HRM in Bangladesh: Past, Present, and Future

HRM in Bangladesh: Past, Present, and Future open_in_new

In 2021, Bangladesh is celebrating 50 years of independence with a remarkable achievement of economic graduation from a least developing to a developing country status, and the Wall Street Journal identified the country as the ‘economic bull case’ in the South Asian region (Bird, 2021). As the second-largest economy of South Asia, it has been one of the fastest-growing economies of the world over the past decade, backed by its ready-made garment (RMG) exports, human resources exports, demographic dividend, self-sufficiency in food grains, and stable macroeconomic conditions (The World Bank, 2021). According to the 'World Economic League Table’ published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a London based think tank, the economy of Bangladesh would become the 24th largest in the world by 2033 (“Bangladesh 2nd largest”, 2019). Despite the admirable economic progress, Bangladesh has been struggling with low labour productivity, skill mismatch and shortage, poor workplace safety records, unemployment and underemployment of skilled human resources (Absar,2014). To keep pace with the economic success and to achieve the vision 2041 to become a developed nation, Bangladesh needs to develop and manage its most critical resource – human resources effectively and efficiently (Mahmood & Absar, 2015; Absar, Nimalathasan, & Mahmood, 2012). 

The Special Issue of the South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management will focus on the current state and future outlook of HRM practices in Bangladesh. The aim of this special issue is to provide a platform for the researchers to examine various aspects of HRM in Bangladesh that might be common to other countries in South Asia or unique to Bangladesh. More specifically, this special issue will focus on the HRM issues, such as, 

  • What are the implications of Industry 4.0 on the HR practices of Bangladeshi organisations? 
  • What features of Bangladeshi national culture have shaped or hindered organisational HR practices? 
  • How is demographic dividend shaping HRM in Bangladesh? 
  • What about HR practices in the public sector of Bangladesh? 
  • What are the challenges of HR practices in the RMG industry of Bangladesh? 
  • What about employment laws and their implications for HRM in Bangladesh? 
  • How the forces of globalisation have been affecting Bangladesh’s HRM practices? 
  • Are there concerns about diversity, inclusion, gender equality, and women's empowerment in managing HR in Bangladesh? 
  • Skill mismatch/shortage appears to be another key challenge to promote employment in Bangladesh. How are the employers or the state overcoming this challenge? 
  • Workforce's safety and health is a major concern for Bangladeshi manufacturing organisations, especially in the RMG and ship recycling industry. How are HRM practices dealing with that? 
  • What about the changing role of HRM in Bangladesh in the crises like the ongoing pandemic caused by COVID-19? 
  • What about the roles played by educational institutes, professional associations, and trade unions in advancing HRM practices in Bangladesh? 

Potential research topics 

To fulfil the purpose of the special issue, the topics of potential contributions may include, but are not limited to, the following subject areas: 

  • Industry 4.0 and future of HRM in Bangladesh 
  • Institutions, national culture and HRM practices in Bangladesh 
  • Diversity, inclusion, and HRM in Bangladesh 
  • Talent management practices in Bangladesh 
  • Employee safety, health, and wellbeing in Bangladesh 
  • Employer branding and HRM practices in Bangladesh 
  • HRM in SMEs in Bangladesh 
  • HRM in the public sector and non-profit organisations in Bangladesh. 
  • HR practices in MNCs and JVCs in Bangladesh. 
  • HRM in family businesses in Bangladesh 
  • Natural disaster, pandemic, crisis management and HRM responses 
  • Religiosity, spirituality and mindfulness in Bangladesh 
  • Leadership and HRM practices in Bangladesh 
  • Economic development and future of HRM in Bangladesh 

Research based on Bangladesh or comparative/multi-country studies on South Asia (as defined in the aims and scope section of SAJHRM website) are welcome. 

Submission information and timelines 

Submissions to be made through the SAGE Peer Review, a web-based online submission and peer review system: https://peerreview.sagepub.com/sajhrm 

  • Submission open date: June 1, 2021 
  • Submission deadline date: December 31, 2021 
  • Publication date: December 1, 2022 (Volume 9, Issue 2) 

We welcome a range of review and conceptual papers, qualitative and quantitative studies, methodological perspectives, interviews/practitioners’ perspectives, essays, commentaries, case studies, and book reviews that provide frameworks for understanding HRM in Bangladesh. All research papers submitted will be subject to a double-blind peer-review process. Authors are encouraged to contactthe guest editorsfor further clarifications and to discussthe aims and scope of their paper. For more information about the journal and submission guidelines, please visit the journal’s website: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/hrm 

Enquiries 

Please submit enquiries directly to one of the above-mentioned guest editors 

 References