Kuputaka — Te Orowaru Glossary — Te Orowaru

The glossary is designed to make sure that when questions are asked and when work is assessed everyone is clear about the language being used and what it means. It is important that the meaning of any word is understood in the same way by anyone interviewing and assessing work as this allows the work to be allocated appropriate factor levels. The glossary is also available as a PDF.

Te Orowaru Glossary(PDF, 528 KB)

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Frequency terms:

• Always: 100% of the time. She is always punctual
• Often: 80% to 99% of the time. We often go to the restaurant on Sundays
• Fairly often: 60% to 79% of the time. I get my hair cut fairly often
• Some of the time: 40% to 59% of the time, Some of the time we have a shared morning tea at work
• Once in a while: 20% to 39% of the time. Once in a while we catch up for a drink
• Rarely: 1% to 19% of the time. She is old and rarely goes out
• Never: 0% of the time. I have never eaten shellfish

Active listening

Active listening is the ability to focus completely on a speaker, understand their message, comprehend the information, and respond thoughtfully.

Analysis

Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or system into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it.

Authoritative

Commanding and self-confident; likely to be respected and trusted.

Authority over

The ability to make decisions and direct others to carry out tasks.

Breadth

Wide range or extent of knowledge or experience across different areas.

Buck stops

When the responsibility for something cannot or should not be passed to someone else.

Claimant

The claimant is the person/party raising the pay equity claim with the employer.

Comparators

Comparable work is work that has been identified as suitable to assess against the work of the claimant.

Competent

Someone who can perform the role fully.

Complex

Not easy to analyse or understand; complicated or intricate.

Conceptual thinking

The ability to understand a situation or problem by identifying patterns or connections, and addressing key underlying issues.

Creative

Being able to think of something new or about something in a different way.

Deescalate

To reduce the intensity of a situation.

Demand

Something which requires effort to fulfil and/or places stress on a person.

Depth

Extensive and detailed study or knowledge in a particular area.

Dexterity

The ability to do a difficult action quickly and skilfully with the hands.

Diplomacy

The art of dealing with people in a sensitive and tactful way.

Discretion

The ability to make choices about how you undertake your work and find solutions to problems. Also, can be used to refer to the ability to keep information private and confidential.

Disproportionate

Something that is too large or too small in comparison with something else.

Effort

The physical, emotional or mental energy used to achieve the outcome.

Emotional dexterity

The ability to move quickly between different emotionally demanding situations and utilise the appropriate interpersonal skills for the context.

Escalate

If a situation escalates or if someone or something escalates it, it becomes greater in size, seriousness, or intensity.

Factor

A common method to analyse work is by unpacking it into its parts, which are often referred to as factors. The factors describe elements of the work including skills used, responsibilities undertaken and conditions and demands placed on someone who is carrying out the work. It can be a useful tool to support understanding the level of skills, responsibility, and effort present in different work.

Hapū

Kinship group, clan, tribe, subtribe. The section of a large kinship group and the primary political unit in traditional Māori society.

Harmonious

Having agreement between people.

Hui

A meeting / gathering.

Induction

Induction is the process of introducing a new employee to their job and organisation and giving them all the necessary information required by them to start their work.

Influence

Influence is the power to make other people agree with your opinions or make them do what you want.

Innovative

Introducing new ideas; original and creative in thinking.

Intense

The degree to which something operates at, i.e., the more intense the fire is the hotter it will burn.

Interviewee

The person who answers questions by the interviewer.

Iwi

Extended kinship group, tribe often refers to a large group of people descended from a common ancestor and associated with a distinct territory.

Jobholder

Someone employed permanently in an organisation to do a specific job.

Kaitiakitanga

Guardianship, stewardship, trusteeship.

Kanohi kitea

Physical presence - a term to express the importance of meeting people face to face.

Mana

A person who holds respect, authority, influence, and honour.

Manaakitanga

Hospitality, kindness, generosity, support - the process of showing respect and care for others.

Manage up

Making your manager’s job easier providing useful feedback, supporting their upskilling in areas where you have more expertise, or supporting the objectives or goals or your manager.

Manager

Responsible for the organisation of what work gets done, setting objectives, making decisions, and delegating work.

Menial

Perceived as not requiring much skill and lacking prestige.

Methodologies

A set of methods, principles, and rules used in your work.

Multi-sensory demands

Demands which require the use of more than one sense at a time, e.g., smell, taste, hearing, sight, touch.

Negative impact

An event or action which places stress on those experiencing it.

Pākehā

New Zealander of European descent - probably originally applied to Englishspeaking Europeans living in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Policies

Any standard, statement, or procedure set by the agency/organisation.

Practices

The expected way of doing something.

Professional standards

A set of practices, ethics, and behaviours that members of a particular professional group must follow. These standards are frequently agreed to by a governing body that represents the interests of the group.

Qualitative assessment

A method of understanding how people make meaning of and experience their environment or world.

Sensory

The engaging of the physical senses i.e., smell, taste, hearing, sight, touch.

Service delivery

The process of providing a service to customers or the internal clients of an agency or organisation.

Software

The programmes used on a computer to carry out your job.

Specialist

A person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field.

Supervisor

Responsible for how work gets done by monitoring employees and activities, working alongside employees to make sure tasks are being performed at a certain level, and making decisions approved by a manager.

Systems

A group of interdependent items that interact regularly to perform a task.

Tapu

Be sacred, prohibited, restricted, set apart, forbidden.

Tauiwi

People who are not Māori.

Te ao Māori

The Māori world view.

Te reo Māori

The Māori language.

Te reo Māori me ngā tikanga

The Māori language and its cultural practices.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is an important agreement that was signed by representatives of the British Crown and Māori in 1840.

Theory

A set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based.

Tikanga

Customs, rules, way of doing things from a te ao Māori perspective.

Whānau

Your family, extended family, community, or related families.

Whanaungatanga

Relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging.

Work assessment

A process to understand a job. The first step is to define what is being measured and ensure that overlooked, hidden or undervalued skills, responsibilities and demands are uncovered and included in the assessment. Any assessment of work should be free of assumptions based on gender. Interviewing employees is a key component of assessing the work but multiple sources of information, such as health and safety data, applicable registration or licensing information, and academic research can be drawn on to ensure that all the skills, responsibilities and demands of an occupation are understood.

Work practices

How the employee carries out specific duties and tasks related to their job description.