Introducing GEO TV

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1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

History of GEO

GEO Television Network

Introducing GEO TV

Mission Statement

Vision Statement

Basic Objective

Value Statement

Company Logo

Logo Application

(PLANNING) GOALS & STRATEGIES

Short Term Goals

Intermediate Goals

Long Term Goals

Strategic Planning

Operational Planning

Growth Strategy

Crisis Management

SWOT ANALYSIS

2 Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

CORPORATE PROFILE

Nature of Business

Target Market

Type of Ownership

Financial Resources

Revenues

Types of Products

Channels

Market Share

Competitors

Production Capacity

External Environment

LEADING

Leadership Style

Internal Environment

Internal Communication

Level of Informality

Internal Culture

3 Motivation

ORGANIZING

Level of Management/Designation

Organization Structure

Span of Control

Organizational Chart

Decision making Style

Delegation Process

Leading Designation

Departmentalization of GEO i. Functional Departmentalization ii. Geographical Departmentalization

Departments/Divisions

Human Resource Management of .GEO

Achievements and Awards

References

4 History of Formation of GEO Network

1966 Letter to the President of Pakistan asking him to permit private sector television to combat the propaganda war’s 1990 First feasibility/research paper on TV potential in Pakistan completed for GEO followed by national and International study tour. Dec 1991 Made first pilot for first new show for GEO, then named "Newsreel". Dec 1995 Transponder leased/reserved for GEO on Asia Sat 1. Aug 1996 Due to political confrontation GEO launch postponed. 1998.

First advertisement in all major newspapers of Pakistan looking for television talent and announcing GEO for the first time. July 2001 Largest HR recruitment campaign launched. Nov 2001 BBC Technologies hired as technical consultants for GEO. 15-Nov 2001 Core team of the channel is established to chalk out policies, strategy and implementation plan. 2-Dec 2001 String of nationwide interviews, consisting 25 cities, begin as recruitment campaign attracts attention of 40,000 applicants. 20-Dec 2001 Contracts with builders, key vendors, technology partners, transponder and Dubai Media City are finalized. 5-Jan 2002 Construction of state-of-the-art HQ studios and offices begins. 10-Jan 2002 Construction begins at Dubai Media City for offices and transmission studios. 1-Feb 2002 a senior team of int'l consultants lands in Pakistan to complete race for training. 1-Mar 2002 The initial batch of 200 candidates for training are recruited. 1- Mar 2002.

Television equipment worth millions begin to arrive in Pakistan for the training process. 1-Apr 2002 Training by 16 foreign producers, reporters, writers and camera operators starts! 1-Jun 2002 First batch of trainees graduate are sent to different areas of Pakistan equipped with necessary recording equipment. 14-Jun 2002 Bomb blast at US consulate takes place, about a kilometre from training camp. The under training news team is put to the test with 4 hours of non-stop test transmission. Exclusive footage makes headlines across the world. BBC shows GEO footage. BBC producer visits training camp and commends GEO team for excellent coverage. 30-Jul 2002 A

5 team of senior journalists takes over Dubai office to prepare for test transmission. 5-Aug 2002 First signals from satellite are tested.

14-Aug 2002 GEO'S test transmission starts at 12:00 noon PST with 24-hour news content; frequency kept secret. 15-Aug 2002 Cable Operators start tuning into secret frequency and begin airing GEO's test transmission without channel's consent. 5-Sep 2002 Geo team begins nationwide 5-day tour marketing the channel to cable operators, introducing them to the channel and getting their feedback. 5-Sep 2002 Signs of brand power begin to emerge as GEO's logo is copied and imitated by local brands i.e. GEO Biryani, GEO Water and GEO Washing Powder.

11-Sep 2002 First advertisement announcing GEO frequency. 30-Sep 2002 Construction of state-of-the-art, HQ and offices completed. Team moves in from training camp. 11-Jan 2003 Launching ceremony of infotainment and entertainment programs, with duration of 2 hours per day, is held at Mohatta Palace in Karachi. 11-Mar 2003 London and New York Bureaus made operational. 20- Mar 2003 Geo and CNN sign partnership contract for collaboration. 7- Apr 2003 Geo begins transmission in UAE through E-Vision. 14-Aug 2003 Geo completes its 12 months of non-stop on air transmission

6 GEO TELEVISION NETWORK

GEO started its test transmission on 14 August 2002. “The National association of Broadcasters (USA). World’s largest association of broadcasters has honoured GEO with the “Award for Quality” declaring it an international standard television channel.” To build a reputable identity in a cluster of different channels in just a period of four years was not an easy task. Geo is known for its unique entertainment, hot talk shows, truth revealing news and informative programs. INTRODUCING GEO TV

GEO TV was established in May 2002. Test transmission started on 14th August 2002 on the PAS 10 digital satellite. Regular transmission started on 1st October 2002. Geo TV is the first South Asian Urdu language channel to provide content comparable with excellent television broadcasters. Geo is the fastest growing TV Channel in Pakistan with ratings exceeding all satellite delivered TV channels in the market. Geo has the widest distribution on cable systems in Pakistan with 100% carriage within 90 days of launch.

It launched the first interactive infotainment programs in Pakistan, engaging and empowering the viewer. Consistently scoops all rival broadcasters on major news events. Besides seven bureaus in Pakistan, a robust international network feeds live content from New York, Washington and London. Intelligent Media Consultant has given formal multi-disciplinary training to 500 members of GEO staff including all producers, reporters, writers, camera persons and editors. Its member team comprising of CNN, BBC producers, cinematographers, editors and presenters were split in Dubai and Karachi for 5 months to complete the training.

7 MISSION STATEMENT

GEO informs and entertains while celebrating cultures and prompting dialogue in the spirit of "LIVE AND LET LIVE". VISION STATEMENT

“GEO will be the voice of freedom from the Asian subcontinent. It will highlight the issues of concern and the cultural richness of its people through information, discussion and entertainment. GEO will propagate transparency of responsibility that will ensure its position as the most credible and meaningful source of information, through quality programming based on issues. GEO will provide entertainment audiences can relate to, thereby creating viewer loyalty and response. GEO will forge an alliance amongst its three stakeholders - viewers, advertisers and shareholders to maximize viewer ownership. GEO will invest in human resources as it recognizes it to be the foundation upon which the GEO future will be built. It is this very foundation that will allow GEO to attain and sustain a leadership position, thus fulfilling the promise associated with its creation.” BASIC OBJECTIVE

Like all for-profit organizations, GEO’S basic objective is also revenue generation. VALUE STATEMENTS

• We are a team. • We respect each other. • We encourage self-development. • We hold high expectations. • We embrace change. • We value our Viewers.

8 • We provide exceptional service that leaves an impression. • We support our community. • Consistent entertainment service and production quality. COMPANY LOGO

All companies must have a pictogram, or single visual statement that represents the entire idea behind that symbol. GEO’s Logotype enjoys the same reputation with our audience, stakeholders and employees. Representing the true strength of the channel, which is unbiased, accurate and timely 24-hour news in ‘Urdu language’? The Geo logo represents many aspects of its business in true colors. The Orange represents “DAY’ and Blue represents ‘NIGHT’. The Urdu alphabet ‘Jeem’ cutting through from the TV Screen in a sharp angle connote the ‘GLOBE’ and the overall formation of the composite represents ‘EYE ON WORLD AFFAIRS 24 HOURS A DAY’.

An animated spot, ‘Peela-Neela’ was specifically aimed at unveiling the ‘Design Rationale’ of the logo to the audience. The logo has been warmly received by the Pakistani audience and in a short span of time has come to represent Quality Broadcast with great production and content values. LOGO APPLICATION

All good identities have flexibility for Primary applications but Secondary and Tertiary applications as well. Geo uses three such distinctive applications of the Parent Identity. a. CORPORATE EMBLEM:

Whereas the Logotype of Geo uses a sharply angled, cropped and embedded image of the Urdu alphabet ‘Jeem’, the Corporate Emblem is a repetition of the complete alphabet. This pattern represents the Global presence of Geo covering and delivering Faster Firsts to its audience.

9 b. LOGO VERSATILITY:

With the realization that our logotype gives us enormous strength, Geo is the only TV Company that allows its Logo to be adapted to direct relevance to its ‘special events and occasions’ GOALS SHORT TERM GOAL:

The short term goals of GEO keep on changing however, the present short-term goal is to launch an English news channel named as GEO English within six months. The permission has been granted to launch the English news channel. It will be acquired soon. INTERMEDIATE GOAL:

The intermediate goal of GEO is to increase their channels to 11 within the time limit of 3 years. LONG TERM GOAL:

When asked about the long-term goal we were told that it is highly confidential and only known to the Upper level management, e.g. C.E.O.

10 PLANS OPERATIONAL PLANS:

Geo has a network, which handles all the business units in each department. Its like an Octopus, the head is the Network and each tentacle is a business unit. They evaluate the goals set by the management as to how close they are to achieving their objectives, and how much they have achieved. If Geo has not achieved its required goals they take feedback and change their operational plans accordingly. The BOD or “Top management” is responsible for such type of decisions. GROWTH STRATEGY:

GEO’s strategy is to make the HRM department strong and competent as HRM department is the base of the organization. They do so by providing training to the newly hired employees. This will benefit GEO and increase the growth of the channel. CRISIS MANAGEMENT:

Geo has not faced any such crisis yet however, they have set a whole team for the management of crises. In this team, GEO has experts in all fields. When a certain department faces any problem, the head of that department informs the team about it and the team finds a solution to the problem and terminates it. Unfortunately, however because it is impossible to forecast the future precisely, no organization can ever be perfectly prepared for every eventuality.

11 SWOT ANALYSIS:

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

O L Internal Internal limitations

E E capabilities that may

I that may help interface with

S a company a company’s reach its ability to objectives achieve its objectives

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS External factors that the Current and company may be able to emerging exploit to its advantage external factors that may challenge the company’s performance

12 L

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

STRENGTHS:

• New ideas and concept with fast execution has become a trademark of GEO -- 'Fastest and Firsts'. • First to bring the 'Breaking News' concept in Pakistan. • Unbiased, accurate and timely 24-hour news in ‘Urdu language’. • Most competitive work team. • Goodwill as the largest media group in the country. WEAKNESSES

• Lack of innovation. • Lack of focus. • Over confidence OPPORTUNITIES:

13 • Growing awareness about GEO of the people. They are attracted towards entertainment. • Increase in viewer-ship. • Demand for quality entertainment. THREATS:

• Fear of competition. • Especially in entertainment because of new channels. • Employee turnover. • GEO’S employee turnover is under 5%. • New Channels Attract GEO Qualified And Trained Employees By Offering Them 3 Times The Salary They Earn At GEO. • Unstable Political Situation. • Security.

CORPORATE PROFILE: Nature of Business:

It is an International Electronic Media service providing News and Entertainment services. Type of Ownership:

It is a Private limited Company and has 100% internal shares (family shares only). This is part of the Jang Group of Companies, the biggest and strongest group in media of the Private Sector. FINANCIAL RESOURCES:

It is basically a family business they have no external shares.

14 TYPES OF PRODUCTS:

News, Entertainment, Information, Sports. PRODUCTS

It is not actually a manufacturing business rather a service business that generates cable TV channels namely:

1) Geo News

2) Geo TV (entertainment)

3) Geo UK (infotainment)

4) Geo USA

5) Geo Super (sports)

MARKET SHARE:

Its stands 2nd to satellite channels viewed in the Pakistan and 2nd to National channels in Pakistan. i.e., PTV,ATV etc. COMPETITORS:

PTV is the main competitor of GEO with regards to viewer ship because of the reason that geo is a satellite channel and is accessible in specific areas whereas PTV is a national antenna channel, which is easily accessible. Geo is trying to compete with PTV and trying harder and harder to be the No.1 channel in Pakistan. Other satellite channels like ARY One World, Express News, AAJ TV etc, are GEO’s major competitors among satellite channels. PRODUCTION CAPACITY

15 11 channels is their total capacity because they are using 2 beams and each beam contains 5-6 channels.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

Geo is one of the independent and liberal channel with the unique honour of consistently breaking news. Geo is a liberal channel it has no restriction from the Government of Pakistan because its transmissions are telecasted from Dubai, which is a free zone. The Government of Pakistan can influence GEO about the News and programs they air but GEO is not bound to report to the Government. However, they cannot ignore and go against the Government as they operate within Pakistan as well. They Government have the right to jeopardize GEO’s operations. Despite the liberty GEO enjoys it cannot ignore the cultural ethical values of the society that is why GEO has a Quality Control Department Specifically working on censoring each program and News before it can be aired on TV. They are bound to follow the rules of the censor board.

The technological environment includes all the ways by which it creates value for the constituents.

In case of a catastrophe in the environment GEO network is affected in two ways. It is positively affected when viewers depend on Geo News to give them Live Coverage on the situation like wise, it is negatively affected at the same time when the demand for the entertainment channels lessen because people are grieved by the chaos. This way Geo entertainment loses viewer ship.

LEADING:

LEADERSHIP STYLE:

16 Geo follows a purely and highly democratic leadership style. The democratic leadership style is also called the participative style as it encourages employees to be a part of the decision making. The democratic manager keeps his or her employees informed about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities. This style requires the leader to be a coach who has the final say, but gathers information from staff members before making a decision. GEO invites employees to share their input to make decisions.

Democratic leadership can produce high quality and high quantity work for long periods of time. Many employees like the trust they receive and respond with cooperation, team spirit, and high morale. Typically the democratic leader: • Develops plans to help employees evaluate their own performance • Allows employees to establish goals . • Encourages employees to grow on the job and be promoted • Recognizes and encourages achievement.

17 I NTERNAL ENVIRONMENT :

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS:

Geo firmly believes in the use and influence of Internal Communications to create a working environment that is based on the hallmark of professionalism and on the concept of ‘service above self’. The idea is to create a relationship between the organization and its people, encourage excellence, and inculcate a spirit of achievement. As an organization that lays great emphasis on Human Resource, its training and development, inevitably it realizes the meaningful contribution of its team that has worked passionately to make the channel grow and achieve unprecedented results. Geo’s HR Department plans and executes cohesive and integrated communication designed specifically for its people to share the sense of pride and joy in Brand Stewardship. This of course is in addition to numerous events and occasions that it holds to allow social, cultural and sporting activities as one big team. Managers interact with their employees and communicate with everyone on an open forum culture. Managers communicate on the phone and over the internet the head office in based in Karachi.

LEVEL OF INFORMALITY: Geo organization is very informal and partially formal. They follow an “Open door Policy”. Formal conversations are less because GEO believes in Teamwork and working in a friendly environment. Despite a friendly atmosphere, no such incident has occurred yet in which different kinds of rumours has spread. Everyone has the right to give ideas and opinions regarding improvement such as new technology, innovation etc.

18 I NTERNAL CULTURE:

The culture of GEO TV is CUSTOMER RESPONSIVE There is a code of conduct that all employees have to follow strictly. For example: • They have a No-Smoking environment however; they have specified a zone for smoking only. • Every employee has to display the GEO Identity Badge. • All employees should conduct the display of Discipline strictly because of too much interaction with the other departments. • There is no formal dress code except for certain levels such as, the Heads of the Departments. • Eatables are not allowed everywhere in the office except in the Café. Employees mush reach and leave the office in time at the 10-7 office timings.

MOTIVATING THE EMPLOYEES

Some of Geo’s tools of Motivation for employee welfare are:

• Performance based incentives. • Annual evaluation of the employee’s performance is discussed with the employee. • There is and Idea Box in the reception room available to employees and even visitors. All ideas are implemented and the generator of the idea is rewarded with a prize. The C.E.O of the company is heading this campaign himself. • Annual Employee Functions. • Success story of the month. A success story of the month in each department is mentioned for employees who have gone that extra mile in achieving their objective. Their stories are discussed; the committee reviews them and selects the best one. The winner of the best success story is rewarded with a dinner for two prizes.

19 ORGANIZING

Management Structure & Style. Geo consists of 1600 plus employees around the world and 180 employees in the Lahore bureau itself because Geo has a very wide and large hierarchy.

LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT/DESIGNATIONS

Top Managers • Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) • Chief Operating Officer (C.O.O) • Managing Director GEO News • Managing Director GEO ENTERTAINMENT • President

Middle Managers • Directors • Director News • Content Head (Production) • Regional Heads • Bureau Chief News • Senior Executive Producer Entertainment: • General Managers

First Line Managers • Managers • Associate Managers

20 O RGANIZATION STRUCTURE

Geo consists of multiple layers of management and thus forms a Tall Organizational Structure. Information whether upward or downward must pass through so many organizational layers.

SPAN OF CONTROL

In GEO span of control tends to be wide at lower level and is relatively narrow at upper level management. ORGANIZATION CHART

When asked about its organizational chart we were told that it has a very complicated and wide hierarchy organizational chart, which is 3 meters long and is available on a 64 mb visual file, which is kept in the Karachi H.Q. An organizational chart of the Lahore bureau is:

CHART

• C.E.O • C.O.O • Channel President • M.D News • M.D Entertainment • Content Head • Production Head • Director News • Bureau Officers

21 D ECISION MAKING STYLE

It is highly decentralized but also partially centralized. The top managers takes suggestions from all employees but the final decision is in the hand of top management. DELEGATION PROCESS

No matter how an organization is structured, those at the top of the organization are accountable for the actions and decisions of those subordinate to them (within the chain of authority). Geo’s mainframe hierarchy of delegating responsibilities to others in routine or in emergency involves all concerned employees to act with the highest level of professionalism. When a subordinate fails, all who are responsible shoulder that failure and the necessary authority is alerted (e.g. subordinate, superior, and superior to the superior.) in order to rectify an issue. Geo serves this chain of command and delegates the duties to other employees in such a manner that if a departmental head needs to go for some reason, he can delegate his duties for an interim period to his next senior most person available. He can acquire all his authority in a limited manner but can’t take any financial decision on his own, he will need to sanction it first by the board of directors and the CEO of the company to avoid any complexity in the decision making process. LEADING DESIGNATION

The C.E.O Mir Ibrahim-Ur-Rehman is in charge of the Content Production and transmission. The C.O.O Zaheer-U-Din Khan is in charge of all operational departments (Marketing, sales, finance, HR, recovery etc.). President Imran Aslam is responsible for Content portion of GEO. MD. News Azhar Abbas is responsible for GEO News. MD. Entertainment Yousaf Baig Mirza is responsible for GEO Entertainment. Senior Executive Production Tariq Jamil is in charge for production operations in Lahore. Bureau Chief News Khawar Naeem Hashmi is in charge of the News sector in Lahore.

22 The President and C.O.O will report to the C.E.O. Managing Director of News and Managing Director of Entertainment reports to the President. Director News reports to MD News and Content Head of Production reports to MD Entertainment. The News and Entertainment departments have separate levels of hierarchy but they operate from the same office. Further hierarchy is extended to each bureau/regional office.

DEPARTMENTALIZATION:

Geo is a highly organized and departmentalized firm. The control and coordination is narrowed and made easier, so top managers can see more easily how the various departments are performing. This allows GEO to treat the department as a profit centre. The Marketing department is mainly the “Profit center” of GEO. They calculate the profits of Geo and use that information in making decisions about advertising and promotional events, commercial airtime allocation etc.

DEPARTMENTALIZATION OF GEO:

Geo has its own specific way of classifying and grouping work activities. It is classified according to:

• 1)Functional Departmentalization • 2)Geographic Departmentalization

23 F UNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTALIZATION

Geo has developed departments according to a group’s functional activities, such as the:

• Geo News Department • Entertainment Department • Infotainment Department • Product Development Department • Archiving Department • Children’s Division • Human Resources Department • Geo Operations Department • Technical Department • Finance Department • Marketing Department • Sales Department • Creative Department • Music Programming Department • Research Department • Geo Talent Department • Events Department • Sports Programming Department • Scripting Department • Game Shows Department • Fashion Design Department • IT Department • Transmission Department • Communications Department

24 G EOGRAPHIC DEPARTMENTALIZATION

The functional departments of GEO are further sub-divided into geographical departments in order to carry out the operations and activities of different cities, regions and districts. To keep themselves up to date with the latest news and events across the nation and globe. Offices

Head Office: Karachi Bureau/Regional Offices i. Lahore ii. Islamabad iii. Peshawar iv. Quetta v. Multan

Besides that there are also out station reporters of Geo who work individually and have no office for example: Sailkot, Gujranwala and almost in all districts. Earth Station

Dubai .This is the station where all transmission and telecast of programs is undertaken.

25 I NTERNATIONAL OPERATION OFFICE:

• United Kingdom and the United States of America. • C.E.O • President • C.O.O • M.D Entertainment • Content Head • M.D News • Director News • Bureau Offices • Peshawar • Lahore • Islamabad • Quetta • Multan

DEPARTMENTS/DIVISIONS: GEO NEWS DEPARTMENT

GEO News is now a part of our lives. This is where news is broken, processed, analyzed, and disseminated. GEO news just doesn’t happen. It needs dedicated, committed men and women who want to make a difference – GEO News is different because it makes a difference! Producing, Editing, Anchoring, Reporting and Footage all take place under this department. ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT

Enter the world of glamour, creativity, and visually striking images. Enter GEO Entertainment. We have career options for producers, associate producers, script writers, production designers, art directors, fashion designers; make up artists, music composers,

26 location locators, talent hunters, concepts writers and more. So if you have a script, an idea struggling to find shape, think you can act, believe you have the organizational skills and aesthetics to become a producer, nourish an ambition to be part of the wonderful world of show biz, walk into the spotlight. INFOTAINMENT DEPARTMENT

This is where information meets entertainment and shows are created that are exciting to watch while being provocative and thoughtful. The Geo Infotainment Department is on the look out for concept writers, scriptwriters, producers, associate producers, and researchers.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

GEO has created a unique space for creative people who understand market forces. In Product Development, concepts originate are polished and tested against stringent market research, and are placed in time zones that are viewer specific. Product Development at GEO is concerned with the enhancement of our brand. It oversees the evolution of the brand and treats each program as a product that needs to be polished, marketed, positioned, and enhanced. Product Development creates concepts for promoting our products and develops media plans and campaign strategies that place our programs at the very centre of our audience’s attention. For those marketers who want to unleash the creative urges in their hearts, this is the place to be. Un-knot that tie, roll up your sleeves, cut out the power dressing and enter a world that is changing and moving 24/7.

CHILDREN’S DIVISION

27 GEO has treated children seriously. We believe the child has a lot to tell us. His curious, imaginative mind has inspired us to produce programs like ‘Dekho Suno Samjho’ and ‘Bachey Man Kay Sachay’. A child’s genius constantly amazes us. If you feel that you understand children and know what they want, this is your playground.

GEO Children’s Division needs scripts, concepts, fresh young talent, performers, hosts, and producers who have refused to grow up and still have a child lurking in their hearts. Human Resource Department

The Human Resources Department remains a crucial element in the overall composition of the GEO setup. It is the Power House that fuels the GEO Factory with the best of the best, through attraction, recruitment, selection, optimum compensation, welfare, diversified benefits, grievance handling, training & development, formulation of policies and procedures, encompassed with an ever vibrant HR Strategy aligned with the corporate vision and mission of GEO TV. Serving as the vital link that generates identity, self-perception, confidence, vitality, motivation, communication and continual enhancement of overall net worth of every individual functioning as a profoundly valued component of TEAM GEO. HR at GEO is one of the many exceptional brands that exist to nourish your experience at GEO TV. GEO OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT

Organized, analytical and resourceful. Working well with people with a balance of regular responsibilities and new project-based work. Keeping up with trends online to work in the fast-paced GEO environment. Handling stress, skills to organize, project-oriented, and self-starting. Ability to successfully manage strict deadlines and multiple projects. Trouble-shooting, loads and loads of common sense, and thinking from a broader perspective and command on the English language. Belief in systems and providing support to department leadership and all divisions. This is all under the GEO operations department.

28 29 T ECHNICAL DEPARTMENT

Creativity needs to be disseminated. This is where the engineers, technicians, maintenance engineers, light and sound engineers, transmission staff comes in. They are the people who keep the studios operational and bring those stunning visuals to your screens from the most difficult terrain and venues.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Television is a business. In the back room, sit people who are number crunchers, planners, forecasters, financial analysts, budget monitors, and trend spotters. They understand the industry and with constant research make sure that projections are met and budgets and time lines are respected.

MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Every program, time slot, and viewer is an opportunity that needs to be explored, marketed, promoted and valued. Marketing is the department that not only maximizes the value of geo programming but also helps develop it by soliciting feedback form the industry and creating specific creative solutions for clients and brands. If you think you understand how to maximize the potential of an idea, and can create solutions and packages for brands and clients, this is the most dynamic team in media for you. SALES DEPARTMENT

Sales or $ales, is where the money is at! This fast-paced department brings in the rupees that enable us to produce the content that our viewers depend on. True believers of GEO, armed by the content in hand, and the philosophy in mind, go out everyday in to the fast changing and unpredictable market and maximize the value of the channel. At the front line are the foot soldiers of GEO who sell space

30 around our programs and fill the advertising needs of the channel. These are the true dream merchants. CREATIVE DEPARTMENT

GEO is always on the look out for those men and women who tell stories visually, who paint our palette blue and orange, who understand moods and emotions. We need people who have strong aesthetics, who like to break the rules of visual grammar, who can telescope saga in a 30 second graphic and animation ad. These are our window dressers who are concerned with the look and feel of the channel. They illuminate our screens, design our sets and promote our programs wielding all the creative tools at their command. They hold the magic wand. MUSIC PROGRAMMING DEPARTMENT

GEO is in a consistent state of evolution and in this fortitude TEAM GEO is diversifying more into avenues that play the beat of our nation’s youth. At GEO Music we have envisioned with providing generation Y! With a platform to project their true potential in front of the world at large. Presently, GEO Music is in the process of evaluating and redefining what the music market has to offer in terms of quality music standards. GEO Music is probing the rudimentary talent of our nation scoping it, to find diamonds in the rough conscious nurturing these music fanatics of tomorrow, providing them with the right podium to illuminate their expertise in today’s global community RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

GEO-TV carries out research in various mediums on components like advertising, market intelligence, television viewer ship and masses’ penetration of those mediums. These are the basic components, their roots captivates not only the micro changes but also the macro variations on the spectrum of information and entertainment.

31 GEO T ALENT DEPARTMENT

GEO Talent is astounding new initiative by GEO TV. Scouting for talented, hosts, anchors, vocalists, actors, and people pertinent to performing arts whose potentials can be nourished by the expertise of GEO Talent Department. EVENTS DEPARTMENT

Events are all about teamwork and clockwork. Time is of essence and execution is everything. This genre of programming needs organized people who know what needs to be done and when. Never short of excitement and danger, the event must go on! Most of the time events, whether musical or magical, are live. One wrong move can lead to many embarrassing shots on the screen. Loch and orchestra, an event has many pieces that have to be sung synchronized and in turn. If you like working as part of a high energy team and are interested in music, sports, magic and everything in between. SPORTS DEPARTMENT

Sports are a new genre of programming that has also not been explored much in Pakistan. From Cricket to Polo and everything in between. GAME SHOWS DEPARTMENT

Game Shows are a fast and upcoming genre for GEO. Game Shows are also a live genre mostly and full of audience participation. This programming genre ties action as well as puzzles and reality, all rolled into one. From selecting participants to making interesting formats and producing the most entertaining and diverse content platforms for audiences and viewers, Game Shows are an excitement new development in local television.

32 IT D EPARTMENT

Information Technology is the lifeline of the organization supporting all the functions without any interruption catering for all software needs and MIS requirements 24/7. FASHION DESIGN DEPARTMENT

The anchors, presenters, hosts, and entertainers are the faces of the channel. They need to look attractive, presentable, friendly, and inspirational. Our Fashion Design Department gives us our look. The department is there to groom fresh talent, conduct make over, and give them outfits that are striking and tele-genic.

TRANSMISSION DEPARTMENT

GEO has a highly equipped and modern Transmission Department, which remains awake when others are fall asleep. HRM of GEO

Diverse cultural backgrounds and multi-ethnic origins add up to create a strong resource base at GEO. Each member makes a valuable contribution while overall functioning as a team. Committed to doing more for their country, GEO people remain dedicated and passionate about their work. GEO people are focused on broadening horizons and meeting new challenges. Creative and multi-talented, these fine individuals take pride in shaping the future of Pakistan. We spoke to some concerned managers of GEO to find out more about GEO's recruitment and human resource management initiatives.

Imran Aslam, President of GEO TV, believes, "a sense of purpose can be instilled when an employee, not only clearly knows the vision of a company, but is included in making that vision. When an employee knows that he or she deserves to be a part of the organization, and most importantly is empowered to implement that vision, the culture of success appears."

33 RESPONSIBILITIES OF HR Dept.

• Job Analysis • Recruitment and Selection. • Training and Development. • Performance Appraisal. • Remuneration & Benefits. • Employee Welfare (safety and health, incentives, motivation etc.) When any post is vacant, GM HR Syed Zulfiqar Ali sends the request to the HR Department for the vacant post.

HR DEPARTMENT DETERMINES TWO THINGS

• Job Description. • Job Specification.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Firstly, Advertisements are given in the Geo website and if necessary on print also. GEO is one of the most progressive organizations in the country. It believes in complete transparency and objectivity in its hiring process. All members of TEAMGEO are selected on their merit and qualification. The organization is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on any basis. The company has one of the best environments for women employees, and it actively encourages women seeking employment. Members of TEAMGEO come from a diverse background, and are expected to be progressive, open-minded, professional and hardworking. It is not essential to be academically strong, but a strong work ethic is essential. Excellent communication skills are required, this includes being able to use basic computer applications. An interest in reading and writing is always an advantage. When we asked about the job rotation process, their HR manger told us that there is job placement in our company, which is similar to job rotation.

34 Internal Recruitment. In GEO, vacant posts are also filled internally to provide an opportunity for the workers already working in the organization. External Recruitment. In GEO, fresh or experienced candidates are also preferred and hired.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The selection is entirely base on merit, which confirms to selection criteria without any bias towards, gender, religion, race, color, nationality, age, and according to the procedures laid down in the HRD policies. SELECTION PROCEDURE

• Filling out application forms. • Application screening.(short listing) • Tests. (Written and Practical) • Interview. • Final selection. • Orientation • Training

AN IMPARTIAL & OBJECTIVE interview process is one of the most progressive trends at GEO. All short listed candidates will be called in for an interview. They will be given a minimum 48-hour notice before the date, time and place of interview via email and telephone. Each candidate will be interviewed by at least three different persons ensuring the integrity and fairness of the selection process. There is a written test for certain jobs. The selection process may take 30 days from initial interviews to the final selection.

35 ORIENTATION

Orientation program is held when new employees joins the company. They give an opportunity to the all-new employees that they hire to rotate in the factory departments daily so the employees must know in which environment and in which circumstances they had to work. TRAINING

Once they are hired Geo provides them with foreign training usually from CNN and BBC .However, the training is an ongoing process apart from the off job training. For this purpose, they are attached with a senior to supervise them. CONTROLLING Control Process:

HRM AND EMPLOYEE CONTROL PROCESS

GEO has more polices than any other company and these policies are well communicated to the employees. All rules regulations, policies and procedures are mentioned in the employee handbook, which is kept highly confidential from the non-employees. GEO has a strong control on the policies and employee code of conduct and are very strict about them. GEO does not compromise on their polices and implement them strictly. GEO uses the 360 degrees appraisal in which subordinates evaluate their seniors. Each individual (subordinate) evaluates their boss’s behaviour, leadership; attitudes etc. and they are free to give any opinion or complaint against them. The committee then begins inquiries and strictly, Follows Company polices respectively. Subordinate’s comments are very essential for the promotions of their seniors. Department-to-Department evaluation is also done in GEO in which one department evaluates the performance of another department.

36 FORMATION OF POLICIES:

When Geo faces a problem in the implementation of old policies then the policy defining department reviews it and works them out to make necessary changes in the policies. Once a policy is changed or altered it is sent to the approval department after being approved by the approval department it is then lastly sent to the Upper level management. If the upper level management approves the new policy in order for its implementation it is updated on the website, notice boards and open forums. It is also circulated on hardcopies. Market Control Process

Geo uses the external market mechanism such as content based competition and relative market share that is, GEO has to keep up with the latest trends in the media market and follow those trends to maintain and set their standards. GEO has also proved itself to be a trendsetter in the market. QUALITY CONTROL PROCESS

There is a Quality Control team in GEO to monitor the quality and standard of all productions and content. First of all the script is approved by the department then the casting of the production is approved. A pilot of the script is created as a sample and is previewed and is passed by the department. A pilot of the script is created as a sample and is previewed and is passed by the department if the production is according to the standards set in the pilot it is passed and sent to be aired on TV. Finally, GEO then takes feedback about the content from the public (viewers).

37 ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS

EXCLUSIVITY OF GEO

National association of Broadcasters (USA). World’s largest association of broadcasters has honoured GEO with the “Award for Quality” declaring it an international standard television channel.

Some international newspapers, magazines and news agencies have commented on the unique style of GEO and various have quoted it extensively. These include New York Times, Washington Times, Financial Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Francisco Chronicle, AP, AFP, Reuters, CNN, BBC, Khaleej Times, Gulf News, Times of India, The Hindu, Aaj Tak (India), Kyodo (Japan), Al Jazeera and other important television channels. Even the US State Department often quotes GEO.

Geo has been described as the CNN and BBC of Pakistan due to its enormous news network within Pakistan and all over the world. New York Times, one of the most prominent newspapers of the world, has quoted that Geo changed the media scene of Pakistan. It is the most popular channel with the highest viewer ship in cities. Geo won a special award at the nautical TV festival 2005. Geo has also been awarded best electronic mass media award 2004 by Pakistan adv. Association. Business week one of the top 3 magazine of the world while including the news of MSR in 25 stars of Asia wrote that “Geo has become the most watched TV channel of Pakistan and its viewer ship is growing at the rate of 30% annually. According to Gallup, Geo is highly rated and the most watched satellite channel in Pakistan for its entertainment, news talk shows and flavoured programs.

CONCLUSION

From this research, we conclude that: Geo is the only independent and liberal channel with the unique honour of consistently breaking news. Geo is an innovative concept that targets a new, growing market. “We assume that the market will respond, and grow quickly in the next 5 years” says, C.E.O Mir Ibrahim Rehman “Our goals are to create a reputation of quality, consistency and security that will make us the leader of all new style channels. Geo is a fast growing network of channels that is making rapid awareness among the people. Geo’s main problem is the growing number of private sector channels causing more competition. For this reason GEO must improve their strategy and competitive position.

REFERENCES

1) Mr. Mir Ibrahim-Ur-Rehman (CEO, GEO), 2) Mr. Shaheen Raza (Regional Sales Manager, GEO) 3) Mr. Syed Zulfiqar Ali shah (HR Head, GEO) 4) Mr. Shadaat Tayyab (Corporate Head, GEO) 5) Mr. Saqib Noor Ahmed (Associate HR Manager, GEO)