The African American Billionaires - Essay Example

Introduction: The general perception against minorities in America is that they mostly constitute the unfortunate and marginal segment of the society with little potential. While that is the case, the minorities also constitute a stronger and a wealthier segment of the society which makes their presence critical to the economic and the political web of the state. In such a scenario, discussing the African Americans is crucial since many African Americans in US can now be counted amongst the wealthiest and the most successful business. The issue deems significance given the extent of bias against the community which puts them at odds to achieve extraordinary. However, despite these odds and lower expectations, a few of these African Americans rise to the occasion to demonstrate such impeccable leadership skills and business value given that they make it to the list of billionaires of America. One such example of black billionaires is the Roberts Brothers who have managed to erect a chain of hotels worth billions. Studying their case to demonstrate the leadership styles can give a good sense of the true scenario prevalent in America. Also, going over the issues which these business-men had to face while conducting business can also proved futile to their style of business. Therefore, the paper will aim at exploring and understanding the business techniques and styles undertaken by these African American professional who are performing exceptionally well in their respective domains and earning billions. Body: The African American Billionaires, contrary to popular perception, are engaged in a diverse range of businesses. In other words, African American entrepreneurs can now be found leading almost all kinds of businesses. For instance, Oprah Winfrey is one of the most renowned talk show host, producer, director amongst many other things, alongside playing an active role in politics. Similarly, Kenneth Frazier owns a pharmaceutical company while Ursula Burns is the CEO of Xerox. Similarly, many entrepreneurs like Roberts brothers are making a name in hospitality industry with various other black billionaires indulged in a multitude of businesses. Therefore, black billionaires aren’t dominating in a single field, rather their scope of engagement in context to business is expanding by the day. This implies that the number of African Americans seeking a higher educational status is increasing and thus, the business practices would now have to be shaped in such a way that African Americans also get a fair share of inclusion. In other words, cultural variables would have be more flexible when it comes to business practices since cultural capital variables are shifting creating a need for a shift in the holistic business environment. Therefore, African Americans are adding a new color and vigor to business practices. While in earlier times, business and leadership was being perceived as a purely scientific methods with set procedures to be followed, nowadays, with the black billionaires stepping in, there is room for innovation and flexibility to build a cultural capital with diverse policies and practices to suit the leadership style of the entrepreneurs. (Bracks 2014) In this context, it is critical to discuss the business style and leadership preferences of the African American entrepreneurs, especially those making a mark in the business world. It has been observed that these business leaders are easy going in attitude yet follow an aggressive business model. For instance, the case study of Roberts Brothers reveals that though their personalities are generally easy going and appealing, yet while pursuing business they are aggressive and profit oriented . Their success story reveals that they started off their business by utilizing the minority contracting consultants to pursue business objectives and invested towards building a good name for their company. Building a good name and a worthy reputation is quite a critical task of black billionaires as opposed to Hispanics (comparatively) since there is still a bias against the companies owned by black, and thus they have to struggle harder to prove their worth to the market. For the same reasons, the Roberts brothers also struggled quite hard in beginning to build their name in the market. However, once the business settled in, they multiplied their profits by using their political connections and personal contacts to expand their business game. Therefore, it is usually observed in their case, and also in other African American entrepreneurs that a blend of aggressive as well as innovative leadership style is observed where there is space for cultural capital and diverse decision making imperatives, yet seriousness and aggression can also be observed while conducting business in a competitive scenario. In other words, the leadership style portrayed by the black billionaires is accommodating and innovative. (Kijakazi 2014) However, it is also a set fact that black billionaires are also face with various issues and challenges in their journey to attain success. Black businesses, though usually appreciated and celebrated, are also subject to a strict scrutiny and harder policy imperatives. In other words, African American are more likely to be sued in courts for various issues and press also takes up their stories with negative impacts more seriously to give them a bad name. It can, therefore, be concluded that there is an inherent bias against African American businessmen which creates issues for them on various levels. For instance, though almost all businessmen make use of personal connections and other ways to attain business objectives, the Roberts Brothers are often found facing trials and witnessing court cases of diverse natures. In addition, the Bank of America has also recently sued the Roberts Brothers which has been a bone of contention for their success parameters (Morris 2014). It has also been reported that due to various setbacks and bad name to their company, there are currently fiscal burdens on the company of such intense nature that the company is unable to pay their due salaries to the employees due to which the chain of hotels owned by Roberts Brothers is under quite a stress. Therefore, in case of African American businesses, there have often been instances of assets being frozen of companies being sued. Yet, despite the issues, the effectiveness of the leadership of black entrepreneurs can`t be questioned. They have proved their worth and effectiveness at various instances. For instance, Oprah Winfrey is a classic example of someone who has broken the stereotypes and rose to the standards not even expected out of her. Similarly, Forbes features around a dozen of black billionaires on a bare minimum owing to their increasing numbers. Also, further research in the area indicates that these African American business owners have proved to be more effective over time i.e. recent data indicates that the effectiveness measures have improved over time. It can also be concluded that after trials and errors, these business owners have now learned to adapt to ever-changing business scenarios and compete with their white counterparts. America also has various business institutes solely devoted to training and featuring black businesses with an aim to understand their business values and understand the ethical culture they follow. It is now a known truth that in order to blend into the black business entrepreneurial culture, understanding the ethical values of racial freedom and equality is a must. Therefore, such business owners and CEO tend to instill confidence and a sense of freedom in their disciples which can be observed by the way they conduct business. The example of Roberts brothers can again be quoted here, since despite the most unfortunate scenarios they have faced, they give away positive vibes and demonstrated an enhanced sense of freedom while communicating and leading. Thus, a sense of empowerment can be sensed naturally in the African American business owners, a quality which must be inherited by the bunch of future generations of business owners to further expand the list of such black billionaires. Conclusion: Therefore, conclusively, as opposed to the popular perception the African Americans now constitute a chunk of the wealthiest and the most influential professionals who bring in business worth billions to the economic indicators. This can be pertained to the innovative yet aggressive leadership styles demonstrated by these business owners. That is, on the outlook, these professionals seem outgoing and encouraging. Yet, a closer look indicates that they are quite serious as far as business is concerned. Also, they tend to be targeted more aggressively in terms of court cases and even negative media coverage whenever loopholes are found in their matters of business conduct. However, with time, they have learned to adapt to the competitive scenarios and environment to maintain their good name and their wealth. That is after going through series of trials and errors, these business owners have now learned to adapt to ever-changing business scenarios and compete with their white counterparts. America now has specialized business and training institutes solely devoted to training and featuring black businesses with an aim to understand their business values and understand the ethical culture they follow. It is now a known truth that in order to blend into the black business entrepreneurial culture, understanding the ethical values of racial freedom and equality is a must. References: Bracks, L. L. (2014). African American almanac: 400 years of triumph, courage and excellence. Kijakazi, K. (2014). African American Economic Development and Small Business Ownership. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Morris, M. W. (2014). Black stats: African Americans by the numbers in the twenty-first century. Read More