Disaster in Bangladesh: The Collapse of the Rana Plaza Building Essay

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Pages: 4

Case 27
1. From an economic perspective, was the shift to a free trade regime in the textile industry good for Bangladesh?
Employment and economic growth in Bangladesh depends upon exports of textile products which were allowed through a preferential quota system for textile market export from poor markets to rich markets. As soon as the shift to a free trade regime appeared along with the competition with countries such as China and Indonesia the quick collapse of Bangladesh’s textile industry has been predicted. However, the opposite occurred. We can highlight three major reasons to explain what happened: First is labor costs are low, even lower than in China. Obviously low hourly wages rates explain it but not only. Investments by
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Yes, I think western companies should bear the responsibility. They need cheap labor in Bangladesh, but without considering and oversight of security issues about these factories

4. Do you think the legally binding agreement signed by H&M, Zara, Tesco and others will make a difference? Does it go far enough? What else might be done? Yes, I think the legally binding agreement can improve the safety level of factories in Bangladesh. But, I think it is not enough, Five years agreement it is not enough. If they still want to produce their product, they need supervise the safety forever. They must to focus on the workers safety.

5. What do you think about Walt Disney’s decision not to purchase merchandise from Bangladesh? Is this an appropriate way of dealing with the problem?
I think that Disney’s making a mistake here, withdrawing from any form of manufacturing in Bangladesh. It is of course their business and it’s quite probably a decent enough short term move for them. However, it’s exactly the wrong decision if we’re going to try and solve that long term problem of poverty in Bangladesh.
6. What do you think of Wal-Mart’s approach to this problem? Is the company doing enough? What else could it do? I do