New Zealand Business Etiquette

2. GEOGRAPHY
•New Zealand is an island nation in the
southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country
geographically comprises two main landmasses—
that of the North Island and the South Island and
numerous smaller islands.
•New Zealand is in Oceania, in the South Pacific
Ocean
•New Zealand has 15,134 km of coastline and
extensive marine resources. The country claims
the fifth-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the
world, covering over four million square
kilometres, more than 15 times its land area.It has
no land borders.
•The South Island is the largest land mass and
contains about one quarter of the population. The
island is divided along its length by the Southern
Alps
•The North Island is less mountainous than the
South, and is marked by volcanism.

3. CLIMATE
The climate is mostly cool temperate to
warm temperate. Mean temperatures
range from 8 °C (46 °F) in the South
Island to 16 °C (61 °F) in the North
Island.
January and February are the warmest
months, July the coldest.

4. LANGUAGE
There are several languages of New Zealand. English (New Zealand English)
is the dominant language spoken by most New Zealanders.
The pre-European inhabitants of the main islands of New Zealand all spoke
Māori. A number of outlying islands and territories of New Zealand have their
own native languages:
 Cook Islands Māori is the official language of the Cook Islands.
 Niuean is an official language of Niue (along with English).
 Tokelauan is an official language of Tokelau (along with English).
 Moriori language was the language of the Chatham Islands.
 Penrhyn language

5.  SOCIAL CULTURAL
The culture of New Zealand is largely inherited from
British, Oceanian and European customs,
interwoven with Maori and Polynesian tradition.
Initially Māori only, then bicultural with colonial
and rural values, now New Zealand has a
cosmopolitan, multicultural culture that reflects its
changing demographics, is conscious of the natural
environment, and is an educated, developed
Western society.

6. • In New Zealand, Christianity is the dominant religion with just under half (48
percent) of the population at the 2013 New Zealand Census declaring an
affiliation to.
• Around six percent of the population affiliate with non-Christian religions,
with Hinduism being the largest at over two percent, while 42 percent of New
Zealanders are irreligious.
RELIGION

7. Etiquette and Customs
• Maori meeting and greeting
• Gift Giving Etiquette
• Dining Etiquette
• Maori Dining Etiquette

8.  Maori meeting and greeting
• If the business dealings are with a tribal group (Iwi) the welcoming protocols may
be practiced through the process of Powhiri – a formal welcome that takes place
on a Marae.
• A Powhiri can take between 30 minutes to 2-3 hours depending on the
importance of the event.
• A Powhiri dictates where people sit, in what position in their group, and who
speaks.

9. • Speeches are given in the Maori language and each one accompanied by
traditional song. You may not understand what is being said but you can rest
assured it is likely to be from the best orators in the group and often very
complimentary.
• The visitors are expected to have at least one speaker reply on their behalf.
• Once the last elder of the home people has spoken, they will gesture the visitors
to come forward in a line to shake hands, kiss (once) on the cheek or hongi
(touch noses) with the home people.
• Following this the kitchen is ready to call people in to eat.
• Following the food, the meeting proper can begin.

10. Gift Giving
Etiquette
• If invited to a Kiwi's house,
bring a small gift such as
flowers, chocolates, or a
book about your home
country to the hosts.
• Gifts should not be lavish.
• Gifts are opened when
received.

11. Dining Etiquette
•New Zealanders are casual as is reflected in their table manners.
•The more formal the occasion, the more strict the protocol.
•Wait to be told where to sit.
•Meals are often served family-style.
•Keep your elbows off the table and your hands above the table when
eating.
•Table manners are Continental -- hold the fork in the left hand and the
knife in the right while eating.
•Indicate you have finished eating by laying your knife and fork parallel on
your plate with the handles facing to the right.

12. Maori Dining Etiquette
Following a Powhiri, the visitors will be asked to the dining room (a separate building to
the carved meeting house) to sit to eat at long tressle tables. . They should not eat until
the food has been ‘blessed’ or an acknowledgement said by an elder of the home people
even if the food is getting cold. . Visitors should try to enable the home people to sit
amongst them to chat and get to know them while eating. . Often, younger people will
be serving and older people will be working in the kitchen. . It is important to realise
that in most cases they are working voluntarily and it is appropriate to formally and
publicly thank them near the close of the meal before leaving the dining room to begin
the meeting. As a result of this, the visitors may be light-heartedly asked to sing.
To sing a song from your home country would show respect and thanks.

13. Business Etiquette & Protocol
Relationships & Communication
Business Meeting Etiquette
Negotiations

14. Relationships & Communication
• New Zealanders can be somewhat reserved,
especially with people they do not know.
• Once they develop a personal relationship, they
are friendly, outgoing and social.
• Do not appear too forward or overly friendly.
• They respect people who are honest, direct, and
demonstrate a sense of humour.
• They trust people until they are given a reason
not to.
• If this happens in business the breach will be
difficult to repair and business dealings may
cease or become more difficult.

15. Business Meeting Etiquette
• Appointments are usually necessary and should be made at least one
week in advance by telephone, fax or email.
• It can be difficult to schedule meetings in December and January since
these are the prime months for summer vacation
• Meetings are generally relaxed; however, they are serious events.
• If you make a presentation, avoid hype, exaggerated claims, hyperbole,
and bells and whistles. New Zealanders are interested in what people
'can do' not what they say they can do.
• Present your business case with facts and figures. Emotions and
feelings are not important in the New Zealand business climate.
• Maintain eye contact and a few feet of personal space.

16. Negotiations
• The negotiating process takes time.
• Demonstrate the benefits of your services or products rather than talking
about them.
• Start your negotiations with a realistic figure. Since this is not a bargaining
culture, New Zealanders do not expect to haggle over price.
• Kiwis look for value for their money.
• Do not make promises you cannot keep or offer unrealistic proposals.
Kiwis do not generally trust people who have to oversell!
• They are quite direct and expect the same in return. They appreciate
brevity and are not impressed by more detail than is required.
• Stick to the point while speaking.
• Kiwis appreciate honesty and directness in business dealings.

17. CURRENCY
• The New Zealand dollar (sign: $;
code: NZD) is the currency of the
Realm of New Zealand
• It is normally written with the
dollar sign $, or NZ$ to distinguish
it from other dollar-denominated
currencies.
• Since New Zealand is commonly
associated with the indigenous
bird and the $1 coin depicts a kiwi.
• It is one of the 10 most-traded
currencies in the world, being
approximately 2.0% of global
foreign exchange market daily
turnover in 2013.

18. FESTIVALS
•New Zealand celebrates over 57 different festivals which include ART, MUSIC
AND FILM festivals.
To name a few:
•Kiwiburn
•Grey Lynn
•Te Matatini
•Wellington Arts Festival
•New Zealand International Film Festivals

19. whakawhetai koe !
Presentation By :
MAHALAKSHMI
BBA – 1st Year.
HSB

20. QUESTIONS

21. Which ocean is the New Zealand
located in?

22. Which is the most coldest month in
New Zealand?

23. Which is the most dominant tribe
group of New Zealand?

24. What are New Zealanders
informally called as?