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Analysis of manufacturing in Bangladesh

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Analysis of manufacturing in Bangladesh
Starburst Report
Analysis of Manufacturing in Bangladesh

The Purpose of the Report
Thank you for your confidence and trust in me regarding your current concerns about Starburst’s manufacturing options for the future. I understand you are looking for a way for Starburst to gain and sustain success in the fashion clothing market. I also understand you are considering outsourcing production overseas to Bangladesh, but you want to make sure to satisfy your joint priorities of making the enterprise both competitive and ethical. As a participant in extensive market research projects in the past, many focusing on the Asian business landscape, I can help you with your concerns and provide you with some solid recommendations. In the following report, I will provide background information and discuss the ethical issues of outsourcing to Bangladesh as well as provide a breakdown of cost issues. I will outline the positive and negative aspects of each alternative. After considering the alternatives, I found that a solution of fair trade will suit your organization and will lead to long-term success, keeping in mind the challenges involved in following that strategy.
Manufacture Offshore or Not?
Ethical Issues in Bangladesh
Since 2005, Bangladesh has had catastrophes in which some garment factories caught fire or collapsed and caused the deaths of at least 1800 workers (Accord, 2014). Working conditions in the factories are very poor, and workers are constantly afraid of disasters and abuses while they are working. Moreover, the factory owners pay workers very low wages with long working hours and no overtime rates. Western companies used to manufacture in China, but they prefer Bangladesh now because it has the lowest costs (Saunders, 2013). Although those companies are criticized because they ignore the ethics and safety issues in Bangladesh, Bangladesh wants to improve its domestic economy and living standards through exporting manufactured goods.
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References: Accord. Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.bangladeshaccord.org/bangladesh/Ahsan, Q Figure 3. Fair Trade International, (2009). Annual Report. Retrieved from http://www.wjsspapers.com/static/documents/July/2012/7.%20Shariful.pdfGross, R., Lawrence, T., Toth, T Grimes, K. M. (2005). Changing the rules of trade with global partnerships: the Fair Trade movement. Social Movements: An Anthropological Reader, 237-48. Haque, M. S., Azad, M. A. K., & Raihan, M. A. (2012). FairTrade Practices in European Market: Policy Guidelines and a Model Suggestion for Bangladesh.World, 2(4), 86-96. Kumar, S., & Arbi, A. S. (2007). Outsourcing Strategies for Apparel Manufacture: A Case Study. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 19(1), 73-91. Larkin, E. (2008). The Hidden Costs of Manufacturing Offshore. Machine Design, 80(3), 39.
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