Bicultural Partnership in Organizational Communication

The present report emphasizes on how the bicultural partnership is applied to the business activities between the Tangata Whenua and the Fonterra company as embedded in the Treaty of Waitangi. In the recent years, after the implementation of the Treaty of Waitangi, the bicultural partnership has been acknowledged and elaborated by the business organizations. The report also discusses , analyzes and depicts the findings from the given case studies.

Running Head : ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

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Organizational Communication
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The present report emphasizes on how the bicultural partnership is applied to the business
activities between the Tangata Whenua and the Fonterra company as embedded in the Treaty of
Waitangi. In the recent years, after the implementation of the Treaty of Waitangi, the bicultural
partnership has been acknowledged and elaborated by the business organizations. The report
also discusses , analyzes and depicts the findings from the given case studies.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Discussion........................................................................................................................................5
The Findings/ Analysis................................................................................................................6
The relationship management of Fonterra with Tangata Whenua...............................................6
The collaboration of PKW and Fonterra.....................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The bicultural relationships are highly important for the organizations in the context of
New Zealand because there is prevalence of the Maori culture. The year 1986 has been important
for the country of New Zealand because in this year, the formation of the Tanagata Whenua
Caucuss. In the recent years, after the implementation of the Treaty of Waitangi, the bicultural
partnership has been acknowledged and elaborated by the business organizations (Reid & Rout,
2016). Inevitably, the bicultural partnership has promoted the development of the business
relationship between the aboriginal communities of the country leading to social, economic and
political development as a whole. The primary concern of the Treaty of Waitangi is to focus on
the ideological, spiritual and economic aspects of the human engagement and relationships too.
The bicultural partnerships in New Zealand are being used to shape the community and social
work being underpinned by the Treaty of Waitangi. The present report will emphasize on how
the bicultural partnership is applied to the business activities between the Tangata Whenua and
the Fonterra company as embedded in the Treaty of Waitangi. The report will also discuss ,
analyze and depict the findings from the given case studies.
Discussion
It is known that the largest dairy firm in the New Zealand is Fonterra Group. It is one of
the biggest multinational dairy co-operative which is owned by more than 11,000 framers across
the country. The world receives maximum supply of the dairy products from New Zealand and
Fonterra is the most important contributor in this context. The company was founded in the year

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2001 and responsible for merging the two dairy cooperatives with New Zealand’s Dairy Board of
the country (Fonterra.com, 2019).
In this regard the association with the Tanagata Whenua has to be brought over here. The
actual meaning of the term “ Tangata Whenua” the people belong to the land. It is rather a
particular group of people who are famous for their ancient historical background and
association with the Maori culture (Anderson, Binney & Harris, 2015). Moreover, they are
considered to be the descendants of the first people of the district. Notably there are various
divisions among them such as the Whanau, Iwi and the Hapu. These three divisions are the sub
tribe. The Indigenous laws of Britain and New Zealand have helped the Iwi to rise as a legal
entity being supported by the Treaty of Waitangi. As per the rules of this treaty, few special
rights have been attribute to these entities. It is mainly because they are identified as the Tangata
Whenua .
The Findings/ Analysis
The case studies clearly depict that the Fonterra Group is investing a good deal on the
establishment of a sustainable relationship with New Zealand’s Maori culture.
The relationship management of Fonterra with Tangata Whenua
The first case study evidences that the Fonterra Group is putting huge effort to establish
sustainable relationships with the Tangata Whenua that will value both the financial condition of
the entities and the organization as well. The company has provided opportunity to the young
talents of the Tangata Whenua community by engaging the in the business participation.
1. The Fonterra Group has understood that the Tangata Whenua people are a heritage to the
land of New Zealand and they must be given a chance to exhibit the best out of

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themselves. An executive from the Iwi group was selected to select three young talents as
apprentices to the company both in the mechanical and the engineering department. It is
likely to motivate the people of that particular community to collaborate with the
company in their future business endeavors (Mika et al., 2017). The goal of participation
in the Treaty of Waitangi is fulfilled in this way by the Fonterra Group.
2. The selected apprentices are valued by Fonterra and they are provided regular training in
order to advance their professionalism and confidence. It is necessary in terms of
organizational culture, environment of innovation and respectfulness (Mendes, 2017). It
is possible that this understanding of the importance of bicultural partnerships will lead
Fonterra towards expansion in the global context (Kitson et al., 2018). The principles of
the Treaty of Waitangi are closely followed by the company that supports the protection
of the culture, resource and heritage of the Maoris.
3. Further, the Group has efficiently collaborated in the acknowledgement of the talents.
The mission of the group is not only focused on gaining licence in their lands (Ruru et al.,
2017). It rather concentrates on strengthening the relationships with the Maori
communities. In turn the Fonterra Group receives the blessing and support of the Iwi
Raukawa. Notably, it is a positive signal towards the advancement of the financial
conditions of the community of Tangata Whenua and Fonterra as well (Rushton et al.,
2017).
The collaboration of PKW and Fonterra
Similarly, the second case signifies that Fonterra is not only initiative towards the
participation of the Maori community people, but also considerate about the partnership with the
Maori organizations. The Prininihiki Waitotara (PKW) is a well –known organization formed of

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the Maori people situated in Taranaki, Aotearoa. The PKW has gained excellence over their
dairy farm and maximum milk is supplied from PKW to the Fonterra Group. The PKW owns 14
dairy farms which provides 80 % of dairy to Fonterra.
1. The Whareroa site of Fonterra situated at Hawera extracts more than 14 million litres of
milk on every day basis in Taranaki. Among the aboriginal incorporations of New
Zealand, the Fonterra Group considers the PKW in Taranaki to be the largest supplier of
milk (Darder, 2015). It is a positive approach to engage in a partnership relation with the
bicultural enterprises(Darder, 2015).
2. The managers and executives of both the organizations are highly supportive and
collaborative to each other (Watson, Beaven & Bradshaw, 2015). They have arranged
proper training programs along with regular conferences so that the members from each
organization can share the ideas , opinions and values to each other. It strengthens the
bond further.
3. An environment of learning is always sought by the managers and the employee for
learning something new every day (Wu, 2016). A senior manager is assigned to look after
the organizational communication, the strategic collaboration and concerns of both the
organization.
Conclusion
On a concluding note, it can be said that the bicultural partnerships are being properly
managed by the Fonterra Company as they are encouraging long term relationships with the
Tangata Whenua people. It is equally noteworthy, that they have followed the principles of the

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Treaty of Waitangi and taken initiative towards the strengthening of the economic development
of the community and the country as a whole.
Recommendations
1. The Fonterra group should speak and understand the cultural obligations of the Iwi
people and take initiatives to respond accordingly.
2. The company should also concentrate on the educational aspect f the Maori people and at
the same time ensure that maximum of young talents are employed.
3. The cultural sensitivity should be demonstrated in the workforce so that the bicultural
people feel valued and respected. It will motivate to extract the best out of themselves.
4. The preservation of the relationship must be the priority and must come before business
conditions.
5. The economic aspect of the particular community should be taken seriously and the
Fonterra company should invest in the lands, rivers and culture preservation of the
Tangata Whenua people.

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References
Anderson, A., Binney, J., & Harris, A. (2015). Tangata Whenua: A History. Bridget Williams
Books.
Bargh, M. (2016). Opportunities and complexities for Māori and mana whenua representation in
local government. Political Science, 68(2), 143-160.
Darder, A. (2015). Decolonizing interpretive research: A critical bicultural methodology for
social change. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 14(2), 63-77.
Fonterra.com. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.fonterra.com/nz/en.html
Furness, J., Nikora, L. W., Hodgetts, D., & Robertson, N. (2016). Beyond ethics to morality:
Choices and relationships in bicultural research settings. Journal of Community &
Applied Social Psychology, 26(1), 75-88.
Kitson, J. C., Cain, A. M., Johnstone, M. N. T. H., Anglem, R., Davis, J., Grey, M., ... &
Whaanga, D. (2018). Murihiku Cultural Water Classification System: enduring
partnerships between people, disciplines and knowledge systems. New Zealand Journal
of Marine and Freshwater Research, 52(4), 511-525.
Mendes, P. (2017). Australia’s welfare wars: The players, the politics and the
ideologies. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(2), 145-148.

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Mika, J. P., Warren, L., Foley, D., & Palmer, F. R. (2017). Perspectives on indigenous
entrepreneurship, innovation and enterprise. Journal of Management &
Organization, 23(6), 767-773.
Reid, J., & Rout, M. (2016). Getting to know your food: The insights of indigenous thinking in
food provenance. Agriculture and Human Values, 33(2), 427-438.
Ruru, J., O'Lyver, P. B., Scott, N., & Edmunds, D. (2017). Reversing the decline in New
Zealand’s biodiversity: empowering Māori within reformed conservation law. Policy
Quarterly, 13(2).
Rushton, J., Hutchings, J., Shepherd, K., & Douglas, J. (2017). Zooming in: Social work
supervisors using online supervision. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(3), 126.
Ruwhiu, P. T. O. B., Ruwhiu, L. A., & Ruwhiu, L. L. H. (2017). To Tatou Kupenga: Mana
Tangata supervision a journey of emancipation through heart mahi for healers. Aotearoa
New Zealand Social Work, 20(4), 13-34.
Watson, D. M., Beaven, B., & Bradshaw, C. J. A. (2015). Population trends of New Zealand fur
seals in the Rakiura region based on long-term population surveys and traditional
ecological knowledge. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 49(1),
106-118.
Wu, J. (2016). The Relationships Between Psychological Flexibility, Nonattachment, and
Bicultural Identity Integration.