Running head: MINORITIES IN THE U.S.

Minorities in the U.S. Jeffrey M. Kihien-Palza The Minority Manager: Power, Influence and Change Johns Hopkins University LDP 22 Date Submitted: March 31, 2012

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Abstract Minorities exist in many countries, including in my country of origin, Peru, however the individual perception of being consider a minority is a concept that is more visible in the United States than in other countries. Supported on that idea, this research will apply critical and system thinking to analyze the concept of minority among new immigrant in the U.S. Also the paper will evaluate the relation between minorities, new immigrants and business in the U.S including the access to capital.

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MINORITIES IN THE UNITED STATES Immigrants have always played a significant role in the history of the United States; after all, the country was

created by immigrants, and the influx of them to the country has never stopped, what has changed are the nationalities of new comers and the different process of assimilation into the American society. In recent years immigration seemed to have become a political issue, more than in the past, one reason that scares some people, may be reports the informing in that the by year 2042

minorities mostly due

will to

become the

majority rates

United

States,

high

birth

among

Hispanics.(www. will have a

America.gov).Reports

asserts

that

minorities

tremendous political force

by 2020, just eight years from

now. Definitely this will be a shift of power from the white majority to the new majority. Data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, confirm the well known concept about United States being a melting pot. On 1850 foreign born population in the U.S. was 10%, and 15% in 1890. Today we are around 12%, so the numbers have not

changed radically. However, where the new comers come from has changed. In 1910 most immigrants came from Europe, and they spoke German, English, Italian, Yiddish and Polish. By 2007

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around 62% of immigrant who spoke no English, spoke Spanish. (U.S. Census Bureau). Immigrants are experiencing new social phenomena in the melting pot,(Kaneta, 1999.P. 4,5,6) for the first time in U.S. history the majority of non US born

immigrants in the U.S. are not coming from Europe, but from the Americas. Minorities and Business in the U.S.A I am an immigrant living in the U.S for eleven years. When I first moved to my new country I never thought of being part of a minority, not even realized the concept existed, and still I do not think about myself as a minority. In fact the term has a certain connotation of inferiority in the minds of some members of that group (Paniagua, 2004.p. 1,2,3), probably caused by the disparity on income with the white majority. From my own experience, I know many new immigrants do not feel a minority. To find out more about the topic I

formulate the following hypothesis: Do new immigrants in the United States think about themselves as a minority? To reject or approve the hypothesis a sample survey was applied to educated immigrants in the DC area. A simple

question was formulated; do you consider yourself a minority?

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The answers were split equally in two. Therefore the hypothesis is not rejected, neither approved. What is

interesting is the fact that not all immigrants believe they are minority, that detail might place them in a better

position to advance in the US society, because they do not feel inferior as Paniagua pointed out. The Concept of Minority Among Immigrants Minority as well and ethnicity are global concepts, and with the impulse of globalization and global massive human migration both are in constant discussion (Kaufman, 2004. P. 61, 62, 63). However, only in the U.S., is where the term minority minority political has an unusual managed importance. by the The approach and to the

concept, and

government divide

other

economic

stakeholders

the

American

society rather than unify it. It has the tendency to created social, racial, economic and political stratification. When asked in the survey the question; when did you learn you were a minority? 42% of respondents explained that the new about minorities before moving to the U.S., but only here they fully understood the American meaning of the word. As a result, the concept minority has a different meaning for new comers, and that is the reason they do not believe they

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are a minority.

Most immigrants believe they are part of the

majority, the group in power, the group that advance the most in society. No being aware about the American meaning of minority has its advantages when dealing with assimilation in the U.S. society. Minorities and Business Minorities have a fundamental role in the economic future of the United States,(Greenhalgh & Lowry, 2011. P.

3,4,5,6.), they must became the engine of the economy, not only as a labor but also as a entrepreneurs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, businesses owned by minoritys

entrepreneurs more than double the rate of all U.S. business from 2002 to 2007. In 2002, there were 4 million minority owned firms, and by 2007 5.8 million, a 45.5% increase, U.S. firms growth 17.9%. Another interesting fact is that 13.6% of business owners in the U.S. are foreign born (U.S. Census), it is a enormous percentage and one more time reaffirms the

entrepreneurship spirit of immigrants in the U.S. One factor to such a big percentage might be that half of them do not think about themselves as a minority group whatsoever, and the

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other half just learned about the meaning of minority when arrived to their new country. Other question in the survey applied to a sample of educated immigrants was: would you like to start your own

business? Again 50% answered yes. The next question was: if yes what stops you? 48% answered lack of capital as deterrent to begin with a business. The following question was: are you informed about programs and grants for minorities own

business? 48% of the entrepreneurs minded answered no and 98% of those polled answered no either. Analysis of Business Environment for Minorities The drive in the U.S. economy is created by small businesses, which account for about 99.7% of all employers in the U.S. Pay for approximately 43% of the payroll and have generated According 65% to of the new jobs over the in last 2007 17 years (SBA). 27.1

Census

Bureau,

there

were

million businesses in the U.S., 5.8 million businesses were owned by minorities, generating a $1 trillion in revenue and employing 5.9 million people. Among minorities; Hispanic owned 8.3% of all U.S. businesses, African Americans, 7.1%, Asians Americans 5.7%.

(SBA). In total, minorities own about 23% of all businesses in

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the U.S. Although we need to consider, that the conditions for a minority to start a business are harder than for a white owner. Access to credit is more difficult because lack of

assets to pledge as collateral. The net worth of a minority family is about on tenth of a white family (Greenhalgh). Input in Minority Business Creation The human capital is here, however we cannot take it for granted. The U.S. is losing due is to competitively a lack with of to a attract coherent U.S. to

highly

educated

immigrants China

immigration

policy.

competing

the

attract the brightest people in the world (The Economist). Foreign born in the U.S. owned 13.9% of firms(U.S. Census) and they only account for 12% of the population. The poll showed that 50% of foreign born want to start a business, but lack of capital, and information about grants and lines of credits are stopping them. Again stakeholders such as the SBA, Ex-Im Bank, OPIC among others, have not been able to make their programs known. And that is a problem, startup companies rely of very expensive lines of credit from commercial banks and credit card companies, making them

uncompetitive in the global market. A very easy and creative

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solution for the deficient information about financial tools would be to add the information to the immigration process. Process in Minority Business Creation A comprehensive immigration reform is urgent in the U.S. The country needs to easy the visa application process for highly educated immigrants, still the American schools are the ones attracting the brightest minds in the world, but they learn knowledge, training and know how, and then leave the country to start up companies to compete with U.S. businesses. The financing programs the government has are not being managed properly. with The world witnessed the at failure same of time big we

corporations

unusual

attention,

the

witnessed the government saving them under the premise of to big to fail. It was a matter of politics, which cannot be avoid in an organization. Big businesses were help, but not small ones. That is the beauty of small businesses, they can reinvent themselves very easily, 69% of new businesses in year 2000 survived more than two years, and 26% survived more than 15 years. The solution to channel lines of credit to small start up entrepreneurs is throughout the chambers of commerce,

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churches,

business

schools,

and

foreign

embassies,

because

those are the places were minorities gather constantly. Output for Minority Business The brand Made in America is the most valuable in the world. American products can be price high because its quality and reputation. In addition to that fact, the American

infrastructure is also the best in the world, prices of energy and taxes are among the lowest in the industrialized world. Still labor costs could be an issue when competing with China and India. Small and median business have the support of the Export Import Bank of the United States to secure their

overseas transactions, it is a tool that has been undervalue by small businesses. Outcome for Minorities in the U.S America is the land of opportunities. Immigrants are better of here, than in any other country in the world. And the American Dream can be reach by anyone, depending of what that individual is looking for in life. Most of new immigrants came to the U.S. with the dream of starting a business, and the government and some private financial institutions have programs to help them start. However, the channels to

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communicate about financial tools for minority owners are not being handled properly. Conclusion Evidence showed that new comers to the U.S. do not feel a minority, and that may be an advantage to assimilate to their new country. Following that fact, 14% of businesses are owned by foreigners, who started in harder conditions than the white majority. If the stakeholders can improve the

availability of financial tools to minorities, America economy will not lost competiveness against other new players in the global market. It is of extremely importance for the American society to reshape the concept of minorities, because it has a

negative impact on them. Minorities may think inferior to the white majority, situation that does not happen with new

immigrants.

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References Greenhalgh, L., & Lowry, J. (2011) Minority Business Success: Refocusing on the American Dream. Stanford University Press.

Kaneta, K. (1999) Immigration and its Effects on U.S. Labor Markets. Retrieved March 23, 2012 from WWW.IWU.edu

Kaufmam, E.,Routledge, T.(2004) Majority Groups and Dominant Monirities. Taylor and Francis Group.

Paniagua, F.

(2005) Assessing and Treatening Culturally

Diverse Clients. Sage Publications.

The Economists. Moving out,on and back. August 27, 2011.

United States Census Burea. Historical Census (2011) Retrieved on March 22, 2012 from http://blogs. Census. Gov

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Small Business Administration. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved on March 19, 2012. From www.sba.gov/advo

Appendix Survey Where you born in the U.S? How long have you been living in the U.S? Do you consider you consider yourself a minority? Explain if possible If Yes, when did you learn that? Are there minorities in your country? Would you like to start your own business? If yes what stops you? Are you informed about programs and grants for minorities own business?

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