NUST Business School

MGT 535: Management and Organization

Project Report

Submitted to;
Sana Ahmed
Submitted by;
Amna Shaur
Maha Maqsood
Amber Imtiaz
Shehryar Ansari
Zeeshan Tariq
MBA- 2k18(B)

Date: 21 Dec, 2018.

Contents
Introduction of SMEs ................................................................................................................................ 3
Characteristics of SMEs ............................................................................................................................. 5
Role of SMEs in the Economy of Pakistan................................................................................................. 6
Challenges faced by SME .......................................................................................................................... 8
Introduction of Company ........................................................................................................................ 12
Tiss As Medium Sized Enterprise ............................................................................................................ 13
Registration ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Clients of TISS .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Structure of Organization ....................................................................................................................... 14
Challenges faced by TISS ......................................................................................................................... 16
References: ............................................................................................................................................. 18
Appendix-A: Interview Transcripts.......................................................................................................... 19

2
Introduction of SMEs
Most of the developed countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and India
concede the importance of SME sector in assisting their economies. 1 SMEs play a
distinctive role in the development, as it has been a source of employment creation
and income generation. These enterprises contribute in the development of a nation
in maintaining the standard of life by increasing the income of the people. SMEs
have a vital contribution in the development and economy uplifting.

SMEs are the business entities which contain revenues, assets and work force
within a certain span. European Union defines small enterprises as business entities
which contain less than 50 employees while the medium enterprises are defined as
company which contain less than 250 employees.

 SMEs in Pakistan
Economy of Pakistan, same as many developing countries; is a shadow of its SME
sector.2 In Pakistan almost 3.2 million businesses are functional, and around 90%
of them are SMEs. These enterprises employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor
force; and the approximate share of these SMEs in the annual GDP is 40%3. 20%
of SMEs are operating in industrial establishments and 22 % in service provision.
SME sector represents 25% of exports of manufactured goods and 35% in
manufacturing value added.4

SMEs in Pakistan play a critical role in the economic growth, progression of

technological innovation, sourcing to large industries, cottage industries and
promoting economic renewal and social development. SMEs are one of the main
sources to reduce poverty, expand national economy. It can be the foundation of
employment and social uplifting. Pakistan’s economy, like that of many
developing countries is a direct reflection of its SME sector (Khalique, Isa, &
Nassir Shaari, 2011).

1
According to Rohra and Panhwar (2009)
2
According to Khalique, Isa, & Nassir Shaari (2011)
3
According to Economic Census of Pakistan (2005)
4
According to PBS (2011)

3
State Bank of Pakistan defines SMEs as, “Any private economic establishment
engaged in manufacturing, trading or service providing business with net annual
turnover or sales up to Rs.300 million in the current fiscal year; or any
manufacturing entity having total assets up to Rs.100 million excluding land and
buildings with maximum 250 employees or any trading or service concerning total
assets up to Rs.50 million excluding land, buildings and with maximum 50
employees.”

SMEDA5 defines SMEs as these enterprises employ up to 250 persons and have an
annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 250 million; according to SECP6 it is Rs.100
million; and an annual capital of Rs. 25 million.

 Ventures by GoP
Recognizing the significance of SMEs in economic uplifting, employment
creation, income generation, and poverty alleviation, the Government of Pakistan
(GoP) has been putting effort and resources towards the promotion of the
development of entrepreneurship and SMEs in general. For example, the
Government of Pakistan established a Small and Medium Enterprise Development
Authority in October 1998 with the aim of developing this sector. Other than that
GoP has also established an SME & Micro Finance Banks for SMEs. Moreover, as
per the orders of GoP, most of the commercial banks have specialized departments
for the SME sector.7

Withal, despite of remarkable role in economic development, SMEs in Pakistan

suffer from a variety of blemishes that confined their ability to adjust to the
economic liberalization measures8 and due to this they can’t take full benefit of the
rapidly growing world markets. These drawbacks include

 Focus on products of low value-addition

 Business information infrastructure is absent
 Energy crisis
 Strategic planning is absent
5
Small And Medium Enterprises Development Authority
6
Securities And Exchange Commission Of Pakistan
7
According to Bhutta, Arif, & Usman, (2008)
8
Introduced by the GoP

4
  Financial literacy is inadequate
 Unskilled work force
 Non-aggressive lending strategies by banks

Characteristics of SMEs
All SMEs, regardless of industry or market they are in; share some common
characteristics.9

 Limited Work Force

As the size of SMEs is small they require few employees. Sometimes one person
plays multiple roles at a time, like owner is also the manager over seeing many
business operations or single manager might be managing three departments,
finance, HR and marketing. In this way cost is reduced. Another benefit is all the
employees in the firm know each other, they work together in groups and help each
other so company can function smoothly. Disadvantage of this is that employee
might not be trained enough to handle multiple tasks efficiently which in result
might hamper business process. Sometimes employees need to work for long
working hours.

 Relaying on Relationships
Mostly SMEs have strong relations with their supplier and customers. This creates
stability of the firm. SMEs usually prefer their customers and then manufacture
products according to customer’s satisfaction. Disadvantage of this is, since
business is reliant on relationships; they suffer the most when relationship is
terminated.

 Controlling and Communication

SMEs are very simple to operate. They have fewer employees which makes
controlling and communication easier. Hierarchy is usually flatter which makes the
decision making faster. There have no prominent stockholders to worry about

9
According to Carpenter(2017)

5
while running the business. But business decisions must be taken in accordance to
law of the country that they are operating in.

 Size
Small size means easier handling of business operations, less complexity in tasks.
Costs for running small business is also lesser. Mostly all the assets are financed by
the owner of the firm which means no liabilities on assets are pending and no
interest is needed to be paid. But this can be a disadvantage too. As this gives us
limited funds to operate with, our competitor might have more funds than us which
gives them higher chance of engaging more variety of customers.

Role of SMEs in the Economy of Pakistan

 About the role of SMEs Kilby said in his research paper (1981) that SMEs
result in five contributions to the development process of the country:
1. Greater industrial Output
2. Increase in employment/unit of output
3. Enhanced mobilization of savings
4. More equal distribution of income, and
5. Development of entrepreneurship for the indigenization of large-
scale manufacturing.
 SMEs of Pakistan have important role in the economic development and
progression of technical improvement, sourcing to large industries. They
promote the economic renewal and social uplift. SMEs have significance to
reduce poverty, to grow the national economy.10 By just one SME, number
of people has found a way to earn so unemployment is reduced. On average
SMEs typically account for 4 out of 5 jobs created. SMEs create circulation
of money, as the money which was locked up in the bank is now being used

10
According to Bhalli & Mohsin (2015)

6
 in the start ups. This helps in the growth of the economy. SMEs also
contribute to the social uplift which means that less number of people is
relying on the big firms; they have a sense of freedom as now they have their
own business.
 SMEs also include the small businesses of rural areas. People who have
skills in crafting, weaving, farming, fishing and other such skills, earn
money and improve the way of their living. So SMEs somehow play role to
remove the differences between the rural and urban development and
promotes the equal distribution of income.
 SME also plays a key role in realizing the demand of the people or people
belonging to the niche group which may have been ignored by the large
firms, thus SMEs also fulfill the gap which is ignored by large firms because
of the fact that these gaps may not be profitable to them.
 The resources are scarcely available in the economy, the best way to use
these resources is using them efficiently i.e. minimum input and maximum
output. SMEs work on this efficiency model, as the capital is limited, so the
SMEs try to attain maximum efficiency rather than wasting resources like
the large firms do, for developing countries like Pakistan, wasting resources
would mean damaging the economy. Thus the conservation of scarce
resource is a good sign for the economy too.
 SMEs provide export goods and they are valuable resources of inputs to
large organizations. In this way SMEs have a vital role in improving the
trade balance and current balance of the account.
 SMEs have labor-intensive nature so they are the building blocks of the
economy. SMEs of Pakistan provide the easiest, swiftest, least costly, and
most comprehensive way to grow the economy, welfare and prosperity.

7
  Thus it can be said that performance of the economy in terms of output,
generation of income, distribution of income and the generation of the
employment will be much better if it is focusing on the small/middle scale
firms that use maximum labor and middle level capital. So when it is said
that SMEs are the back bone of the economy, it is not an overstatement and
that is why it is considered as the driving force of economic growth.

Challenges faced by SME

Despite of providing benefits from the past 70 years, SMEs have been largely
ignored by the policy-makers of Pakistan. Banking credit portfolio of SMEs is only
6% while the major chunk of around 66% goes to large companies.11 Obviously the
availability of banking credit is a blood line for any business but credit flow in
Pakistan is biased towards large corporate firms.

Due to this disparity, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened beyond
imagination. Small firms have vanished and we have been witness to the birth of
large business amalgam in the economy.

Major issues are:

 Financial issue
In Pakistan 54% share of financial credit system (FCS) is held by large
enterprise.12 Whereas SMEs have just 19% share in FCS. Getting credit for SMEs
has a very difficult and lengthy procedure13 and has collateral requirements,
because banks avoid the risk associated with SME business. These financial access
difficulties arise due to policies and regulation of State bank of Pakistan. These
policies restrict the ability of banks to lend a credit for SMEs on an unsecured
basis. SMEs are reluctant to get finance from banks due to their inefficient
repayment capacity of loan to banks. Another hurdle for SME’s financing is that
11
According to a recent report of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
12
According to SMEDA
13
According to survey of SMEDA (2001) the approvals for getting a credit for banks take on average 10 months
delay.

8
they don’t complete their business records. The other factor is the “small loans”
that SMEs normally apply for. These small loans create high per unit’s cost for
banks. So this is uneconomical for banks.

 Management Issues:
SMEs have less managerial expertise. The managers in SME have not much
knowledge about how to manage their financials, it causes under-utilization of
resources. The managerial expertise is significant for the success of SMEs. Poor
bookkeeping, lack of technical knowledge about business, lack of management
skills, poor planning for business and lack of market research can affect the growth
of a business. Education, training, expertise and experience of senior managers are
major differences between high growth and low growth SMEs firms.

 Training Issues
SMEs conduct informal training for their employees because formal training is not
affordable. Due to limited resources, SMEs believe on informal training as these
trainings are cost effective and most suitable solution.14 But informal training are
not much effective for their development.

These informal training are on the job training, job rotation and informal seminar
to the employees. SMEDA authority is responsible for providing SMEs related
training in Pakistan.

 Infrastructure Issues
In the proper growth of SMEs, infrastructure of the country is very important.
Appropriate infrastructure attracts the investors to invest in SMEs. Poor
infrastructure cannot support effectively the growth of SMEs. Insufficient energy
and power is a collective obstacle in the growth of industries of Pakistan. Load
shedding of electricity and unavailability of sui gas in winters are the major and
foremost challenge for industries. Cost of production is increased due to these
energy crises and in result production is decreased. In Pakistan power transmission

14
According to Assessment Report (2002)

9
and distribution line losses and power theft are very high as compare to other
developing country.

Similarly, obtaining a License in Pakistan; is also a very complicated procedure.

Pakistan has a very poor rating on issuing transparent and immediate licensing to
businesses. This rating also depicts the absence of efficient infrastructure therefore
doing a business costs very high in Pakistan.

 Regulatory, documentation challenges

It is a challenge for small businesses to do tedious regulatory documentation.
SMEs do not have enough resources to hire specialized chartered accountants and
expensive consultants for the resolution of taxation. Dealing with protocols is a
laborious task for which time, resources and work force are required. So it
becomes a challenge for SMEs to handle these documentations.

 Corruption Issues
Corruption is pervert of public office for private gain.15 Massive corruption in
Pakistan is revealed in the many cases. Besides government, bureaucracy and
corruption are also considered as major problems to businesses in Pakistan.16

The second renowned form of corruption is bribery. It also affects the SMEs by
offering a public official to accept any undue advantage to a person who actually
doesn’t have rights for that. For example, SMEs are often faced with requests for
additional payments for their undue advantage. This affects the honest and fair
businesses. Bribery also creates a possible hurdle to profitability and growth of
firm.

 Economic and Technological Issues

Consumers are reluctant to get purchase products in recession period of economy.
This led to low demand of product and services in high inflation period and effects
SMEs. Another economic problem includes the high tax rate imposed by

15
According to international transparency, World Bank and ADB
16
According to World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report (2007-08)

10
government. 67% of SMEs considered tax regulations as biggest problem, while
28% of SMEs perceived that taxes in the country are very high.17

The current dynamic surroundings have forced SMEs to compete globally and to
change their traditional methods of conducting businesses. The SMEs of Pakistan
have low and out of date technology. The role of advanced manufacturing
technologies in the development of the SMEs is significant. The advance
manufacturing techniques help SMEs to change their long- established way of
production techniques and their old ways to achieve their due share of business
within the local and global market.

Some other constraints are:

 Quality control problems

 Difficulty in getting business site

 Subpar supply chain and distribution infrastructure

 Ineffective marketing of product

 Serious shortage to implement the concept of performance management

system (PMS)

 Absence of proper application of human resources policy in recruitment

17
According to SMEDA in Pakistan

11
Introduction of Company
Trillium information security systems (TISS) is the Pakistan’s first Information
Assurance company. Information assurance involves systems and processes of
securing information and managing risks related to collection, processing, storage,
use and transmission of information. Trillium has two companies in it one is
Renewable energy founded in 1990 and second is the Trillium information security
systems (TISS) was established in 2005 with head office in Rawalpindi and
regional offices in Karachi and Lahore.18 It has expertise in information assurance
solutions for clients, performing particular data security administrations, preparing
several cybersecurity experts and setting up a thorough system of affiliates.

It effectively executed few innovative Research and Development programs

bringing about the advancement of the main cybersecurity arrangements of the
industry that have gotten numerous neighborhood and worldwide honors and
acknowledgment. TISS has received several records and recognition; recent one is
ranking in 100 Tech Innovators in 2018 by TMT Magazine.

TISS has 5 business lines; each with a brand name. Services brand named as
TRIAM, solutions brand as TRiSOL, training brand as TISP, distribution brand as
TRISECT, training brand and R&D brand as Cybersecurity Lab.19

 Mission Statement
To help our customers overcome all cybersecurity challenges by providing
innovative solutions and extra-ordinary services through our highly skilled and
professional staff.20

 Vision Statement
A world-class cybersecurity company solving complex cybersecurity issues for its
customer globally.21

18
For more details see Appendix A
19
According to the website of TISS
20
For more details see Appendix A
21
For more details see Appendix A

12
Tiss As Medium Sized Enterprise
 TISS has workforce according to the criteria of SMEs. TISS has 100
employees collectively of all the three offices.
 TISS has total assets around Rs. 100 million.
 Its Annual turnover is less than Rs. 150 million.

Registration
TISS is registered with SECP22, PEC and HEC. TISS has a venture with Comsats23
and this venture is aided by HEC. Employees that are working there are paid by
HEC.

Clients of TISS
 Agha Khan Foundation  Alcatel Pakistan Limited
 Alternative Energy
 Asia Brown Baveri (Pvt) Ltd.
Development Board
 BGP (Pvt) Limited  Carrier Telephone Industry
 College of EME  Frontier Corps
 Frontier Works Organization  HQ Civil Aviation Authority
 Kohinoor Energy Limited  Luxtreks Inc.
 Marubeni  National Logistic Cells
 OMV Pakistan Exploration  Pakistan Air Force, Army and
Gmbh Navy.
 Pakistan Petroleum Limited  Pakistan Rangers
 Pakistan Telecommunication
 Pakistan State Oil
Company Ltd
 PAPCO/ PARCO  Special Communication

22
Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
23
Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South

13
 24
Organization
 Sui Gas Transmission Company  Telecom Foundation

 TIP  WAPDA

Structure of Organization
MD

CEO

LINE MANAGERS

General Managers Senior Managers Assistant Managers

Executive Level

Trainees

Interns25

 Communication
Communication is smooth along the hierarchy. TISS has somewhat flatter
hierarchy. It has the mixture of centralized and de centralized structure. There is no

24
According to website of TISS
25
According to the interviews conducted. See interview transcripts in appendix A

14
such barrier in communication, along the hierarchy. Employees can report to senior
manager at any time. They can bypass the head of departments and can directly
communicate to CEO. But there is a compulsion employees have to report their
line managers in any case. There are some departments which totally follow the
centralized structure such as Finance and HR. But the technical departments like
developers; they have the decentralized structure. So anyone can communicate to
anyone without following the basics of hierarchy.26

 Retention of Employees
Employees of TISS are very skilled because recruiting process is very fair and
strict. As TISS is the pioneer in Pakistan information security industry so students
of IS want to join TISS as their priority. Candidate has to pass initial written test
then technical interview is conducted after passing the initial test then shortlist
candidates have the interview with CEO. Then the selected candidates join TISS
on the provision of 3 months. To get a his job secure employee has to pass 2 or 3
certification tests after passing of all these, then an employee will get a secure job
with TISS. 27

The environment and culture of TISS is very friendly and helpful. People are very
cooperative with each other. TISS gives many facilities like free medical checkups,
car maintenance, laptops and phones, work from home, flexible working hours and
good salaries. TISS also sponsor the international training and learning trips of
employees. Employees are fully satisfied here. Training of new employees is
conducted by TISS. There are no such trainings for the existing employees but if
they want to get some training or certification then TISS sponsor their training too.
So the employee turnover is very low. Employees don’t leave TISS for any other
company.

 Government Regulation
As TISS is registered with government organizations so it has to follow the rules
applied by government. Rawalpindi Chamber of conference is also imposed some

26
According to the interview
27
According to the HR manager of TISS

15
rules that have to followed by TISS. The political and economic imbalance affects
the TISS smooth functions.

 Documentation
For the taxation handling, TISS has a specialized employee who only deals with all
the documentation related to taxation and renewal of registration. He also
participates in the internal audit.

 SWOT Analysis
Strength: TISS is the pioneer in information security industry. It has a brand
name. It is the only solution given by IBM in Pakistan in information security
industry.

Weakness: TISS hasn’t the sufficient number of employees. They need more
workforces.

Opportunity: TISS has the opportunity to expand in other cities and they can
integrate with the educational institute to teach or train the students about
information security. In return they can earn revenue as Information Security is
being taught as a subject in many institutes.

Threats: Due to the freelancer many times TISS can’t get the potential projects.

Challenges faced by TISS

 The biggest challenge faced by TISS is that there is no such support provide
by government in the development of company. Government takes the taxes
on time but doesn’t help in flourishing. Pakistani government although
created banks and specialized organizations to support the SMEs in Pakistan
but they usually focus on the financial matters. SMEs in Pakistan usually run
on their own financials but they need help in marketing their products and
they need awareness in people about them. But government doesn’t provide
any solution in respect of this.

16
  TISS had applied for loan in the start of 2018 but they didn’t get that loan
sectioned yet even after fulfilling the criteria.28
 There are the cases of bribery in government sectors. As organizations who
don’t qualify the required criteria get the loans on time. Other than that
sometimes some organizations also get concession on taxes.
 There is no integration between educational institute and firms like TISS.
TISS has to mail by itself to different universities for trainee level
employees and interns. Only the specific students know about TISS. Many
people don’t know as there is no as such marketing campaign and awareness
campaign of TISS to attract the right pool of candidates. So TISS has to put
some effort in this regard.
 For large companies, government pays incentives to them to take some
students from different universities as internees but for SMEs government
doesn’t give such incentive so SMEs require internee but they can’t give
them any salary so usually people don’t prefer to work with SMEs without
any reward.
 Proper training is not conducted by TISS as it is costly. Only new employees
have a basic level of training which he gets along with his job. But for
already existing employees it is difficult to conduct trainings on board so
what TISS does, it sponsor the certification and training of some employees
which they find on their own.
 MIS is not centralized. Each department has its own software and inter
department communication is based on paper. All the funds for technology
are used in technical department where solutions for clients are made.
 Another challenge is competitors especially in the form of free-lancers.
People prefer to work on their own. They work as a freelancer and give the
indirect competition to TISS. So it is difficult to find out what would be the
potential competitors.

So the above mentioned challenges are faced by TISS that are created hindrance
in the growth and expansion of TISS. Although the information security is the
biggest need of time after the massive cyber-attacks and TISS is one of pioneers
in Pakistan but still it is not earning such great revenue as it should earn

28
According to the interview

17
References:
 Bhalli, M., & Mohsin, M. (2015). Rapid Urban Growth and Change in
Urban and Municipal Limits of Bahawalpur City, Pakistan: A Spatio-
Periodical Discourse. Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 11(September),
528–538. https://doi.org/10.6000/1927-5129.2015.11.70
 Kilby, P., & August, D. C. (n.d.). Series : Division : Studies in Employment
and Rural Development No . 69 Employment and Rural Development
Development Economics Development Policy Staff International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development This paper was prepared by the author in
his capacity as a consultant for a Research Project on Small Scale Enterprise
Lending In Kenya ( RPO 672-34 ). The views expressed are those of the
author and the report may not be published or quoted as representing the
views of the World Bank or its affiliated organization ., (August 1981).
 http://www.trillium-pakistan.com/
 http://www.infosecurity.com.pk/
 https://smeda.org/
 http://www.sbp.org.pk/

18
Appendix-A: Interview Transcripts
Interview-1

Introduction of the interviewee:

Raja Hussnain, HR manager at TISS head office, Rawalpindi.

Interviewer: Give us the introduction about the company?

Interviewee: TISS is the pioneer in Pakistan. It is the only solution given by IBM
in Pakistan. Basically Trillium has two different companies, Trillium Pakistan
Energy solution and trillium information security system. Trillium Pakistan is all
about solar power, global energy, which was established in 1990s. Trillium
security system was established in 2006 and it provides cyber security solutions.

Interviewer: Does TISS come under the umbrella of Medium and small
enterprises?

Interviewee: It is a medium because it is dealing in three cities, Karachi,

Rawalpindi and Lahore and collectively it has around 100 employees. And its
turnover is less than 150 million rupees and assets are around 100 millions

Interviewer: Is it registered with any government organization?

Interviewee: TISS is registered with SECP, PEC.

Interviewer: What is the hierarchy of TISS?

Interviewee: From the top MD comes first then CEO then Comes line manager
who which are basically HODs then comes General Manager, then executives, then
trainees then interns. There is a Chain of Command but Communication along the

19
hierarchy is very smooth. Sometimes employees even skip the middle managers to
the MDs all are very helpful but still employees had to inform their HODs. It is
kind of mix of centralization and decentralization.

Interviewer: What are the different departments of TISS?

Interviewee: HR, finance, engineering, technical, sales and marketing

departments.

Interviewer: Do you have strong brand recognition in industry?

Interviewee: Basically TISS is the pioneers in Pakistan. But when one business
starts other also enters the market so that is why competitors are penetrating but
TISS has a brand name in this industry. Our Competitive advantage is the talented
employees.

Interviewer: Does TISS want to expand in future?

Interviewee: It is expanding. TISS is hiring more and more employees and

building new floors.

Interviewer: what is loyalty and retention rate of employee?

Interviewee: The environment and culture of TISS is very friendly and helpful.
People are cooperative here so that’s why employees’ turnover is very low. TISS
gives many facilities, medical, car maintenance; laptops, mobiles etc. Many perks
and benefits are given to employees.

Interviewer: Do you have to follow any Government regulations?

Interviewee: As TISS is a registered company. Rawalpindi chamber of commerce

also has imposed few regulations we need to follow. We have a team who keep the
paper work correct.

Interviewer: Are the employees of TISS skillful?

Interviewee: They are very skillful. This company is the best here in Pakistan has
strong name in the market so all the best in our filed join TISS, then they get offers
from abroad. Basicity THE hiring process is very strict so only the best candidates
are selected. Hiring process depends on the position the employee comes to. If it’s

20
the trainee position than 3 months training period is there then there is a test which
is conducted if he qualifies then after the technical interview shortlisted candidates
have a final interview with CEO then probation period starts and after probation
period he has to pass some certification test if he passes then becomes permanent.
On the other hand if experienced person is required then there is a probation
period. If he fulfills his duties then selected given permanent contract if not then
then they are laid off and we find another one.

Interviewer: Does the political and economic situation in Pakistan affect you?

Interviewee: TISS is affected by all these bad situations. Sometimes TISS need to
be in tender but it missed it due to road blockage. Sometimes due to road
blockages employees cannot reach offices so employees have to work from home.
And can have meetings on Skype.

Interviewer: What are the challenges faced by specifically trillium as an SME?

Interviewee: From the eye of an HR manager, there is no integration on high level

with the education system in the country. TISS itself has to mail the different
universities when it needs candidate while it should be other way round. Internship
programs are not strong. TISS offers internship programs but universities don’t
engage their students with TISS. Government gives no incentive to hire paid
internees. There is no career development planning is here in the country.

Interviewer: Is training and development of employees costly?

Interviewee: Basically TISS is a training institute too. It trains its customers about
cyber security. So this cost is also bore by the company itself. And there is no
budget remained to conduct training of existing employees.

Interviewer: Do you have any infrastructure related issue?

Interviewee: TISS has all the rented buildings in all the cities in which it operates.
And TISS doesn’t face any issue and it doesn’t look forward to have its own
building.

Interviewer: Do you face any issues regarding technology?

21
Interviewee: Its systems are not interlinked like finance module is not linked with
HR. marketing etc. People here are interlinked but software isn’t. RnD of TISS
working on software that will keep HR up to date with the leave of employee the
salary they are internally invents that.

22
Interview-2:
Introduction of the interviewee:

Muhammad Taha, Finance head at TISS head office, Rawalpindi.

Interviewer: Give us the introduction about the company?

Interviewee: TISS is the pioneer in Pakistan. Basically Trillium has two different
companies and has many clients.

Interviewer: Does TISS come under the umbrella of Medium and small
enterprises?

Interviewee: If consider both of the sister companies than TISS is a medium

enterprise and if consider them separately then small enterprise.

Interviewer: Is it registered with any government organization?

Interviewee: TISS is registered with SECP, PEC and HEC. Basically TISS has a
team in Comsats, so linking with HEC is because some employees are directly paid
by HEC because HEC also requires cyber security.

Interviewer: What are the different departments of TISS?

Interviewee: HR, finance, engineering, technical, sales and marketing

departments.

Interviewer: Do you have to follow any Government regulations?

Interviewee: As TISS is a registered company. Rawalpindi chamber of commerce

also has imposed few regulations we need to follow. We have a team who keep the

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paper work correct. All the taxation is handled by one person. He is responsible for
the internal audit

Interviewer: What are the challenges faced by specifically trillium as an SME?

Interviewee: Pakistani Government doesn’t support SMEs. They take the tax on
time but doesn’t help you to grow. In different countries SMEs are supported by
the government as they are the integral part of the GDP. No startup policy. You
need references for the loan and need to fill certain criteria to get it. Other
countries governments help out in such matters. There are no rules and regulations.
Where the person gets his might of stick he gets his work done they get the work
done by Political influence

Interviewer: Do you face any issues regarding technology?

Interviewee: Its systems are not interlinked like finance module is not linked with
HR. marketing etc. Therefore, additional paper work has to be done. RnD of TISS
working on some interlinked softwares.

Interviewer: Who are the main competitors?

Interviewee: TISS cannot specify these because in this field, threats of individual
freelancers are very high because they can work on any prize. And also this field is
about the talent if the person is talented then he can get the contract. It’s all about
the bidding.

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