COMPARING PUTAKE WITH THE JAPANSES CULTURAL WAY OF DOING BUSINESS.

I have chosen Putake, one of the characteristics of Maori business and am comparing it with the Japanese way of doing business. Maori business are established not just to make profit or build wealth but also to uphold and maintain Maori culture. Putake is one of the characteristics of Maori Businesses. It addresses the reason for being, that is, why they started the business. Maori people are so family centred and they always want to uplift everyone in the family, so when they start up a business, one of their aims is to uplift everyone by employing them, sponsor family members to further their studies and help their iwi (tribes). In addition, Maori business may be establish to make profit from Maori resources such as people( young and old).land,rivers,farms,forestry,or other resources they own.

Maori businesses mission statements clearly identifies the area of focus which are mostly based on culture, social, environmental, spiritual and economic goals. Some Maori business are formed to provide opportunities for expressing cultural practises, arts and language. Such businesses may relate to tourism, Maori arts and crafts, design, clothing, kaupapa Maori/Maori-focused on education, music or performing arts. (Ministry of Education, 2009).

For Japanese people, they go into business mainly to make profit and also owning a business gives a high status to the owner and his family. The employees working for the business are also regarded as having a high status because they have a job. Most Japanese people work for one particular company for their entire life until they retire. They might start working straight after graduation and stick with that company until they retire.

Japan has a very ritualistic society. These extends into business practises such as the keiretsu organisations which has many Japanese businesses. The protocol is that they are only allowed to do business with fellow keiretsu members and not with outside organisations. For example, a keiretsu member can only buy beer from a keiretsu member even if the beer is very expensive.

The Japanese are more formal when doing business. They do not call each by their name at work place, rather they are addressed by their position title in the business or by Mrs, MS and Miss.When meeting business partners for the first time, they mention their company name before they mention their name.

Written communication is known as a formal way of doing business. However, Japanese prefer verbal communication rather than written communication as they find it more easily talking to people rather than writing to them. They might not respond to you when you write to them unless you follow up with them.

Having said this, there are some similarities in these two cultures such as gift giving, eye contact and silence.

I personally like this Maori Business characteristic-Putake. Japanese do not have this tradition of uplifting their tribe and communities. They are more focused in making profit and keeping the business going. They are also more into their status or hierarchy in the society.

References:

Lim,M.(2015).Maori Business.Retrieved from Unitec ibook.

Ministry of education. (2009, August 9).Culture and values/Maori Business/Business Studies/Social Science/Home. Retrieved from http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Social-sciences/Business-studies/Maori-business/Culture-and-values#Putake

The Treaty of Waitangi plays an important part in the way businesses are conducted in New Zealand. How and Why?

The Treaty of Waitangi (TOW) is New Zealand’s only treaty which was signed between the British Crown and the Maori chiefs as a covenant in the year 1840. The reason was that British Crown wanted to colonize New Zealand before any other powerful countries would take over.

The treaty is important because it ensures that the Maori and Pakeha rights are both protected in terms of accepting the rights of Maori iwi (Tribe), recognising ownership of Maori land and protecting their way of life, requiring the government to meet their needs and give back what it took from the people, maybe little by little and restore their faith from the government. The treaty also makes the government held responsible for addressing the grievances of the indigenous people and establishes equality in all New Zealanders under the law. (New Zealand Now, 2015, ¶10).

Having said this, the treaty affects life of New Zealanders in many ways such as how they conduct their businesses and also their way of living. When the settlers arrive in New Zealand, they took most of the land illegally from Maori but the TOW gives Maori the right to own their land and this results in larger settlements in terms of cash and land. Many iwi (tribes) are now using this to do Business and have become important employers in the country such as Wakatu Corporate and many others. All in all, The TOW plays an important role in businesses in New Zealand because it gives Maori the same right as the Pakeha in terms of doing businesses.

TOW also gives right to Maori to fish their waters and now they can do businesses such as Fisheries and export overseas which brings money into New Zealand economy. Here’s what the TOW stated ,“By the Treaty of Waitangi, the Queen of England confirmed and guaranteed to the chiefs, tribes, and individual Maori the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their fisheries for so long as they wished to retain them” (Parliamentary Counsel Office, 2014,¶1).

In addition to this, TOW gives recognition to the culture and business have to treat the indigenous people fairly in terms of employment opportunities. One of the importance of the TOW is equality, therefore, any business establishing in New Zealand has to give equal employment opportunities and should not practise racism.

To me the Maori are very lucky to have this treaty compared to other countries such as Australia. The indigenous people of Australia, The Aborigines do not have a covenant between them and British Crown and their land have been taken away and there is nothing left for them and also they are not being treated fairly like the Maori people. That is very sad because they became slaves in their own land.

To conclude, I think TOW is very important as it upholds the Maori culture and the people’s rights to their land. The treaty also helps to build relationships between Maori and other New Zealanders.

REFERENCES

Lim, M. (2015).Maori Business. Retrieved from Unitec iBook.

Parliamentary Counsel Office. (2014, April 14). Maori Fisheries Act 2004. Retrieved from http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2004/0078/latest/DLM311464.htm.

New Zealand Now. (2015). The Treaty of Waitangi – history & government | Living in NZ. Retrieved from https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/history-government/the-treaty-of-waitangi.

Why is diversity an important focus in today’s business environment?

Diversity is all about the differences in age, gender, ethnicity, language, cultural background, religious belief and family responsibilities. Diversity is far more important than it used to be some years ago. Most Businesses are now recognizing the importance of diversity at workplace or in their businesses because it brings benefit to the business, the employees and the customer. Businesses need to see diversity has an integral part of the business plan, important for the success of the business and increase in output.

Diversity is important in today’s business environment for a number of reasons as discussed below.

1: Increasing Productivity.

Employees from different backgrounds working together bring with them various talents and skills that contributes towards the company goals and increases productivity. Having employees from diverse cultural backgrounds into the workforce in a business makes it stronger and the business seems to be successful.

2 Increasing creativity and problem solving:

.It is also important to work in a diverse environment because different minds coming together can bring with them their ways of thinking and solving problems and by doing so will make it a conducive environment to work in.Different people and cultures have their own ways of dealing and solving problems. Conflict among employees is inevitable, however, understanding and acknowledging other people’s cultural differences can help you find similarities especially when you are working towards the same goal.

3: Attract and retain talents

Feeling being part of the team also increases loyalty in employees. Businesses that practice diversity also attract employees who are more talented and can bring changes to the business. These type of employees most companies would want to keep them as important asset for the business and makes every effort to make them happy which in turn these employees put all their efforts and talents to make the business better and best in the global market.

4: Help to build co-operation in teams and improve communication skill:

Having diversity in a business also helps bring co-operation in teams and improves communication skills that brings in new approaches that benefits the business. To develop a good working relationships with different people, you need to start with similarities. Make friends with people who have the same interest and ignore the differences

 

5: New processes:

Bringing in diverse people can find new processes that can bring in improvements in the business. Diverse people can cooperate and find innovative ideas that can make the business the best in the market and also provide the best products and service that exceeds the customer’s expectation. People can notice your business to be more innovative and will want to do more business with you.Business that are not innovative are boring in terms of their customer service, they may be slower and customers will give up doing businesses with them. They may not entertain their customers while in their office or in their business. There is nothing to attract the customers.

By working with people from different backgrounds, you come to understand how different cultures do things differently and experience greater success in business. Business diversity can be regarded as one of the tools to business success. Therefore, businesses should practice business diversity at work place.

REFERENCES

Lim, M. (2015).Culture and People. Retrieved from Unitec ibook.

Sahar/Consulation. (2014, March 26). 6 advantages of workplace diversity. Retrieved from Retrievd from https://saharconsulting.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/6-advantages-of-workplace-diversity/

WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND HOW CAN I OVERCOME THEM?

Communication is a process of sending and receiving messages between the sender and the receiver through a communication channel. It is very important in Business and also in everyday life to get the message across to the receiver clearly. The word communication is from a Latin word communis, which means to share. This includes all the categories of communication such as verbal, nonverbal and written communications. For Communication to be successful, the sender and receiver must share common language or understanding. However, there are some obstacles that affect communication to be effective and they are noise, language, personal differences, medium failures and message format,

Noise can prevent a receiver from getting the message clearly and it’s very important that noise be eliminated by identifying the source that causes it so that communications can be successful. It can be very annoying to speak to someone when there is a lot of noise in the background and in Businesses this can be very unethical. Most businesses do not tolerate such things.

The language used when communicating should be simple and clear to prevent misunderstandings between the receiver and the sender. Using jargons and ambiguous words can cause confusions and the message can also become meaningless. Sometimes when the message is not clear, you can get wrong information and also sending out unclear messages brings bad impression about the sender and about the business as a whole.

Having said this, personal differences can also affect the message being sent due to distrust between the sender and the receiver. The receiver may have negative thoughts or may not trust the sender and misinterpret the message sent and this can also affect the communication.

In addition, communication can be affected when the communication channel breaks down and sends weak and unsteady signals. It can also be affected when communicators use a wrong medium to send out message. For example, going on Television to try and educate medical students about a new topic on heart surgery will not be as beneficial as having this information printed on hand and reading it slowly to grasp the main ideas.

Finally, the message format used must be clear and easy to understand. Writing a message in a hard or difficult format will make it very complex for the receiver to understand the message.

Therefore, we can implement the following practises to overcome the obstacles that affect communications. Use simple and clear words that the receiver can understand and response accordingly. The noise can be eliminated or minimized to better understand the message the other person is trying to deliver. The way the message is written should be clear and written in beautiful language and the tone of the message should be friendly and not harsh. Before sending the message out make sure the communication channel used is the appropriate channel and is faster to get the message across quickly and clearly and finally always ask for feedback from the receiver to make sure the message has being delivered successfully.

References:

Lim,M.(2015).Communication Concepts.Retrieved from Unitec ibook.

Obstacles to Effective Communications. (2015).From Promotion Decisions KnowThis.com.Retrieved from        http://www.knowthis.com/promotion-decision/obstacles-to-effective-communication.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO BE ETHICAL IN BUSINESS?

Business ethics is a principle guides to what is right and what is wrong. It is an idea that tells us whether our behaviour is right or wrong. Ethics is very important in a business because it deals with how employees act and behave and whether the action is acceptable or not. Ethics plays an important role in human ego. It makes sure that how people behave must be in an acceptable manner or is ethical. In every business it’s very important to be ethical. Below are some of the reasons why ethics is essential in a Business.

The business has an obligation to meet its stakeholder’s demands. Stakeholders expect organisations to perform at a high level of ethical performance because by meeting their expectations will uphold the ethical standards and attract more customers to do business with the organisation, which boost the sales and profit that stakeholders may benefit from it.

Business should be ethical because it boost the firm’s performance and gives a good reputation for the business. Unethical behaviour gives bad name to the business and makes customers’ loose interest in that business. Business reputation is paramount because it adds value to the organisation. If the staff is dishonest with customers, then it is considered unethical and immediate action should be taken with the staff. Honesty and integrity are important in a business. In most businesses staff behave unethically but still get away with it.It is the managers’ responsibility to make rules or code of conduct for their staff to make sure that strong ethics is in the business. Trust in a business is also very important when it comes to building relationships with customers. When a business give misleading information to customers they will turn to distrust the business and choose other businesses they can trust and believe they will get treated fairly.

A business with strong ethical principles attract more employees to work for them and also recruitment cost decreases and the business turn to employ the most talented people. Most employees like working in a peaceful and friendly environment because they work together as a team to achieve the company’s set goals. Demonstrating ethics at work place is important because by showing good examples especially by managers or directors shows that unethical behaviour is not tolerated in the business and employees are expected to act in a like manner and accept corrections from their bosses.

Therefore, ethics in business is very important as it controls the behaviour of the employees and also is an integral part of the business. In order to improve ethical conducts in business, it is important that ethical programs be design such as trainings to help employees recognise, understand and reason out ethical issues. Businesses that enforce strong ethical practises set good example for their employees, whereas businesses which do not promote ethics do not have any control over the behaviour of their employees. Being aware of ethical dilemmas and knowing why they occurred, analysing and finding a solution for it is significant for managers and employees.

GOALS ARE OFTEN SET BUT SELDOM FOLLOWED & ARCHIEVED.IS THIS MY STYLE?

A goal is a personal objective. It is something you want to archive in a specific period of time. A determined person sets goals and plan on how to archive those goals. Goals are like road guide for your life. If you want to succeed, you have to set goals, stick to those goals and work towards achieving them. However, achieving your set goals can sometimes be very difficult. I have realised that goals are reachable if you stay focus and put your prioritise right and also if your set goals are not too high for you to reach them.

Every year I do my yearly and monthly goals and towards the end of each month and year, I refer back to my goal to see whether I had achieve my goals for that particular month/year. If I achieve my goals I have done my part to hit my target, if I don’t achieve my goal, I have to check my goal and ask myself whether I have been working hard or lazing around. Most of the times I manage to archive my monthly and yearly goals because I am always focused, only one or two I don’t archive them. But that doesn’t mean I just forget all about it.I work on that the following month or year and make sure I archive it.I have always had positive mind and having faith in myself I always managed to archive my goals. For instance, three years ago I had a dream to win a scholarship to study in New Zealand. I set it as a goal and worked towards it.There were obstacles along the way. The selection process was tuff but I really wanted this scholarship with all my heart that I never gave up. At one stage I gave up and didn’t want to continue because the process was just too tuff for me but my mum encouraged me to continue and eventually I did as mum told me and I was successfully offered the scholarship to come and study here at Unitec.

One important thing in life that we all need to have is to have a motto. A motto motivates you to work towards your goal. My favourite motto is Success is my only option and failure is not. When I feel like giving up and think that I cannot continue any more, this motto gives me courage to continue on with my journey in life.

My goal for this year is to pass all my papers and get good grading and continue to second year. This may sound that easy but it’s very challenging. I know where I am going. I have my target set but how to get there is quite tuff. I have to pass my all my assessments in order to archive my goal for this year. I have to pass the final exams and finally get there.

Goals are easy to set but hard to follow but with determination and believing in yourself you can do it.I have strong faith in myself that I can archive my goals for this year.I need to be focused on my goal and do all I need to archive my goal.

TOPIC: WHAT DOES BEING SUCCESSFUL IN BUSINESS MEAN TO ME?

Being successful in business means accomplishing your set goals. Success does not come that easy, you have to work hard and be determined to get up there. There are a number of factors that contribute to the success of businesses. One of the most important tool for success in business is planning. Planning is important as it outlines your main aim to go into business and it is also a guide for the business in terms of decision making. In the next paragraphs,we will discuss the necessary steps that you can take to be successful in Business.

Firstly, organizing is significant because it helps you to get on top of things to be done. The best way to do this is to create a things to do list and check if off your list, in other words you prioritize those task. This will ensure all essential task are done that keeps your business going. Most businesses fail because they are not organised. They start up thinking they will succeed but as time goes by, they turn to realize that they are not making any money and the business fails.

Secondly,Book keeping is important in any business because it records all the transactions taking place in the business and at the end of the day reconciliations are done to see how much the business has made. As an owner of the business, you have to monitor your cash flow because cash is very important in the business. Most businesses do not keep an eye on their cash flow and over spend,which results in their bank balances being overdraft. As a business owner, you should dedicate your time to manage your cash flow to make sure your revenues are always greater than your expenses.

In addition, most business succeed because they have the right employees working for them. Without the hard work of these employees the business would not succeed. Employees are the important asset for the business. They play an important role in the successes of businesses. Therefore, the company or business owners should be looking after their employees well and help them enhance the necessary skills they need by conducting internal staff training. Most businesses do not care about their employees, they are only interested in making money.

Furthermore, being successful in business has a lot of challenges.You face hiccups along the way in terms of financing, making mistakes, retaining customers and market competitions.With determination and perseverance and having faith in yourself,you can overcome these challenges.

Mistakes are good lessons for you because by making mistakes, you learn from them and turn those mistakes into future lessons.

In business you also have to know your strengths because you can use those strengths to create the most effective path to reach your goals.

Being successful in business takes a lot of challenges and risk. Focusing on your goals and taking the risk leads to a successful future. When you want to be successful in business,you have to come out of your comfort zone and do things extra ordinarily.