HSBC: a study in dysfunction

Admittedly, that old dual-headed structure had been a work in progress: for the first 127 years of its life HSBC had no chief executive at all. But it had served the bank well enough since 1992, when the takeover of Midland in the UK meant HSBC had to kowtow to local rules.

无可否认，过去的双重领导结构一直处于日臻完善的过程中。在最初的127年历史中，汇丰根本没有行政总裁这个职位。但自1992年以来，这种结构在汇丰发挥了良好的效用。当时，汇丰为了收购英国的米德兰银行(Midland)，不得不向当地法规低头。

上文 work in progress的翻譯是錯誤
此處似宜說成是試驗中的方式


work in progress
n., pl., works in progress.
A yet incomplete artistic, theatrical, or musical work, often made available for public viewing or listening.

Lex专栏：汇丰咎由自取

HSBC: a study in dysfunction

HSBC brought all this on itself. The world’s third-largest bank by market capitalisation used to have a clear division of responsibilities: the chairman set the strategy, and the chief executive delivered it.	汇丰(HSBC)是咎由自取。这家全球市值第三大的银行曾经分工明确：主席制定发展战略，行政总裁负责执行。
That changed a year ago, when the bank announced that chief executive Michael Geoghegan was to move from London to Hong Kong, taking responsibility for strategy with him. Stripped of his main reason for being, chairman Stephen Green became a minister without portfolio; a book tour here, an honorary doctorate there. It was no wonder his head was turned by the offer of a real job.	一年前，这种情况发生了改变：汇丰宣布行政总裁纪勤(Michael Geoghegan)将把办公地点从伦敦迁至香港，同时承担起制定战略的责任。汇丰主席葛霖(Stephen Green)由此被剥夺了存在的主要理由，成为一个空头司令：在这儿进行签名售书，到那里领取名誉博士学位。因此，他会对一份有实权的工作邀请感兴趣也就 不足为奇了。
Admittedly, that old dual-headed structure had been a work in progress: for the first 127 years of its life HSBC had no chief executive at all. But it had served the bank well enough since 1992, when the takeover of Midland in the UK meant HSBC had to kowtow to local rules.	无可否认，过去的双重领导结构一直处于日臻完善的过程中。在最初的127年历史中，汇丰根本没有行政总裁这个职位。但自1992年以来，这种结构在汇丰发挥了良好的效用。当时，汇丰为了收购英国的米德兰银行(Midland)，不得不向当地法规低头。
When his time was up in 2006, Mr Green became the third chief executive to move upstairs to chairman. Some shareholders grumbled, but exceptions like these were what the “comply or explain” provision of the UK’s corporate governance Combined Code was invented for. Would investors rather HSBC had had a genuine outsider as chairman, like the journalist at Northern Rock, or the chemist at RBS?	2006年任期满后，葛霖成为第三位升任主席的行政总裁。一些股东对此满腹牢骚，但英 国《公司治理联合准则》中的“遵守或是解释”条款正是为这种例外情况而设的。投资者难道宁愿由真正的外来者担任汇丰主席，就像北岩银行(Northern Rock)的那位记者、或是苏格兰皇家银行(RBS)的那位化学家那样？
If Mr Geoghegan is to go, the well-travelled Stuart Gulliver has a strong claim on his position. Earnings from global banking and markets, the division he heads, were the main reason HSBC made more money in the first half than Barclays and Standard Chartered put together.	如果纪勤离任，见多识广的欧智华(Stuart Gulliver)将成为绝佳继任人选。欧智华领导的全球银行与市场部门创造的收益，是汇丰上半年收益超过巴克莱(Barclays)和渣打(Standard Chartered)总和的主要原因。
Finance director Douglas Flint, too, has the gravitas to succeed Mr Green as chairman. But he should insist on a better job spec than “roving grandee”. And the board as a whole needs to learn the lessons from an experiment in management that has so far been a wretched failure.	财务总监范智廉(Douglas Flint)也有接替葛霖担任主席的庄严气质。但他应该坚持要求扩大自己的职责范围，而不满足于只扮演“巡视大公”的角色。而整个董事会也需要从迄今惨遭失败的管理试验中吸取教训。
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