Productivity Improvements in LIC Manufacturing Sectors: Multidimensional Evidence from Bangladeshi Garment Factories

发展中国家的制造业部门在企业生产率和管理实践方面的差异远远大于高收入国家的制造业部门。工资和就业的持续增长取决于生产率的提高。本项目旨在加深我们对低收入国家制造业企业生产率提高过程的理解，并深入了解生产率和创新滞后的原因。我们重点关注孟加拉国的RMG部门，这是孟加拉国城市就业的最大来源。我们研究了由国际管理解决方案公司（S4Mi）开发和提供的培训项目的效果。国际管理解决方案公司是一家非营利性咨询公司，是英国国际发展部负责任的服装行业（RAGS）项目的一部分。S4Mi项目有培训和咨询的元素，有课堂和工厂的组成部分。S4Mi和参与的工厂选择一条试验生产线作为重点。在项目的第一年，有七次为期一周的课堂培训，四次专注于生产/计划，三次专注于人力资源。每堂课之后都是工厂内的活动，重点是提供工具和培养适合解决问题的文化。在初始激活阶段之后，该程序将推广到工厂的其他生产线。因此，特别感兴趣的进一步维度是跨界传播实践的决定因素。我们采用随机选择的试验线，在工厂全面推出之前提供一个有效的比较组。我们将极其详细的生产力分析与创新的调查和访谈数据相结合。生产力分析提供了作为项目一部分的培训的影响评估。通过评价的视角，高强度的培训提供了一个观察工厂内部流程和程序转型或试图转型的机会。调查和访谈数据将提供一个独特的窗口，以了解伴随过渡而来的内部变化过程。我们要解决的一个关键问题是：培训计划是否提高了生产率，如果是这样，生产率的提高是否转化为更好的工作条件？b.管理人员在基线时了解教学实践的比例是多少？管理者是否有能力预测哪些做法会导致改进，哪些不会？哪些因素影响实践的跨界传播？这些因素是否取决于所建议的改进是来自管理层还是生产车间工人？d.哪些生产线和经理特征与抗拒变革相关？中层管理培训通常被关键利益相关者认为是一个关键的瓶颈。因此，需要提供关于这种培训的有效方法的信息。我们这些私人律师已经在孟加拉国从事该领域的相关项目两年多了。在此期间，我们与许多外国买家（例如Tesco， Sainsbury's和H&M），行业协会（BGMEA和BKMEA），相关政府部门（商业和税收）以及外国援助机构（GIZ和DIFD）建立了重要的关系。我们将使用这些链接来告知项目期间的工作，并在我们获得结果时传播它们。虽然该项目完全符合创新主题，但也有一个重要的性别因素。据估计，服装行业80%的工人是女性。因此，提高该部门的生产率有可能对妇女的收入和就业机会产生巨大影响，并减少她们的工作时间，为她们提供更稳定的工作。

Manufacturing sectors in developing countries show a far greater dispersion in firm productivity and management practices than counterparts in high-income countries. Sustained increases in wages and employment creation depend on increases in productivity. This project aims to deepen our understanding of the process of productivity improvement in manufacturing firms in low-income countries (LICs) and to gain insights as to why productivity and innovation lag. We focus on the Bangladeshi RMG sector, the largest source of urban employment in Bangladesh. We study the effects of a training program developed and offered by Solutions for Management International (S4Mi), a not-for-profit consulting firm established as a part of DFID's Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector (RAGS) program. The S4Mi program has elements of training and consulting, with both classroom and in-factory components. S4Mi and the participating factories select a single pilot production line on which to focus. During the first year of the program, there are seven one-week classroom training sessions, four focused on production / planning and three on HR. Each classroom session is followed by in-factory activations, which focus on providing tools and developing a culture suitable for problem solving. Following the initial activation phase, the program is rolled out to other lines in the factory. Further dimensions of particular interest, therefore, are the determinants of the diffusion of practices across the lines.We incorporate a random selection of pilot lines to provide a valid comparison group prior to the factory-wide rollout. We combine extremely detailed productivity analysis with innovative survey and interview data. The productivity analysis provides an impact assessment of training provided as part of the project. Through the lens of the evaluation, the intense training offers an opportunity to observe a set of factories transitioning - or attempting to transition - internal processes and procedures. The survey and interview data will provide a unique window onto the internal processes of change that accompany the transition. A sample of the key questions we address is:a. Does the training program increase productivity, and, if so, do gains in productivity translate into better working conditions? b. Which share of taught practices are managers aware of at baseline? Are managers capable of predicting which practices will lead to improvement and which won't?c. Which factors affect diffusion of practices across lines? Do these factors differ depending on whether the suggested improvement comes from management or production floor workers? d. Which production lines and manager characteristics correlate with resistance to change?Mid-level management training is very commonly noted by key stakeholders as a critical bottleneck. Hence, there is demand for information about what works with regard to this training. We, the PIs, have been working on related projects in the sector in Bangladesh for more than two years. During this time, we have built important relationships with a number of foreign buyers (Tesco, Sainsbury's and H&M, for example), the industry associations (BGMEA and BKMEA), relevant government ministries (Commerce and Revenue), and foreign aid agencies (GIZ and DIFD). We will use these links both to inform the work during the project and to disseminate the results as we obtain them.While the project fits squarely in the innovation theme, there is an important gender component as well. An estimated 80% of workers in the garment sector are female. Improving productivity in the sector, therefore, has the potential to have a tremendous impact on incomes of and job opportunities for women, as well as to reduce their working hours and to afford them more stable jobs.