Bumiputera Graduate Entrepreneurs in Describing Social Status and Their Social Status Attainment Experience

Abstract

Social status is essential to every individual whether they may or may not be aware of it and admit the importance of social status in their lives. Even in the case of Bumiputera graduates entrepreneurs, they acknowledged that social status is beneficial in businesses although some of them were reluctant to admit the importance of social status. That is not surprising because the Bumiputera has a culture of communicating indirectly. Being too honest is considered insensitive or rude. Interviews with seven Bumiputera graduate entrepreneurs in Klang Valley found that they have other ways to describe social status. To them, social status represents their view of themselves, their feeling of satisfaction, and the attention given to them. These elements change according to their achievements or failures in their lives. The model of social status attainment experience by the Bumiputera graduate entrepreneurs is also illustrated in this paper.