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Critical Analysis Assignment

The article discusses corporate environmental responsibility and accountability in vulnerable Bangladesh. It explores potentialities of corporate responsibilities, current state, and recommendations. The research aims to understand if corporations can be held accountable for environmental impacts in Bangladesh. It analyzes concepts like vulnerability, ecological rifts, and accountability through literature. The paper applies qualitative research methods like interviews to understand stakeholder perspectives. Findings note environmental costs incurred in Bangladesh while poorer communities bear more costs. Incorporating third parties may enhance transparency and accountability.

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MD. NAIMUR RAHMAN
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29 views

Critical Analysis Assignment

The article discusses corporate environmental responsibility and accountability in vulnerable Bangladesh. It explores potentialities of corporate responsibilities, current state, and recommendations. The research aims to understand if corporations can be held accountable for environmental impacts in Bangladesh. It analyzes concepts like vulnerability, ecological rifts, and accountability through literature. The paper applies qualitative research methods like interviews to understand stakeholder perspectives. Findings note environmental costs incurred in Bangladesh while poorer communities bear more costs. Incorporating third parties may enhance transparency and accountability.

Uploaded by

MD. NAIMUR RAHMAN
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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University of Dhaka

Department of Accounting & Information Systems

MBA Program, 25th Batch, Section A

Course: Advanced Research Methodology (6103)

An Assignment on

Critical Evaluation of a Research Article

Chosen research article title: “Corporate environmental responsibility and accountability:


What chance in vulnerable Bangladesh?”

Article number: 03

Word count: 972

Submission to

Dr. Mohammad Moniruzzaman

Associate Professor

Department of Accounting & Information Systems

Faculty of Business Studies

University of Dhaka

Prepared by

Md. Naimur Rahman

Class Roll: 25192

Section: A

Department of Accounting & Information Systems

Faculty of Business Studies

University of Dhaka

Submission date: 16 February 2024


The article I have selected discusses on ‘Corporate environmental responsibility and
accountability: What chance in vulnerable Bangladesh?’

The research is about the environmental responsibilities and accountabilities of corporations


and their susceptibility to harm Bangladesh. Despite being a developing country, Bangladesh
has experienced significant economic growth in recent years. Bangladesh’s economic growth
has been accompanied by an increased emphasis on corporate environmental responsibility
and accountability. But it also poses challenges for vulnerable populations in many ways.
This research also adds value by contributing to the environmental accountability literature
and expressing concerns about the environmental impacts of global commercial production
processes. As the research may uncover the best practices, identify areas for improvement,
and contribute to global disclosure on corporate sustainability, it motivates the researcher by
adding value and contributing more to the limited attention in prior research. (Belal et al.,
2015)

The main objective of the research is to explore the potentialities of corporate responsibilities
and accountabilities, understand the current state, and provide recommendations for
addressing negative environmental consequences in Bangladesh. The question in this
research is whether there is any chance of holding corporations accountable for their
environmental responsibility. To answer the research question, the researcher discussed the
key concepts of vulnerability, ecological rifts, and accountability for understanding corporate
responsibility and accountability by providing literature from the prior research specifically.

The research paper also provides discussions on vulnerability, ecological rifts and
environmental accountability. The authors define vulnerability as a threefold analysis. The
first one being analysis of risk nature, magnitude and severity. The second one is degree of
resilience/responsiveness. And finally the third one is, benchmark. As for ecological rifts the
authors have adopted the Marx concept where ‘Metabolic Rifts’ defines the capitalist
agriculture and production. Lastly, environmental accountability has been adopted as to
characterize by dominant corporate disclosures and insights powerful economies. All these
concepts have been adopted through rigorous literature background. (Belal et al., 2015)

Literatures on Bangladesh's GDP growth trajectory offers a really compelling narrative of


resilience and transformation. Over the past few decades, the country has experienced
remarkably economic progress, transitioning from a predominantly agrarian economy to one
being driven by manufacturing and services. Many corporations prioritize short-term
financial gains over way long-term sustainability. Quarterly earnings reports and pressure
from shareholders often drive decision-making, leading to a really focus on maximizing
profits at the downside of environmental considerations. Implementing environmental
responsibility measures often do require really significant upfront investments in technology,
infrastructure, and training. Some corporations may, therefore, perceive these investments as
quite costly and prefer to prioritize cost-cutting measures to do remain competitive in the
short term. Some corporations may don't lack awareness of environmental issues or
underestimate their environmental impact. Without a comprehensive understanding of the
environmental risks and opportunities, companies may not prioritize environmental
responsibility in their operations. Some corporations may see environmental risks as really
distant or less urgent compared to immediate operational or financial risks. This kind of
perception can lead to a really lack of proactive measures to mitigate environmental risks and
integrate sustainability into, corporate strategies. Especially in developing countries like
Bangladesh, corporations may do face resource constraints including limited access to
capital, technology, and expertise needed to implement environmental responsibility
measures effectively. Here critical analysis aims to review the existing literature on corporate
environmental responsibility and accountability and, sort of highlight key themes, trends, and
gaps in research. Drivers and motivations include regulatory pressures, stakeholder demands,
competitive advantage, reputational concerns, and ethical considerations. Scholars examine
the challenges and opportunities associated with measuring and reporting environmental
impacts accurately and transparently. According to the objective of the research paper, the
qualitative research method is applied to the research. From the published government and
media reports, the data collected from interviews was triangulated, which illuminates the
views and perspectives of the interviewees and provides a deeper understanding. 32 semi-
structured interviews were conducted, including both corporate and non-corporate
stakeholder participants, which helped capture the views from alternative perspectives.

Findings from the paper include that, though Bangladesh is improving its economic
conditions gradually, significant environmental costs are also being incurred in terms of fatal
environmental pollution, public health hazards, alarmingly low groundwater levels, resource
depletion, and vulnerable community members losing their livelihoods. Consequently, poorer
communities, powerless employees, and lower-income citizens are mostly bearing the cost.
Irregularities, corruption, the government’s non-interferences, inequalities of power,
irrationalities, etc. from corporations are mainly affecting the vulnerable stakeholders of
society. Incorporating third parties might work as representatives, which can enhance
transparency and effectiveness. Certification programs involving third-party certification
bodies add credibility to a company’s environmental impact. It may also balance power
inequalities and hold organizations accountable.

The limitation of the paper is that it doesn’t provide direct insights from vulnerable poor
communities and workers, though it includes a wide range of interviewees. There are
numerous avenues for further research in the realm of corporate environmental
accountability, such as identifying and analysing these responsibilities and accountabilities
for those who are mostly affected by corporation actions, communities vulnerable to
environmental degradation by corporation’s irresponsibility, and also communities who are
vulnerable to ecological rifts throughout the developing world.
References

Belal, A.R., Cooper, S.M. and Khan, N.A. (2015) ‘Corporate Environmental Responsibility
and accountability: What chance in vulnerable Bangladesh?’, Critical Perspectives on
Accounting, 33, pp. 44–58. doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2015.01.005.

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