UK
business leaders don’t know how to use the media to sell their companies to the
public, according to research.
The
report by consultants the Aziz Corporation finds that not one chief executive
of a UK company is considered capable of turning press and television interest
to their own advantage.
However,
94 percent of company directors believe that media profile and public
perceptions play an important role in the success of a business. Almost half
believe it is crucial.
Identifying
any exemplary communicators amongst the business community proved difficult for
the majority of managers, with only 3 percent being able to name current
directors of a quoted company.
Lord
Browne of BP Amoco, Sir Geoff Mulcahy of Kingfisher and Lord Haskins of
Northern Foods each received one percent of the vote. However, 61 per cent
named Sir Richard Branson, and 8 percent Sir John Harvey-Jones, who retired
from ICI ten years ago.
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Khalid
Aziz, chairman of the Aziz Corporation, said, “As with previous years, one of
the most worrying aspects of the survey was that when asked to name business
professionals whose communication skills they admired, most respondents lacked
inspiration.
The
Aziz Management Communications Index 2001 collected its data from a random
sample of mid-sized UK businesses.
