Management Matters in Australia analyses results from a survey of 439 medium and large firms and compares Australia’s performance with 15 other countries. The study, launched in Melbourne this week, was commissioned by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Kim Carr, innovation minister says the report outlines there is a direct link between management practices and productivity in companies and that the more skilled and educated the managers are, the better their businesses will perform.

He says, “Australia rated sixth out of 15 in the survey of management performance. We lag behind other advanced economies, and over half our firms are outperformed by many of their competitors in India and China. There is clearly considerable room for improvement.”

Carr continues, “The results show multinational firms are the best managed and larger operations are often better managed than small and family-owned businesses. This is a challenge for Australia, which has a disproportionate number of smaller firms, and few multinationals.”

The report also highlighted that of the three areas assessed, Australia performs well in operational management, but is less strong in people and strategic management.

Carr also says, “If Australian manufacturing and other businesses are to thrive, we must lift the standard of everything we do – from the shop floor to the front office. Given the rigour of the international competition, average just isn’t good enough. We wouldn’t accept an average result in any other race, and we can’t accept it in this one.”

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