Role_of_Hispanics_in__Our__Natoin_and_Their_Role_in_Business

The Role of Hispanics in “Our” Nation; and Their New Role in Business Webster’s Online Dictionary definition of Hispanic is, relating to, or being a person of Latin American descent living in the United States; especially: one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin” (Merriam-Webster, 2010). Over the past years, due to some unprecedented stereotype “illegal immigrant” has become a common synonym to the word Hispanic. (Reiopedre, 2009). Due to these false stereotypes, the common American does not understand some of the positive aspects that Hispanic’s are making in our country, especially there advancements to the business world. Stereotype The common stereotypes of Hispanic people included many of the following descriptions, construction workers, custodial workers, drug dealers, and thief. According to the article by Carlos Hernandez of the Washington post,” 44.5 percent think Hispanics are people who only get jobs as construction workers and custodians. One third perceives Hispanics to be drug dealers who live in cramped apartments with ten other people, and 21 percent believe Hispanics are immigrants who do not know any English and crossed the border” (Hernandez, 2007). Although there are many negative connotations when it comes to Hispanics, there are people that do believe that they are hard working, and view the common stereotype as a false definition. Another common stereotype that has developed over that last few years was that all Hispanics are here to take our jobs. Although some may take jobs for lower pay, stereotyping them as a whole is just not fair. In a study done in 2002 there were 1.6 million Hispanic owned businesses in the United States of America, generating over 200 billion dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). This alone shows that this stereotype is truly false. Hispanics in Business Looking at the current demographic changes to certain regions it look like there will be many changes to businesses strategies in the near future. One major demographic change is that of race, and the influence of Hispanic culture in the southern regions of the United States. According to recent studies big box retail stores like Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, and Target are doing the best job at targeting the Hispanic customers (Progressive Grocer, 2006). In this study its shows that like most people they like store that offer wide varieties, distance convenience, and low prices, but also like the face that many of these store offer employees who speak Spanish, signs in Spanish, and items that are relative to the Hispanic culture. The best company at supplying this is Wal-Mart. Just as recent as last year in 2009, Wall mart opened its “Super Mercado De Wal-Mart” (Fox News, 2009). This is two Hispanic focused supermarkets that opened in Phoenix, Arizona and Huston Texas over the past year. These super markets will be based off the Hispanic culture, selling products that relate more to Hispanics versus the American consumer. Along with selling products, Wal-Mart will incorporate all Spanish signs, and most if not all employees will speak and understand Spanish. This shows that Wal-Mart understands Hispanic Americans are vastly growing in numbers and will continue to grow in the near feature. Hispanics In New Hampshire As of 2007, New Hampshire’s Hispanic population was at 33 thousand, which equals two percent of our total population (Pew Hispanic Center, 2007). With that said, New Hampshire has one of the lowest totals, and percent totals in the whole United States. For what reason this maybe it totally uncertain but there are two major reasons. First, is the geographical location of New Hampshire. Being in the northeastern region, it would take a reason for someone to move this far north. For this exact reason is why Texas, California, and Florida are three states of higher Hispanic population. The second is that if they do come to the North east region they would more likely move to New York City, or Boston just because of the amount of jobs. Looking at New Hampshire, most Hispanics do live in the southern part of the state and the totals will likely climb in the future given the estimated growth of Hispanics to double in the United States by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). Conclusion Overall it looks like the future of the United States of America included a vastly increasing Hispanic population. This means that businesses will continue to find ways to become more attractive to this culture, and more and more Hispanics will be running their own businesses. History has shown that it is hard for people to change stereotypes, but hopefully America can understand it is only a small population of Hispanics that fit, and make up the common misconception. It looks like Hispanics are here to stay, and will not necessarily take your job, but may make you a job. Works Cited Fox News. (2009, March 14). Fox News. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Wal-Mart to Open 2 Hispanic-Focused Supermarkets: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509208,00.html Hernandez, C. (2007, March 9). The Wire, McKinley. Retrieved March 7, 2010, from The Washington Post: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hs/mckinley/2007/03/old_and _new_stereotypes_of_his.html Merriam-Webster. (2010). Retrieved March 7, 2010, from Merriam-Webster Online: http://Merriam-Webster.com Pew Hispanic Center. (2007). Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved Marcch 11, 2010, from Demographic Profile of Hispanics in New Hampshire: http://pewhispanic.org/states / Progressive Grocer. (2006, November 16). All Business. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Hispanic Americans Say Wal-Mart Best Caters to Their Needs: Study: http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/food-stores/4262714-1.html Reiopedre, J. A. (2009, June 9). Celebrate the growing role of Hispanics in America. Retrieved March 7, 2010, from Hispanitrending: http://juantornoe.blogs.com/hispanictrending/2009/06/celebrate-the-growing-role-of-hispanics-in-america.html U.S. Census Bureau. (2007). Info Please. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Hispanic Americans By the Numbers: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hhmcensus1.html