Irish managers do not follow planned strategic approaches or take deadlines seriously, according to a survey of foreign managers working in the Republic.

The survey found that foreign managers felt Irish managers were: not very well organised; did not focus on customers' needs; offered a poor customer service; had a limited grasp of other business cultures; and were poor at languages.

However, Irish managers surveyed as part of the same study revealed a level of self-satisfaction at odds with the views of their foreign peers, according to Torc Consultants, who conducted the survey along with Cranfield University School of Management, Bedfordshire, England.

The strengths of Irish managers identified by foreign managers were: they were strong on team-working; gifted at building relationships with business partners; and good at sales.

The survey involved questionnaires being sent out to 390 foreign managers, prompting 74 replies. A further 55 questionnaires were sent out to Irish managers, prompting 37 responses. A breakdown by nationality of the foreign respondents showed that 23 of the 74 responses came from German managers working here.