Cautious Optimism for Economy in 2009

Published: June 01, 2009

SAN DIEGO, CA

The latest in a yearly series of surveys on corporate issues from The Ken Blanchard Cos. shows executives and company leaders are somewhat optimistic the US economy will rebound in 2009. Following the 2008 slowdown that has crippled economies around the world, more than 70% of those surveyed expected the economy to begin its recovery sometime this year. Only a quarter of the respondents thought the downturn would continue unabated into 2010.

The results represent feedback from more than 1,700 executives, line managers, and training and human resource leaders from a range of companies, industries, and countries. Participants were asked to describe their organization's overall outlook in regards to the economy, training expenditures, expected cuts, and coping strategies.

With the expectation that the economy will begin to recover within the next year, respondents also predict their corporations will not make drastic cuts to training budgets. This desire to maintain an adequate level of training points to the identification of corporate development as a way to ride out the storm of economic turmoil.

Only 29% of respondents listed personnel layoffs and cuts as ways their companies plan to cope with the down economy, while marketing cuts came in at 14%. More than 60% plan to invest in productivity and performance-maximizing strategies, while 46% plan to focus on corporate branding and differentiation.

For a copy of the survey, visit www.kenblanchard.com/img/pub/Blanchard_2009_Corporate_Issues_Survey.pdf. Also see PFFC's “Critical Trends” research study on p32.

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