New Pacific Business Center chief bares plans

HONOLULU, Hawai’i (PIDP/CPIS)—The new director of the Pacific Business Center at the University of Hawai’i-Manoa said cultural sensitivity is important to the success of island businesses in the region.

Dr. Failautusi Avegalio, Jr. said he would like to develop a more “holistic approach” for indigenous businesses in the region to assure their survival.

Dr. Avegalio was named the director of the UH College of Business Administration’s Pacific Business Center in October. The PBC helps Pacific Islanders establish business ventures in the region.

Dr. Avegalio previously taught at the CBA management department from 1989 to 1992 as its first tenure-track professor from Oceania. He later served as president of the American Samoa Community College from 1993 to 1997. He returned to Hawai’i as a research fellow at the East-West Center in 1998 and resumed teaching at CBA in 1999.

In an interview with Pacific Islands Report, Dr. Avegalio outlined his plans for the 16-year-old center and shared his philosophy of creating a successful Pacific Island business.

He said the existing western-based models of business development may not always be the most effective way of assuring survival of an indigenous business.

Business models must take into account some of the “cultural and traditional elements of a village,” he said.

“Right now, business development focuses on working with an individual and working with an idea,” he said. “And the emphasis is on expanding that idea with a focus on the bottom line and maximizing profits.”

Dr. Avegalio said a high number of businesses developed by indigenous people tend to fail within a year because business plans are not culturally sensitive.

As the PBC’s new director, he wants to work with local schools and colleges in the region to assure training is on going.

“Our role is to facilitate support and not compete,” he said. “Our center will be looking at a business plan that looks at not only the economic, marketing and product aspects of a business, but will also provide supplemental information on environmental, social and cultural impacts.”

He said island businesses must also develop a plan that will not harm the Pacific’s fragile ecosystem.

Dr. Avegalio, who was born and raised in American Samoa, credits his island roots for cultivating his sense of cultural and environmental sensitivity to business development.

He received a BS in education and a BA in social science from Emporia State University in Kansas in 1974. He received an MA in 1978 from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. In 1987, he received his doctorate in educational administration from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

He said one of his goals is to target the military population, particularly those in U.S. territories that have a large number of retired military veterans, adding that the Pacific region holds vast business potential in agriculture, aquaculture, ecotourism, and technology.

Because the Pacific Business Center’s budget is funded by the U.S., the center has focused on U.S. territories. But Dr. Avegalio said he is working to expand the center’s reach into island countries, such as Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

He said the center will not only help to create new businesses, but also focus on strengthening existing businesses.

Another goal would be to help develop business incubators in the region. The PBC helped to create a business incubator in the Northern Marianas College (NMC). The facility provides office space and other materials under one roof to effect business start-ups.

He would also like to assist Hawaii’s large Micronesian population to establish businesses here.

Dr. Avegalio, who is a Polynesian ali’i, holds the traditional title of “Papali’i” from Savai’i, Samoa. He is also completing a book on the impact of western-style management practices on Pacific Island cultures.