in Expresso, June 17, 2022
To reach the national final, you have to work as a team to achieve the best results.
In competition, team members feel the difficulties and challenges of managing an organization.
The perception of how a company works, the interaction established between the various departments and the weight of each decision as a whole are some of the lessons learned by Amorim Cork's management teams from their participation in the Global Management Challenge (GMC).
Amorim Cork focused its presence in the current edition of the competition on four teams made up of staff. Luís Esteves, co-CEO of the company, explains that “these are teams made up of young staff, mainly in technical roles, to whom we seek to provide management experiences. We feel that more and more young staff who join the organization value this type of initiative and realize the benefits they can derive from their professional and personal development”. He believes that in the test, and beyond the decision-making process, the staff understand the challenges that a group decision raises and develop team spirit and the ability to adapt in difficult situations. “These young executives will be the managers of the company tomorrow.
innovate to win
Edgar Moura leads the Amorim Los Champs team, the only team from Amorim Cork to make it to the second round of the competition. This team includes João Baptista, Mafalda Lopes, Maria Leite and Sérgio Carvalho.He says that here they realized how “an isolated decision can impact the development of a company and its survival in the market in different ways. Innovation is increasingly a determining factor, and it is imperative for any organization not only to keep abreast of what is happening and what consumers need, but also to make a difference and present innovative products and services”. And it was the willingness to take risks, to work as a team, to compete and make decisions under pressure that led these young people to take on this challenge. The balance so far is positive. “We found this competition very challenging,
During the test weeks, participants make decisions and check their impact on the company.
Although they did not make it to the second round, the Amorim CTC Business Planners team made a positive assessment of this experience. Alexandre Mil-Homens, Filipe Almeida, Miguel Abreu, Ricardo Mendonça and Wilson Pereira are the team members and explain that it was the desire to understand the dynamics of this competition and what makes it so captivating that led them to participate. “Until now, the most astonishing thing is the perception that a simple change in a procedural, financial, human resources parameter, etc., can influence the entire dynamics of an organization. Decision-making and teamwork have also come to the fore, which is a very positive aspect, beneficial in everyday professional life”, says Ricardo Mendonça, team leader.
An 'out of the box' challenge
The Amorim Cork Your Mind team is formed by Ana Rita Bruno, Ana Rita Guedes, Catarina Pina, Pedro Brito and Sofia Filipe. “We decided to participate because it is such an 'out of the box' competition and for the unique opportunity to test and learn more about the different functional areas of a company and acquire skills in the management area, training the ability to adapt and improvise”, reveals Pedro Brito, team leader. In this process, they shared experiences, debated points of view, developed skills and improved others. And that's why he recommends this competition to other paintings. “Being able to manage a company through the Global Management Challenge simulator is a golden opportunity to experiment and understand the dynamics and unforeseen circumstances of the world economy, as well as the impact they may have on management”, he emphasizes.
For Diogo Lopes, leader of the Amorim Team AC team, “all the learning obtained in this test can be transported to our daily lives, due to the exposure it gives us to different areas of the business, as well as all the training in analysis, long-term thinking and time and strategic decision-making. In the adventure of managing a company in this initiative, his team included Diogo Dias, André Dias and Ana Leandro, all newcomers. “What we learned the most was how to plan in the medium and long term, not to navigate in sight, but to prevent problems that may arise in the future in the present”, reveals the team leader. In his opinion, “this competition is a beneficial tool for any student or staff that has the objective of one day taking on a high management position”.
End of the first phase of the first round of 2022
This week the first phase of the first round of the Global Management Challenge 2022 ended with the taking of the fifth and final decision. The table above shows the names of the 32 teams that, as they are in the lead of their groups, will move on to the second round, scheduled for December. These teams will be joined by those who will compete in the second phase of the first round, which will start in November. With this phase over, Accenture Portugal is the company with the most teams in the second round, with a total of seven. It is followed by EDP, with five. IT Sector, Deloitte Portugal, Caisdavilla restaurant and Minsait will be represented with two teams each. CGD, Metro, REN, Crédito Agrícola, Fujitsu, Amorim, Water Portugal, Konica Minolta, Intrum, Softfinança, Montepio and Via Consulting have a team.
Journalist/Express: Maribela Freitas
Photo: DR