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James C. Robinson Jr.
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- St. Petersburg, Florida
- United States
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James C. Robinson Jr.
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You may ask Why a man would join this group? Well it is smart business to sell your product to the fastest growing business owners in America, Women. That's why H-Capital Management is driven to assist women entrepreneurs to be even more valued fo...
A group dedicated to female entrepreneurs and female business owners.
Hello David - this sounds interesting. Please tell me more. Yvonne
Hello Carlton
I am seeking to bring as many businesses together using our online business personality profiling tool. My guess is that many of your colleagues would find it interesting to have a go, particularly as it draws all businesses and bus...
Comment Wall (3 comments)
- At 10:52am on August 30, 2009,
Rick Young said…
- James,
Welcome to Black Enterprise. I look forward to networking with you. Please add me to your LIST. Expose your business with a V-Card Web. Take a look:
http://www.myv-card.com
- At 7:21am on July 15, 2009,
James C. Robinson Jr. said…
Author: Dr. Carlton Robinson
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-16573-Jacksonville-Business-Commentary-Examiner~y2009m7d14-2009-Diversity-Inc-Top-50-flops-on-First-Coast
During a business forum, a local entrepreneur stopped me the other day and stated she was tired of the shenanigans, she quickly held up a magazine of Diversity Inc's Top 50 Companies . She identified four companies on their list where she attempted to engage them for a potential business relationship and was given the run-around. I am not sure if this position says more about the state of diversity, the rigor of such an award, the aim of the recipients, or a combination thereof.
In recent years there has been a trend in the workplace to move away from "diversity". Yes, read that sentence again. There has been a strong surge to devalue "diversity" in the workplace and advocates of this movement are starting to win. What is it that keeps "diversity" going? The major catalyst is the strength of diversity-related marketing and the hyperbole surrounding perceived "Top Companies". The strength of diversity-related marketing can be powerful but beneath this veil of advertising is an effective business approach called Diversity Arbitrage. This is important on the First Coast because we have a very diverse community and many are small business owners who depend on relationships with major corporations to sustain both their community and their individual businesses. However, many of the financial services companies who are listed on the 2009 Diversity Inc Top 50 flop when it comes to supporting local area businesses in Northeast Florida.
Far-fetched or irrelevant?
If you believe this is far-fetched do the following, keep in mind there are over 100,000 small businesses on the First Coast who need more business:
a. Visit a local branch of your banker, investment firm, insurance broker, mortgage banker, and/or accountant/bookkeeper.
b. Ask them which local businesses they use to support their business (this includes ordering supplies).
c. Pose as a small business that would like to partner with them and ask the process for becoming a vendor with them.
How did the Top 50 flop on the First Coast?
The First Coast African American Chamber of Commerce completed a case study on the financial services industry that produced a "deficit balance of payments" between many of the 2009 Diversity Inc Top 50 and the communities they serve. When shared with local agencies and business owners the reply was "I am not surprised the whole diversity thing is a joke". This study proves that a mandate in supplier diversity RFPs, the presence of a corporate equality index, and selective philanthropy do not warrant recognition as a top company for diversity. And yet, many of these companies will return to the communities that they serve and advertise their presence on such lists: diversity arbitrage. You see, diversity arbitrage allows management/organizations to gain social capital by exploiting some of the social differences of their workforce (i.e., emerging markets, multicultural markets, etc…). Once that social capital is gained, it can be used to gain an additional customer like you and me.
How does Diversity Arbitrage work?
There are several efficient ways that Diversity Arbitrage can be employed, in its simplest form you give a little and expect a lot. Here are a few examples:
1. Submit to win a Diversity award. Organizations sample a very small percentage of their workforce. The sample population is usually less than 3% of all employees and largely concentrated at a home office location. We would all agree that home office employees endure a better work life than those out in the field. If you win, you can advertise that you are known for diversity (at this point it does not matter if you are known for being good just that you are known).
2. Increase diversity-related marketing. This gives the appearance that diversity is important in your organization. There is no validation to the statement that it is important but seeing is believing for most. Brochures, announcement, and websites can then be leveraged to recruit some of the top talent. This method is often a cheaper way to promote diversity than employing policies/procedures that warrant more investment. It is very difficult to measure a return on diversity-related marketing beyond market penetration and minority job applicants. Many of these organizations spend more on marketing than they do on supplier diversity.
3. Contract periods. One of the core issues with supplier diversity is the practice of longer contracts that can not be renegotiated (5-10 years). Once a vendor has one of these contracts it stymies the supplier diversity process. Organizations are increasing their efforts to promote supplier diversity but the procurement office is under scrutiny because the contracts are locked in. This leaves new suppliers with smaller contracts and fewer opportunities. The feasibility of performing on these contracts for established businesses is often risky.
4. Renewals. Many of these companies renew with the same company in order to decrease and/or maintain the cost of procurement. While they may advertise a certification process the opportunities are often limited because they are comfortable with a particular vendor already.
Result. Following these steps allows an organization to be recognized as a diversity leader without actually investing in the process. And we wonder why we can not measure diversity management and its changelings?
How does it happen?
We hear a lot of lip service about supplier diversity nationally and increased spend percentages but locally we have few examples and/or success stories. This issue is not First Coast specific, instead it is a nationwide crisis. Many organizations actually spend more money advertising the presence of the number of minorities in the workforce (normally less than 20% of their workforce population) than the monies spent promoting supplier relationships that lead to sustainable business and community development. Further, there are often complicated and/or confusing certification processes that prohibit some local entrepreneurs from partaking in supplier diversity.
We have to ask ourselves what is the rationale for supplier diversity anyway?
Compliance: Program in place solely based on a reactionary measure.
Contract Management: Meeting contractual obligations that may state a certain percentage of supplier diversity must be in force.
Entrepreneurial: Seeking innovative ways to partner with local businesses to produce a win/win for both the organization and the community it serves.
Most of the programs employed, heavily emphasize compliance and contract management because the entrepreneurial approach is labor intensive and does not appear cost effective in the short-run.
What does it truly mean for my community?
One perspective is that Diversity Management in the financial services industry on the First Coast, in particular Supplier Diversity, is a marketing scheme that does not reward our local community at the level it should. Many of these organizations are receiving tax benefits for employees and offices that reside in certain parts of metropolitan areas. The harsh reality is that many refuse to match those benefits by awarding at least the same amount to vendors in the community regardless of race. At a time when we are looking for ways to jump start local economies, it appears there are more immediate opportunities right in front of us. Namely, the places where we spend our current and precious dollars.
Are they all flopping?
Not all companies are flopping when it comes to supplier diversity. I have worked with some companies who are pushing forward with community value-added initiatives. My focus in this commentary is not to identify any specific company at this time but to raise awareness in the community regarding perceived Diversity Top Companies. Increased relationships between large organizations and small businesses can do wonders in our local communities. However, they will only emerge if you, as a customer, begin to ask about them. If you flop, by not asking about the usage of small businesses in your community, then you allow bigger businesses to continue to play the game of Diversity Top 50 and capitalize/benefit from its newfound recognition
- At 4:01pm on December 4, 2008,
Darryl Barnes said…
- hey james check out and join www.friendsandbuddies.net and let's support these guys as well. thanks!
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