The majority of business leaders surveyed by the Kaizen Barometer (55%) believe that the main strategic objective for the next legislature should be the creation of broad agreements, particularly at the labor and tax levels, to guarantee predictability and stability for companies.
According to the results of this study, developed by the Kaizen Institute in Portugal, 40% of managers believe that the next government should focus on reducing the country's high levels of debt, and 38% consider reducing the tax burden on companies to be a priority.
Business leaders are divided on the effect that a fragmented parliament resulting from the October 6 elections could have on their organization: 51% believe that greater party diversification in the Assembly of the Republic will have a negative impact, while 46% consider that this scenario will not affect their activity.
Managers believe the economy will stagnate, but remain confident.
Most business leaders (58%) believe that the Portuguese economy will stagnate next year. Despite this, managers are slightly more confident in the Portuguese economy than in February (12,4 points on a scale of 0 to 20, compared to 12 in February). Half estimate that their company will register cumulative growth of between 5 and 15% over the next three years.
“ The results of this edition of the barometer show that, despite identifying some risks, managers maintain confidence in the competitiveness of their companies. I believe this is due to their assessment of how well prepared their organization is for a scenario of economic slowdown. In this scenario, companies that are able to anticipate this, looking at optimizing their processes proactively and continuously, are clearly in an advantageous position ,” says António Costa, Senior Partner of the Kaizen Institute Western Europe.
The slowdown in the global economy is the main concern of those surveyed, with 76% considering this to be the external factor that could most negatively influence their company's competitiveness, followed by political instability in European countries (40%) and the trade war between the United States and China (27%). For 73% of CEOs, the European Union market will remain, over the next three years, the one offering the greatest export opportunities, followed by the United States of America (27%).
Climate change and gender equality
The Kaizen Barometer also concluded that climate change has already impacted the strategy of most organizations. 50% of respondents stated that these concerns have led to concrete measures, such as changes in procedures to reduce consumption (62%) and reducing the environmental footprint of their products and services (59%). 34% of companies that have already implemented such measures have invested in their buildings to make them more sustainable, and 25% have invested in including hybrid and electric vehicles in their fleet.
According to the study, the majority of companies (51%) have already taken measures related to gender equality and intend to keep the topic present in their strategy. 15% have not yet taken such measures, but intend to do so in the coming years.
Challenges
As key areas for the success of companies in the medium term, managers point to the development of new products/services (54%) and the recruitment and retention of talent (51%).
Regarding the main challenges experienced in managing their organization, most identify creating organizational agility to respond to new challenges imposed by the customer/market (55%). This is followed by optimizing costs to achieve the desired profitability (40%) and transforming strategy into concrete initiatives that generate results (39%).
The Kaizen Barometer is a semi-annual opinion poll conducted by the Kaizen Institute in Portugal among administrators and managers of medium and large companies operating in the Portuguese market, gathering information on their perspectives regarding current issues, the evolution of the economy and their business, and anticipating trends and challenges.
The September edition of the Kaizen Barometer surveyed nearly 200 business managers representing, collectively, more than 30% of Portugal's GDP.
