Synthesis of rhodium and palladium complexes

Pacific people in New Zealand work primarily as employees in the service industries or operate micro-enterprises as entrepreneurs. Examples of micro-enterprises are furniture and shoe-makers, people who sew clothes, cook and bake, repair bicycles, wash cars, shine shoes and sell specialty items, souvenirs, arts and craft and food (Ingram, 1990). As entrepreneurs, Pacific businesses (employers and self-employed) tend to be established in secondary and service rather than primary industries (Statistics New Zealand, 2002b).

A rise in the uptake of self-employment from 1986 to 1996 noted elsewhere might be attributable to: increasing numbers of people graduating from tertiary institutions and entering professions such as law, accountancy and medicine, as well as trades people entering specialist businesses, real estate and finance agencies specialising in services for the Pacific community, use of redundancy payments to enter business franchises and increased numbers of professional sportspeople and musicians (Macpherson, 2001). Yet only 2% of Pacific peoples are employers and 4% are self employed and the 6% figure is substantially below the national average of 15% self-employed (Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, 2005a).

These positive gains lead to increases in financial, human and social capital and encouragement of others to aspire to white collar jobs. But there are also negative effects to such shifts in social mobility and increases in social capital. Some successful Pacific professionals feel that these changes can cause conflict and weakening of cultural identity. For example Samoan professionals feel ‗invisible‘ to the mainstream as well as not being considered ‗true‘ Samoans ('Anae, 2001).

Anecdotally, business development agencies in the Auckland area have observed that in recent years few Pacific businesses have been initiated, businesses have very high failure rates, have limited access to bank finance or angel funding, are not encouraged to enhance their capability through education and experience poor mainstream attitudes, but that culturally-managed business would work well (Arrow International, 2002b). Further, business advisors from the Pacific Business Trust suggest that the exit (both voluntary and involuntary) rate for small Pacific Island businesses is higher then that for all enterprises in New Zealand.

It may be that barriers to participation in business may be attributed to other factors.

Such as perceptions of Pacific parents that professional roles are more important to their children‘s future than business skills. It may be that Pacific peoples have less interest in material wealth and human capital than social and cultural capital (Ryan, 2005). Confidence, Pacific entrepreneurial skills and mindset are highlighted as critical issues (Manukau Institute of Technology, 2004).

Entrepreneurship research in New Zealand supports these views. For instance, Pacific business are not formed primarily to meet western market demands but more significantly, provide for gift exchange as a significant part of commercial activity (Cowley et al., 2004). Exposure to a business environment as children also has a significant influence on the success of Pacific entrepreneurs (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2005). Perhaps too, the extended family culture of ‗working as a team‘

may encourage working in groups and discourage individualism (Ryan, 2005).

Cultural embeddedness is a key factor in business viability for migrants in New Zealand (Prescott, 2004) and the wider South Pacific (Saffu, 2003). For instance, Tongan migrants operating business in western countries bring traditional Tongan culture (anga fakatonga) and western market philosophies together but resist letting go their own culture in favour of that of the host country. The way they operate their businesses is strongly influenced by the culture of the entrepreneur. This has implications for the sustainability of Pacific business in New Zealand but can add a unique value proposition. Research into such issues must take account of social embeddedness (including the institutional, structural, cognitive, cultural and political) as well as the manner in which the research is undertaken (Prescott, 2007).

Specific elements which provide a strong foundation for embedded in Tongan entrepreneurial success are collectivism, land, sharing and fulfilling responsibilities.

For example, the concept of land (fonua) is a source of identity, a sense of belonging and social status as well as the source of food and shelter. Land then should not be sold. Businesses are seen similarly in Tonga, thus, once established they are unlikely to be sold but will passed through the family line, unless bankrupted. The mentality of sharing (fetokoni’aki) and fulfilling one‘s responsibilities (fai fatongia) preserves social harmony, identity and culture at each level of Tonga‘s hierarchical societal structure (Prescott, 2007) also translate into business principles. As do the importance of social relationships and familial obligation, which means that denial of trust and bad dealings are rare amongst Tonga business persons.

A fono (gathering) of students studying business held in Manukau in 2004 identified that in pan-Pacific terms, the things which help them to achieve a business degree are: a sense of community, willingness to work hard to succeed, motivation to serve family and community, humility to learn from others, biculturalism and enterprise attitudes (Manukau Institute of Technology, 2004). Specific Pacific values that aid entrepreneurship are generosity of spirit, family pride and commitment and Christian morals (obedience, honesty and modesty). But the study also noted that the students lacked knowledge of how to enact business transactions and could not appreciate the realties of being in business. They were also naive regarding how to go about basic business processes (cash-flow, book keeping, tax, etc.). Also a subsistence mentality prevailed amongst the group which assumes that no cost attaches to land, resources or to labour. This view was coupled attitudinally with food abundance and no real need to plan for the future. Another issue raised was the ‗Island Way‘ of handling money, in which large amounts of money are spent on ‗giving‘ - to the church, as well as for family celebrations and trips to the islands for others. Such attitudes create immediate short-term needs for cash that are frequently filled by loans from private finance companies at high interest rates, producing high levels of personal debt (Manukau Institute of Technology, 2004).

Interviews conducted with a small sample of entrepreneurs at the same time as the student fono indicated that Pacific entrepreneurs believed that hands-on learning and experience were crucial to business operation. They also said that entrepreneurs must retain the values of caring and that God is an ever-present partner in day-to-day livelihoods. Although Pacific community needs were noted as a motivating factor for going into business, the entrepreneurs thought it essential not to restrict business ideas to only Pacific markets, to ensure business longevity. Other operational issues described were the challenges of coping with family and cultural expectations of gifts and money in times of family need, the use of their family network as a source of gifts of time and willing hands to support and develop the business in the initial stages, as well as in times of trouble. They also thought that a good grounding in business basics was crucial to ongoing viability. Further that entrepreneurs need to continue to be mentored thoughout their business lifetime, guided by experienced people in Pacific and non-Pacific business networks (Manukau Institute of Technology, 2004).

The research conducted for this thesis does not look at the dynamics of business survival or business operation but goes behind the entrepreneurial desire to go into business, tourism or otherwise. It looks at the internal community and cultural dynamics and tensions that enable or inhibit the process of embarking on business.

Thus it investigates the ‗between space‘ identified by Mahina (2004b) since in the Pacific context of New Zealand and elsewhere in the Pacific, business and culture co-exist yet oppose because business is an ideology and culture is a theory of collectivism (2004b).

Chapter 5 deepens our understanding of the capacity and readiness of Pacific communities resident in Waitakere, to embrace and enact business based in cultural knowledge and resources. Whereas Chapter 6 explores the supply, interface and demand perspectives of potential markets for nascent cultural tourism and enterprise.

Conclusions are posed in Chapter 7.

In summary, cultural embeddedness, mobility and diasporan spheres of influence create kind of diasporan indigeneity where attachment to place, genealogical linkages people and transactions in the marketplace transcend contemporary locality. Aspects of these ideas are discussed by Gegeo (2001) for Malaita in the Solomon Islands and Smith (2006) for Australian Aboriginals. Following this thought, the attitudes and behaviour of Pacific peoples in New Zealand may be more indigenous than mainstream in character. Further, patterns of migration to New Zealand mean that several Pacific nations are settled in the Waitakere area. Thus the vaka moana (ocean going canoes) to be assembled for the research voyage undertaken in this thesis consist of separate and distinct canoes from various villages and small islands, from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu and

possibly Tahiti, Hawaii and the Solomons. Noting, that that in many cases, New Zealand-born Pacific peoples are known to exhibit attitudes and behaviours that differ from their parent and grandparents.