Immigration, Innovation and Job Creation

I found an interesting article in the May 14th issue of the Wall St. Jl. I am including a few excerpts from that article over here. In addition, have added a few elements to reflect my own opinion.

For decades, the US has been a magnet for immigrants. During the 20th century, millions of talented foreigners, from Alfred Hitchcock to Sergey Brin, flocked to our universities and benefited from our financial capital and open culture. In the process, thousands of them started businesses in the US; in fact several of them created entire industries.

There are signs, however that the allure of America is fading. A study by UC Berkeley, Duke and Harvard has found that, for the first time, a majority of American trained entrepreneurs who have returned to India and China believe they are doing better at "home" than they would be doing in the US.

Innovation in the US is driven in large part by first-generation immigrants. The US Patent Office states that immigrants are responsible for double the patents as non-immigrants. A 1% increase in immigrants with college degrees leads to a 15% increase in patent production. In recent years, immigrant inventors have contributed to more than a quarter of all US global patent applications. Since 1995, 52% of all Silicon Valley firms have been co-founded by immigrants.

Why is immigration so essential for innovation? Immigrants bring a much needed set of skills and interests. Last year, foreign nationals received more than 60% of all US engineering doctorates. (American students, by contrast, dominate doctorate programs in the humanities and social sciences). According to the US Department of Labor, only 5% of US workers are employed in fields related to science and engineering, but they are responsible for over 50% of sustained economic expansion.

Immigrants add to the diversity of the US. With diversity comes a multiplicity of cultures, outlooks, different ways of looking at things, different ways of solving problems. With diversity comes innovation. Many of the most innovative places in the world, such as Silicon Valley and New York City, are also the most diverse.

One lesson from all of this is: If you want to build a culture of innovation in your organization, strive hard to promote diversity and inclusion. Try to tap into the value of such multiculturalism. Innovation will be a clear outcome.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The Deepwater Horizon accident and subsequent oil spill are tragic indeed. However, the accident was just that, AN ACCIDENT. It is amusing and annoying to read all the articles in the media about how BP messed things up or how BP did not do something right. So-called oil spill "pundits" most of whom have never even seen a drilling rig in their lives, leave alone an off-shore platform at such extreme depths are plunging into the discussion offering their "expert" opinion on what BP should have done or what it should do. Bureaucrats are jumping into the fray telling BP how to run the company. People who have never run a business in their lives or managed a joint-venture or partnership before seem to have become experts overnight.

I worked for the BP family of companies for nearly two decades. I left the company because I did not like several things that went on there. However, on the issue of safety, I have not seen another company take things more seriously than BP. During my time there, the company always put Safety and Environmental Responsibilities above profits or cash flow. Projects would be put on hold or manufacturing plants would be shut down immediately if the team had the slightest doubt about safety. In fact, several of BP's suppliers, customers and contractors have been coming to BP to learn how BP did such a thorough job on issues concerning Health, Safety and Environment.

So, to all of you "arm chair" pundits out there criticizing BP for what happened, let me give you some food for thought. Around the world, hundreds of off-shore oil wells are being drilled. Several of them are deep-water wells. What happened with the Deepwater Horizon should not have happened. Every accident is preventable; but it is still an accident. Shouldn't we take comfort in the fact that the party responsible for the oil spill and hence the clean-up effort is a company with the resources of BP. What would we have done if the responsibility fell on the shoulder of a company that was a fraction of the size of BP? Would we still want to put our feet to their neck (or what ever it is that Ken Salazar said)? For those playing the card of US .vs. UK, remember that BP might be a UK company but it employs a lot of people in the US.

It is always easy to sit in an arm-chair (or Starbucks or wherever it is the so- called "experts" sit in or whatever they sit on) and pass judgement on something one has no experience in whatsoever.

Gobbledigook

From The Times (UK), Dec 13, 2005

Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, has won the Plain English Campaign's Foot in Mouth award for the second time. During a debate in the Welch Assembly on policing he said: "The only thing which isn't up for grabs is no change and I think it's fair to say it's all to play for, except for no change."

Business Culture

A corporate culture is the sum of the unwritten norms, beliefs and values that define appropriate behavior. Culture change is one of the most complex tasks facing leaders. However, exceptional leaders spend a large amount of their time and effort in creating the right culture in their organization.

Who are the leaders that come to mind when one thinks of successful culture change in organizations? What are their accomplishments? How have they transformed their businesses? Can we clearly show the correlation between Business Culture and Business Profitability (short-term and long-term)?