24th June 2005

Compact Size Gives Wales a Natural Advantage in Business
Christopher Ward, Chief Executive of Wales Management Council
 
Wales has a major competitive advantage because its compact size and existing business relationships make it fertile territory for spreading management excellence, according to a new report.

The report, Leaders and Managers in Wales: An Agenda for Growth, from Wales Management Council argues that managers learn best from each other, and Welsh businesses have a better opportunity to exploit this channel than those in larger countries.

Creating stronger networks to bring managers together regularly should therefore be a high priority for economic policy makers.

An extensive plan to build and strengthen networks between business people  is one of seven key proposals  in the report which is the second major policy document published by the Council  in the last three years.

Christopher Ward, Chief Executive of Wales Management Council: “We have to recognise and harness the full power of informal learning through the business network. There is huge amount of management experience and expertise within Wales. We need to make the connections and ensure that this is being shared in a systematic way.

“There are many established networks which bring businesses together, but in our view they are not being fully utilised as channels of learning.  We must reject the notion of networking as an ad-hoc casual activity that happens on the fringes of conferences and business club events. It needs to be a deliberate planned activity aimed at sharing valuable knowledge,” he said.

The 'Agenda for Growth' proposed a wide range of measures to expand and strengthen local and sectoral networks.

These included:

re-training existing business advisors as network facilitators
helping business people understand how to make networks operate effectively for them
investing in the creation and nurturing of new networks
 
The report also outlines practical suggestions for individual business people to cultivate their own networks and maximise the benefit they get from them.

Said Mr Ward: “Wales is a network of networks but too few people realise this. All businesses therefore need to understand how Wales’ networks interlock with each other and how they can plug in effectively to boost their management and leadership performance.”

Among the other proposals from the report were calls for the development of “tools,”  to help managers to diagnose their own management strengths and weaknesses, and  to assess objectively how valuable each piece of learning they experience has been for them and their business.

It also proposes measures to convince smaller businesses that building better management and leadership skills is a commercial investment as vital as buying plant or equipment.

And it argues that firms should move away from a culture of depending on the public sector to fund or subsidise training of their managers and take greater responsibility for this development themselves.

In addition it calls for the training of more mentors who can work alongside managers and leaders to improve their skills.

The report was endorsed by Andrew Davies, Economic Development Minister  who said in its foreword: “I believe that the quality of our managers and leaders is one of the key factors that will drive forward innovative businesses and organisations in Wales and the economy as a whole.
 
“The Welsh Assembly Government is determined that Wales will continue to grow and diversify its economy. Wales needs experienced,  skilled  and innovative managers to make that happen.   I fully endorse Agenda for Growth as an important contribution to the achievement of that strategy.”

Further information from Eoghan Mortell 029 2048 8778 or 07977 555 116