Mark 75
SWEATSHOP TILL YOU DROP?
An analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility within Value Clothing Retailing
SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
MSC MANAGEMENT
Dissertation Proposal
LEM6070
02.05.07
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... 2
Problem Formulation.................................................................................................... 3
Background............................................................................................................3
Aims ......................................................................................................................4
Research Questions and Objectives.............................................................................. 4
Questions ...............................................................................................................4
Objectives ..............................................................................................................4
Literature Review.......................................................................................................... 5
Globalisation ..........................................................................................................5
Fierce Competition.................................................................................................7
Fast Fashion ...........................................................................................................8
Capitalism..............................................................................................................9
CSR Success Stories?...........................................................................................10
Methodology................................................................................................................ 11
Sample .................................................................................................................11
Qualitative VS Quantitative..................................................................................12
Semi-Structured Interviews ..................................................................................12
Reliability ............................................................................................................14
Bias......................................................................................................................14
Validity and Generalisability ................................................................................15#p#分頁標題#e#
References.................................................................................................................... 16
Appendices................................................................................................................... 20
Appendix A - Record of Meetings with Dissertation Supervisor ...........................20
Appendix B - Interview Schedule/Guide...............................................................21
Appendix C - Research Methods Tool ..................................................................22
Appendix D - Timetable.......................................................................................25
Appendix E – Practicalities associated with Semi-Structured Interviews...............27
Appendix F – Excerpt from Labour Behind the Label Report ...............................28
Appendix G – Sampling Issues.............................................................................29
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Problem Formulation
Background
Being a self confessed follower of fashion and a student at the same time, I frequent
value clothing retailers on a regular basis. With limited funds I find myself torn
between dichotomous positions; responsible consumer and fashionable student. One
may not see the contradiction at this point between these two social roles but all will
become clear throughout this proposal. Not purchasing new clothes would put oneself
behind in the fashion stakes but finding outlets which sell up to the minute fashion as
cheaply as possible is not necessarily the better option to take. In the week that
Primark opened its flagship store in Oxford Street in London, requiring police guards
due to the number of people flooding in; it can be justifiably assumed that none of
these ‘fashionistas’ stopped to think twice about how their skinny jeans, smock dress
and leggings came to be in their luxury appearing bargain store.
On a day to day basis the mechanics behinds how these clothes can be sold at such
low prices rarely enters the equation when handing over the plastic to pay for a bagful
of bargains, yet, as a student on a Masters course studying Corporate Social
Responsibility, a metaphorical light has been turned on in the brain of an avid
shopping fan. Exactly how do value clothing retailers; the Primarks, Asdas, Tescos
and Matalans of this world; afford to sell clothes at rock bottom prices, just weeks
after the styles appeared on the catwalks? And on consideration that these clothes can
be sold so cheaply; curiosity begs the question about how these value clothing
retailers still satisfy their stakeholders by making a profit?
It seems that everyday one looks to the press there is a barrage of stories surrounding
issues of fraud, bribery, safety recalls and human rights violations and all of these fall#p#分頁標題#e#
within the broad framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (Carter and
Jennings,2001). Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is defined as:
“Corporate activity and its impact on different social groups.”
(Sethi:1995:18)
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Research under the CSR paradigm has often employed the stakeholder theory of
engagement (Freeman,1984); where stakeholders include customers and suppliers as
well as employees, communities and investors (Donaldson and Preston,1995).
Contained in the literature are debates over the definition of what CSR is, but this is
not paramount to this dissertation; all that matters is that firms are, in ever increasing
numbers acknowledging the need to be more responsible in their operations.
However, despite the outward signs that a company is supportive of CSR principles,
what happens in practice may be an entirely different story.
Aims
This research aims to investigate four top Value Clothing retailers’ attempts to be
Social Responsible when managing their supply chains; the research is informed out
of personal motivations discussed previously and a sustained interest in finding out
the truth. All the four firms operate using codes of conduct and they adhere to
principles set out by schemes such as the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI); however,
this does not ensure that they are an ethically sound company. This research aims to
establish whether affiliation with such publications are merely a PR campaign done
purely for appearances, rather than a true, deep seated interest and passion for the
cause.
Research Questions and Objectives
Questions
1. What effect has CSR had/if any on the value clothing retailers?
2. Do ethics exist within value clothing retailers’ supply chains?
3. What do value clothing retailers say in contrast to what they actually do?
4. Ho do value clothing retailers afford to sell their clothes so cheaply?
Objectives
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· To identify the effect CSR has had on value clothing retailers at this point in time.
· To determine whether value clothing retailers have ethical supply chains.
· To establish whether discrepancies exist in what value clothing retailers say about
CSR to what they actually do.
· To discover what it is about value clothing retailers’ supply chains that means they
can afford to sell their clothes so cheaply.
Literature Review
Previous studies within the literature have not focused in depth in the value clothing
retail sector and this neglect needs to be addressed especially in a time where the
popularity of these low cost fashion retailers seems to be at no avail. In order to#p#分頁標題#e#
understand the complexities at work inside the problem depicted in the research
question; an overview of what is currently known about the history of the fashion
industry, the impact of globalisation, the emerging new trend of ‘fast fashion’ and
Capitalist overtones have been explored.
Globalisation
For some the purpose of Corporate responsibility is to introduce a moral purpose into
corporate life by introducing values into corporate managers (Barrett,1998; Blanchard
et al,1997; Hemingway and Maclagan,2004) or administering social and
environmental rights (Jenkins, 2001;Sullivan,2003); whereas, for others, it can be
seen as a response to the downside of globalization. Corporate responsibility has
become an important means for addressing what Joseph Stiglitz sees as the
fundamental problem with contemporary globalization; which is a system of global
governance without global government (Stiglitz:2000:21). At the heart of this
criticism is a set of policies which are referred to as the Washington Consensus; they
include promoting lowering taxes, liberalizing interest rates, making exchange rates
more competitive, removing trade barriers and encouraging foreign investment.
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However, as will be displayed through the literature on globalization, policies such as
these are benefiting only of the few; in other words, the rich west.
“Many have actually been made worse off as they have seen their
jobs destroyed and their lives become more insecure.”
(Stiglitz:2000:248)
Traditionally companies have not taken responsibility for anything occurring outside
their physical boundaries and as such, everything they deemed to be external to the
company was not thought of as important. However, as globalization has blurred
boundaries and removed barriers to trade and investment, companies are left with
slight confusion about exactly which stakeholders are internal or external (Phillips and
Caldwell,2005). The literature supports the notion that companies are aware of the
different functions operating within their value chains and even understand that
outsourced work should still fall inside their realm of responsibility. As Klein states:
“Globalization means more than the easy exchange of currency and
goods; it means that we are all our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers.”
(Klein:2000:349)
Past literature explains that the majority of investment in developing countries is in
Export Processing Zones (EPZ’s) which offer financial incentives to overseas
investors in order to win their contracts. As well as boasting economic savings, these
EPZs actually promote the fact that they have different labor regulations which are
beneficial to companies wanting to outsource some of their production.#p#分頁標題#e#
“Regardless of where the EPZs are located, the workers’ stories have a
certain mesmerizing sameness: the workday is long…vast majority of
workers are women… fulfilling orders for companies based in the US,
Britain, Japan, Germany or Canada. The management is military
style.” (Klein:2000:205)
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The literature points to unequal power relations between companies and their
suppliers, especially if the suppliers are small and in less developed countries and
suggests that these conditions are perfect for unethical practices and exploitation to
prevail.
Fierce Competition
In 2005, the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) which governed garment and textile
imports to the EU and US since 1974, came to an end with the end. The ending of the
agreement was coupled with a huge fear that the quotas which had helped developing
countries export while sheltering them from global competition would ultimately lead
to a garment massacre where new entrants, e.g. China would takeover many of the
contracts they once held. The literature has not been running long enough since this to
establish the effect that the ending of the agreement had but current fights for
contracts can be seen as evidence of its consequences. The supply base for companies
in the retail sector is vast and thus competition is fierce. When the MFA agreement
ended; people believed that the ‘race to the bottom’ was imminent; many local
manufacturers entered into agreements for companies to maintain orders in return for
improvements in working standards, productivity and quality (Ethical
Corporation,2006).
“Governments are afraid of losing their foreign factories; the factories
are afraid of losing their brand-name buyers; and the workers are afraid
of losing their unstable jobs.” (Klein:2000:206)
Globalization has revolutionized the fashion industry and heightened competition
between retailers to find their own competitive advantage; value clothing retailers
have decided to differentiate themselves in the fashion market through their price.
Literature from civil society organizations has referred to the change in the UK
clothing market as a revolution where ‘cheap is the new black’ (LBTL,2006). The
value of the market is booming with reports suggesting it has doubled in just five
years to snap up £6 billion of sales in 2005 (Mintel,2005). The extent to which
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companies make use of outsourcing can be illustrated using the example of Nike who
essentially ‘manufactures without factories’ (Hale,2000).
Fast Fashion
As cost savings are made through outsourcing, these are subsequently passed on to#p#分頁標題#e#
consumers in the form of low prices and the current trend for fast fashion means that
speed-to-market is a crucial element. The value clothing retailers have only managed
to get to where they are now by using lean production techniques; this means that
companies place smaller, more frequent orders with shorter turnaround times. This
enables cost savings to be made by reducing obsolescence and storage costs and
requires the very up to the minute reordering systems and POS technology for quick
responses to trends. This might sound like the fashion industry is a well organized
machine however; the ‘fast fashion’ strategy means that onus is placed upon suppliers
to be as flexible as possible. One Sri Lankan factory owner interviewed by Oxfam
said:
“Last year the deadlines were about 90 days…[this year] deadlines for
delivery are about 60 days…even 45….They have drastically come
down.” (Oxfam,2004)
Short lead times and flexible production is seen as a prerequisite by companies when
selecting their suppliers and they have no qualms about pulling out of contracts with
those suppliers who cannot offer them this. The fear that suppliers will lose contracts
means that they do everything possible to meet inappropriate demands from
companies and the only feasible way they can make these time savings without
increasing costs is to increase labour hours and pay less. Literature from Oxfam
investigations into 6 factories who supply low cost retail companies found that most
workers in the factories work 12 to 16 hours a day and regularly work an 80 hour
week (Oxfam,2004). It seems that the way the UK clothing market is going that
suppliers are going to be pushed further and further into a downward spiral and the
value clothing retailers who all profess to a code of conduct (ETI) are exacerbating
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this. (Hale,2000) The low cost retailers are ultimately still out to make a profit and as
a result they play suppliers off against each other. Arthur Ryan, managing director of
Primark was infamously quoted telling a factory owner that his product which cost £5
to make and could be sold for £10 was not good enough unless it could be made for
£3 and sold for £7 (War on Want,2006)
“I don’t care how you go about it – just do it.” (The Post,8 Jan 2006)
This mentality fuels the problem; the constant demand for cheaper clothes intensifies
exploitation at every level of production, making it virtually impossible for individual
factories to implement better wages and conditions (Hale,2000; Hale and Shaw,2001).
Employers are also absolved somewhat from any responsibility for workers due to
their separation from the situation.
“As consumer culture adds additional layers…physical distance#p#分頁標題#e#
between production and consumption is increased, the veil that shrouds
both social and environmental concerns has become all the more
impenetrable.” (Hudson and Hudson:2003)
Capitalism
Viewing commodities as final products and not acknowledging the complex processes
which went into their creation has been termed ‘commodity fetishism;’ for Marx; the
production of goods is masked to the end user and thus considered unimportant and
this has crucial implications for consumers ability to address the ongoing processes of
social and environmental destruction under capitalism (Hudson and Hudson,2003).
The fundamental logic of capitalism is the pursuit of profit and that pursuit demands
continuous economic growth; however, what is profitable to capitalists does not
necessarily advance the public welfare nor is it likely to be good for the natural
environment. Capitalist industries work hard to ensure an ongoing profit by designing
items that do not last and whilst policies such as this one improve the ‘bottom line’
short term, they raise long term risks of depleting natural resources. The clothing
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industry epitomizes throwaway society and value clothing retailers are contributing to
this notion by providing fast fashion.
The lack of relationship between producers and consumers means that social,
environmental and historical relations are invisible. If production and consumption
were in close proximity, a feedback loop is in place which forces people to live with
the economic or social consequences of their actions (Nozick,1992). It has been
suggested that ethics will only matter to consumers when they are directly impacted
(Carrigan and Attalla,2001).
“Those that live next to the local garment factory are much more likely
to have some idea about the labour relations that created their T-shirt
than those purchasing commodities involved in the current long
distance production connections.” (Hudson and Hudson:2003:418)
Advertisements mask production techniques in favour of persuading consumers that
their products are must haves and will improve their lives, this leads to a population of
consumption based upon achieving personal happiness and well being. People become
inherently selfish and focus purely on their own self interest and as a result products
become:
“not a result of production on which people have worked under a wide
variety of less than acceptable conditions but an entity unto itself, with
characteristics of its own” (Hudson and Hudson:2003:417).
Consumers have a ‘hear no evil, see no evil’ mindset and it is this kind of barrier
which leads cyclically to the ever downward spiral of third world labour.
CSR Success Stories?#p#分頁標題#e#
The ETI (2005) claims that insisting that suppliers abide by codes of conduct with
regards to their supply chain has assisted in company manager awareness about how
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their products are made. For some it has even closed the gap between consumers and
producers so that they are no longer cultural dopes of what Marx refers to as
‘commodity fetishism’. Enabling buyers to see a connection between their decisions
and the lives of workers, for example, rushing through orders leads to excessive
working hours and maltreatment should hopefully combat problems such as the race
to the bottom. Buyers should see their responsibility to raise producers up the ladder,
not force them down. For actions of firms to be ethical they must move beyond
motives of self interest and mutual advantage (Sorrell and Hendry,1994). However,
many firms claim to now be adhering to the principles set out by codes of conduct or
the Ethical Trade Initiative; however, the UK consultancy firm, Impactt Ltd, says that
95% of factories it visits in China probably falsify records (Lewis and Murray,2007).
And so, improved compliance to codes is not necessarily a sign of sustained
improvement but rather better deception of suppliers at passing audits.
Methodology
Sample
Corporate Social Responsibility teams within four companies that have been chosen;
the way in which these companies were selected is based upon the most recent Mintel
(2005) report about value clothing retailers and the companies who have the highest
market share within this category. This lead to the selection of Asda, Matalan, TK
Maxx, Primark and Tesco; however, this was then whittled down within this category
to focus purely on those retailers who produce and sell clothing the cheapest. It was
felt that TK Maxx was not in this category; evidence to support this categorisation can
be found on Page 12 of the ‘Labour Behind The Label’ report; (See Appendix F)
which pointed out that the four cheapest retailers were Primark, Asda, Matalan and
Tesco. It seems a logical step to choose the companies who sell their produce the
cheapest; in order to go on to discover how they can possibly afford to do so when
aiming to fulfil the research objectives.1
1 For further issues on sampling, please SEE APPENDIX G.
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Qualitative VS Quantitative
Qualitative research is the most valuable tool for seeing the world through the eyes of
the people being studied, (Loftland and Loftland,1995). It is evident to see that
complex procedures and motivations behind adopting certain practices cannot be
properly understood by using the predetermined categories required by quantitative#p#分頁標題#e#
research methods; (Maynard,1998) because quantitative research has the effect of
suppressing opinions and genuine emotion down to mere statistics.
“The main reason for the potential superiority of qualitative approaches for obtaining
information is that the flexible and responsive interaction which is possible between
interviewer and respondent(s) allows for meanings to be probed, topics to be covered
from a variety of angles and questions made clear to respondents.” (Sykes:1991:8
cited in Healey and Rawlinson,1994)
For this type of research a quantitative research design simply would not have been
appropriate; sending questionnaires out to companies and asking for them to complete
them can lead to extremely poor response rates (North et al,1983 cited in
Healey,1991) and therefore seriously flawed and invalid end results. In their study,
Saunders et al (2007) have found that managers are more likely to agree to be
interviewed than complete a questionnaire because an interview provides the
opportunity for feedback about the way the information will be used.
Semi-Structured Interviews
Corporate Social Responsibility is a highly contested and topical issue and its
complexities cannot be expressed or given justice in closed ended questions which
questionnaires require; as a result, semi-structured interviews posit a more
advantageous research method (Easterby-Smith et al,2002; Healey,1991;
Jankowicz,2005). Semi-structured interviews are by far the best research method
available for this type of research project because of the multiple firms which are
being targeted. It is not necessarily appropriate to ask the exact same schedule of
questions to all the firms; because although they operate in value clothing retailing;
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two of these companies are supermarkets. It is essential that all the questions are
specifically tailored for the organisation. The ability to change the order and sequence
of questions mid-interview, whilst maintaining a core underlying consistency and
theme is essential to this piece of research. The interviewer will have a list of
questions or fairly specific topics to be covered (See Appendix B) but the interviewee
will have a great deal of leeway with how to reply. Looking at the interview schedule
it is possible to see that the list of questions is by no means an exhaustive one; it is
essentially a list of memory prompts of areas to be covered. The formulation of the
research question has been deliberately left quite open and unspecific so that
alternative avenues of enquiry which might arise during the collection of data are not
closed off. Questions do not have to follow the specific order set out in the interview
guide and additional questions can be added or removed depending upon the#p#分頁標題#e#
participants responses.
The interview process will be flexible to allow for subsequent questions to be catered
around the last response and encourage the interviewee to provide an extensive
answer to reveal attitudes and obtain facts (Grummitt,1980). The interviews are going
to be undertaken with the clear aim of focusing on companies’ corporate social
responsibility in their clothing sector and so a semi-structured interview will be the
best form of interview to undertake. If an unstructured interview technique was used
then the respondent would be able to go off on a tangent; so much so, that the
principle research aim may get overlooked or deliberately ignored. For example,
issues of exploitation, child labour and paying a living wage are all potentially
damaging to a firm’s reputation and so there may be a tendency for the interviewee to
expand and talk about everything they do which is responsible rather than focusing on
actual facts. Similarly, there is also a worry that because two of the value clothing
retailers are supermarkets which operate in a variety of sectors; it may be that these
companies will negate to talk about their clothing suppliers, but focus instead on areas
of their supply chain which they can guarantee are responsible; for example, their fair
trade food ranges. A semi-structured interview will mean that the interviewee can be
drawn back in to focus on answering the research objectives and the key issues which
are paramount to successful deployment of the research.
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Reliability
Reliability is the concern that research should be replicable if undertaken by a
different researcher (Easterby-Smith et al,2002; Healey and Rawlinson,1994);
interviews are a concern when looking for high reliability because of their lack of
standardisation. However, this criticism is not necessarily a disadvantage for this
method because the research is not intended to be repeatable, but rather reflective of
the reality at the time results were collected (Marshall and Rossmann,1999).
Bias
When interviewing it is vital to ensure that the interviewer is as objective as possible
and does not let their own views and opinions taint the wealth of information that can
be discovered. This is referred to in the literature as interviewer bias; it refers to a
situation where tone or other non verbal cues can be used in order to influence the
interviewee. As well as the possibility of bias at the stage of interview; there is also
tendency for some to display bias when interpreting answers given during interview
when transcribing and analysing the data (Easterby-Smith et al,2002). Influencing
answers or embellishing them from what was originally given during the initial
interview defeats the object of undertaking an interview in the first instance and as#p#分頁標題#e#
such, will be avoided at all costs. From the point of view of the researcher all bias on
their part will be avoidable due to strict transcribing rules, taping the interview and
literally sticking to the facts and the answers given. Often; richer insights can be
concluded through what some people do not say or do not answer rather than what
they do.
A second type of bias which has the potential to spoil interviews is response bias; this
is where an interviewee may avoid answering a particular question due to the
perceived negative consequences it could have. It is quite possible that response bias
will occur in a research topic like this one because of the topics being investigated;
interviewees will tend to cast themselves in a ‘socially desirable’ role or the one they
believe the researcher will want to hear. Again, this can wreak havoc on getting
accurate depictions of the truth and will be combated by ensuring interviewees feel
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comfortable opening up to the researcher and ensuring that they do not feel they are
being judged. The open ended nature of the questions will hopefully invite the
interviewees into a loosely guided conversation and lead to free flowing answers as
opposed to calculated and prepared ones (Maykut and Morehouse,1994; Smith,1972;
Taylor and Bogdan;1984). It is worth noting here that the person who will be
interviewed plays a minor part of a wider picture and a larger culture. The length of
time that an interviewee has been with the company will determine how much of the
corporate culture they have absorbed during their time working there. Attempts must
be made to separate what the interviewee says taken directly taken from the company
rhetoric, from their true person opinions. The way in which this will be done is by
having a single interviewer who is well rehearsed at picking up body language cues
and other non verbal signals such as eye contact; as well as making notes throughout
and recording the interviews ready for transcribing them.
Validity and Generalisability
Semi-structured interviews are not capable of making generalisations about the entire
population where this is based on a small and unrepresentative number of cases.
However for the purposes of this study; generalisability of results to the full
population is not applicable. A firm’s Socially Responsible behaviour is something
which is entirely specific to the individual company and so it is not the aim of this
research to be able to make sweeping generalisations at the end. The research will
however culminate with cross case comparability between the supply chain
management of the four different firms; and so, because there are multiple cases
involved; it is necessary to have a degree of structure (Bryman,2001).#p#分頁標題#e#
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Kegan Paul, London
Sorrell, T and Hendry, J, (1994) Business Ethics, Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann
Sullivan, R, (2003), Business and Human Rights: dilemmas and Solutions, Sheffield:
Greenleaf
Taylor, S.J. and Bogdan, R. (1984), Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods,
John Wiley & Sons, New York: NY
War on Want publication (December 2006) Fashion Victims: The true cost of cheap
clothes at Primark, Asda and Tesco.
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Appendices
Appendix A - Record of Meetings with Dissertation Supervisor
Date Agenda of Meeting2
21st March 2007 Meeting with tutor to discuss possible
research topics and talk around the
practicality of the ideas.
29th March 2007 E-mail conversation to narrow down the
possible dissertation topics to one which
will be able to be put into practice.
EASTER HOLIDAY Two way e-mail contact as tutor was
unavailable throughout Easter.
25th May 2007 Meeting to discuss problems with
Dissertation Proposal; discusses issues of
access to online journals. Tutor helped#p#分頁標題#e#
me access a journal resource I had been
trying to obtain for the literature review.
27th May 2007 Feedback received via e-mail about the
first draft of dissertation proposal.
2 NB: Meeting is also used to encompass contact via e-mail. E-mail was heavily relied upon as a
method of communication due to clashes of timetables, the heavy schedule of my allocated tutor and
his availability on campus.
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Appendix B - Interview Schedule/Guide
· How do you ensure that your clothing is made in factories which pay a
fair/living wage?
· What countries are your main clothing suppliers situated in?
· How do you afford to sell the clothes it makes so cheaply?
· What measures do you have in place to protect human/workers rights?
· Do you demand rights for workers as part of supplier choice?
· What policies are in place to prevent the exploitation of workers involved in
your supply chain?
· Are your factories regularly checked for their adherence to company policies
on worker’s rights?
· What is the company doing to ensure all suppliers are operating ethically/what
auditing systems are in place?
· How much are the people who produce your clothes being paid?
· What hours do they work?
· Do your suppliers have unionised workforces?
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Appendix C - Research Methods Tool
Information Sheet
Nature of the Research
The purpose of the study is to discover the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility
on the supply chains of value clothing retailers.
It will be undertaken by single researcher Adele Jenkinson as part of the requirements
of the fulfilment of the MSc Management programme.
The study is being undertaken with the four main value clothing retailers in the UK
market at Present; this includes, Asda, Tesco, Primark and Matalan. They were
chosen for their market share and their relative low cost per item.
The research project is still in its early stages and the semi-structured interviews will
form the bulk of the primary research with ongoing collection of secondary research
and analysis of sources.
Requirements of Taking Part
No confidential data is required from the participant who takes part other than their
name which will be kept wholly confidential, their position within the firm and how
long they have worked with the company. All information discovered throughout the
interview can be kept confidential if required and full anonymity can be given to the
research participant.
The data will be collected using a one off semi-structured interview which will last no
more than 90 minutes; this timeframe is however, open to mutual agreement and#p#分頁標題#e#
shorter/longer times can be allocated where required.
The target dates for participation are between the 24th May 2007 and the 18th June
2007; flexibility around these dates is possible.
Implications of Taking Part
Participation is entirely voluntary.
Participants have the right to decline to answer when asked in interview anything
which they do not want to.
Participants have the right to decide whether they want their interviews recording with
a voice recorder.
Participants may withdraw at any time.
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There are no consequences to participating; the interviews will not be detrimental to
interviewees in anyway and their answers will only be used as part of the requirement
of the Masters Programme. However, this piece of research could have benefits to the
participants because of the wealth of knowledge that firms will be able to accrue from
it. Copies of the final report can be sent to the company and the interviewee will have
the right to look at the end report prior to its submission so that any omissions can be
made.
Reporting of Data
Data will be published in the University library, however, confidentiality rules allow
for interviewees to withhold this research from entering the hands of anyone else for a
specific time frame if requested.
If you have any questions at all about the research then do not hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you.
Adele Jenkinson (Researcher)
E-Mail: [email protected]
Mobile: 07739977363
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Example consent form for use with interviews in the workplace3
Interview consent and data processing statement
If you consent to being interviewed and to any data gathered being processed as
outlined below, please print and sign your name, and date the form, in the spaces
provided.
This project ‘Sweatshop till you drop?’ is being conducted by Adele Jenkinson as
part fulfilment of her Masters programme. There are no official sponsors.
All data will be treated as personal under the 1998 Data Protection Act, and will be
stored securely.
Interviews will be recorded and transcribed by the interviewer who will arrange a
signed confidentiality agreement.
A copy of your interview transcript will be provided, free of charge, on request.
Data collected may be processed manually and with the aid of computer software.
Please indicate, by ticking ONE of the boxes below, whether you are willing to be
identified, and whether we may quote your words directly, in reports and publications
arising from this research.
I/my employer (delete which is not applicable) may be identified in reports
made available outside the university, and in publications.#p#分頁標題#e#
Neither I, nor my employer, may be identified in reports made available
outside the university, nor in any publications. My words may be quoted
provided that they are anonymised.
Neither I, nor my employer, may be identified in reports made available
outside the university, nor in any publications. My words may not be quoted.
Please print your name: _______________________________________
Signature: __________________________________________
Date: _________________
3 http://www.esds.ac.uk/aandp/create/consentwork.asp last accessed 25/04/07
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Appendix D - Timetable
Wednesday 7 February 2007
Start looking for ideas for
dissertation.
Wednesday 14 February 2007
Search the literature to look for any
gaps in current research.
Thursday 15 March 2007
Meet with Dissertation tutor to
discuss possible topics.
[3 weeks Easter vacation
2007]
Choose a topic and read around it,
construct a 4,000 word dissertation
proposal.
Wednesday 2 May 2007 Hand in Dissertation Proposal
Thursday 24 May 2007
Keep reading around the subject and
collect any interesting articles/data
that relates to the research.
Tuesday 29 May 2007
Meet with supervisor to check that
I’m on the right track.
Monday 18 June 2007
Aim to have undertaken all
interviews by this point in time.
Wednesday 4 July 2007
Aim to have transcripts of
interviews typed up by this point;
make sure there is constant write up
about any difficulties or new
information I come across.
Wednesday 25 July 2007 Aim to have analysis of results
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completed and relate it to the theory,
did things go the way I expected? Is
there anything else I could have
done?
Monday 30 July 2007
See my supervisor again just to keep
checking I’m on track.
Friday 3 August 2007
Aim to have typed up conclusions
and theoretical analysis done by this
point.
Monday 13 August 2007 Aim to have produced first full draft
Wednesday 15 August 2007
See supervisor, make necessary
changes and redraft.
Friday 17 August 2007
Produce final copy of 10,000 –
13,000 word dissertation.
17 August 2007 onwards Proof Reading and Binding time
CONTINGENCY TIME
BEFORE HAND IN
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Appendix E – Practicalities associated with Semi-Structured
Interviews
Semi-structured – The interview method that will be using is a semi structured one.
Using this technique enables the interviewer to direct questions based upon a schedule#p#分頁標題#e#
of things they would like to discover but ALSO enables the respondent to divulge
more in depth information and allows them to go off on a tangent. This type of semistructured
nature facilitates the discovery of a wealth of information which may
expand on the initial pre-conceived ideas thought up by the interviewer.
Individual Respondents – The interviews will be conducted on a one to one basis,
with single interviewer and single interviewee, the reason for doing this is to avoid all
the problems associated with using focus groups in research: the sheep effect, where
everyone will respond the same way as everyone else, often to avoid appearing
different, unusual, strange or out of the norm. Other problems include the negative
effects on results that dominant and extroverted people can have. If there is one
person in the focus group who is particularly opinionated and likes to speak their
mind, this can be to the detriment of the other participants. Respondents who give
information freely are a godsend in an interview situation, where few prompts need to
be given for them to tell you how they feel. However, when this person is put in a
room full of other people, they tend to make other people feel as if what they have got
to say is not as important and the quieter, more introverted people (who also have
valued opinions) may not get their own say.
Practical Issues (with regards to the interviewers technique)
· Clearly spoken
· Able to be quiet and let respondent speak
· Show enthusiasm for the subject
· Do not lead or influence
· Be friendly and approachable, the kind of person people are
going to want to open up to.
· Have a good level of English and speak so that you are easily
understandable.
Practical Issues (with regards to the recording of interviews)
· Ensure that the recorder is working prior to the interview.
· Work out what distance the recorder needs to be from the
participant prior to the day of the interviews taking place.
· Ensure consent is received prior to recording.
· Ensure that no one else hears the recording if the interviewee
has been promised confidentiality and anonymity.
· People may be less inclined to tell the truth if they know they
are being recorded (due to the feeling that it may come back to
haunt them at a later date.)
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Appendix F – Excerpt from Labour Behind the Label Report
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Appendix G – Sampling Issues
The final sample of participants cannot be determined at this stage and so
demographics cannot be distinguished; selection of the interviewee will be informed#p#分頁標題#e#
by the feedback gained from the companies to the proposal letters that will be sent out
to them. Whilst it would be desirable to self select research participants and the CEO
of the company would prove ideal; it is important to stay grounded and appreciate the
limitations that a rather small scale research project such as this one has. Any
response from the Corporate Social Responsibility teams will be wholly welcomed,
considering that it is not part of their core business operation to take part in
dissertation projects.