Content Analysis: Supplier Selection Process using Multi-criteria approaches

Supplier selection can be considered as the foundation of Supply Chain Management. In this competitive business environment, it is crucial to select the best supplier among all the alternatives. For this purpose, researchers developed number of selection criteria and methods. These selection criteria and methods helping to solve this supplier selection problem within different industries. In this process, supplier selection literature has been enriched by involving several multi-criteria decision-making systems. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate Content Analysis on existing literature on supplier selection process using multi-criteria decision-making system to understand the progress of this sector over the span of time till 2014

The Value and Effectiveness of Feedback in Improving Students’ Learning and Professionalizing Teaching in Higher Education

There is a great importance of feedback in improving learning experience for the students. This has also significant effect in professionalizing teaching in the higher education level. However, feedback is considered as a difficult issue in this arena. Most of the lecturers are still continuing with the tradition form of feedback. This form of feedbacks often unable to satisfy the students in improving their learning experience. It is high time for the lecturers to re-think about the feedback providing process. They should avoid traditional way of proving feedback towards the students. This paper comes with some modern and technology based way of proving feedback which can eventually help students in improving student learning experience. This can also help in professionalizing the teaching of lecturers in higher education.

An Integration of D-8 Countries with the Focus of Competitiveness, Opulence and Economic Accretion via the Advancement Of SMES: Bangladesh Perspective And Scope of Cooperation

Radical transmutation of technology and integrating and interrelationship with the world community facilitated economic proliferation and deplete multitudinous problems encompasses with the SME that is an inevitable and enviable subject matter in the global market for alleviating poverty, engender manifold employment opportunities, evolution of economic standard and exploring apparent resources. D-8 in their recent conglomeration exhibits their necessity to consolidate their strengthen and propitious approach for the purpose of propagation of collaboration and conciliation that indubitably prevailing propinquity and ensuring sustainable economic amelioration.  In Bangladesh, one of the D-8 members, development of SME sectors is an astounding appliance for accomplishing industrialization, attaining millennium development goals such as eradication of extreme poverty, developing a global partnership for development etc. Capital accumulations, business environment, indistinctive framework for SME are the major impediments in Bangladesh. Facilitating cross-border integration, cross national cooperation, cluster or network development, construction of international value chain, Public- private partnership and also to establish congruous strategies and programs within the internal infrastructure may assist to mitigate the predicaments and also comply with the commitment of local government for unremitting growth of SME in Bangladesh. Keywords: SME, D-8, Industrialization, MDG, cross-national cooperation, cluster development, interrelationship, public-private partnership

The development of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and challenges of Environmental and Social Reporting in Bangladesh

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been recognised as corporation’s strategic tools to response the social obligation and corporation’s sustainability. The meaning and importance of CSR has been changed over time. At the inception, CSR was the obligation to pursue corporation policies and decision based on the desirable objectives and values of the society. But now corporate social responsibility is regarded as corporate sustainability and corporate citizenship. In this paper we have analysed content of 70 (Out of 123) audited corporate annual reports listed in the Dhaka Stock exchange of Bangladeshi companies. Realizing the importance of CSR we have attempted to find out the development of CSR, and formulate a strategic corporate CSR model for Bangladeshi Companies and justified the model compared with the international companies CSR activities. We have also identified the challenges of environmental and social reporting. We found that it is very hard to segregate environmental cost and social audit as they are arisen number of ways. The environment and social audit are not mandatory and should be reported in the notes to the financial statements. Key words: Corporate Social Responsibility, Strategic CSR Model, Challenges of Environmental costs, Social Reportin

Influence of Stakeholders in Developing Green Banking Products in Bangladesh

Environmental concern is trying to control the patterns of consumers’ consumption and behavior of manufacturing industries and business enterprises worldwide since climate change issues has been considered as a global challenge. After so many argumentations in the developed countries, it has become an incessant public endearment in the developing countries like Bangladesh, as the level of environmental deterioration has picked up to the mountains. Many measures have been taken into account while adapting to climate changes, but the actions are inconsistent in many cases especially in the financial sector (most appropriately in the banking sector). This study aims to highlight the supreme benefits, encountering challenges, strategic aspects of Green Banking with two major objectives. First one is to caricature the existing scenario of green banking practice in Bangladesh and the other one is to accentuate how individual and also institutional stakeholder forces such as regulatory, managerial or environmental, that can affect the deliberate environmental behavior of banks performing in Bangladesh. The findings suggest that banks should go green and play a pro-active role to take environmental aspects for functional improvements and changing client habits in banking business. Use of appropriate environmental technologies and management systems will not only be useful for environment, but also provide benefits as greater operational efficiencies. After using both descriptive and inferential statistics analysis, this study also advocacy for the necessity of stakeholder’s influences in green banking practice and recommend some indication for Government, the whole banking sector and for the business community

The Impact of Revised Wage Rate on Firm’s Competitiveness in the Ready Made Garment Sector of Bangladesh: A Case Study Comparison Between Large vs SME Garment Manufacturers

The objective of the paper was to critically analyse the impact of revised minimum wage rate on the competitiveness of different size garment manufacturers in Bangladesh. In doing so the paper adopted a case study approach and incorporated data from multiple case study companies. Notably, the paper aims to cover three main areas: industry conditions and its implications on profitability, the critical resources which are giving the large case study firms a competitive advantage and finally the impact of institutional change brought about by the Rana Plaza incident on different case study firms. Using relevant literature from these three areas the paper proposed 3 hypotheses which were in turn tested and re-developed by using the primary data collected from case study companies. The findings from the research highlighted that the profitability of the garment industry became particularly low only after the imposition of minimum wage; however the profitability in mid-market segment is still comparatively higher. The study also identified the two critical resources that are helping the large case study firms to strategize better in relation to tackling the impact of minimum wage, which were “Industrial Engineering Department” and “Vertically Integrated Supply Chain”. Finally the study identified the change in institutional paradigm and stringent monitoring brought about by Rana Plaza incident had a more significant impact for the SME’s due to issues such as decoupling which were much easier to pursue previously. Finally the paper also outlined some strategies which SME case study firms could adopt in order to minimize the impact of minimum wage. Notably, the revised minimum wage increase was only implemented from December 31st 2013 and there hasn’t been much academic work in relation to the context; therefore the study aims to provide a first-hand overview of the situation prevailing after the minimum wage which could be in turn used for further research in the area

Disclosure of Corporate Governance in Banking Sector of Bangladesh

Securities and Exchange Commission in Bangladesh set some rules about the Corporate Governance in 2006 and advises the listed company to follow those rules to ensure proper Corporate Governance. The main purpose of this study is to know about the disclosure of checklist of Corporate Governance in the banking sector of Bangladesh. Certain analysis was done to conduct this study like- dichotomous and partial compliance to find out the Overall disclosure Index. Chi-square test and cross tabulation are used to find relation between certain variables. Besides, Correlation and regression was performed to analysis those factors that influences the disclosure of Corporate Governance. Annual report of 2011 for 30 banks enlisted under Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has been used to conduct this study. Certain results like higher proportion of independent directors’ gives higher disclosure of corporate governance and more insider ownership results less corporate governance have been found. Recent scam in banking sector is also the result lack of corporate governance in Bangladesh. This research can be used to minimize that scam in the corporate culture. This study creates values not only to those banks but also to the other stakeholders who are related to this. Investors and creditors decision can be influenced by this study. Keywords:Corporate Governance, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Disclosure, Banks etc

Domestic and International Trade Liberalisation of the Indian Economy: Domestic firms & MNCs response

Over the past two decades trade liberalisation has become an important part of many countries development strategies. Winters L. A. (2004) describes trade liberalisation is the elimination of or reduction in the trade rules that prevent free flow of products or services from one country to another. It may contain dismantling of fare for example duties, surcharges, and export subsidies as well as nontariff barriers like licensing regulations, quotas, arbitrary standards etc. With the start of improvements and liberalisation the Indian economy in the month of July, 1991, a new period has emerged for India and its billion plus inhabitants. This era of economic shift has had a remarkable influence on the overall economic growth of almost all the major areas of the economy, and its effects over the last decade cannot be overlooked. Further, it also results the initiation of the actual integration of the Indian economy into the global context. Objective of this paper is to find what has been the response to this challenge from the domestic corporations of India and implications for the MNCs which are seeking opportunities for locating or relocating their subsidiaries over there. Key Words: Trade Liberalisation, Multinational Company (MNC), Domestic Corporations, PESTLE analysis, Global Economic Challenge, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Economic Structure, GDP

Technical investigation on V2G, S2V, and V2I for next generation smart city planning

The paper investigates a few of the major areas of the next generation technological advancement, “smart city planning concept”. The areas that the paper focuses are vehicle to grid (V2G), sun to vehicle (S2V), and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I). For the bi-directional crowd energy single entity concept, V2G and building to grid (B2G) are the primary parts of distributed renewable generation (DRG) under smart living. This research includes an in-depth overview of this three major areas. Next, the research conducts a case analysis of V2G, S2V, and V2I along with their possible limitations in order to find out the novel solutions for future development both for academia and industry levels. Lastly, few possible solutions have been proposed to minimize the limitations and to develop the existing system for future expansion

Knowledge retention in ERP implementations: the context of UK SMEs

Knowledge retention (k-retention) is vital for various enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), though it is a highly demanding and challenging task. The aim of this paper is to investigate different types of approaches to k-retention and factors influencing k-retention in SMEs. Our study adopts a grounded theory approach with cases based on 12 ERP implementations in UK SMEs. We analyse our data using thematic analysis. The findings reveal specific elements that support the k-retention of ERP package knowledge and business process knowledge. These elements are; k-retention tools, documentation, human capital, and the understanding of k-retention challenges. In addition to insights from these aspects, our study reveals two additional factors (project management and organisational culture) that influence ERP package k-retention and business process k-retention. Based on these findings, we develop an ERP k-retention (EKR) framework that can be utilised by SMEs which are considering implementing ERP systems, to facilitate knowledge retention during implementation