Jim Mitchell
Question:19 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Labour if he has any proposals to improve the status and quality of the personnel management function in Irish business.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Management.
The development of managers, including personnel managers, is the responsibility of top management. There has been considerable improvement in the standard of personnel management in recent times through the introduction of relevant third level courses and the development of professional programmes by the Institute of Personnel Management in Ireland. For my own part, I have continually supported the work of the institute at all levels since I became Minister for Labour. In so far as funds are concerned, the Government provide subvention to the IMI and the College of Industrial Relations and the third level system generally.
As a general comment on the quality of Irish management, I would refer to the findings of the Advisory Committee on Management Training which I set up that over 50 per cent of the top 1,000 companies spent less than £5,000 per year on management development. Foreign owned companies were found to have spent on average 50 per cent more than Irish owned companies. There is a lack of commitment to management development and it is the job of management itself — particularly top management — to rectify this situation. I will continue to provide support to professional bodies with the brief of improving the quality of Irish management such as the Institute of Personnel Management and the Irish Management Institute.
Would the Minister agree that in companies where there are frequent disputes it is almost always the case that there is bad management? Furthermore, would he not agree that when a dispute arises we, as a society, tend to automatically blame the trade unions when frequently the blame rests with the other side?
It is my experience both inside and outside the House that this is so. Files on industrial relations disputes never seem to leave my desk as one dispute seems to be followed by another and often the blame rests on management. The figures show that half of the top 1,000 managements spend more on morning newspapers than they do on management development. This is one of the reasons I set up the Advisory Committee on Management Training in 1987 who reported, the Galvin report, last year.
I have endeavoured in conjunction with other Government Departments, semi-State organisations, the IMI and the IPM, to implement the findings of that report. This is a long process but it would be well worth the time of any management to try to implement its findings. The committee set down in great detail how many of the difficulties mentioned by the Deputy could be overcome.
Would the Minister agree that exhortation may not be enough? Given that he has sought to legislate for trade union matters, would he not consider it appropriate to try to legislate for management matters?
I am not too sure how one could do it by way of legislation but I should point out that the advisory committee was made up of senior managers and they produced a report about themselves. The chairman, Paddy Galvin, is one of the most senior managers in the country and previously was involved with Waterford Glass and Guinness Ireland. He is a very successful person but he was scathing in his remarks and views on management. I have been around the country highlighting the contents and conclusions of this report and making sure that they are known to the various employer organisations. I will continue to pursue this matter.