Indigenous Small Enterprise in Northern Australia : A Case Study of the Warai

Starting from the premise that subsistence-based economic systems have experienced the most difficulty in becoming involved in the production of goods and services in a market economy, a case study of the Warai, an indigenous clan in Northern Australia, is presented. The opportunities and constraints to Warai's small pastoral enterprise and cattle-holding facility are examined using a structured questionnaire based on previous scholarship. The information collected allows an assessment of the economic research and process involved in establishing the first Warai economic enterprise. The results reveal serious deficiencies in business research and planning skills, as well as in skills related to financial management control, organizational and human resource management, and marketing. A major reason for the commercial failure of SMEs in this Australian pastoral enterprise is related to enlarging the scale and technological complexity of operations beyond the skill levels of the managers of the operational personnel. The aims and objectives of indigenous people should be fully understood in order to provide them with adequate research and technical assistance so that their SMEs may become financially successful. (CBS)