How does NZ manufacturing measure up?

Management Matters in New Zealand

The information for the MED study on New Zealand manufacturing commissioned by the MED and executed by the University of Sydney  is comprehensive and makes interesting reading. It can be summarised in four key points;

1. People management is an area of relative weakness in New Zealand manufacturing compared with many other OECD countries.

2. Most of our managers in manufacturing are more task-oriented than people oriented.

3. The better-run companies in New Zealand tend to be the larger companies which are able to attract stimulate and retain the higher calibre personnel.

4. The training methodologies which are most likely to produce the urgently required improvements in the standard of management are not actually articulated in the report.

For NZ  business lean manufacturing has to be part of the solution.  There are a raft of other subjects to build capability, which need to be taught and ingrained in management behaviours: leadership, effective communication, motivation, industrial relations, effective delegation, safety management, and managing research and development  ...  all of which are very important.

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