Sixty-eight per cent of managers have told a survey by the Chartered Management Institute that they fell into a managerial role by chance, and 40% said they had not wanted the responsibility of managing people at all. Only a small proportion had management qualifications.

The astonishing findings show that the stewardship of the bulk of a company’s assets – its own human capital – often lies in the hands of people with neither the aspiration nor training for the role - the equivalent of staffing a finance department without requiring accountancy qualifications.

Ruth Spellman, the CMI's chief executive, said: ‘The figures reveal the depth of the crisis of confidence in UK management.’ She added that such bad management was taking ‘an enormous toll’ on the UK economy as well as the well-being of employees.

The survey also found that just under half of employees have left a job because of bad management. The same proportion reported that under some circumstances they would rather take a pay cut than work for someone who made bad decisions.

The findings come as the Chartered Institute of Management launches a ‘Manifesto for a Better Managed Britain’. The organisation is pressing for action from the government to improve Britain's performance in this area.

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