Fire in a Bangladesh Factory

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Fire in a Bangladesh Garment Factory Kelly Hooker UMUC Managing Global Business AMBA660 9044 Professor Robert Tipple April 22, 2014 Bangladesh has the second largest garment industry in the world which accounts for eighty percent of the total export earnings and includes buyers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, C&A, Kmart and Li & Fung (Inkpen, 2013). In May of 2010, a factory opened that employed 1,500 factory workers and had annual sales of $35 million from the production of clothing (Inkpen, 2013). In November 2012, a fire started in this factory on the first floor from yarn that was not kept in fireproof warehouse, which was required by law; 112 people were killed and several hundred were injured (Inkpen, 2013). The factory was eight stories high while the top three floors were under construction; the fire department had difficulty getting their equipment in to battle the fire due to a lack of fire exits, and regulated staircases (Inkpen, 2013). Despite the fact that Bangladesh had a variety of laws to protect factory workers; which required specific routes for escape in the event of an emergency, a question arose during the after math of the fire as to who was responsible for keeping the factories in compliance with fire safety regulations (Inkpen, 2013). An advocacy group called the Clean Clothes Campaign, has estimated that there have been more than 30 Bangladesh garment fires with over 500 deaths between 2006 and 2012 with 80% of the fires starting due to faulty wiring (Inkpen, 2013). There are many political, social, and ethical issues that need to be recognized and closely addressed when entering into a country and opening a business. First there is the exchange of political beliefs, the interpretation of political freedom, tradition of legality, premise of equity, and the action of power that makes for the threat of political environments

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