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Branding Bangladesh
How do we brand Bangladesh? How can we highlight our motherland's good image to the world at large? It is a million dollar question but the answer is definitely not worth million dollars.
Branding Bangladesh is not actually an overwhelming task. All we need is the right people at the right time to make things happen. We can brand Bangladesh in several different ways, some of which are discussed below.
The 'Boishakhi Mela' is a colourful event which we celebrate every year. Observance of Pohela Boishakh’ has become very popular in Dhaka city. I think the Boishakhi festival should not be limited only to the Bengalis. It should be translated into a global festival where travellers from all around the world will have the golden and life-time opportunity to come to Bangladesh to attend this colourful festival. This event can be just like Brazil's carnival. Special package tours for tourists from all around the world can be provided. There is already a group in the popular website 'facebook’ called the 'World Boishakhi Festival', which promotes the festivities to the users of the internet.
Similarly, the chom chom mishti' of Tangail can be branded and presented to the world community as the best sweetmeat on this planet. Sweet lovers all over will appreciate the unique taste of the dessert item.
Rajshahi silk can also be branded as the best quality of cloth material and as the world-class material to make the traditional outfit called 'Saree'.
We always label 'Dholai khal' as a source for finding stolen parts of vehicles. It is such a place where various motor parts are found at affordable prices. The notorious reputation of this place can be changed and built into the World's cheapest automobile manufacturing zone'.
Let's not forget the famous, 'Jinjira'. It can be branded as the 2nd China' where all sorts of raw and finished goods are made at affordable prices. Jinjira can even become an 'economic export processing zone’, once the quality of the products are improved.
Chinigura' is small grain of rice. It is distinctly scented and some even say that it is better than the 'Bashmati' rice. Chinigura can be branded as the 'world's best-scented small grain rice'.
These are only a few examples by which we can brand our moth-crland and boost the image of our country to the rest of the world. Minhaj Ahmed
Dhaka
RMG workers’ riot
Being in the industrial management sector for the last 30 years, my observation of the riots in the Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector are as follows.
Entrepreneurs dilly-dally to pay salaries on time and this leads to discontentment among the workers. Some self-styled leaders among the workers, whose interests are to jeopardize work routines, instigate the workers against the management and hence the riotous behaviour of the workers. Some irresponsible Non-Govemment Organisations (NGO) are also behind the scene to serve the interest of the neighbouring country. This is done to lure away the international buyers to that country where the industrial estate is being created. The bad image of Bangladesh will certainly provoke international buyers to go for another country.
Our nation's leaders also have a part to play in the riotous behaviours of the workers. They have little respect for law and order, they come out of bail after being arrested and they do not even get adequate punishment. They do not pay much attention to the sector and neglect leads to riots and grievances. Management techniques are also to blame in this context. The exchange of information in day-to-day business is absent between employers and employees, as a result of which the workers are kept in the dark.
GMF Abdur Rob
Dhaka.
CSR: Auniquebusiness tool
Every day we come across various news items, but they hardly create any impact iriour minds. However, certain steps taken by an organisation can draw our attention and deeply affect us. For example, the news on the leading cellular company that recruited 6 disabled people into their workforce or the news that a bank donated funds towards the treatment of acid victims. These are two examples of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the most attractive feature followed by organisations.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is voluntarily taking steps to improve the quality of life for employees as well as for the local community and society at large. If we carefully look at the activities of any organisation we will understand why companies undertake CSR. According to me, CSR is an unique business tool.
It is true that companies do this kind of activities due to their commitment to the society. It is also a kind of advertisement, which catches the attention of the consumer or the media. Just like people remember the name and the CSR activities of any specific organisation, it works as a marketing tool when people need to buy anything. The name of that company comes into the customer's mind in the first go.
In many instances, CSR sometimes creates a more effective outcome than advertisements. Nowadays the thought process or purchasing behaviour of consumers have changed.
We notice the CSR activities carried out by the multinational companies and cell phone companies at large and wonder why we do not find much initiative taken by our local companies. They should start to think seriously about this matter for their own benefit, otherwise they will be far behind in positioning their name in the consumer's mind. I am not denying their activities, but the consumer should more easily notice the efforts.
SilveaAkther
Dhaka.
Pharma industry: are we prepared?
Over the years, the pharmaceutical sector has attracted overseas buyers, mostly in unregulated markets, and it has earned a good reputation as a quality drug manufacturer. It is indeed encouraging when we hear about its tremendous export potential. With recent certifications of the top 3-4 pharmaceuticals, by major
drug regulatory agencies, the sector has reached newheights. I am not contradicting the popular notion but would like to draw attention to some of the ground realities.
What have we done to realise the potential? How far have we progressed in terms of infrastructure development or competitiveness? Nothing mentionabie. After many years of tiring efforts by the pharma industry, the government has just allocated land for the proposed central API (active pharma ingredient) facility. Again, the industry is yet to have any bioequivalence testing facility, which is mandatory for product registration in developed markets, and there is mounting pressure from even semiregulated markets for such compliance.
Generic drug producers like India and China are already present and we will have to double our efforts to enter any export destination. India has over 100 US FDA-approved pharmaceutical plants and they are increasingly focused on research and development. The ever-increasing number of generic players are fiercely competitive in the 75 billion dollar generic drug markets. As of now there is little infrastructure in Bangladesh to support this industry to compete even in African countries where Indian companies have already set up plants, taking advantage of the 'Least Developed Countries' status of those countries- particularly for HlVdrugs.
To build up the capabilities, we must start at the university level, which is the skill development workshop. Our education system should be more practical-oriented and have access to adequate laboratory facilities. There should also be more industry-university alliances and collaborative research between universities home and abroad to promote research activities. India has one of the largest talent pools with the right skill set. Every year, India produces over 3 million graduates: 90,000 with MBA degrees, 400,000 engineering graduates, 25000 pharmacists, and
1,500 PhDs.
This is why India is still competitive in the world market. And for us to consolidate our presence in the overseas markets. India is a major rival and this competition gets more intense day by day. We can only sustain in overseas markets if we have our own skill set, which will moderate our dependency on India or China. This is largely a knowledge-based industry unlike many other industries such as RMG and cheap labour or conventional wisdom is not enough.
Shawkat Haider
Dhaka.
Future of poultry industry
The poultry industry is a rising and important industry in our country. But it is a matter of regret that Bird Flu’ has hampered the growth of this industry. Millions of birds have been killed all over the country due to risk of spreading the avian influenza in humans.
Avian influenza is a viral disease, which is caused by the virus avian influenza type-A. In Bangladesh, Bird Flu was first detected in March 2007. More than 10 lakh poultries have been stamping out all over the country. A general calculation says that the direct loss stands at approximately at Tk 2.5 crore, and the loss of capital is at about Tk 2000 crore. Enterprises associated with the poultry industry recorded about Tk 5,000-10,000 crore loss due to the disease. Furthermore, more than 50 thousand people have also become unemployed.
Today the matter of hope is that there is no record of the disease, although about 382 people have been affected in the past and 241 of them are dead.
The poultry industry is one of the most advancing industries in Bangladesh, just after the garment industry.
Once we said, 'machhe bhate bangali', but nowadays it shows a gloomy picture, as the number of rivers and ponds are decreasing. In the mean time, more than Tkl3,000 crore has been invested in the poultry industry. The total number of employees engaged is about 5 crore. There is a great contribution of this industry in improving the socio-economic condition of women and in declining rural poverty.
But it is a matter of regret that even though the disease has subsided, the farmers are not interested in poultry rearing any longer. The small fanners are uninterested due to the great loss they inclined in capital investments. Many farmers have become penniless after the attack and they can revive their business only if the government arranges loans and ensures a proper supply of feeds and medicine, creates a suitable market and a share price for their commodities.
Without the government's help they arc just like a boat without a rudder. So the government should immediately take steps before those farmers become disheartened or figure out alternativelivingsource.
District veterinarians should also come forward and give the farmers proper knowledge about the bio-security of the farm and the most effective measures of rearing poultry. The government should increase the extent of its work in rural areas. Finally, to fulfill our biological protein need and to make this sector one of the leading sectors for earning foreign currency, special emphasis should be given by the government.
Dr. Md. Shamim Ahasan
Mymensingh.