Bicultural Partnership in New Zealand and the Significance of Treaty of Waitangi

This article discusses the concept of bicultural partnership in New Zealand, focusing on the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi. It explores the historical and political composition of the country, the principles of the treaty, and its impact on trade, business environment, and corporate culture. The article also highlights the role of the government in implementing the treaty and protecting the rights of indigenous people.

BICULTURAL PARTNERSHIP IN NEW ZEALAND AND WITH
SIGNIFICANCE OF TREATY OF WAITANGI
Biculturalism refers to a state of ethnicity where two prominent and distinct cultures co-exist. It
is the social condition where people and governments recognize and consider the differences
between different communities which have appeared out of a history of national and ethnic
conflict wherein no society can be considered as or superior to other (Holmes, 2017). In New
Zealand, term bicultural stands for Māori, and non-Māori. In the Treaty of Waitangi (TOW),
agreement between the above stated two communities is established and a clear partnership
between Māori and the British Crown (Orange, 2015) is developed. This agreement included 500
Maori Chief from North, New Zealand. Maoris’ are considered the natives and indigenous
people of New Zealand and before this treaty was signed, New Zealand was an independent state
majorly controlled by Maoris. Thus this document was highly crucial for the historical &
political composition of the country as well as for the establishment of political relations between
Maori and the Government of New Zealand (Orange, 2017). This Treaty governed the
relationship between Māori - the Tangata Whenua (indigenous people) - and everyone else and
ensures the rights of both Māori and Pakeha (non-Māori) are protected.
The Treaty of Waitangi plays an important role in trade environment within New Zealand as it gives
Maori the right of doing businesses and thus protects their interests. Now they are the owners of
their own land and can transact land for cash which enhanced their economic and overall
development (Came, Cornes & McCreanor, 2018). There are multiple commercial houses that use
this cultural partnership framework so as to promote fair cooperation within the various realities of
Whenua and iwi that are based on Te Tiriti O Waitangi. The treaty works on three principles also
recognized as 3 “P's”, which stands for partnership, participation and protection (George, 2019).
These help in defining the business relationship between different people and mostly
implementing Maori culture to understand work ethics and practices. The three principles reveal
the essence of this treaty in reference to business environment which states that:
 Partnership: Working together or adopting a collaborative approach to develop a business
framework so that the common business purposes can be achieved without indulging into
conflicts.
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 Participation: To induce inequalities and promote participation of Maoris in every field.
Thus the treaty enables and enhances the involvement of native New Zealanders into
business conduct and even in the education system. For instance, the increasing use of Maori
language in business communication depicts that corporates give larger attention to this
community and represents their respect towards Maori culture (New Zealand Now, 2015).
 Protection: It represents the duty to recognize and accordingly accept the Maori culture’s
beliefs, values and practices. Thus more and more people now learn the Maori language and
also it is been taught in the primary education system. For example, ICL-Early Childhood
Education Department(ECE) presently use bicultural partnerships within its operation and
services. It is the only business unit which has Maori and Pasifika students and thus it reflects
that it promotes the protection of rights of these students and work towards their welfare and
growth.
Most corporate culture in the business environment of New Zealand is based on the Treaty of
Waitangi because it represents the attention and respect from the enterprises towards Maori
culture. Secondly, enterprises also include a part of Maori culture within their work practices to
reflect the bicultural background of the Treaty of Waitangi over the business cooperation.
Almost all crown businesses are required to work as per the treaty and the established norms,
however, non-crown business entities are not required to include TOW in their corporate policies
and practices (Hayward & Wheen, 2015). Mostly inclusion of the treaty reveals respect towards
the native culture and promotes equalities within business opportunities. Having a good
knowledge of the treaty is considered useful for individuals who are new to the land and wants to
establish business operations in New Zealand. Also, it helps in fostering diversity within the
workplace particularly when working with Maori people. Moreover, the government plays a
crucial role in implementing this treaty and serving to protect the rights of indigenous people
towards employment, education, economic growth and social development (Tait & Ladner,
2018).
Additionally, businesses are required to treat native Maori people equally in terms of
employment benefits and also while transacting with them (Verbos, Henry & Peredo, 2017). The
increased participation of diverse cultural mindsets induces business growth and expansion in
terms of profitability by enhancing business practices in remote areas, market intelligence and
networks. Increased understanding of the native language and cultural ‘know-how’ helps
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business to resolve internal conflicts easily and focus more attention over performance by
clubbing innovative ideas of people with different values (Mirza & Sundaram, 2016).
ICL-GBS uses Maori language to greet their students during orientation. The emails that are sent
to students also use Kia ora in their greetings. This enhances business communication and
develops better professional relationships. New Zealand is known for diversity in ethnicity
integrating European, Chinese, Indian, Samoan, Filipino and many more ethnic groups.
Therefore, ICL-GBS organizes programs for the new students to learn the native culture because
they need to understand the work culture, ethics and social norms that are native to the land
before joining any university, or company in New Zealand (Lourie, 2016). They are asked to
visit the Maori Cultural Park where students develop an understanding of Maori culture.
Moreover, ICL-GBS has got a lot of information in relation to Maori culture, and school
confidences that students can learn more about Maori culture through such activities.
Furthermore, the ICL-GBS should include online courses for non-indigenous students to make
them learn the language and enrich their vocabularies with phrases and words that can be used in
day to day business communication. It has been known that the institution sends students to local
businesses to develop a practical understanding of the culture and how businesses strategies can
be formulated having knowledge of local culture (New Zealand Now, 2015).
From the research findings and discussions among team members, it has been recognized that
incorporating the learning of Treaty of Waitangi in the module will surely benefit the entity by
attracting a large number of non-native youth who are willing to learn about Māori culture and
its implementation in a business scenario (George, 2019). Also, it has been recognized that ICL
has obtained poor responses from alumni because their inability to perform better at their
workplaces, thus ICL should plan orientation and work-based learning programs so as to
improve understandability about the Treaty of Waitangi (TOW) as well as the Biculturalism that
is present in New Zealand (Lim, 2015).
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REFERENCES
Came, H., Cornes, R., & McCreanor, T. (2018). Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand public
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George, N. (2019). The Importance of Communication Between Different Departments in an
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Hayward, J., & Wheen, N. (Eds.). (2015). Treaty of Waitangi settlements. Bridget Williams
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Holmes, J. (2017). Intercultural communication in the workplace. The Routledge Handbook of
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Lim, M. (2015).Maori Business. Retrieved from Unitec iBook.
Lourie, M. (2016). Bicultural education policy in New Zealand. Journal of Education
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Mirza, A., & Sundaram, D. (2016, June). A Crowd-sourced Knowledge Management Approach
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New Zealand Now. (2015). The Treaty of Waitangi – history & government | Living in NZ.
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treaty-of-waitangi.
Orange, C. (2015). The treaty of Waitangi. Bridget Williams Books.
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Tait, M. J., & Ladner, K. L. (2018). Economic Development through Treaty Reparations in New
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Verbos, A. K., Henry, E., & Peredo, A. M. (Eds.). (2017). Indigenous aspirations and rights:
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