Sector Of Bangladesh Research Articles

Green Human Resource Management Practice in Bangladesh Readymade Garments Industries

Green Human Resource management (GHRM) is not commonly practiced in the ready-Made Garments (RMG) sectors in Bangladesh. Only a few factories practiced the GHRM and they achieved many international awards as well as developed their business rapidly. RMG sector in Bangladesh could benefit from implementing GHRM and establishing sustainable development. This is the quantitative analysis and random sampling methods used to select the garments factories and representatives. Ten garments industries were randomly selected . Five managers were selected from different departments in each garments factory. They informed that the many obstacles to GHRM practices in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. The researcher found some major obstacles like organizational support, inadequate turnover of managerial interests, high costs of practice, and employee turnover. It is possible to successfully implement the GHRM practice in Bangladesh's RMG industry by implementing tight regulations and rules, supervision, training programs, incentives, and mandatory courses in the education system. The suggestion of this research paves the way for improved GHRM methods. The research outcomes would increase GHRM practice in the RMG sectors and may be utilized for innovative contributions to Bangladesh's RMG businesses.

Do primary HR functions model work in emerging economies? Sustainable compact perspective for Bangladeshi RMG industry

PurposeThe International Labour Organization’s (ILO) sustainable compact is evident for many labor-intensive industries in emerging economies. This study aims to develop a sustainable human resource (HR) practice model for a labor-intensive industry from the evidence of the Bangladeshi ready-made garments (RMG) sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study tests the factors identified from the literature for model validation. A total of 22 HR function items were used in a survey of 800 randomly selected respondents from the RMG sector in Bangladesh. The factor analysis (both exploratory and confirmatory) techniques were applied to explore and validate the model.FindingsThe study findings reveal that the factory management and policymakers should focus on sustainable HR practices for the betterment of a labor-intensive industry. In detail, the staffing function involves strategic HR planning, recruitment and selection and perfect employee placement; training and development functions entail proper organizational orientation, various training and development programs and employees’ career management and growth; the motivation function necessitates job design, fairness in the appraisal, practicing good organizational citizenship behavior with sound rewarding system and compensation packages; and finally, the maintenance function entails healthy and safe working environment, good communication and relationship management.Originality/valueThe study is original in developing a sustainable HR practice model with the alignment of ILO’s three inter-linked sustainability compact for a labor-intensive industry from an emerging economy perspective. The study’s outcomes will be a torchbearer for any labor-intensive industry’s sustainable HR practice from an emerging economy across the globe.

Factors encouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) in the wind and solar energy sector in an emerging country

This study bridges the current research gap by exploring the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the renewable energy sector in Bangladesh through the OLI and TCE theories. Based on semi-structured interviews with 13 experts, it investigates the determinants of firms' decision-making processes in the UK, Singapore, USA, Denmark, Thailand, China, and South Korea, conducting FDI in the renewable energy sector in Bangladesh. The results show that the institutional environment assumes the highest weight over macroeconomic and natural conditions for attracting FDI in Bangladesh's wind and solar energy projects. In the macro-economy, economic growth and access to local finance are important in attracting FDI. Contrarily, land availability assumes the highest importance for attracting FDI in the natural condition dimension.

Capacity development for the Bangladesh Delta Plan from the perspective of delta professionals: A qualitative study

Abstract Many deltaic regions around the world are exploring or adopting planning initiatives to address the complex challenges associated with future economic development and climate change. A key feature is their adaptive nature, also coined as adaptive delta management (ADM). ADM refers to the development of strategies and measures that allow us to adapt to change over a long time. The Government of Bangladesh has recently approved the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP2100) – a long-term adaptive strategy for sustainable water resources management. This study aims to explore the future capacity requirements from the perspective of water/delta professionals for implementing BDP2100. This calls for structural and institutional changes, and new skills and competencies to address the specific organisational and individual needs for effective delivery. A capacity development programme as an integral part of BDP2100 is currently under development. Adopting a qualitative approach, 16 key informant interviews were conducted with experts and professionals from the water and water-related sectors in Bangladesh. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The participants reflected that an integrated and adaptive system is critical for sustainable delta management; collaboration and coordination between water/delta professionals (e.g., policy planners, consultants, and academics) and delta expert stakeholders with deep local familiarity (e.g., communities, activists, and civil society members) were deemed essential. In addition, a powerful independent institutional body is recommended to provide stewardship and leadership in the implementation process.

The linkage between corporate social responsibility and the main benefits obtained from the integration of multiple management systems in Bangladesh

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the perceived benefits offered by integrated management system (IMS) in the readymade garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh and the respective linkage with corporate social responsibility (CSR) to promote sustainable development. This study presents a list of IMS benefits composed of different international management standards according to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, OSHAS 18001: 2007 and SA 8000:2014.Design/methodology/approachTo identify the possible benefits of IMS, a systematic literature review was conducted from 2009 to 2019, namely, in the database of Elsevier, Emerald and John Wiley. A questionnaire survey was developed with the purpose of examining the perceived main benefits of IMS. The questionnaire was e-mailed to 355 representatives of 15 RMG sectors in Bangladesh. A total of 256 complete and useable responses were received, constituting the base of this work. Subsequently, statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 20 software.FindingsThe main findings of the present study show that the most important five benefits of IMS in RMG sector in Bangladesh are better capacity to achieve organization’s objectives, optimum use of various resources, business sustainability, synergies of different management policies and reduction of duplication efforts.Practical implicationsTwo major limitations of the study are as follows: first, it is not a longitudinal study; second, IMS benefits were examined in the national sector context. The present study has both theoretical and practical implications. The study presents a comprehensive list of IMS benefits that contribute to the existing literature from a theoretical point of view. On the other hand and from a practical point of view, this study encourages managers to implement IMS in their organizations.Originality/valueThis study helps in understanding the contribution of IMS benefits to cleaner production and CSR in Bangladesh. The focus on the benefits of IMS in the RMG sector in Bangladesh is another significant aspect of this study because it promotes the development of environmental policies linked to CSR with stakeholder engagement, as a driver to sustainable development.

Using Microcontroller Based Digital Portable Soil Testing Device (“Matir Pran”) for Agricultural Sector Development

The major economic sector in Bangladesh is agriculture, which contributes 19.6% of the nation's GDP and employs 63% of the residents. The agricultural products feature like growth, quality dependent on the soil condition. Now a day’s most of the farmer’s family in Bangladesh uses smart phone. Based on this availability of smart devices and huge potentiality of uses of the devices, this project and study have been done for finding the common most useful two features of soil like measuring the pH level and testing the moisture of soil instantly, which usually reported after a long-time traditional process of analysis. These android-based apps incorporated in the smart device, which help the farmer to plant crops based on the testing parameters - pH level and moisture displayed in the screen of the devices. After testing android apps suggests the farmers- which types crops they can plant in this field, it can also suggest the way of increasing and decreasing the pH level. Arduino Nano, OLED display, pH sensor, moisture sensor are the main hardware and XML, material design (for front end) and JAVA, SQLite database, (for back end) are the software uses in the project.

IoT-based real-time patients vital physiological parameters monitoring system using smart wearable sensors.

Health care is one of the least funded sectors in Bangladesh and many other similar developing countries. People living in rural and remote areas do not have access to proper health care, and when they do, it is too expensive. This research aimed to develop a real-time health monitoring system that is cheap, easy to use, and accessible by doctors and patients. The system consists of several Internet of Things (IoT)-based sensors connected to an Arduino microprocessor, which thus measures the vital body signs of the patients. The measured readings are then transmitted to an Android application on a smartphone via a Bluetooth module. The sensors are connected to analog inputs. These sensors measure analog data, which is amplified by the microprocessor after being sorted. Doctors can also carry out the diagnosis of ailments using the data collected remotely from the patient. An Android-based mobile application that interfaces with a web-based application is implemented for efficient patients-doctors dual real-time communication. The Android application, which is connected to a MySQL database, updates the said database, which updates and displays the readings on a website accessible by both doctors and patients. Initially, the health monitor was tested using an Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) monitor and a single user. Once initial simulations were successful, the proposed system was tested on five different real-human test subjects. The testing of the wireless health monitor produced successful results that measured patient vitals with a high level of accuracy. The proposed IoT-based system monitors vital signs such as the patient’s body temperature, heart rate, ECG, SpO2 levels, blood pressure, and glucose levels. This system also includes a medical treatment plan by the doctors. The proposed system is novel as it integrates the IoT-based patient monitoring system with telemedicine. This proposed system has different sensors for real-time measuring the vital signs of the human body. A mobile and web application have also been integrated with this system for real-time remote patient monitoring and treatment plan. There are now systems available that only offer a telemedicine facility, where patients and doctors can have discussions, but do not have an IoT-based patient vital sign monitoring system integrated with telemedicine. The proposed system in this paper has the facility of IoT-based patient vital signs monitoring integrated with telemedicine, which makes this research work novel. The proposed system will increase the life expectancy of people throughout the world.

Impact of HRM Practices on Employee Productivity: A Study on the RMG Sector in Bangladesh

Impact of HRM Practices on Employee Productivity: A Study on the RMG Sector in Bangladesh

Financial strength of banking sector in Bangladesh: a CAMEL framework analysis

PurposeThis paper investigates the financial strength of banks in Bangladesh and factors affecting the financial strength over the years 2010–2015 on 35 banks.Design/methodology/approachAdditive value function with CAMEL rating (capital stength, asset quality, managerial efficiency, earning ability, liquidity) has been employed to calculate banks’ financial strength index (FSI). In the second stage, panel regression has been exercised to find out the determinants of banks’ financial strength.FindingsEmpirical finding exhibits that the Islamic banks of Bangladesh are financially stronger and outperform conventional and Islamic window banks with higher liquidity. In the ownership category, private banks have more financial strength with higher capital strength, asset quality, managerial efficiency and earning ability than public banks. Bank size, loan recovery, salary and banking sector development positively affect whereas the loan-asset negatively affect the bank’s financial strength in Bangladesh.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has its limitations despite its importance. CAMELS is a more improved form than using CAMEL. But because of the data deficiency on “S” which represents sensitivity, it would not be possible to use CAMELS framework. Further researchers could incorporate this.Practical implicationsGovernment and banks should allow Islamic banks to enter the market on easy terms because of their outstanding performance in the existing market. In addition, banks should provide loans with consideration so that they cannot create credit risk. In addition, they should calculate composite financial strength annually to understand which components they need to work on.Originality/valueThis study extends the extant result on the composite FSI. It is hard to examine the financial strength of banks using only ratio value, which misleads most of the time. The study offers evidence on how the FSI provides more rigorous results and what are the factors contribute most to the financial strength of banks.

Evaluation of occupational health management status and safety issues of the small-scale fisheries sector in Bangladesh.

Small-scale fishing is one of the most precarious occupations, with high rates of threats and hazards. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the health hazards and safety issues of fishers involved in small-scale fisheries (SSF). Fifty SSF fishers (n = 50) were surveyed by using a pre-tested questionnaire between October 2019 and March 2020 at the lower Meghna River in the northern tip of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Results revealed that 56% of SSF fishermen belong to a nuclear family, and 42% completed primary education. Forty per cent had an annual income of between 1,000 and 1,500 USD. Seventy-six per cent of fishermen were found to suffer from fever, and 72%, and 60% from diarrhoea and skin diseases over the last 5 years (2015-2020), respectively. During fishing, 78% of fishermen also suffered from red-eye problems, dizziness, and headache, and 68% struggled with musculoskeletal complaints during the last 5 years. Extreme cyclonic occurrences and sudden storms were experienced by 66% and 32% of fishermen, respectively, during the last 5 years. Local pharmacies were visited by 46% of fishermen for treatment due to ease of access. Sixty-four per cent of participants applied their local indigenous knowledge to treat health-related problems. Twenty-eight per cent and 32% of fishermen used a first aid box and stored medicine on board, respectively. Most of the fishers are in great risk of medium- to high-range danger while fishing in the SSF sector in Bangladesh. Many countries have developed protocols for safe and responsible fishing. In Bangladesh, adequate attention is needed for the sustainable development of the SSF sector.

The Industrial Health Hazard among Workers of Apparel Sector in Bangladesh

Introduction: The Bangladesh's Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector is now the world's 3rd largest exporter. RMG provides a steady flow of employment for approximately 4,000,000 workers, the majority of whom are women. This remarkable progress, however, has been hampered by a lack of factory safety and industrial mishaps, which characterize health risks. Methods: With a population of 200 employees, this was a quantitative study. Interviews with informants were conducted using an interview guideline, and observations were carried out around the workplace using a checklist instrument. The information gathered was used to create a detailed picture of the scenario. This research aims to investigate health hazards of the garment industrial workers and their effects on workers’ health. Results: The majority of garment workers were between the ages of 15 – 20 years old. 93.6% of respondents worked for 8 - 9 hours each day on average, and 79.2% put in an extra 2-4 hours of work. 66% had no accident in the previous year, while 24.7 % experienced a small cut, abrasion, or injury. Moreover, most respondents were unconcerned about physical or environmental pollution, while 68% were concerned about noise pollution. Due to the direct link to health risks, employees suffered from headaches, general weakness, and eyestrain. Conclusion: Workers’ headaches and eyestrain were caused by an insufficient lighting and ventilation system and noise pollution. Backaches, joint pain, and chest pain were caused by long working hours and a dirty workplace. Industrial health hazards should be minimized by the proper implementation of labor laws by the government. Keywords: hazard, illness, ready-made garment, ready-made garment worker, safety

Green Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour towards the Environment in the Banking Sector in Bangladesh

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of green human resource management practices on organizational citizenship behaviour towards the environment based on the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) theory. To support statistical analyses, relevant data were gathered from 132 employees working in the commercial banking sector of Bangladesh. To assess the research model, the PLS-SEM approach was applied using SmartPLS 3.0. The study found a significant positive impact of green training and development, green performance appraisal, and green employee empowerment on organizational citizenship behaviour towards the environment. Besides, deviated from previous studies, we found green recruitment and selection, and green rewards were not significant predictors to employee green behaviour. The results of the study suggest that organizations should provide more attention to green employee empowerment, and green training and development to develop responsible eco-friendly behaviour among the participants. Moreover, the study suggests some new research perspectives considering organizational and individual variables to get more insights on the issue and to overcome the limitations of this research.

Integrated off-grid hybrid renewable energy system optimization based on economic, environmental, and social indicators for sustainable development

Conventionally, modelling of hybrid renewable energy systems emphasizes on the technical, economic and environmental features of these systems and disregards their social implications. This study focuses on modelling a hybrid renewable system that is both economic, environmentally benign and at the same time socially beneficial by including a social indicator in the design criteria. A hybrid renewable energy system comprising solar photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine (WT), micro-hydro turbine (MHT), biogas generator (BG) and vanadium redox flow (VRF) battery is proposed to meet the community load demand varying in the range of 951–1526 kWh/day in a remote rural part of Bangladesh. The enormous prospect of job creation from renewable technologies and the prevailing poor status of employment sector in Bangladesh makes job creation (number of jobs) an obvious choice as the social indicator. Aside from that, cost of energy ($/kWh) and lifecycle emission (kg CO2-eq/yr) are considered as economic and environmental indicators, respectively. Six different configurations are assessed to acquire a system that can meet the demand while satisfying certain technical and reliability constraints. The multi-objective sizing optimization performed using non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II reveals that the optimum configuration incorporates 68 kW PV, 90 kW WT, 50 kW MHT, 50 kW BG, and 300 kWh VRF and it offers COE of 0.126 $/kWh, emits 60,116 kg CO2-eq/yr and is able to create 0.7396 jobs in the community.

Status of Basic Labor Rights in Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturing (LGFM) Sector in Bangladesh

The Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturing (LGFM) sector is emerging as the fastest-growing sector next to Ready Made Garment (RMG) sector in regard to export-oriented revenue earning in Bangladesh. The demand for LGFM is increasing day by day equally across the global and domestic markets. LGFM is mainly a labour-intensive manufacturing sector. It is facing challenges in managing employees and maintaining social compliances at this moment, which is also the concern of international buyers. Though the history of labour unrest in the LGFM sector is very little, the existence of grievances is good in numbers. This paper aims in identifying the practices of the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) 2006 in the LGFM sector. It also finds out the areas of discrepancies that workers encounter in regards to their employment rights. This is a qualitative study and primary data have been collected mainly through four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The main finding of the study is the violation of employment rights and non-adherence to BLA 2006 by the management of LGFM. The study also speculates the possibility of labour unrest like RMG in this sector as addressed by the respondents. Therefore, this study can draw the attention of policymakers and employers to be concerned in ensuring the legal employment rights of LGFM workers. A recommendation has been made at the end of this study about the importance and ways of improvement in practising BLA 2006 in the LGFM sector.

The Effects of Internal Marketing on Business Performance with Employee Relationship Quality as a Mediator: A Resource-Based Approach

This study aims to identify the impact of internal marketing (IM) on business performance (BP) in the banking sector in Bangladesh where employee relationship quality (ERQ) as a mediator as well as to determine the importance of each of the internal marketing dimensions in explaining the variation in internal service quality. Convenient sampling is used to choose respondents for this study where an online questionnaire survey was activated to collect data. Using a direct questionnaire survey carried out in the banking sector and the present study obtained 402 useable responses. A conceptual model was validated using the partial least square (PLS) method, a methodology based on structural equation model using the software Smart-PLS version. The study results revealed that internal marketing of banking business is positively correlated with business performance through relationship quality. The findings should not be enthusiastically widespread across the banking sectors in Bangladesh.

Impacts of Major Crop Production on the Agricultural Sector in Bangladesh: A Time Series Analysis

The main objective of this research article is to analyze the impact of the production of some major crops, namely rice, jute, wheat, sugarcane, and potato on the agriculture sector in Bangladesh. The agriculture sector is considered an important sector of the Bangladeshi economy, which supplies a significant proportion of the gross domestic product (GDP). Annual time-series data for the period 1988–2017 is used for the study. Several econometric techniques are employed to examine the data, including the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test, Johansen cointegration test, and ordinary least squares (OLS) method. To validate the model, some residual diagnostic tests, namely a normality test, heteroskedasticity test, serial correlation test, and stability diagnostic test are conducted. The findings of the study demonstrate that there are two cointegrating equations in the model. Furthermore, both wheat and jute production have a significant positive impact on the agriculture sector. Although the impacts of rice and potato production on the agriculture sector are positive, these are not significant at the 5 or 10 percent significance level. On the other hand, sugarcane production has a negative and significant impact on the agriculture sector, which was not expected. Based on the results, this paper recommends that the government of Bangladesh should focus on designing and implementing new funding policies and subsidies to improve the growth, production, and development of the sugarcane sector. Finally, the government should be concerned about climate change-related factors that negatively affect crop production in Bangladesh.

Ornamental aquarium organisms trade in Bangladesh

The study was conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was carried out for twelve (12) months from March 2018 to February 2019 with a view to represent the trading diagram of ornamental fish in Bangladesh. During the current study 270 varieties (230 freshwater, 36 marine, and 4 brackish water) belong to 149 species (109 freshwater 73%, 36 marines 24%, and 4 brackish water 3%) of 38 families under 10 orders and 6 crossbreeds’ varieties were recorded. Considering the number of species maximum 83 (55.70%) was found under the order Perciformes followed by Cypriniformes 24 (16.10%), Characiformes 18 (12.08%), Siluriformes 11 (7.38%), Osteoglossiformes 05 (3.35%), Atheriniformes 03 (2.01%), Lepisosteiformes 02 (1.34%), Polypteriformes 01 (0.6%), Myliobatiformes 01 (0.67%) and Cyprinodontiformes 01 (0.67%). The top five popular species were guppy (13.16%) followed by goldfish (12.39%), molly (8.54%), angelfish (6.23%), platy (5.93%). Most of the ornamental fish species were imported by importers from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Japan on the basis of demand. Then the imported shipment of aquarium fish and fish products was distributed among Dhaka Katabon fish shops, wholesalers, and retailers, according to their given order. After that, these were again distributed locally, to aquarium shops, breeders, ornamental fish farms all over the country. General customers and hobbyists purchase ornamental fish and aquarium products from local aquarium shops and businesses. The increasing tendency of the number of fish species was 5.96 times in the last 15 years and 3.31 times in the last 10 years. Local farms and aquarists’ breeders bred 76 varieties under 23 species due to its high demand and profitability. Pricing varied on varieties, species, size, and breeding status (local or abroad), availability and ranged from BDT 40.00-80,000.00 per pair. Considering the findings, aquarium fisheries is highly profitable at present and it will be a potential sector in Bangladesh.

Investigation on the generation of construction wastes in Bangladesh

The construction sector in Bangladesh is facing negative impacts on financial and environmental aspects due to excessive waste generation. The construction industry cannot function properly if its resources are being wasted abruptly. Therefore, this study aims to identify the construction waste-generating factors and develop construction waste management strategies for the construction industry of Bangladesh. This research was conducted through an extensive survey which was done by interviewing various construction professionals and reviewing existing literature rigorously. The survey was conducted on the basis of the Likert scale, and the waste-generating factors were prioritized using the Relative Importance Index (R.I.I). The factor identification revealed that ‘deposited material in a public place’ is the most significant waste generating factor on construction sites. In addition, improper material storage, lack of training of workers, solid waste, and the absence of proper guidelines for workers are also identified as the top reasons for construction waste. Furthermore, stakeholders’ opinions on construction waste minimization have revealed a huge opportunity to manage those potential waste generation factors in a project. This investigation would be able to picture out the whole waste generation scenario and suggest important waste management strategies in the context of the Bangladeshi construction sector.

The Nexus Between Social Media Marketing Efforts and Overall Brand Equity in the Banking Sector in Bangladesh: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

In the era of Marketing 5.0, crafting a favorable brand attitude and engaging consumers with a banking brand has become the most critical and challenging task for bank marketers to enhance overall brand equity. Previous research did not suggest how effectively social media marketing efforts enhance overall brand equity in the financial service sector. In response to this gap, this study aims to examine how social media marketing efforts (SMME) influence overall brand equity (OBE) through consumer brand engagement (CBE) and brand attitude (BAtt) in the banking sector in Bangladesh. Furthermore, brand trust (BT) is tested as a moderator of SMME and CBE. The data were obtained by a self-administered questionnaire from a total of 263 banking consumers in Bangladesh using a systematic sampling method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to investigate hypothesized relationships. The results indicated that SMM efforts directly influence CBE and BAtt. CBE and BAtt partially mediate the relationship between SMME and OBE. Moreover, the results confirmed the moderating role of brand trust on the link between SMME and CBE. The findings of this research offer significant implications for building overall brand equity in the social media marketing perspective, particularly for the banking sector.

Perception of nutritional status and personal hygiene practices of female garment workers in Bangladesh

The garment industry is one of the main export-based economic sectors in Bangladesh. Female workers are a crucial part of this sector and have had a pivotal role in increasing the county's revenue in recent decades. The prime aim of this study was to observe the nutritional status and personal hygiene practices of female garment workers (FGW) in the Chattogram metropolitan area, Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study had conducted for collecting data from randomly selected garment workers (382) in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Then data analysis (univariate and bivariate) was performed using STATA 13.0 software. This study revealed that 46.34% of the participant's weight was in the normal range based on body mass index (BMI), 3.14%were underweight,38.74% were pre-obese, and11.78 % were obese. Most of the respondents (56.54%) had normal hemoglobin levels, and three-fourths of their blood pressure was normal. Furthermore, we found a significant association of safe water drinking with the level of education, mother’s occupation, marital status, and family income (p< 0.05). In conclusion, the awareness of hygiene practices among women and government policy needs strengthening to reduce the risks of unhygienic practices