IBM前CEO彭明盛 一家真正的全球化企業是如何練就的

In 2011, as IBM was planning to commemorate its 100th anniversary, it struck me that there were dramatic parallels between the company’s transformation over 10 decades and the way in which the global economy had been transformed over the same period. Both had benefited from an expansion of economic growth, and an increase in living standards, that was without precedent in human history. This progress had been greatly enabled by the integration of global society, and through the power and prevalence of information technology.

2011年，IBM計劃慶祝其誕生100週年之際，我忽然想到，該公司在過去一個世紀的改變與同期全球經濟的變化極爲相似。兩者都受益於經濟增長，以及人類歷史上前所未見的生活水平的大幅提高。而這一進步主要得益於全球社會融合以及信息技術的普及。

Today, global economic integration presents enormous opportunity for the future of business and society. For business, buying and selling goods and services in a global market can lead to cost savings and increased revenue, but also the ability to draw on the talents and insights of a global workforce. Society can also benefit in a myriad of ways, from individuals realizing higher living standards to governments realizing new avenues for cooperation. And while many point to the risks of integration, the more pressing and more pragmatic questions are the following: How do we deal with the future? Do we embrace it? Or do we cling to the past?

如今，全球經濟一體化爲企業和社會的未來帶來巨大機遇。對企業而言，在全球市場上買賣商品和服務，可節約成本、增加收入，同時還能將全球的人才及其見解收爲己用。社會也將受益匪淺：人們將得以提高自身生活水平；政府將找到新的合作途徑。雖然很多人指出一體化存在風險，但更迫切、更務實的問題是：我們如何面對未來？我們是欣然迎接未來？還是執着於過去？

These questions are particularly important for companies in the United States and throughout the world. They face new challenges as they navigate what is the first truly global era in human history – an era in which the volume and speed of information, people, products, services and ideas being circulated around the world is greater than ever before. Where quality services will be delivered via cloud-like platforms and consistency of shareholder returns will be mandatory. This new era calls for new business models, new corporate structures, new investor engagement and new thinking.

上述問題對於美國乃至全球的企業都相當重要。我們正處在人類歷史上首個真正的全球化時代，在全球流轉的信息、人員、產品、服務以及理念，其數量之大、速度之快都前所未有。在這個時代，企業面臨着新的挑戰。優質服務將通過雲式平臺交付，而股東回報是必須的。這個新時代需要新的商業模式、新的企業結構、新的投資者參與以及新思維。

Fundamental to the global era, and uniquely suited to benefit from it, is what I call the globally integrated enterprise (GIE), which refers to companies that are truly global (as opposed to “multinational”) in their management and their operations. In this model, work is organized in fundamentally different ways. It calls for different skills and behaviors, more collaboration and transparency, more disciplined financial management, greater focus on a multiplicity of cultural differences, and less hierarchy.

全球整合企業（globally integrated enterprise, GIE）在這個全球化時代必不可少，同時，此類企業特別適合從全球化時代中受益。我所說的全球整合企業，是指其管理和經營實現真正全球化（而不僅僅是“跨國”）的企業。在該模式中，工作的組織方式完全不同。這要求減少層級，同時需要技能和行爲多元化，增加合作和透明度，財務管理更加嚴格，且更加註重文化差異的多樣性。

As an example, decisions about where to locate operations are based on how to maximize value for customers, employees, and business partners. Instead of taking people to where the work is, you take work to where the people are. Thus, rather than maintaining separate supply chains in different markets, there is one supply chain, and it’s global — not just for products, but also services, capital, ideas, and intellectual property.

舉例來說，決定在何處進行經營，將取決於如何使客戶、員工以及生意夥伴實現價值最大化。人不再跟着工作走，相反，工作將跟人走。因此，不同的市場不會有獨立的供應鏈，而是隻有一條全球化的供應鏈，不僅對產品是如此，對服務、資本、創意和知識產權而言都是如此。

Similarly, human capital is thought of not in terms of countries and regions and business units, but rather how to manage and deploy it as one global asset. While CEO, I saw that IBM’s IBM -0.02% future was going to be focused on innovation, which meant that rather than being capital-intensive, we were going to be human capital-intensive – delivering software and services. So it was even more important than in the past that we hired and retained the best people. But unlike earlier eras, it didn’t really matter where these people were or where they came from – we simply wanted them to excel in their work at IBM and we wanted to do what we could to help them excel.

同樣，考慮人力資本時，不再囿於國家、地區和業務部門的限制，而是考慮如何將其作爲全球性資產來管理和部署。我在IBM擔任首席執行官時發現，IBM的未來將專注於創新，這意味着我們未來不是資本密集型企業，而會是人力資本密集型企業，提供軟件和服務。因此，僱傭和留住最優秀的人才，比以往任何時候都更重要。但是，與從前不同的是，這些人才身在何處、來自何方並不重要，我們只希望他們在IBM工作出色，而且我們希望盡我們所能，幫助他們脫穎而出。

In connection with our global workforce, we recognized the need to create a common culture that would ensure consistent values throughout the company, regardless of where our employees were working (that’s the “integrated” part of GIE). To that end, we conducted a company-wide survey – what we called a “ValuesJam” – that gave anyone working for IBM the opportunity to weigh in on what the company should stand for and how our employees should operate. That exercise culminated with an updated set of values that became the connective tissue for IBMers throughout the world.

就我們的全球員工而言，我們認識到有必要建立共同的文化，以確保整個公司有統一的價值觀，無論我們的員工在何處工作（這正是全球整合企業中“整合”一詞的含義）。爲此，我們在全公司進行調查（即我們所說的“ValuesJam”），使IBM所有員工都有機會暢所欲言，探討公司應該主張什麼，以及公司員工應當如何運作。調查最終產生出一套不斷更新的價值觀，成爲聯繫全球IBM員工的紐帶。

For a company to become a GIE, its leaders must embrace a particular frame of mind – one that I worked to imbue in my colleagues while I was CEO of IBM. This frame of mind is focused on how to operate seamlessly as a single organic entity – by integrating internal operations horizontally and globally, collaborating with external partners, and operating at the best location in the world, to maximize value creation from a global point of view.

一家公司要成爲全球整合企業，其領導者必須懷有一種特定的心態，我在IBM擔任首席執行官時，致力於向我的同事們灌輸這種心態。這種心態關注的重點是，企業如何作爲單獨的有機整體實現無縫運營：通過橫向並在全球範圍內整合內部操作，與外部合作伙伴協作，在全球最佳地點經營，以便從全球視角最大限度地創造價值。

IBM is far from the only company that has adopted key GIE principles and practices. A number of companies, operating across a diverse set of countries and industries, have implemented measures that resemble those we adopted at IBM. They include CemexCX -0.16% of Mexico, a leading producer of cement and other building materials; Bharti Airtel of India, one of the world’s most dynamic cellular telephone providers; and Geely of China, which is making major inroads in the global car industry thanks to innovative products and management. The measures they’ve implemented are a byproduct of their own experiences, which led them to reach the same conclusions we did at IBM: that companies need to be global in order to stay competitive, but need to do so in ways that keep them close to their customers while also emphasizing values and principles that foster agility, innovation, and productivity.

採取了全球整合企業關鍵原則和做法的，遠不止IBM一家公司。來自不同國家、不同行業的許多企業都實施了與IBM所採取的做法類似的措施。這些企業包括水泥及其它建材龍頭企業墨西哥水泥集團（Cemex）、全球最具活力手機供應商之一印度巴帝電信（Bharti Airtel）、以及正憑藉創新性產品和管理在全球汽車行業風生水起的中國吉利汽車（Geely）。這些企業所採取的措施，都是自身經驗的副產品，它們由此得出了與IBM同樣的結論：公司要保持競爭力，必須全球化，但在全球化的同時，必須緊跟客戶，同時強調促進靈活、創新以及生產力的價值觀和原則。

The GIE, and the new global era for business, are at the center of my current work. My book, Re-Think: A Path to the Future, was published earlier this year. These areas represent the foundation of work being undertaken by the Center for Global Enterprise (CGE), which is a research organization I launched last year. Its work is being devoted to explaining the age in which we are living, while also documenting how a new management science is emerging, how leaders can apply it, and how all stakeholders should strive to maximize its benefits.

全球整合企業以及企業面對的新全球化時代，是我目前工作的重心。我在今年早些時候發表了名爲《重新思考：未來之路》（Re-Think: A Path to the Future）的書作。這些領域代表了全球企業中心（Center for Global Enterprise）工作的基礎。全球企業中心是我在去年創建的一家研究機構，致力於解讀我們生活的這個時代，同時記錄新的管理科學如何興起，領導者如何運用該科學，以及所有利益相關方應如何努力使其效益最大化。