廣告

2008年5月30日 星期五

跨国企业的“表率“作用

中国 | 2008.05.29

跨国企业的“表率“作用

本周三,在科隆的科尔平宾馆(Kolping Hotel)举行了题为“中国:剥削取代‘公平’”的新闻发布会。香港注册的非政府组织全球化监督(Globalization Monitor)的女负责人黄月媚(May Wong)受邀作了简短演说,该新闻发布会标志着黄女士德国演讲之行的开始,在当天晚上,黄女士还在德国工会联盟科隆办公楼做了最新调查报告。

黄女士自1998年起开始进行欧洲跨国企业在中国开办的血汗工厂压榨工人的调查。 前九年,黄女士是在亚洲专讯资料研究中心展开工作的,去年开始,她自己创办了全球化监督。

新闻发布会现场,活动组织方德国Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 新闻发布会现场,活动组织方德国"基督教动议罗眉洛"桑德拉·杜什·西尔娃和黄月媚女士(从左至右)

新闻发布会上,大幅黄色宣传画上,中国奥运的吉祥物"福娃欢欢"高举"公平"牌子, 2008欧洲锦标赛的吉祥物之一象征瑞士的弗利克斯也出现在宣传画上,旁边写着:阿迪达斯,全世界劳动法,公平从现在开始。正像活动组织方德国"基督教动 议罗眉洛"(Christliche Initiative Romero)项目负责人桑德拉·杜什·西尔娃(Sandra Dusch Silva)对这次活动的说明,鉴于欧洲锦标赛以及奥运会的召开,都过这些体育竞赛,世界级的体育品牌阿迪达斯,彪马,新百伦,耐克借此大作宣传,鼓了腰 包的同时,请大家不要忘记,有多少工人在为了及时供货加班加点,但同时自己的权利又不能受到保障。该组织近五年一直在和其他国际非政府组织如Global Unions,清洁成衣运动(CCC)等一起进行"Play Fair"项目,具体活动包括邀请各国相关调查人员如参加本次活动的黄月媚女士,工厂员工演讲,向国际跨国公司提交研究报告,组织游行活动,发布宣传册 等。

参加这次新闻发布会的科隆德国工会联盟主席沃夫冈·于伦伯格·冯·达文博士(Dr. Wolfgang Uellenberg van Dawen),这次活动的组织者之一,在致力于争取德国劳工权益的同时,也很关注中国的劳工现状,他在发布会上说:"我们在批判中国人权问题,说中国政府 应该承担起自己的责任的时候,我们自己的大公司,我们不应总去说教别人,而是应该承担起自己维护人权的责任。我本人也是科隆市政府经济委员会的成员。我们 和中国有合作,科隆市长也经常去中国。在和中国进行合作时,我比较关心的是当地工人的工资是否合理,健康是否能够得到保障,劳动条件如何。因此,我们现在 不是想讨论德国是不是就代表人权,中国是不是盘剥的代名词,我们在这里希望在中国开办工厂的德国大型企业也能供保证中国工人的正当权益,并期望这些大型公 司能够执行公平的行为准则,使得各个国家的工作条件公平起来。这也符合德国企业家的利益,如果工资待遇不公平,对工人进行过多剥削,工人就会自动离开。"

以下是记者和黄女士进行的专访内容。

组织人员合影,从左至右,桑德拉·杜什·西尔娃,科隆德国工会联盟主席沃夫冈·于伦伯格·冯·达文博士和黄月媚女士Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 组织人员合影,从左至右,桑德拉·杜什·西尔娃,科隆德国工会联盟主席沃夫冈·于伦伯格·冯·达文博士和黄月媚女士

记者:您刚才提到,您所在的全球化监督组织只有两个人,那你们这些调查工作都是你们自己展开的吗,调查费用也是自己承担吗?

黄女士:我们当然有国际组织的帮忙,而且在劳工议题上有很多合作,而且这也只是我们所 做的议题之一。费用这个我不知道,因为今年和去年的报告都不是我们做的。这个议题比较敏感,做这个报告的伙伴也不想公开自己的信息。我们在这方面的调查从 八十年代就开始了,不是因为奥林匹克的进行,才关注中国劳工状况的。

记者:像您刚才提到,从89年就开始关注中国大陆劳工问题。

黄女士:对的。中国刚刚改革开放的时候,当时还没有劳工法,中国工人受到了很多外资公司的不公正对待。

记者:您们都进行了哪些调查呢,能具体说一下吗?

黄女士:在四月份发的报告中,我们调查了耐克,康威,阿迪达斯,新百伦,彪马。我们长 期以来关注的都是在中国投资的世界级品牌的公司。因为品牌公司在国际生产链里面的角色很重要,因为是他们把订单给在中国的工厂的,如果工人在生产你们的品 牌的话,那工人的待遇你们应该负责。大家会有感觉我们很针对品牌公司,但是不要忘记品牌公司是最大的既得利益者。

记者:在收集收据的时候您具体遇到了哪些困难?

黄女士:我们进行的是独立调查,因此不会获得政府或者地区的支持。我们一般直接和工人 对话,在他们下班后对她们进行采访。当然我们涉及的话题很敏感,尤其是在08奥运年,中国政府希望一切顺利,因此我们做这些调查还是有一定风险的。调查一 般都不是我们自己做的,而是我们的一些香港伙伴组织做具体的调查。而且这些调查都不是公开进行的。但是现在中国情况在转变,中国工人也越来越意识到维护自 己的权益。

记者:你们把你们所做调查交给这些公司后,这些跨国公司是否有什么反应,有没有做出相应改善?

黄女士:他们当然没有马上改动,他们认为自己已经有很好的劳工标准,因此对于我们现在 来说很重要的是要把这些标准落实。但是什么时候会落实,我们也不知道。你要知道,跨国企业的劳工标准一定要比当地的劳动法高。但这些替品牌公司生产的企业 连当地的劳动法标准都没有达到。一旦按照规定加工资,生产商会说工资里包括吃饭的费用,水电费,这样工人拿到的实际工资不符合当地的最低标准。

记者:遇到这种情况,你们只是做调查,有没有给与受到不公对待的工人什么具体帮助?

黄女士:这要更具具体情况,在查明情况属实后,比如供应耐克和新百伦的运动用品制造商巨擘裕元公司,我们就和生产商直接对话,抗议他们的行为,向他们施加压力。

Dach

2008年5月29日 星期四

摩托羅拉最重視中國市場 不過全球業績仍然無力

這公司最重視中國市場 不過全球業績仍然無力


摩托羅拉已向中國研發項目投資10億美元

| |

托羅拉(中國)電子有限公司(Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd.)總裁高瑞彬週四稱﹐截至目前﹐摩托羅拉公司(Motorola Inc.)已向其在中國的研發項目投入10億美元﹐並計劃繼續增加相關投資。

高瑞彬在國內一次會議的間隙表示﹐摩托羅拉將繼續增加對中國研發項目的投資﹐內容覆蓋產品創新及技術升級等﹔從戰略角度而言﹐摩托羅拉在中國的研發中心是該公司全球研發系統的一個重要組成部分﹐而且這一策略不會發生改變。

摩托羅拉管理層曾在去年11月份表示﹐到那時為止﹐該公司向中國研發項目已累計投資8億美元。

高瑞彬週四稱﹐摩托羅拉在中國的投資共計38億美元。

他表示﹐中國電信業重組無論對該行業本身還是摩托羅拉而言都具有積極影響﹐尤其是因為目前中國正在向第三代(3G)無線科技過渡。

高瑞彬表示﹐目前摩托羅拉中國工廠已開始生產面向全球銷售的3G設備﹐因此不論是針對中國市場3G業務的研發還是產能方面﹐摩托羅拉都已做好了充足的准備。

他還表示﹐3月份宣佈的拆分手機業務計劃不會影響到公司在中國的業務運營。

基礎研究のムダから逃げてはいけない

這幾年日本正在重新審視製造業。製造業一個時期曾熱心於大舉進軍海外,但是對於日本這種無資源國家,如果把製造部門全部搬到海外,就剩不下什麼了。

  堅守日本,可能就會有人反駁說“這是一個全球化時代”。但是,從企業持續產生附加值的角度來看,在研究開發的速度和機動性方面還是日本國內具有優勢,因為這是競爭力的源泉。於是,眾多企業從一窩蜂進軍海外開始回歸日本。這是重新審視製造業後的結果。

  我認為日本人的好奇心、專注、勤奮、熱情和細緻適合發展製造業。而且,日本人非常重視團隊合作。這種國民性是很重要的因素。雖然既平凡又不起眼,但我們依然打算堅守製造業。製造消費者滿意的高功能、高品質產品,從而體驗生活的意義和樂趣,難道不是好事嗎。

  然而,顧客的要求隨時代在變。如從前,洗衣機大大節約了上班族和主婦的時間。年輕人也許不知道,過去人們是用洗衣板搓洗衣服的。從這點來看,恐怕沒有什麼能像洗衣機一樣給人帶來如此的便利。但是現在,如果問人們在生活中想要的是什麼,恐怕沒有人會說是洗衣機。

  要想滿足人們在不同時期的需要,必須提前下工夫。但麻煩的是製造需要花費時間。開發大多以10年為單位,如果不順利,還有可能長達25年。因此,如果 研究所沒有在20年前提出方向,就開發不出產品。現在手機和平板電視開始在全球普及,其研究開發的方向也同樣必須在20年前確定。單純追逐眼前的東西是不 行的。

——研究開發時能看到20年之後的情況嗎?

  提前20年啟動研究開發的成功率當然低。這是因為開發中有些地方必須經過嘗試才能明確,而且也會存在預測失誤。因此,在進行基礎研究時,必須有經歷失敗的心理準備。

  對於失敗,我們也需要有看清其有無意義的洞察力。擁有各種專長,對於培養這種洞察力非常有效。擁有多專長的公司具有更寬廣的視野。

  基礎研究不常會有優秀的成果,這很正常。因此,某種程度的失敗,也就是研究開發的“無用功”無法避免,而且是必要的。看到結果再下手是行不通的。民間企業也認為有意義的失敗是必要的,並在高層的直接領導下推進。

  我本人也經歷過很多失敗。但之後都成為了經驗。從個人經驗看,沒有人未曾失敗過。確實,失敗在某種意義上是做無用功。被斥責“為什麼事先沒注意到?”也是理所應當。但是,人非聖賢,孰能無過?從失敗中培養洞察力更為重要。

  那麼,如今日本的基礎研究究竟如何呢?確定有好結果的研究項目會隨即會在全球一哄而起。就算開展也沒有意義。研究必須以未知領域為對象。沒有幾次有意義的失敗,基礎研究就不會發出新芽。說成功率是“千三”(1000次中有3次成功)可能有點誇張,但確實不算高。

  只靠應用也能夠製造產品,但是當有問題時,能夠解決到什麼程度就不好說了。基礎不紮實是不行的。不長期專注于基礎,就不可能強大。這就是我的想法。

簡歷

莊山 悅彥:1959年4月進入日立製作所。1985年6月任國分工廠廠長,1987年2月任栃木工廠廠長,1990年8月任消費產品業務 部業務部長,1991年6月任董事兼AV產品業務部業務部長,1993年6月任常務董事兼家電業務本部業務本部長,1995年6月任專務董事兼家電及資訊 媒體業務本部業務本部長,1997年6月任董事長副社長,1999年4月任董事長社長,2006年4月任董事兼首席執行官,2007年4月任董事會長至 今。

■日文原文
基礎研究のムダから逃げてはいけない

2008年5月26日 星期一

“历史真相”也能拿来做生意

经济纵横 | 2008.05.25

“历史真相”也能拿来做生意

德国有人做起历史的生意,帮助顾客查寻先人生平事迹和研究家谱。

“无论对职业妇女或忙碌的家庭主妇来 说,抖擞的精神以及平静的身心,都是您维护家庭和谐氛围的重要因素。海格低因咖啡豆具有保护心脏和神经的功效。”历史学家亚历山大.舒格坐在电脑前聆听着 20年代的咖啡广告。舒格是“历史调研社”的负责人,其主要业务是替企业追溯过往历史及设计展览会方案。舒格指出,企业之所以纷纷追本溯源,与90年代展 开的有关纳粹时期强迫劳役的辩论有关。他说:“公众社会对此问题的议论纷纷,导致企业最终可能遭受抵制的压力。大型企业,如德意志银行或西门子公司等,迫 于形势,不得不坦然面对原以为早已结案的历史争议问题。”

柏林“历史真相及档案调研社”的施莱博尔女士指 出,追溯过往历史,不仅是为揭开企业历史的黑暗面,现在许多康采恩也已认识到,通过企业史还可赢得顾客的信任。她说:“例如一个拥有50年生产经验的洗衣 机制造商,他们的用户肯定不用担心机器随时可能出问题。这就是他们相对于新品牌所占的优势。企业史对他们来说有如身份证,是信誉的保证。”

不过投资研究企业史以招徕新、旧顾客的做法划得 来吗?舒格认为,只有一定的企业可以这样做,例如汽车制造业或钟表业等。他说:“因为这些企业的产品价位不低,不同于那些只卖几分钱的廉价货品。谁有兴趣 关注生产便宜货厂家的企业史呢?追溯企业史只对生产高价位名牌产品的企业具市场意义。”

舒格认为,企业不应仅为争取顾客而追溯历史,对 员工来说,企业史也具有重要意义。他说:“许多尝试全球化运作的企业之所以不成功,就是因为他们无法使不同文化融洽结合。我认为,企业史可在化解误会方面 助一臂之力。例如,当两家企业合并时,互相了解对方历史,比较容易就共同的未来达成一致。”

历史学家进行调研工作时,可自由进出企业资料 库。迄今为止,他们尚未被要求隐瞒或低调处理具争议性的历史资料。不过“历史真相及档案调研社”的施莱博尔女士表示:“至于企业如何处理我们整理出来的资 料,就不关我们的事了,因为企业不会用我们的名字发布新闻。对我们来说,重要的是能如实撰写或谈论分析结果,并且不被要求更改某些内容,例如去除有关没收 犹太人财产的部份,或捏造犹太人欢天喜地接受企业被收购的不实内容等。”

Zecher, Francisca

無印良品MUJI


無印良品(むじるしりょうひん)

日本:無印良品

台灣:MUJI無印良品

無印良品(MUJI

Muji (Japanese design firm)

  • Founded: in 1983 by retail conglomerate Seiyu.
  • Company History: Joint venture with Liberty Plc, 1991-97; opened first European outlet, London, 1991; spun off as part of Ryohin Keikaku Ltd., 1997; announced intention to open 40 stores in Germany over next decade, 1997; majority stake in Ryohin sold by Seiyu, 1999; launched company websites for online sales, 2000.
  • Awards: D&AD Silver award, 1994; Design Week award for Retail Design, 1994.
  • Company Address: Nikko Ikebukuro Building, 4-26-3 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan 170.
  • Company Websites: www.muji.net(in Japan); www.MujiOnline.com(in North America).





良品計劃株式會社社長松井忠三─親臨現場,必能揪出問題
喜歡逛無印店面的松井,當年出任社長之際,發現再不處理這個問題,無印將走不到未來。於是一把火就把所有存貨燒光。損失了三十八億日圓(約十一億台幣)的服裝成本之後,從新開始。

【文/莊素玉;攝影/楊煥世】

東京都東池袋四丁目無印良品總部,正式的公司名稱是良品計劃株式會社。安靜地以一貫素雅的禪風接待大廳,迎接著外來的訪客。

近六十歲的社長松井忠三,談吐舉止就有如無印良品般的優雅沈靜。

松井大學念體育系,可是從年輕就進入西友集團(無印良品獨立前的母公司)人事部門任職多年。他在西元二○○一年無印良品營運最辛苦的那一年接掌良品社長。

那一年的無印良品才度過了八、九年的好光景後,由於同樣是訴求低價位、天然素材的強大競爭者出現而自亂步調,做了許多原先無印良品不會設計生產的有鮮豔顏色的服裝商品,導致賣不出去的衣服堆滿倉庫與商店。

喜歡逛無印店面的松井,當年出任社長之際,發現再不處理這個問題,無印將走不到未來。於是一把火就把所有存貨燒光。損失了三十八億日圓(約十一億台幣)的服裝成本之後,從新開始。

他開始展開無印良品的復活之道。如今無印良品去年三月(日本是三月會計制:二○○七日本三月等於二○○六年的銷售) 結算的年營收達一三九三億日圓(約四百億台幣),由二○○一年的谷底截至二○○七年三月決算營收成長了一○○%,資產淨值報酬率達一五%,史上最高。

海外店鋪更是遠征英國、法國、義大利、愛爾蘭、德國、義大利、瑞典、挪威、西班牙、香港、新加坡、韓國、台灣、泰國等地。他如何能在既堅持無印原先禪的精神與設計的原點,又可以廣納世界的設計人才,走出無印的一條新路?

(以下為訪談整理稿)

問:你到台灣常常一天逛遍所有的商店?現在日本好像很流行現場主義的管理?

答:是的,到現場去很重要。我很努力地常常要去巡視商店。我必須到現場去看,看是否有什麼東西需要修改的。

商品、販賣的方法、陳列方式、社員的教育,有很多現象會在現場發生,全部要清清楚楚地修正。每次去現場看,都是有主題意識地去看。譬如最近我的主題是春天搬家的主題。每年的春天,正是日本社會新鮮人剛開始上班的季節,也是一般上班族開始調動工作地點或是換工作的季節。

為了這些要移動的人所需要的冰箱、沙發、床以及家用品,店裡就要用各種現場海報及陳設佈置,讓社會新鮮人或轉換工作地點的上班族,來店裡可以很快地找到他們搬家所需要的東西。同時也要看看這些商品的進出流量狀況。

其次,我也要看商品在商店中所陳設的量。這些全部都要看。

第二眼,我要看後面的倉庫。倉庫要用顏色來區分管理,很快就可以理解倉庫裡的陳列。我要了解倉庫是否有很清楚地分類與管理。有整理的倉庫,很快就可以取出商品到店裡去。

同時我也要看看是否有缺貨。我們基本上不希望缺貨,有沒有缺貨,也可以用看的,從賣場的架上有沒有商品可以來判斷。如果有很多的商品在架上,也是有問題。但也可以看出有沒有缺貨。我每次很快地到店裡去走走,在那裡,如果缺貨很多,一定是有原因的。

有時候商店架上缺貨,可是倉庫裡卻有貨,這表示公司的運作系統與流程出了問題。所以這時候必須要重新調整公司的運作狀態,必須要去了解企業是否運作順利,所以到商店現場去,一定可以看到許多展現出來的問題徵兆。

譬如說,台灣比日本提早暖和,春天、夏天都比日本提早到來。所以必須配合當地的氣候,提早擺設適合季節的商品。如果採取跟日本一樣的季節商品送到台灣或韓國,韓國因為還太冷,有些季節商品也賣不掉。

沒有決心,沒有未來

問:二○○一年時,你在擔任無印良品社長初期時,做了一個重大決策,就是燒掉所有的庫存品?為什麼下了這麼大的決心?

答:二○○一年當時,無印良品的營收滑落。當時,我剛成為社長,很多衣物賣不掉,存貨增加許多。當時倉庫約有一百億日圓(約二十九億台幣)的商品,其中有 五十五億日圓(約十六億台幣)是賣不掉的過期衣服商品,大半是兩年、三年前的衣料品存貨。當年我來到商店現場來回巡視。剛好隔年西元二○○二年春天時開始 更換新商品。我去店裡面發現在打折拍賣。當時商店看起來很髒,顧客也不想來店裡買中古商品。我看這樣下去,也不可能把存貨全部賣掉。所以必須一下子就要讓 這些庫存消失無蹤。

即使要送給人,也沒有人可以收這麼多的庫存衣服。所以在新瀉縣的倉庫,存貨堆積如山。當下我決定就把存貨運到山上,一把火就把它燒了。不這 樣做,新商品無法在賣場展示,顧客也都不來買了。也就是把三十八億日圓(約十一億台幣)成本,九十億日圓(約二十六億台幣)左右的商品一下子就把它燒了。 如果一直抱著這些存貨,根本就不能做生意。

問:你的決心很強?

答:與其說是決心強,不如反過來說,不這樣做,就完全沒有未來。

雖然因為燒掉存貨,產生很大赤字,但是存貨的問題不處理又不行,一定要把它變成零。


問:在那之後,你如何使無印良品復活?

答:在這樣的狀態下,營收及利益都會掉下來。首先必須要使無印良品三個強項(使無印有理由便宜的三個強項)都要更加強化。

第一個問題是,無印良品這樣的品牌的做法、概念都必須變更。第二個問題是展店的方式也必須變更。第三點是販賣的方式也必須變更。初期的無印良品是簡樸、產品機能強、也很便宜、自然的概念。但是在日本有其他的後起商店賣得比你便宜。

所以首先要從三個商品概念──素材、生產、包裝上來強化。

於是我開始要一直提高消費者對無印良品的偏好度。無印良品除了原先就具備的產品特色──高品質、簡潔基本的機能、合理價格、自然素材之外,更要做到豐富的低成本,聰明的低價格。

譬如說,無印的椅子講求簡潔的設計之外,更要追求機能、強度以及座椅的舒適度。也就是說,成本雖低、價格雖低、設計也很簡潔,但是一個椅子該講求的機能,我們也很追求,也就是它所兼顧的椅子的內容也很豐富。總而言之,產品的概念必須要變更。

想法改變,接下來的許多做法都會跟著改變。

問:為何無印良品每年都有年度主題?

答:我們二○○三年對外展示主題宣傳海報。頭一年是以蒙古為海報主題概念。無印良品所印出的蒙古海報,整個蒙古當地的空間空蕩到可以看到地平線,一望無垠。

這意味著,無印也宛如是一個什麼都沒有的空間。在這樣的空間內,可以讓消費者抱著自己的的想法,將無印的產品擺進去,也不會對所生活的空間造成什麼視覺干擾。也就是說無印是一個可以讓消費者自由發想的品牌,而不是這個品牌一定要給消費者什麼思想。

二○○三年開始到現在,無印只是「有理由的便宜」的產品概念還不夠。由這裡開始,要一點點地改變。

為什麼要改變,因為顧客改變了。我們做的商品,比百貨公司同品質的商品,便宜三成。但是在這個世界當中,同樣的做法很容易被競爭者追上。譬如說,有的品牌可以做出跟百貨公司同樣品質的商品,並且以一半以下的成本製作。無印是無法跟它競爭的。

所以我們要來看無印的顧客究竟要追求什麼?不是只是追求便宜的,也追求品質好的、價格合理的、高質感的、使用的品質也是很好的,可以跟自己的價值觀很吻合的商品。

無印不是要滿足所有的顧客。譬如說喜歡紅色、黃色等華麗原色的人可能就不是無印的顧客。譬如說不管外在的衣服有多豔麗,無印的內衣一律採取不給人帶來困擾的白、膚色或黑色。無印的產品就是盡量不給人帶來礙眼的觀瞻。這是無印的哲學。

無印的哲學根本就是「生活」。從古到今,留存下來的大事就是生活或文化。這種生活文化的普遍性就是無印的一個根本骨幹,譬如說很努力工作的生活文化,如在 做料理的女性的手,在織布的女性的手,也是今年無印的年度海報主題。在做普通的工作的手是很美的,無印也一直強調要能抓住優良商品的品質。

展店、出貨都要小心

除了強調設計之外,我們對於要銷售出去的商品也很謹慎。

透過網際網路或電話,我們會收集顧客的期望與抱怨。我們會針對顧客的抱怨,重新修正產品。譬如說化妝包,我們設計得很簡單、以及採用容易使用的素材,但是內袋裡的分隔與配置也很重要。此外,也透過網際網路,製作出這個世界上沒有的商品。

我們設計出來的椅子、枕頭、沙發等,譬如說,分別做出六種類型,透過網路,讓顧客投票。如果有三百個人說他們會買,他們就會買。所以真的賣 得很好。這就是從顧客的需求當中,所孕育而生的商品。此外,我們開店的方式也會改變。必須去找出能夠狂賣的要因。譬如必須將商圈內的人口密度、所得指數全 部轉化為點數,冷靜估算,才決定是否展店。

【天下雜誌395期 我不想上學,訂閱天下雜誌知識庫





中国 | 警惕以行善的名义施暴


中国 | 2008.05.21

警惕以行善的名义施暴


520日中國南充市麥當勞被人群衝擊,圍攻者聲討麥當勞賑災捐款太少。同時中國在流傳一條國際鐵公雞的短信,列出在中國發大財而給災區捐款少的國際 名企黑名單。德國之聲記者瀟陽認為,捐款是道德義務而不是法律義務,強迫捐款違背了捐款的真義,有以行善的名義施暴的嫌疑,這樣的行為只會損害中國人在這 次抗震救災中呈現給世界的良好形象。

中國四川發生大地震後,海內外華人空前團結,表現出空前的愛心和公益心,救災過程中傳出無數可歌可泣的動人故事,社會各界不分貧富紛紛慷慨捐款,向世界展示了中國人良好的國民素質和道德境界。大自然的災難激發了中國人的愛心和勇氣,災難過後的大地上大大地書寫著人性二字。

遺憾的是,在這場史無前例的捐款熱潮中,出現了一些有悖捐款的本來意義的現象,如果不及時對此進行反思和反省,會影響中國社會形成一個可持續性的、成熟的捐款文化的形成。

捐款行為的兩大原則是自願和不求回報,二者缺一 不可,否則捐款就成了稅款或者是買賣支付。自願,是因為捐款者聽從的是他內心的道德召喚,而不是外部的法律義務或者是對制裁的恐懼;不求回報,捐款才一方 面不帶有利益交換的性質,另一方面,也是更重要的一方面,它使得捐款與施捨不同,它不會讓受益者產生依賴關係和需要感恩戴德的不平等心理。因此,捐款如果 不是匿名的,至少也應該努力做到捐款人與被受益者之間不形成一對一的直面關係。

汶川地震給災區人民帶來慘重的生命和財產損失,捐款當然也是多多益善,公眾輿論應該褒獎捐款,媒體應該起到弘揚善行的導向和推動作用,這都是毋庸置疑的。儘管如此,捐款行為和對待捐款行為還應該不背離自願和不求回報這兩個原則,否則捐款就失去了本來的意義。

其實,無論是麥當勞還是所謂的國際鐵公雞 名單上的其他一些外資在華企業,在這次賑災中都慷慨解囊,表現出企業的社會責任感。即使是相比之下某家公司真的捐款數量不多,也不應該被圍攻或者在公共輿 論空間受到語言暴力的圍攻。捐款畢竟不是公司要履行的法律義務,敦促企業捐款除了用道義上的感召,不應該用其他任何強制手段。只要一個企業的收入來源合 法,任何法律義務之外的強制支付都是一種搶劫行為。即使是在救災這樣的非常狀態中,法律秩序和法律賦予的權利也應該得到尊重。如果我們無法避免地不幸成為 災民,我們至少能保持人性的高貴與尊嚴而不成為暴民。

三湘都市報報導,一張神舟電腦董事長吳海 軍的手諭字條成為中國各大論壇的熱點話題。字條上指責公司有1%的對捐款不積極的員工是冷血人渣,讓這些人從公司滾蛋。這一字條不但語 言上充滿暴力,也體現了對法律的不尊重,對他人的不寬容,以簡單粗暴的黑白思維方式,以捐款與否和捐款多少為標準,將人分為善惡兩類。

512日以來,國內的幾大門戶網站都出現了捐款數量排行榜,捐款數量成為了一個衡量愛心多少的道德尺度。更有不少好事者將一些被認為是捐款數量不夠的富人的個人財產隱私挖掘出來,揭露他們為富 不仁,缺乏回報社會的愛心。還有不少地方出現了捐款刻意追求媒體效應,將捐款重新在電視攝像機前表演一下的現象。商業門戶網站阿裏巴巴董事長馬雲六年前的 一番舊有關捐款的言論也也被拿來炒作,形成了網路輿論的道德追殺。

正如捐款是人的積極的道德義務,不捐款也是人的 消極法律權利。在一個真正尊重人格尊嚴的社會,在人人踴躍捐款的同時,一定不應該是對不捐款的人或捐款少的人進行道德審判、遊街示眾和嘲諷的社會。一個人 性化的和充滿愛心的社會,也一定是個寬容的社會。在一個寬容的社會,對於捐贈的一分錢,我們也應該說聲謝謝。作為一個凡夫俗子,我們可能無法做到匿名散千 金的瀟灑,但我們不應該因為捐款或者捐款更多就自然擁有了比別人更多的道德優越感。中國人在災難來臨時展現了良好的國民素質,讓我們用更加寬容海量的國民 胸懷來與世界相處。

瀟陽

2008年5月21日 星期三

靠政府資金能打造出真正的B2C門戶網站嗎?

Consumer-to-consumer electronic commerce


DATE
2008/05/21  【日經BP社報導】

 

一個由中國國家科技部、商務部聯合推動的B2C門戶網站——正佳網,擬定於6月正式上線。該網站由商務部中國國際電子商務中心、廣州正佳網路現代服務有限公司、廣州正佳廣場三方資本攜手打造,整個項目總投資約16億元,將分三期完成。正佳網項目由科技部正式批復立項,6月開業的正佳網是一期第一部分,約為20個頻道,主要以百貨零售業為主。之後將追加家政、醫療、醫藥、珠寶、保險等六大板塊內容。   

之前,淘寶網B2C平臺“淘寶商城”的上線,表明了淘寶網進軍B2C領域的決心。傳統零售企業加速佈局B2C領域,家電連鎖巨頭國美、蘇寧也已開設了網上商城。以紅孩子、京東商城、PPG為代表的電子商務平臺的成功,透射出B2C市場巨大的潛力。政府扶持的正佳網將會給B2C市場帶來怎樣的影響呢? 政府扶持的利弊分析   “商務部中國國際電子商務中心參股”——如此強大的政府背景是正佳網的先天優勢。政府背景將會為正佳網帶來眾多資源,正如正佳網官方所標榜的一樣,“國家級體驗式門戶”,增加了用戶對該網站的信任,再加上“百分百實體店認證”,體現了具有官方色彩的B2C門戶的不同之處。當然,這些對於網站將產生正面的宣傳效果,讓廣大網民更容易接受正佳網。   不過,話又說回來,如今,紅火的B2C網站有幾個是政府支援的?基本都是靠自力更生。民營企業在電子商務市場的發展過程中具有許多優勢,它能及時撲捉市場的變化,作出相應的戰略調整。而具有政府背景的網站遠沒有民營企業反應快,決策緩慢,在追求效率的今天,就要慢半拍了。 價格影響著B2C企業的利潤   


據了解,正佳網的商品價格將低於同一品牌實體店。與其他網路購物平臺不同,正佳網要求所有網上營業的商家必須擁有實體店舖。這種網店與實體店對應的模式解決了售後服務的問題,對於消費者而言無疑是件好事。但是,對於商家自身來說,恐怕就有些力不從心了,比實體店的價格要低,還要提供完善的售後服務,這樣商家的利潤自然就降低了很多。   

說到價格,B2C平臺與C2C平臺相比,更是毫無優勢可言。B2C平臺的商家需要交店舖費、管理費等諸多費用;而C2C平臺的賣家幾乎不需要交任何費用,因此形成了很大的價格差。一般網民當然會選價格實惠的商品購買,即使B2C商家降低價格,與C2C賣家大打價格戰,結果將是,B2C商家的利潤大幅下滑,在售後服務方面肯定會大打折扣。長此以往,B2C平臺的商家會吃不消。 B2C網站面臨C2C網站衝擊   

目前,C2C市場可謂欣欣向榮:百度信誓旦旦要進軍C2C市場,易趣舉著免費大旗捲土重來,騰訊拍拍也不甘示弱。當然,昔日的C2C市場霸主淘寶網,也不會拱手相讓。由於在C2C平臺上開網店是免費的,不需要店舖租金,甚至有的C2C平臺還提供免費專屬VIP客服、免費推廣等措施,所以說,越來越多的人加入了職業賣家的行列。   C2C市場如此強勁的勢頭,對B2C平臺的衝擊是在所難免的。C2C市場競爭的加劇,將會進一步提升產品價格方面的優勢。再加上稅收政策的不同,也使B2C與C2C站在了兩條不同的起跑線上,毫無疑問,B2C平臺的商家將會付出更多。綜觀兩個平臺的商品種類,基本上重合。一樣的商品,不一樣的價格消費者會選擇在哪買呢?對於一般的網民來說,肯定會選擇價格便宜的。更別說買家們往往帳戶都比較固定,C2C平臺對買家的粘性,也使B2C平臺難以分流這些買家。 結語   中國的B2C市場正在進入一個快速發展時期,模式多元,有淘寶商城、正佳網這樣的門戶網站,也有PPG、北斗手機網這樣的垂直細分網站。B2C市場需要一個公平競爭的環境,優勝劣汰也不可避免,市場會形成有效的盈利模式。   

當然,政府扶持電子商務企業,體現了政府支援電子商務市場發展的決心。但政府部門更應該做的是儘早完善電子商務市場相關的法律,和構築更為重要的誠信制度,以促進電子商務市場的健康成長。在法律與誠信的雙重保障下,中國的電子商務市場才會走向良性的發展之路。(特約記者:賈子昂) ■相關報導 從阿里巴巴上市看中國電子商務發展 易觀國際:初級網民佔36%,中國網際網路還在普及階段 Amazon.com收購中國最大網路銷售企業joyo.com

善款不易,更需善用

据中国民政部公布的数字,截至20日下午1时,中国全国已经接收社会各界捐赠款物139.25亿元人民币,其中捐款达125.16亿。随着捐款总数的不断升高,公众要求透明捐款收支的呼声也越来越高。有网民呼吁,如果捐款收支不能取信于民,缺乏公信力,会影响到国民进一步捐款的意愿。如果中国能在此次大灾巨额捐款操作中,解决了历年来的一个顽症,相信将对社会造福甚大。

距离"5.12"汶川特大地震发生短短7、8天的时间,中国社会各界就已经募捐了100多亿人民币的款物。善款如何善用的问题被越来越多的人所提出来。2003年,渭河大水之后,中国国家发改委向陕西省拨出5906万元救灾款。从陕西省发改委向下,一级一级"过滤",最终发放到灾民手中的救灾款只剩下50万元,不及原始救灾款的百分之一。救灾救助款项收支不公开、不透明,或是地方政府发放救灾款雁过拔毛一级一级扒皮,让许多有爱心的人对公益事业不敢献出爱心。汶川地震发生之后,有一些网民在论坛中留言说,他们不愿意向国家的慈善基金会捐款,原因就是担心捐款最终不会发到灾民的手上。

公益慈善组织壹基金的发起人,电影工夫皇帝李连杰上周携带两名审计师以及3.5吨救灾物资前往四川灾区。在壹基金北京办公室工作的范小姐介绍说,李连杰带上两名审计师赴灾区的原因就是要让捐款人放心。 范小姐告诉记者:"我们其实也会担心。筹来钱容易,但是钱花出去才是更难的。你怎么能对每一个捐款人有一个交待,让每一个人都知道他捐的钱真正用到了该用的地方。"遵照国际慈善组织的运作方式,为了确保慈善公益基金的透明度及公信力,壹基金聘请德勤华永会计师事务所对其善款的使用进行审计。每一季度公布季报,每一年度公布年报,向公众详细介绍"壹基金"的善款募集和使用情况。按照中国国家现行规定,只有一些大型的半政府化的机构才具备公共募集的许可。壹基金为了实现其人人可以做公益的理念,选择同中国红十字会进行合作。从法律架构上讲,壹基金从属于红十字会。但是在善款的使用上,壹基金有决策权。

范小姐说:"我们成立了壹基金管理委员会。由壹基金和红十字会的人共同组成。管理委员会对善款的使用有一个决策,也是为了防止因为钱不在我们手上,钱在红十字会的账面上,不经管理委员会通过,红十字会也不能擅自动用善款。这也是有了一个保证吧。"壹基金的合作伙伴中国红十字会截至到19日傍晚6点,中国红十字会总会以及各地分会总共已经募集到捐款29.1亿元。据总会宣传处的一位工作人员介绍,目前红十字会已经向绵阳、绵竹、什邡等重灾区发放了价值1.26亿元的物资。在被问道如何看待中国一些网民在自己的博客上写不相信红十字会的问题时,这位工作人员答道:

"关键是看以前红十字是怎么做的,包括这一次。捐赠过程审计部门最后给我们是一个什么报告。最近几年,我们组织海啸捐款4个多亿,非典6.8亿,雪灾2.5亿。这些都是相当庞大的数字,但是审计部门对我们没有挑出任何问题。"对捐款应建立透明有效的机制中国青年报冰点周刊前主编李大同认为,捐款在基金会的层面上出问题的情况比较少。但是,由于基金会不可能将钱直接交到灾民手里,而是通过地方政府一层层地发放下去。在环节和环节之间会不会出现截留、滥用、贪污就很难说了。一些网民表示,把善款使用建立在缺乏公信力的团体信誉上面是毫无用处的,必须立即建立相关配套制度,开放舆论全程监督,才能让捐款人捐出来的每一笔善款都真正用到灾民身上。李大同表示,监督捐款的收支需要建立有效而透明的机制。他说:"首先是公开,它必须是公开的。你的钱都干了什么。捐款的使用是非常大的系统工程。你必须先清楚当地的情况。他需要不同的救助:医疗、重建、教育各个方面,非常复杂。我不清楚有没有一个机构能承担起了。特别是中国的NGO不发达,NGO在中国一直被压制。一切都要由官方来进行。但是官方是最不可信任的,它是浪费性的。我对这个前景不是很乐观。"

他表示,除此之外,还需要向社会详细地公布对每一笔捐款支出的审计结果。15日,中国国家审计署在其网站上登发"部署汶川地震救灾资金和物资审计工作"通知,指出,此次审计的重点包括,查处滞拨、滞留救灾资金和物资;促进救灾资金和物资及时、足额下拨;查处挤占挪用、贪污、私分、克扣救灾资金等问题。20日,中国中央纪委、监察部、民政部、财政部和审计署联合发出通知,要求加强对抗震救灾资金物资监管,保证救灾款物真正用于受灾民众。李大同表示,数目巨大的救灾捐款如何才能被正确合理地使用,令媒体和公众高度关注。他说:"如果以此为契机,建立一个适合中国国情的非常透明的善款使用机制,未尝不是一件好事。关键看中央政府对这事件的重视程度,也需要媒体的进一步呼吁和媒体监督。

"http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evyh86I44va89pI1

2008年5月14日 星期三

If It’s Eye Care Technology, This Must Be Orange County

If It’s Eye Care Technology, This Must Be Orange County

Stephanie Diani for The New York Times

Thomas J. Berryman founded WavetecVision Systems, a company developing an instrument that helps doctors get better measurements of a patient's corrected vision.

ophthalmologist, stent, titanium, glaucoma, infini...
Published: May 15, 2008

THAT Orange County, Calif., has become a center of small companies developing devices for eye care is no coincidence.

Some of the companies were nurtured by a six-year-old private organization of more than two dozen top executives of corporations in the county. The organization, called Orange County Technology Network, or Octane, has so far created 27 companies, most in electronics and software technology, and biomedical devices, especially for eye care.

“It’s innovation development, a variation on economic development,” said Gary Augusta, executive director of Octane.

Other small eye device companies can trace their origins to William J. Link, who earned an engineering doctorate from Purdue University and came to Orange County in 1977 to work for a hospital supply company. He went on to found two eye device companies, sell them, and with the proceeds join venture capital investors who finance health care companies. He has helped to finance 20 companies, half of them in Orange County.

“When companies get bought out, some of the people in them who owned shares find they have money,” Mr. Link said. “And if they are entrepreneurial, they get the confidence to start their own companies. So the industry multiplies over and over again.”

In all, there are 310 biomedical firms in Orange County, according to Octane, including several dozen developing implanted lenses, known as intraocular lenses, for use in cataract surgery, laser surgery for vision correction and instruments to alleviate glaucoma and other eye diseases.

“This area has the highest concentration of ophthalmic industry in the world,” said Dr. Roger F. Steinert, professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine, which is closely involved in the Octane community effort. Every Thursday, Luis Vasquez of Octane goes to the Eye Institute at the university and listens as medical researchers tell him of ideas they have for businesses. Then he refers the ideas to the venture capital investors and entrepreneurial businesspeople who serve on Octane’s 27-member board.

“There is a remarkable community here,” said Dr. Steinert, who is helping to raise funds for a $50 million Eye Institute building at the university. The building will be named for Gavin S. Herbert, founder and former chairman of Allergan, the large pharmaceutical products company that first developed antiallergy eye drops 60 years ago in Los Angeles. Allergan moved its headquarters to Irvine in 1971.

The industry grew over some three decades in an organic process of small companies being taken over by large ones, which spurred entrepreneurs to form and lead new companies. Mr. Link, for example, started in the business 31 years ago when he heard about a need for intraocular lenses to replace lenses clouded with cataracts. “So I contacted an ophthalmologist friend of mine and we founded American Medical Optics to make such lenses,” Mr. Link said in a recent interview.

Mr. Link sold that company to Allergan in 1986 and then founded Chiron Vision, as an Orange County eye care subsidiary of the Chiron Corporation, the biotechnology firm based in Emeryville in Northern California.

Chiron Vision succeeded with lenses and research into advanced eye care, and Mr. Link sold it to Bausch & Lomb of Rochester for $300 million in 1997. Mr. Link then became a venture capitalist at Brentwood Venture Partners and its successor firm, Versant Ventures.

Eyeonics of Aliso Viejo, Calif., is a company founded by J. Andy Corley and Dr. J. Stuart Cumming in 1988. Mr. Corley worked with Mr. Link at American Medical Optics and at Chiron Vision. At Eyeonics, he changed the industry by persuading Medicare to let patients pay surgeons extra and directly for specialized lenses.

“Cataract surgery is the most common operation performed, three million a year in the United States,” Mr. Corley said in an interview. “But Medicare in recent years started cutting remuneration for the procedure and private insurers did the same.” So Eyeonics has developed what Mr. Corley called a premium lens that not only replaced the cataract but reduced the need to wear eyeglasses afterward for reading.

“Baby boomers don’t want to wear glasses,” Mr. Corley said. “They want to preserve the youthful lifestyle, and they’re willing to pay for it.” Eyeonics made $34 million in revenue for its premium lenses last year, he said. Cataract surgery costs up to $2,000 an eye while surgery that installs the premium lenses can cost $5,000 an eye, according to data supplied by Eyeonics and physicians.

Mr. Corley sold Eyeonics last February to Bausch & Lomb for an undisclosed sum that he said exceeded $80 million. Impressed with the entrepreneurial environment in Orange County, Bausch & Lomb is transferring some research functions to the Eyeonics location, which Mr. Corley will manage.

Thomas J. Berryman, who founded WaveTec Vision Systems in Aliso Viejo, Calif., in 2005 with $5 million in venture capital from Mr. Link’s Versant Ventures, noted in an interview that the demands of eye care change as technology advances.

“Many young people have Lasik surgery these days, and that changes the calculations on their lenses when they come to need cataract surgery,” Mr. Berryman said. “This presents problems for surgeons who guarantee a certain level of vision perfection as a result of their operations.”

WaveTec Vision has responded by developing an instrument that attaches to the surgical microscope, allowing the doctor to have a more precise measurement of a patient’s corrected vision. The company has run trials of the device on 300 patients, has raised $18 million in venture capital and hopes to achieve commercial operation next year, Mr. Berryman said.

Another eye device company is the Glaukos Corporation, headed by Thomas W. Burns, who worked with Mr. Link at Chiron Vision and was recruited by him in 2002 to be president and chief executive. Mr. Link serves as chairman of Glaukos, which is in Laguna Hills, Calif. Inspiration for the company came from a financier in Orange County, Olav Bergheim, whose son suffered from glaucoma and required high-risk surgeries. “We founded this company,” Mr. Burns said, “to develop a safer microinvasive procedure to treat glaucoma.”

Glaukos, with help from Dr. Richard Little, an ophthalmologist at the University of California, Irvine, developed an infinitesimal titanium stent that can be implanted in the eye to drain fluid and thus reduce the pressure that leads to glaucoma. The company, backed by $55 million in venture capital, has completed its clinical trials and hopes to secure approval for the device by mid-2009, Mr. Burns said.

Noting the intense levels of activity among the hundreds of biomedical companies in Orange County, Mr. Augusta summed up one of Octane’s tasks this way: “We have 400 jobs open and must attract the people.”

This column about small-business trends in California and the West appears on the third Thursday of every month. E-mail:
jamesflanigan@nytimes.com.

GE to Seek Buyers For Appliances Unit

GE to Seek Buyers For Appliances Unit

2008年05月15日10:24
General Electric Co. plans to start an auction for its appliances business, people familiar with the matter said.

If completed, a sale could end more than 100 years of GE's involvement with appliances. GE has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to run an auction for the appliances, or 'white goods,' unit, which could fetch between $5 billion and $8 billion, the people said.

With appliance sales getting hit by the slowing U.S. economy and the housing bust, jettisoning the business could help GE reach its long-term goal of boosting profits by at least 10% annually.

The sale of the appliance business is bound to be emotional for many GE executives and for people in Louisville, Ky., where the business is located. But a sale would fit with Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt's strategy of shedding slower-growing industrial businesses and focusing on higher-growth technology operations. A sale could also help appease critics who are calling for a more dramatic restructuring of the 120-year-old company, a chorus that grew noisier after GE's surprise first-quarter earnings disappointment and forecast reduction last month.

At roughly $7 billion, sales at GE's appliance division represent just a sliver of the company's $173 billion of annual revenue and therefore the impact of any sale on the company will be limited. The appliance outfit consists of refrigerators, freezers, electric and gas ranges, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, microwave ovens and air conditioners, sold under brands including GE Profile and Hotpoint, according to the company's Web site. GE entered the business in 1907 and boasts of milestones such as introducing the first room air-conditioner in 1930.



通用電氣欲出售電器業務

2008年05月15日10:24
消息人士透露﹐通用電氣公司(General Electric Co.)計劃開始拍賣旗下的電器業務。

如果交易完成﹐通用電氣將告別有著100多年曆史的電器業務。消息人士表示﹐通用電氣已經聘請高盛(Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)負責此次“白色家電”業務的拍賣﹐交易總金額可能在50億至80億美元之間。

在美國經濟放緩以及住房市場危機的雙重打壓下﹐家電銷售行情受到負面影響﹐此時選擇剝離家電業務將有助於通用電氣實現其利潤每年至少增長10%的長期目標。

對 通用電氣的許多管理人員以及該業務所在地肯塔基州路易斯維爾的人們來說﹐出售電器業務無疑會十分傷感。但這樣才能符合首席執行長傑夫•伊梅爾特 (Jeffrey Immelt)的戰略﹕放棄增長緩慢的工業業務﹐將重點放在增長更快的技術業務上。出售這部分業務也能安撫那些要求這間有著120年曆史的公司進行更大規 模重組的批評人士。通用電氣上個月發佈的第一季度收益報告令人失望﹐同時還下調了預期收益﹐更是助長了要求重組的呼聲。

通用電氣電器業務的銷售額約為70億美元﹐在該公司1,730億美元的全年收入中有如九牛一毛﹐因此出售這部分業務對公司的影響有限。據通用電氣網站上的 信息﹐其生產的電器包括冰箱、冷柜、電爐及燃氣灶、洗碗機、洗衣機和烘干機、微波爐、空調等﹐冠以GE Profile和Hotpoint等品牌。通用電氣於1907年開始涉足這項業務﹐並取得了一些突破性成果﹐如1930年推出了第一台室內空調機。

豐田成功實現全球化的關鍵之處——標準化

成功實現全球化的關鍵之處——豐田的回答
DATE 2008/05/15 印刷用網頁
  【日經BP社報導】 “標準化是最根本的。只要實行了徹底的標準化,一切都自然會順利進行”。在一場演講上,日本某汽車廠商的官員這樣介紹生產全球化的成功條件。

  這裡所說的標準化,是指參考“母廠”——在日本的核心工廠採用的生產設備及機械配置、佈局、使用方式、作業方法等製造方式,並將其確定為“全球標 準”,然後直接將其移植到海外工廠的做法。與各自構築生產線相比,使用統一方法,可使全球各基地的組裝作業穩定,減少品質差異。並且,由於指導當地員工和 作業員只需重複相同的工作,因此,在經營資源投入方面效率較高。

  演講內容只談了標準化,沒有涉及其他。在回答問題時,一位到場者心有不甘地問:“我們想聽的是全球化的成功秘訣,但是沒有聽到”。對此,這位高管重複了本文開頭的話。也就是說“標準化”等於“全球化的成功”。

  演講是在2007年春季。之所以沒有報導,是因為演講中沒有比其他公司優越、獨特的內容(或許是筆者學識淺薄,沒有理解也未必)。作為汽車廠 商,把日本創造的優秀方法和生產線作為標準植入海外工廠的做法並不稀奇。因此,在本刊的編輯會議上,這些內容根本通不過以總編為首的編輯們挑剔的目光。

  舉個例子,豐田汽車一直為提高全球競爭力而磨練生產技術能力。甚至為其方向性提煉出三個關鍵詞:(1)靈活性及通用化;(2)簡單化;(3) 保持品質。給人的印像是以標準化概念為基礎,並向前推進了一部。其實僅憑高岡工廠“革新生產線”上的機器人使用方式,豐田就遠遠領先其他汽車廠商。

  要想在編輯會議上通過,還有另一個難點。

  這個難點就是對於“任何廠商只要通過標準化就能取得全球化成功嗎?”的質疑,無法給出肯定的回答。標準化雖是有效手段,但僅憑這一點,並無法讓人確信就一定能夠導致生產全球化的成功。

  筆者發現,就算在這裡能給出充足的理由,接踵而來的將是回答極其“困難”的問題。

  “採用同樣的方法,為什麼只有豐田汽車獲得了巨大的成功,而其他公司沒有?”(注:這裡所說的其他公司並不是特定某個公司,而是指普遍現象)

  問題不知不覺換成了尋找豐田汽車成功的理由上來。可見豐田受關注的程度。話說回來,筆者曾多次撰寫關於豐田汽車的報導,並非不能回答這一問題。那麼,為什麼在前面說“困難”呢?原因是筆者感到,給出一個讓提問者完全滿意的答案極其困難。

  估計在豐田汽車內部,也沒人能簡潔地回答這一問題。在此之前,筆者曾就此問題多次詢問該公司員工,大部分回答都是:“我們不清楚其他公司的情況。只是做了在本公司及其普通的事情”。

  筆者感覺該問題的“答案”應該是由多重要素組合而成的。對於規模如此之大、又有長期發展歷史的企業,很難用一句話概括其成功的條件。而且,在編輯會議上,也沒有時間讓筆者一一說明讓提問者滿意的多重原因。

  另外,筆者還感到:提問者最終會直接向豐田汽車的相關人士尋求滿意的答案。

  相信有很多讀者理解這種心情,並且有同樣的感受。2008年6月9日和16日兩天將舉行人才培養研討會“豐田式製造與人才培養的傳授班——管 理及監督者課程”。其中,9日會後將舉辦懇談會。在聯誼會上,參加者可以向演講者——豐田汽車TQM推進部課長肌附安明直接提問。肌附為人豪爽,應該會 “毫無保留地回答問題”。但如果在提問前聽了演講,答案也許會不問自明瞭。(記者:近岡 裕)

■日文原文
グローバル化を成功に導く大切なもの---トヨタの回答は?

2008年5月13日 星期二

Hewlett-Packard Acquires E.D.S.


Hewlett-Packard Acquires E.D.S.


Published: May 14, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO — The Hewlett-Packard Company, the personal computer and printer maker, said Tuesday that it would acquire the Electronic Data Systems Corporation, the operator of corporate computer systems, for $13.9 billion.

The price of $25 a share represents a 32.5 percent premium to Electronic Data Systems’ closing price of $18.86 on Friday.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, has been approved by the boards of both companies. H.P. said in a statement Tuesday that it intended to make E.D.S. a separate business group that would remain in Plano, Tex.

The deal will make H.P. the second-largest player in the industry behind I.B.M., and is H.P.’s largest acquisition since it acquired Compaq for $20 billion six years ago.

The chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, Mark V. Hurd, said Tuesday in an interview that H.P. needed E.D.S. because “this is an asset that we can extend our capabilities.”

Mr. Hurd has been trying to increase the size and strength of the company’s business information technology services division, an industry that he said is growing 6.7 percent a year. “We felt having their competency is important,” he said.

The services businesses is attractive to I.B.M. and H.P. because it is a fast-growing global business valued at about $748 billion by Gartner, a market information firm. Hewlett-Packard has lagged behind I.B.M., the industry’s leader with around $54 billion in annual revenue. It is followed by E.D.S., which has about $22 billion in revenue.

Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile, had around $16.6 billion in revenue from services in 2007, and the acquisition, H.P. said on Tuesday, was expected to more than double that amount. Size matters in this business, because a larger company can have people in place across the globe to provide the services.

“It’s a very significant combination,” said Ben Pring, a research vice president in the IT Practices Group at Gartner. But “people who are skeptical of big integrations will have a field day around this,” he said. “It’s putting together two large businesses with two different heritages. It’s going to be a big culture clash.”

Mr. Hurd did not dismiss concerns that merging E.D.S. into H.P. would be difficult. “With anything of scale, it always comes down to execution,” he said.

“It comes down to getting things done.” The chief executive of E.D.S., Ronald A. Rittenmeyer, said Tuesday in an interview. “I don’t think the cultural differences are that significant.”

Mr. Rittenmeyer said both companies shared the same work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit. “It is not without its challenges,” he said. “H.P. has a great playbook in doing this in the past.”

Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, Calif., has not been averse to making acquisitions in recent years. Mr. Hurd has been vigorously adding software and services companies to take on I.B.M. in a ruthlessly competitive business of managing data centers and the data processing of large corporations.

The business has long been rough — with competitors eking out low profit margins — but it has become particularly challenging as companies award contracts to outsource work to overseas companies, notably in India, that pay lower wages.

Shares of E.D.S. closed at $24.13, up 28 percent from Friday’s close. Shares were up another 1.5 percent Tuesday, while H.P. shares were down 5.8 percent.

E.D.S. has a storied past. Founded in 1962 by H. Ross Perot, it pioneered the outsourcing of data management as well as the management of entire data centers. In 1984, he sold the company to General Motors, but it was a rocky relationship and he left the company two years later. G.M. spun off E.D.S. in 1996.

E.D.S., based in Plano, Tex., is comfortable with acquiring and integrating new operations because that is its business. Hewlett-Packard successfully integrated Compaq and has reorganized its core businesses to cut costs and provide cash for growing businesses. Business services had been a laggard division for H.P., but Ann M. Livermore, the executive vice president responsible for what the company calls its Technology Solutions Group, has made it profitable and made its growth rate match the rest of the company.

H.P. has acquired a string of enterprise software companies in recent years, including Mercury Interactive, Opsware and Neoware. (Several years ago, H.P. considered purchasing P.W.C., a major consulting firm, only to lose it to I.B.M.)

But the size of the proposed merger with E.D.S. would pose more daunting challenges. E.D.S. has 140,000 employees to H.P.’s 172,000. About two-thirds of the E.D.S. employees are located in the United States, which means Hewlett-Packard would be buying a relatively expensive work force compared to the fast-growing lower-cost competition based overseas, said A. M. Sacconaghi Jr., an industry analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.

Mr. Sacconaghi said that while he shared some of the skepticism of the deal, he thought H.P. could justify the acquisition on the basis that E.D.S. had fallen out of favor, and that this was the right time to make a deal.

In the last year, the stock has fallen steadily from around $28.

“This is bargain-hunting,” Mr. Sacconaghi said. “This is H.P. saying, ‘We see a cheap asset.’ “

Chris Whitmore, an analyst with Deutsche Bank, noted that E.D.S. had grown marginally, to around $22 billion in annual revenue, from $19.8 billion in 2003. And E.D.S.’s operating margins have been around 6 percent, about half of that of Hewlett-Packard; neither of those figures is particularly impressive, though the operating profits in the services businesses tend to be modest. I.B.M.’s service’s margins are a little higher than 10 percent, analysts said.

Mr. Whitmore said that he was surprised by the prospect of a deal because such a major integration can be so distracting, particularly because, he said, H.P. has done such a fine job of re-organizing its business in the last few years.

Damon Darlin contributed reporting.

2008年5月12日 星期一

ものは文化と伝統で強くなる

【日本知名企業家談經營】PLUS社長今泉嘉久:文化和傳統使產品更強大
DATE 2008/05/13

【日經BP社報導】

攝影:糠野 伸
  上世紀六七十年代是日本向歐美大量出口各種產品的時代。如今,同樣的情形正在以中國向日本出口的形式重現。再過10年,印度的出口或許也會增加。到那時,日本該如何是好?

  頂住了日本出口攻勢的歐美企業是怎麼做的呢?他們不光是抓產品(商品),而是自主探索新的發展空間,在其中加入自身特色。這大概歸納為服務或是品牌,總而言之創造出某些東西。

  考慮到這一點,因此,我認為不應該把日本單純地說成應回歸產品製造,或者簡單地說日本是製造之國。應該說日本是產品與附加值之國。就算我們追求高精度產品、廉價產品,最終也會被中國追上。所以以早晚會被追上為前提進行思考才是更好的方法。

  我之所以這麼說,可能是因為身處以文具為中心的雜貨業務的範疇,領域不同於以最尖端技術為本的各位。

產品背後的決勝負

  當然,製造更高精度的好產品非常重要。因為這樣可以提高產品的易用性。但是,另一方面,日本廠商也必須思考如何才能給產品添加服務,如何向客戶提供其他方面的附加值等等產品背後應該擁有的東西。

  當人們找到產品背後的存在時,也許會發現它與文化緊密相關。當產品與文化背景結合時,可以說是給產品添加了服務或是附加值。

  在歐洲,這種商品相當多。不光是工業品,就連農作物的背後也都有由來。歐洲人為這些產品添加新附加值,並共同銷售。例如法國波爾多的葡萄酒、西班牙的伊比利亞火腿,它們之所以暢銷,一方面是因為本身確實美味,另一方面則是源於產品的附加值。

  博若萊葡萄酒也是如此,雖然本人覺得並沒有那麼好喝,但法國人把葡萄採摘期和上市期都做成了一種文化。

廠商需要製造“產品”和市場

  對於廠商而言,有兩樣東西必須製造。一是“產品”,一是市場。剛才提到了法國的葡萄酒,法國人為了在全球建立統一市場,付出了嘔心瀝血的努力。龜甲萬在美國也付出了50年、60年的努力普及醬油,日本人必須付出更多這樣的努力才行。

  作為廠商,應該意識到產品製造其實就是製造市場。在現在的時代,我們需要拿出與開發產品相當的成本來製造市場。誰走在前面,誰就能取勝。

  在製造市場的過程中,我們必須更加努力地追求能夠愉悅顧客的東西。使其成為附加值。實際上,某些對基因起效的產品也會使人感到愉悅。例如醬油燒焦的味 道。日本人覺得非常好聞,但美國人估計不會有任何共鳴。創造市場就是把這些產品作為賣點,開展在全球普及的工作,或者說是教育,讓對方感受到。龜甲萬確實 是這麼做的。雖然不知道是否合算,但這確實是在出口文化。

簡歷: 今泉嘉久:1966年9月進入Plus。1972年7月任董事,1975年7月任常務董事,1981年8月任董事長副社長,1983年4月就任董事長社長 至今。1991年3月起擔任全日本文具協會副會長,同月就任東京文具工業連盟副會長,1995年6月擔任日本辦公室傢具協會副會長。

■日文原文
ものは文化と伝統で強くなる

Tesco rings up green changes, with IT

Tesco rings up green changes, with IT
ComputerworldUK - UK

Tesco rings up green changes, with IT

IT helps retailer cut its emissions

By Mike Simons


IT is responsible for three to four percent of Tesco’s total carbon footprint, but it is also the key to reducing greenhouse gases, according to Mike Yorwerth, the company’s group technical director.




Yorwerth told the GreenIT 08 conference in London that IT was getting its house in order, so that it could create change across the organisation.

Most of Tesco’s IT energy consumption – about 75% - is in its shops through tills, servers, TVs and PDAs. “It is really hard to manage that," Yorwerth said.

Datacentres only account for 11% of energy consumption and emissions, but here the driver for efficiency is as much getting sufficient power to run its growing operations as it is to meet the edict from the company’s board to create a sustainable organisation.

The supermarket giant has applied a Six Sigma-type methodology to greening its IT, which comprises of defining, measuring, analysing, improving and control. This has resulted in a series of initiatives that can have a major impact on the organisation’s environmental footprint, as well as longer term strategic planning, Yorwerth explained.

For instance, Tesco has 30,000 tills in the UK that traditionally have been left on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company has stared switching off unused tills overnight.

But Yorwerth said the move to switch off unused equipment has met with resistance from some IT staff. “The big challenge is for guys in the operations department. There is a lot of fear in it about switching things off,” he said.

In its datacentres, Tesco is embracing virtualisation, particularly for its Windows Server environment. “Windows servers are very poorly utilised,” Yorwerth said, which raises the potential for significant savings.

The retailer still has considerable work to do on restructuring its current datacentres to be more energy efficient. “There is a lot we can do by having a look around the datacentre,” he said. “We don’t have hot and cold aisles, for example.”

Energy efficiency on the desktop is being driven by Active Directory policies said Yorwerth.

Tesco has put in place a policy that new systems must be more energy efficient than those they replace, and it is building a green scorecard for use during procurement.



2008年5月11日 星期日

Inside the Tata Nano Factory

Inside the Tata Nano Factory

The tale of the creation and design of the world's cheapest car is one of innovation and ingenuity, both inside and outside Ratan Tata's organization


dais

null

The "Luxury" version of the car features fog lamps, power windows and A/C. Tata Motors


http://images.businessweek.com/story/08/370/0509_red_tata.jpg

The Nano, nicknamed the "people's car", will cost $2,500 when it goes on sale later this year. Tata Motors

At Tata's Engineering Research Centre, near the bucolic surroundings of the Tata Motors (TTM) factory in Pune, a suburb of Bombay, there are two cars on display. One is a complete prototype of the Nano, the $2,500 compact car Tata unveiled in January, which has all the essentials and safety features of India's higher priced automobiles along with a sticker price that will forever change the economics of low-cost cars. The other is a neat bisection, with the car's innards clearly visible. "Every day we invite people to come and examine the car and ask: 'How can we make more savings?'" says Tata Motors Chief Executive Ravi Kant.

That quest to build the world's cheapest car hasn't ended. The Nano should be available this fall, but the mission began back in 2003, when Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors and the $50 billion Tata conglomerate, set a challenge to build a "people's car." Tata gave an engineering team, led by 32-year-old star engineer Girish Wagh, three requirements for the new vehicle: It should be low-cost, adhere to regulatory requirements, and achieve performance targets such as fuel efficiency and acceleration capacity. The design team initially came up with a vehicle which had bars instead of doors and plastic flaps to keep out the monsoon rains. It was closer to a quadricycle than a car, and the first prototype, Wagh admits candidly, "lacked punch." Even a bigger engine, which boosted the power by nearly 20%, was still dismal. "It was an embarrassment," says Wagh.

But the failure was also the catalyst for Tata's decision to build a proper car, not an upgraded scooter on four wheels or anything flimsy or cheap-looking. "We didn't want an apology for a car," says Ravi Kant. "We were conscious of the fact that whether it was a $2,500 car or not, it ought not to have looked like a $2,500 car."

Becoming a Part of History

The tale of the creation and design of the Nano is one of innovation and ingenuity, both inside and outside Tata's own organization (BusinessWeek.com, 2/27/08). First, Ratan Tata called a meeting of his top parts suppliers and, after showing them the early, earnest but flawed prototypes, asked them to help. Companies including Germany's Bosch, which makes the computer that is the heart of car's engine, were skeptical. So were local Indian players.

But Tata persisted, pointing out that not only could a company's specific developments for the Nano help to make history but they could also improve their companies' businesses and bottom lines. Soon most of Tata's traditional suppliers were on board. Rane Group, for instance, makes a rack and pinion steering system. It focused on reducing the weight of the materials used, replacing the steel rod of the steering with a steel tube—a major cost-reducer. Typically, the product is made of two pieces, but it was redesigned as one to save on machining and assembling costs. According to Harish Lakshman, director of the $317 million company: "The world has seen this sort of integration of two pieces into one, but applied differently—not for a new car, and not to reduce costs."

GKN Driveline India, a subsidiary of global auto parts leader GKN, made the driveshaft—the component that transfers power from the engine to the wheel.

The team spent a year developing 32 experimental variants to create the perfect driveshaft for the Nano. It roped in designers from the company's French and Italian operations and changed the design to make it lighter and easier to manufacture. For the Nano's rear-wheel drive system, GKN designed a smaller diameter of shaft, which made it lighter and saved on material costs. "We thought if we were successful in this, we could dictate terms to the market, and every other car manufacturer would want to work with us," says Rajendra Ojha, chief executive of GKN Driveline India.

Taking the Pulse of the Project

All the suppliers have similar stories. And although none would disclose specific cost savings, most stuck to Tata's mandate to cut costs. That was, as Kant acknowledges, the biggest hurdle for the company—"then, now, and in the future,"—particularly as the price of raw materials like steel have more than doubled in the past four years, and the company has to follow new, tighter industry regulations. Kant, who recently led negotiations to acquire luxury auto brand Jaguar Land Rover, has little time to get involved in day-to-day details of Tata's many projects. However, with the Nano, "every cost, every component price, has to be run by me," he says.

Coordinating the vendors with Tata Motors' team was a whole new exercise in logistics. Wagh quickly realized it was necessary to bring everyone on board, "else it leads to last-minute heartache and delays." Every morning, he would spend an hour or two on the floor of the Pune factory, insisting that everyone involved—designers, manufacturing teams, vendor development people—be there to accelerate decision-making and problem-solving. "We had to have the pulse of the project and know exactly where the hurdles were," Wagh remembers.

Over time, Wagh's team grew to comprise some 500 engineers, an impractically large group to gather on a daily basis. So instead, a core team of five engineers gathered every day at 3 p.m. to discuss the latest developments. Each engineer represented a different part of the car: engine and transmission, body, vehicle integration, safety and regulation, and industrial design.

Attention to Detail Pays Off

Fitting the parts of the car together required lots of little, head-breaking details, recalls Wagh. The engine, for instance, was designed three times. Initially, Wagh thought they'd buy an off-the-shelf engine and so studied all the small-capacity engines available. They were unsuitable, so in early 2005 he decided to build his own. The first was a 540 CC engine that, when fitted on the prototype, lacked the necessary power. So its capacity was increased by 9%, then by another 9%, before Wagh finally settled on a 623 CC engine. Then the foot pedal had to be realigned to create more legroom.

The body had to be changed because Ratan Tata, over six feet tall himself, wanted it to be easy for tall people to get in and out of the car. "Imagine the plight of the body designer—he went through hundreds of iterations, then at the last minute the car length was increased by 100 millimeters!" Wagh says. The attention to detail paid off: When the car rolled onto the dais at the Auto Show in New Delhi in January, and Ratan Tata stepped out of the driver's seat with ease, it made an immediate impact.

What shook the automobile world most was the fact that the designers seem to have done the impossible: The sleek, sophisticated Nano doesn't look flimsy or inexpensive. If it had been an upgraded scooter on four wheels, Tata still would have been applauded for making a family of four safer on Indian roads. The Nano, however, affords both safety and status. "The innovation wasn't in technology," Kant recalls. "It was in a mindset change." The Nano, he adds, has put an end to all discussions of having variants of scooters or quadricycles as passenger vehicles on India's roads.

Organizational Innovation

Still, the story of the Nano is not confined to its impact on the auto industry. It's a tale that illuminates the India of today—an eager, ambitious nation with a combination of engineering talent, a desire for low costs and value, and the hunger of young managers looking to break from a hidebound corporate environment. Indeed, the team that worked on the Nano—on average aged between 25 and 30—has helped to flatten Tata Motors' stodgy, multilayered management structure, which has resulted in an unexpected side-benefit Wagh calls "organizational innovation".

The factory in Singur, Bengal, is still being built, and machinery is being installed. Wagh now spends most of his time away from his Pune home, supervising the work at Singur leading up to the launch date in fall. Tata Motors is determined to succeed in its mission, Ravi Kant says. "We are hungry for growth—and innovation is a by-product of that."



2008年5月10日 星期六

購買外國農地

其實這想法日本"已"落實了.....


《金融時報》報道,北京政府鼓勵中國的公司,特別是在南美洲和非洲的農田。報道說,這是中國政府正在考慮的一個保障糧食供應的計劃。 中國一直有鼓勵國有銀行、生產商和石油公司進行境外投資,但境外農業投資仍屬罕見。 米價格不斷上升 報道說,在全球糧食價格不斷上漲之際,如果中國農業部這個計劃獲得批准,將可能會造成外國的強烈反應 .....

《金融時報》引述沒透露姓名的一名中國官員表示,有關計劃應該可以獲得批准,唯一問題可能是外國政府不願意出售大片農地。

2008年5月5日 星期一

Learn to Bond With Remote Workers



Managers Learn to Bond With Remote Workers

Far-Flung Employees
Need Close Contact
And Clear Objectives
By ELIZABETH GARONE

Working with thousands of employees across 20 IBM service delivery centers in eight countries, Erik Bush knows all too well the joys and frustrations of remote management.

Mr. Bush, vice president of global delivery for International Business Machines Corp., remembers one conference call where he learned an important lesson on remote management. Employees were listening to a presentation by a project leader in Brazil who spoke nonstop. "He continued to move from one chart to the next without taking a moment to pause," recalls Mr. Bush, who is based in Atlanta. The speaker never knew his slides were confusing, because nobody could interject a question. These days, the conference calls Mr. Bush hosts are moderated.

Less-than-perfect experiences like that can be common when managing far-flung employees. But, as more companies expand their efforts away from headquarters, the need for managers to understand how to oversee remote employees is becoming more critical. Increasingly, managers of distant employees need to get up to speed on their own.

One way to avoid some of the common communication blunders among far-flung teams is to hire people who are ready to work in a virtual environment from day one. James Eicher, senior manager of organization effectiveness at NetApp Inc. and author of "Making the Message Clear," says screening potential hires on the ability to work independently and collaboratively -- or requiring experience with virtual teamwork -- goes a long way.

Of course, not all managers have the luxury of hiring their team from the start. In that case, it is best to pack a bag and meet team members on their turfs, says John Challenger, a Chicago workplace expert. Meet individually or hold town halls with large groups. These meetings are also a good way to set the tone for open and frequent communication with remote employees, says Mr. Challenger. "It's about relationships and understanding nuances and building trust," he says.

Working with distant employees makes that process harder, because you can't see the subtleties of how people react and it's harder to create a bond with people you can't grab a cup of coffee with.

Communicate each person's role and business objectives regularly, and establish agreed-upon ways to resolve conflicts and solve problems early on, says Mr. Eicher. Find out how technically savvy your remote employees are -- and get them trained in technologies you plan to use to keep in touch, he says. Remote employees should be comfortable with voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP; video streaming; and instant messaging.

And be prepared for the difficulties that will arise. Just because you're sitting at a desk after a good night's sleep doesn't mean everyone else is having that same experience, especially when a call crosses numerous time zones. "You have to put yourself in the shoes of the people you're working with," Mr. Bush says. "There is one of me and 10 of them."

Also, without physically seeing people, it can be difficult to gauge their ages, levels of experience, English proficiency and seniority. Try to find out as much as you can in advance of calls, says Mr. Bush. One easy way: check for personal Web sites, profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn or other social-networking sites, or a bio on the company intranet, says Mr. Challenger.

As much as possible, use simple, clear language. For Mr. Bush, one of the most common blunders is overuse of sports analogies and metaphors, which often don't translate well. Many employees might not understand the point you are trying to make. "Make sure your message gets across," he says, even if you are trying to keep the conversation light.

Managers should also work to develop confidants whose judgment they trust in each of the countries or offices they oversee. These people "can provide a rich understanding of the business issues while folding in the cultural aspects," says Mr. Bush.

When hiring team members for distant locales, one sure-fire way to be certain employees will be manageable from afar is to weigh how well a candidate can succeed independently, says Steve Eddington, senior vice president of operations for Camden Property Trust, a real-estate firm in Houston. He looks for strong people who don't need direct day-to-day management and who are also strong communicators.

Mr. Eddington, who oversees Camden's six regional operating centers and 11 district offices, also opts for regular in-person meetings even with staffers he's worked with for years, bringing everyone to one centralized location.

Mr. Eicher advises the same, especially for initial meetings with a new team or when introducing a new employee. "Having that first face-to-face meeting of the team -- building relationships, reviewing roles and performance objectives -- better enables far-flung employees to work effectively," he says. And, he adds, that first meeting can help subvert the hesitation people have connecting with and asking for things from people they don't know very well.

Finally, when it comes time to deliver performance reviews or critical feedback, try to do so in person, say experts. Avoid criticizing during a conference call or when other team members are listening.

On the flip side, successes should be announced loudly. Celebrate with congratulatory calls, emails or an intranet posting. For a particularly big success, Mr. Bush says he makes a personal visit. "It's important to ... help the teams understand how their achievements relate to the wider global mission," he says.

Write to Elizabeth Garone at cjeditor@dowjones.com

get inside your opponents' heads 了解對手利害關係的想法

It pays to get inside your opponents' heads


It pays to get inside your opponents' heads rather than their hearts

2008年5月2日 星期五

總裁的「諫官」

resident 的注引的劍橋大學辭典很新、妙。譬如說,HUMOROUS Tony is the company's resident clown.其實,the company's resident clown 確實在十幾年前英國某大公司的編制,類似總裁的「諫官」。Clown在西方文化一直是「意味深遠」的要角,有些專書討論,

At Kodak, Some Old Things Are New Again

At Kodak, Some Old Things Are New Again
Published: May 2, 2008

ROCHESTER — Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer who invented the first digital camera at Eastman Kodak in the 1970s, remembers well management’s dismay at his feat.

Skip to next paragraph
James Rajotte for The New York Times

Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer, created the first digital camera.

James Rajotte for The New York Times

Allan Camp, a technician at Kodak’s inkjet development center in Rochester, works on the development of print heads for printers.

“My prototype was big as a toaster, but the technical people loved it,” Mr. Sasson said. “But it was filmless photography, so management’s reaction was, ‘that’s cute — but don’t tell anyone about it.’ ”

Since then, of course, Kodak, which once considered itself the Bell Labs of chemistry, has embraced the digital world and the researchers who understand it.

“The shift in research focus has been just tremendous,” said John D. Ward, a lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology who worked for Kodak for 20 years. Or, as Mr. Sasson put it, “Getting a digital idea accepted has sure gotten a lot easier.”

Indeed, physicists, electrical engineers and all sorts of people who are more comfortable with binary code than molecules are wending their way up through Kodak’s research labs. “When I joined, I knew my salary came from film sales,” said Dr. Majid Rabbani, an electrical engineer who joined Kodak in 1983. “But I knew that I would eventually produce paychecks for others.”

Kodak is by no means thriving. Digital products are nowhere near filling the profit vacuum left by evaporating sales of film. Its work force is about a fifth of the size it was two decades ago, and it continues to lose money. Its share price remains depressed.

But, finally, digital products are flowing from the labs. Kodak recently introduced a pocket-size television, which is selling in Japan for about $285. It has software that lets owners of multiplexes track what is showing on each screen. It has a tiny sensor small enough to fit into a cellphone, yet acute enough to capture images in low light.

The company now has digital techniques that can remove scratches and otherwise enhance old movies. It has found more efficient ways to make O.L.E.D.’s — organic light-emitting diodes — for displays in cameras, cellphones and televisions.

This month, Kodak will introduce Stream, a continuous inkjet printer that can churn out customized items like bill inserts at extremely high speeds. It is working on ways to capture and project three-dimensional movies.

And, of course, it continues to prompt consumers to take pictures with Kodak cameras, store them at Kodak sites online, display them in Kodak digital picture frames and print them on Kodak printers that use Kodak inks and papers.

“They want to be the World Bank of Imaging, to offer a Kodak-branded solution for anything you might want to do with images,” said Matthew Troy, an analyst with Citigroup Investment Research, who recently upgraded Kodak to hold from sell.

Paradoxically, many of the new products are based on work Kodak began, but abandoned, years ago. The precursor technology to Stream, for example, pushed ink through a single nozzle. Stream has thousands of holes and uses a method called air deflection to separate drops of ink and control the speed and order in which they are deposited on a page.

“I remember wandering through the labs in 2003, and seeing the theoretical model that could become Stream,” said Philip J. Faraci, Kodak’s president. “The technology was half-baked, but it was a real breakthrough.”

Other digital technologies languished as well, said Bill Lloyd, the chief technology officer. “I’ve been here five years, and I’m still learning about all the things they already have,” he said. “It seems Kodak had developed antibodies against anything that might compete with film.”

It took what many analysts say was a near-death experience to change that. Kodak, a film titan in the 20th century, entered the next one in danger of being mowed down by the digital juggernaut. Electronics companies like Sony were siphoning away the photography market, while giants like Hewlett-Packard and Xerox had a lock on printers.

“This was a supertanker that came close to capsizing,” said Timothy M. Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management, which long ago sold its Kodak shares.

But in 2003 Kodak hired Antonio Perez away from Hewlett-Packard. Mr. Perez, now the chief executive, has sprinkled Hewlett alumni — including Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Faraci — throughout the executive suite.

Together, they have turned Kodak inside out. They exited a mainstay business, health imaging, and took the company back into inkjet printing. And they mined the patent archives for intellectual property, a step that is yielding well above $250 million a year in licensing fees. One recent example: Kodak is licensing out a method to embed a chemical signature in materials that enables manufacturers and retailers to scan for counterfeit products.

“When it comes to intellectual property, they’re finally acting like a for-profit corporation instead of a university,” said Ulysses A. Yannas, a broker at Buckman, Buckman & Reid who has been buying Kodak shares.

The Hewlett alumni introduced an expensive consumer printer that runs on inexpensive ink — tantamount to heresy in an industry that has always sold cheap hardware in hopes of making money on high-margin inks and toners. “We were entering an entrenched market, so we went after the biggest dissatisfier for consumers, the cost of ink,” said Steven A. Billow, a manager in the inkjet systems division

And, perhaps most traumatic for a company that was known as the Great Yellow Father in Rochester, they eliminated jobs. Kodak, which employed 145,300 people 20 years ago, ended 2007 with 26,900 employees.

Last year, $6.4 billion of its $10.3 billion in revenue came from digital products, but it earned only $179 million from them. And on Thursday, Kodak announced a first-quarter loss of $114 million on revenue of $2.09 billion. It was an improvement over the first quarter of 2007, when it lost $175 million on revenue of $2.08 billion. And Kodak’s revenue from digital products rose 10 percent, to $1.366 billion.

Mr. Perez told analysts he had “full confidence” that 2008 would be a good year for Kodak, but investors did not share it. Its shares fell 67 cents on Thursday, to $17.22. After peaking at $94.25 in February 1997, they have steadily trended down.

Analysts remain wary. “The stuff that comes out of the Kodak labs is impressive, but it does not give them a leg up on Hewlett or Xerox,” said Shannon S. Cross, an analyst at Cross Research who rates Kodak a sell. Nor is she impressed with Kodak’s consumer printer. “Consumers buy on the cost of hardware, not of total ownership,” she said.

The Fujifilm Corporation, the Japanese company that was Kodak’s main film rival, is not out of the picture, either. It recently moved its chemistry and electronics labs next door to each other. “If they work as a single team at the same location, R.& D. productivity is significantly enhanced,” Shinpei Ikenoue, the head of research at Fujifilm, said in an e-mail message.

Still, analysts no longer predict Kodak’s demise. “Kodak still has the most color specialists,” Ms. Cross said.

There are a lot fewer of them, though. The research ranks have been cut in half, to about 1,000 people. ”We watched a lot of chemists get downsized out of jobs,” said Dr. Margaret J. Helber, an organic chemist who joined Kodak 18 years ago. “The rest of us soldiered on for several years, not knowing if we would remain relevant in the transformed Kodak.”

They did, but in radically altered jobs. For one thing, researchers who rarely interacted are now expected to collaborate.

“This used to be a closed society, where some researchers kept their records in locked safes,” said Dr. John D. Baloga, director of analytical science and a Kodak employee for 31 years. “Some of them were crushed when the secrecy went away.”

Researchers also must now work with the business managers. Amit Singhal, a computer scientist who joined Kodak in 1998, said he had biweekly meetings with the business units. “I never used to see them at all,” he said.

Indeed, until recently, functions like finance, marketing and research all reported up through their own hierarchies, ultimately to the chief executive. Today, everyone involved in creating, selling and servicing inkjet printers is grouped together, as are those dealing with cameras, sensors or other products.

“Finally, we have a structure that promotes commercialization of research,” Mr. Faraci said.

The research chiefs do hold quarterly meetings to uncover technologies that can cross product boundaries. Marketing, operations and customer service chiefs meet regularly as well, to discuss which products and services can be bundled together for sale, or to see whether economies of scale can be achieved. But day to day, researchers and marketers deal more with each other than with their functional peers.

“Researchers invent something, demonstrate its feasibility, talk about commercializing it,” said Julie Gerstenberger, vice president for external alliances. “But these days, it’s all in collaboration with the business side.”

2008年5月1日 星期四

Kraft Reinvents Iconic Oreo To Win In China


Kraft Reinvents Iconic Oreo To Win In China

UNLIKE their iconic American counterpart, some Oreos sold in China are long, thin, four-layered and coated in chocolate. But the cookies have this in common: Both are now best sellers.

The Oreo has long been the top-selling cookie in the U.S. market. But Kraft Foods Inc. had to reinvent the Oreo to make it sell well in the world's most populous nation. While Chinese Oreo sales represent a tiny fraction of Kraft's $37.2 billion annual revenue, the cookie's journey in China is an example of the kind of entrepreneurial transformation that Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld is trying to spread throughout the food giant.

Kraft reported a 13% drop in first-quarter net income Wednesday due to high commodity costs and increased spending on product research and marketing. Kraft's international business, which now represents 40% of the company's revenue thanks to its recent acquisition of Groupe Danone's biscuits business, was a bright spot in the quarter, aided by the weaker dollar. Kraft's profit in the European Union rose 48%, excluding items, and its profit in developing markets rose 57%.

In an effort to boost growth at the company, Ms. Rosenfeld has been putting more power in the hands of Kraft's business units around the globe, telling employees that decisions about the company's products shouldn't all be made by people at the Northfield, Illinois, headquarters.

To take advantage of the European preference for dark chocolate, Kraft is introducing dark chocolate in Germany under its Milka brand. Research in Russia showed that consumers there like premium instant coffee, so Kraft is positioning its Carte Noire freeze-dried coffee as upscale by placing it at operas, film festivals and fashion shows. And in the Philippines, where iced tea is popular, Kraft last year launched iced-tea-flavored Tang. Ms. Rosenfeld also has been encouraging marketers to 'reframe' product categories -- in other words, not to think of an Oreo exclusively as a round sandwich cookie.

Oreos were launched in 1912 in the U.S., but it wasn't until 1996 that Kraft introduced Oreos to Chinese consumers. Nine years later, a makeover began. Shawn Warren, a 37-year-old Kraft veteran who had spent many years marketing the company's cookies and crackers around the world, arrived in Asia in 2005 and noticed that Oreo's China sales had been flat for the previous five years.

At that time, the world's second-largest food company by revenue was simply selling the U.S. version of Oreos in China. Albert Einstein's definition of insanity -- doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results -- 'characterized what we were doing in China,' says Mr. Warren, vice president of marketing for Kraft Foods International.

The Chinese weren't big cookie eaters; the market for biscuits in fiscal 2007 was just nine billion yuan, or $1.3 billion, versus $3.5 billion in the U.S. at food retailers excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Mr. Warren also saw that Kraft wasn't fully exploiting China's growing thirst for milk. Increased demand for milk in China and other developing markets, coupled with tightened supplies from recent droughts in milk-producing countries and a reduction of subsidies for European dairy farmers, have pushed up milk prices around the world. While that has put pressure on food manufacturers like Kraft, whose biggest business is cheese, it also has created opportunity.

Mr. Warren assigned his team to a lengthy research project that yielded some interesting findings. For one thing, Kraft learned that traditional Oreos were too sweet for Chinese tastes. Also, the packages of 14 Oreos priced at five yuan were too expensive.

The company developed 20 prototypes of reduced-sugar Oreos and tested them with Chinese consumers before arriving at a formula that tasted right. Kraft also introduced packages containing fewer Oreos for just two yuan.

Some Chinese consumers still find the Oreos too sweet. Mr. Yan, a 30-year-old consumer who was shopping for groceries in the eastern part of Beijing recently, said he likes the Oreos but that 'many of my friends think I am a bit weird to stick to Oreo cookies, as most of them think it too sweet to be accepted.'

Kraft also began a grass-roots marketing campaign to educate Chinese consumers about the American tradition of pairing cookies with milk. The company created an Oreo apprentice program at 30 Chinese universities that drew 6,000 student applications. Kraft trained 300 to become Oreo brand ambassadors.

Students rode around Beijing on bicycles outfitted with wheel covers resembling Oreos and handed out cookies to more than 300,000 consumers. Others held Oreo-themed basketball games to reinforce the idea of dunking cookies in milk. Television commercials showed kids twisting apart Oreo cookies, licking the cream center and dipping the chocolate cookie halves into a glass of milk.

Ms. Rosenfeld called the bicycle campaign 'a stroke of genius that only could have come from local managers,' saying 'the more opportunity our local managers have to deal with local conditions will be a source of competitive advantage for us.'

Still, Kraft realized it needed to do more than just tweak the recipe of its traditional round cookies if it wanted to capture a bigger share of the Chinese biscuit market. China's cookie-wafer segment was growing faster than traditional biscuit-like cookies, and Kraft was trailing rival Nestle SA, the world's largest food company by revenue, which had introduced chocolate-covered wafers there in 1998.

So Kraft remade the Oreo itself. In China in 2006, the company introduced an Oreo that looked almost nothing like the original. The new Chinese Oreo was four layers of crispy wafer filled with vanilla and chocolate cream, coated in chocolate. Kraft developed a proprietary handling process to ensure the chocolate product could be shipped across the giant country and withstand the cold climate of the north and the hot, humid weather of the south, yet still be ready to melt in the mouth.

Tailoring Western brands to Eastern tastes isn't a brand-new concept, but it has proved more difficult for some companies than others. When Campbell Soup Co. tried to enter China in the early 1990s, it sold the same ready-to-eat soups found in American grocery stores -- and they flopped. Now, Campbell is trying to crack the Chinese soup market again with flavorful broths it hopes will fit with the Chinese tradition of making soup from scratch.

Yum Brands Inc. has had success in China with its KFC fried-chicken chain by offering menu items familiar to Chinese consumers, such as congee, or rice porridge, and the Dragon Twister, a sandwich wrap filled with chicken, Peking duck sauce, cucumbers and scallions. Some of Nestle's snack wafers in China come in such flavors as sesame and red bean.

Kraft's Oreo efforts have paid off. In 2006, Oreo wafer sticks became the best-selling biscuit in China, outpacing HaoChiDian, a biscuit brand made by Chinese company Dali. The new Oreos also are outselling traditional round Oreos in China, and Kraft has begun selling the wafers elsewhere in Asia, as well as in Australia and Canada. Kraft has since introduced in China wafer rolls, a tube-shaped wafer lined with cream. The hollow cookie can be used as a straw through which to drink milk.

Kraft has doubled its Oreo revenue in China over the past two years. With the help of those sales, Oreo last year brought in more than $1 billion for the first time.

Julie Jargon



奧利奧改頭換面 卡夫食品贏在中國

2008年05月01日13:21
美國奧利奧(Oreo)標志性的外形不同﹐在中國出售的一些奧利奧是長條狀的﹐一共有四層﹐每層都薄薄的﹐最外層由濃厚的巧克力包裹。不過﹐這些餅乾有個共同點:它們都是最暢銷的產品。

奧 利奧在美國市場佔據銷售榜首的位置已經很長時間。但是卡夫食品(Kraft Foods Inc.)不得不對奧利奧進行改頭換面才能使它在全球人口最多的國家獲得青睞。儘管奧利奧在中國的銷售額僅佔其全球年銷售額372億美元的一小部分﹐但是 它在中國的發展過程卻是公司首席執行長艾琳•羅森費爾德(Irene Rosenfeld)在這家食品巨頭中盡力推廣的企業改革模式的一個典範。

卡 夫食品週三公佈﹐受大宗商品價格上漲以及產品研發和市場營銷支出增加的影響﹐第一財季淨利潤下降13%。得益於不斷走軟的美元﹐卡夫食品的國際業務成為上 個財季的亮點﹐在卡夫食品最近收購達能集團(Groupe Danone)的餅乾業務後﹐國際業務的收入佔公司總收入的比例達到了40%。卡夫食品歐盟區業務的利潤增長48%﹐發展中市場不包括特殊項目的利潤更是 增長了57%。

為了提高公司的發展速度﹐羅森費爾德將更多的權力下放到全球各個子公司的手中。她對員工表示﹐有關公司產品的決策不應該總是由總部的人員來做。

為 了充分利用歐洲人對黑巧克力的偏愛﹐卡夫食品的Milka品牌在德國推出了黑巧克力產品。在俄羅斯的調查顯示﹐那裡的消費者喜歡高級速溶咖啡﹐於是卡夫食 品就把其Carte Noire咖啡粉定位於高端品牌﹐在歌劇院、電影節以及時裝秀等場合進行推廣。另外﹐冰茶在菲律賓很受歡迎﹐卡夫食品去年在那裡推出了冰茶口味的果珍 (Tang)。此外﹐羅森費爾德還一直鼓勵市場推廣人員打破產品分類的約束--換言之﹐就是不要認為奧利奧只能是圓圓的夾心餅乾。

奧利奧早在1912年就在美國問市﹐但是直到1996年它才被卡夫食品帶到中國消費者的視野中。九年之後﹐一場“改造運動”開始了。曾在卡夫食品全球各地 的餅乾業務打拼數年的肖恩•沃倫(Shawn Warren)於2005年來到亞洲﹐他注意到﹐之前五年奧利奧在中國的銷售額沒有太大的變化。

那 時﹐這家全球收入第二大的食品公司只是在中國出售美國版的奧利奧。擔任Kraft Foods International副總裁一職的沃倫說﹐愛因斯坦(Albert Einstein)對精神錯亂的定義--一遍又一遍地重復同一件事情而期待不同的結果--恰當地描述了當時我們在中國市場的做法。

中國人並不是餅乾的巨大消費者﹔在2007年﹐中國餅乾市場的規模大約為人民幣90億元(合13億美元)﹐而在美國﹐不包括沃爾瑪(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)的食品零售商的餅乾銷售額為35億美元。

沃 倫還發現﹐卡夫食品當時沒有充分挖掘中國對牛奶日益增長的渴求。中國和其他發展中國家市場對牛奶的需求不斷增長﹐再加上產奶國因遭遇乾旱天氣而縮減供應﹐ 歐盟奶農補貼減少﹐這些因素都推高了全球牛奶的價格。儘管這為卡夫食品(奶酪是該公司的最大業務)等食品生產商帶來了壓力﹐同時也創造了商機。

沃倫派出一個團隊進行了一項漫長的市場調查﹐結果有不少有趣的發現。首先﹐卡夫食品瞭解到﹐傳統奧利奧對中國人來說口味過甜﹔其次﹐14片裝的奧利奧定價為5元﹐價格太高了。

為此﹐卡夫食品研發出20種糖含量減少的樣品﹐並請中國消費者測試品嘗﹐之後才確定了恰好符合中國消費者口味的配方。此外﹐卡夫食品還推出了小包裝、售價僅為2元的奧利奧產品。

不過﹐一些中國消費者還是認為奧利奧太甜了。北京消費者、現年30歲的嚴先生(音)說﹐他喜歡奧利奧﹐但是他的很多朋友認為他老吃奧利奧餅乾有點奇怪﹐因為他們中大多數人認為這東西太甜了無法接受。

卡夫食品還針對中國普通消費者開展一場市場推廣活動﹐向他們介紹美國人用奧利奧蘸牛奶吃的習慣。公司在30所中國大學開展了奧利奧實習項目﹐共吸引了6,000名大學生申請參與。卡夫食品選擇了300名學生﹐培訓他們成為奧利奧品牌大使。

這 些學生們騎著經過精心裝扮的自行車--車輪裝上了奧利奧樣式的外罩--穿梭在北京城﹐並向30多萬消費者派發了餅乾。他們還舉辦了以奧利奧為主題的籃球比 賽﹐以加強把餅乾在牛奶中泡一泡的吃法。電視中的廣告畫面則是:孩子們把奧利奧分開﹐舔舔中間的奶油夾心﹐然後把兩個巧克力餅乾在一杯牛奶中蘸一蘸再送入 嘴裡。

羅森費爾德把這個自行車推廣活動稱為只有當地管理者才會想出的妙招﹐她說﹐當地管理者必須應對很多當地的具體情況﹐更多的這種機會也為我們提供了競爭優勢。

不 過﹐卡夫食品也意識到﹐要想在中國餅乾市場獲得更大的份額﹐除了改變配方外﹐它需要做更多的事情。中國威化餅乾市場的增長速度比傳統餅乾市場要快﹐因此卡 夫食品走上了其主要競爭對手雀巢(Nestle SA)的發展路線。雀巢是全球收入最高的食品公司﹐它在1998年就在中國市場推出了巧克力威化餅乾。

於 是﹐卡夫食品開始改造奧利奧。2006年﹐卡夫食品在中國市場推出了一種新的奧利奧產品﹐它看上去和原來的奧利奧完全不同。這種新產品由四片薄脆的威化餅 乾組成﹐中間配以香草和巧克力奶油夾心﹐最外層包裹著巧克力。為了確保這種巧克力產品能夠經受得住在中國廣袤的土地上長途運輸的考驗﹐卡夫食品還開發出一 種專利處理技術﹐使它在經歷了北方的嚴寒或者南方的炎熱潮濕後還能入口即化。

根據東方的口味對西方品牌進行調整並不是一個全新的概念﹐但 是對一些品牌來說這並非易事。金寶湯(Campbell Soup Co.)在20世紀90年代初試圖進軍中國市場的時候﹐它的首個嘗試是銷售在美國食品雜貨店很常見的即食湯﹐但是這種努力以失敗告終。如今﹐金寶湯希望以 美味的肉湯來敲開中國市場的大門﹐它希望新產品能夠迎合中國消費者做湯的習慣。

百勝餐飲集團(Yum Brands Inc.)通過其肯德基(KFC)餐廳在中國取得了成功﹐肯德基的菜單上有很多中國消費者熟悉的食物﹐如粥以及老北京雞肉卷等。雀巢在中國市場銷售的威化餅乾中有芝麻和紅豆口味。

卡 夫食品推廣奧利奧的努力最終有所回報。2006年﹐奧利奧威化餅乾成為中國最暢銷的餅乾﹐超過了中國本土公司達利(Dali)旗下的好吃點系列餅乾。新奧 利奧產品在中國的銷量超過了傳統的奧利奧夾心餅乾﹐同時卡夫食品開始在亞洲其他地區、澳大利亞以及加拿大銷售奧利奧威化餅乾。之後﹐卡夫食品還在中國市場 推出了巧脆卷--一種管狀的巧克力威化卷﹐它還可以作吸管來喝牛奶。

過去兩年中﹐卡夫食品使得奧利奧品牌產品在中國地區的收入上升了一倍。受此提振﹐奧利奧品牌產品去年的收入首次超過了10億美元。

Julie Jargon

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