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Monday, 24 June 2019

Diane Ruwhiu
Management lecturer Dr Diane Ruwhiu is behind the new Māori business paper.

A new indigenous Māori business paper set to launch next semester is thought to be the first undergraduate paper of its kind in the country.

MANT 340 is the brainchild of management lecturer Dr Diane Ruwhiu and aims to engage with Te Ao Māori, a Māori worldview that emphasises people, relationships and outcomes that benefit communities.

It will explore the contemporary cultural, social, intellectual and economic development of indigenous people in a local, national and international context.

“At the forefront, we recognise that the world is made up of multiple worldviews, many of which are grounded in ancestral wisdoms, and consider how the contemporary application of indigenous perspectives contribute to the overall success of not only indigenous organisations, but organisations in general.

“It brings a value-based lens to business and practices that influence management and organisation,” she says.

It is thought to be the first such commerce paper in New Zealand at an undergraduate level.

The topic reflects Ruwhiu's own research, which she says shows Māori business, both private and iwi-based, are thriving in New Zealand. She says the increase in the number of dedicated Māori business units established in large businesses and corporations reflects the relevance and growing importance of the topic.

Not only is such a paper being asked for by students, it is needed, Ruwhiu says.

“It introduces Māori values that are at the heart of many of our most successful tribal and entrepreneurial enterprises in New Zealand.

“The fact of the matter is most of the students here are going to end up working in a New Zealand context and so they need to be able to look at things from not just Māori, but a range of diverse cultural business viewpoints.”

The paper is open to students across the University.

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