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Corporate Social Responsibility of Telecom Industries in Bangladesh: Rhetoric vs. Realities

Received: 20 November 2014     Accepted: 4 December 2014     Published: 8 December 2014
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Abstract

This empirical study examines the current CSR practices of Telecom organizations in Bangladesh such as Grameenphone Ltd, Banglalink, and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. It documents the common people’s perception and evaluation about the CSR practices of telecom industries in Bangladesh. By focusing on the current boom of mobile operators and their ever increasing subscribers in Bangladesh, this paper further analyzes what has currently been practiced as part of CSR activities and what ordinary people think and evaluate these practices. Such analysis will reveal the rhetoric vs. realities of CSR practices of the booming telecom industries in Bangladesh with millions of subscribers and billion-dollar revenue earnings each year. Although CSR practices have been considered as part of a major business ethics globally, this paper documents a very glaring picture of such practices in Bangladesh. Many common people just believe that CSR practices are just cosmetic, rhetoric, and in paper only without any substantial impact in real life. This paper highlights some expectations of the common people from the telecom organizations in Bangladesh, thereby suggesting some propositions for further strengthening their CSR activities. Methodologically, this study has incorporated views from different stakeholders and beneficiaries of telecom industries in Bangladesh. A mixed method, using both qualitative and quantitative techniques has been adopted to have desirable outcomes. This study suggests that a real sharing of revenue earned from telecom industries through CSR activities may contribute towards a more livable, sustainable and equitable society.

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ss.20140306.13
Page(s) 199-207
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Corporate Social Responsibility, People’s Perceptions and Expectations, Telecom Industries, Bangladesh

References
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  • APA Style

    Md. Fouad Hossain Sarker. (2014). Corporate Social Responsibility of Telecom Industries in Bangladesh: Rhetoric vs. Realities. Social Sciences, 3(6), 199-207. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20140306.13

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    Md. Fouad Hossain Sarker. Corporate Social Responsibility of Telecom Industries in Bangladesh: Rhetoric vs. Realities. Soc. Sci. 2014, 3(6), 199-207. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20140306.13

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    AMA Style

    Md. Fouad Hossain Sarker. Corporate Social Responsibility of Telecom Industries in Bangladesh: Rhetoric vs. Realities. Soc Sci. 2014;3(6):199-207. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20140306.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ss.20140306.13,
      author = {Md. Fouad Hossain Sarker},
      title = {Corporate Social Responsibility of Telecom Industries in Bangladesh: Rhetoric vs. Realities},
      journal = {Social Sciences},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {199-207},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20140306.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20140306.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20140306.13},
      abstract = {This empirical study examines the current CSR practices of Telecom organizations in Bangladesh such as Grameenphone Ltd, Banglalink, and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. It documents the common people’s perception and evaluation about the CSR practices of telecom industries in Bangladesh. By focusing on the current boom of mobile operators and their ever increasing subscribers in Bangladesh, this paper further analyzes what has currently been practiced as part of CSR activities and what ordinary people think and evaluate these practices. Such analysis will reveal the rhetoric vs. realities of CSR practices of the booming telecom industries in Bangladesh with millions of subscribers and billion-dollar revenue earnings each year. Although CSR practices have been considered as part of a major business ethics globally, this paper documents a very glaring picture of such practices in Bangladesh. Many common people just believe that CSR practices are just cosmetic, rhetoric, and in paper only without any substantial impact in real life. This paper highlights some expectations of the common people from the telecom organizations in Bangladesh, thereby suggesting some propositions for further strengthening their CSR activities. Methodologically, this study has incorporated views from different stakeholders and beneficiaries of telecom industries in Bangladesh. A mixed method, using both qualitative and quantitative techniques has been adopted to have desirable outcomes. This study suggests that a real sharing of revenue earned from telecom industries through CSR activities may contribute towards a more livable, sustainable and equitable society.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AB  - This empirical study examines the current CSR practices of Telecom organizations in Bangladesh such as Grameenphone Ltd, Banglalink, and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. It documents the common people’s perception and evaluation about the CSR practices of telecom industries in Bangladesh. By focusing on the current boom of mobile operators and their ever increasing subscribers in Bangladesh, this paper further analyzes what has currently been practiced as part of CSR activities and what ordinary people think and evaluate these practices. Such analysis will reveal the rhetoric vs. realities of CSR practices of the booming telecom industries in Bangladesh with millions of subscribers and billion-dollar revenue earnings each year. Although CSR practices have been considered as part of a major business ethics globally, this paper documents a very glaring picture of such practices in Bangladesh. Many common people just believe that CSR practices are just cosmetic, rhetoric, and in paper only without any substantial impact in real life. This paper highlights some expectations of the common people from the telecom organizations in Bangladesh, thereby suggesting some propositions for further strengthening their CSR activities. Methodologically, this study has incorporated views from different stakeholders and beneficiaries of telecom industries in Bangladesh. A mixed method, using both qualitative and quantitative techniques has been adopted to have desirable outcomes. This study suggests that a real sharing of revenue earned from telecom industries through CSR activities may contribute towards a more livable, sustainable and equitable society.
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Author Information
  • Senior Lecturer, Department of Natural Sciences, Daffodil International University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

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