Strategic management practices in ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh: Toward greater organizational competitiveness

Business organizations in today’s globalized world are operating in a dynamic environment with myriad challenges and uncertainties. To operate efficiently, they must learn to face the present challenges and cope with the increasingly competitive environment. This calls for them to rethink their strategies (Pearson and Robinson, 2005). The environment in which organizations operate is constantly changing with different factors influencing organizations. The business planning priorities have shifted from the short term and tactical to the long term and strategic due to increasing challenges of the business environment caused by the global competition in various industries since 1980s (Levitt, 1983; Betts and Ofori, 1992). Thus, strategic management practice has become a strong influential factor for firms’ success. The importance of strategic management in a firm can be seen by looking at the relationship between strategic management and organizational performance. The application of strategic management in business has long been adopted as a response to market demand, variations in clients’ taste and changing technology. The adoption of a clear strategic perspective in organizations is one of the factors that affect the performance of these organizations. Having a good strategy is also one of the important factors that enable organizations or firms to survive and advance. Strategic management has a positive influence, especially in its support for profitability in large firms (David, 1997; Arasa and K’Obonyo, 2012; Wolf and Floyd, 2017)

Supramolecular gels by design: Towards the development of topical gels for self-delivery application

Following a supramolecular synthon approach, simple salt formation has been employed to gain access to a series of supramolecular gelators derived from the well-known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen. A well-studied gel-inducing supramolecular synthon, namely primary ammonium monocarboxylate (PAM), has been exploited to generate a series of PAM salts by reacting ibuprofen with various primary amines. Remarkably, all of the salts (S1–S7) thus synthesized proved to be good to moderate gelators of various polar and nonpolar solvents. Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction studies established the existence of the PAM synthons in the gel network, confirming the efficacy of the supramolecular synthon approach employed. Most importantly, the majority of the salts (S2, S3, S6, and S7) were capable of gelling methyl salicylate (MS), an important ingredient found in many commercial topical gels. In vitro experiments (MTT and PGE₂ assays) revealed that all of the salts (except S3 and S7) were biocompatible (up to 0.5 mm concentration), and the most suited one, S6, displayed anti-inflammatory ability as good as that of the parent drug ibuprofen. A topical gel of S6 with methyl salicylate and menthol was found to be suitable for delivering the gelator drug in a self-delivery fashion in treating skin inflammation in mice. Histological studies, including immunohistology, were performed to further probe the role of the gelator drug S6 in treating inflammation. Cell imaging studies supported cellular uptake of the gelator drug in such biomedical application

Easy access to supramolecular gels of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diflunisal: Synthesis, characterization, and plausible biomedical applications

By exploiting salt formation, a new series of primary ammonium monocarboxylate salts of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, namely, diflunisal, was synthesized. The majority of the salts thus synthesized turned out to be good gelators of various solvents, including the solvents (e.g., methyl salicylate and pure water) typically used for topical gel formulation. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of a few gelator and nongelator salts in the series revealed details of the hydrogen-bonding networks present in the salts. Furthermore, one such gelator salt, namely, the diflunisal salt of serinol, was found to be biocompatible (MTT assay), and its anti-inflammatory (PGE₂ assay) response turned out to be as good as that of the parent drug, which is indicative of its potential in biomedical applications

Simple Organic Salts Having a Naphthalenediimide (NDI) core display multifunctional properties: Gelation, anticancer and semiconducting properties

Following a supramolecular synthon rationale, a dicarboxylic acid derivative having a naphthalenediimide (NDI) core, namely, bis-N-carboxymethyl naphthalenediimide (NDI-G), was reacted with n-alkyl amines with varying alkyl chain lengths to generate a new series of primary ammonium dicarboxylate (PAD) salts. The majority of the salts (≈85 %) were found to gel various polar solvents. The gels were characterized by dynamic rheology and high-resolution electron microscopy. Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses were used to study the supramolecular synthon present in one of the gelator salts (i.e., S8). Charge-transfer (CT)-induced gelation with donor molecules such as anthracene methanol (Ant) and pyrene (Py) was also possible with S8. The CT complex (S8.Ant) displayed anticancer activity as probed by cell migration assay on the highly aggresive breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. The DMSO gel of S8.Ant also displayed semiconducting behavior. To the best of our knowledge, simple organic salts with an NDI core that display such mulitifunctional properties are hitherto unknown

Rationally developed organic salts of tolfenamic acid and its β-alanine derivatives for dual purposes as an anti-inflammatory topical gel and anticancer agent

A new series of primary ammonium monocarboxylate (PAM) salts of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), namely, tolfenamic acid (TA), and its β-alanine derivatives were generated. Nearly 67 % of the salts in the series showed gelling abilities with various solvents, including water (biogenic solvent) and methyl salicylate (typically used for topical gel formulations). Gels were characterized by rheology, electron microscopy, and so forth. Structure–property correlations based on single-crystal and powder XRD data of several gelator and nongelator salts revealed intriguing insights. Studies (in vitro) on an aggressive human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) with the l-tyrosine methyl ester salt of TA (S7) revealed that the hydrogelator salt was more effective at killing cancer cells than the mother drug TA (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay); displayed better anti-inflammatory activity compared with that of TA (prostaglandin E2 assay); could be internalized within the cancer cells, as revealed by fluorescence microscopy; and inhibited effectively migration of the cancer cells. Thus, the easily accessible ambidextrous gelator salt S7 can be used for two purposes: as an anti-inflammatory topical gel and as an anticancer agent

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction in the Tourism Sector of Bangladesh

Purpose: The tourism sector is a very potential sector for Bangladesh in terms of growth and employment. Analyzing the literature, it can be observed that most of the researchers studied the tourist market and the degree of satisfaction of tourists. But job satisfaction as a human resource management concept, in the tourism sector has not been sufficiently investigated. Job satisfaction is particularly important in tourism sector as it is service oriented and people intensive. This study identified the antecedents of job satisfaction in tourism sector and their relative importance to the employees. Methods: The study is quantitative in nature. A number of hypotheses were tested for relationships between job satisfaction and related facets like payment and benefits, advancement and growth, the work itself, leadership, communication, performance feedback and recognition, rewards, colleagues, and employee stress.  Data were collected through a survey method and structured questionnaire from employees of different tourism-related businesses. With 81.8% response rate, a total of 409 error-free response sheets containing a total of 38 independent variables were considered for the analysis through Smart PLS 3.01 software. The hypotheses were tested by following the path coefficients of the factors where job satisfaction was the dependent variable. The model of the satisfaction of employees for Bangladesh was established by using the coefficients of relationship with all nine facets and job satisfaction. Results: The standardized regression weights are shown with the nine factors Payment and Benefit (PB), Advancement and Growth (AG), Work Itself (WI), Work Itself (WI), Leadership (LE), Communication (COM), Performance feedback and Recognition (PFR), Rewards (RE), Colleague (COL) and Stress (STR). It was found that five factors (PB, AG, WI, LE, COM) are relatively more significantly responsible for job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, than other four factors (PFR, RE, COL, STR). It also found that the managerial and non-managerial employees show considerable differences in their job satisfaction across the organizations. Implications: The results found in the study may act as a basis for future research in the HR issues of the tourism sector. The owners and managers of tourism companies should appreciate the necessity of employees being satisfied, because this will lead to greater commitment, loyalty, and quality service to the customers. Originality: Due to the dominance of other factors like machines, materials, and other technologies, there is weak evidence in some cases whether there is always a positive and strong relationship between job satisfaction and firm performance. But in a human intensive service industry like tourism, job satisfaction of employees who are directly responsible for consumer experience, is bound to be a dominant factor. This paper is expected to be cited in that particular idea or context.&nbsp

New Series of Zn^II/Cd^II Mixed Ligand Coordination Polymers: Toward the Design of Metallogels

A new series of mixed ligand based coordination polymers (CPs) has been synthesized by reacting a new ligand, namely, hpdia (5-(4-hydroxyphenylazo)­isophthalic acid); various bispyridyl coligands (2,2′-bipyridine (2,2′-bpy), 4,4′-bipyridine (4,4′-bpy), and 1,2-di­(4-pyridyl)­ethylene (bpe)); and Zn­(NO₃)₂/Cd­(NO₃)₂ under solvothermal conditions. The molecular structure of hpdia was established by analyzing the single crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD) data of the sodium salt of hpdia which turned out to be an alkali coordination polymer with a formula [(H₂O)₄Na₂(μ-hpdia)₄]_∞ (CP1). SXRD analyses of the other transition metal compounds, thus synthesized, revealed that they were all coordination polymers (except DCC3a discrete coordination complex) having formulas [{(H₂O)­Zn­(μ-hpdia)­(2,2′-bpy)}·H₂O]_∞ (CP2), [(H₂O)­Zn₂(μ-hpdia)₂(2,2′-bpy)₂]₂ (DCC3), [{(H₂O)­Cd­(μ-hpdia)­(2,2′-bpy)}·H₂O]_∞ (CP4), [{(H₂O)­Zn­(μ-hpdia)­(4,4′-bpy)}·H₂O]_∞ (CP5), [Zn_0.5(hpdia)­(μ-4,4′-bpy)_0.5]_∞ (CP6), [{(H₂O)₂Cd₂(μ-hpdia)₂(μ-4,4′-bpy)}·2H₂O]_∞ (CP7), and [{Zn₂(μ-hpdia)₂(μ-bpe)}·H₂O]_∞ (CP8). The majority of the CPs were lattice occluded molecular solids. Remarkably, the reactants of all of the coordination polymers and also DCC3 showed the ability to produce metallogels which were characterized by rheology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results supported the structural consideration based on which these metallogelators were designed