Problems and Prospects of Poultry Industry in Bangladesh: An Analysis

The poultry industry has been successfully becoming a leading industry of Bangladesh. The primary objective of the study is to identify the various aspect relating the growth and sustainability of poultry industry in Bangladesh. Authors argued that strategic management in poultry sector requires complementing to achieve present Govt.’s vision of Digital Bangladesh 2021. Considering the importance of the country’s poultry industry in order to ensure the sustainable economic development it is now high time to step forward for the better accumulation of resources available from this industry. This industry proves various opportunities of increasing GDP growth rate plus equitable distribution through arranging food security as well as ensuring self-employment at a large scale as pointed out by the authors.

Exploring the meaning of climate change discourses: an impression management exercise?

Purpose: This study aims to analyze how language is used to present climate change information in the narratives of Malaysian companies’ annual reports. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses content analysis and discourse analysis, and Brennan et al.’s (2009) impression management strategies and legitimacy theory were applied to explain findings. Findings: Much of the discourses are rhetorical in nature and can be considered as corporate attempts to appear concerned for climate change, consistent with an attempt to appear legitimate and manage impressions. Research limitations/implications: The first limitation is the purposive sampling used which limits the generalizability of the findings. The second limitation is that the study neglects to focus on companies in environmentally sensitive sectors which have more substantial adverse impacts. The third limitation is that the study did not examine all types of impression management strategies, limiting itself only to strategies which provide a favorable view of the firm. Finally, the study did not attempt to investigate the different levels of impression management strategies. Practical implications: A major practical implication is for regulators to consider mandatory climate change reporting at least for the sectors which contribute adversely to global warming. Originality/value: This is a first attempt to examine climate change discourses in a developing country. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

Voluntary cybersecurity disclosure in the banking industry of Bangladesh: Does board composition matter?

Purpose - Cybersecurity disclosure (CSD) provides users with valuable information and significant insights about a firm’s susceptibility to cyber risk and its management. It is argued that the board of directors, with its oversight role, should be vigilant in managing cyber risk and disclosures. This study aims to measure the extent of CSD of the banking companies and examines the association between the characteristics of board composition (i.e., board size, board independence and gender diversity) and CSD. Design/methodology/approach – This study adopted automated content analysis to find out the extent of CSD in the listed commercial banks of an emerging country, Bangladesh, where CSD is voluntary. Further, multiple linear regression is applied to determine the relationship between board composition and CSD.Findings – The findings reveal an increasing trend of CSD over the sample period (2014-2020). The study confirms a significant positive relationship between board independence and CSD. The study also demonstrates that the higher presence of female directors on the board is associated with higher CSD. However, no consistently significant relationship is found between board size and CSD.Practical implications – The study provides an overall understanding of current trends of CSD in the Banking sector of a developing country. Regulators may use our findings to understand the current level of CSD and assess the need for issuing guidance in this regard. The association between board composition and CSD has implications both for banks when selecting board members and policymakers when establishing requirements concerning board composition under corporate governance guidelines.Originality - This is one of the very few studies in the context of an emerging economy where CSD is voluntary. The paper contributes to a narrow stream of research investigating CSD and its association with board composition. Notably, it contributes to understanding how board composition is associated with CSD in the banking industry, which is highly exposed to cyber risk

A Critical Analysis of Herbert Spencer’s Theory of Evolution

This article focuses on Herbert Spencer’s theory of evolution of society. At first, the article provides with a thorough portrayal of Spencer’s Theory of Evolution. After that, the shortcomings of this theory are highlighted basing on the available literature. Thus, this article does not make any unique contribution to the literature of its kind. It is simply a general reading on the missing links of Spencer’s theory of evolution

Rhetoric as a form of persuasion in disclosing poverty-related CSR activities in corporate disclosures: the case of Bangladesh

Research aim: This study aims to identify the persuasive strategies applied by Bangladeshi companies in disclosing poverty related corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in their annual reports. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This study applies the discourse analysis as an approach in exploring the narratives of Bangladeshi companies’ annual reports. It specifically focuses on the three classifications of Aristotle’s rhetoric while explanations are also drawn from the impression management theory. Research findings: This study concludes that the disclosures of the Bangladeshi companies’ CSR activities are rhetorical in nature. The analysis suggests that these companies try to portray themselves as pro-social and helpful towards the poor. Theoretical contribution/ Originality: Rather than focusing on ‘what’ was disclosed (which is the objective of most prior studies on CSR reporting in Bangladesh), this study highlights ‘how’ the disclosure was done. This study also focuses on a particular aspect which is poverty related and a linguistic analysis is used to perform the analysis which is unlike previous studies. Practitioner/ Policy implication: This study calls for the participation of regulators and stakeholders in introducing appropriate regulations that can ensure a ‘balanced’ disclosure of the companies’ CSR activities so that stakeholders are not misled. Research limitation: The main limitation of this research is that it focuses on only one kind of impression management strategies, namely rhetorical appeals

Exploring the nature of risk disclosure in the annual report narratives of Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies: an impression management perspective

In today’s corporate domain, the issue of accountability has become one of the most important topics of discussion. Organisations are not only reporting their financial information (in the form of financial statements) to the stakeholders, they are also reporting on many relevant issues in the form of narratives. Risk reporting is a kind of narrative disclosure that is increasingly drawing attention from the accounting researchers. Drawing on the interpretations from an impression management perspective, this study applies discourse analysis on the risk related corporate narratives in the annual reports of the pharmaceutical companies listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh. It was found that the risk disclosures of these companies are mainly generic, rhetorical, selective and in many cases, repetitive in nature. Through an impression management theory lens, we argue that such disclosures are mostly serving as the tools of impression management and may not be useful for the readers

A Critical Analysis of Herbert Spencer’s Theory of Evolution

This article focuses on Herbert Spencer’s theory of evolution of society. At first, the article provides with a thorough portrayal of Spencer’s Theory of Evolution. After that, the shortcomings of this theory are highlighted basing on the available literature. Thus, this article does not make any unique contribution to the literature of its kind. It is simply a general reading on the missing links of Spencer’s theory of evolution

Antibacterial activity of natural spices on multiple drug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from drinking water, Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Spices traditionally have been used as coloring agents, flavoring agents, preservatives, food additives and medicine in Bangladesh. The present work aimed to find out the antimicrobial activity of natural spices on multi-drug resistant <it>Escherichia coli </it>isolates.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Anti-bacterial potentials of six crude plant extracts (<it>Allium sativum</it>, <it>Zingiber officinale</it>, <it>Allium cepa</it>, <it>Coriandrum sativum</it>, <it>Piper nigrum </it>and <it>Citrus aurantifolia</it>) were tested against five <it>Escherichia coli </it>isolated from potable water sources at kushtia, Bangladesh.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All the bacterial isolates were susceptible to undiluted lime-juice. None of them were found to be susceptible against the aqueous extracts of garlic, onion, coriander, pepper and ginger alone. However, all the isolates were susceptible when subjected to 1:1:1 aqueous extract of lime, garlic and ginger. The highest inhibition zone was observed with lime (11 mm).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Natural spices might have anti-bacterial activity against enteric pathogens and could be used for prevention of diarrheal diseases. Further evaluation is necessary.</p

Audit Committee: A Summary of the Findings of Some Existing Literature

This paper attempts to provide a summary of findings of the fast-growing theoretical and empirical literature on audit committee mainly basing on several available articles. Particular emphasis was given on the issues like the conflicts arising from the relationship between managers and shareholders, earnings management, formation of audit committee, auditors’ independence and quality of financial reporting and their relationship with audit committee. The study also aims at exploring the key success factors in the introduction and implementation of audit committees in the corporate world

Audit Committee: A Summary of the Findings of Some Existing Literature

This paper attempts to provide a summary of findings of the fast-growing theoretical and empirical literature on audit committee mainly basing on several available articles. Particular emphasis was given on the issues like the conflicts arising from the relationship between managers and shareholders, earnings management, formation of audit committee, auditors’ independence and quality of financial reporting and their relationship with audit committee. The study also aims at exploring the key success factors in the introduction and implementation of audit committees in the corporate world