Kia Houpapa is a Massey University MBA student based in Wellington. He is an experienced researcher and has four undergraduate qualifications and Masters degrees in both Social Work and Education Research.
As part of the MBA programme, Kia is looking for a Māori project/business/trust/iwi that he could help – so he can contribute something useful to Te Ao Māori.
Kia cannot just simply gather ordinary information for someone. For example, if someone wanted him to gather all the different rules and regulations about water quality, that information is a simple fact finding mission. The information is known and so the research wouldn’t be accepted by the university.
A business research proposal must be an academic research project relevant to the field of business and have a social science orientation. So to investigate research questions that arise out of the existing literature on topics (such as “What are the business implications arising from minimum wage rise thresholds for Māori rural farms?” or “Racism affecting Māori businesses – what issues are Māori facing from doing business in NZ and internationally?”).
Or it may be something that may be influenced by developments in business and management generally (such as “What is the impact of digital disruption on successful Māori businesses?” or “What management and export practices have worked best for Māori honey producers?”)
It has to be a researchable question that will take about a year to work on (roughly ten hours per week). When he gets the right question, Kia will have to firstly establish that the answer is not already known from someone elses work. He will have to establish what is known quickly.
Kia is open to looking at anything and doesn’t mind who he helps. It is envisaged by the university that the student should investigate something that will make them the world expert in the subject.
In return, someone will gain some information that they may need that was put together by an experienced researcher backed by their research supervisor and academic faculty.
If you – or anyone else can help – please respond via these email addresses:
Or simply send Kia a text at 0275 747 747 and he will call you back!
