted protocol is essential for the establishment of successful REDD+ projects and for the protection of the country’s degraded forests and for addressing declining levels of biodiversity