Ready-made Garment Industry In Bangladesh Research Articles

Use of the Internet for investor relations by public listed companies

With the increasing emphasis on developing economies and the use of the internet for corporate relationship building, this study aims to investigate the usage of internet by listed companies in the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh. The study will also include comparison of the contents of investor relationships with empirical evidence from around the world. The sample size contains 105 firms listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Employing statistical analysis for measuring investor relations based on available contents disclosed in firms’ website for investor information, this study found that the 105 firms disclose contents related to investors on their websites but fall short of the standard of other countries with only the company profile as the most prominent disclosure. Study result reports that companies in Bangladesh are still behind compared to developed economies in terms of using internet for investor relations. The study also recommends the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing and Export Association (BGMEA) and other indigenous regulatory bodies encourage firms to disclose more investor related information

Total Quality Management (TQM) Adoption in Bangladesh Ready-Made Garments (RMG) Industry: A Conceptual Model

Bangladesh Ready-Made Garments (RMG) sector shows remarkable growth and significant contribution in the country’s economic development though product and service qualities are yet a considerable problem to worry about. RMG companies in Bangladesh are not fully aware about the impacts and value of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation. Actually they mostly give emphasis on ISO 9000 execution and various researches show that application of this only enhances problems. Researchers argue that effective implementation of TQM practices is a main criteria and predictor of gaining sustainability in business. So, for being competitive in the long run, RMG industry in Bangladesh should focus more on TQM practices rather than taking advantages out of the cheapest labors. As, it is notable to mention that in case of Bangladesh RMG sector, most of the existing literatures give more emphasis and discuss about the infrastructural and strategic matters whereas TQM and Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in an attempt to improve sustainable competitive advantage are still a debate both theoretically as well as empirically. In this aspect, literatures proved that, no previous studies were conducted to verify the association among practices of TQM, sustainable competitive advantage as well as the role of HRM as a mediator to build TQM climate in Bangladesh RMG sector. In order to bridge this gap and to generate a more comprehensive argument, this paper further proposes and aims at providing a tool, a procedural framework, to enhance TQM in various RMG companies operating in Bangladesh via the development of appropriate TQM model which will ensure organizational sustainable competitive advantage where HRM practices will consider as mediating variable. Proposed research direction and conclusion are discussed in conclusion of this research.

Grievances and Industrial Relations in the Ready-Made Garment Industry of Bangladesh with Special Reference to Falcon Group Limited

The purpose of the study is to find out and evaluate the grievances and industrial relations among the workers and the management team in the ready-made garment industry of Bangladesh with special reference to Falcon Group Limited. The study has used both primary and secondary data and information. For gathering primary data and information, depth interviews have been conducted on 45 workers with 5-10 years' long working experiences selected from 9 operating sections of Falcon Group Limited through convenience sampling. Different published books, research articles published in different journals, periodicals and conference proceedings, working papers, newspapers, websites of different organizations and annual reports of Falcon Group Limited and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers&Exporters Association (BGMEA) have been reviewed and analyzed for collecting secondary data and information. The study has found out that conflicts among the workers and the management team occur over time as a vulnerable crisis in the ready-made garment industry of Bangladesh where as a member of this industry, Falcon Group Limited always tries to manage and overcome any unrest situation for maintaining harmonious and peaceful industrial relations like other few reputed garment manufacturing companies of the country. The study has also identified lack of educated and skilled workers, lack of safe and healthy working environment, lack of proper managerial knowledge, gender discrimination among workers, low wage rate, irregularities in payment of wages, lack of discussion opportunity with management, lack of compliance, long working hours, harassment, International conspiracy and political intervention, mistreatment with workers etc. as the major causes of grievances or labor unrest in this sector. Considering these causes, the study has also provided some policy recommendations to overcome the problems of labor unrest so that harmonious and peaceful industrial relations can be ensured in the garment sector. Therefore, the study will contribute in the garment sector as well as the economy of Bangladesh and add value to the policymakers of government and partner organizations, researchers, academicians, students and practitioners of the respective field of study.

International Solidarity or Renewed Trade Union Imperialism? The AFL–CIO and Garment Workers in Bangladesh

This article assesses the AFL–CIO's in Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) industry over the past two decades, drawing upon documentary sources and in‐depth interviews conducted in 2007. Our research indicates that AFL–CIO actions clearly match four of the five characteristics of hegemonic trade union imperialism, including initiating its own organizations that it can directly control instead of working with existing unions; and employing bureaucratic and legalistic methods when pursuing workplace grievances. Nevertheless, while we characterize the AFL–CIO's actions in Bangladesh as renewed trade union imperialism, this thrust has been tempered with reformist achievements. These include path‐breaking attention to the development of women workers' leadership skills. We conclude that the labor movement in the RMG industry in Bangladesh will have to find ways to accumulate new resources and credibility and to overcome its historical subservience to the two major Bangladeshi political parties if it is to effectively counter the AFL–CIO's trade union imperialism.

Made in Bangladesh: challenges to the ready-made garment industry

Purpose – The primary aim of this paper is to evaluate the challenges before the growth of the ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh, the economy's backbone, and suggest appropriate reform. Design/methodology/approach – The paper begins by tracing the growth and evolution of the RMG industry before identifying the challenges. It then proceeds to suggest appropriate reform for the same. Findings – The paper argues for more effective models of collective bargaining and unionism as a solution to the problems that the industry faces. Originality/value – The paper is the first of its kind in the sense that it is a comprehensive account of the challenges to the RMG industry in Bangladesh.

One Step Forward or More Window-Dressing? A Legal Analysis of Recent CSR Initiatives in the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh ready-made garment industry has recently been the scene of a number of major accidents, with the collapse of the Rana Plaza on 24 April 2013 as the deadliest garment-factory accident ever known. Under renewed international pressure for multinational corporations (MNCs) to take responsibility for working conditions in these factories, two initiatives have been adopted with the involvement of leading European and North-American brands. With these initiatives, the MNCs claim to improve their corporate social responsibility (CSR) vis-à-vis those factories. From a regulatory perspective, they represent cases of transnational private regulation (TPR). Although CSR and TPR are increasingly common, these initiatives have been received with mixed enthusiasm, as they exist in a legal vacuum raising questions about their legal status, legitimacy, implementation and compliance mechanisms. These questions will be addressed in this article about the Bangladesh initiatives, in order to ascertain whether they have the potential to contribute to safe working conditions in the Bangladeshi garment industry, or rather if they should be seen as window-dressing.

Labor Unrest in the Ready-Made Garment Industry of Bangladesh

For the last two decades, Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Industry has been the life-blood of the economy of Bangladesh. This sector accounted for about 80% of the total export earnings of the country. In the recent years, it has been observed that the workers have came down in the street and making insurgence on their demand and tried to destruct public properties. As a result, companies are losing working-hours and production targets. It also hampers export earnings and the image of the country to the international markets. In this connection, this study tried to find out the factors behind the unrest in the ready-made garment industry of Bangladesh and identifies some measures to improve the situation. In this study, 244 workers were interviewed from the different garment factories located in Savar and Gazipur district of Bangladesh. Data were analyzed with factor analysis, regression model, and by using other suitable statistical tools. The results show that the main causes of labor unrest include lack of minimum facility and safety at work, sub-standard living conditions, deferred payment of wages and benefits, international conspiracy and coercive role of the law enforcing agency, too much dependency on buyers, pressures from the workers and local terrorists, use of workers by others and rumors, un-fulfillment of education demands of their children, distorted minded workers, political instability of the country, too much workload, lack of promotion opportunity, insufficient wages to survive etc. If the policy makers of Bangladesh consider these causes and make policies to overcome the problems the labor unrest in garment sector may be minimized.

Trade Liberalization and Ready-Made Garments Industry in Bangladesh

The study aims at examining the effect of trade liberalization on ready-made garments (RMG) industry in Bangladesh. It employs Johansen-Juselius Cointegration test and Vector Error Correction Modeling (VECM) on yearly data from January 1990 through September 2011. The results reveal a significant long-term relationship between RMG export of Bangladesh and the three tested explanatory variables (merchandise export of China and India plus domestic inflation in Bangladesh). The Granger Causality test shows the presence of dynamic relationship between the performance of RMG export of Bangladesh and the value of merchandise export from China and India. However, this dynamic relation is non-existent in relation to the inflation factor. Keywords: New industrial policy; revised industrial policy; quantitative restrictions; structural adjustment program; multi-fiber agreement; generalized system of preferences ABSTRAK Kajian ini dilakukan bagi menguji kesan liberalisasi perdagangan ke atas industri pembuatan pakaian siap di Bangladesh. Kaedah kajian melibatkan penggunaan ujian kointegrasi Johansen-Juselius dan model pembetulan ralat vector (VECM) bagi mengenal pasti jenis-jenis interaksi antara nilai eksport pakaian siap dan tiga pembolehubah ekonomi (nilai eskport barangan dari China, India dan kadar inflasi di Bangladesh). Menggunakan data tahunan dari bulan Januari 1990 hingga September 2011, kajian mendapati terdapat hubungan jangka-panjang antara nilai eksport pakaian siap Bangladesh dengan ketiga-tiga pembolehubah. Analisis statistik melalui ujian kesan-akibat Granger menunjukkan terdapat hubungan dinamik yang signifikan antara nilai eksport pakaian siap Bangladesh dengan nilai eksport barangan dari China dan India. Bagaimanapun, hubungan dinamik ini tidak kelihatan apabila nilai eksport pakaian siap Bangladesh dikaitkan dengan kadar inflasi tempatan. Kata kunci: Polisi industri baru; penyemakan semula dasar perindustrian; sekatan kuantitatif; program pelarasan struktur; perjanjian multi-fibre, sistem umum keutamaan

Quality control by information technology in RMG industry in Bangladesh

The ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh is now enjoying the status of being the largest garment exporter and the largest exporter of knit garment to the European Union. The competition with other countries like China and India in Asia is not only on the basis of productivity but also on the basis of quality. That is why it needs continuous monitoring and improvement for mass production. In this paper, a research has been made for identifying the dominating cause of quality problem in grey fabrics and the quantitative measure of its influence on quality also has been studied. An informative simulation-software model has been established for the continuous monitoring of grey quality and for eliminating the dominating cause of the quality loss.