Workplace relations in ethnic minority firms — Asians in the West Midlands clothing industry

This article explores the cocnrete ways in which minority enterprise is managed. Focusing on the Asian and small‐firm‐dominated West Midlands clothing sector, the manner in which employers accommodate the complex pressures of an environment characterised by intense competition, racism and uncertainty are examined. Despite the burgeoning accounts of ethnic enterprise, relatively little is known of how minority entrepreneurs manage at the level of the workplace. There does, however, seem to be an impression that features like ‘community’, ‘family’ and ‘loyalty’ are important in explaining the competitive advantage of such firms. But this cosy and consensual image conflicts with the emerging view that industrial relations in small firms, notably in the clothing industry, are managed in a harsh and autocratic fasion. Using qualitative methods and the resources of an ‘insider’, it is argued that the reality of the shopfloor is much more negotiated, informal and contingent than the prevailing impressions. The term ‘negotiated paternalism’ is offered as a more accurate characterisation of workplace relations in such settings.