In Good Company at Cummins
July 29, 2005
You don’t expect a company located in a town that’s 91 percent white and just 3 percent Asian to be named the top company in the nation for Asian Americans.
But that’s exactly what’s happened to Cummins, a manufacturer of power generation equipment that has been named the No. 1 company for Asians by DiversityInc, a national business magazine.
Located in Columbus, Indiana, just south of Indianapolis, but too far to be a suburb, Cummins (CMI on the New York Stock Exchange) was founded in 1919 and has grown into an international powerhouse with 2004 revenues of $8.4 billion, and net income of $350 million.
It has more than 40,000 employees worldwide with 14,000 in the U.S.
And that’s where Cummins’ record shines above others.
The company has a record of putting its Asian Americans in high places –– far beyond our numbers in the U.S. population.
Cummins reports that 8.75 percent of all its managers are Asian American.
By the local population of 3 percent or the national figure of 4 percent, all based on 2000 Census numbers, Cummins exceeds the standard used to judge whether a company reflects the Asian American community.
Being a leader in diversity efforts is an idea that Cummins Chairman and CEO Tim Solso believes in.
“Our experience around the globe, and in China and India in particular, shows that diversity is good for business,” Solso said. “And it’s the right thing to do.”
How did Cummins do it? Slowly. But surely.
It goes after the top Asian talent that comes to the U.S. to study. And when they’ve graduated and begun their assimilation to America, Cummins is there with an offer the expats can’t refuse.
A job and a career with a global company in Middle America.
That’s what happened to Xi Wei, 32, who went from Da Lian, China to Ohio State where she received her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.
Both she and her husband are on H1 visas, in the same fields. But he was working in New York when she applied at Cummins.
Cummins offered both of them jobs to motivate them to move to Indiana.
“So far it’s really good,” Wei said. “Even though we’re new, we both have opportunities to take more training. That’s the culture of the company.
“We feel we have an equal opportunity,” she added. “Even though we look different and don’t speak the same.”
Some companies, she said will only recruit those with green cards or with citizenship.
“We just feel lucky,” Wei said. “This is not a small company. Big ones are usually very strict. But Cummins is very flexible.”
Jean Hou, a 20-year Cummins employee has seen the process occur again and again, to the point where Cummins has a community of 80 Chinese families with more than 90 employees, all first generation immigrants with advanced degrees, growing their futures at Cummins.
In 2000, the company aggressively launched its Chinese affinity group, an employee social and mentoring program that helps with language and business skills.
Doing a presentation? Speaking before a large group of employees? Using PowerPoint? Hou said that’s just some of the practical value of the affinity group.
And it makes a difference.
Originally from Taiwan, Hou got her Ph.D. in computer science in the U.S. and got her start at Cummins.
She’s now the director of international distribution, as well as the leader of the Chinese employees group.
“It’s a fair company,” said Hou, who added the commitment to diversity at Cummins is real. “I was able to move up and I didn’t even know anyone. I was just a basic engineer.”
Treating employees well, considering their family, their culture and then letting them soar within the company has worked as a model.
The bottom line is the approach works for all involved.
Having Asian American immigrants as leaders helps when business clients from China and India come to Indiana.
“When they want to visit the technical plant, there’s always Chinese tour guides and they feel very comfortable,” Hou said. “We also have a lot of co-workers visit China to do business. And we provide a language and culture overview for the non-Chinese.”
And then there is the transformation of the employees themselves beyond the workplace.
Many of the immigrants have since naturalized and laid down roots.
“Half of my life has been spent here,” Hou said. “The first half in Taiwan, the second half in the U.S. So I’m really mixed.”
Her teenage children, born right there in the small town of Columbus, she unabashedly calls “Hoosiers.” Her husband roots for the Indiana Pacers.
Would they trade Columbus, Indiana for say, San Francisco?
“We’ve been spoiled by small town life,” Hou said. “We live less than 10 minutes away. No traffic.”
Cummins Management
• APA managers: 8.75% of total
• APA Top managers: 6% Asian American
• Mid-level managers: 6%
• Lower-level managers: 9%
APA Women at Cummins
• 11% of all top managers
• 7.5% of all mid-level managers
• 8.5% of all lower-level managers
Chinese Affinity Group Activities
• Chinese Tour Guides and Introduction Brochures in Chinese for Cummins facilities to support Chinese visitors
• Chinese Culture and Basic Business Conversational class (1.5 hours per week, 10 weeks per session)
• Chinese New Year’s Party, about 400 participants in recent two years, (50% Chinese families, 50% non-Chinese friends & colleagues)
• Passport to China booklet for those colleagues who travel to China
• Summer Networking Picnic for new hires, interns and all Chinese families in town
• Help company Human Resources recruiting
• Sports Tournament with other Chinese teams from nearby colleges
• Lunch Seminars inviting company executives to introduce different areas of business
• Mentor Program for Chinese employees
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