Optimism reigns in global leader survey.Global business leaders seem to be smelling the roses, at least for their own operations. Three-quarters Noun 1. three-quarters - three of four equal parts; "three-fourths of a pound" three-fourths common fraction, simple fraction - the quotient of two integers three-quarters npl → of senior executives in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Europe Europe (y  r`əp), 6th largest continent, c.4,000,000 sq mi (10,360,000 sq km) including adjacent islands (1992 est. pop. 512,000,000). and Asia believe their companies and industries will
grow in 2006, according to according toprep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the results of an online survey released by Accenture. The annual survey--which identifies the business outlook and major concerns of more than 900 "C-suite" executives in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Canada and China--also found that 78 percent of companies will be hiring in the next few months, either to fill crucial positions as they are vacated or to actively recruit new employees. In addition, nearly half (46 percent) of the companies expect to increase spending this year. "The perception among C-suite executives that the global economy is getting stronger should be a hopeful indicator for global business," said Mark Foster, chief executive of Accenture's Products operating group. "As optimism for the global economic climate improves, top executives are more apt to focus on improving their own businesses by spending for programs that might have been curtailed or postponed and by hiring new employees to carry out their growth plans." Some other highlights of the survey: * Most senior executives expect their companies to expand in two ways: by building deeper relationships with current customers and by launching new products and services. * Executives in China are the most optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about economic growth. In fact, nearly every Chinese respondent In Equity practice, the party who answers a bill or other proceeding in equity. The party against whom an appeal or motion, an application for a court order, is instituted and who is required to answer in order to protect his or her interests. (98 percent) predicted growth for his or her industry this year. * Respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. in the financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. industry were the most optimistic about their industry's growth, with 86 percent of these respondents saying they expect their industry to grow this year. Respondents in government were the least optimistic, with only 57 percent of these respondents expecting growth this year. * Chief operating officers Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. and HR directors are more optimistic about the growth of their organizations than are other senior executives, with nearly 80 percent predicting business growth in 2006. The survey also asked respondents to identify what they believe to be the top threats to their company's success in 2006. The chart shows the percentage of respondents who selected specific threats. Top 10 Perceived Threats to Company Success 1. The competition 72 percent 2. The health of the global economy 67 percent 3. Inability to attract and retain the best talent 60 percent 4. My company's reputation 59 percent 5. Inability to develop new products/services 48 percent 6. Terrorism 39 percent 7. Low employee morale 39 percent 8. Compliance with government regulation 38 percent 9. Inability to focus on core competencies 37 percent 10. Instability of senior leadership 35 percent Source: Accenture |
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