____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Research Paper

“What can tertiary institutions do to encourage Pacific entrepreneurship?”

Manukau Institute of TechnologyPacific Student Research Team

.........JULY 2004

2

ContentsPage

Executive Summary

1. Background 4

2. Acknowledgements 6

3. Introduction 7

4. Literature Review

Needs of Pacific learners in educational settings

Needs of minorities in business settings

Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs

10

5. Profile of Pacific Island Students 26

6. Views from Pacific Entrepreneurs 39

7. Conclusions 61

8. Recommendations 70

9. Bibliography 72

10. Appendices 74

Executive Summary2

This Report takes three research pathways – a literature review, a focus group investigation involving over 70 Manukau Institute of Technology students, and interviews with 11 Pacific entrepreneurs. The aim of the research is to establish what tertiary education institutions can do to prepare students of Pacific descent for business entrepreneurship.

Key findings suggest that although tertiary institutions can not produce entrepreneurs – that being an individual choice, they can impart entrepreneurial skills and an entrepreneurial mindset. They can also play a vital role as cultural interpreters between Pacific students and the business world.

However, changes are needed in our curriculum and delivery if we are to be effective in this educative role. Education of Pacific students must take place in an environment conducive to the learning preferences of Pacific students.

Pacific Island students can become entrepreneurs. But they must be educated strategically.

3

1. Background

This research is a team effort. Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) approached the Pacific Business Trust with a proposal to investigate how tertiary institutions could best prepare students of Pacific descent for business entrepreneurship. The partnership that grew out of that approach developed into a three pronged research project conducted by a team of School of Communications and School of Business students under the guidance of a senior lecturer with the support of a Pacific Island student liaison staff member at MIT.

The inspiration for the research came from comments on the PBT website. The PBT is committed to assisting New Zealanders of Pacific descent to start and develop successful businesses. CEO, Jim Mather, noted that “this means being bold, aggressive, and confident – traits that do not come easily to some Pacific people” (Newsletter, October 2002).

In his report on “How the Pacific Business Community can Contribute and Benefit form the Knowledge Wave,” Andre Malifa-Afamasaga noted that, “Pacific people need to be voluble about what are effective tools and strategies to encourage growth for Pacific people in New Zealand” p.13. He noted that “education continues to be the key for improving quality of life standards for our people. But education needs to equip students with understanding and not simply with knowledge” p.18. The report suggested several areas that need to be worked through. These included – consensus style decision making, Christian ideologies, getting beyond pressing social challenges, English language competencies and sending money home to the islands. He recommended two key strategies. The first is for educational structures to be more responsive to Pacific students’ needs. The second is to gather views from Pacific, New Zealand born emerging leaders on economic growth and development.

These inspirations were developed by the MIT Pacific student research team into the research question: What can tertiary institutions do to encourage

4

Pacific entrepreneurship? The team consisted of Graeme Sterne (Senior Lecturer and team leader); Talita Tuipulotu (Tongan); Shanta Viviani (Niuean); Eli Tagi and Stella Tanoi-Tagi (Samoan); Nippy Schuster (Maori and Pacific Liaison). Talita Tuipulotu and Stella Tanoi-Tagi are both form the School of Communication Studies. Shanta Viviani and Eli Tagi are both students in the Business School. The team is a mix of New Zealand born and Island born heritage.

The project was divided into three sections:

A literature review to provide insights from others into the Pacific mindset and preparedness for business entrepreneurship, to identify the needs of minority groups in educational and business settings and to identify successful entrepreneurial behaviours.

Focus groups (fono) to build a profile of students of Pacific descent.

Interviews with successful Pacific entrepreneurs to investigate their views on contributing factors in their success.

The overarching objective was to generate a set of quality recommendations for educational institutions to use in preparing Pacific students for the rigours of the business world.

Since this was a team approach, frequent communication was necessary – initially by meetings and then by email. A key ingredient in the process was the excellent support and administration provided by Nippy Schuster, the School of Communication Studies Pacific liaison staff member.

5

2. Acknowledgements

The Research Team wishes to acknowledge the huge support and inspiration provided by the Pacific Business Trust. Jim Mather, Inoke Vala and Sua Viliamu Sio were consistently positive and encouraging to our approaches and negotiations. They demonstrated the Pacific collegiality and integrity, which our participants, the literature review and interviewees referred to in our research.

The team also wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement of MIT’s Ethics Committee and Student Support Services. The Institute provided significant financial, professional and practical support for this project. Special mention should be made of the Ethics Sub-Committee, led by Kate Cater, which massaged the project through crucial aspects of its “research on student participants” section.

We also want to thank MIT for its enthusiasm in embracing the concept of this research. We value the encouragement from people such as Peter Coolbear, Deputy Chief Executive; Peter Fisher, Dean of Applied School of Studies and the School of Communication Studies joint Heads of Department – Hazel Bamford and Lynne Trenwith.

Lastly, we wish to acknowledge God’s hand on this research. We described is as a trinity – a three in one project. This meant a great deal of collaborating, revising, covering for one another and prayer. Collectively, we thank God for his enabling, strengthening and gifting for this work. We hope that it will bring glory to Him and help to the education of students of Pacific Island descent in New Zealand.

6

3. Introduction – Digging for Dirt or Panning for Gold?

In presenting to a student mentor training session recently, Iani Nemani a Tongan Social Work trainer commented that too often practitioners dig for dirt rather than pan for gold. His comment was particularly targeted at educational and research approaches to people of Pacific Island descent. Rather than looking for the good things inherent in Pacific cultures and building on them, practitioners tend to look for problems and try to address them. This is a kind of deficit mentality which assumes that Pacific Island people are somehow problematic to teach or that poor performance is somehow linked to cultural “flaws” and “drawbacks”.

While it is true that there is often a mismatch between the values, attitudes and lifestyle decisions of Pacific peoples and New Zealand educational institutions it is unreasonable to assume that all the issues lie on one side or the other. Consequently this study, aims to explore and describe issues and recommend solutions in a positive framework of mutual learning and adjustment.

A recent TEAC report written by Anae, Anderson, Benseman and Coxon (2001) on the participation of Pacific peoples in tertiary education pointed out that the “tertiary education system must enable effective engagement with Pacific committees and seek ways to ensure it is responsive to the needs of Pacific People”. The report indicated that “the strengths that exist within Pacific communities cannot be sustained if their educational aspirations are not met and the opportunities for their participation in society are not radically improved.” (p.11)

Entrepreneurship is an appropriate area of business activity to investigate for several reasons. Firstly, New Zealand has a high level of entrepreneurship. The New Zealand Herald reported that despite the fact that character profiling indicated that our entrepreneurs lack key traits to create wealth we

7

consistently rate as one of the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity in the world. Furthermore, Manukau and Waitakere cities rank near the top of the world according to the Global Entrepreneurial Monitor report (NZH, 2002, November 11).

Secondly, the New Zealand Government is strongly encouraging entrepreneurship as a key aspect of economic growth. Various awards and ministry initiatives, even the existence of the PBT itself is evidence of this emphasis. There is however, a shortage of Pacific Island role models in highly paid industries. Senior policy analyst for the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, Heker Robinson, says that, “This must be turned around to enable Pacific peoples to contribute positively to economic growth.” (Manukau Courier, October 2, 2003)

Entrepreneurship offers several windows of opportunity. It allows for the expression of culture and individual creativity. It provides a way of rising above economic dependency, of developing ideas and creating wealth “outside the box” of conventionality. It has the power to inspire a positive “can do” mentality which can lift the spirits of families and communities associated with successful entrepreneurs.

Yet, embedded in these opportunities we can detect strands which do not weave comfortably into the tapa cloth of some Pacific mindsets. The recruitment and success of Pacific students in tertiary institutions is problematic. There are special initiatives, staff liaison positions and specific accountabilities in tertiary institutions to try and enable the effective engagement mentioned in the TEAC report.

This study hopes to achieve three things:

To inform tertiary education providers about some of the issues, perspectives and potentials that students of Pacific Island descent bring with them.

To review some of the literature which describes the Pacific Island people’s socio-cultural psyche and how these match with what is required to become an entrepreneur

8

To gather a picture of what current Pacific Island entrepreneurs consider important ingredients of success

Above all, it is our hope that we can draw out several useful recommendations for tertiary institutions to implement which will improve their delivery of educational outcomes for students of Pacific Island descent.

9

4. Literature ReviewIntroduction

The following literature review discusses previous academic research on the needs of minority group (and in particular Pacific learners) in educational settings with a concentration on Lustig and Koester’s (2003) intercultural theory. The literature review also provides commentary from Pacific academic research to illustrate Lustig & Koester’s intercultural theory.

The second section of the literature review briefly addresses the needs of minority groups in business settings.

Finally, the review presents some of the literature on characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

The scope of this investigation meant that our research would only touch on key aspects rather than provide an in-depth coverage

The Needs of Minority Groups in Educational Settings

Lustig and Koester’s (2003) theories on intercultural communication and in particular ‘social episodes’ provides an academic framework from which to understand the needs of minority groups in educational settings.

To fulfil the promise that cultural diversity brings to the educational context, Josina Macau (1997) cited in Lustig & Koester suggests that creating a constructive learning environment in an age of cultural diversity requires that people be sensitive to the different and sometimes competing experiences. (p 313)

For example, “The U.S. education system increasingly requires competent intercultural communications skills from its participants. Because of

10

culturally diverse student populations throughout the U.S educational systems, people must give increased attention to the factors that students, parents, teachers, administrators, other educational professionals and ordinary citizens face when challenged to communicate in the educational context.” (Lustig & Koester, 2003, p 307)

According to Lustig & Koester, much of what people do is made of up of ‘social episodes’. Social episodes are ‘repetitive, predictable and routine behaviours that form the structure of their interactions with others (p 294). Examples of social episodes within the context of education for students are attending class and studying. For teachers, an episode for them is teaching a class.

In general, these routines or social episodes in educational settings are common to many cultures and because ‘those who participate in a social episode usually have the same understanding about what is to take place, they usually know how to behave, what to say, and how to interpret the action and intentions of others.’ (Lustig & Koester, 2003, p 294)

Lustig & Koester discuss five components of social episodes, each of which influences intercultural communication and further identify the needs of minority groups in educational settings. The components are: cultural patterns, social roles, rules of interaction, interaction scenes, and interaction context:

Cultural patterns are shared judgements about what the world is and what it should be, and widely held expectations about how people should behave. (Lustig & Koester, 2003, p 294) All participants in the educational context bring their cultures’ beliefs, values and norms with them. Attending class is a social episode. However, the interpretations that are imposed on these episodes vary greatly, depending on the cultural patterns that serve as the lens through which they are viewed.

For Pacific peoples ‘there is consistently strong evidence of the great importance that Pacific families place on education generally and increasingly, on tertiary education in particular….the importance attached to education is reflected in the willingness to make financial sacrifices in order to fund their children’s education.’ (Anae et al, 2002, p.8)

11

Anae et al. (2002) in her study of New Zealand-born Samoan identity journey emphasises the importance of formal education. She says all New Zealand-born in the group understood clearly and noted the primary importance that parents and aiga (family) placed on going to university, and how Samoan parents equated doing well at school with a university education. Those who did not go to University rationalised reasons as not being “brainy enough”, or being forced to get a job to “support the family” p.9

Most Pacific parents see the value of education for their children and many have migrated to New Zealand to give their children the chance for a better life not only for themselves but for the family as a whole. “Education success or failure is encouraged by high parental expectation and the value placed on educational achievement by a student’s family.” (Tiatia, 1998, p.49)

Pacific learners are also motivated to learn because they see the end outcome as one way in which they are able to help their families. Most learners want to be successful in their learning activities so that they can contribute to their families’ economic resources. (Pasikale,1996, p.10)

Seniority is also highly valued in Pacific culture. “In most Polynesian cultures, protocols relating to the status of older persons are observed. In some situations, this involves limited contact between certain people, especially between people of different genders and between older and younger siblings.” (Pasikale, 1996, p.68)

‘Social Roles’ are a set of expected behaviours associated with people in a particular position. In an educational context, roles include learner, teacher, and administrator, mentor and so on. Lustig & Koester state that the role in which you take in a particular social episode strongly suggests the way in which you should act. The expectations for appropriate behaviour for the roles of students and teachers are quite well defined. However, definitions of appropriate behaviours for these roles will vary greatly among cultures. (p294)

For example, in many Asian cultures it is not acceptable to ask a teacher questions or to whisper to another student. Students are expected to stand up when the teacher enters the room and again when the teacher leaves the room. (p 295)

12

Another example of cultural norms facing minority students in an education setting is described in Tiatia (1998) but in relation to the Pacific students learning in New Zealand. “The teacher is seen as an authoritarian figure and in Samoan, Tongan and Niuean society, must be respected with an unquestioning obedience. Pacific Island students are taught by their parents to refrain from questioning or criticising teachers, as it is considered to be the ‘Palagi way’, and not in keeping with the sort of respect and authority which the teacher should command.” Jones cited in Tiatia (1998) p.46

This poses a problem for Pacific students who are struggling in the education system because they are too afraid to ask questions. “Initiatives must be sought to provide teachers with an understanding of Pacific Island and to bring to the forefront the pedagogical implications affecting the education of these students.” (Tiatia, 1998, p.47)

Anae et al (2002) explains the expectations of Pacific learners of their relationship with teachers.

“It's absolutely crucial to build a relationship with your students outside of just being a teacher. Once again, it was this focus on the effect you made, on the feelings and the thoughts of our students, and that internal/external relationship thing, and time and time again the students talked about this, they talked about not just wanting a teacher who stands in front of the classroom and teachers, but somebody who they feel cares about them. (Key Person TEI).” p.68)

‘Seen, But Not Heard – Voice of Pacific Island Learners’ (1996) is a qualitative study of Pacific Island learners in second-chance education and the cultural differences impacting on their aspirations, opportunities and participation sponsored by Education & Training Support Agency authored by Anna Pasikale.

“Half the participants said the teacher’s personal qualities were instrumental in the student achieving a learning outcome. One participant said the teacher “believed in the student, put time in energy into me, was friendly and shared with students their own experiences. Participants were successful because the teacher believed in them and demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that they were learning.” (p 50)

13

As these examples illustrate, much of the emphasis in formal western education and learning has been on the cognitive development of the individual intellect. Acquisition of knowledge demonstrated through the passing of exams is considered to be the most important achievement in schools. Of less importance is the social development of the learners within their own cultural context. (p 51)

The ‘rules of interaction’ provide culture–specific instructions about what should and should not occur in particular social episodes for example what is acceptable to wear, what is acceptable to talk about, the sequence of events and the artefacts of the event (p 298). These rules are related to specific roles, but others are simply norms or guides to govern behaviour. These rules are not written down or verbally shared but they operate at the level of unwritten, unspoken expectations. p 297

“The role of a teacher as a model, guide and expert are consistent with the culturally based model. Maintaining respect, by not asking questions or not interrupting, is considered to be appropriate behaviour towards older people or people in authority. To ask Pacific learners to behave as the school would have them behave is to ask them to behave out of their cultural context.” (Pasikale, 1996, p 64)

‘Interaction scenes’ are made up of recurring, repetitive topics that people talk about in social conversations. Most conversations are organised around these ritualised and routinised scenes, which are chunks of conversational behaviour adapted to particular circumstances. (p 298) Conversations among people from other cultures have a standard set of scenes or topics used to initiate and maintain conversations and the conversations flow from beginning to end in a more or less predictable pattern, which is typically understood and followed by interactants. (p 294)

An illustration of interaction scenes and the view of Pacific learners of conversational behaviours is noted in Pasikale’s (1996) research: “Most of the participants said that practice was an important element of learning. One participant said “There should be less talking, more practice. You lose interest if there’s too much talk. Doing something keeps your interest. It should be talk, show and practice.” Participants also said that language should be kept

14

simple: and task should be “broken down, step by step”. The use of visuals and lots of examples ere also considered important.” (p 53)

Pasikale (1996) also notes another example of a pacific learner who needed to be able to connect with conversation – in this case what the teacher says. “One participant said “My family background is so different from the school There’s no link or support, At home it’s a different story, I’m normal. But it’s so different at school.” (p55)

Tiatia (1998) in her “Caught Between Cultures” research refers to this as a ‘tug of war’ – a private internal struggle between the individualism of European values and the community values of the Pacific Island cultures. She says that “in school our values are considered irrelevant and remain on the periphery.” (P.1) Consequently, Pacific Island students toil in a predominantly European environment that does not seek to understand or fully acknowledge our cultural uniqueness. Further to this, “it is assumed that Pacific Island students are familiar with all aspects of European culture.” (p.35) While home and church support culture, school doesn’t.

‘Interaction contexts’ are the settings or situations within which social episodes occur. Contexts impose a “frame” or reference point around communication experience by helping people to determine what specific actions should mean, what behaviours are to be expected and how to act appropriately and effectively in particular interactions (p301).

Anae et al (2001) remind us that there are huge challenges for tertiary institutions with regard to Pacific peoples. “Across the major social and economic indices, Pacific peoples are facing disproportionate levels of negative outcomes. The strengths that exist within Pacific communities cannot be sustained if their educational aspirations are not met and the opportunities for their participation in society are not radically improved.” (p.8) The TEAC Report points to two key elements which need to be addressed. One is recognising and articulating the identity and contribution of Pacific Island cultures. This means panning for gold. The second is enabling effective engagement with Pacific communities so that tertiary institutions can be better inormed by the contributions of Pacific peoples.

15

Opportunities for business participation are not the same for all cultural groups within a given society (Agrawal and Chavan, 1997). “Discrimination has left members of immigrant groups with only very restricted channels of escape from menial tasks or working class jobs or from unemployment into a narrow ethnic business area.”(p.8) So, Agrawal and Chavan argue that minority groups need training in specialised training programmes which take ethnic backgrounds and problems into account. They also advocate tailoring courses to match expected outcomes. A course for café proprietors will not be the same as a course for solicitors. Thirdly, they advocate same race mentoring to establish and utilise links connections with community members who can advance business plans and networking. Of course this is problematic if there is a shortage of appropriate mentors so culturally attuned mentors would need to bridge the gap until enough Pacific mentors could be found. This research underlines the fact that education can be a key to economic advancement for ethnic minorities if they are encouraged to think about opportunities, their own points of difference as a cultural group and taught entrepreneurial skills to utilise these advantages.

Some educators believe that you cannot make someone into an entrepreneur. Professor Howrad Frederick, director of the New Zealand Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is one of those people. He does however, belive that students can be taught entrepreneurial skill. One of the keys is to teach students to be employers rather than employees. Another is to build on entrepreneurial strengths students already possess. (“Teaching people to be employers” New Zealand Herald, 10 December, 2002). This approach would be well suited to Pacific Island students. Many of them have entrepreneurial ideas and a communal approach to life. These two strengths could be combined to incubate ideas and collaboratively develop them into successful businesses.

Tepaeru Tauraki and Italia Toelei’u (2003) picked up this theme in their recent study on entrepreneur education. They present a case for programmes that have a Pacific focus, in particular, a curriculum which addresses a Pacific entrepreneur’s cultural needs, the Pacific mindset, and inherent barriers peculiar to Pacific Island business people. They strongly advocate programme delivery characterised by ‘doing’, firstly, because entrepreneurs are action orientated people, but secondly, because Pacific learners prefer to

16

learn by doing rather than by lecturing or being told to ‘go and figure it out for yourself’. This study emphasises the nedd to address factors such as a lack of self confidence, fear of failure, and inadequate knowledge of how business works. All of this needs to be conducted in an atmosphere which builds self esteem. Preference for a Pacific trainer was not considered a prerequisite for such a programme but a bonus in terms of one’s cultural norms being more genuinely understood.

Needs of minority groups in business settings

Literature on the needs of minority groups in business settings highlights the need for targeted training in business know-how, support systems, and motivation as the key areas of need for ethnic entrepreneurs.

Targeted business training

This notion is supported by the findings of a Canadian research (2001) on 422 Chinese, Italians and Sikh entrepreneurs which found that the problems faced by the ethnic businesses were no different from those faced by small and medium-sized businesses in general; the study demonstrated instead the need for training in strategic management, finance and marketing. “…it is important for ethnic entrepreneurs to better understand and integrate into the local environment, but also that it is necessary for businesses to penetrate the non-ethnic market to support their growth…ethnic businesses also need to develop their capacity to find financing and manage human resources.” (Filion et al. 2001,p.15)

Learning points for working with entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities were identified in a report written by the ADAPT Support Unit funded by the European Social Fund. The report entitled ‘Supporting Entrepreneurship’ (2001) highlighted the lessons learned of pilot projects testing new approaches in the field of entrepreneurship between 1998 and 2001.

The study found that working the needs of minority groups in business settings can be addressed by basing assumptions about entrepreneurs on actual rather than perceived needs by, for example, involving target groups in developing and designing business services.

17

‘Increasing entrepreneur confidence’ before starting a business and ‘providing one to one business support over a sustained period when in business’ were learning points identified in the study. These play an important role in ‘increasing the capabilities of would-be entrepreneurs from minority groups. In addition to this, ‘advocating on behalf of ethnic minority groups can increase opportunities and start up for funding. (ADAPT Support Unit, p 10)

Oc et al (1997) conducted a study looking into training provision and business support services in areas with substantial minority ethnic populations where efforts were made to address the needs and the problems faced by minority ethnic groups.

The study found that appropriate communications, motivation, provision of basic business course skills, marketing and ethnic sensitivity were important considerations for organisations providing business services to consider in developing strategies to address the needs of entrepreneurs in minority group.

The study found that:

Potential trainees from minority ethnic groups needed to be made aware of the availability of training courses by appropriate means.

Training projects to benefit minority ethnic groups had to both encourage and enable trainees to 'get through the door'.

Many trainees from minority ethnic groups required basic skills training before they could access mainstream training courses. Training projects needed to make trainees ready for further training and/or improve confidence levels and motivation for training.

Business support strategies were generally aimed at growth and job creation wherever it could be nurtured. However, there was little evidence of explicit attempts to target and support those minority ethnic businesses attempting to break out of markets serving their own communities.

Business support agencies needed to, first, demonstrate sensitivity to minority ethnic business needs, problems and opportunities; second, be sufficiently aware of and sensitive to the diversity of minority ethnic business in order to provide appropriate and targeted business support

18

and, third, have credibility in the eyes of minority ethnic business people. (http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/housing/h227.asp, downloaded 1 July 2004)

Support systems which motivate

Concern has been expressed by people such as Jim Anderton, current Minister for Economic Development, that New Zealand needs a change of attitude towards entrepreneurship. He feels that we have an ‘ant-enterprise’ culture and recommends a positive environment where enterprise is valued, people are willing to give things a go, self reliance is encouraged and failure is accepted as a necessary step to success. (NZ Herald, 20 December, 2001)

His views are supported by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2002 Report which stated that New Zealand’s high level of entrepreneurship has not translated into creation of wealth and economic growth. The Report pointed to “a low sense of urgency and low ego” as reasons. Clearly, this is not just a Pacific Island issue but it illustrates the importance of concentrating resources on this aspect of education and business performance.

Although it is beyond the scope of this study, it is worth mentioning that writers such as Agrawal and Chevan (1997) propose government policy support for ethnic entrepreneurs. They advocate business policies which encourage and strengthen ethnic community organisations because these often produce the mentoring and networking support need for first time entrepreneurs. They also advocate assistance to set up business. This is reinforced by the Canadian study conducted by Ramangalahy et al (2002) which pointed out that “various studies have shown that the main problem faced by ethnic entrepreneurs when starting a business is financial in nature. It consists of a lack of capital and/or difficulty in obtaining bank financing.” (p.6)

Pacific entrepreneurs such as Faaiuaso of Gladiators Plasterers, a finalist in the 2001 national Pacific Entrepreneurs Awards, illustrate the significance of support systems – especially informal ones. He received his training as a plasterer form an uncle when he first arrived in New Zealand. Eventually he became a supervisor and finally took over the business. Although he was “a

19

bit confused” and didn’t know what to do at first”, he learned from a friend how to organise jobs and run the business. (Evening Post, 12 November, 2003). This illustrates the willingness of Pacific people to work hard and make something from nothing, to learn from others and the importance of support from family along the way.

Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, senior policy analyst, Heker Robertson, emphasises mentoring as a key for young people starting out. He suggests that “more needs to be done to ensure that Pacific Island youth have all the information they need to make career decisions. “One way this can be achieved is with mentoring. Significantly, he says that “mentoring is very much a part of the Pacific culture and one of the best methods we have of communicating key messages to our young as they have often taught to learn through the experiences and example of their elders.” (Manukau Courier, 2 October, 2003)

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

Much has been written about the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Some writers suggest that certain cultures are more likely to produce entrepreneurs than others. (Agrawal,1997). Such writers point to factors such as innovation, an independent attitude towards work and ambition. They suggest that such characteristics predispose immigrants to self employment and that “ethnic cultural values of a migrant are difficult or virtually impossible to change”. (P.5)

The same researcher also points out that the reasons motivating ethnic entrepreneurship are varied. Some of these reasons are compelling enough to force minorities to adapt entrepreneurship as a career. Agrawal (1997) found that reasons can include a family history in business ownership, economic opportunity and discrimination in the workplace. Other factors include support from the community, the non-recognition of overseas qualifications and the unavailability of professional level jobs.

He points out that “opportunities are not the same for all cultural groups”. P.10. Koreans in the United States, for example, are fewer in number and more residentially dispersed than Hispanic people. Given that more than 50%

20

of the ethnic entrepreneur’s customers are from their own ethnic background this makes success more difficult for some groups.

Dr Meena Chavan’s research based on the same 150 ethnic entrepreneurs in Australia indicates that “ethnic business operators are highly motivated, work long hours, and operate on a no-frills basis. Dr Chavan found that ethnic business groups support one another even though they are theoretically competitors.”

(ABC: The Business Report, 13 September 2003 on www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/busrprt/stories/s945953.htm downloaded, 1 April 2004.

Dr Chavan sites the example of the Chinese community whose elders have formed a mentoring group from different business backgrounds. They hold a round table conference once a month where new entrepreneurs can attend and gain advice and guidance as they set out on their new business venture. Rather than being competitive, the participants have found these meetings to be “incredibly supportive”.

An interesting finding in Dr Chavan’s research was that ethnic entrepreneurs had not yet discovered the significant point of difference. She called this “the use of productive diversity principles”. “Many ethnic entrepreneurs have not realised or have not come upon this issue of how they could use their cultural skills, their linguistic knowledge and their ethnic resources that they have,” says Dr Chavan.

A New Zealand Herald article written by John Drinnan in 2002, reported that researchers of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor listed the following characters of successful entrepreneurs. The Monitor said they are likely to be individuals who exude energy, enthusiasm and confidence, they tend to desire independence; they spot opportunities and exploit them; they take calculated risks and persevere in adversity; they have a strong desire to make a recognized difference and affect the world around them and are highly communicative individuals with extensive personal networks.

The 2003 report of the Fifth Global Assessment of National Entrepreneurial Activity reported that a positive personal context has a major impact on

21

participation in firm start-ups. This involves - knowing entrepreneurs, seeing good business opportunities, and having the skill to create a business. The report also identified the importance of having a cultural context that is positive toward entrepreneurship— this is reflected in social acceptance of entrepreneurial careers, respect for new business success, and positive media coverage. These cultural components tend to increase participation in startups. However, they have less of an effect than a positive personal context.

Although packaged and articulated differently, popular entrepreneur books reflect a number of the above ideas.

Poonam Sharma (2003) the author of the book The Harvard Entrepreneur Club: A guide to starting your business believes entrepreneurial success is a combination of positive internal qualities, communication skills and creativity. Sharma narrowed her ideas to 21 key qualities forming an anagram to spell entrepreneurial spirit:

Energy Novelty Time Management Readiness for anything Effectiveness at Persuasion Problem Solving Skills Risk Taking – in a calculated way Enjoyment of the Ride Negotiation and Compromise Exacting and exhaustive mentality Urgency and Restlessness Resilience after Failure Initiative Alertness Leadership Style

Stress Management Persistent Idealism coupled with

confidence Reflectiveness Imagination Talent for thinking

strategically

While these qualities describe the ideal entrepreneur, Sharma states that one would not necessarily need to exhibit every one of them.

Joseph H. Boyette and Jimmie T. Boyette interviewed hundreds of the world’s top entrepreneurs and summarised their best ideas in their book ‘The Guru Guide to Entrepreneurship: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from the

22

World’s Top Entrepreneurs’. Boyette and Boyette (2001) believe the universal characteristic that all entrepreneurs possess is a willingness – even eagerness – to live with the fear of failure. Wilson Harrell calls this Club Terror. Conquering ‘Club Terror’ requires one to embrace failure by taking the risk out of risk, persevering through failure and learning from failure; rejecting money as your goal; exhibiting a dogged determination, sacrificing your personal life and believing passionately in your vision.

Conquering ‘Club Terror’ makes entrepreneurs feel elated and alive. Rather than being intimidated, they are stimulated by the risks involved in entrepreneurship. Boyette and Boyette (2001) say that entrepreneurs don’t consider themselves to be risk takers rather they have weighed the pros and cons and convinced themselves that their so called risky idea isn’t that risky after all.

Finally, Boyette and Boyette emphasise that successful entrepreneurs believe passionately in what they are doing. The negativism of others only strengthens their resolve. Their confidence in their ultimate success is further strengthened by their ignorance – they don’t know that what they are trying to do can’t be done – and by their optimism, at heart, they just turn out right in the end.

Another successful entrepreneur who rose from poverty to build a multi million dollar business is American-Japanese author and investor Robert Kiyosaki. Kiyosaki was raised by two fathers, one rich one poor. In his books, Robert explains the difference in their philosophies.

“Poor dad” wanted Robert to study to become a professional, get a good job and work for money. “Rich dad” encouraged him to study, understand how money works and learn to make it work for him. His Rich dad’s approach is: “Saying ‘I can’t afford it’ makes your brain stop working: asking ‘how can I afford it? Puts your brain to work,” and saying “I can’t afford it” is a sign of mental laziness.

While many books focus on qualities as being success factors, Kiyosaki says to one’s ideas on financial philosophies and education are the foundations of success.

23

He says “just as scholastic skills are vitally important, so are financial skills and communication skills.” He also believed that a willingness to take risks is an important mindset. “The greatest reason for lack of financial success was because people played it too safe. People are so afraid of losing that they lose.”(p 135)

Peter Hupalo , author of Thinking Like An Entrepreneur and website (thinkinglike.com) provides his own literature review on the entrepreneurship. One of the writers he refers to is Bob Reiss. Reiss, a successful entrepreneur and author of Low-Risk, High-Reward: Starting and Growing Your Small Business With Minimal Risk, says, "Entrepreneurship is the recognition and pursuit of opportunity without regard to the resources you currently control, with confidence that you can succeed, with the flexibility to change course as necessary, and with the will to rebound from setbacks."

Hupalo says a key factor in Reiss's definition is that entrepreneurs undertake opportunities regardless of the resources the entrepreneur currently controls. “Entrepreneurs find ways to acquire the resources they need to achieve their goals. One of those resources is capital. "Entrepreneurial" is often associated with being venturesome or creative. Be creative in acquiring the resources you need to build and grow your business. Think outside the box and you'll improve your chances of acquiring what you need to succeed.” (www.thinkinglike.com, downloaded 1 July 2004)

Linda Pinson, a nationally-recognized business planning expert and educator, author of seven business books and developer/publisher of the popular business plan software program, Automate Your Business Plan for Windows® also emphasises the importance of risk taking. Pinson says, “I believe that an essential key to success is that the entrepreneur also be an "educated" risk taker. I think that there is a general admiration for the entrepreneur who has a skill and bravely jumps into the middle of the fire hoping not to get burned. If he makes it, he is our shining example of who we want to be. If he does not, we say, "Oh, well" and pay no heed to the plight of his vendors, associates, and customers who have been burned in the process. The view, though, I think is rapidly changing because a large

24

percentage of American entrepreneurs have not been successful. Their industry knowledge and skills have been everything we could hope for......but their business skills have been sorely lacking. I think it is now recognized that the "educated risk taker" will win the race."

Hupalo’s article sums up successful entrepreneurship in two key points. He says: “First, many entrepreneurs want to be masters of their own fate and they can't find this outside of entrepreneurship. While studies have shown that people derive tremendous satisfaction from their work, how many people are really doing exactly what they want to be doing? Entrepreneurs are usually doing what they want, or, at least, they are doing something which they feel gives them control over their future. Entrepreneurs like to be in control of their future. They like to set their own course.”

Leading mortgage broker and New Zealand Pacific descendent, Mike Pero, spoke at the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs Pacific Vision International Conference on Business Prosperity in June 2004. At the conference he narrowed down his success to setting realistic objectives. “Once we believe in something, we go for it and we set SMART goals. SMART stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time dated…Anything I do, I try and research thoroughly and make sure we are approaching the right subject at the right angle.” Pero also identified the need for dedication and commitment as well as the need to plan carefully. “Once I’m committed to a project, I really believe in it and I don’t give up. I work around the clock to make it work and I also have the support of my staff.”

25

5. Profile of Pacific Island Students

Methodology

The second part of the study involved the development of a profile of Pacific Island students based on primary research. Over seventy Island-born and New Zealand-born based on MIT students from various parts of the Pacific including Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, Fiji and New Zealand participated in seven fono (focus groups) on campus. These fono ranged in size from 6 to 15 people. The larger groups were divided in two so discussion could be encouraged. The fono were led by two students, Talita Tuipulotu and Shanta Viviani. The senior lecturer led one initially and assisted with one at the end of the process. The fono leaders were trained by a Pacific Island Communications lecturer Sarah Finau and the MIT senior lecturer in Communication Studies, Graeme Sterne.

Case studies were generated by Talita Tuipulotu with the help of the research team (See Appendix A). These were tested on two pilot groups of mixed age, gender and Pacific Island descent. Once they had been checked by the MIT Research Ethics Committee they were then used for each of the fono as a basis for discussion in one hour sessions.

Participants were invited to the groups in various ways. Some by open invitation using word of mouth in the corridors, the library, social meeting areas, classes, and by posters on notice boards (see Appendix B). Others were invited to specifically targeted groups such as Tongan (through the Tongan Student Association); NZ Samoan (through a friendship network) and Social Work trainees (through the course co-ordinator).

The groups were conducted primarily in English but where facilitators and group members could use a Pacific language, for example, with the older Tongan group or the subgroup of Niueans, then some discussion and explanation was conducted in that language. All groups opened with prayer and introductions and were accompanied by food provided by MIT.

26

Pacific Island Tertiary Students

Pacific Island students are unique. From Tongans to Fijians, Samoans to Niueans and Rarotongans to Palauans, cultures run in the blood and regulations about life and the way we should interact with other people define who we are. Although we come from different ethnic backgrounds we share similar orientations. Our identity is not merely the outside shell which people perceive us to be but our attitudes and values towards certain issues in life. These attitudes and values set us apart from others.

From family to education, religion to sport we have been taught firstly through our family but also through elders, church leaders and the community on every aspect of life. These influences have had a powerful influence on our mindset. For example many of us have found that we do not even have the right to love who you want. Pacific Island students have long been taught that you should marry your own kind. We have been taught that we should humble ourselves no matter how brilliant or outstanding we are. All our lives we have been taught the right ways to behave, the right attitudes to have, the right values. But are they for the right reasons? Some of these values and attitudes seem to contradict what is needed for success in the modern world. In the light of these apparent contradictions what can tertiary institutions do to encourage Pacific entrepreneurship?

The home is the first school for all of us. We learn many things through our home environment. Through adolescence, our parents and elders have been our role models teaching us how to speak, how to act in public even who to love. With this mindset nurtured into our heads, some of us have grown to think that we have no right to shine and that we have no potential to be the best that we can be.

Parents tend to be afraid of family, elders and the community. They do not want to disturb the social structure. You have your place in society, your role and you are to maintain peace at all costs even at the cost of your own happiness and your own future. This can even mean going without the formal education if the family requires it. Set values are there and there is no compromise to them because they are the rules that dictate the way you should live in society.

27

Case Study 1: Marriage and Family

The first case study asked students to comment on how they would handle a situation where they had conflict with their parents over where to marry. Many of the students, especially the female students, did not want to start off on the wrong foot with the in-laws and therefore wanted to maintain peace. They offered to do what the in-laws wanted because in the end, it didn’t matter where they married as long as they did! It seems many family feuds start off with children disobeying their parents by marrying someone the family did not agree to. So deciding which church to get married at is a small sacrifice to make to keep a good relationship with the two families.

One of the older Tongan focus groups attendees (M) spoke of her own personal experience when she eloped to marry a man six years older than herself. Weddings are one of the largest most celebrative occasions in Tonga. They are seen as a chance for both families to show off their many treasures of fine mats and tapa cloths.

M did not want her parents to provide anything for her on her wedding day because they did not agree to her marriage. The one thing she did receive as a traditional present was her bed. Her mother insisted she must have this despite her husband’s refusal. Even now, M finds her life liberating because no one in her family has asked her for anything in return. She currently runs her own personal finance business from home where her family and relatives can loan money from her.

She encourages eloping because that way children will not be obligated to their parents. Though wedding days are special and parents want to go all out for their children, she said that children will forever be indebted to their parents for spending on their wedding day. On top of this, when differences arise later in the relationship, some parents may ask for repayment!

Married to the family

Many of the students involved in the focus groups used this phrase to describe the decisions surrounding a typical Pacific Island wedding. In order to

28

maintain peace and harmony in the family, especially with your in-laws, you had to do anything for them at all costs.

Referring to personal experiences some of the older students who have their own families commented on their living arrangements. Once married, many Pacific Island women are required to move in with their husbands who are still living at home with their parents.

Some parents still cannot accept the fact that their children are now grown up and have families of their own. Most of them expect their children, especially their sons, to continue to live at home (even with their new wife) to look after them. When there are more than two other families living under one roof cleanliness and hygiene become an issue. Another Tongan, (S), mother of four, still lives at home with her husband and his parents together with his two other brothers and their families. She is not happy at all with the living arrangements because her children do not have their own rooms and she doesn’t have the privacy she would have if she had her own house. She also added that her father in law is the head of the household with no regard to her husband who is the head of her family.

There is still respect for the elders but children also want their freedom and their space once they have their own families. You will not find rest homes for the elderly in the Pacific Islands because families are required to take care of their own, especially parents and grandparents. In return for their love and support throughout your adolescent years up to adulthood, you are expected to look after your parents when they are old and can no longer look after themselves.

Case Study 2: Financial decisions - Education or Family?

Case Study 2 asked students to provide reactions to a scenario where a $5000 scholarship was awarded for study, but the family had financial pressure created by a forthcoming wedding. Most of the students preferred to spend the scholarship money on their education since that was the main purpose they received the funding for in the first place. But they also added that they would make sure that some went to their parents to maintain the

29

peace in the household. “They are still your parents and they should have some of the money.”

Some of the students stressed the importance of showing respect and love for their parents. One student said she would rather give the money to her parents because they have done a lot for her. She said that her education comes second because there can always be more time for her studies but her parents would not be around forever. Better to give them the money to do what they want with it and have a free conscience than have to lie to them. So you can use it for someone else

Some students took a long term view. They said they would talk to their parents about the fact that if the whole $5000 went towards their education as planned then they will have a better chance at succeeding in their studies and of finding a job with a higher salary which would enable them to cater for their parents needs.

To maintain the peace in the household, some of the students suggested lying to their parents so that they can both get what they want and their parents would never have to find out about the money. They would feel bad about lying to their parents but preventing a major argument is much more comforting than causing parents to be very upset. Fear was the basis of this answer as most of the students did not want to confront their parents about money matters.

Some of the female students spoke of their personal experience, the struggles they went through to show their parents that they needed to go further into tertiary education. Parents who didn’t have formal education themselves had the mentality that “if that was good enough for them then that should be enough for their children”. One of the Samoan girls, T, said that being the youngest of a family of four made it hard for her to convince her parents to let her get her degree. She always wanted to be a teacher and had to give a rationale to her parents as to why she needed to further her studies. They had already painted a picture for her of marrying the pastor’s son and working for the church. T felt as though she was a means to an end. If she received a $5000 scholarship, she could speed up her education just to show her parents that she made it and that it wasn’t wrong for her to come back to school.

30

Case Study 3: Owning Your own Business

Case study 3 explored the situation where a Pacific Island person begins their own business, for example as a panel beater and relatives were coming in for their car repairs but were late in paying and some even expected to pay nothing at all.

Most of the students said that this is the way of life for the Pacific Island person. It is part of the Pacific Island culture, “the cultural aspect comes in to play when dealing with family”.

Several Samoan students agreed that it is very hard to break this cultural aspect and those that refuse are often at times labelled as “greedy”, “not caring” and are “ fia palagi” (wanting to be European). The family aspect of business may not only be a Pacific Island issue, an older student who has quite a bit of life experience said that with her dealings with business people from other races she said “that family were also the worst people to deal with”. But whatever the case may be, for the students in the fono going into business was about bettering not only one’s self but also to better the family and community as a whole.

Some students offered alternatives for family members so that they can feel that they are helping their family members as well. One student mentioned, “offering a family discount” so as to help out family members who most of the time could not afford the repairs.

Other students also suggested that instead of paying for the repairs with cash they could offer a barter system or an exchange for other services to family members. For example one of the students suggested family members could offer to do free marketing for the business whereby they could bring in other clients that would not normally have come to the business.

Another student was adamant that “there should be no freebies, and that they (family members) should be treated the same as others”. One student said “at the end of the day what are you trying to do - you’re trying to make money”.

31

Most of the participants agreed that there was an Island mindset “that if you owned your own business then you were rich”. Other students said, “that family don’t understand where the money goes” and that “honesty” with family is the best way to go about it. One student said that family don’t realise that “you’re just another person trying to make a living” and that you have bills and expenses to pay just like everyone else. Therefore if family members were to realise that your business is a job to feed your family and that you don’t have loads of money then they would probably pay there bills just like everyone else.

Some students commented that they are scared to start up their own business knowing that it will not succeed when their families find out! Back in the islands, many entrepreneurs start out small by owning their own retail shop in their own respective village but make the mistake of spreading the word to the family. It is the Pacific Island way to expect to have credit should a close relative open their own business. Because Pacific Islanders are taught to value people more than money, they find it difficult to confront their relatives and friends about the debt they owe for fear of starting a conflict or of looking as though they don’t care for their families.

They also told stories of how people tried to build up businesses of their own and yet did not succeed because even those closest to them did not want to see them succeed in society.

Many students said that family and business don’t mix. They said that going into business with family never works out especially if the relationship with your in-laws is not stable. Most of the students would never go into business with their in-laws because they’ve seen and heard of similar cases that had many repercussions and ended in many family feuds.

Suggestions were made that outside professionals should always be involved in setting up business arrangements, so that a written agreement can be made out and that both parties understand the repercussions of breaking contracts. Both parties should understand that they share the responsibilities for the success and the failure of the business. The written agreement should include the situation stated in the case study so that relatives who do abuse

32

the business will have to face the consequences of their actions and should not expect special treatment.

Loan shops

Students commented on the many faces of Pacific Island people appearing in the unpaid loan section in the newspaper especially the Tongan newspaper, Taimi ‘o Tonga where it features pictures of people with unpaid loans. Many of our Pacific Island people are overawed when they come to New Zealand. Because of the many obligations they have to carry out for both family and church, some Pacific Islanders turn to the Loan Shops for financial help. There are many Loan Shops just waiting to give you a loan no matter how much you want. If you are not careful you can run up large debts. For some people this is very tempting because they are desperate to get the money to fulfil their obligations to the church or the family. They will worry about payments later.

Case Study 4: Educational Choices

Case study 4, presented the situation where a student found themselves studying something they did not really like. Rather than abandon the course they took another course of study alongside it. This led to most students questioning the effects of education on Pacific Islanders as it has both negative and positive impacts in today’s society. Back in the islands, you never wanted for anything. With the subsistence economy that has always been the way of life, people were content with what little or more they had because they didn’t have to worry about paying bills. You lived off the land. In the Cook Islands, the land is yours to live off, fish from the sea and fruits, vegetables and root crops from the land. Pacific Islanders were oblivious to the ways of the modern world and therefore never saw the need for education because they were content with the knowledge that they had.

However, when they migrated into New Zealand as well as other foreign countries, Pacific Islanders found out that education is power because you needed knowledge to do certain things and subsistence living didn’t seem all

33

that glamorous anymore. You need to know things like how banks and loans work, how to set up a business, how to fill out tax returns and so on. Without education most Pacific people do not have access to this kind of knowledge.

One student (S) suggested that tertiary institutions should come to some agreement with various local businesses so that Pacific Island students could gain work experience with them to get the feel of being in a real life business. He commented that maybe the thought of owning their own business never crossed their mind because they were never given the chance to be immersed in a workplace environment.

Case Study 5: Religion

Case Study 5 dealt with language and religion. It asked students to respond to a situation where they were losing their fluency in their own language and drifting away from church attendance at the same time. Church will lead you to eternal salvation and yet for many Pacific Island students church has lost its purpose. People are now going to church which is the right thing to do but for the wrong reasons. In many Pacific Island countries like Tonga and Samoa, religion is an essential part of life. Sundays are kept holy and laws are made to regulate that on Sundays, local businesses are closed for the day and only the bakeries and restaurants are open for fresh bread and hot meals. Other than that, it is against the law to be doing weekday tasks on Sunday, even swimming! To save face from the parish and the community, most people find themselves going to church just so people don’t gossip about them being different from everyone else!

Breaking the cycle

There are some practices in Pacific Island churches which were criticized by the students. One of these was the annual ‘misinale’ event where each family in the parish donates large sums of money to the church. One student (S) spoke strongly against this practice. He said he has been branded as the “black sheep” of the family. They see him as an embarrassment to the family because he does not attend church. He describes himself as a “cycle

34

breaker.” He sees the whole process of giving to the church as ‘pitiful’ because people are just enriching the lives of people who are already well off and not giving to the people who truly need it. The ‘misinale’ is a way for people to save face. If your neighbour gives $1000 at misinale, people either have to give the same amount or more. This turns the whole thing into a competition as to who can contribute the most.

In some Pacific Island churches here in New Zealand the congregation is seated according to how much money their family contributes to the church. Whoever gives the most money sits at the front of the church and the lowest contributors seat themselves at the back of the church. The saddening thing yet is that after the donations are counted, they are read out aloud at the front of the church so that everyone knows how much you contributed!

Daring to be different

One student suggested that if eternal salvation was to be done individually, then why don’t parents understand that and leave their children to find their own way to God? Students suggested that parents should leave them to make their own mistakes so that they can learn from them. Many parents want the best for their children and do not want them to make the same mistakes they made when they were young but they also want to save face from the rest of the community and do not want any of their children to become a disgrace and an embarrassment to the family.

Case Study 6: Dreams and Aspirations

Case Study 6 invited students to report what they would say in that introductory class, when the tutor asked them to report their dreams and aspirations.

Family and children seemed to be one of the common themes. Most included a statement about how they can further help and encourage family to achieve.

An older student said, “I would say why I’m here”. She explained that her focus was on why she came to study was to further her education and to hopefully inspire her children.

35

Another student said, “It was all about the kids”. This learning experience for him was about helping his children to reach their dreams and goals.

Another older student suggested that it was “interesting to hear from other students and their backgrounds”. She said that when someone mentions something different you tend to become more interested in listening to him or her.

One student said that when they came to a new class Pacific Island students would congregate more easily with other Pacific students. He said “when Pacific Island students meet in a class they would usually sit together and introduce themselves to each other”.

Some students reported that their parents restricted them to want only certain things in life. Growing up in Tonga, T, always wanted to be a lawyer because of the movies she watched on television. She was fascinated with the many arguments and trials carried out in court. Her mother however told her that she shouldn’t be so high headed because her cousins were only teachers and farmers and that she should be either a teacher or a nurse.

What about Pacific Island people who are still back in the islands? Do they want to further their education? Many of them feel safe in their own safety zone because back in the islands there’s no such thing as poverty. They don’t need to strive to achieve anything as what they have is theirs. They don’t know what it is to be starving and to need anything as it is in other parts of the world. They’re happy just to have what they have because the land is theirs and they can live off it. They don’t tend to have aspirations outside of their safety zone.

There are some however who want to go over the fence and move forward. Or is it really forward? In some ways Pacific Islanders who stay in the islands have a better life. “All we’re doing here in New Zealand doing is paying bills. Back in Rarotonga, you own your home and you can live off the land by whatever’s in season. You can have coconuts, pawpaw, mangoes and fish from the sea. It’s only if you want luxuries like power that create a need to have money. In a village in Rarotonga, in Arorangi home sites are rented out to people for only 10 cents a year! Because they have the mentality that they can survive without all the luxuries and material wealth that outside people

36

need, they don’t push themselves forward. We were brought up in our cultural environment where we’re a subsistence economy where we grow what we need and our home is ours. It may be a thatch roof or worse but it’s ours! You don’t have to pay rent to anybody so costs are practically nil!”

When Pacific Islanders come from the islands here to New Zealand with that mentality they don’t push themselves forward because here it’s all up to the individual. If you want to improve academically, it’s up to you to pursue your education. Many are happy with the cultural mindset they’ve grown up in. So for people with this mindset, it will be difficult to come back to school let alone make them stay!

Case Study 9: Strengths and Weaknesses

Case study 9 asked participants to identify strengths and weaknesses that Pacific people bring into their businesses. This may differ from those of other ethnic groups.

Most of the students agreed that Pacific people are very “communal people” and that they work better together as opposed to the individualistic style of the western world or the “Palagi way” as one of the students put it.

There was also a consensus that Pacific people in general were “very caring” and “that we go beyond what we need to do”. A female student mentioned “we are good at putting ourselves in other people’s shoes,” meaning that Pacific people are very empathetic.

This can be a strength and a weakness, a strength in the sense that “they would go that extra mile” for a client. For example one student said that when he first came to New Zealand He found it very hard to get a student allowance because he couldn’t speak English properly, but a Pacific Island caseworker went out of his way to help him. This caring attitude can also be a barrier, especially in business. One student mentioned his brother-in-law who had his own panel beating business and cared so much that he allowed clients to pay accounts over time. Most of the clients were either family or friends and many did not pay off their accounts. This caused his brother-in-law to go out of

37

business. One student said that Pacific people “love so much”, and that this is just a part of our culture and upbringing.

A young female student who used to be manager of a fashion retail store and the only person of Pacific descent at her job said that as she progressed through the ranks from a junior to a managerial role. She found the work environment rigid and very individualistic. When she became manager and was able to hire new employees she hired more Pacific people not because she was biased but that because she found that Pacific people tended to “work more as a team”. She said there was a lot more laughter and banter between employees and that “the working atmosphere had changed for the better”.

After hearing this story another student said that “it was an inspiration for Pacific Island people to see a brown person in a managerial role”. Another student said that people like this were “excellent role models for the younger generation” and that this would “inspire others”.

Some barriers mentioned by the students that Pacific people encountered in the business environment included “the lack of understanding of regulations”, “the business jargon” that was used in the business community and the lack of financial support for their businesses.

Some of the students suggested that institutes could do more with students in order to help them “to adapt to different environments”. For example, lecturers could work together as a “two-way partnership with the students”. Because of the cultural upbringing Pacific students are very respectful to teachers and are taught to respect any person of authority. This then makes the students very reliant on the lecturers and they tend to believe everything they say. The students said that Pacific students needed “more guidance” when being taught as this is a part of our culture, “not to be babied but to be guided”.

38

6. Views from Pacific Entrepreneurs

The third goal was to find out what current Pacific entrepreneurs considered important for students to know and be able to do once they graduated. This would provide a touchstone for testing theory against reality. We were looking for insights specific to Pacific peoples who would inform tertiary institutions about approaches to the education and overall preparation of students for entrepreneurship.

Eli Tagi and Stella Tanoi-Tagi interviewed 11 Pacific entrepreneurs including Pacific Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 and Pacific entrepreneurs in finance, media, entertainment, building, social services, furniture making and retail. These interviews were based around a set of predetermined questions (see Appendix C and below). Interviewees were chosen on the criteria that they were of Pacific Island descent and that they were currently in business. All interviews were tape recorded off-site and transcribed for analysis.

FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

QUESTION 1: What are the qualities of a successful entrepreneur?

The qualities of a successful entrepreneur identified by participants were generally in agreement with popular opinions on the subject. There was a particular emphasis on having long-sighted qualities such as ‘vision’ and ‘thinking ahead’.

“A key one for me is being able to think ahead and think laterally…from there they will be able to make a good choice.” (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

39

Pre-Requisites

Access to finance, high communications skills and business experience are essential pre- requisites for a successful entrepreneur.

Of these three areas, communications skills, described as ‘power with words’ and the ability to ‘wear different hats’ was a key success factor identified by interviewees.

“…you’ve got to wear different hats because you’ve got to wear the marketing hat, the business hat, the, the devils advocates hat, you have to really just look at the business in all different aspects and ensure that what you are doing is obviously going to be a successful project.” (Tongan, male, 25-30)

Long Sighted Vision

Being able to keep your eye on the end goal or a strong sense of a vision was by far the most common attribute identified.

“I think a successful entrepreneur is a sort of person with a lot of vision. They have to know what they want. I think the person needs to be inspired by the end goal and have a willingness to work hard to achieve it. That isn’t to say they have to work long hours but they have to do what they think it takes to achieve the vision that they already have.” (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

Another participant talked about vision as ‘knowing the outcome before you get there’.

“…to see something from a distance, to know exactly how clear and what it looks like, and to feel its emotion because you’ve never been there…entrepreneurs are people who are visionary but also have the ability to feel those emotions now, what it’s going to give me before I get there. So for me when I created this business I knew exactly what I have to do because I had already experienced the emotion it was going to give me.” (Cook Island, Female, 35-40)

40

Many of the participants talked about tough times in business as not being clear on where they were heading.

“…when you get down to the nitty gritty of day to day operations and some of the difficulties that you encounter, in business, which is normal, it’s that clear vision - where you are wanting to go, what you want to achieve and what you want to do - those objectives that really keep you going and allows you to focus and allows you to keep in a straight line.” (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

Drive

The final area identified by those interviewed described the compulsion of ‘driving’ towards a goal. The words used to describe this drive included: ‘perseverance, commitment, hard work, discipline, focus, time- management, non procrastination and no fear.'

QUESTION TWO: What are the qualities of a successful Pacific entrepreneur?

Half of those interviewed (all men) believe ‘entrepreneurship is a universal characteristic’ - common to all cultures. Therefore they conclude that the qualities of a successful entrepreneur are the same for a successful Pacific entrepreneur.

One participant stated that culture is not a factor in whether or not one is successful as an entrepreneur, but rather the way in which you see the world.

“A successful Pacific entrepreneur is a successful entrepreneur with Pacific Island origins. I think it’s that simple. Being an entrepreneur is a universal characteristic, it’s a universal trait that supersedes culture… culture in many ways has very little to do with it, it’s got more to do with the values of that person’s philosophy. Being an entrepreneur means being a capitalist, that’s the philosophy that one needs to have. If you don’t have very strong capitalist leanings you’re not going to succeed as an entrepreneur”. (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

41

A successful pacific entrepreneur asserts a similar viewpoint: “When I went into business, my thinking was not just to reach Polynesian people and do business with Polynesian people. My vision or my dream was to set up a business that anybody would come into…don’t make being a Pacific Islander a difference – it’s just your attitude at the end of the day and just respect everybody.” (Niuean, Male, 45-50)

‘Our way with people’

Other participants (particularly women) identified the “Pacific way with people” as a key contributor to the success of Pacific entrepreneurs.

“It’s actually that communication the unsaid things that we do. I feel that people walk through that door and they click on straight away. They feel that I have the answer for the things they are looking for. You can see the lady who was looking for a fine mat here. I went to the extreme of meeting her needs by saying that I would try and actually get that from Samoa.” (Samoan, female, 45-50)

Another participant talked about how her uniqueness as a Pacific person was often identified by non- pacific people as a special quality:

“I am constantly told that I am unique- why is it that I am? People would just say, ‘…we love your presence, we love your enthusiasm, we love that you can empower a complete stranger, we love that you are self-motivated’. I say, well what’s unique about that? I mean because, for me in my world it’s normal, that’s my normality for me it’s a normal world and how it operates for me.” (Cook Island, female, 35-40)

Many participants identified standout qualities for Pacific entrepreneurs as ‘commitment, patience, resilience, humour and love of people.’

“…Pacific Islanders have a greater tendency to be, I think, more tolerant, with difficulties, more patient. We’re able to take difficulties in a good- natured way, simply because we have a fairly laid back kind of an attitude.” (Tongan, male, 40-45)

42

“Even in our attitude to humour, we humour things a lot, we laugh at it, we laugh at ourselves and we strike things off whereby probably someone else from another culture would totally go bananas and they’ll get frustrated or jump off a cliff. With us, well, you know, maybe we failed today, but we’ll make it tomorrow. We’re a lot more hopeful. We’re more thinking today or tomorrow…” (Tongan, male, 40-45)

Another participant goes on to say that as a Pacific entrepreneur, business is more about people than financial gain.

“You know I feel that what I’m doing here is actually advocating. I mean the whole entrepreneur business for the Pacific Island is actually advocating for people. That’s what I mean it’s people that count in a business. Not the money, it’s the people.” (Samoan, female, 45-50)

QUESTION THREE: What are the keys to your success?

There were many keys to success identified by those interviewed. However, one factor that was common to many was their relationship with God.

Relationship with God

Many participants commented on their relationship with God as the centre of many of their decisions both personal and business.

“In all truth the key to my success is my relationship with God. At the time of setting up this agency I was asked to go to Wellington to fill a policy position and that was my heart.” (Tongan, Female, 25-30) The above participant goes on to say that her trust in God gave her strength in light of tough sacrifices she had to make to get to where she is now with her business. “I knew where I wanted to go but in that particular year I gave everything up. I had no wages for a year, I gave up my job, I started this agency, I was studying towards a

43

doctorate. I gave my doctorate up - even my relationships…I left home cause everyone thought I was kind of going mad. I left my relationship at the time, everything just came to a close and it was just a real shut down - I couldn’t understand it but I had this real peace in my heart and the Lord has been faithful. Today we are fully funded and I have a team of 16”.

Another participant talked about his relationship with God as an influence to the way he operated. “I guess first and foremost it’s the Lord, I’m a Christian and the book of Habakkuk talks about how you’ve got to have all your plans written on paper. And it’s been a key aspect and there are a lot of things - the Bible relates to everything that we do. In life and business is just one of them.” (Tongan, Male, 25-30)

“For me in the last twelve years, I’ve become a Christian and I give the glory for my success to my Lord and saviour. There was a definite difference in that first ten years of business without Him. The next ten years seemed harder, but then he was there. So I just carried on with it, and I guess it just comes back to that ‘don’t give up’ attitude.” (Niuean, Male, 45-50)

Hard Work

Participants talked about working long hours if you wanted to get somewhere. Not only was it necessary for those interviewed, but it also developed a strong work ethic.

“It’s all about pure hard work. Until I turned 21, I gave my parents my whole pay packet. I worked two fulltime jobs as well as a part-time job. (Samoan, Male, 45-50)

Hard work can also be about working your way up from the bottom and persevering. This participant talks about his journey to entrepreneurship as being a factor of working hard in his industry:

“Some people want to be like an entrepreneur and then make millions in the first year out of nothing. I started off as just a writer and then I had to learn. Then when I was at Suburban Newspaper we didn’t have a photographer so I had to learn to take photos. This gave me an insight in terms of the look of

44

things and eventually branched out to become an editor.” (Samoan/ European, Male, 35-40)

The discussion around working hard was often related back to hard working parents. This was inspirational for many participants and it set benchmarks for how hard they should work:

“There was something that my dad had bringing up eleven children… he was a very hard worker and everything that he had went on the table and went to provide a roof over our heads so I guess I picked it up from him. It’s just a good work ethic”. (Niue, Male, 45-50)

Timing

It is a known in business that being at the right place at the right time is crucial for any entrepreneurial venture. A number of participants identified this as a success factor and said being responsive to those opportunities when they arose is what led them to start a business:

“… being able to take the opportunity of cornering a market when it was there and developing our services and structuring them in a timely way to cater for that market. So, being timely or responsive and also being innovative and developing new approaches to find the right solution or new approaches to finding a solution was important.” (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

Support from others

The final success factor identified by participants which has played a huge role in their development as an entrepreneur is the importance of working with or being around the right people. Some of the participants stated even more strongly that these important relationships have been crucial not only to their success to date but also to surviving in business.

45

“The non paid support I’ve had, like my legal advisor and accountant. I’ve also been blessed in having a network of people who have been in this industry for a long time and so there wisdom and advice and willingness to help has been huge.” (Tongan, Male, 25-30)

QUESTION FOUR: Who have been the major contributors to your success as a Pacific entrepreneur?

In almost every instance, a family member was identified as being a major contributor to the success for the Pacific entrepreneurs interviewed.

“For a lot of Pacific Islanders, it’s not an outside influence; it’s been one that’s been there since day one. We haven’t had the influence of the TV media bash in our face for all these years- we’ve had our family around us to impact our lives, to mould who we are, whether it be good or be bad, it’s been there.” (Cook Island, Female, 35-40)

The following relationships were identified:

My Free Working Sons and Cousins

“My sons and my cousin she comes in here and they help me iron and hang the clothes up, my son works for no pay at all. He comes in here all the time too and he’s not here now, he went to pick up the kids but I’m getting all this help. I’m very grateful that I’m getting a lot of my family network to come and help because, they all share the same vision that I had.” (Samoan, Female, 45-50)

My Palagi Wife & Her Family

“The thing about her, her family, they’re all like, self-employed. They’re all out like doing their own thing and I sort of really admired that. She more than

46

anyone probably gave me the confidence. She actually runs the bank accounts, pays the bills and she’ll tell me if we’re a bit short and what we need and things like that… she services the phones so I’m really lucky because I know a lot of Pacific people probably don’t have that, you know…” (Samoan/ European, Male, 35-40)

My Business Minded Brother

“My business partner and brother has been a big help. He’s more or less the one that introduced me more to business. Although I’ve had a hand for business, it was more him that sort of directed me and got me going and now I’ve branched out on my own. So I would say he would be the most influential person in my walk in business.” (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

My Influential Father

“My motivator has been my father really. If you want to go back and look at everything - which also shows the Pacific Island community, the influence of our family and our culture is very close and very strong. Yes, he would be the one.” (Niuean, Male, 45-50)

Family, Friends and Community Elders

“Despite my difficulties, my family and friends are so incredible. I have a Trust that I’m accountable to and they’re a group of six elders in the community who have worked in the community for years.” (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

My Wife the Absolute Major Asset

“Definitely for me personally, my wife would be an absolute major asset. I think I probably would have gotten somewhere without her but it wouldn’t have been as much fun and it wouldn’t have been as much focused. She’s as much a part of this success as I am.” (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

47

Always the Lord and my Business Mentor

“Just got to put the Lord up there, basically he gave me this vision of what I’m doing and blessed me with all the people that I’ve met and I think just that when you have that relationship with God, everything just happens for a good reason.” (Tongan, Male, 25-30)

“Also my business mentor. He’s been really keen with what I’ve been doing. He’s palagi too and he’s had the experience so it’s good getting another aspect or view on things too. So he’s been a real help. Knowing people in the industry, government policy has been helpful because they have recognised some of the same industries that I’m involved in and supported it financially by providing funding trough various agencies.

My Hard Working Parents

“My parents have been the main contributors to my success. They came to New Zealand to give my siblings and I the chance for a better life. My parents like most Pacific immigrants worked endless shifts in factory jobs to give their children the opportunity to better themselves.” (Samoan, Male, 45-50)

“I’ve just given an example of my dad’s work ethic and I’ve taken that from him. I’ve learnt from watching, I’ve learned from seeing. I watch even through my cadetship with Fletchers there’s certain people within that industry that I watched. I wasn’t just watching how they worked; I was watching their character as well. Not exactly copying them but taking examples of the good things that they do and the methods, mythology and structuring.” (Niuean, Male, 45-50)

48

QUESTION FIVE: What areas of business do you believe Pacific Island people excel in?

Most of those interviewed believed Pacific people could excel in any area of

business given the right attitude and know how. Sports, Music and the Arts

were amongst the first responses from half of the participants.

There was a general belief that Pacific people are natural entrepreneurs.

“They can do anything if they really believe in themselves. The only person

that can defeat you is yourself.” (Samoan, Male, 45-50)

Another participant says that the collective model of Pacific people gives them

an advantage to excel.

“I think they can excel anywhere. I wrote a little article specifically on Tongan

people and it was about embracing collectivism because we’re collective

people - we’re collective in the way we think and the way we perceive and the

way we apply ourselves and I just think that you know we just have so much

to offer. Not just businesses but every sphere”. (Tongan, Female, 25-30)

A quarter of those interviewed identified Communications and leadership as

areas of business that Pacific entrepreneurs excel in.

“I think that Pacific people are very direct in there communicating. They also

have a strong sense of communications because they come from a structured

cultural way of communicating - they’re very good at following systems and

ways of doing things…applying protocols because that’s something that’s part

of their culture. Lines of reporting for example, and working along specific

channels of communication and taking responsibility, the role of leadership

has been quite good. I think Pacific people are very strong in that area.

49

They’ve also been strong pioneers in developing new strategies and new

approaches. I think that they definitely excel in finding new markets and

strategies like I said before. “(Samoan, Male, 35-40)

Another participant emphasised Pacific strengths in areas of marketing and innovation.

“I think Pacific people excel very much in marketing, producing something and then selling it. Pacific Island people are very enterprising. You go to the flea market, you go to the fairs, and even in homes you see people that are producing T-shirts to sell - musicians producing their own cassettes and CD’s to sell. I have kids that knock on my door, sometimes nine o’clock, ten o’clock at night - Island kids. They say ‘You need fruits’ and they have this bag of apples they want to sell me or they’ve got something, and these are school kids that I think, wow, you know - I’d like to hire these kids in my company when they are in their late teens because they are already thinking of ways to make money.”(Tongan, Male, 45-50)

Another participant also talked about leadership strengths found in the way

Pacific people teach.

“I think they’re great teachers, I think they’re natural teachers, I think a lot of

them have grown up in big families so they’re used to having lots of people

around and often when I see PI teachers in class, they seem to be able to

handle it more. Handle it well, because it’s just part of, it’s just an extension in

many ways or their family environment, so I think they’re good teachers.”

(Samoan/ European, Male, 35-40)

50

QUESTION SIX: What obstacles are Pacific Island tertiary students likely to encounter on their pathway to entrepreneurship?

From the entrepreneurs that were interviewed there was a general consensus

among the participants that Pacific entrepreneurs faced many barriers when

starting out in business.

Experience and knowledge

The majority of the participants agreed that most Pacific entrepreneurs

wanting to start out in business have brilliant ideas and excellent theoretical

background but are lacking the experience and the track record to run the

business.

“I think there are immediate obstacles for anybody who’s just a student and

who has no track record in terms of running a business. For example, how

are you going to get money? A bank’s not going to fund someone who’s just

come out of school, even though they might have a degree, to go and start a

business if they have no record of managing that business. You may be a

brilliant artist or brilliant at this, but you’ve actually got to show that you can

manage a business profitably.” (Samoan/ European, Male, 35-40)

“There are a lot of very gifted people out there who may seem successful but

may struggle financially because they don’t have the business savvy. I can

only report on my experience and say that working on different jobs and

working for other people and learning from that has enabled me to take those

directional paths. From my experience I’d say don’t try to become an

entrepreneur. You have to start somewhere working for someone, and then

just learn of them I mean if they are good and you admire them for what

51

they’re doing and if they’re successful, learn off them and then move on.”

(Samoan/ European, Male, 35-40)

Understanding Systems

Some of the participants believed that Pacific entrepreneurs did not have the

systems that are required to succeed in business and this causes many of the

small businesses to go under.

“I think Pacific Islanders are far more entrepreneurial than palagi’s. I am

absolutely persuaded of that. But, the reason why there are a lot of failures

many times in Pacific Island businesses is because they do not adopt western

management systems into their businesses to maintain it. Because what do

we do? We make the money, but we use the money to live today and

tomorrow. Palagi’s have got a western management system; we take the

money, we use a little bit of it to live and the rest is for tomorrow and tomorrow

we do the same thing. So they have a systematic way of doing it and to me,

that’s what western management systems are, it’s the systematic way of

doing things. But for us, we are great entrepreneurs but we’re still in a survival

subsistence mentality.” (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

Participants pointed out time and time again that experience needs to begin in

the tertiary system:

“It might not be too daunting for New Zealand born because they grew up in

the system and so forth. But one of the main things that are a barrier for

Pacific people born overseas is they grew up in homes exposed to limited

amount of activities - so their knowledge of the vast options is in a way limited.

So there is a real need when they get into tertiary that they get exposed to

different things in all different fields and from there they will have a better

52

understanding of options that they can take for business.”(Tongan, Male, 40-

45)

Cultural Psyche

Many of the participants found that the Pacific mentality towards

entrepreneurship was another barrier to starting out in business. One

participant talked about how she encountered negative feedback from a family

member she decided to go out on her own:

“They are going to encounter pull down. You get that from your family, you

could get that from your community, your church people. I remember telling

my aunty that I was going to get a job straight away because I was quite

proud. I said, “When I get out I’m going to get a job straight away.” She said,

“Do you really think you’re going to go to New Zealand and do that?” I never

forgot the sarcastic look on her face. I said “yes aunty, I am” and I did.… a lot

of people are going to try and bring us down. It’s going to be our own people;

it’s not going to be no one else. You usually find it’s very close to home. It’s

both sides of the coin aye.” (Cook Island, Female, 40-45)

Another participant says:

“the clash of the psyche … being able to use our Pacific Islandness…

sometimes people have that attitude ‘forget about what the palagi’s do’ But

you have to take that on board as part of an ingredient of your business. And

it’s a clash sometimes we have. We have to adopt western management and

yet maintain Pacific Island entrepreneurship”. (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

“Whenever somebody is in business and if you’re a little bit successful, then

they think whoa, they have got money so let’s, get to be more friendly with the

53

guy. There are a few things that we also do here, for example, I absolutely put

down my foot, and there are absolutely no loans. I will not loan money to

anybody. My relatives and family know that, if they come and see me and

say, ‘I want to go to Tonga and I need $2000, I want to borrow it,’ I say ‘Forget

it. We’re not a bank; we’re not a financial company’. However if I see that

your cause is a good cause I’m going to give you the money, I’m not going to

loan it to you. Because what happens if I loan it to you and you are able to not

pay it back then we have a strained relationship. Relationships are far too

important to me so why create a system or why do something that muddles

up your relationship? So we just said no loaning. I won’t loan money to

anybody.” (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

The above participant suggested that to avoid this conflict with family, Pacific

entrepreneurs need to separate their business life from their personal and

cultural life:

“Well you say to yourself; this is my wage, my pay. I’m different from my

business, my business is not me and me is not my business. So business is

almost like, that’s my vehicle or that’s my house that I tender but I’m separate

from it. So my business pays me, and so with what I have, what I can live

with, I’m allowed to be a little bit more Pacific Island with it. You know, uncle

comes and well, uncle you know, $20, yeah, here’s $20 for you know, and

mum goes we have a funeral for aunty, oh yeah, you know, it comes from

that, the business is separate.” (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

Perceptions people have of Pacific Islanders and the ways these perceptions

shape our aspirations.

“What are they likely to encounter? Maybe perceptions that they’ll always be,

because of who they are as Pacific Islanders -only be good for certain fields

and maybe pushed in a certain direction believing. You always hear stories …

54

like in America the blacks - you know they got pushed towards sports, and

maybe Pacific Islanders are pushed that way.” (Samoan/ European, Male, 35-

40)

QUESTION SEVEN: What do Pacific Island tertiary students need in order to be successful in the current New Zealand environment?

Experience

The majority of the participants interviewed said that experience is the key to

being successful in business and that before contemplating starting out on

any new venture they should firstly get valuable ground work by working in the

industry.

“Unless you had parents or someone who was an entrepreneur themselves,

unless you’ve had some experience, whether its been working at a part time

job for somebody and sort of managing the till or something, unless you’ve

had some sort of hands on experience in the business world, then my advice

is to go out there and earn a wage like I did, so you know what it feels like to

be on a wage and then when you become an entrepreneur you never want to

go back there again.” (Samoan/European, Male, 35-40)

Another participant was particularly convinced about real life experiences over

education:

“To be successful on your own, it’s not the degrees; it’s the University of Hard

Knocks! That’s where it’s at. I don’t care what any one else says to me… duh,

duh, duh hello, it’s the University of Hard Knocks, cause you get these young

people our PI’s got the flash degree, you put him a situation like yeah like

experiences now darling, you know what you learnt in the class room, best we

just put that to practicality. You’ll find that they struggle out there. Yes they’ve

55

learnt the ability to master their career or whatever it is in their tertiary, but

what they haven’t learnt is to interlink and communicate from where you are to

where they are. That’s where you’ll find a lot of our Pacific Islander’s are going

to need our help.” (Cook Island, Female, 35-40)

Mentors

There was agreement among participants that entrepreneurship did not have

to be a lonely journey. Many of them spoke passionately and expressed

appreciation of having a mentor to see them through business life:

“A lot of our people get excited very easily and think I’ll just get in there and

start a business… The first thing is to have a group guiding you inside the

training program …having mentors is also very helpful especially for men from

successful business.”

“It’s second, third generations of people who have been involved in business.

For a lot of our Pacific people it’s going to be the first generation of business

people in that family, so it’s way too early for them to have a full feel of how to

run a business. Although they get their training in the field, until you put it into

practice, you know, you will never get tested until you do that.” (Samoan,

Male, 40-45)

Developing entrepreneurship in learning institutions

The participants believed that for tertiary students to be successful in the

current business environment they need to begin learning practical

applications during tertiary study and to be able to see the outcomes they will

achieve from their studies.

“Often Pacific students have an idea. Institutions need to encourage the

students to focus on their idea, to focus on the benefits of running and

managing a successful business. Institutions need to focus less on the

56

qualities of being Pacific because that is a side track from the real business of

being a successful entrepreneur. They need to appeal to an alternative way

of being successful in life.” (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

Teaching students to take an idea from scratch to business and then to the

world is a mindset students needs to learn or have:

“They also need to work on the value of nourishing a small idea and turning it

into something successful, I’m talking commercially successful, because often

Pacific students never considered it from a commercially viable perspective

before… we are now in an environment that says hey, you can actually make

money from this then you’re likely to see more Pacific students develop a

business minded approach to whatever they’re doing whether it’s a service or

a product.” (Samoan, Male, 35-40)

Participants agree that Pacific entrepreneurs need to see the outcomes of

what they are doing and that this helps to motivate them to succeed not just

for themselves but for their families and community:

“For Pacific Islanders, it is within, building within them to find, to see things that

they can make a life out of and money to them is life. So, (you have)

something to sell, something, a service to do. (The entrepreneur) is the kind

that walks around and he thinks wow, I can go and mow the lawns for all

these people and he figures out well there’s $20 here and there. If I mow five

homes today I’ll be making $100! So he thinks wow, you know and if I mow

ten homes then there’ll be more. So, he goes out there and gets a little lawn

mower and he comes to start his work. Pacific Islanders think that way. So

what needs to be encouraged really is that these opportunities be

encouraged, or how to go about getting these opportunities and servicing

them and then helping them.” (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

57

“So for example, accounting lectures, instead of teaching a budget lesson,

consider the possibility of incorporating a social obligation, because it meets

the needs of the Pacific…educators in business need to not only encourage

entrepreneurs to find those opportunities and encourage them to go into it, but

they need to really teach and understand how you can tailor western

management systems into the context of our culture.” (Tongan, Male, 40-45)

Commitment, Sacrifice and People

The participants believe that to succeed not just in the business world but life

in general you have got to commit yourself to an idea, be prepared to sacrifice

and to surround yourself with people who share your beliefs.

“Students need commitment, honesty, hard work and credibility…be proud of

who you are and never forget your identity.” (Samoan, Male, 45-50)

“Have a plan, uncompromising drive, don’t compromise your drive, apart from

family of course and your walk with the Lord but also no social life. Be

prepared to have no social life but remember that social life will always be

there. You will have an element of social life but if want to party in the

weekend, you can forget about that. Sacrifice, be prepared to sacrifice, but

the rewards are great.” (Tongan, Male, 25-30)

Many of the participants believed that ‘people relationships’ - especially having

a team of people who are just as passionate and committed as the business

owner themselves is essential for students to build on:

“We’ve got a good group of people. We believe in each other and we

encourage each other like I’m letting my team study so they can lead …You

can never hold on to them too tight, and I try and give as much as I can while

they’re here and we all get along.” (Tongan, Female, 25-30)

58

Learn western systems but use them in a Pacific way

One of the intriguing aspects to arise out of the interviews was the idea that

Pacific Islanders needed to adopt western management systems in order to

be more efficient but also to try and use these systems in a Pacific way –

emphasising Pacific characteristics and strengths.

Participants insist that you must never lose sight of who you are. The following

participant asserts that you learn the western business systems but to

incorporate this into our way of life:

“When it comes to business, it is imperative for us who are non-western to

adopt it because that’s the way of tomorrow, that’s the way of success, that’s

how you multiply. You can be operating very well within the western system,

but it has to be adjusted to the context of our culture.” (Tongan, Male, 45-50)

“I think it is important that these students study. We’re operating … business

operates in a very western framework. It is a western system. It is a capitalist

system we’re working in so I think it is very, very good. I’m a believer that

business people and students in particular, as they go through learning

business, that they become familiar with how to operate within the western

framework.”

“However it needs to be also encouraged, that there is a dynamic among

Island people for survival. And that survival instinct within them is how can I

make money? When we see business, that is our life source, it’s my life, so

it’s not so much a vocation. It’s my life. There is that dimension among Pacific

Islanders that needs to be encouraged, and brought to the forefront. We learn

to operate within a western framework but sometimes our uniqueness is able

to penetrate through all of that. We’re looking for opportunities. I think we’re

far better finding opportunities, than say managing. We see opportunities,

59

where a non Pacific Islander may not. We see opportunities everywhere. We

will sell grass if we need some money or flowers, we go wow, this is

something we can make some money out of. That’s our mentality, because

it’s survival, it’s our life.” (Tongan, Male, 45-50).

60

7. Conclusions

a) Literature Review

Although each island group was keen to emphasise its distinctiveness, several Pacific themes emerged from the fono.

Affirmation of culture

It is clear that one of the key elements for minority ethnic groups is to have their culture recognised, valued and celebrated by the dominant or host culture. This provides a basis for successful participation in society generally but in education and business specifically. This requires the host culture to learn about the minority culture beyond superficial stereotypes.

Importance of contribution

Following on from a better understanding is the welcoming of participation. This means being informed about the contributions, for example, Pacific Island cultures can make and then fostering participation. For tertiary institutions this could mean inclusions of Pacific perspectives in decision making processes, curriculum design and delivery, administration and even décor.

Customised entrepreneurship curriculum

Given the special issues faced by ethnic entrepreneurs, there is a clear need for customised curriculum to be developed. This includes addressing issues distinctive to the community, cultural interpretation, work experience and exposure to the world of business, learning by doing, culturally turned pedagogy.

61

Culturally tuned teachers

Lustig and Keester’s (2003) work highlights the significance of classroom interactions. Their work underlines the importance for Pacific learners of being comfortable, challenged, affirmed, accepted, motivated and captivated by culturally attuned tutors. They emphasise the importance of the relationship between tutors and students, classroom interactions, out of class advice giving, teaching style and language exchange.

Tug of war

Due recognition must be given to the internal personal struggle many Pacific Island students experience in New Zealand’s educational settings. It is a struggle between two cultures (or more).

Tertiary education has a vital role

Anae et al’s (2001) work strongly emphasises the role that education – especially tertiary education has in providing equality of outcomes to Pacific people in New Zealand.

Connections with the community

Most ethnic entrepreneurs begin business with the strong support of their own community. Most of their initial business is generated by their own people. Pacific Islanders are communally orientated. Pacific Island communities must be involved in educational process including entrepreneurship.

New Zealand needs successful entrepreneurship

We are a nation rich with entrepreneurs but we need to build wealth and economic growth. Ethnic entrepreneurs need special consideration to get

62

established – especially financial support. Mindsets must be changed to encourage entrepreneurship. This means strategic educational initiatives.

Pacific Islanders are entrepreneurial

There are examples of successful Pacific entrepreneurs – though many more are needed in order to build the economic base of Pacific people in New Zealand. There are certain strengths inherent to Pacific cultures which provide a strong foundation for entrepreneurship:

- sense of community

- willingness to work hard to succeed

- motivation to serve family and community

- humility to learn from others

- biculturalism

- enterprise

Entrepreneurship is universal

The qualities of which contribute to successful entrepreneurship are not culture specific. They are universal.

b) Fono

Generosity of spirit

Almost all of the groups referred with pride and enthusiasm to the generosity of spirit they believed existed among Pacific people. This was expressed in readiness to share material possessions, to be generous in hospitality and especially to help people who ask (without scrutinising the validity of the request). Group members called this “love” or “caring” but almost all linked it to the strong Christian heritage in Pacific Island culture.

63

This generous, servant heartedness makes it difficult to say “no!” to people. Thus, several participants said that this created special difficulties for Pacific business people when asked for things by relatives and other Pacific islanders. It was also a reason for many Pacific Island families over-committing themselves financially when their church asked for support or when family occasions such as weddings, funerals and special celebrations called for generous hospitality. Many gave examples of how this could end up in crushing dept or bankruptcy.

Respect makes it very challenging to behave differently from parental or religious expectations. But many are different. Some who have chosen to walk a different path have been labelled “black sheep” or “fia palagi” (imitators of European ways) or “fia polotu” (know it alls). Respect is so strongly ingrained in some Pacific Islanders that it produces fear, submissiveness, and denial of true feelings.

On the other hand, respect strengthens the hands of those in authority. Parents can use their power to be extremely strict. Ministers can publicly humiliate parishioners. This produces an array of responses. Some accept this authority. Some rebel strongly against it. Others tend to “keep their heads down” and say nothing but privately go their own way.

The high value placed on respect makes parental rejection or off handedness particularly difficult to accept. In the class room many Pacific Island students want their tutors to treat them as they would treat their own children – caring, instructing, disciplining, encouraging, noticing personal details. When this is absent, students may feel a lack of connection with the subject they are learning and drop out of the course.

Family

This was spoken of with the same pride and enthusiasm as the spirit of generosity. It was expressed in the groups through special handshakes, kisses, smiles, calling one another “bro” or “sis” and frequent outbursts of humour when shared values were mentioned. Participants spoke often about the family support they received and of the reciprocal support expected of them. There was frequent reference to “doing it for the family” and “…for our people” when talking about working hard and gaining success.

64

When it came to business and family, there seemed to be widespread consensus that mixing the two was problematic – especially when it came to the in-laws. Participants referred to being “married to the family”, meaning that they felt strong obligations to meet family expectations. The word “married” also implied that these expectations were not easily set aside and were permanent – even when the students own marital status changed. Some expressed regret that this dynamic sometimes produced such a complex web of commitments that the only way to escape it was to go overseas. Even then, the “escapee” tended to reproduce the same network among other Pacific Islanders who had made a similar move.

Christian morals

Another strong theme was the adherence to the Christian faith, church going and the influence of Christian morality. Some younger participants expressed their personal struggles with accepting the faith expressions of their parents. Others spoke boldly about the reality of their personal experiences of God or of Jesus Christ. Those who struggled called the morals “old fashioned”. Those who adhered personally spoke enthusiastically about Christianity being a positive point of difference.

The morals and qualities most frequently used as examples were honesty, kindness towards others, faith in God’s provision, marital fidelity, giving to others, humility and service to family and community. In practical terms, prayer before meetings and eating were common.

One of the key distinctives identified was the concept of modesty. This meant not pushing yourself forward too much – keeping a low profile and not appearing proud. This is very significant as it relates to business entrepreneurship because the entrepreneur needs plenty of courage and self confidence to start something new.

Lack of business world experience

A common theme in the discussions was that participants felt that Pacific Islanders often lack knowledge about business transactions and an

65

appreciation of business realities. Perhaps the current student cohort are a sign of things to come because they frequently made statements indicating that they would do this or that in business but their brothers would probably not understand.

The discussion around the case studies revealed the following areas of business naivety among Pacific Islanders. Firstly, they identified a lack of knowledge about basic business processes – filling in tax forms, arranging finances, accounting practices, cashflow and business jargon. Secondly, they highlighted a subsistence or short term mentality which came from an island economy with low or no cost for land, resources and labour, an abundance of food and no real need to plan for the future. Thirdly, many students spoke of the “island way” of handling money. By this they mean the tendency to spend large amounts on giving – to the church, for family celebrations, for short term needs such as trips to the islands. Frequently, this created severe, immediate need for cash. With loan sharks snapping their jaws many Pacific Island people were in dept with high loan repayment pressures resulting from this approach to handling money.

Educational needs

Although not addressed directly by the case studies the issue of educational needs was frequently raised as a link to the purposes of the fono and the overall research project. Two key areas emerged.

The first was the need for a “safe learning environment”. Students emphasised the need for tutors to adopt a positive attitude to having Pacific Island students in their classes rather than a negative one. A positive attitude is signalled by simple things such as a smile, learning the correct pronunciation of names early in the course, by the use of occasional positive illustrations from within specific Pacific Island cultures and by making an effort to help Pacific students in an island friendly way.

The second need was for an appreciation of Pacific Island students’ learning needs. These ranged from realising that English is a second language for many Pacific Island students to understanding how Pacific Island students

66

regard their teachers. Students frequently expressed their frustration at assumptions made by tutors. For example, tutors often expect Pacific students to pick up ideas and instructions at the same speed as English first language students.

Participants emphasised that Pacific students commonly regard the teacher with a high level of respect. This means they expect the teacher to guide them, something like a Pacific Island parent would.

A key way of learning for Pacific students is by seeing their teacher doing the task themselves – modelling. Participants expressed difficulties in learning from “academic” teaching styles where the teacher did not seem to have much experiential knowledge. There was a strong call for tutors to “show us how to do it”.

For many of the students there was a huge gap between their family background and the business world they hoped to be employed in. They expressed the need for teachers to use island based illustrations occasionally – or illustrations which connected to the students’ reality. They also asked for opportunities to experience the business world, for example, through work experience or visits in order to find out what the business world was like.

Some expressed the need for motivation and encouragement to aim higher in their achievements. They expressed how their family’s expectations sometimes acted as limiters to higher achievement.

Implicit in these comments was the need for Pacific Island students to have teachers or mentors who could act as social interpreters. These would be people who could coach, explain, listen to and encourage students on their learning journey.

c) Interview with Pacific Entrepreneurs

The views of Pacific entrepreneurs interviewed concluded that in order for students to be successful in their quest for entrepreneurship:

1. It is important for students to acquire as much experience in both their industry and business environment before embarking into business.

67

These experiences both formal and informal will go a long way in preparing budding Pacific entrepreneurs for business realities.

Consequently, the ‘practical’ or ‘hands on’ style of learning common to Pacific learners further emphasises the importance of practical experiences.

2. It is important for Pacific students to hold on to and celebrate their ‘empathetic’ and ‘caring’ qualities. When transferred to the business setting these qualities will be strengths to draw from in areas such as customer services, negotiation, mediation, public relations and dealing with businesses or markets from other cultures.

3. It is important for students to know that God can exist as a partner, and Christian ways of doing things can feature as systems in business. This was expressed by many of those interviewed.

There is an absence or silence of God and Spirit in a western educational setting when teaching the curriculum. This is because New Zealand’s policies are based on secular views. However, for Pacific students with a strong sense of connection to God and who ‘rely’ on lecturers for knowledge, it could be implied that God and business do not go hand in hand.

4. It is important for students not to restrict their business ideas to just Pacific markets, because as many expressed – ‘we can do anything’. Certainly, addressing the needs of the Pacific market is a motivating factor for entering business by Pacific entrepreneurs. However, those interviewed also expressed the importance of searching for new markets to ensure longevity of business, but more importantly to show the world what Pacific people can do. Going forward and succeeding in areas not traditionally Pacific will also build the confidence of future Pacific entrepreneurs and to break down our own perceptions of what we think we are capable of doing.

5. It is important for students to discover coping strategies to deal with family and cultural expectations of money. Pacific people have the mindset that

68

people in business are ‘rich’ or financially stable and can dish out money for fa’alavelave’s every time they ask. The views of those interviewed expressed said it is possible to help out families but they need to know where to draw the line and also feel okay about saying no.

6. It is important for students to utilise their family networks and support to get through the start up phases of business. Pacific businesses struggle with getting finances needed to employ skilled human resources to do the job. Nearly all those interviewed spoke proudly of the important contributions made by family members during tough times and often without any remuneration. Pacific entrepreneurs must begin to utilise the collective and caring nature of Pacific peoples and use it as an advantage in the business world.

7. It is important for students to have a good grounding in business basics because without this knowledge the decisions made can delay or hinder the success of breaking into business and the long-term survival of the business can be put in jeopardy.

8. Finally, it is important for students to keep motivated and feeling confident about what they are doing. Entrepreneurship is about working towards achieving something – the ‘vision’. The journey to date for those interviewed has been both a constant labour of love requiring hard work and time, commitment and sacrifice. Therefore, students need to seek mentors who can offer support and guide them through important decisions or counsel them in times of doubt. If these support systems are not accessible via family, it is important for students to connect with business networks both Pacific and non-Pacific.

69

8. RecommendationsThe following recommendations are based on the findings and conclusions of

this report. They are the views of the research team and represent possible

ways forward for discussion and development of tertiary policies and initiatives

in respect to Pacific entrepreneurial needs.

1. Affirming Pacific Cultures

Tertiary Institutions need to affirm Pacific Island cultures more than they

already are. This would involve:

a) Increased teacher awareness of Pacific Island learning needs.

b) Changed attitudes of teachers towards Pacific students.

c) Adjustments to classroom pedagogy.

See Appendix D for practical tips.

2. Building up Pacific students

Tertiary institutions need to build up Pacific students by involving

community resources:

a) Same race mentors (or culturally tuned mentors)

b) Pacific Island speakers in classrooms occasionally

c) Pacific Island representation at advisory committees

d) Connecting students with Pacific businesses for work experience or

assignments set in the work place.

e) Partnering with Pacific Business Trust to advise and guide students

wishing to develop their ideas into real life businesses.

70

3. Customised Curriculum

Tertiary institutions need to provide elements of a customised curriculum

for Pacific Island students:

a) Include ‘cultural interpretations’ in class addressing issues such as

discrimination in the work force, how religious faith connects with

the business world, how to address family demands on business.

b) Use illustrations in class from Pacific society.

c) Teach towards employing rather than being employed.

d) Inspire Pacific students to identify and plan how to use their points

of cultural difference.

e) Organise workshops to address Pacific Island issues

f) Deliver curriculum with a practical focus.

g) Develop an ethnic entrepreneur’s course.

h) Expose all students to Pacific business perspectives by including

them in the Pacific Island aspect of customised curriculum.

71

9. BibliographyAgrawal, R. and Chavan, M. Entrepreneurship Development amongst the Ethnic

Community in Australia, (1997). Retrieved 1 April 2004 from www.usabe.org/knowledge/proceedings/19970/P141Agrawal.pdf

Anae, M. Dr., & Anderson. H. Dr., J., Benseman., Coxon, E. Dr., (2002) Pacific Peoples and Tertiary education: Issues of Participation. The Ministry of Education.

Boyette, J. H, & Boyette, J. T (2001). The Guru Guide to Entrepreneruship: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from the World’s Top Entrepreneurs. USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Cameron, A., & Massey, C., (1999). Small and Medium sized Enterprises: A New Zealand Perspective. Auckland: Addison Wesley Longman New Zealand Ltd.

Chavan, M., (2003). Ethnic Entrepreneur. The ABC Business Report, 13 September 2003. Retrieved January 1 April 2004 from http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.

Eagles, J. (2002, February 16) Newcomer Lion gets into top three list. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on 12 November 2003 from http://80-rangi.knowledge-basket.co.nz.ezproxy.manukau.ac.nz/dnews/cmz/cmz.pl?id

Kiyosaki, R., & Lechter, S.L, (1999). Rich Dad Poor Dad. Australia: TechPress Inc.

Lustig, M.W., & Koester, J. (2003). Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication across cultures (4th ed.) Pearson Education.

Espy Magazine, The Entrepreneur’s Bible. 7 Keys to Branson’s VIRGIN Success.

Spacifik Magazine.

NZ Institute of Economic Research (INC.). (2003). Pacific Peoples in New Zealand: Preliminary review of development issues: Scoping report to the Ministry of Economic Development.

O’Sullivan, F. & Taylor, K. (2001, December). Matching hype with action. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from http://80-rangi.knowledge-basket.co.nz.ezproxy.manukau.ac.nz/dnews/cmz/cmz.pl?id

Pasikale, A., George, T., Fiso, T. (1996). Seen but not heard: Voices of Pacific Islands Learners. A Qualitative study of Pacific Island Learners in second-chance education; and the cultural differences impacting on their aspirations, opportunities and participation. Pacific Islands Education Unit.

Pennington, P. The Rough and Smooth of Plastering Pasifika Evening Post. Retrieved on 12 November 2003 from http://80-rangi.knowledge-basket.co.nz.ezproxy.manukau.ac.nz/dnews/cmz/cmz.pl?id

72

Pierc Education. (1995). Developing Cross-cultural Awareness in Working with Pacific Island People. A training course for the Education Review Office.

Ramangalahy, C., Brenner, G.A., Menzies, T.V., Filion, L.J. (2002). Chinese, Italian and Sikh Ethnic Entrepreneurship in Canada: Implications for the Research Agenda, Education Programs and Public Policy.

Read, E. (2001, August 1). Chocks away: the barriers that keep Kiwis from takeoff. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on 12 November 2003 from http://80-rangi.knwoledge-basket.co.nz.ezproxy.manukau.ac.nz/dnews/cmz/cmz.pl?id

Sharma, P. (1999). The Harvard Entrepreneurs Club: A guide to starting your own business. USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Tauriki, T., & Toelei’u, T. (2003). Entrepreneur Education: Meeting Pacific Needs. Auckland University of Technology on www. Pacificbusinesstrust.co.nz.

Taylor, K. (2001, December 20). $3.4m scheme to make NZ love its businesses. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on 12 November 2003 from http://80-rangi.knowledge-basket.co.nz.ezproxy.manukau.ac.nz/dnews/cmz/cmz.pl?id

Tiatia, J. (1998). Caught Between Cultures – a New Zealand born Pacific Island perspective. Auckland: Christian Research Association.

Tuioti, L. (1999). Educating Pasefika Positively. Report on Conference for Pacific Islands Educators (13 – 15 April). Ministry of Education.

Wynyard, R. (2003, 2 October). Few Role Models for Pacific Youth in emerging industries. Manukau Courier, pg 7.

73

10. AppendicesAppendix A …………………………Case Studies

Appendix B …………………………Fono Poster

Appendix C …………………………Interview Questions

Appendix D …………………………Practical Tips for Lecturers teaching Pacific Island students

74

Appendix A

Case Studies

___________________________________________________________________

75

Case Studies (For use on focus groups / fono)

1. You have just announced your engagement to your high school sweetheart at your family get-together (give two examples of nationality depending on interviewee’s ethnicity) and 2 weeks from your announcement you both lay out your wedding plans where you have decided to marry at your church (give example Catholic vs. Methodist). On the contrary, his/her parents want the opposite. What do you do?

2. Word gets out that there is a $5,000 scholarship up for grabs and you quickly apply for the scholarship in hopes of landing some cash for your extra classes and expensive textbooks. You’re thrilled to hear that you’ve won the scholarship and go home to tell your parents. However, they think you’re selfish to spend it all on your own education when they’ve got loan repayments to make and also planning for your cousin’s wedding next week. You were hoping that the course would not cost the whole $5,000 so you could maybe buy a few things with the leftovers. What do you do?

3. Owning your own business has been your lifelong goal and became a dream come true when your father/mother in law invested in the establishment of your panel beating/restaurant business. It is located in the heart of Auckland where most of your family lives. Recently, you’ve been having problems as most of your in-laws want to use your business for getting their car repairs (or for meals) but are late on their payments or don’t expect to pay at all. Your business is doomed to failure if you don’t sort out your finances soon. What do you do?

4. Your cousins are doctors and lawyers. Your parents want you to be like them. However, it has always been your dream to be a motor mechanic/ hairdresser. You find out about each course and discover that none of the classes clash. You can take your medical/law classes and also your mechanic/hairdresser classes at the same time. You know that the workload will be heavy. What will you do?

5. People call you “fie palangi” because you hardly go to church and hardly speak your mother tongue. They mock you because you do not wear traditional clothes to cultural events. There are even stories going around that you are going out with a palangi girl/boy. Your parents will definitely not approve. Your parents are becoming very embarrassed because of what the church elders and your relatives are saying about their “fie palangi” child. How do you feel about this? What do you do?

6. You turn up for your first class at MIT and the lecturer asks you to introduce yourself and to say what your hopes and dreams are for the future. You are trying to think what to say. There’s the church thing, your

76

family’s plans for you, your own plans and how education fits into all of this. What will you say?

* These ones could be used for a group with older students in it.

7. Your children have grown up now and you have come back for some education. Your tutor has asked you to work in groups. Your group has two other Pacific students in it – one born in New Zealand and one born in the islands. There is also one European and one Chinese student in the group. They want to do topics on Hip Hop and Rapsters. You are not happy in the group. It is stressing you out and giving you headaches. You stayed away from the first two group meetings but you are worried that you will not get any marks from this assignment. What will you tell your lecturer or your group?

8. Your child has just announced their engagement to a childhood sweetheart. S/he explains their wedding plans to you. Your son/daughter wants to marry at your church (give example Catholic vs. Methodist). But, his/her parents want them to marry in their church. What do you do?

9. You want to try and start a business of your own – maybe selling clothes or fabrics. What are your main fears and worries? What strengths do you think you will bring to the business as a Tongan/Samoan/Niuean/Cook Islander/Fijian?

77

Appendix B

Fono Poster

___________________________________________________________________

78

79

Appendix C

Research Questions for Pacific Entrepreneurs

___________________________________________________________________

80

Research Questions for Pacific Entrepreneurs(compiled by Iese Sagala and Marie Blowers)

Research Title: What can tertiary institutions do to encourage students of Pacific Decent to become entrepreneurs?

Objective: To investigate the qualities of successful Pacific entrepreneurs.

Interview Questions:

1. What are the qualities of a successful entrepreneur?

2. From your view, what are the qualities of a successful Pacific entrepreneur?

3. What are the keys to your success?

4. Who have been the major contributors to your success as a Pacific entrepreneur?

5. What areas of business do you believe Pacific Island people excel in?

6. The Business Pasifika monthly newsletter reported that 6% of business people in New Zealand are of Pacific Island descent. What is your response to this statistic?

7. Roger Kerr was quoted in the November 2003 issue of Business Pasifika as saying, New Zealand governments had a history of keeping Pacific people dependent on welfare instead of encouraging wealth creation among them”. What are your views on the statement?

8. What obstacles are Pacific Island tertiary students likely to encounter on their pathway to entrepreneurship?

9. What do Pacific Island tertiary students need in order to be successful in the current New Zealand business environment?

Thank you for your co-operation in this project.

Is there anything that you have shared with us, which you do not wish to be identified as coming from you?

81

N.B. – Questions 6 and 7 were abandoned after the first few interviews because interviewees did not find them easy to follow and the questions were not well answered.

82

Appendix D

Practical Tips for Lecturers teaching Pacific Island students

___________________________________________________________________

83

Practical Tips for Lecturers Teaching Pacific Students

BASICS Although there are similarities among Pacific Island cultures, each island

group has its own identity and pride. ‘Don’t lump us all together.’

Our language is a source of pride and personal esteem. Please learn to

get your tongue around our names E.g. Lupe, Tile, Tagi (Samoan),

Caucau (Fiijan), Tuipulotu (Tongan), Ariki (Cook Island), Monuina (Niue).

Welcome us warmly into your classrooms (with a smile) and make us

feel like we want to stay by your ongoing warmth. For example, when

you say good things about our culture, or when you are relaxed and

friendly. We love interactive learning. It’s important to us. We are ‘warm’

people.

LEVEL TWO Don’t assume we know our own language. Some of us don’t. We’ve

become kiwis. If you ask us to explain our culture in class we may be very

embarrassed.

It really helps us if you can use examples from our world. For example,

Tongan women do accounting when they keep records of tapa cloth and

mats given at weddings. Fijians know a lot about cross cultural

communication – they have grown up speaking English and Fijian. They

have also grown up in a bicultural society.

84

You could use Pacific role models in your examples such as Michael

Jones, Bernice Mene, Tana Umaga, Linda Manuatu, Isaac Tuhega, Tapu

Misa, Setita Millar, Mike Pero, etc.

LEVEL THREE

Did you realise that things like critical thinking, individualism, studying

alone for long periods to time, talking about ‘self’, assertive behaviour are

not part of our culture.

It’s good to teach us these things but you should not assume that we know

about them. They aren’t familiar to us. When you say “Why don’t you ask

me questions in class?” You are saying a lot about your ignorance of my

culture and how I feel as a student in your class.

Do you realise that I frequently have a “tug of war” going on inside of me? I

love my culture – the humour, the natural friendliness, the hospitality, how

we help each other without expecting payment, our natural generosity,

spiritual faith, family connectedness, proud achievements in sports,

community and business but I don’t feel like they are recognised in your

classroom. There it’s all about competition, logical argument, self-

development, examples drawn from European contexts, quotes and

proverbs and sayings from Greeks, Romans and English sources, return

on investment and not talking about God. We don’t expect teachers to

bridge the gap but it helps if you acknowledge that it’s there.

Is there any chance of saying grace before we eat? It feels irreverent to

just eat without this.

Don’t go too fast when you teach especially when you are talking about

topics that we have no concept of in our world. Many of us are using

85

English as a second language (or our parents are) so it takes us longer to

catch on some times – especially when you are setting assignments.

When we ask you for explanations, could you please show us what you

mean rather than just tell us or refer us to a text book.

Just because we go quieter and nod doesn’t mean we really understand.

We might be too shy to say we really didn’t get it – especially on the

second explanation. This is a main reason why we don’t hand in

assignments or stop coming to class. It’s too shameful and frustrating to

carry on when you’re not learning anything.

Although we like a relaxed environment to learn in there’s something deep

within us that wants the teachers to teach, to give knowledge and not

expect us to find it for ourselves.

86