Journal of Management Science & Engineering Research | ISSN: 2630-4953

Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Seyed Ehsan Hosseini
Arkansas Tech University, United States
Wei-Chiang Hong, China
Jiangsu Normal University, China
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CAN COSKUN, Turkey
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Mahdi Hosseini, India

Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Seyed Ehsan Hosseini
Prof. Wei-Chiang Hong
Journal of
Management Science &
Engineering Research
Volume 3 Issue 1 · March 2020 · ISSN 2630-4953 (Online)
Volume 4 Issue 2 • September 2021 • ISSN 2630-4953 (Online)

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Volume 4 | Issue 2 | September 2021 | Page 1-58
Journal of Management Science & Engineering Research
Contents
Articles
1 Predictive Model to Evaluate Accommodation of Conflict Management Strategies and Board Performance
of Oil and Gas Companies in Port Harcourt
Eluozo S.N. Ukpong Uwem Johnson Eluozo .S.
9 Impacts and Possible Responses Related to COVID-19 in the Textile and Apparel Industry of Bangladesh
Md.Tareque Rahaman Tarekul Islam
16 Identification of the Profile of Vulnerable Population to Elaborate Efficient Employment Strategy: Proposition
of a Quantitative-creative Approach
Jênifer Ribeiro Dona Istefani Carisio de Paula Alceu Terrado Nascimento Aline Cafruni Gularte
28 Managing New PV Plant Connection to Available Grids to Stay within Standard Limits with a Case Study
Ehsan Najafi Amin Mirzaei Mahdi Rezvanyvardom Mahdi Zolfaghar
33 Inventory Management and Demand Forecasting Improvement of a Forecasting Model Based on Artificial Neural Networks
Cisse SoryIbrahima Jianwu Xue Thierno Gueye
40 A Study on an Extensive Hierarchical Model for Demand Forecasting of Automobile Components
Cisse SoryIbrahima Jianwu Xue Thierno Gueye
49 Stabilization of Expansive Soil Using Biomedical Waste Incinerator Ash
Asefachew Belete Tseganeh Henok Fikre Geberegziabher Ayele Tesema Chala

1
Journal of Management Science & Engineering Research | Volume 04 | Issue 02 | September 2021
Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30564/jmser.v4i2.2946
https://ojs.bilpublishing.com/index.php/jmser
ARTICLE
Predictive Model to Evaluate Accommodation of Conflict Management
Strategies and Board Performance of Oil and Gas Companies in Port
Harcourt
Eluozo S.N.1*
Ukpong Uwem Johnson2
Eluozo .S.3
1.Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Gregory University, Uturu Abia State, Nigeria
2.Department of Management Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria
3.Department of marketing, IgnatusAjuru University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Article history
Received: 8 March 2021
Accepted: 27 April 2021
Published Online: 30 September 2021
This paper evaluates accommodation of conflict management strategies
and board performances in oil and gas sector. The study details the re-
flection of effectiveness, efficiency and productivity as the answer to
thorough efficiency in accommodation of conflict management in oil and
gas sector, these parameters in the system express their efficacy on con-
flict management in these multinationals, this implies that for thorough
efficiency, these variables must work simultaneously for effective and
efficient in structural organization that can be a leading multinational
sector in oil and gas environment. The study observed Linearized result
from graphical representation explaining predominant lower efficiency
and little higher efficiency in accommodation of conflict management
in oil and gas companies. These experiences from the study monitor the
system from generated simulation values that describe the growth rates
in exponential phase of accommodation conflict strategic management.
Despite exponential phase the results experienced lower parameters,
when comparing on its variations showing its poor efficiency as observed
in the study. Few periods observed higher effective accommodation on
conflict strategic management. The developed model stimulation values
were subjected to validation and both parameters generated favourable
fits correlation, the study expressed the deficiency on accommodation of
conflict management strategy thus developed models that can monitor the
fluctuation and progressive state of accommodation on conflict manage-
ment strategy, it defines the reflection of other parameters that express the
behaviour of the system in terms of conceptual approach to monitor these
type of strategic management in oil and gas companies.
Keywords:
Predictive model conflict management
Board performance oil and gas
*Corresponding Author:
Eluozo S.N.,
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Gregory University, Uturu Abia State, Nigeria;
Email: ndusolo2018@gmail.com
1. Introduction
Conflict has been with us since the inception of hu-
man development and to a greater extent informed our
thinking as individuals. This tends to show Conflict is an
inevitable concept within the human society. Variations
of views may be held, this implies that views may be ex-
perienced conflict as it be a negative situation, this must

2
Distributed under creative commons license 4.0
always be avoided at any cost. There are others that may
experience conflict in a phenomenon. It will definitely
require management. More so in other circumstances
other may consider conflict as an exciting opportunity for
personal growth, and others try to apply his or her best
advantage. This notion implies Whoever that fall on this
range of viewpoint as it concerns conflict would expect to
be in a continual state of conflict as for the fundamental
for employment. Conflict in organizations may neither
be ignored nor feared. Indeed, it should be creative and
destructive manifestations. Conflict-free company has
never stereotype, negative attitudes and the frustrations of
perceived conflicting need will always be present wher-
ever men are forced to live and work together. However,
conflict in an organization is a daily occurrence [1]
.
[2]
stresses that conflict is inevitable within the human
society, and that the organization since it’s comprises
of individuals from diverse cultures tend to have a huge
level of conflict attributes, because individual needs and
preferences to a greater extend is the major reasons for
conflict within and outside the organization. When two or
more social entities (that is, individuals, groups, organiza-
tions and or nations) come in contact with one another in
attaining their objectives, their relationship may become
inconsistent when two or more of them desire a similar
resources that is in short supply; when they have partial-
ly exclusive behavioural preference regarding their joint
action; or when they have different of conflict would be
a process of social interaction involving a struggle over
claims to resources, power and status, beliefs and other
preferences and desires. The aims of the parties in conflict
may extend from simply attempting to gain acceptance of
a preference, or securing a resource advantage, to the ex-
tremes of injuring or eliminating opponents [3]
.
Uncertainty and disagreement have been two signif-
icant drivers for conflict anywhere and especially in or-
ganizations where the board members are idle. In other
words, an organization with an ineffective board is a ver-
itable ground for conflict. An organization’s management
under his circumstance manipulates events in its favour
and runs corporate supervision as personal or individu-
al fortune. In non-performing or redundant boards, and
this is noteworthy, board activities are minimal and are
reduced to, in the main, ratification (or rubber-stamp) of
managerial decisions [4]
. Instructively, many failed and
failing Nigeria business have boards that are damaged by
conflicts – in fighting and or disagreements, resulting in
the abnormally of all corporate authority being vested in
one individual – the managing director and chief execu-
tive officer, who functions without supervision. In these
companies the board of directors function at the managing
director who also controls and determines all corporate,
administration, finance, projects, recruitment, selection
decisions etc. These conflicts are the outcomes of ignored
grievances, disputes and complaints or poorly managed
conflicts between board members. It is a fact that conflicts
when not effectively managed have the potential of spiral-
ing with disastrous consequences.
In general, unresolved conflict among the board of
directors is considered to have a negative impact on their
performance [6]
. It decreases satisfaction of the board
members; it decreases the board productivity; hinders
the exchange of information needed for effective deci-
sion-making [5]
. When exploring the board of directors as
a workgroup, it is important to identify each of the team
members and how they interact; each member has his
or her contribution and conflicts among board members
could arise in different forms [5]
. The effectiveness of a
group is only ascertained when there is harmony amongst
group members.
1.1 Accommodation Conflict Management Strategy
[1]
This is one of sacrifice, selflessness and low asser-
tiveness. You are willing to give up just about everything
in order to preserve the relationship with the other party.
It is certainly reasonable to use this strategy when the
issue at hand is something of little importance to you. It
fore goes your concern in order to satisfy the concern of
others. This strategy is low assertiveness and high coop-
erativeness; the goal is to yield. The accommodating style
is appropriate to use in situations when you want to show
that you are reasonable, develop performance, create good
will, keep peace, retreat, or for issues of low importance.
Accommodating skills include the ability to sacrifice, the
ability to be selfless, the ability to obey orders, and the
ability to yield.
Over use of the accommodating strategy results in
ideas getting little attention, restricted influence, loss of
contribution, and anarchy. People who overuse the ac-
commodating style exhibit a lack of desire to change and
usually demonstrate anxiety over future uncertainties.
One of their main desires may be to keep everything the
same. When accommodating is overused certain behaviors
emerge. Some of these emergent behaviors include giving
up personal space, making "me" or other victim state-
ments, being overly helpful and then holding a grudge,
and speaking in an extremely quiet almost unintelligible
voice.
The accommodating strategy essentially entails giving
the opposing side what it wants. The use of accommoda-
tion often occurs when one of the parties wishes to keep
the peace or perceives the issue as minor. For example, a
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30564/jmser.v4i2.2946

3
business that requires formal dress may institute a "casual
Friday" policy as a low-stakes means of keeping the peace
with the rank and file. Employees who use accommoda-
tion as a primary conflict management strategy, however,
may keep track and develop resentment.
Accommodators are people who give in to maintain
the illusion of harmony [5]. [3,4]
It is noted that accommoda-
tion scores high on cooperativeness. [1, 2]
it is in of views
accommodation as a destructive strategy, because it often
leads to a build-up of negative emotions. An accommo-
dating board is one that cooperates to a high degree. This
may be at the boards’ expense and actually works against
its goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. This approach
is effective when the other board members are the expert
or has better solutions. It is a lose – win approach. There
are situations which accommodation may be appropriate.
1.2 Board Performance
Literature on board performance has assumed multiple
dimensions [2, 4, 5]
. In the light if the above, [2, 3]
opined that,
“the wellbeing of an organization is greatly determined by
its board of directors. The board of directors of a company
is those individuals saddled with the responsibility of de-
cision making within the organization-to a greater extent
the success or growth of an organization is a factor of the
decisions of the boards of directors. Company directors
duly appointed to manage the business activities of the
company. Management and chief executive officers of the
organization are responsible for the day-to-day operations
whereas board of directors are responsible for monitoring
the management and making sure the act in tandem with
the vision and mission of the organization so as to max-
imize the profit of the organization and for the interest
of the shareholders. It is imperative however that every
organization has a board of directors because they oversee
the activities of the organization and ensure that managers
and other workers within the organization adhere to state
objectives and laws of the organization at all time.
1.3 Accommodation Conflict Management Strate-
gy and Board Performance
Accommodative is unassertive and cooperative. The
accommodating strategy essentially entails a situation
where a party in a conflicting situation chooses not to con-
tinue in a particular issue-giving the opposing side what it
wants. The use of accommodation often occurs when one
of the parties wishes to keep the peace or perceives the
issue as minor. Employees who use accommodation as a
primary conflict management strategy, however, may keep
track and develop resentment. [2]
did an empirical study
between accommodation and organizational performance
and a positive relationship was found, which was further
reinforced by the findings of [2]
on compromising strategy
the compromising strategy typically calls for both sides
of a conflict to give up elements of their position in order
to establish an acceptable, if not agreeable, solution. This
strategy prevails most often in conflicts where the parties
hold approximately equivalent power. Business owners
frequently employ compromise during contract negotia-
tions with other businesses when each party stands to lose
something valuable, such as a customer or necessary ser-
vice.
4. Effectiveness
Effectiveness is the degree to which objectives are
achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are
solved. In contrast to efficiency, effectiveness is deter-
mined without reference to costs and whereas efficiency
means doing the thing right, and effectiveness means
doing the right thing. Several theoretical studies have
presented definitions of operational effectiveness ranging
from its theoretical independence [4]
to attaching it as a
component of performance [3].
An interesting feature of
this scholarly effort is the consensus that evolved from
the meta-analytic work of [2]
that have adequately and
empirically domiciled operational effectiveness within the
performance construct and using it as a measure.
Scholarly efforts have been used in analyzing and mea-
suring performance of work organizations [2, 3, 4]
. Some of
the measures so far have been seen in relation to the func-
tional aspects of work while some are perceptually drawn
based on disciplinary orientation [1, 2, 3]
. Like the case of
the accounting function which relies on assures like, gross
profit, return of investment profitability and the marketing
function relies on market share and sales growth as an in-
dicator to measure performance. In the case of the produc-
tion function which is widespread across every function,
operational efficiency is greatly applied [3,5].
.
5. Productivity
Productivity can be defined as quality of being pro-
ductive. The efficiency of fruitful effort, particularly in
industry, there are measured in terms of its rate of output
per unit of input level of performance, these concepts ap-
plied in a business over a specified period of time, it also
expresses terms of overall profits including losses during
that time. Evaluating such profits of a business allows
decision-makers to judge the results of business strategies
and activities in objective monetary terms. Also, profit-
ability measured the results of a firm’s policies including

4
operations these are observed in monetary firms, it is re-
flected in the firm’s return on investment, return on assets,
value added etc.
Any of many different mathematical measures to eval-
uate how well a company is using its resources to make
a profit. It is important to note that, no one measure of fi-
nancial performance should be taken on its own. Rather, a
thorough assessment of a company’s performance should
take into account many different measures [1,6]
.
2. Theoretical Background
n
d d
dc
dp
d
 utc  
 k t c (1.0)
n
c
Dividing equation (1.0) all through by
d we have
   
d
c
d d
1n
d
cn
 u t c  k t
dt
(1.1)
Let
d
P= c1n
(1.2)
  d
c
d
n
 1 n c
d
dp
dt dx
.
1 dp .
d
cn dcd

dx 1 n dx
(1.3)
Substituting equation (1.2) and (1.3) into equation (1.1)
we have that
utp  k t
1 dp
1 n dt
(1.4)
Multiplied equation (1.4) all through by (1-n)
     
 u t 1 n p  k t 1 n
dp
dt
(1.5)
Equation (1.5) is linear in p. we applied the integrating
factor method as follows:
I.F  epx
dt
Where
(1.6)
pt ut1 n
Substituting equation (1.7) into (1.6) we have
(1.7)
I.F  eut1ndt
 eut 1n dt
 eut1nt
I.F  eut 1nt
(1.8)
Multiplied all through equation (1.5) by equation (1.8)
we have
dp
dt
eut 1nt
 u t1 neut1nt
p  k t1 neut1nt
dt
d
eut1nt
p k t1 neut1nt
dt
ut1nt ut1nt
d e p k t1ne
Integrating both sides we have
 d eut 1nt
p  k t1neut 1nt
dt
 
eut1nt
p  k t1n eut1nt
dt (1.9)
But to integrate k x1 neux1nx
dx we let
D  ut1 nt . (1.10)
dD
dt
 u t1n.
So that
dD
ut1 n
dt  . (1.11)
stituting (1.10) and (1.11) into (1.9) we have
eut1nt
p  eut1nt
 A
k t1n
ut1n
(1.12)

5
Divide equation (1.12) all through by eux1nx
. we
have
k t
ut
ut 1nt
p   Ae (13)
Substituting equation (1.2) into equation (1.13) we
have
k t ut 1nt
1n
cd 
ut
 Ae (1.14)
3. Methodology of the Study
Mathematical modelling techniques were applied for
the study, deterministic model techniques were applied,
the variables were subjected into mathematical tools, these
developed a system that generated governing equation,
these were derived to produced model for the study, these
predictive solution were also subjected to simulations
were parameters were varied at different conditions base
on the system, the derived simulation parameters will be
compared with measured field values from the fields for
model validation.
4. Results and Discussions
Table 1. Predictive and Measured Values of Accommoda-
tion Conflict Management at Different Period
Period
Accommodation Conflict
Management
Measured Field Values
1
2
3
4
0.011
0.0211
0.036
0.0422
0.01101
0.02104
0.03109
0.04116
5 0.0527 0.05125
6 0.063 0.06136
7 0.0738 0.07149
8 0.0843 0.08164
9 0.0949 0.09181 10 0.0685 0.06006
10 0.1054 0.102 11 0.0754 0.0660663
11 0.1159 0.11221 12 0.0822 0.0720732
12 0.1265 0.12244 13 0.0891 0.0780807
13 0.1371 0.13269 14 0.0959 0.0840888
14 0.1476 0.14296
15 0.1548 0.15325
16 0.1686 0.16356
17 0.1792 0.17389
18 0.1897 0.18424 18 0.1233 0.1081272
19 0.2002 0.19461 19 0.1302 0.1141383
20 0.2108 0.205 20 0.1371 0.12015
Period
Management
5 0.0527 0.051025
10 0.1054 0.1011
15 0.1581 0.151225
20 0.2108 0.2014
25 0.2635 0.251625
30 0.3162 0.3019
35 0.3689 0.352225
40 0.4216 0.4026
45 0.4743 0.453025
50 0.5171 0.5035
55 0.5797 0.554025
60 0.6324 0.6046
65 0.6851 0.655225
70 0.7378 0.7059
75 0.7905 0.756625
80 0.8432 0.8074
85 0.8959 0.858225
90 0.9486 0.9091
Period
Management
1
2
3
4
5
6
0.00684
0.0137
0.0206
0.0274
0.0343
0.0411
0.0060303
0.0120312
0.0180327
0.0240348
0.0300375
0.0360408
7 0.0479 0.0420447
8 0.0548 0.0480492
9 0.0617 0.0540543
15 0.1027 0.0900975
16 0.1095 0.0961068
17 0.1164 0.1021167

6
Period
Management
Measured Field Values Period
Management
5 0.0434 0.03405 5 0.0432 0.0399895
10 0.0685 0.0642 10 0.0864 0.079988
15 0.10275 0.09445 15 0.1296 0.1199855
20 0.1371 0.1248 20 0.1728 0.159982
25 0.1713 0.15525 25 0.2161 0.1999775
30 0.2055 0.1858 30 0.2592 0.239972
35 0.2398 0.21645 35 0.3024 0.2799655
40 0.2741 0.2472 40 0.3456 0.319958
45 0.3083 0.27805 45 0.3889 0.3599495
50 0.3425 0.309 50 0.4321 0.39994
55 0.3768 0.34005 55 0.4752 0.4399295
60 0.4111 0.3712 60 0.5184 0.479918
65 0.4453 0.40245 65 0.5616 0.5199055
70 0.4795 0.4338 70 0.6048 0.559892
75 0.5138 0.46525 75 0.6481 0.5998775
80 0.5481 0.4968 80 0.6912 0.639862
85 0.5823 0.52845 85 0.7344 0.6798455
90 0.6165 0.5602 90 0.7776 0.719828
Period
Management
5
10
0.0225
0.0451
0.02002375
0.04009
15 0.0675 0.06019125
20 0.091 0.08032
25 0.1125 0.10046875
30 0.1351 0.12063
35 0.1575 0.14079625
40 0.1811 0.16096
45 0.2031 0.18111375
50 0.2252 0.20125
55 0.2475 0.22136125
60 0.2712 0.24144
65 0.2951 0.26147875
70 0.3152 0.28147
75 0.3375 0.30140625
80 0.3611 0.32128
85 0.3825 0.34108375
90 0.4051 0.36081
0.05
0
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0 5 10 15 20 25
Predictive
and
Measured
Values
of
Accomodated
Conflict
Management
Period
Management
Measured FieldValues
Figure 1. Predictive and Measured Values of Accommo-
dation Conflict Management at Different Period
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0 20 40 80 100
Predictive
and
Measured
Values
of
Accomodated
Conflict
Management
60
Period
Management

7
0.04
0.02
0
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0 5 10 15 20 25
Predict
and
Measured
Values
of
Accomodated
Conflict
Management
Period
Management
Measured FieldValues
0.2
0.1
0
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0 20 40 60 80 100
Predictive
and
Measured
Values
of
Accomodated
Conflict
Management
Period
Management
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0 20 40 60 80 100
Predictive
and
Measured
Field
Values
of
Accomodated
Conflict
Management
Period
Management
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0 20 40 60 80 100
Predictive
and
Measured
Field
Values
of
Accomodated
Conflict
Management
Period
Management
The study expressed the assessment of accommodation
of conflict management strategies in oil and gas compa-
nies in Port Harcourt. The exponential state from figure
one to six explain different ways strategic management
of conflict are reflected in the performance of oil and
companies, the figures observed linear increase on higher
and lower percentage of performance in conflict manage-
ment strategy in these multinationals, but predominant
lower percentage were experience despite it linearization
of in graphical representation, the major point of interest
is the percentage increase at different period, the system
definitely express that the rate of increase can only reflect
appreciated goal only when it increase with higher per-
centage of performances in these sector. From the figures
few period experience appreciated percentage of accom-
modated conflict management strategy in oil and gas sec-
tor while many other figures observed lower percentage of
conflict management performances in these multinational
sectors, the system explain the resultant of lower predom-
inant performance on conflict management, this definitely
affect the efficiency of the oil and gas sector and the econ-
omy will depreciate if the observed conditions continue.
The study for the developed model values subjected these
parameters to validation and both values developed fa-
vourable fits.
5. Conclusions
The study on monitoring accommodation of conflict
management strategy has been evaluated using modeling
and simulation techniques, the developed concept express
the behaviour of the system in terms of rationalizing prof-
itable management concept in conflict section from oil
and gas, the derived mathematical simulation parameters
generated values that experienced Linearized state of ac-
commodation conflict strategy in oil and gas sector, but
experience predominant lower percentage values at differ-
ent period on efficiency, these were base on poor efficien-
cy from other variables that are reflected in the system to
generate the rate of accommodation conflict management
strategy in oil and gas sector. The study expresses the pre-
dominant decline rate of accommodation conflict manage-
ment strategy performance in these multinationals sectors,
base on these expressed results. These imply that the effi-
ciency of strategic management on conflict management
need thorough attention in order to improve on overall
efficiency of oil and gas companies in port Harcourt.
References
[1] Ashfag, A. & Muhammad, R. (2013). Effect of work
stress on employees job performance. Study on bank-

8
ing sector of Pakistan. Journal of Business and Man-
agement, 11(6), 61-68.
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cine. Madigan army medical center, Fort Lewis, WA.
Retirved March 2017 from http.//www.army medi-
cine. Army .il/hc/healthtips/stress.
3 Barilee, B. (2005). Object-relational database de-
sign-exploiting object orientation at the database.
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4 Ikekwem, P.S. (2001). Lifestyle of Nigerian workers
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5 Jaja, S.A. (2003). Praxis of work behavior. Lagos:
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a case Study of Transit Hotel in Nairobi City County.
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109.

9
Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30564/jmser.v4i2.3166
ARTICLE
Impacts and Possible Responses Related to COVID-19 in the Textile and
Apparel Industry of Bangladesh
Md.Tareque Rahaman*
Tarekul Islam
Department of Textile Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail, Bangladesh
Article history
Received: 28 April 2021
Accepted: 18 May 2021
Published Online: 18 June 2021
This research work was intended to analyze the unleashed issues related
to apparel trade during COVID-19 pandemic & made an attempt to find
the best possible responses to uphold marketing campaigns during &
after the pandemic situation. Apparel industries in Asia, the largest global
hub of both the textile & apparel import-export trade have been severally
damaged by the COVID-19. Over the last one year, the global community
had already realized the fact that how pandemic situation disrupted the
supply chain management of textile, apparel & fashion manufacturing
industries throughout the world. Bangladesh, one of the top ranked
garments exporter countries have been facing the burning bridges, due
to the scarcity of raw materials & gradual cancellation export orders.
The contribution of the apparel industry is more significant for the socio-
economic growth of a 3rd world countries like Bangladesh, just because
apparel contributes almost 84% of its total export income with the
involvement of 4.5 million people approximately. The following research
paper conveys a three-fold story. In the very beginning portion, there
are some reviews & analysis of the overall scenarios of the COVID-19
pandemic with presence of several business reports, academic journals,
market research, manufacture's opinions & stakeholders' strategies. The
second phase of the research work forecasts the possible responses need
to be projected during & after the pandemic situation. Finally, this study
predicts an ideal footprint to cope up with similar sort of situations in the
future.
Keywords:
COVID-19
Supply chain
Apparel industry
Import
Export
Impacts
Strategies
Bangladesh
Md. Tareque Rahaman,
Department of Textile Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail, Bangladesh;
Email: tex16001@gmail.com
1. Introduction
Bangladesh's ready-made garments (RMG) industry
is the country's largest foreign currency distributor
and a driving force behind the country's overall socio-
economic growth (Rahman). Following the cancellation or
suspension of orders by its customers, the apparel industry,
which is the world's second largest exporter of ready-
made garments, is now facing a loss of about $6 billion
per year [1]
. Bangladesh's government is being forced to
undergo lockdowns in an effort to fight the Covid-19
pandemic. Frequent lockout has a crippling impact on the
growing economy, as well as a halt and debilitating effect
in almost all sectors [2]
. Bangladesh recorded the first case
of coronavirus on March 7, 2020, and the number of new
cases increased dramatically by June. Bangladesh reported
around 3,462 new coronavirus positive cases on July 6,
2020, bringing the total number of cases to 707,362 after

10
the first case was discovered in early March. More than
602,908 patients have recovered from total infections as
of April 16, 2021. Bangladesh would have to prepare for
the effects of a global economic slowdown because the
country's GDP growth is heavily reliant on cheap labor.
RMG (Ready Made Garments) and remittances are the
two largest contributors to Bangladesh's GDP, accounting
for 11 percent and 5.8 percent of GDP respectively in
2018 [3]
. Since overseas orders have plunged as a result
of decreased discretionary spending, the pandemic has
resulted in the loss of about one million jobs in the
industry (Dhaka tribune) [4]
. According to the BGMEA
study (dated April 12, 2012), approximately $3.5 billion in
orders has been cancelled since the outbreak, with around
$1.5 billion in RMG exports on hold (Source: Dhaka
Tribune). As a consequence, RMG factories' long-term
viability appears to be bleak [5]
. In the remittance industry,
nearly 10 million Bangladeshi workers were working in
foreign countries, mostly in the Middle East and Western
countries (tbsnews.net).
2. Literature Review
On January 11, 2020, the World Health Organization
(WHO) designated “COVID-19” as the official name of
the newly detected disease. The virus was first identified
as 2019-nCoV, and it was announced to the World Health
Organization on December 31, 2019. The WHO declared
the COVID-19 outbreak a global health emergency on
January 30, 2020.
The government of Bangladesh announced a state of
lockdown (closure of all public and private offices) in
the country on March 26, 2020, which lasted until May
30, 2020, due to the regular increase in the number of
COVID-19 infected patients (The dailystar.net).
On March 27, 2020, the ‘Centre for Global Workers'
Rights' and the ‘Worker Rights Consortium' conducted
a report on the effect of the COVID-19 crisis in
the Bangladesh RMG market, which included 316
Bangladeshi suppliers.
The ‘Bangladesh Garment Labor Association'
conducted research on COVID-19 infections among
RMG workers and discovered that 96 RMG workers were
infected with COVID-19 between 9 and 12 months.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had dire consequences
for these RMG jobs, including confusion about their
salaries during the pandemic and some pressing problems
such as a shortage of resources to get on with their lives.
Other issues include health risks associated with a lack
of occupational prevention steps, as well as harm to
mental health conditions caused by the fear of contracting
COVID-19.
In terms of illness and death rates, Bangladesh is
currently at its highest height. As of April 16, 2021,
there have been 707362 infections and 10081 deaths
due to COVID-19. Even if the workplace is dangerous,
employees' fear of losing their jobs will make them more
powerless in the long run.
3. Objectives
i. To evaluate the current scenario of the apparel
industry of Bangladesh during COVID-19;
ii. To discuss the trading condition of the global apparel
industry;
iii. To find out the best possible response to protect the
workers, business & the country;
iv.To suggest a few recommendations by analyzing the
concurrent situation with a view to dealing with similar
sort of situation in the future.
4. Methodology
The COVID-19 pandemic situation can’t be predicted
quite easily, just because the overall scenario is changing
time to time. To understand the ongoing economic
condition of international apparel trade, data has been
arranged from some secondary sources such as various
business journals, various national & international
organizations (BGMEA, WTO, WHO, IMF & World
Bank).
Primary Data
Through physical conversation with associated officers,
government officials, garments organization.
Secondary Data
√ Various data sources such as BGMEA, BKMEA,
Bangladesh Bank, Export Promotion Branch (EPB);
√ Browsing government websites related to import-
export;
√ Authentic books, publications, newspaper articles;
5.Impacts of COVID-19 on Bangladesh’s
Textile and Apparel Industry
1.Impact on Demand & Apparel Supply Chain
Dynamics
The Covid-19 pandemic has already had a major
effect on the global apparel supply chain and demand
management. Due to raw material sourcing problems and
canceled orders, top exporters such as Bangladesh have
begun to feel the sun.

11
5.2 Socio-economic Challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic would have an economic
impact on millions of RMG employees, the majority of
whom are female, come from low-income families, and
work primarily in garment factories to produce low-cost
garments.
5.3 Cancellation & Lack of Apparel Order in
Response to Pandemic
According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BGMEA), orders for nearly
650 million garments worth a total of $ 3 billion have
been canceled by March 31, 2020, affecting 738 factories
and 1.42 million jobs.
5.4 Cotton Demand Plummets
Since March 2020, the rapid spread of COVID-19 has
had a significant effect on the cultivation, demand, and
supply chain dynamics of cotton yarn and other synthetic
fibers all over the world. There are 424 spinning mills,
794 textile weaving mills, 241 dyeing and finishing mills,
and over 6,500 registered and unregistered garment and
textile factories in Bangladesh. Sixty-five percent of these
factories are in the Dhaka district, and cotton accounts
for nearly 80 percent of the garments produced in
Bangladesh; the remainder is made of viscose, polyester,
and other materials. India, China, the United States,
Uzbekistan, Australia, Pakistan, and Brazil are the leading
producers of cotton globally. A demand-supply imbalance
has resulted due to a drop in cotton demand from China.
The COVID-19 crisis has put downward pressure on U.S.
Cotton prices due to a fall in global cotton demand, trade
instability, increased levels of global competition, and
economic recession. Ending stocks in the United States
are forecast to reach 6.7 million bales in the 2019-20 crop
year, the highest level in a decade [6]
.
5.5 Garment Workers at Risk of COVID-19
Infection
Garment workers are at risk of contracting COVID-19
due to the reopening of factories that supply major brands,
despite of Health Ministry’s advice. Thousands of garment
workers have returned to work across Bangladesh as
RMG factories reopen to restart production following
the nationwide COVID-19 shutdown, raising fears about
the risk of infection to both workers and communities.
Hundreds of factories have been able to reopen, despite
the Ministry of Health's recommendation that all factories
be closed until May 5, 2020, with the exception of those
manufacturing personal protective equipment. Despite the
Bangladesh Manufacturers and Exporters Association's
advice that factories hire only local employees, unions
claim that some factories have asked workers who have
returned to their hometowns to resume work, and that job
insecurity and questions about wage payment have made
it difficult for workers to refuse.
5.6 Apparel Quagmire & Bangladesh Economy
On the potential effects of Covid-19 on the
Bangladesh economy, there are differing viewpoints.
Both the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) have expressed concern about economic
growth, which is expected to fall to just over 2.0% this
fiscal year [7]
. Given the slowing or negative growth
in developed and developing countries, their forecast
appears to be accurate. The government continues to
be upbeat about the economy's prospects. However,
the extent of the economic harm to Bangladesh will
be determined primarily by the length and spread of
Covid-19, as well as the effectiveness of government
responses to the disaster. Bangladesh's overdependence
on apparel exports may be its downfall [8]
.
5.7 Barrage of Unemployment Problem & Child
Labor
Almost 25 million jobs could be lost worldwide as a
result of COVID-19, says ILO.
“Child labor becomes a coping mechanism for many
families during times of crisis,” said UNICEF Executive
Director Henrietta Fore. “As poverty levels increase,
schools close, and social services become scarce, more
children are forced into the workforce. We need to make
sure that children and their families have the resources
they need to survive similar storms in the future when
we reimagine the world post-COVID. Education, social
security, and improved economic opportunities can all
be game changers.” —— UNICEF Executive Director
Henrietta Fore.
“Without assistance, many families could turn to
child labor as the pandemic depends greatly on family
incomes,” said Guy Ryder, Director-General of the
International Labor Organization.
“In times of crisis, social security is important because
it helps the most vulnerable people. It makes a significant
difference to integrate child labor issues into wider
strategies for education, social security, justice, labor
markets, and international human and labor rights.” —-
Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labor
Organization (Almost).

12
5.8 Issues in Import of Synthetic Trims &
Accessories
The supply chain of Bangladesh's readymade garments
(RMG) sector is taking a hit as the coronavirus spreads
across the world, with its main sourcing destination,
China, at the epicenter of the outbreak. Prices of all
garment accessories, including yarn and sewing threads,
have already gone up, Rubana Huq, president of the
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA), said in a statement on 28
February, 2020. “Prices have risen by almost 50 percent
& this is killing us. We would not be able to procure any
trim properly if daily shipments from China do not resume
within the next two weeks, as most of the raw materials
are imported from China.” she added.
6.Possible Responses & Strategies to
Overcome COVID-19
1. Government Stimulus Package
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced a Tk72,750
core stimulus package on April 5 to resolve the economic
impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, including the
previously announced Tk5,000 core package, with the aim
of protecting poor jobs [9]
. “The government developed
four programs under the plan at the same time,” the
PM said, “to be implemented in phases categorized as
Immediate, Short, and long.” “The four programs are:
increasing public spending, formulating a stimulus
package, expanding the social safety net, and increasing
monetary supply,” she continued. It accounts for
approximately 2.52% of the country's GDP. To fight the
novel coronavirus, the government should take both fiscal
and monetary measures.”
6.2 Garment Worker’s Salary Disbursement by
the Business
Businesses can borrow money from the package at a 2%
interest rate for up to three months to pay their employees'
wages. Salary must be deposited into a bank or mobile
financial service account. Salary sheets, employee lists,
and mobile banking accounts must be sent to banks by
management of export-oriented companies or factories so
that salaries for April can be disbursed directly. Following
that, the banks would submit the same documents to the
Bangladesh Bank for reimbursement. Borrowers will be
given a six-month grace period, during which they will
begin repaying the government in installments on the
seventh month after receiving the funds.
6.3 Garment Worker’s Salary Disbursement by
the Government
Salary payments from the stimulus package to garment
workers began on May 3rd. Salaries of affected factory
workers who applied for and were approved for assistance
under the Tk5, 000 core stimulus package would be paid
directly to their accounts by the government. ‘RMG
workers who did not work in April would receive 60%
of their salary for this month before Eid,' according to
the state minister for labor, following a tripartite meeting
between the government, worker representatives, and
RMG industry owners [10]
. Those who worked in factories
that stayed open during the April shutdown would be
paid in full. Those who returned to work on April 26 will
receive 60% of their wages for the previous 25 days and
maximum wages for the last five days of the month.' The
April salaries will be sent directly to the RMG employees'
accounts through mobile financial services.
6.4 Commercial Loan Facilities at Low Interest
HSBC Bangladesh has announced a series of
interventions to assist its textile and apparel clients in
weathering the economic effects of the coronavirus
pandemic. The bank will provide special short-term loans
of up to one year with a four-month principal moratorium
that can be used to cover payroll expenses and service
payments [11]
. According to a press release issued by HSBC
Bangladesh, the bank would also grant a three-month
waiver on existing term loans to businesses in the textile
and garments industry [12]
. Clients will not be allowed to
pay any installments during the moratorium period, and the
lender will not demand any repayment from them.
6.5 Product Diversification by Fabric Modification
People may become more health conscious as a result
of the post-pandemic situation, and health-care should
be their top priority. As a result, personal protective
equipment such as masks, full-sleeve woven jackets, and
other body-covering garments must be in high demand.
Even during COVID-19 pandemic, a Bangladeshi fabric
manufacturer claimed to have invented "Corona Block
Fabric," a fabric that can destroy coronavirus or any other
virus in 120 seconds. Zaber and Zubair (Z&Z) Fabrics, a
subsidiary of Noman Group, the country's largest garment
exporter, announced the news at a press conference in the
city on May 14, 2020. According to company officials,
the company created a technology for the revolutionary
product with technical assistance from its two Swedish
partners. Personal protection clothing, masks, and woven
shirts may all be made from it. "We're pretty sure that

13
many global fabric developers are working on creating
such fabric, but we're the first to make it possible," Z&Z
brand manager Anol Rayhan said.
6.6 Integrating Design & Concept Alterations
In ever-changing market conditions, innovation has
always been the path to success. There is no doubt that the
climate will change after we have resolved the pandemic's
effects, which means that the consumer market's desires
and expectations will be dramatically impacted. The
spread of Covid-19 has fundamentally altered the demand-
supply dynamics of many sectors, including travel,
ticketing, and restaurants, and the only way to navigate
this is to carefully pivot business models in accordance
with the new market dynamics.
6.7 Managing Funding & New Investment
A long-term business strategy must be implemented,
with all resources, especially monetary resources and
funds, being used wisely. The secret to long-term survival
will be managing cash flow and conserving money for a
few months after regular operations resume. To plan for
improved financial management in the coming months,
a deeper review of fixed vs. variable cost components
within the overall cost structure should be carried out.
Even though investors would ultimately loosen their purse
strings in the short term, closing investment calls would
take a long time for everyone.
6.8 Incorporating Short Cycle Planning
Instead of looking at long-term plans, three-month,
six-month, and one-year plans should be ready after
the pandemic situation has passed and operations have
returned to normal. Making up for the lag caused by the
lockdown and training the company to deal with the crisis
must be prioritized in the current situation.
6.9 Maintaining the Channel of Communication
during the Crisis
It is critical to maintain an effective and productive
communication channel at times like these. It is critical
to be transparent and responsive to the needs of all
stakeholders, including consumers and investors, in order
to retain their relationship with the company.
10.Rebuilding the Trust Factor among Workers,
Suppliers & the Business
1. RMG & Fashion Brand Cooperation
Following urgent appeals, several brands, including
H&M, PVH, Inditex, and Marks & Spencer, pledged to
assist garment manufacturers by accepting shipments of
products that had already been produced or ordered.
6.10.2 Public-private Cooperation
The government would not be able to defeat COVID-19
on its own. At the local and international levels, it will
necessitate unparalleled levels of cooperation between the
public and private sectors. In response to the pandemic,
the World Economic Forum has launched the "COVID
Action Platform," with a mandate from the World Health
Organization. Bangladesh should take advantage of
this platform to gather people for its private sector and
share some of its own COVID-19-fighting and economic
resilience experiences.
6.11 Active Role of Social & Labor Right
Organizations
A grassroots labor rights organization, the "Awaj
Foundation," is collecting funds for an emergency fund for
employees who have lost their jobs. This will mostly take
the form of cash disbursements to ensure that their basic
food and shelter needs are met. The Awaj Foundation has
stated that it will continue to offer some health care and
will link staff with additional support if they need more
extensive assistance.
6.12 Mutual Trust & Mutual Dependency
In a video message, BGMEA President Dr. Rubana Huq
urged foreign apparel buyers to come forward and help
Bangladesh's apparel industry during this difficult period.
A list of well-known fashion brands that have
announced to cut or cancel sourcing orders as of April 13,
2020:
Primark has shut down all of its stores in Europe and
the United States, and it has asked all of its suppliers to
stop production. However, the company has set up a fund
to cover the salaries of factory workers who worked on
cancelled clothing orders.
Ross Stores has announced that all merchandise orders
will be cancelled until June 2020.
Gap Inc. has agreed to suspend shipments of summer
orders as well as the production of fall products.
H&M has also cancelled orders, but has assured its
suppliers that all orders made prior to the COVID-19 will
be honored.
6.13 Arrangement of Dialogue among Buyers,
Suppliers & Government
Brands, consumers, suppliers, employers, and the

14
government must all work together to save the apparel
industry and its workers from the Covid-19 backlash. This
was stated by economists, producers, and labor leaders
at a virtual discussion hosted by the Centre for Policy
Dialogue (CPD) on April 23, 2020.
6.14 Real Time Marketing Policy & Channel of
Distribution
In the RMG market, for example, Bangladesh
competes with Vietnam and a number of other countries.
Bangladesh must keep track of events around the world
in order to adapt the best solutions to the global apparel
industry [13]
. In the short and medium term, a change from
shopping malls to e-commerce is unavoidable. The sooner
the demand-supply networks are reoriented, the better
the results will be. A proliferation of e-offices can be an
effective alternative for conducting virtual business under
WTO rules, as well as an effective measure for speeding
up business across geographical boundaries.
7.Rapid Measures to Fight against COVID
19 for Bangladesh RMG
▪ To ensure maximum inclusiveness by targeting the
workers & factories who needs the stimulus most
▪ To ensure speedy disbursement of stimulus packages
& wages, with a view to preventing both the social &
worker unrest
▪ Establishment of a pre & Post-pandemic monitoring
cell
▪ To prevent anti-trust issues within workers, buyers &
business owners
▪ Finally, restoring confidence in the minds of people
with the objective of reproducing social resilience.
8. Research Gap
To ensure social distance & WHO imposed rules &
regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, we avoided
any kind of face-to-face interactions with the RMG
workers. Strategically difference may impose while
working on different time & different situation.
9. Scope for Future Research
The Role and Limitation of Importers & Exporters
of the World Apparel Industry during the COVID-19
Pandemic Situation COVID-19 & the Future of Apparel
Industry.
10. Recommendations
√ The manufacturers should ensure the uniformity of
demand & supply chain management of raw materials
& finished goods respectively, just because temporary
lockdown may occur in future until.
√ The factories should secure their cash flow & real
time communication with the other stakeholders is a
must.
√ The workers should have up-to-date information
about the pandemic & the factories should take care of
their workers.
11. Conclusions
The world will keep turning after Covid-19 is beaten.
And the whole world will still need apparel supply
chains, unless people across the world decide to stop
wearing clothing. Global industry could be getting back
on its feet by the summer and, while there is no doubt
that the apparel industry will take a huge hit in 2020,
there will still be demand for good quality fashion at
affordable prices. There will be a "bounce" in business at
some point. If the world wants Bangladesh to be part of
that industry, we need support now before it is too late.
It is important to keep in mind that humans are not only
political and economic beings but also spiritual beings.
Whatever may be the means, keeping faith in human
& the almighty GOD, restoring confidence in them are
equally urgent in reproducing social resilience, without
which overcoming the current crisis or any crisis, for
that matter, would become difficult if not impossible.
References
1 Islam, M. R., Hassan, M. A., Hassan, M. S., Rahman,
S., & Nargis, N. (2020). IMPACT OF COVID-19
PANDEMIC ON READYMADE GARMENTS
(RMG) INDUST RY OF BANGL ADE SH.
International Journal of Management (IJM), 11(7).
2 Hossain, M., & Uddin, M. (2021). Export Trend of
Ready Made Garments (RMG) Sector of Bangladesh.
Journal of Scientific Research, 13(1), 101-110.
3 Halim, M. A., & Islam, T (2021). Washing Defects
and Remedial actions of Denim Garments and
Statistical Review of Denim Sectors in Emerging
Economy. Journal of Management Science &
Engineering Research, 04 (01), 30-40.
4 Almost, I. million jobs could be lost worldwide as a
result of COVID-19, says ILO. In.
5 Shimanta, M. L. R., Gope, H., & Sumaiya, I. J.
(2020). Readymade Garments Sector and COVID-19
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Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 https://doi.org/10.30564/jmser.v4i2.3336
ARTICLE
Identification of the Profile of Vulnerable Population to Elaborate
Efficient Employment Strategy: Proposition of a Quantitative-creative
Approach
Jênifer Ribeiro Dona1,3*
Istefani Carisio de Paula1,2
Alceu Terra do Nascimento3
Aline
Cafruni Gularte1,2
1. Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
2. Intelligence core for projects and systems research group, Brazil
3. Mãos Verdes Work Cooperative, Brazil
Article history
Received: 7 June 2021
Accepted: 16 June 2021
Published Online: 5 July 202
Brazilian public managers have been structuring and updating policies to
support workers’ employment and income strategies. However, when the
vulnerable individual has social, emotional, or technical limitations, success
in this operation becomes uncertain. This research aim was to propose a
methodology to identify profiles in vulnerable populations, viewing to
promote the efficient elaboration of employment and income strategies.
The unit of analysis was vulnerable population of waste pickers, in a large
city from South Brazil, in the scope of a municipal program named "All
of us are Porto Alegre". A literature review allowed the identification of
tools from marketing, economy and design adequate to profile analysis.
A workshop with social educators responsible for giving support to
the individuals. Insights from workshop and the literature allowed the
proposition of a methodology including cluster analysis and the creative
tool named personas. The methodological approach suggests it is adequate
in confirming the differences in profiles. The theoretical contribution lies
in the use of quantitative-creativity tools to support policymaking. The
practical contribution is to provide consistent information for governmental
decision-making at the labor access market.
Keywords:
Labor policy
Vulnerable population
Persona
Cluster analysis
Jênifer Ribeiro Dona,
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul & Intelligence core for projects and systems research group, Brazil;
Email: jenifer.dona@gmail.com
1. Introduction
According to [1]
“The current estimated impact of
COVID-19 pandemic on global GDP growth for 2020 is
around -4%, with substantial downside risks of contai-
nment policies are prolonged. Output losses are larger for
major economies. Expectations at the begging of 2020 were
that the coronavirus pandemic's effects would be more
severe in public health and economic fronts of developing
countries, like the BRICS. Nevertheless, concerning
the economic field subject, developing economies have
seen “massive capital outflows and large price declines
for certain commodities, especially oil and nonprecious
metals, but net capital outflows are in line with earlier
commodity price shocks” [2]
.
The number of posted vacancies experiences a brutal and

17
Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 https://doi.org/10.30564/jmser.v4i2.3336
persistent decrease since the beginning of the COVID-19
crisis. With a contracting labor demand and an expanding
pool of registered unemployed, one could expect that
the most affected by pandemics would be the vulnerable
populations. Despite the definition of vulnerability is broad
in literature, including those subjected to natural disasters,
poverty, health, housing problems, work, and gender [3,4]
.
The Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment defines
as vulnerable groups in the world of work people with:
[5]
“a low level of education or training and professional
qualification, the young and elderly, people with special
needs, blacks, women, indigenous people, and other
ethnic groups and, in some cases, national or international
migrants”. More recently, the Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean – ECLAC [6]
shows that
indigenous peoples, blacks, and women are among the
groups most vulnerable to the labor market and poverty.
The challenge for developing countries’ managers is to
conciliate the losses provided by pandemics and former
losses from globalization and the ever more technological
and competitive markets, with social inequalities faced
by the Brazilian population, for instance. Historically
speaking such reconciliation only received greater
attention and, consequently, efforts on the part of the
government, from the 1990s onwards. It was during this
decade that Brazil experienced a period of stagnation
concerning the growth of formal employment, in which
there was no accentuated growth in unemployment and
no increase in the precariousness of living and working
conditions. In this scenario of disruption of the labor
market, employment policies were implemented [7]
.
According to [8]
among the public employment, work
and income policies (PEWIP) created to minimize the
difficulties faced by workers in this period are the so-called
passive and active employment policies. Passive policies
include unemployment insurance and salary bonuses whose
social relevance, even today, is indisputable and affects
a significant portion of the country's population. On the
other hand, active labor and employment policies are
equally important for the scope and effectiveness of
PEWIP, as is the case of professional qualification and
labor intermediation. Both active and passive, specific
policies for employment and income issues were designed
and focused as mass strategies, especially at the federal
and state levels. When it comes to solving problems
for a specific population and at the municipal level,
mass strategies do not always bring the expected results,
as observed in the "All of us are Porto Alegre" program
(TSPoA). The program, devoted to the vulnerable population
of waste pickers, performed from 2013 to 2016 in Porto
Alegre city. The large capital of Rio Grande do Sul state,
has revealed such a situation.
In the program report published [9]
, at its very begin-
ning, the program managers introduce the commitment
to promote access to work and income alternatives for
drivers of HTV (Human Traction Vehicles) and ATV
(Animal Traction Vehicles) who circulated by the city's
streets. Waste pickers worked in precarious and subhuman
conditions, collecting waste for later sale in the recycling
market, sometimes pulling large carts (HTV) or driving
horse-drawn carts (ATV).
The Municipal Secretariat for Local Governance (SMGL)
of Porto Alegre developed an active and mass strategy
that consisted of understanding the individual needs of
collectors, via interviews performed by Social Educators.
Once professional aspirations had been identified, the
waste picker should undergo technical qualification in
their area of interest and referral to job vacancies, aban-
doning the activity of collecting waste. However, the
population of more than 1000 individuals was not uniform
in terms of being successful in carrying out training and
reintegration into the labor market. Therefore, the active
and mass strategy could be useful for a portion of this
population, but not for all individuals. This arouses the
hypothesis of existence of sub-profiles in the population.
These individuals not only did not adhere to the program
but some of them declared the desire to remain in the
waste collection activity, to the surprise of all the program
team involved. The policymakers’ premise that the
vulnerable individuals wanted to leave the activity of
waste pickers was false and “put the program strategy in
check”. This entire context raised the following research
question: “how to identify the existing profiles inside a
social vulnerable population to develop specific work and
income policies?”
Therefore, this research aim was to propose a metho-
dology to identify profiles in vulnerable populations, viewing
to promote the efficient elaboration of employment and
income strategies. The unit of analysis was the "All of us
are Porto Alegre" program. The theoretical contribution
of this research is the application of tools used in product
design and marketing to solve a public sector problem.
The contribution to practice is to improve techniques
devoted to the definition of strategies aimed at vulnerable
populations, which leads to their greater adherence to
public programs and policies.
2. Theoretical Background
Despite the context behind this research is the public
policy of income and labor the focus is the proposition
of tools that support a more assertive definition of public
policies in the area. Therefore, we start this section with the

18
conceptualization of public policies for work and income
existing in Brazil. Next subsection presents methods used
for reaching a target audience. Analyzes are carried out in
three areas: marketing, economics and design. Finally, the
concept of personas and their applications are presented.
2.1 Public Employment and Income Policies in
Brazil
The Institute for Applied Economic Research - IPEA [10]
introduces the discussion about the history of Brazilian
employment policies stating that, “unlike the more
developed economies that at the end of World War II started
a long path towards structuring their public systems of Brazil
only began its experience in the 60’s”. In the second half of
the 20th century, both the emergence and consolidation of
Brazilian employment policies occur [11]
. It was, therefore,
a discontinuous process, which began in the 50’s and was
stabilized only decades later, in the period of the 80’s and
90’s, when there was the creation and regulation of the
Unemployment Insurance Program, the main institutional
foundation of the policies of Brazilian employment.
Concerning the classification of employment and income
policies in Brazil, they are split in two focus of action: the
passive and active strategies. Passive policies use the level
of employment or unemployment as information. Their
purpose is to provide financial support to the unemployed
worker or to balance the demand for labor supply. The
most popular tools of these policies are unemployment
insurance and/or indemnity for workers dismissed, as well
as early retirement, marginalisation of the population and
reduction of working hours [12]
. With regard to the main
active policies of the Unemployment Insurance Program,
[11]
classifies them as labor intermediation and professional
qualification. Active policies’ objective is to improve
the unemployed person's access to the labor market [13]
.
Generally, these policies are intended to improve the
quality of labor supply, generate demand for work and
thus more efficiently mediate the meeting between job
providers and job seekers.
An important historical moment at policies formulation
comes right after the structural reforms at the end of the
last century. Brazil in this period enjoyed considerable
economic development, but faced its consequences
between 2006 and 2007, highlighting the shortage of
skilled labor in the country [14]
. In view of the current
deficit, it fell to the government of President Dilma
Rousseff (2011-2014) to dynamize the expansion of the
offer of professional courses. Beyond the expansion of
the federal network of professional education, it was
reactive tools to unite different parts of the society via the
partnership system, resulting in the Program for Access
to the Technical Education and Employment System
(Pronatec), whose bases were launched right at the
beginning of its first term [15]
. Pronatec’s main investment
was the professionals’ qualification. Therefore it is consi-
dered as an active strategy for income and labor.
It is important to point out that the effort made during
this period gave rise to a new approach in Brazilian
employment policies. The objective at that time was to
serve groups previously marginalized and discriminated at
the labor market. The Pronatec purpose was not restricted
only to target the public served, but also extending to
the development of differentiated qualification methods
[10]
. Due to this fact and because it was offered abundant
labor vacancies at the time, Pronatec was the initial strategy
and gateway for many beneficiaries of “All of us are Porto
Alegre” Program. Pronatec was a structuring policy for
professional and technological education in the country [16]
.
Among the great challenges faced by managers of Pronatec,
the main ones were guaranteeing the quality of courses
throughout the country. The change in the logic of the
offer of professional education, which should be based
on the demand of the labor market, but has always been
defined by educational institutions capabilities, was
among Pronatec’s challenges also.
2.2 Search for Standards in Economics, Marketing
and Design
The origin of the concept of standardization that is as
old as the history of civilization [17]
. The Second World War
triggered the need for standardization, when the United
States, due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour,
needed to adapt its industries, especially mechanical and
metallurgy. To optimize time, production activities were
divided among the various companies that had the greatest
affinity for each item. The parts started to be produced
in distant places and then centralized in a place where
the assembly was carried out. The standardization of
measurements and tolerances so that the pieces fit together
was what provided the success of the operation.
Currently, the standardization concept, already rooted in
several process improvement methodologies, is important in
all links of society. Any and all initiatives, whether public -
such as policies for access to employment and income -
or private - such as the launch of a new product - requires
a prior analysis, that is, a diagnosis that investigates and
brings consistent information about the population that
will be reached. For the economy and marketing fields,
“target audience is the segment of the population that one
intends to reach with a sales strategy”. The marketing,
economics and design areas have developed ways of seg-
menting and describing the profile of the target audiences
https://doi.org/10.30564/jmser.v4i2.3336

19
they intend to reach. Subsequent items describe tools and
practices proposed by these knowledge areas.
In the marketing area, the main issues that generate
reflection and search for effective methods of analysis
and deepening of the context of the market and consumer
society are: market segmentation, choice of target
audience and positioning. In Brazil, market segmentation
is not used as a central theme of research, the application
of this method is mainly intended to analyze the profile of
those surveyed and there are few managerial implications
outlined. In addition, there are no reference authors in
Brazil on the subject, which is a topic treated by many
researchers in a discontinuous way [18]
. Nevertheless
Multivariate statistics are broadly used to study marketing
segmentation [19-21]
. Multivariate tools will be described in
section 2.3.1.
When it comes to economics, one of the relevant iss-
ues that generate studies is the behavior of the so-called
Economically Active Population (PEA). The PEA invo-
lves what the Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Statistics (IBGE) classifies as an employed population.
It is a population that is employed or has conditions to
work and that makes some effort to do so. [22]
. An analysis
was performed of this group comparing, during the
period from 2005 to 2015, the representation of men and
women from six metropolitan regions in the market labor
[23]
. To understand the behavior of each group, the institute
applied several statistical techniques. For instance, [24]
was
determined and assessed direct and indirect socioeconomic
impacts of the population affected by the National Irrigation
Policy in Minas Gerais state using Cluster Analysis.
Design has been disseminated since the beginning of the
80's and thanks to disclosures made by the Memphis Group's
press. This area received its worldwide repercussion, which
should continue to reproduce during this century and the
next ones [25]
. There is unanimity among corporations and
institutions worldwide that give credit due to the strategic
value that design provides, so they continue to cultivate
and improve it on a large scale. Among the many concepts
arising from Design, User-Centered Design (UCD) search
for user understanding, or also known as target audience.
The UCD approach is used to develop solutions where
the focus on building products is directly adapted to the
characteristics and needs of users, aiming at ease of use
and what they consider useful [26]
.
The focus in this section was in three distinct know-
ledge areas that apply techniques with the purpose to
describe a target audience profile. The techniques allow
finding similarities among individuals with the aim of
creating specific treatment for the identified segments.
More information on statistical and design tools that have
been useful in building groups and describing profiles, as
shown in next section.
2.3Market Segmentation Tools and Individual Pr-
ofile Analysis
The practices and tools presented in this topic will be
classified into statistical (multivariate data analysis) and
design (personas) tools.
2.3.1 Multivariate Data Analysis
Among the existing statistical techniques, multivariate
analysis comes as an alternative to the simultaneous
analysis of multiple measures regarding individuals or
objects that are under investigation [27]
. These statistical
tools are disseminated among different areas. In the
research of [28]
multivariate statistical techniques were
used to find the relationships between human capital and
economic development. Another review sought to evaluate
professional courses from the Free Software Education
Program [29]
, and also the investigation of [30]
made use
of digital images to determine the pH of water, applying
multivariate analysis methods as well. This demonstrates
the range of possibilities that this set of tools provides,
having no context limitations to be applied.
However, when the central question of the study is to
describe the target audience, which is the case in this article,
the most used tool is cluster analysis. For example, [31]
use of cluster analysis to the identification of important
characteristics and parameters to guide the construction
of a differentiation strategy in food retail, from the
perspective of the consumers themselves. This specific
case is in line [32]
who states that to determine market
segmentation. The most referenced statistical tool is
Cluster Analysis.
Cluster analysis is a multivariate classification tech-
nique that allows the researcher to separate or classify
objects observed in a group or in a specific number of
mutually exclusive subgroups or clusters, so that the
formed subgroups have characteristics of great internal
similarity and great external dissimilarity [33]
. Regarding
the ease of application, [34]
state that cluster analysis is a
simple method, standardized in distance calculations, but
it does not require statistical knowledge for its application,
unlike when using analysis of variance, regression or
factorial. Cluster analysis does not require the use of a
model as others do.
2.3.2 Personas
When it comes to trying to design mental models
of users that are composed of their expectations and
experiences, the proper way cannot be through common

20
sense, but through research [35]
. Persona is a design
tool that results in a typified representation of the user
based on their behavior and goals, that is, it refers to
the development of user patterns to represent a large
population [36]
. For new product development teams,
initiatives focused on innovation and meeting the expect-
ations of the target audience/customer, personas is a me-
thod to improve engagement and reality [37]
.
Regarding the contributions of using Personas in
the development of technologies, [38]
highlights some
points: supporting the development team with regard
to understanding the characteristics of a group of users,
proposes solutions directly related to the main needs
of users. Personas becomes a design classification tool,
supporting design decisions, when the value perception
serves as a communication reference.
3. Methodological Procedures
In this section, the steps of the method applied in the
study will be detailed, starting with the description of the
unit of analysis followed by the characterization of the
research.
In Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul state
– Brazil, since the application of Law n. 10,531, which
prohibited the circulation of Human Traction Vehicles
and Animal Traction Vehicles (HTV and ), the City
Government was committed to supporting the population
that would be affected. A number of about 3,000 families
lived off recycling through the collection, transport
and sales of recyclable materials. This was the problem
that the “All of us are Porto Alegre Program (TSPoA)
was supposed to solve. This social initiative took place
between 2013 and 2016, with the objective of improving
the city's recycling system and positively impacting the
lives of the people involved in recycling activities. The
Program was divided into three projects. Project 1 -
Productive Inclusion of beneficiaries in the labor market;
Project 2 - Restructuring of the Recyclable Waste Units
in the city, and Project 3 - Environmental Education of
the city society. Project 1, is the object of study of this
research. It was developed via the work of around 50
professional social educators, who approached, registered
and monitored the beneficiaries in the process of reinse-
rtion in the labor market, the so-called Active Search
(AS) Educators’ teams. The Program offered scholarship
payments so that beneficiaries could receive professional
qualification in another profession and other support
for entering the labor market. This action also involved
support and articulation with the city's services to provide
access to: health, education, documentation, among other
issues.
3.1 Characterization of the Research Method
To answer the research question "how to identify the
different profiles existing in a population in situation of
social vulnerability to develop specific work and income
strategies?" a descriptive research was outlined. It portrays
facts of a certain reality, seeking to observe record,
analyze and interpret them, without causing interference.
Its focus is exclusively on describing the characteristics
of a population or event, thus accurately obtaining the
frequency of phenomena, interaction with others, and
their idiosyncrasies [39]
. The research carried out may also
be characterized as qualitative and creative. A seminar
held with the Active Search Educators’ teams resulted in
insights for proposing an adequate methodology to answer
the research question.
3.2 Characterization of the Work Method
The research was carried out in three stages: (i) litera-
ture survey; (ii) analysis of the Active Search Educators’
records and (ii) qualitative stage, related to a workshop.
The literature survey was performed by searching in the
Web of Science and Scopus databases using the keywords
labor policy; vulnerable population; target public profile
and marketing research. The other stages are described
next.
3.2.1 Analysis of theActive SearchEducators’Records
The Active Search teams carried out their work in
regions impacted by the ban on the circulation of HTV
and ATV. The five regions were (i) Islands, (ii) Gloria/
Cruzeiro/Crystal, (iii) South/South Center, (iv) Lomba/
Partenon, (v) North/Northwest. The 50 professionals were
from the areas of social work, psychology and sociology
and had the task of carrying out the approach, registration
and monitoring of beneficiaries. The monitoring record
was carried out through charts that were qualitative reports
on the beneficiary's profile, his family information and his
main need. The information supported the Active Search
Educators teams in deciding which strategies would be
adopted for the beneficiary to enter the labor market.
This material is available at the headquarters of the NGO
Cejak (James Kulisz Cultural Center) which carried
out the work of the Active Search. Through the content
analysis of these records, respecting the confidentiality of
information, it was possible to verify the difficulties faced
by the teams in monitoring some beneficiaries, reports of
health problems, housing problems and little educational
training. While some beneficiaries joined the program,
accepted to take part in professional qualification courses
and accepted to be included in the job vacancies offered,

21
other beneficiaries did not stay in the program and
all the effort was in vain. This analysis evidenced the
existence of differences among beneficiaries in the studied
population. A sample of 406 records were evaluated for
socio-demographic description of the population.
3.2.2 Qualitative Stage – Active Search Workshop
The starting point of the workshop with the Active
Search Educators teams, aimed at understanding the
characteristics of the beneficiaries to design specific
adherence approaches to the program, to develop
standardization of practices, to address main problems
and develop consensus response for problems. Therefore,
workshops were held with the 5 teams distributed in
the regions where the Program was carried out: Islands,
Glória/Cruzeiro/Cristal, South/South Center, Lomba/
Partenon, North/Northwest. The program coordination
team promoted the events that occurred periodically. The
events allowed the reassessment of actions and replanning
of strategies when necessary. Nevertheless, the workshop
described in this research presented a specific objective:
to identify different profiles among the beneficiaries,
since the Active Search Educators had already mentioned
differences.
The workshop dynamic was: (a) splitting of Active
Search teams into their work groups;(b) appointment of a
guiding question: “what are the characteristics and typologies
of the monitored beneficiaries?”; (c) construction of posters
with the classifications created by the teams; (d) analysis
of the posters.
It was expected to identify differences among benef-
iciaries in the city regions that went beyond the type of
vehicle they used to collect recyclable materials. Through
this evaluation, it would be possible to assess more
effectively whether the strategy adopted by the program
was being adequate for the majority of beneficiaries,
which strategies could be done for those who had
complex professional and life circumstances. The posters
created by the teams were used as evidence of discussion.
The data from workshop discussions were written and
recorded. Records were further transcribed. The material
was analyzed via content analysis.
4. Results and Discussion
With the purpose of validating the hypothesis of the
existence of different profiles among TSPOA program
beneficiaries the results of the methodology are described
next, supported by the perception of social educators.
The analysis of Active Search Educators’ records
allowed performing a descriptive evaluation of a sample
of beneficiaries served by the “All of us are Porto Alegre”
program. Table 1 presents the distribution of individuals
in the population.
As shown in Table 1 women are the majority in all
regions attended by the program. They comprise 59% of
the sample, in some regions the proportion is even greater,
such as in the Islands region, in which they add up to
77%. Out of these 241 women, 71% were responsible for
supporting the family. In this case, they are the individuals
to whom the program was designed for, the cart drivers.
The others were the beneficiaries' wives or daughters and
were also entitled to be monitored by the Active Social
Educators. This result of female predominance was
already expected, because in the day-to-day of the teams,
the female presence was noticed, being the majority in
participating of professional qualification courses or
referrals to job vacancies.
Regarding the origin of the public, most beneficiaries
monitored were from Glória/Cruzeiro/Cristal region, as
demonstrated in Table 2.
The Gloria/Cruzeiro/Cristal group represented 43%
of the sample, and the group with fewer individuals
being monitored were from the North/Northwest. They
represented only 5% of the sample. It is evident the
proportion of information collected according to the size
of the region and the team that performed the work. With
regard to education profile, Active Social Educators’
records also revealed that most of the sample in all regions
presented low education levels. The educators mentioned
that there was still expressive evidence of illiteracy and
lack of information during beneficiaries monitoring. It
is noteworthy that the teams reported that even some
beneficiaries declared to have formal education; in
practice, most of them did not have compatible capacity,
demonstrating functional illiteracy, which hindered their
insertion in the labor market.
The following results were approached regarding the
Active Search Educators’ workshop. Taking the steps
proposed in methodology section, each group presented
the result of their assessments. The Active Search
Educators responsible for monitoring the region named
“Islands” reinforced the following limitations observed in
beneficiaries:
(…) most are individual collectors, they do not have
HTV (Human Traction Vehicles) and ATV (Animal
Traction Vehicles) and they perform their work in their
own home or in clandestine sheds. Many are illiterate,
which hinders the referral to vacancies in courses offered
by the program, which also makes adherence difficult,
as they consider themselves not prepared to occupy a
vacancy in the labor market and they feel excluded from

22 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0
Table 1. Sample profile
Table 2. Distribution of beneficiaries by Social Education
Teams in city regions
Social Education team by
city region
Number of
beneficiaries
monitored
%
South/ South Center 130 11%
Glória/Cruzeiro/Cristal 364 30%
Islands 153 12%
East/Northeast/Axle 224 18%
Lomba/Partenon 190 15%
North/Northwest 169 14%
TOTAL 1230 100%
Source: the authors
The North / Northwest team declared the lack of hou-
sing and basic sanitation on the part of the beneficiaries,
some with symptoms of depression.
(…) it is a region with a predominance of drug
trafficking in some places, with a high birth rate, but
with a lack of day care centers, and a differential it is
the existence of a necessary amount of elderly people
who carry out the activity of collection (Leader of AC
Educators from the North/Northwest region declaration).
The East /Axle and Northeast educators’ team declared
the existence of resistance on the part of some benefi-
ciaries. The existence of beneficiaries with psychological
illnesses and drug users. They also identified the existence
of family sheds, predominance of young adults that are
waste pickers in the region. The Lomba/Partenon team
shared that there is a considerable number of elderly
people among its beneficiaries, many also with more
than two children. They also observed a predominance of
functional illiterate people, drug and alcohol users.
(…) residents of precarious housing, are very
hardworking, but they are afraid of prejudice therefore
they do not seek new employment alternatives (Leader
of AC Educators from the Lomba/Partenon region
declaration)..
The South/Center South team declared the existence
of beneficiaries with low education. They also pointed
out the possibility of the existence of at least 3 profiles of
beneficiaries.
(…) in our opinion there are at least 3 different
profiles of beneficiaries in the program: (i) the situational
scavenger, who picks waste only occasionally, when
he/she has no other income activity; (ii) the classic/
professional waste picker, who has years of experience,
identifies himself/herself with the activity and performs
City region
Glória/
Cruzeiro/
Cristal
South/ South
Center
East/Northeast/
Axle
Islands
North/
Northwest
Lomba/
Partenon
Grand total
Feature n % N % n % n % n % n % n %
Gender
Female 95 54,3 35 61,4 34 56,7 27 77,1 14 63,6 36 63,2 241 59,4
Male 80 45,7 22 38,6 26 43,3 8 22,9 8 36,4 21 36,8 165 40,6
Scholarity
1st a 4th grade 37 21,1 21 36,8 16 26,6 9 25,7 7 31,8 11 19,3 101 24,8
5th a 8th grade 60 34,3 25 43,8 22 36,6 19 54,3 11 50,0 24 42,1 161 39,6
Complete Elementary School 4 2,3 1 1,8 4 6,7 1 2,8 1 4,6 5 8,8 16 3,9
Incomplete High School 11 6,3 6 10,5 6 10,0 1 2,9 0 0,0 3 5,3 27 6,7
Complete High School 4 2,3 0 0,0 5 8,3 0 0,0 0 0,0 3 5,3 12 2,9
Complete University 0 0,0 1 1,7 0 0,00 0 0,0 0 0,0 0 0,0 1 0,3
Illiterate 18 10,3 1 1,8 4 6,7 3 8,6 2 9,1 1 1,8 29 7,1
No information 41 23,4 2 3,5 3 5,00 2 5,7 1 4,6 10 17,5 59 14,5
Time of participation in the
Program
Up to 3 months 0 0,0 0 0,0 0 0,0 0 0,0 0 0,00 0 0,0 0 0,0
From 3 to 9 months 26 14,8 5 8,7 9 15,0 0 0,0 8 36,4 5 8,7 53 13,0
From 10 to 14 months 54 30,9 29 50,9 12 20,0 20 57,1 4 18,9 3 5,3 122 30,1
Over 14 months 95 54,3 23 40,4 39 65,0 15 42,9 10 45,6 49 85,0 231 56,9
Total 175 100,00 57 100,00 60 100,00 35 100,00 22 100,00 57 100,00 406 100,00
Source: the authors
society (Leader of AC Educators from the Islands region
declaration).

23
it in a professional and organized manner; (iii) and
the carter, the one who transports loads of any type in
the city driving his/her ATV, including waste. (Leader
of AC Educators from the South/Central South region
declaration) (see Table 3).
Table 3. Profiles types named by South/Central South
Educators’ team
Situational picker
Classic/professional
waste picker
Carter
This beneficiary is the
most frequent. He/
she picks waste only
occasionally, when
he/she has no other
income activity
This is the moderate
frequent beneficiary.
He/she is a waste
picker wiht years of
experience, identifies
himself/herself with the
activity and performs
it in a professional and
organized manner
This is the less frequent
beneficiary. He/she
generally came from
the country side to
live in the city, reason
why he/she owns an a
horse and a cart. He is
proud of making the
transportation of loads
of every type in the
city, including waste
Source: the authors
The other teams’ members agreed with this description,
which was still intuitive and subjective. This classification
was fruit of the perception of the South/Center South team
as a way of classifying the different types of profiles that
they have identified via their monitoring work.
Taking as a premise the existence of some typology in
the waste picker population, resulting from the workshop, a
new team was gathered during the execution of the Program,
called the Planning and Analysis team, to formulate an in-
depth research on the profiles identified in the seminar.
Among the members of this team there was the researcher
and author of this work, an Industrial Engineer, a researcher
in the Production Engineering area, the Project 1 Coordinator,
a Sociologist and a Psychologist, both members of Action
Search teams.
Taking as reference the literature discussed in section
2.3 of this paper, “Market segmentation tools and individual
profile analysis” a creative brainstorming was performed by
this group. The result pointed to the combination of cluster
analysis technique and personas as a way of defining
profiles inside the waste picker’s population (Table 4).
The intention was to use formal techniques to reveal in
a systematically way if the profiles observed by Action
Search Educators were confirmed (via cluster analysis)
and to document graphically these profiles using personas.
Table 4. Segmentation techniques proposed to confirm
beneficiaries’ profiles
Characteristics Cluster analysis Personas
Description
It is a multivariate classification
technique that allows the
researcher to separate or classify
objects observed in a group
Tool that results
in a typified
representation of the
user based on their
behavior and goals
Characteristics Cluster analysis Personas
Nature Quantitative Qualitative
Purpose
It separate specific number of
mutually exclusive subgroups
or clusters, so that the formed
subgroups have characteristics
of great internal similarity and
great external dissimilarity
It refers to the
development of user
patterns to represent a
large population
Requirements
It is necessary to develop an
instrument for data collection
Demands critaria
definition and
descriptive
information to
support profile design
Origin Statistics Design
Source: the authors
As the Planning and Analysis team decided then to
define criteria for classification of the beneficiaries of the
“All of us are Porto Alegre” program. The criteria were
developed taking into consideration information from the
workshop with educators and the theoretical framework
[11,12,16]
. These criteria would be the basis for development
of the data collection instrument for further cluster
analysis (Table 3, 4 and 5).
The instrument is divided in 3 blocks. The first is
for descriptive analysis (name, gender, education, etc.).
The second block is criteria relative the beneficiary
relationship with the waste picker activity. The workshop
has revealed to exist different interest and relationship
among beneficiaries. Therefore, it was considered an
important profile discriminant. The third block concerned
their income and psychosocial characteristics, including,
health, housing, salary information. Later, the Active
Search educators validated the instrument blocks and
questions (Table 5).
Considering the low education level of beneficiaries
Planning and Analysis team decided to develop an
instrument that would be filled out by the Active Search
educators, pointing out the perception they had of the
beneficiaries. An assessment scale was also developed
by the planning and analysis team and validated by the
Active Search educators.
The scale considered values from 1 to 7 and started
with items corresponding to the General Information, as
shown in Table 6. The scale chosen for the evaluation
of the Dimensions I and II was the Likert (Table 7), as it
contemplates the objective of the study to check the level
of acceptance of an individual regarding a proposition.
This can convey something favorable or unfavorable
in relation to some psychological and/or behavioral issue [40]
.
The instrument was submitted to the Social Educators'
assessment and adjusted according to suggestions and
limitation mentioned by them. Since the number of
beneficiaries involved was greater than 1000 people and
considering the resulting operational limitations, the

Journal of Management Science & Engineering Research | ISSN: 2630-4953

Journal of Management Science & Engineering Research | ISSN: 2630-4953

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