The Shirts on Our Backs: Teleological Perspectives on Factory Safety in Bangladesh

• Published date: 01 July 2016
• Date: 01 July 2016
• Author: Lucien J. Dhooge
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jlse.12052

Journal of Legal Studies Education

Volume 33, Issue 2, 379–413, Summer 2016

The Shirts on Our Backs: Teleological

Perspectives on Factory Safety in

Bangladesh

Lucien J. Dhooge∗

Labor is prior to, and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor,

and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior

of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.1

I. INTRODUCTION

This case study addresses the issue of factory safety in the garment industry

through an examination of two recent catastrophic failures in Bangladesh.

Parts II and III set out the objectives and methods of classroom delivery for the

case study entitled “The Shirts on Our Backs: Factory Safety in the Garment

Industry.” The case study traces the history of factory safety in the garment

industry from the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York in 1911 to the

factory fire at Tazreen Fashions in Bangladesh in 2012 and culminates with

the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013, the single deadliest safety failure in the

history of the garment industry. The case study places the issue of factory

safety in the context of the economics of the garment industry through an

analysis of international trade patterns in garments and the importance of

the industry to the economy of Bangladesh. The case study then briefly sum-

marizes arguments addressing the question of which parties bear primary

responsibility for ensuring factory safety among national governments, retail-

ers, consumers, and labor. Finally, the case study examines efforts to address

safety issues through the Bangladesh Accord Foundation and the Alliance

∗Sue and John Staton Professor of Law, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of

Technology.

1President Abraham Lincoln, First Annual Message to the U.S. Congress (Dec. 3, 1861).

C2016 The Author

Journal of Legal Studies Education C2016 Academy of Legal Studies in Business

379

380 Vol. 33 / The Journal of Legal Studies Education

for Bangladesh Worker Safety. The teaching note concludes in Part IV with

questions addressing various stakeholders and the application of teleological

ethical theories to the factory safety issue.

II. COURSE AND TEACHING OBJECTIVES

The case study was designed for students in Business Ethics, a required course

in the MBA curriculum at the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia

Institute of Technology. Business Ethics is a four-week course for one credit

unit. The course is taught in a seminar fashion. The course focuses on two

primary topics. These topics are theories of ethical analysis and their appli-

cation to stakeholders, specifically, shareholders, employees, customers, and

the community. The case study is utilized in the stakeholder portion of the

course in which the interests of employees are primarily discussed.

The case study is also utilized in the College’s executive education

program. The executive education version of the course is taught in three

sessions spanning twelve hours over a period of eight weeks. The course is

taught in a similar seminar and discussion format.

The case study has also been adapted for utilization in the undergrad-

uate course in international business law in the module emphasizing ethical

considerations in international business. The case study is usually presented

in an abbreviated format in this course due to time constraints. The instructor

is generally more active in guiding discussions in the undergraduate course

depending on the students’ level of sophistication.

The objectives of the case study may be summarized as follows:

1. Identification of individuals, groups, businesses, and governments im-

pacted by safety issues in the supply chain;

2. Raising student awareness of ethical issues and providing an opportunity

for the application of ethical theories to a real-world scenario;

3. Providing students with an opportunity to explore their core values and

apply such values in a business context; and

4. Increasing student responsibility for learning through in-class discussion

and fostering student’ self-expression skills.

The class session is successful when students demonstrate awareness

of ethical issues and knowledge of the elements of applicable approaches to

address such issues, question one another regarding their individual and team

approaches, and conclude that resolving ethical questions even concerning

2016 / The Shirts on Our Backs 381

a topic as fraught with emotion as injury and loss of life in the workplace are

not as easily obtained as they seem on their face.

III. UTILIZATION OF THE CASE STUDY IN CLASS

A. Presentation

The sessions are taught primarily in a seminar format with discussions based

upon the case study and questions set forth in Part IV. The author has adopted

the case method for presentation of these materials. This approach generates

student involvement in class discussions, provides an opportunity for students

to practice their problem-solving and self-expression skills, and promotes

efficient use of limited classroom time.

The sessions start with a review of the case study entitled “The Shirts on

Our Backs: Factory Safety in the Garment Industry.” Students are expected

to have read the case study before class. The case study seeks to further

student understanding in four areas: (1) the history of safety issues in the

garment industry from the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York in 1911 to

the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013; (2) the economics of

the garment industry through a review of international trade patterns and

the importance of the industry to the economy of Bangladesh; (3) essential

elements of the debate concerning primary responsibility for factory safety

among various interested parties including national governments, retailers,

consumers, and labor; and (4) efforts to address safety issues through the

Bangladesh Accord Foundation and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker

Safety. The instructor usually provides an overview of the case study through

lecture or other instructor-led discussion.

The session then focuses on the two issues set forth in Part IV. The

first issue focuses on the identification of stakeholders and their interests

impacted by factory safety issues. The primary focus is on shareholders, em-

ployees, national governments, retailers, and consumers. Second, students

are asked to analyze factory safety issues from teleological viewpoints. The

teleological frameworks discussed in class are ethical egoism, moral rela-

tivism, and utilitarianism. As noted below, students work in groups and ad-

dress these issues in written reports. Each group’s report is shared with the

entire class. Students are encouraged to comment upon each group’s report,

which has proved to be the most interesting portion of the discussion of the

case study. The case study is covered in one two-hour session in the MBA

Business Ethics and executive education courses. The case study is covered in