Yahoo chief Carol Bartz sees trouble for Google

By Jonathan Fildes Technology reporter, BBC News Carol Bartz took over the company from its founder Jerry Yang in 2009

Google will have "a problem" if it does not diversify its business, the head of Yahoo has told BBC News.

Carol Bartz said that Google would have to "do a lot more than search" and suggested that it would have to "grow a company the size of Yahoo every year".

Ms Bartz made the comments when asked if Yahoo's sprawling network of sites and services had a defined brand image.

Yahoo is one of the largest sites in the world with an audience of more than 200m, according to analysts Nielsen.

It competes with Google in the search market, but has only 17% of the US market, compared to Google's 65%, according to Comscore. Yahoo recently did a deal to use Microsoft's Bing to power searches on its sites.

"Google is going to have a problem because Google is only known for search," said Ms Bartz.

"It is only half our business; it's 99.9% of their business. They've got to find other things to do.

"Google has to grow a company the size of Yahoo every year to be interesting."

Social side

Yahoo has more than 70 websites and services, many of which are available in 20 languages around the world.

Some have criticised the firm for growing too large, not making use of acquisitions and having too many sites.

Technology blog Techcrunch has said that Yahoo is the place where "startups go to die".

But Ms Bartz said that its broad portfolio would be its advantage in the long run.

Continue reading the main story Advert uplift helps Yahoo profit Yahoo 'talks tough' about search

Ms Bartz also said that the firm could also hold its own against Facebook, the current poster child of the web.

She described the site, which has more than 400 million users and has stated that its ambition is to be at the heart of the "social web", as a "frenemy".

"They certainly are taking people's attention and time," she said. "But what is kind of wrong about the conversation is that social just means Facebook.

"Social is interaction. Social is commenting on news stories. It's blogging. It's sharing photos.

"So there are social capabilities running throughout all of our sites, including Twitter feeds and Facebook feeds."

However, earlier, she had told a press conference that she expected that Facebook and Google would overtake Yahoo in terms of the amount of time visitors spent on the site.

Local site

Ms Bartz took over the company from founder Jerry Yang in January 2009.

Since then, she has been trying to reverse the fortunes of the firm by cutting costs and jobs, as well as changing the organisational structure of the company.

The firm recently posted quarterly profits which were almost treble what they were a year ago.

During the interview, Ms Bartz stated an ambition to bolster the firm's mobile offerings, but said it would not follow Google by offering a mobile operating system.

The firm currently has its mobile application on around 2,000 different handsets from various manufacturers. It recently signed a deal with Samsung to extend its reach.

She also said that she wanted the firm to focus on personalised and "hyperlocal information" for users.

"It's about what is going on in your local area," she said.

There has been a lot of speculation in the technology press that Yahoo is about to buy Foursquare, a location-based game that allows people to earn points for visiting locations in the real world.

However, Ms Bartz would not confirm if a deal was imminent.

How the Destinies of Motorola and Palm Grew Apart

Paul Sakuma/Associated Press

Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive, said the Android system helped focus Motorola’s creative energies.

By JENNA WORTHAM

Published: April 29, 2010

For much of this decade, the fates of Palm and Motorola were intertwined. Both were early innovators in the mobile phone industry, but neither had had a hit in years.

Related

• H.P. to Pay $1.2 Billion for Palm (April 29, 2010)

• Bits Blog: Will Other Bidders Emerge for Palm? (April 29, 2010)

Minh Uong/The New York Times

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Palm Pixi.

Motorola, which had invented cellphones and found great success with the Razr, and Palm, which pioneered the hand-held computer category, watched more nimble competitors lure away consumers with flashier, sleeker and more functional smartphones.

But their paths have now sharply diverged.

On Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard, the PC giant, announced it would buy the loss-ridden Palm and use its technology across a range of H.P. devices. On Thursday, the similarly loss-ridden Motorola, however, announced it made an unexpected profit during its first quarter, beating Wall Street expectations.

The reason for the different outcomes, in a word, may be Android, Google’s operating system for mobile devices. “Motorola did quite well by jumping on Android’s bandwagon,” said Roger Entner, a mobile analyst with Nielsen. “Whereas Palm went the route of having their own operating system and launching that with Sprint, right against the iPhone.”

“Last year, we weren’t shipping any smartphones,” Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s co-chief executive, said in an interview. “Our brand is recovering very well.”

Mr. Jha said Motorola shipped 2.3 million smartphones in the quarter and that the company expected to ship 12 million to 14 million handsets by year-end. The Schaumberg, Ill., technology company reported net income of $69 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a loss of $231 million, or 13 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue of $5 billion for the first quarter was 6 percent less than the year-ago quarter, but the smallest decline in three years.

For the last two years the company has been working to reverse its fortunes by designing a product that catches the attention of consumers. As sales of the Razr dropped sharply by 2006, it learned that consumers were fickle and the cellphone business was as susceptible to tidal trends as the fashion industry. What’s in vogue one moment can be outdated the next.

Analysts and industry experts say the company’s efforts now appear to be paying off. Mr. Jha said Motorola’s early adoption of Android helped the company streamline its efforts, which contributed to its comeback. “When we started this turnaround, we had six mobile operating systems and 23 platforms,” said Mr. Jha. “We were able to reduce that to one and it allowed all of our creative energies on one platform.”

Motorola has released or announced Android-powered smartphones with each of the major carriers in the United States. The company currently has eight Android phones on the market and says it plans to deliver more than 20 by the end of the year.

Motorola got its big boost by releasing a slim, angular smartphone called Droid. “Verizon very much wanted to have a solution to cope against Apple and we were very keen to have success,” said Mr. Jha.

In the last few months, Android’s presence has grown to about 9 percent of new smartphones sold, according to comScore. It still lags behind the market share of Microsoft with 15.1 percent, Apple with 25.4 percent and Research In Motion with 42.1 percent. But developers are beginning to follow suit. At Google’s last count, the Android Marketplace housed 38,000 applications. (Apple’s App Store has 185,000 apps.)

But Mr. Jha said Motorola’s comeback went beyond Android. “There’s a point of view that all that matters is the operating system,” said Mr. Jha. “But consumers care about what features a phone has, what it can do and where they can get it. At Motorola, we have some better capabilities than others in those areas.”

In particular, analysts say that Motorola’s longstanding partnerships with wireless companies have helped give it a leg up with its Android portfolio.

“Motorola has always maintained good relationships with Verizon, AT&T and Sprint and it paid off,” said Mr. Entner.

Palm, on the other hand, struggled to sell its small suite of sleek smartphones, the Pre and the Pixi.

“The idea at Palm was that if you take great technology it leads to great sales,” said Philip Cusick, a wireless industry analyst at Macquarie Research. Mr. Cusick described the approach as “very Apple-esque.”

Palm was standoffish to tech enthusiasts, and its mass-market advertising, which featured a wan girl spouting New Age philosophy, struck many as peculiar. By joining with a smaller carrier in the United States, Sprint, to release its first new product, Palm hindered its makeover effort, analysts said. It didn’t help that Palm released the Pre as the same time Apple announced its new iPhone. “It took wind right out of them,” Mr. Cusick said.

“What could have turned Palm into a household name turned into a massive cash drain,” he said. “The advertising was terrible. They had no reception and consumers didn’t respond. Even now, there are still a couple thousand phones just sitting in the stores.”

Even after Palm branched out to Verizon, it was too late. Verizon was also carrying Motorola’s Droid and it promoted that model more heavily.

But Mr. Cusick cautioned that the competition for consumers buying smartphones would only get fiercer. HTC, a prominent Taiwanese cellphone maker, has released the Incredible, Verizon’s successor to the Droid. It is widely expected that Apple will announce its fourth-generation iPhone in June. (Apple will not confirm that any announcement is forthcoming, although a prototype of the phone was found in a bar and widely publicized.)

“Motorola is at the mercy of a lot of external forces, like the carriers and Google. As great a job as they do, they don’t control their destiny,” said Mr. Cusick.

吉利控股變臉

浙

江吉利控股集團才剛剛收購了福特汽車公司(Ford Motor Co.)旗下的沃爾沃(Volvo)﹐現在又開始了另外一項雄心勃勃的行動：徹底重塑吉利的品牌戰略﹐試圖確保其作為中國頂級汽車生產商之一的地位。

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

底特律車展上的吉利展台

吉 利技術及產品開發總監趙福全在接受採訪時說﹐作為改頭換面行動的一部分﹐吉利計劃在未來兩年中推出20多款新車。相比之下﹐吉利去年推出的新車只有三款。 吉利的大部分新款車型都將亮相週五開幕的北京國際車展﹐其中包括去年首次露面的豪華車“帝豪”(Emgrand GE)的最新款。一些批評人士曾嘲笑這款車酷似勞斯萊斯(Rolls-Royce)的“幻影”(Phantom)。

吉利計劃在2015年 前將銷售量增加六倍﹐至200萬輛。該公司將逐漸淘汰英文“Geely”和中文“吉利”的品牌名稱﹐進而試圖使新款車型具有差異性﹐使其吸引更廣泛的消費 者。相反﹐該公司將使用三個“子”品牌──全球鷹(Gleagle)、帝豪和英倫(Englon)。

儘管吉利是在中國是最知名的汽車品牌 之一﹐卻通常並不是最受尊崇的品牌之一。趙福全承認﹐不久之前﹐“吉利”還等於是質量差。他說﹐最新一批新款汽車反映出了吉利迅速提高技術能力的努力。趙 福全目前負責這一項目。六年前﹐他辭去了克萊斯勒(Chrysler Corp.)的高級工程師一職﹐回到中國﹐並於2006年加入吉利。

去 年吉利的汽車銷量約為32.5萬輛﹐較上年增長59%。該公司計劃今年銷售最高可達50萬輛的汽車。吉利主要生產較小型的汽車﹐比如熊貓微型車和金剛小型 車。吉利對沃爾沃的收購有望使其有能力用瑞典公司沃爾沃的技術來改進“吉利”牌汽車﹐不過趙福全說﹐目前尚沒有此類計劃。

吉 利的舉措是中國汽車生產商日益增大的努力的一部分。長期以來它們被認為技術不夠成熟﹐難以對全球汽車巨頭構成嚴重威脅﹐現在它們希望獲得經驗和能力﹐能夠 在中國蓬勃發展的市場上與通用汽車公司(General Motors Co.)、大眾汽車(Volkswagen AG)等外國對手競爭。

上汽集團旗下的榮威(Roewe)品牌就是一個成功的例子。該公司利用從羅孚(MG Rover)獲得的技術開發出了榮威。上汽集團去年銷售了7.5萬輛榮威汽車﹐較2008年的2.6萬輛有所增加。

北汽控股去年底與通用汽車旗下的薩博(Saab)達成協議﹐將收購後者的某些資產。目前該公司正努力效仿上汽集團的做法﹐用收購的薩博技術來重塑品牌。

北汽控股總經理汪大總週四在一個產業論壇上說﹐該公司已經開始利用從薩博獲得的一些技術來開發中型車。他說﹐2011年底前﹐公司將在北京的一個新建工廠開始汽車生產﹐目前工廠仍在建設中。

吉利的品牌計劃不啻是一種豪賭。多品牌可能會讓消費者感到困惑﹐很可能需要大量額外的營銷支出。通用汽車和福特確認了過多的品牌使公司難以集中精力﹐於是放棄了數個品牌。

趙福全說﹐三品牌的戰略是吸收這麼多的新款汽車並加以區分以實現公司目標的唯一途徑。全球鷹將用於全部的經濟型微型車﹐英倫為中型車﹐而帝豪則是更高級的汽車。

說服中國富有的消費者購買吉利的豪華車﹐事實可能證明難度很大。不過﹐趙福全說﹐像帝豪EC7 轎車這樣的汽車將幫助改善吉利在消費者心目中低品質的形像。這款汽車去年底在中國上市。他說﹐不斷創造好產品是提高品牌形像的唯一途徑。

NORIHIKO SHIROUZU

Audit Quality and Auditor Reputation: Evidence from Japan

Audit Quality and Auditor Reputation: Evidence from Japan

來自 HBS Working Knowledge

Published:	April 22, 2010
Paper Released:	March 2010
Authors:	Douglas J. Skinner and Suraj Srinivasan

Executive Summary:

High-quality external auditing is a central component of sound corporate governance, yet what determines audit quality? Douglas J. Skinner, of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Suraj Srinivasan, of Harvard Business School, study the Japanese audit market, where recent events provide a powerful setting for investigating the effect of auditor reputation on audit quality absent litigation effects. Specifically, Skinner and Srinivasan analyze events surrounding the collapse of ChuoAoyama, the PricewaterhouseCoopers affiliate in Japan that was implicated in a massive accounting fraud at Kanebo, a large Japanese cosmetics company. Taken as a whole, the researchers' evidence provides support for the view that auditor reputation is important in an economy where the legal system does not provide incentives for auditors to deliver quality. Key concepts include:

• Auditors' reputation for delivering quality is extremely important. A substantial number of clients dropped ChuoAoyama as the extent of its audit quality problems became apparent, but before it became clear that the firm would be forced out of business.
• The events at ChuoAoyama and particularly the decision by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) to suspend the firm's operations can be seen as a watershed event in Japanese audit practice. The FSA used these events to send a message to the Japanese auditing community that the old ways of doing business would no longer be tolerated, and that it was serious about reforming audit practice.

Abstract

We study events surrounding ChuoAoyama's failed audit of Kanebo, a large Japanese cosmetics company whose management engaged in a massive accounting fraud. ChuoAoyama was PwC's Japanese affiliate and one of Japan's "Big Four" audit firms. In May 2006, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) suspended ChuoAoyama's operations for two months as punishment for its role in the accounting fraud at Kanebo. This action was unprecedented, and followed a sequence of events that seriously damaged ChuoAoyama's reputation for audit quality. We use these events to provide evidence on the importance of auditors' reputation for audit quality in a setting where litigation plays essentially no role. We find that ChuoAoyama's audit clients switched away from the firm as questions about its audit quality became more pronounced but before it was clear that the firm would be wound up, consistent with the importance of auditors' reputation for delivering quality. 58 pages.

Paper Information

• Full Working Paper Text
• Working Paper Publication Date: March 2010
• HBS Working Paper Number: 10-088
• Faculty Unit: Accounting and Management

meetings

「會議應該是互動的，不應是被動的；會議應該是有架構的，不應是散亂的。」

｜《成功的會議》作者韓克爾（Shri L. Henkel）

沒人喜歡開會，但開會卻是組織有效運作的關鍵要素。開會開得好不好，更是檢驗主管的領導能力，以及他的團隊工作能力及效率最直接的途徑。

開會最常出現的場面，不是鬧哄哄，就是靜悄悄。前者人多嘴雜議而不決，後者除了會議主持人滔滔不絕之外沒人發言，兩種情況都是沒有組織、沒有效率的開會，「開會開到死」的怨言自然出現，主管的威信也自然不斷受損。

討論如何開會的著作非常多，綜觀各家之言，把會開好有四大關鍵。

第1招 出席人選適當

一項會議能否開得有效果，首要關鍵因素就是與會者。

很多主管喜歡愈多人開會愈好，因此經常可以看到有些與會者百無聊賴，從頭到尾不發一語，既浪費資源，也有害組織效率。因此，慎選與會人選，是會議能否開得好的第一步。

1.與開會主題直接相關：部門內直接相關的人，才需要出席，避免不相干的人參加，徒然虛耗資源。若是跨部門會議，請別的部門主管指定出席者，後續開會由被指定者出席，但必須將開會通知及會議結論同時寄給被指定者。

2.控制開會人數：開會人數最好不要超過十人，否則會議很難有效率。若開會人數太多，必須分組、分子題討論。

3.事先指定會議記錄者：會議紀錄至關重要，但許多人往往忽略這一點。開會之前，必須先指定誰來做會議紀錄，詳實記錄會議的發言、決議、決議事項執行者及執行時間表等細節。

第2招 沒準備，別來開會

很多人兩手空空來開會，光是讓每個人進入狀況便耗掉許多時間。每個人都做足準備，發言討論才能夠切中問題，否則會議很容易陷入冗長無聊、浪費時間、難以達成結論。

1.事先說明會議的主題及目的：為避免離題及散亂，開會前必須寄發開會通知，清楚說明會議主題及目的，並指定報告人員。

2.事先將議程寄發給與會者：議程中除了討論事項之外，必須訂定報告時間、討論時間等細節，以利會議的推進。

3.備妥並閱讀報告資料：每一位與會者都必須準備好跟自己負責的部份相關的資料及報告，並至少在開會前一天寄給其他與會者；不報告的人也必須在進入會場前先閱讀完所有的報告和資料，並做好提問及發言的準備。每位與會者均做足準備，會議才能迅速進入有效討論及決議。

第3招 有議必有決

很多會議會而不議，議而不決，決而不行。這些問題，都出在議程管理不當及未釐清責任歸屬。

1.檢視上次決議進度：會議一開始，必須先檢視上次會議結果的執行進度，是否有發生問題或遇到困難？方向和時間表需不需要修正？然後才進行新事項議題的討論。

2.討論集中：進行報告時，為避免報告遭到打斷，疑問可提，發表意見則不宜。討論時，必須確保不離題。一旦離題，主管必須適時拉回主軸。與會人員意見衝突爭執不下時，主管必須懂得適度仲裁。必要時可動用表決解決爭議。

3.議必決、決必行：達到決議之後，指定負責及協辦人員，議定完成任務日期、進度檢查點(check points)及凍結點。檢查點目的在於進度回報及進度管理。凍結點指的是過了某個時間之後，該決議不得再做大幅度變動，以免造成混亂及延誤。

4.會議紀錄：會議紀錄必須包含會議名稱、與會人員、召開時間及地點、討論事項、發言，以及決議、負責執行人員、檢查點及凍結點。紀錄整理好之後， 開完會的當天、最遲隔天，就把會議紀錄傳給所有與會者。其目的有二：一、讓每個人再度確認會議結果，以免有的人因認知不同而產生誤解。二、白紙黑字記錄下 來，以利後續追蹤管理進度。

第4招 開會不拖拉

開會最忌不準時開始，不準時結束，兩者都會嚴重影響所有與會者的工作、增加公司成本，同時延誤相關人等後續時程。

1.準時開始、準時結束：明訂會議開始時間，遲到超過十分鐘不得進場，嚴格制行，讓開會準時變成部門習慣。

2.進程時間控管：事先寄發議程，開會時將議程寫在白板上，嚴格按照時間表開會，如果議題討論即將超時又尚未達成決議，主管必須動用表決或親自決 議。假如討論時發現該議題的確牽涉複雜，眼前沒有足夠資訊可供做出正確判斷，或不同部門需要再回去討論，則可暫時擱置，訂定下次開會時間之後，進入下一議 題討論。

把會開好 4大絕招

1.出席人選適當

2.沒準備，別來開會

3.有議必有決

4.開會不拖拉

慎選與會人選

1. 與開會主題直接相關。

2. 控制開會人數。

3. 事先指定會議記錄者。

沒準備，別來開會

1. 說明會議主題及目的。

2. 通知議程。

3. 備妥並閱讀報告。

有議必有決

1. 檢視上次決議進度。

2. 討論集中。

3. 議必決，決必行。

4. 會議紀錄。

開會不拖拉

1. 準時開始、準時結束。

2. 進程時間控管。

A Pulitzer Winner Gets Apple’s Reconsideration

By BRIAN STELTER

Published: April 16, 2010

Here’s a digital-age perk of winning a Pulitzer Prize: Apple might be a whole lot nicer to you and your work.

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Pulitzer Prize Board, via Associated Press

A sample of Mark Fiore's work cited by the Pulitzer board.

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On Monday Mark Fiore became the first online-only cartoonist to win a Pulitzer, for weekly animated videos published on SFGate.com, the Web site of The San Francisco Chronicle. In a subsequent interview with the Nieman Journalism Lab, he recalled that Apple had rejected his iPhone application in December since it included cartoons that mocked public figures.

Political cartoons, it turns out, can violate Apple’s license agreement with developers, which states that applications, or “apps,” can be rejected if the content “may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic or defamatory.”

Apple alone determines what is objectionable for its online app store, a practice that has come under close scrutiny. In its message to Mr. Fiore in December, the company cited his cartoon’s allusions to torture and to last year’s White House party crashers as examples.

After Mr. Fiore received the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning — and after he mentioned his app’s rejection in an article published on niemanlab.org on Thursday — he was encouraged by Apple to resubmit it. Mr. Fiore did so on Friday morning and is awaiting a response.

When his NewsToons app, which displays his weekly animated cartoons, was developed last year, Mr. Fiore said, he had not heard of “the whole concept of getting rejected for ridiculing public figures.”

“That’s what I do. That’s my life!” he said in a telephone interview on Friday from San Francisco. “That’s a tough one to get around if you’re a political cartoonist.”

His Pulitzer win is notable for at least three reasons. In addition to being the first Pulitzer for online-only work, it is the first awarded solely for animated video, as opposed to traditional cartoon strips or panels. Mr. Fiore is also the first self-syndicated editorial cartoonist to win the prize.

After NewsToons was turned down by Apple in December, Mr. Fiore did not try to submit it again, “mainly because it seemed like it would be so daunting.”

“It’s not like I had a phone number for someone at Apple,” he said, adding that “interestingly enough, I do now.”

An Apple spokeswoman did not comment Friday afternoon, but Steve Jobs, the Apple chief executive, apparently responded to a customer who asked about Mr. Fiore’s app. “This was a mistake that’s being fixed,” the e-mail message, which was forwarded by the customer to The New York Times, stated. Mr. Jobs is known to reply to customers from his personal Apple address.

Cases like Mr. Fiore’s have raised questions about Apple’s policies toward apps with news content; Ryan Chittum, a writer for cjr.org, the Columbia Journalism Review Web site, asserted on Thursday that news media groups should withdraw their new iPad applications “unless Apple cedes complete control over the right to publish.”

Mr. Fiore, who noted that he used Apple products to create his cartoons, said he felt a bit guilty that his sudden publicity apparently helped his cause.

“Sure, mine might get approved, but what about someone who hasn’t won a Pulitzer and who is maybe making a better political app than mine?” he asked. “Do you need some media frenzy to get an app approved that has political material?”

CEOs look to 'wellness managers'

CEOs look to 'wellness managers'

The philosophy behind the leadership work is hardly earth shattering. A consultancy called the Energy Project, based in the U.S. and the U.K., shows people how to renew themselves by eating a better diet, exercising, spending time with their families and doing the things that matter to them most: Going to church or volunteering for a charity.

earth-shattering


IN BRIEF: Momentous; Of great importance.

今年六起員工跳樓 富士康：管理有責任

今年六起員工跳樓 富士康：管理有責任 【聯合報╱大陸新聞中心／綜合報導】 2010.04.13 03:19 am

鴻海集團的大陸富士康員工半年來出現多起墜摟或猝死事件，僅今年以來，就有六起員工跳樓死傷事件，引起各界關注。富士康集團首度打破沉默，接受廣東羊城晚報專訪，媒體辦公室主任劉坤表示，富士康沒有披露一些員工死亡的原因，是出於對死者和其家屬的尊重。 聯合報／提供 劉坤說，近一、兩個月來，發生一連串突發事故，說明富士康在管理上出現了問題，但無論是發生一件還是多件跳樓的事情，富士康都會同樣重視。 他說，一般遇到如跳樓等突發事件，集團會第一時間報警和通知員工家屬，並向媒體通報員工的基本資訊及公司方面的態度，積極配合警方協助調查取證。不過在警方發布具體原因前，富士康不會向外部透露任何具體細節。 劉坤坦言，在這些事件中，富士康管理存在一定的責任。不管出於什麼樣的原因，不管員工選擇了什麼方式，畢竟在富士康的廠區內，富士康應該在管理上、企業文化上檢討自己的問題。他說，雖然富士康在深圳廠區有四十二萬人，管理難度很大，「但是這不能成為我們推託的藉口」。 根據富士康的說明，最近頻發的跳樓傷亡事件中，事發員工年齡絕大部分在十八到廿三歲之間，只有一名是廿八歲。這些員工工作時間絕大部分在六個月之內，有一些進廠還不到一個月。 劉坤說，自殺是一瞬間的事，成因卻是日積月累的，在入職之前，員工更需要社會的關懷。新員工剛進廠沒多久就出事，說明富士康對他們的人文主義關懷不夠。但同時也說明自殺是個社會問題，員工日常受的干擾並不單一，很多因素左右著員工的決定。 劉坤說，外界流傳富士康是軍事化管理，這種說法不準確。他說，富士康在大陸近八十萬員工，對待產品品質、工藝方面的追求非常高，這個高標準是富士康成長壯 大的基礎，但這種高標準追求，或多或少影響到富士康企業管理文化的特質，比如管理層在對待員工時，有一些管理措施顯得刻板。 鴻海：廠區已提供心理諮詢 【記者鄒秀明／台北報導】鴻海集團旗下的富士康公司傳出多起員工在宿舍自殺事件。鴻海發言人丁祈安昨天表示，事件發生後，第一時間就是報警，並提供媒體基本資料及公司態度，但當警方正式偵辦後，就不對外多說任何細節。 他說，去年下半年起，富士康公司已經和附近的醫院合作，在龍華和觀瀾兩廠區，提供員工心理諮詢服務。他也強調，富士康員工人數很多，尋求心理諮詢的人不像大陸媒體報導占總員工比重很高。

Extended producer responsibility spreads

誰生產誰負責 廠商必須面對的「延伸責任」

作者：經濟學人 　出處：天下雜誌 444期 2010/04

相關關鍵字：經濟學人

愈來愈多政府要求廠商負起處理廢棄產品的責任。業者與其排斥，不如換個腦袋，積極面對。

喜歡買東西的人，一定常有「買了就後悔」的感覺，而再過不久，「賣了就後悔」恐怕也會變成商家們普遍的心聲，因為愈來愈多政府都要求製造廠，負起處理廢棄產品的責任。

這種稱為「生產者延伸責任」（extended producer responsibility，EPR）的立法，以往多半針對輪胎、電子等特定產品，但美國緬因州更進一步，在三月底簽署新法，成為全美第一個實施概括性ＥＰＲ（範圍可能涵蓋所有產品）的州政府。

鼓勵廠商重新設計產品

各地政府都想減輕廢棄物處理的責任，尤其是電子、電池、油漆、汽車零件和殺蟲劑瓶罐等產品，不但很難回收，還可能有毒。把責任交給廠商，有兩個好處：第一是替地方政府省錢，緬因州政府從二○○四年實施電子廢棄物的EPR以來，每年省下了一五○～三○○萬美元的經費。

第二，這麼做可以鼓勵廠商重新設計產品，提高使用壽命和回收價值，盡量不要一埋了事。

美國已經有三十一州實施特定產品的EPR，加拿大和日本也有類似立法；歐盟則要求廠商回收包裝、電子產品和車輛。澳洲等國也在考慮跟進。

這次緬因州的立法，授權州政府逐項增列必須回收的產品，讓許多廠商「剉著等」。加州商會痛斥這些法案是「工作殺手」，警告這些成本最後都會轉嫁給消費者。產品管理協會總監卡索還發現，廠商面對EPR的落實，往往要歷經不同的「哀傷階段」：從起初拒絕，到最後勉強接受。

但也有製造商、零售商自動推出回收計劃，例如惠普就宣稱它的產品設計符合「從搖籃到搖籃」（cradle-to-cradle）理念，可以循環利用。史泰博（Staples）與家得寶（Home Depot）也自行推動電腦、燈泡與電池的回收。

其實，廠商對EPR的最大抱怨，不在於成本多寡，而是各地法令不一，配合起來很麻煩，還不如由中央拿出一套規定，全國照辦。（吳怡靜譯）

Extended producer responsibility spreads

By The Economist print edition
From The Economist
Published: April 08, 2010

Governments oblige manufacturers to take back used goods for disposal

FOR seasoned shoppers, "buyer's remorse" is a familiar feeling. "Seller's remorse" may also become common soon, as ever more governments order manufacturers to assume the cost of disposing of their products after consumers are done with them. Until recently, most laws on "extended producer responsibility" (EPR) or "product stewardship" applied only to specific types of goods, such as car tyres or electronics. But in late March Maine, following the lead of several Canadian provinces, became the first American state to enact a blanket EPR law, which could in principle cover any product.

Governments are eager to unload some responsibility for waste management onto manufacturers, especially for products that are hard to recycle or may be toxic, such as electronics, batteries, paint, car parts and pesticide containers. It helps them cut costs, for one thing—handy for local authorities short of cash in the recession. In Maine, which has had an EPR law for electronic waste since 2004, municipalities save $1.5m-3m annually because manufacturers have picked up the cost of collection, according to the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Governments also hope that EPR laws will encourage firms to rethink the way they make products, designing them for longevity and recyclability rather than for the landfill.

Thirty-one of America's 50 states have product-specific EPR laws. The European Union requires manufacturers to dispose of packaging, electronics and vehicles. Canada and Japan also have EPR laws. Other countries, such as Australia, have flirted with the idea.

Maine's new "framework" law makes it much easier to expand the scope of EPR schemes, by establishing a process for adding products to the list of those covered without requiring a new law each time. The state government, which already enforces five product-specific EPR laws, is now said to have carpet-makers and drugs firms in its sights.

This worries businesses, few of which are eager to pick up the bill for waste disposal. Some business associations, such as the California Chamber of Commerce, have denounced EPR bills as "job killers". They point out that the increased costs are ultimately borne by consumers. But that does not worry supporters of EPR, who argue that the price of a product should reflect its full "life-cycle" costs, including disposal, rather than simply leaving taxpayers to make up the difference. Moreover, unless manufacturers are forced to bear the costs, they will have no incentive to make their wares easy to dispose of.

Scott Cassel, executive director of the Product Stewardship Institute, a non-profit organisation, says he has noticed different "stages of grief for companies" coping with the reality of EPR, starting with denial and moving to begrudging acceptance. Not all companies are mourning, however. Some manufacturers and retailers have voluntarily rolled out collection programmes in states that do not require them. Hewlett-Packard, a technology firm, claims to design its products with ease of recycling in mind—cradle-to-cradle, as the jargon has it. Staples, which sells office supplies, and Home Depot, a home-improvement retailer, both offer national take-back programmes in their stores for such items as computer monitors, compact fluorescent light bulbs and batteries. Such programmes may enhance customer loyalty, particularly among environmentally conscious consumers.

Some companies may also be hoping that starting their own collection programmes could help them pre-empt legislation. "We thought we could get out in front of this and set up a system to collect our products, and the exact opposite happened," says Doug Smith of Sony, an electronics giant. He does not believe EPR laws have much impact on product design.

Companies' biggest gripe about EPR laws is not their cost but their inconsistency. Few states have the same requirements, making compliance complicated for manufacturers. Many businesses would favour a national policy rather than a patchwork of local laws. EPR laws, it seems, are set to win extended responsibility themselves.

经济纵横 | 2010.04.08

戴姆勒与雷诺-日产联盟达成战略合作协议

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 戴姆勒董事长蔡澈（右）与雷诺-日产总裁戈恩在签字仪式上

本周三（4月7日），三家汽车生产商在布鲁塞尔宣布，这项合作协议将为各方在一系列具体的项目操作上带来收益。另外三家企业还达成一次性交叉持股，三方相 互持有3.1%股本。周三签署的协议内容还包括，三方在下一代Smart ForTwo和雷诺Twingo开发生产方面将进行合作。

戴姆勒公司总裁蔡澈（Dieter Zetsche）在布鲁塞尔召开的新闻发布会上表示，戴姆勒公司以及雷诺-日产联盟今后在小型车、载重汽车以及汽车发动机等方面将实现更为紧密的合作。

本周三，戴姆勒公司总裁蔡澈同雷诺公司总裁戈恩（Carlos Ghosn）共同签署合作协议。对于戴姆勒和雷诺-日产联盟来说，这项合作迈出的是极为重要的一步，因为经济危机期间汽车行业的压力越来越大。为了在经济 危机期间仍然在汽车市场保持领头羊的地位，三大汽车生产商决定共同开发新一代Twingo和Smart小车型。

三方共同开发小型车和电动车

戴姆勒公司总裁蔡澈还强调说，虽然是三方合作，但是各个品牌将保持自己的特点："这些车型会有一个共同的结构，但是车型设计会有明显区别。这就是说，我们的Smart ForTwo会保持原有的车型文化。"

三方共同开发研制的小型车将于2013年投向市场，这当中也包括电动车型。蔡澈表示，考虑到市场发展所带来的挑战以及环保领域的技术发展，单打独斗已经不合时宜，各方会在专有技术方面加强合作。

联手合作但保持独立

另外，在柴油和汽油发动机技术开发生产方面戴姆勒和雷诺-日产也会加强合作。通过这一系列的合作，三家汽车生产商希望能够提升行业内的竞争实力。雷 诺公司总裁戈恩表示，在合作的同时企业也会保持各自的独立性，"有一点很清楚，雷诺-日产联盟和戴姆勒都没有公司合并的意向。但是像现有的这样一种平等的 战略合作将远远超越各自的项目发展。"

周三举行的合作协议签署中还包含了一项富有象征性意义的相互持股。雷诺和日产将分别持有戴姆勒公司1.55%的股权，作为交换，戴姆勒公司则分别持 有雷诺和日产3.1%的股权。雷诺公司总裁戈恩希望相互持股可以为雷诺-日产联盟带来明显的资本优势，"同戴姆勒的合作可以在未来5年内在节省开支和收入 上为联盟带来20亿欧元的收益。"

戴姆勒公司总裁蔡澈也表示，他同样希望三方合作可以给戴姆勒也带来相同的收益。他说，这一次涉及的并不是公司合并，而是公司间建立带有具体合作项目 的战略性伙伴关系，"如果您想了解这次合作同之前与克莱斯勒的合作有什么不同，那么可以说这是完全不同的计划。所以我也抱有非常乐观的心态，这次的合作结 果肯定也同之前的不一样。"

戴姆勒和雷诺-日产联盟并没有为他们的合作定下时间表。同时也没有传出关闭流水线的消息，正相反，三大生产商希望这项合作可以巩固工作岗位。几年后，合作各方将对合作结果进行评估，如果运转顺利，戴姆勒、雷诺和日产还准备继续扩大合作。

Bildunterschrift: Smart For Two的燃气和电动驱动车

Bildunterschrift: 2009年法兰克福车展上的雷诺电动概念车

作者：Susanne Henn / 洪沙

责编：叶宣