Business leaders believe Government has done little to help business improve performance and 70 per cent say it has no clear strategy for increasing Britain's competitiveness. However, over half do not believe Britain is less competitive and 42 per cent do not think UK productivity is lagging.
Managers are also concerned about how little success in business is valued in Britain.
Executives are sceptical about the Government's own record, so far, on key policy areas affecting the performance of UK business. Looking at business performance more closely, the top three factors which managers say are holding back their companies are business regulation, the value of the pound and skills gaps among both managers and employees. Managers also say performance is impaired by what they see as the short-termism of the investment community. Investment is one of the key challenges facing business with the majority of executives saying the UK's current investment performance hinders productivity. Seventy six per cent of executives think levels of capital investment are too low and three quarters say investment in research and development are a significant constraint on organisations' productivity.