Garment Industry In Bangladesh Research Articles

Prioritization of Environmental Uncertainty and Manufacturing Flexibility for Labor-Intensive Industry: A Case Study on Ready-Made Garment Industries in Bangladesh

Manufacturing flexibility is a widely accepted manufacturing strategy for mitigating the negative impacts of environmental uncertainty on firm performance and is also a required strategic attribute to acclimatize mass customization and agile manufacturing. Manufacturing flexibility has been adequately studied for technology-intensive industries but remains inadequately addressed for labor-intensive industries. In this study, a framework is proposed for sorting the relevant manufacturing flexibility types for the relevant environmental uncertainty types as an initial step towards implementing manufacturing flexibility in labor-intensive industries. This study considered the RMG (ready-made garment) industries in Bangladesh, which are mostly labor-intensive, as a case. Different types of manufacturing flexibility and environmental uncertainty were identified through a deductive approach from the existing literature and theory. Then, final sorting was conducted through a focus group discussion using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) techniques. This study revealed that demand, competitor, supplier, and technology uncertainty were ranked sequentially from first to fourth. This study also revealed that demand and competitor uncertainty would be the first-line focus, and supplier uncertainty the second-line focus, of decision makers. Similarly, new product, volume, workforce, and modification flexibility were ranked sequentially from first to fourth, and these would be considered first-line focuses by decision makers. This study also showed that all types of environmental uncertainties had an internal effect (one type affects another type within the types of environmental uncertainty). Internal effects among the different types of manufacturing flexibility were also identified. This study contributes to the theory of manufacturing flexibility for labor-intensive industries and will help decision makers gradually implement manufacturing flexibility based on their capacity and goal.

Fabric Defect Detection using Image Processing

Fabric defect is one of the most important and serious matters of quality control in textile industry in Bangladesh. This task takes a lot of time and money. For this reason we have introduced a simple process to find defects on fabric based on edge detection. This process is mainly focused on image processing which can be integrated with fabric defect detection automation system. In this paper we have tried a new approach using the filter method with edge detection and found good results. Our algorithm can detect defected fabric area successfully. It can be also used in real-time defect detection considering light intensity, zoom, fabric width, camera resolution etc. As our algorithm mainly works on the principle of edge detection, it cannot detect defect on multicoloured or patterned fabric. It works well on single coloured fabric without any fold or edge.

The Mediating Effect of Customer Satisfaction on the Relationship between Service Recovery Performance Factors and Business Growth among Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers

As of late, business growth is sensed as one of the greatest challenges for Bangladesh garment industry in order to gain competitive advantage because many garment factories have been shutting down since last few years. However, the owners of garment factories are deeming intensely regarding the impact of service recovery phenomenon on the most topical and imperative issue- company business growth. The purpose of this opportune study is twofold; firstly to examine the relationship between influential factors of service recovery performance (SRP) and company business growth, secondly to examine the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on relationship between SRP factors and business growth in context of Bangladesh garment industry. Based on literature review, a conceptual model has been developed for a cross-sectional sample survey study. Primary data were collected following simple random sampling method from 354 different garment factories in Bangladesh. The partial least squares path modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was used by Smart PLS 3.2 software for data analysis and necessary hypothesis inferences. The results revealed that top management commitment, organizational & technical support, training, role ambiguity, job satisfaction and customer’s characteristics directly influence company business growth. Also, customer satisfaction plays mediating role on relationship between following SRP factors and business growth; top management commitment, role ambiguity, job satisfaction and customer’s characteristics. The findings of this research contribute by presenting an integrative new conceptual model encompassing influential SRP variables and business growth. The results append the knowledge how garment factories can formulate new strategy and management practice to ensure sustained business growth. Keywords: Service recovery performance (SRP), customer satisfaction, business growth. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-8-07 Publication date: April 30 th 2022

The Garment Industry in Bangladesh, Corporate Social Responsibility of Multinational Corporations, and The Impact of COVID-19

AbstractThis article investigates the Bangladeshi garment industry that supplies ready-made garments for global brands and the corporate social responsibilities (CSRs) of the brands/multinational corporations (MNCs) towards their supply chains. Although outsourcing and global trade have boosted the living standards of many people in the Bangladeshi garment industry, there are some significant concerns regarding the working conditions and treatment of workers in these supply chains. This, in turn, cannot, and should not, be detached from the legal relationship between the Bangladeshi supply chains and the MNCs contracting with them. This article examines the impact of COVID-19, which has exposed the fragility and the pre-existing flaws in the relationship between the MNCs and their suppliers more clearly than at any other time in history. There is a huge governance gap between MNCs and supply chains that needs to be addressed urgently. This article assesses the legality of the cancellation of orders by the brands that invoked the force majeure clause. In doing so, this paper briefly deals with the responses of three American retail companies, namely Sears, Kohl’s, and the Arcadia Group, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It illustrates that the power asymmetry between the MNCs and their suppliers has put the supply chains in an unreasonably disadvantageous position, creating unfair and even unconscionable conduct by several MNCs. This article also looks at solutions for the existing problems, focusing, inter alia, on non-financial reporting requirements in the US and the EU to implement CSR in supply chains. However, disappointingly, the authors had to conclude that MNCs typically have the propensity to disregard CSR, whenever it is convenient for them and use CSR for mere “greenwashing” purposes for their strategic benefit only. It is a problem that requires constant attention and continuing research to find long-term solutions. The article employs doctrinal methodology and, by conducting a meta-analysis of literature and case-studies, it provides a comprehensive understanding of how the industry works.

Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Readymade Garment Industry during COVID-19: A Study on Bangladesh Garment Industry

The Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry has performed the concentrated fundamental role for the economic development of Bangladesh. To obtain the finale result, this exertions-in complexity industry wishes to experience after COVID0-19 for sustainable practices with the adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in its Garment production chain. CSR, being a fast-developing phenomenon in industrial arena, is drawing the concern of world-renowned clothing customers working with Bangladesh. To flatten the coronavirus spread curve, the authorities declared kingdom-huge vacations up to twenty-five April 2020 and enterprise and industrial activities have come to a grinding halt except emergency offerings. Many global customers are cancelling or postponing showed procurement orders as their shops are substantially closed in Europe, North America, Asia and some other place. According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), worldwide buyers have both cancelled or suspended $3.16 billion really worth of shipments related to 1,142 factories affecting 2.26 million people as of 18 April 2020.7 Millions of workers stare at joblessness as new orders dried up given the disintegrate in international call for apparels. This scenario is being changed after COVID-19 considering that a vast variety of Bangladeshi garment manufacturers have followed CSR practices spending a huge sum of money. This study will find out the current reputation of sustainable financial enchantment through the implementation of CSR practices inside the RMG enterprise after COVID -19 of Bangladesh. Keywords : Corporate Social Responsibility, Ready-Made Garments, COVID-19 DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-5-07 Publication date: March 31 st 2022

Buyer–Supplier Role in Improving Ergonomics in Garment Supplier Factories: Empirical Evidence from the Garment Industry of Bangladesh

Ergonomics is a key concern of garment suppliers to improve their workers’ well-being and efficiency. However, suppliers’ isolated initiatives are not sufficient to improve ergonomics conditions. Thus, buyers’ cooperation and collaboration with suppliers are necessary to make the ergonomic initiatives successful and sustainable. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of buyer-assisted ergonomics intervention on suppliers’ performance and the role of buyers’ assistance and suppliers’ initiatives for improving ergonomics conditions in garment supplier factories. Following a qualitative research approach and multiple embedded case study method, this study intervened in supplier factories and collected qualitative and quantitative data from one Danish buyer and their four key suppliers on ergonomics and the role of buyers and suppliers in improving ergonomics conditions. Collected data were analysed by employing both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. This study demonstrates that buyer-assisted ergonomics intervention on the shop floor can improve ergonomics conditions in garment supplier factories. This study also shows that improving ergonomics in supplier factories need joint efforts of buyers and suppliers. The findings of this study will enrich the literature on ergonomics, sustainability, and buyer–supplier relationships by demonstrating how garment suppliers in developing countries can improve ergonomics to meet the expectations of lead buyers and their workers. This is a unique research attempt to understand ergonomics from a buyer–supplier relationship perspective and its impact on the social sustainability of garment suppliers.

The Scenario of Fire Safety through Accord in Bangladeshi Garments Industry

The Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector is one of the industries that drive the economy of Bangladesh towards growth. The risk management of this sector has always been a major concern. Several incidents in this sector increased this concern of several related parties. Different codes of conduct and policies have been introduced in different times to improve the overall scenario. After two massive fire incidents in Tazreen Fashion and building collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, an accord program has been built to ensure the fire and safety in 2013. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the accord has improved fire safety condition in the Bangladeshi garments industry or not. Therefore, the study initially focuses on looking into the existing literature on history and risk management issues of Bangladeshi garment industry. This study is a descriptive study, based on primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected through semi-structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews from several respondents from several garment factories. The result of this study illustrates, after the legally binding agreement of Accord 2013, Bangladeshi garments and textile industries had started to focus on worker safety issues. However, in order to prevent fire hazard and ensure a better workplace for the garment workers, they have taken all the necessary steps by ensuring a proper checklist for the fire gadgets and implementing training session for the workers. The findings should make substantial empirical contribution to show the real influence of the codes. However, the study was limited to only Bangladeshi garment industry and due to Covid-19 pandemic, the accessibility to various respondents of this industry has been restricted. Therefore, it may also affect the sample size. Overall, the study may provide an idea about the implication of the accord in garment factories and the result may help the policy makers to develop/modify policies for this sector in a more effective way.

Evaluation of Causes and Effects of Fire and Other Safety Incidents in Readymade Garment Industry of Bangladesh

The readymade garment industry in Bangladesh is one of the foremost significant export-oriented industries, but it faces issues in ensuring worker safety. Industrial accidents threaten workplace safety, which is additionally amongst the foremost critical challenges in the world's industries. The objectives of this paper are to explore the numerous lethal incidents in the industry in Bangladesh and also explore the causes for these lethal incidents with the effect of those incidents. This paper aims to present a case study of the working conditions of readymade garment industries in Bangladesh and the case study presented past and running unsafe working conditions in the industry of violations of human rights and the high prevalence of injuries on duty by the workers. Differing kinds of causation in the recent decade have made the Bangladeshi garment industry ambiguous. Among 4,560 garment industries, 237 lethal incidents happened and that ratio was 5.2% during the last 31 years (1990-2020). Almost 237 lethal incidents, 94.09% incidents occurred by fire and only 1.27% incidents were caused by building collapse and 3.38% incidents were caused by boiler burst and another 1.27% by other different incidents. The total number of harmed people was 6,870 of which 1,689 people were injured and 5,181 people died, also the highest incident happened from 2011 to 2015 when 3,800 people were injured and 1,287 people died. This paper will investigate around for the causes of the various incidents and can expose the precautionary measure for those problems in the fashion industry which affected their sustainability and profitability.

Creating a Long-Term Safe Workplace in Garment Industry of Bangladesh: A Review

Creating a Long-Term Safe Workplace in Garment Industry of Bangladesh: A Review

Scope of Injury Minimization in Garments Industry: An Analysis

Injury and accidents have a lot of negative impacts in an organization, especially in a manufacturing industry. Injury is a hindrance to productivity as it harms the lead time of the production. Additionally, reputation and development of an industry get destroyed as it directly related to manpower and product or service. Previously in garments industry of Bangladesh, a lot of injury happened almost every year due to infrastructural problem as well as various hazards in the production floor. The number of these accidents has been reduced to a great extent at present. The injury must be minimized to provide safe working environment, to ensure compliance issues and to retain the orders in Readymade Garments (RMG) industry. In our paper, it was attempted to minimize the injury in some selective sections of a garments industry. The total number of injuries occurred in those sections for a specific month was collected. After analyzing the collected data, the major causes of accidents and injuries faced by the workers in those sections were pointed out. The possible causes were then solved by taking proper actions and the data against same criteria was analyzed for the consecutive month. Finally, after achieving positive results, related preventive recommendations were framed out and given to the industry for injury minimization in future.

The Impact of Corporate Governance on Stock Performance: Evidence from Bangladesh

Purpose: This explanatory study aims to examine the compliance status of corporate governance mechanisms and their effect on stock performance of textile industry in Bangladesh. Methodology: Fifty annual reports of listed textile companies for the year 2019 have been taken as the sample to find the empirical result of this study. The statistics for description and interpretation of cross-sectional data have been used to explore and examine the causal relationship among variables under study. Findings: From the statistical analysis of governance variables, it is seen that 30% of the sample company have a minimum (5) member in the Board, whereas only 2% companies have more than 10 directors. Moreover, five companies having negative and low return on asset (ROA) do not comply with the governance code provision regarding independent directors. In addition to these, 18% companies have no female director on the Board and are violating the Board diversity policy of corporate governance. This study shows a significant and positive association between the gender diversity and the stock performance, which supports the lens of stakeholder and resource dependency theories and proves that the presence of female directors is an effective mechanism to protect the interest of outside resource providers and. But it infers that the presence of the independent director negatively affects the dependent variable, stock performance that is also statistically significant. Originality: The main value of the study is that it is the first paper in Bangladesh, which has considered the stock price change as proxy for stock performance as per author best knowledge. Practical Implications: The outcome of the paper is most likely to benefit the top managements and directors in formulating a suitable Board dimension, and policy makers in regulating the capital market in Bangladesh for making more informative decisions towards improving their surveillance and monitory systems and ensuring the compliance level of issuer. Research Limitations: This is cross-sectional study, which is limited to textile companies and does not consider primary data.

Scholarly Revisit the Role of Worker Participation Committee: Evidence from the Ready-Made Garment Industry of Bangladesh

Purpose– The prime objective of this article is to revisit the role of Workers Participation Committee (WPC) and discover how and where WPC has been playing an active role in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Industry in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach– This study has extensively reviewed the journal articles, documents prepared by international organizations and thesis works of researchers that have been published in the reputed journals and online sources. Findings– This study finds that WPC has active roles to play in the issues related to labor standards and the issues related to labor rights. Moreover, WPC has the ability to establish mutual trust and harmonious relationship between the workers and employers by resolving industrial dispute. Research limitations- This is a conceptual paper which suffers to observe the reality from the ground. This study will invoke many scholars to conduct empirical studies in the future to evaluate the reality of the functions that WPC can play independently at the organizational level in Bangladesh. Practical implications– This study contributes significantly to the existing literature of WPC, especially in the RMG industry. This study also has implication as the future reference to conduct empirical assessment in terms of WPC’s roles and legislative reformation. Originality/value– As far as originality is concerned, very few research effort has been made before to revisit the role of WPC in the RMG industry in Bangladesh.

Scholarly Revisit the Role of Worker Participation Committee: Evidence from the Ready-Made Garment Industry of Bangladesh

Purpose– The prime objective of this article is to revisit the role of Workers Participation Committee (WPC) and discover how and where WPC has been playing an active role in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Industry in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach– This study has extensively reviewed the journal articles, documents prepared by international organizations and thesis works of researchers that have been published in the reputed journals and online sources. Findings– This study finds that WPC has active roles to play in the issues related to labor standards and the issues related to labor rights. Moreover, WPC has the ability to establish mutual trust and harmonious relationship between the workers and employers by resolving industrial dispute. Research limitations- This is a conceptual paper which suffers to observe the reality from the ground. This study will invoke many scholars to conduct empirical studies in the future to evaluate the reality of the functions that WPC can play independently at the organizational level in Bangladesh. Practical implications– This study contributes significantly to the existing literature of WPC, especially in the RMG industry. This study also has implication as the future reference to conduct empirical assessment in terms of WPC’s roles and legislative reformation. Originality/value– As far as originality is concerned, very few research effort has been made before to revisit the role of WPC in the RMG industry in Bangladesh.

Providing Antenatal Care Facility is the Most Effective Way to Improve Nutritional Knowledge of Mothers Working in the Ready-Made Garment Industry of Bangladesh

Providing Antenatal Care Facility is the Most Effective Way to Improve Nutritional Knowledge of Mothers Working in the Ready-Made Garment Industry of Bangladesh

Impact of Supply Chain Management Tools on Customer Satisfaction: A Study on Readymade Garments Industry of Bangladesh

Impact of Supply Chain Management Tools on Customer Satisfaction: A Study on Readymade Garments Industry of Bangladesh

Effects of leadership styles and motivational factors on worker engagement: an empirical study on the ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh

This study inspects the effects of motivational factors (intrinsic and extrinsic) and leadership styles (transformational and transactional) on worker engagement in the ready-made garments industry of Bangladesh. The paper is based on Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory. The study adopted a quantitative technique and used SPSS to analyse the data assembled from a valid sample of 387 workers in Bangladesh's ready-made garments industry. The findings show that extrinsic motivational factors positively correlate with worker engagement more than intrinsic motivational factors. Consequently, transformational leadership is positively associated with worker engagement more than transactional leadership among the workers in the ready-made garments industry of Bangladesh. In conclusion, it is suggested that the industry should focus more on the transformational leadership style compared to the transactional leadership style and workers have to be motivated to increase productivity in this specific industry.

Worker Satisfaction in Health, Hygiene and Safety Measures Undertaken by the Readymade Garments Industry of Bangladesh: A Case Study on Gazipur

Purpose: The main purpose of the study is to explore the effects of health, hygiene and safety measures on worker satisfaction in readymade garments sector in Gazipur district of Bangladesh. Methodology: Based on review of literatures and collection of 260 usable responses the study is conducted by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method using Smart PLS 3.0. Findings: The findings of the study have revealed that health and hygiene measures significantly influence workers’ satisfaction towards readymade garments sector in Bangladesh. However, the study results show that safety measures insignificantly influence the workers" satisfaction towards garment Sector in Bangladesh. Practical implications: The study might be useful for garment industry operators in formulating strategies of improving health and Hygiene measures, and safety measures to improve workers' satisfaction in garment sector in Bangladesh. Originality: The study has uniquely presented a case comprising the factors helping devising a strategy for industry professionals through measuring the integrated effects of health, hygiene and safety measures on workers’ satisfaction of readymade garment sector in Bangladesh.

Potential Coping Strategies to the Impact of COVID-19 on Global Supply Chain——With the Case of Bangladesh Garment Industry

COVID-19 has caused lots damage to human’s health and world economy. To come up with potential coping strategies to the impact COVID-19 causes on global supply chains, this research report uses the case of Bangladesh garment industry and analyses 235 answers to the questionnaire. By analysing the relationship between CSR and consumers’ purchase behaviour, gender and identity difference in CSR perception and legal restriction to CSR, the potential coping strategies can be concluded as: each section in global supply chain should pay attention to CSR and consumers’ purchase behaviour form various perspectives like genders and occupations; governments should step in and make laws to set legal restrictions on the application of CSR.

Bangladesh RMG Supply Chain Vulnerabilities To Disruption Beyond Covid-19

With the recent outbreak of Covid-19, the fragility of the global SC has been revealed. Significant disruption from both the demand and supply side has jolted the garment industry of Bangladesh. This paper aims to foster a more explicit understanding of the disruption vulnerability factors of the Bangladesh RMG SC beyond Covid-19. To achieve this aim, an exploratory study methodology is used by extensive literature review. Analysis revealed that Bangladesh RMG SC is vulnerable to hazard, strategic, financial, operational, infrastructural, and demand and supply factors. Natural calamities, infrastructural collusions, labor and political unrest, globally intensified competition, non-compliance issues, high dependency on imported materials, lack of product, and market diversification can lead Bangladesh RMG SC to disruptive events. The analysis of this study will help factory owners, industrial managers, and designated authorities to identify vulnerabilities associated with the Bangladesh RMG SC and take measures to reduce the vulnerabilities to disruption.

Quality intervention, supplier performance and buyer–supplier relationships: evidence from the garment industry

PurposeThis study investigates the impact of a buyer-assisted quality intervention on suppliers' quality performance and buyer–supplier relational dynamics in the garment industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a multiple-embedded case study following a qualitative research approach. The study used data from buyer-assisted quality interventions in sewing lines of four garment supplier factories. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews of buyer's representatives at their office and senior managers, line inspectors, supervisors and workers in supplier factories. In addition, data related to product quality was obtained from quality check sheets and observations on the shop floor. Data were analysed using qualitative data analysis techniques.FindingsThis study demonstrates that a buyer-assisted quality intervention improves product quality performance by reducing quality defects in targeted garment products resulting in improved buyer–supplier relationships. Moreover, this study identifies the lack of a systematic approach in quality control as a key reason for poor product quality.Research limitations/implicationsThe study adds knowledge to the literature on quality improvement and buyer–supplier relationships by analysing buyer-assisted quality interventions in the garment industry in Bangladesh. The study demonstrates that buyer's assistance and adopting a systematic approach in quality control can significantly improve product quality in the garment industry.Practical implicationsThis research can help the quality assurance managers in buyer and supplier firms understand the significance of quality interventions and systematic quality control approach to decrease product quality defects and ensure smooth buyer–supplier relationships.Originality/valueThe study adds new knowledge on the link between buyer-assisted quality interventions, systematic quality control and product quality in garments factories in Bangladesh.