To our knowledge, no other New Zealand survey with this
focus and breadth has been conducted, and the results
provide a unique snapshot of where Chief Executives are
at in the present climate.
The results revealed a number of key
issues, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 over
the page:
Market Shifts
Changes in the Economic Climate
Responding to Emerging Technologies
Access to Finance
Cost Escalation
Partnerships with Other Organisations
Innovation
Operating Across Cultural Barriers
The War for Talent
Government-Led Change & Regulation
Corporate Social Responsibility
Effective Dialogue with Stakeholders.
The data held some surprises – most
notably, productivity and innovation
were mentioned less than we had
anticipated. This is interesting, as
New Zealand’s relatively low productivity,
compared with other OECD countries,
is a major economic concern, while
innovation is known to be a critical
ingredient for business growth. We have
therefore included commentary on
both of those issues, on pages 32 and
39
respectively.
Some trends were less surprising, such
as the fact that the ageing workforce
is having an intensifying effect on
skills shortages in New Zealand, and
organisations are needing to ‘up their
game’ immediately in terms of staff
attraction and retention (page 47).
This was exactly what we anticipated,
although we were surprised by just
how frequently the ageing workforce
received mention.
We argue that the complexity of issues
illustrates just how important it is for
organisations to develop flexibility,
in-house innovation capabilities, and
leadership and governance capabilities.
Research has shown that these
ingredients are critical to organisational
survival and growth.
The following pages examine the key
issues in more detail, present what
the Chief Executives said, and provide
insights from The University of Auckland
Business School and Kensington Swan
experts, making this report a unique
combination of Chief Executive,
academic and legal commentary on
today’s state of the nation.
results overview
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