The Peningo Diversity and Minority Vendor Blog - Supporting Minority Owned Enterprises
We are launching today, on the 4th of July, the Peningo Diversity and Minority Vendor Blog. We chose today, because we would like for this Blog to make a "Bang" in the Minority Vendor Initiatives. Also we feel that the implementation of our suggestions and opinions is good for all Americans. Peningo Systems supports the Corporate Minority Vendor Programs. This Blog is intended to assist Minority Owned Businesses MBE / MWBE, as well as, discuss the shortcoming of the current implementation of the MBE/MWBE Programs in Corporate America.
The Founders of Peningo Systems have been involved in the Information Technology (IT) field for over 30 years, of which most of that time has been supporting Minority Vendor Initiatives. Through our experiences in the IT Industry, we feel that our guidance and opinions will help foster and support what we believe is the "TRUE INTENT" of the Corporate Minority Vendor and Supplier initiatives across all Technical and Non-Technical disciplines.
This Blog is going to support and guide Minority Owned Enterprises / Minority - Women Owned Enterprises (MBE / MWBE) with the process of dealing directly with the large Corporations. We are also going to share our opinion on the shortcomings of various Minority Supplier initiatives. We need to share with the "End Clients" our concerns. Some of the main issues that we will discuss will include, but are not limited to:
- Dealing Direct to the end Client. Many times the Vendor Programs directs MBE / MWBE based companies to subcontract with a Prime Vendor to the End client. Companies have many reasons why they do this, but we believe that this practice of asking the MBE / MWBE to do business with the "End Client" only as a "SUB" to the "End client's" Prime Vendor is like asking someone to please take a seat in the Back of the Bus.
- There are abuses of MBE Status. Some firms are not truly 51% Minority Owned, while some other are selling in the hundreds of Millions to Billions in annual sales. The "INTENT" of the MBE / MWBE supplier programs are to support and give opportunity to the small Minority Owned Companies. When the "End Clients" are dealing with huge firms that "claim" Minority Status and are selling in the hundreds of million to billions per year, this "VIOLATES" the true "INTENT AND SPRIRIT" of the Minority Vendor and Supplier initiatives. Some of these firms are using "Minority Status" to secure business which was intended for small and disadvantaged companies.
- Some firms who claim MBE status are at least 51% foreign owned corporations. They secure business with the private and public sector using the MBE status. In turn, these firms will either hire employees in the USA who are on an H1-B Visa or they may in turn send the business offshore to their headquarters in the foreign country. The effect of this misclassification results in opportunities being taken away from not only from the true MBE / MWBE, but also from every American. The Minority Supplier Initiatives are designed to support smaller MBE / MWBE in the USA to provide opportunity to the Minority ownership of these companies and their employees. When a company claims Minority Status to secure opportunities in USA to only in turn use predominantly foreign workers or to just send the work Offshore outside of the United States, these firms and the "End Clients" are actually working to destroy the Minority Vendor and Supplier Initiatives. In certain cases, when government contracts are involved, the.......
- misclassification of Minority Status
- the intent and practice of hiring of predominantly H1B Visa foreign workers
- the OffShoring of the work secured with MBE Status to workers in foriegn countries
.......could be considered as a fraudulent use of "Minority Status". This kind of abuse needs to be brought to light and those involved need to be brought to justice.
- We are also going to discuss the OffShoring of Jobs to foreign countries to support operation in the USA and its effect of undermining and destroying the Minority Vendor Programs, as well as, destroying opportunities for various industries in the USA. We believe that the greatest threat to the Economic Development of Minority owed Business is the current trend of Outsourcing Jobs Offshore to support Operations back in the United States.
With this blog, we hope to guide Americans and the Corporations, who wish to create and support "Minority Vendor Programs", to a successful implementation of the TRUE INTENT of Minority Vendor programs. Client Companies that work with local (that is local to the USA) Minority Owned Enterprise / Minority - Women Owned Enterprise (MBE / MWBE) based firms not only fosters strategic and business relationships, but the key is it also stimulates economic development and strengthens the communities where we work. This message can also be applied to all companies in all types of business here in the United States. When companies Outsource jobs Offshore or hire employees in the USA on H-1B Visa, they are weakening our economic development here in the United States and undermining Minority Business Development here in the United States.