A political economy of the ethnic chinese catering industry

The present political climate in which the ideals of entrepreneurship and self-help are strongly encouraged has drawn attention to those ethnic minorities noted for their entrepreneurial activity. Since the Chinese appear to be an exemplary case in point, this thesis focusses upon the historical material conditions which have led to the formation of a Chinese 'business* community in Britain, both past and present As such, it rejects the theories of cultural determinism which characterise most studies of the Chinese. For rather than representing the endurance of cultural norms, the existence of the contemporary Chinese 'niche' of ethnically exclusive firms in the catering industry is due to the conjunction of a number of historical processes. The first is the imperialist expansion into China of Britain's capitalist empire during the nineteenth century which established a relationship of dependency upon the interests of British capital by colonial Chinese labour. The second is the post war development of the catering industry and its demand for cheap labour as administered by the British state together with the contemporaneous development of the agricultural economy of colonial Hong Kong. Far from representing a source of material benefit to all, the ethnic Chinese 'niche' in catering is highly exploitative and merely underlines the racial oppression of Chinese in Britain. Attempts to promote business interests within the ethnic community therefore serve merely to entrench the structures of oppression.

Human resource development for inclusive procurement by intermediation:a situated learning theory application

This paper fills an important gap in the human resource development (HRD) literature by considering the role that NGO intermediation initiatives can play in bringing together and developing corporate procurement officials (CPOs) and ethnic minority business owner-managers (EMBOs) supplying goods and services. It has been suggested that such initiatives hold great promise in helping ethnic minority businesses escape from their disadvantageous sectoral concentration in the UK. Using situated learning theory as an application lens, the main aim of this paper is to demonstrate how nurturing communities of practice of CPOs and EMBOs and facilitating their interaction can help their professional development and their approaches to procuring and supplying, respectively. The paper reports on the authors' experience with an action research programme encompassing two intermediation initiatives of this kind. The lessons drawn from this study are useful for all those concerned with HRD for inclusive procurement; intermediaries promoting inclusive procurement, large procurers who are willing to engage with supplier diversity and ethnic minority suppliers who wish to access corporate procurement systems and 'break-out'. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Black and minority ethnic graduate entrepreneurs: motivations, characteristics and access to finance

This paper draws upon four case studies to examine characteristics, entrepreneurial motivations and access to finance of black and minority ethnic (BME) graduates in the UK. We find that BME graduates starting a business are motivated by a desire to “do better”, and rely heavily on personal savings and family sources for start-up capital. In addition: • There is no conclusive evidence that suggests in this study that BME graduates entered entrepreneurship because of unemployment; with the exception of a few, all had jobs prior to entering self employment. • “Glass ceilings” were often cited by participants of the case studies as a kind of barrier, but there was reluctance to specify exactly what that meant. • Also, lack of satisfaction from working for others is considered to be a strong motivator for entering self-employment but other reasons, to be one’s own boss and the prospect of higher earnings, are also strong motivators. There is, therefore, a need for support agencies and universities to recognise the distinctive nature of BME graduate enterprise in order to provide effective solutions for different groups. This might include a) work experience, b) advice on an adequate capital structure at start up, c) adequate funding and training, and d) appropriate training for all graduates in basic business education.

Enhanced diabetes care to patients of south Asian ethnic origin (the United Kingdom Asian Diabetes Study):a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background - Delivery of high-quality, evidence-based health care to deprived sectors of the community is a major goal for society. We investigated the effectiveness of a culturally sensitive, enhanced care package in UK general practices for improvement of cardiovascular risk factors in patients of south Asian origin with type 2 diabetes. Methods - In this cluster randomised controlled trial, 21 inner-city practices in the UK were assigned by simple randomisation to intervention (enhanced care including additional time with practice nurse and support from a link worker and diabetes-specialist nurse [nine practices; n=868]) or control (standard care [12 practices; n=618]) groups. All adult patients of south Asian origin with type 2 diabetes were eligible. Prescribing algorithms with clearly defined targets were provided for all practices. Primary outcomes were changes in blood pressure, total cholesterol, and glycaemic control (haemoglobin A1c) after 2 years. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered, number ISRCTN 38297969. Findings - We recorded significant differences between treatment groups in diastolic blood pressure (1·91 [95% CI -2·88 to -0·94] mm?Hg, p=0·0001) and mean arterial pressure (1·36 [-2·49 to -0·23] mm?Hg, p=0·0180), after adjustment for confounders and clustering. We noted no significant differences between groups for total cholesterol (0·03 [-0·04 to 0·11] mmol/L), systolic blood pressure (-0·33 [-2·41 to 1·75] mm?Hg), or HbA1c (-0·15% [-0·33 to 0·03]). Economic analysis suggests that the nurse-led intervention was not cost effective (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio £28?933 per QALY gained). Across the whole study population over the 2 years of the trial, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and cholesterol decreased significantly by 4·9 (95% CI 4·0–5·9) mm?Hg, 3·8 (3·2–4·4) mm?Hg, and 0·45 (0·40–0·51) mmol/L, respectively, and we recorded a small and non-significant increase for haemoglobin A1c (0·04% [-0·04 to 0·13]), p=0·290). Interpretation - We recorded additional, although small, benefits from our culturally tailored care package that were greater than the secular changes achieved in the UK in recent years. Stricter targets in general practice and further measures to motivate patients are needed to achieve best possible health-care outcomes in south Asian patients with diabetes. Funding - Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier Laboratories UK, Merck Sharp & Dohme/Schering-Plough, Takeda UK, Roche, Merck Pharma, Daiichi-Sankyo UK, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Solvay Health Care, and Assurance Medical Society UK.

Comparative risk of microalbuminuria and proteinuria in UK residents of south Asian and white European ethnic background with type 2 diabetes:a report from UKADS

Objective - This study investigated and compared the prevalence of microalbuminuria and overt proteinuria and their determinants in a cohort of UK resident patients of white European or south Asian ethnicity with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Research design and methods - A total of 1978 patients, comprising 1486 of south Asian and 492 of white European ethnicity, in 25 general practices in Coventry and Birmingham inner city areas in England were studied in a cross-sectional study. Demographic and risk factor data were collected and presence of microalbuminuria and overt proteinuria assessed. Main outcome measures - Prevalences of microalbuminuria and overt proteinuria. Results - Urinary albumin:creatinine measurements were available for 1852 (94%) patients. The south Asian group had a lower prevalence of microalbuminuria, 19% vs. 23% and a higher prevalence of overt proteinuria, 8% vs. 3%, X2?=?15.85, 2df, P?=?0.0004. In multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for confounding factors, significantly increased risk for the south Asian vs. white European patients for overt proteinuria was shown; OR (95% CI) 2.17 (1.05, 4.49), P?=?0.0365. For microalbuminuria, an interaction effect for ethnicity and duration of diabetes suggested that risk for south Asian patients was lower in early years following diagnosis; OR for SA vs. WH at durations 0 and 1 year were 0.56 (0.37, 0.86) and 0.59 (0.39, 0.89) respectively. After 20 years’ duration, OR?=?1.40 (0.63, 3.08). Limitations - Comparability of ethnicity defined groups; statistical methods controlled for differences between groups, but residual confounding may remain. Analyses are based on a single measure of albumin:creatinine ratio. Conclusions - There were significant differences between ethnicity groups in risk factor profiles and microalbuminuria and overt proteinuria outcomes. Whilst south Asian patients had no excess risk of microalbuminuria, the risk of overt proteinuria was elevated significantly, which might be explained by faster progression of renal dysfunction in patients of south Asian ethnicity.

Ethnic conflict and economic disparity:Serbians and Albanians in Kosovo

Using the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) household survey from post-conflict Kosovo, we investigate the comparative economic well-being of Serbs and Albanians. An Oaxaca decomposition shows Serb households are both better endowed with income generating characteristics, such as education, and receive higher returns to these characteristics than Albanian households. Despite these advantages, Serb households have lower living standards, on average, than Albanian households. Most of the difference in living standards between Serb and Albanian households is due to unobserved non-economic factors. This result has serious implications for the political economy of policymaking in post-conflict Kosovo.

Growth expectations and financial performance of small businesses:evidence from Latvia

By applying regulatory focus theory, this paper investigates the impact of both initial confidence and of exactness of growth expectations on subsequent financial performance of the small firms. Drawing on the unique data set based on the repeated survey design, we make one of the first attempts to explore the complexity of this relationship empirically. Overall the findings suggest that controlling for other relevant factors, including actual growth, the entrepreneurs having higher growth expectations perform significantly better later on in terms of profitability. In addition, education has a strong modifying effect: the impact of high growth expectations on subsequent profit performance is stronger for entrepreneurs with lower level of education.

A management tool for developing the relationships between large purchasing organisations and small ethnic minority suppliers

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise the characteristics of the relationship between large purchasing organisations (LPOs) and ethnic minority suppliers (EMSs) engaging with supplier diversity programmes and provide an assessment and developmental framework for such organisations. Design/methodology/approach: Having considered an array of purchaser-supplier relationship frameworks in relevant streams of literature, the paper draws on Lamming et al.'s framework to advance a tool for assessing and developing the relationship between LPOs and EMSs. Findings: The submitted relationship assessment and development framework brings in sharp focus the characteristics of the relationship between LPO and EMS, providing a systematic way to examine the inter-organisational context within which EMS development takes place. Research limitations/implications: The framework submitted could signpost future research in this field, which should take a longitudinal, processual approach. This is necessary to provide opportunities to examine the dynamics underlying the development of potent LPO-EMS relationships in a variety of settings, including negative instances. Practical implications: The paper has implications for corporate policy making and practice in this arena. Assessing the potency of LPOs-EMSs relationships by applying the proffered tool can help both parties engage with supplier diversity, to develop fruitful relationships that enhance their competitiveness. Social implications: The latter can have social implications, as EMSs often operate in and employ people from disadvantaged communities. Originality/value: The framework advanced in this article constitutes a novel tool that highlights the areas in which LPOs and EMSs should channel their efforts, in order to develop a potent relationship between them, which underpins the development of EMSs' supply capabilities. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Transnationalism as a force for ethnic minority enterprise? The case of Somalis in Leicester

The extant literature on the phenomenon of transnational entrepreneurship has documented that in an era characterized by ‘superdiversity’, ethnic minorities use their diasporic networks to access an array of valuable resources in order to facilitate entrepreneurial activity. The article examines the connection between the notions of ‘superdiversity’, transnationalism and entrepreneurship by illuminating the dynamics of ‘transnational’ Somali business activity in Leicester. Considering this as a critical case, we attempt to address a gap in the literature on ethnic minority enterprise, which has struggled to address the ‘diversification of diversity’ that attends the arrival of new communities in the UK. Moreover, the article contributes to the discussion on the importance of ‘conditioning factors’ in explaining the ‘integration’ of new arrivals. Although familial and co-ethnic ties influence the availability and interaction of social, financial and human capital, this falls considerably short of neoliberal depictions of globalization. The political-economic context imposes harsh constraints upon Somali business activity which cannot be circumvented by the utilization of diasporic links, and transnational entrepreneurship is likely to be the preserve of a minority of minorities.

Ties that bind:understanding why and how diversity management relates to black and ethnic minority employees’ experience of organisational life

Despite much anecdotal and oftentimes empirical evidence that black and ethnic minority employees do not feel integrated into organisational life and the implications of this lack of integration for their career progression, there is a dearth of research on the nature of the relationship black and ethnic minority employees have with their employing organisations. Additionally, research examining the relationship between diversity management and work outcomes has returned mixed findings. Scholars have attributed this to the lack of an empirically validated measure of workforce diversity management. Accordingly, I sought to address these gaps in the extant literature in a two-part study grounded in social exchange theory. In Study 1, I developed and validated a measure of workforce diversity management practices. Data obtained from a sample of ethnic minority employees from a cross section of organisations provided support for the validity of the scale. In Study 2, I proposed and tested a social-exchange-based model of the relationship between black and ethnic minority employees’ and their employing organisations, as well as assessed the implications of this relationship for their work outcomes. Specifically, I hypothesised: (i) perception of support for diversity, perception of overall justice, and developmental experiences (indicators of integration into organisational life) as mediators of the relationship between diversity management and social exchange with organisation; (ii) the moderating influence of diversity climate on the relationship between diversity management and these indicators of integration; and (iii) the work outcomes of social exchange with organisation defined in terms of career satisfaction, turnover intention and strain. SEM results provide support for most of the hypothesised relationships. The findings of the study contribute to the literature on workforce diversity management in a number of ways. First, the development and validation of a diversity management practice scale constitutes a first step in resolving the difficulty in operationalising and measuring the diversity management construct. Second, it explicates how and why diversity management practices influence a social exchange relationship with an employing organisation, and the implications of this relationship for the work outcomes of black and ethnic minority employees. My study’s focus on employee work outcomes is an important corrective to the predominant focus on organisational-level outcomes of diversity management. Lastly, by focusing on ethno-racial diversity my research complements the extant research on such workforce diversity indicators as age and gender.

Growth aspirations and social capital:young firms in a post-conflict environment

This article explores the growth aspirations of owners and managers of young firms in a post-conflict economy by focusing on social capital. It treats social capital as a multidimensional, multilevel phenomenon, studying the effects of discussion network characteristics, trust in institutions, generalised trust in people and local ethnic pluralism. We argue that in a post-conflict country, ethnic pluralism is indicative of local norms of tolerance towards experimentation and risk taking which support growth aspirations. It also distinguishes between the aspirations of hired managers and owners-managers. The empirical counterpart and hypotheses testing rely on survey evidence drawn from young businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.