Bicultural Partnership: Impacts, Approaches and Business Strategy

This research evaluates the impacts of bicultural partnership on business management, approaches to integrating different cultures, and strategies for fostering business strategy and relationship.

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Bicultural partnership
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Abstract
A bicultural partnership is a partnership that brings together the ideas, values, and
behaviors of two cultural groups. In New Zealand, the collaboration involved the Maori and the
non-Maoris. This research aims at evaluating the various impacts of bicultural partnership on the
management of the business. It further seeks to understand the multiple approaches that were
employed in integrating the different cultures in the Maori partnership. Finally, the research
tends to evaluate how the bicultural resources, activities, and support that may help in fostering
business strategy and relationship.

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Bicultural partnerships
Introduction
Pakeha and Maori have been the predominant culture in New Zealand. They used to
practice mono-culturist management which was characterized by unresolved conflicts due to the
diversification of values, beliefs, rights and resources. A phenomenon was hatched to solve the
underlying managerial issues brought about by monocultures. Thus, biculturalism was born to
act as a co-existence of the two cultures. This was the rise of Maori partnership. Concurring with
the views of Obiakor 2012, the Maori partnership did not solve all the challenges of monoculture
though it had some positive impacts on the business. The concept of biculturalism has benefits to
various areas of management when it is integrated into the workplace. These areas include
dispute resolution, teamwork, leadership and decision making.
Impact and implications of bicultural partnership
The bicultural partnership in New Zealand brought together the Maori and the non-
Maori. This partnership happened after the establishment of the Tanga Whenua Caucus in 1986.
In a broader perspective, an argument can be made that there are two core effects of
biculturalism which are significant in business. These two core effects include adaptability and
ability to act as a boundary spanner between cultures. A discussion that was fronted by Stacey R
Fitzsimmons 2017 noted that biculturalism allows people to adapt more easily than
monocultures. Adaptability refers to the ability of a person to change one’s way of thinking to
correspond with the prevailing conditions. Adaptability in management is stepped up by
unfreezing and also the ability to establish innovative cultural systems. The implication of
adaptability can be felt in cognition, emotion and behaviour functionality of business

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stakeholders. Biculturalism tends to act as a boundary spanner. It can be noted that some people
are involved in labour management negotiation who are biculturalism tend to be
representatives .of their cultural groups. Business stakeholders in various departments tend to
send representatives to solve disputes and advance group decisions in a bicultural setup. It is
critical to note that whereas the internal features of biculturals assist in expanding the social
network in business management, these benefits can be limited by suspicions about the people
with diverse experiences.
Stacey R Fitzsimmons 2017 Concurs with Reddy 2013 that bicultural partnership with
the Maori led the development of intercultural skills of managing businesses. As such, the
complex cross-cultural problems that existed between the Maori and the non-Maori could now
be solved quickly. Liu 2012 found out that bicultural partnership promotes a sense of shared
history and responsibilities. From this, he concluded that with an understanding of shared
responsibilities between people of diverse cultures, it was easier for the management to settle any
disputes that arose within the organization.
Approaches to integrating bicultural partnerships
This section of the research focuses on three distinctive approaches to integrating
bicultural partnerships. It focuses on the various adaptive strategies towards the success of
biculturalism in Maori business. The Kaupapa approach, the language approach and the
education strategy are the primary strategies towards a successful bicultural Maori business
partnership.
The Kaupapa strategy was aimed at ensuring the brand image/name in all businesses was
welcoming to all the people irrespective of their cultures. Also, this approach advocated for

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peaceful coexistence among the educated and skilled staff regardless of the cultural difference
and business organization. An example is a profound relationship that was built with Iwi, Hapu,
Maori and other non-Maori's. The Kaupapa approach also encouraged the simplification of
access to high-level skills for all the cultural groups as well as ensuring that all the skills adhered
to all the cultural values of all the cultural groups (SMITH, 2017). Another approach employed
in New Zealand to integrate different cultures is the Language approach. This approach ensured
that English was used as the state language rather than making one of the local dialects as the
official language. A report prepared by The office of the Ethnic Affairs 2013 explains that the
use of English as the official language accommodated both the migrants, Maori and also the no-
Maori. The different cultural languages were left for local use. With this, all the communities in
New Zealand felt equal as they communicated to each other. The last approach was education.
This approach ensured that a common language was applied in learning institutions and as such
make it appear like the learners were all from the same cultural groups (Milosevic, 2014).
In comparison, the three approaches ensured the effective integration of biculturalism in
Maori business management. However, the intensity of strategic effectiveness for the three
differed due to various factors including resistance to change and suspicions. Whereas the
language approach was adopted, English was considered a foreign language which contracted
with the Maori and Pakeha dialects. Its application can be viewed as the assimilation of a new
culture to the already existing cultures. The kaupapa approach formed the baseline for integration
as it advocated for the adoption of harmonized values, principles, rights, beliefs and plans from
the Pakeha and Maori cultures. Critics of the language approach argue that the kaupapa approach
could have set out an agreed local dialect rather than adopting a foreign language as an

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integrative measure. However, counter-critics say that the move could delimit the extension of
biculturalism.
Fostering business strategy and relationship
Building a business and seeing it grow involves a lot of handwork, time and also energy.
Other than these three factors, the success of the company will depend on the strategies laid out
by the business as well as how the business relates to the outside world. In the case of the
bicultural partnership, some of the activities, resources, and support that would help foster the
business strategy and relationship includes diversifying the business networks across all cultures.
This diversification entails the business focusing on how to address the needs of all people rather
than focusing on an individual community. Secondly, it would be imperative for the entrepreneur
to identify the goals and values that are shared across the cultural groups. Zwilling 2018 notes
that the strategy mentioned above will help the business identify how to approach different
groups in society. Also, it is vital for the business to spend ample time with its existing and target
customers. This aspect will help the business to understand the needs of the customers and also
to establish a relationship with them. Other strategies may include using a brand name and image
that accommodates all cultures, reshaping and renewing the business networks regularly,
developing mutual respect and remaining loyal to the customers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, bicultural partnership in New Zealand entailed bringing together the Maori
and the non-Maori cultures. This type of collaboration had several positive impacts on the

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businesses despite facing myriad challenges. Some of these impacts include adaptability and
boundary spanning. In advancing bicultural partnership, various approaches such as Kaupapa
Maori Approach, Language and education approaches were used to integrate different cultures.
The bicultural partnership with the Maori is also essential to businesses in ways such as
promoting mutual relationships with the customers.

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References
Liu, R. F. (2012). Biculturalism in Management: Leveraging the Benefits of Intrapersonal
Diversity.Retrieved from researchgate.net:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256021426_Biculturalism_in_Management_Le
veraging_the_Benefits_of_Intrapersonal_Diversity
Milosevic, M. (2014). A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in. Victoria
University of Wellington.
Obiakor, F. E. (2012). Making inclusion work in general education classrooms — education and
Treatment of Children, 35(3), 477-490.
Reddy, M. (2013, Jan 25). The value of bicultural individuals to organizations. Retrieved from
knowledge.insead.edu: https://knowledge.insead.edu/career/the-value-of-bicultural-
individuals-to-organisations-855
SMITH, C. (2017). Kaupapa Māori Methods: Sharing our Experiences. Independent Maori
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Stacey R Fitzsimmons, Y. L. (2017). From crossing cultures to straddling them: An empirical
examination of outcomes for multicultural employees. Journal of International Business
Studies, vol 48, issue 1, 63-89.
The office of the Ethnic Affairs. (2013). Language and Integration in New Zealand.
Zwilling, M. (2018). Strategies for Building the Relationships You Need to Succeed in Business.
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