Indianapolis – Butler University, Ice Miller and Inside INdiana Business announced today the results of a statewide survey of Indiana's chief executive officers and senior executives. The survey, "The State of Our Business – A Perspective from Indiana Executives," provided insight and understanding about how business leaders in Indiana feel about their companies, their challenges and what can make Indiana a great place to do business.
The project partners identified over 1,050 CEOs and other executive officers as potential respondents. Of those contacted, 210 responded to a comprehensive online survey designed by Butler graduate students. The 18-month project allowed MBA students at Butler to incorporate relevant, real business experience into their curriculum, part of the college's on-going emphasis on experiential learning. It was also an opportunity for the program partners to better understand what drives business decisions and what issues are of greatest importance to decision makers.
The partners addressed several themes to examine in greater detail including: CEO challenges and issues, the state's economic stability, the state's role in economic development, human resources and diversity issues, education, technology and general interest.
"We found the results extremely insightful," stated Gerry Dick, president, Inside INdiana Business. "For example, we found that respondents rate corporate reputation and customer loyalty-retention as the two most important issues to their companies and they rated growing the business internationally and keeping pace with global competition as being the least important."
In addition, over half the respondents indicated they are likely to pursue adding jobs in the next 18-months. "Overall, it appears as though Indiana CEOs have a positive outlook for our state," stated Byron Myers, Managing Partner, Ice Miller LLP. "The outcome of the project culminated, among all the project partners, in a better understanding of the overall business climate in Indiana."
With respect to the state's role in economic development, respondents rated education as the most critical issue in determining Indiana's future economic development. "Businesses can be very important strategic partners in calling for and realizing educational reform," stated Russ Kershaw, Dean, College of Business Administration, Butler University. "Clearly education is one of the best investments for Indiana and Hoosier businesses."
The project partners hope to benchmark the results from the 2007 survey and continue to monitor, discuss and analyze the state's progress. A full summary of the report can be found online at: www.inceosurvey.com.
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Courtney Tuell Interim Executive Director of University Relations Director of Public Relations Butler University 317.940.9807 (direct) or 317.908.2307 (cellular) ctuell@butler.edu
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