Case for Round 1:

Economic development is at the forefront of all discourse at the policy level. With
Bangladesh experiencing rampant economic development and social progress in the last
few years, a number of star industries have emerged into the limelight. The premier
example of this is the Bangladeshi ready-made garments (RMG) industry. Contributing
to the country’s social and economic fluorescence on a number of levels, much of the
focus of international appraisal agencies has fallen on this local star. From being the key
contributor to the nation’s Balance of Trade to being the premier driver behind the
burgeoning women’s economic empowerment initiative, the RMG sector is one of the
most strategically important sectors of commerce in the Bangladeshi economy.

As big players reap big rewards within the framework of a free market economy, much
discussion arises as to corporations’ responsibilities towards the very societies that
allowed them to thrive. It is rightfully believed that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
will become increasingly important as Bangladesh gears up for its pursuit of the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). CSR will contribute greatly to the creation of a
more just, equitable and inclusive iteration of Bangladeshi society.

In 2014, India became the first country in the world to have a mandatory CSR
contribution legislation wherein companies are to spend 2% of net profits on CSR
activities. While hailed by many progressive wings of Indian society as a step in the right
direction, the move was also subject to intense scrutiny from economic researchers
from across the world. Mandating CSRs upon corporations can have positive effects on
society. Yet at the same time, it can affect the operations of that business in unexpected
way.
The question then inevitably arises: Should the Bangladeshi government impose CSR
obligations on its RMG sector in order to spur economic development and promote
equity in society?
Requirements from the case:
1) Identify/formulate, and BRIEFLY discuss at least 2 separate CSR mandates that
the government can impose upon all firms in the RMG sector. This must be
identified with regards to the context of Bangladesh. The mandates must be
sustainable.
2) Analyze the impact of imposing such mandatory corporate social
responsibilities on corporations in the RMG industry with consideration of the
industry’s performance in the international market for garments. Present either a
“pro” or “con” argument detailing why the implementation is either overall good
or bad in terms of short and long run international competitiveness of the
industry. Your argument should include the following things:

 A cost-benefit analysis of implementation of CSR mandates on industrial

competitiveness.
 Impact on economic growth and other developmental indicators as a result
of implementing/not implementing CSR mandates.
 Affected stakeholder groups from implementation, relevant to your
argument.
***Round 1 is divided into two phases. The aforementioned
case is the same for both parts. ***

PHASE A) ABSTRACT SUBMISSSION

You must submit an abstract of 400-500 words which will essentially serve as a
written summary of your Round 1 presentation. As such, it will contain all the
ideas and your argument that you plan to present on, following the requirements
set out in the case. This will be in the form of a Word file. The abstract must be
submitted to econprodigy@yefonline.net by 11:59 PM, November 18th.

The abstract should be a .doc or .docx file. Please use double line spacing and 12
point font (Times New Roman). The file name should be as follows: your team
name, followed by “Abstract” . E.g- If your team name is ABC, it should be
ABCAbstract.docx
DO NOT include your University Name anywhere on the file or the email.

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The teams progressing to PHASE B will be announced via text
and published on our page on 19th November.
PHASE B) PRESENTATION

Teams that have progressed from PHASE A, should prepare slides as per their
abstract for the presentation phase to be held on 22nd November. (Reporting
details will be communicated by text and email)

The slides must be submitted to econprodigy@yefonline.net by 11:59PM,

November 21st.

The presentation should not exceed 9 minutes. It will be followed by a short

Question and Answer session with the judges.

Slides should only be made using Microsoft PowerPoint and should be in .pptx or
.ppt format.

There is no restriction on the number of slides, but the entire presentation file
should not exceed 20MB.

The file name should be as follows: your team name, followed by “Round 1” . E.g-
If your team name is ABC, it should be ABCRound1.pptx
DO NOT include your University Name anywhere on the file or the email.

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