Unit 3   Book 3 

   When a group of human beings work together, what does it take to make the cooperation go smoothly, effectively and productively? This question is one that every business manager faces. Good training, good conditions, a pleasant atmosphere, a common aim --- all of these factors play a part, but the richness of human psychology makes management a subtle and demanding art. And when businesses go international, there are even more complexities to cope with. In the last unit, we looked at how cultural differences affect education. But what goes on after school? What happens at work in a world that's rapidly becoming a "global village"? The three texts you're going to read in this unit explore some of the fascinating complications of international management.

                                                                      Text   A

    Joint ventures  involving Western and Japanese companies often run into conflicts -- a multitude of little things that escalate into big emotional battles in which all the parties keep exclaiming: “What's wrong with them!? Can they understand that ...?!”But because the conflicts are mainly due to cultural differences, neither side can understand -- unless they have a “cultural translator”.

    The first cultural translator I ever met was an installation engineer, George by name, who worked for an American company where I was the director of international operations. The company had just started a joint venture with a Japanese firm, and the American management needed someone to train the Japanese employees in its unique technology. George's solid understanding of the equipment, its installation and use made him the best-qualified employee for the job, so everyone was happy when George accepted a two-year contract for temporary transfer to Japan.

    From the start, George was well accepted by all the Japanese employees. Japanese managers often distrust anyone sent to represent US owners, but George was so naturally nonassertive that no one could see him as a threat to their careers. So they felt comfortable asking his advice on a wide range of matters, including the odd behavior of their partners across the ocean. Engineers throughout the company appreciated George's expertise and his friendly and capable help, and they got into the habit of turning to him whenever they had a problem -- any problem. And the secretaries in the office were eager to help this nice bachelor learn Japanese.

    Sooner than anyone expected, the company became a profitable, thriving and growing venture. George's first two-year contract came to an end. By then, he could speak good Japanese, and had picked up Japanese habits. He drank green tea at all hours, ate rice at every meal and had even learned to sit properly on Japanese tatami mats. So when George was offered a second two-year Japanese contract, he accepted at once. Another contract followed, and George's love affair with Japanese culture continued.

     But as George's sixth year in the country was coming to an end, an unexpected difficulty became apparent: The Japanese engineers had surpassed George in their knowledge of the rapidly-changing technology. He had nothing left to teach them.

    Was this the end for poor George? Was there nothing more he could offer to the now-mature joint venture he had served so loyally? Would he have to leave the country he had come to love? No! Faced with the threat of an unwilling departure from Japan, George reinvented himself as a “cultural translator”.

   The idea came to George one day when the Japanese joint-venture president was -- again -- offended by a message from the American management . As usual in such situations, he stormed into George's office and threw the message in front of him in a fury. And George, as usual, read the message and explained in his calm manner what the Americans had really meant by it, not what it sounded like in the context of Japanese culture.

    Fortunately for everyone, both the Japanese and American sides of the joint venture had heard enough horror stories about cultural conflicts to recognize the value of George's skills, so when he proposed this new position for himself, the idea was quickly approved. The wisdom of this decision was proved again and again over the years.

   At times something far more important than good English was needed. One such case was when the Japanese accountant had to explain the $46,534 spent on 874 December-holiday presents. Or there was the time when the Japanese personnel manager had to justify keeping a chemist on the payroll   even though the company no longer needed his expertise. In cases like these, everyone turned to George.

    Somehow or other, he made their messages sound at least halfway sensible to Americans. And when there was something that even George couldn't “translate” into American-style sense, he would write, “this will sound crazy, but you should go along with it anyway.It worked the other way around, too. When the American managers visited Japan, George accompanied us everywhere to ensure that we didn't do or say anything too stupid from the Japanese viewpoint. Whenever we did that anyway, he came to the rescue at once: “what they really mean is...” Whole multitudes of difficulties never arose thanks to George's skill at smoothing over small conflicts before they became big, emotional and costly.Since leaving that company in George's capable hands, I've advised many firms on international operations. And my first recommendation is always the same: Don't worry about language problems -- the first thing you need is a cultural translator.

一位文化翻译的故事

    西方和日本公司的合资企业经常会发生冲突----许多无关紧要的琐事会扩大为情绪激动的交战， 各方不停地叫嚷：“他们是怎么了!?他们能不能理解……?!” 但是因为冲突主要是由文化差异引起的，所以没有一方能够理解──除非他们有一名“文化翻译”。

   我遇到的第一位文化翻译是一位设备安装工程师，名叫乔治，他在一家我担任国际业务部主任的美国公司里工作。 这家公司刚同一家日本商社开办了一家合资企业，美方管理部门需要有人在它的独特技术方面培训日本雇员。乔治对设备及其安装和使用的透彻了解使他成为最能胜任这项工作的雇员， 所以当乔治接受了暂时调往日本的一份两年期合同时，大家都很高兴。

   从一开始，乔治就被所有的日本雇员欣然接受。日方经理通常不信任任何被派去代表美方业主的人，但乔治生性随和，没有人把他看作是对自己职业的一种威胁。所以他们喜欢就广泛的各类问题征求他的意见，包括大洋彼岸他们的合作伙伴的古怪行为。公司上下的工程师们都珍视乔治的专业知识和他友好而技能熟练的帮助，他们已养成了一有问题--任何问题，就找他帮忙的习惯。办公室里的秘书们都热衷于帮助这个讨人喜欢的单身汉学习日语。

  谁也没有料到那么快公司就成了一家赢利、兴旺、日益壮大的企业。乔治的第一份两年期合同到期了。这时，他已经能讲很好的日语，并养成了一些日本人的习惯。他整天喝绿茶，顿顿吃米饭，甚至学会了正确地坐榻榻米。所以，当公司向乔治提出在日本的第二份两年期合同的建议时，他立即就接受了。之后又有第三份合同，乔治与日本文化的情缘在继续着。

   但是当乔治在这个国家的第6个年头即将结束时，一个未曾料到的困难变得显而易见了：日本工程师对迅速更新的技术的了解已经超过了乔治。他没有什么剩下的东西可以教他们了。

     难道这就是可怜的乔治的结局吗? 他对于这家他曾经如此忠诚地服务过的、现已成熟的合资企业，就再也没有什么可以贡献的了吗? 他只得离开他已开始爱上的这个国家吗? 不! 面对着要离开日本的威胁，乔治心有不甘，于是将自己重新塑造成了一名“文化翻译”。

    一天，这家合资企业的日方总裁----又一次----被来自美方管理层的一份电文激怒了，乔治就是在那一天产生了做一名“文化翻译”这一想法的。像通常碰到类似的情况时一样，日方总裁冲进乔治的办公室，怒气冲冲地将那份电文扔到了他面前。乔治也同往常一样，读了电文，然后心平气和地解释了美国人这样说的真正意思，而不是在日本文化背景下听上去的那种意思。

    对大家来说都很幸运的是，合资企业的日方和美方都已经听说过足够多的有关文化冲突的骇人故事，他们能够认识到乔治的技能的价值，所以当他为自己提出这个新的职位时，这个想法很快便被采纳了。在这几年中，这一决定的英明一次又一次地得到了证明。

   有时我们需要比熟练的英语远为重要的东西。当日方会计师不得不解释花在874份十二月假日礼物上的46,534美元时，就是这么一种情况。或者当日方人事经理不得不说明即使公司不再需要一个化学师的专业知识仍要继续聘用他的理由时也是如此。在诸如此类的情况下，人人都求助于乔治。

     他用各种办法让他们的电文使美国人听上去至少有一部分道理。当有些事连乔治也无法“译”成美国式的含义时，他会写道：“这听上去很荒唐，但你们无论如何也应该同意。”

   反之亦然。当美方经理们访问日本时，乔治便处处陪着我们，以确保我们不会做出或说出任何在日本人看来十分愚蠢的事或话来。 一旦我们做了蠢事， 说了蠢话，他马上就来解救：“他们真正的意思是……”多亏乔治有办法在小冲突激化、情绪化、造成巨大损失之前就将其化解，公司从未出现过成堆的麻烦。

   自把那家公司交到能干的乔治手中以来， 我已经在国际业务方面为许多公司出谋划策。我的第一条建议总是相同的：不要担心语言问题----你首先需要的是一名文化翻译。

   The first is the ability to express yourself in a clear, articulate (口齿清楚的) fashion. Good oral and written communication skills are absolutely essential to effective management.

   Further, a good manager in today's world must have courage and a strong sense of integrity. He or she must know where to draw the line on self-indulgence and quick profits, recognize what's right and wrong and then stick to what's right. That can be extremely difficult. Drawing the line in a corporate setting sometimes involves choosing between what appear to be conflicting "rights." For example, if you have to decide whether or not to close an ailing factory, whose interests should prevail? Those of the owners? of the employees? of the customers? What about those of the community where the factory is located? It's a tough nut to crack. And the typical manager's career is full of hundreds of them.

   Sometimes these choices involve simple questions of honesty or truthfulness. More often, they are more subtle and involve such issues as whether to cut corners and economize in ways that may seem positive in the short run but that are not in the best long-term interests of the various groups being served by one's company. Making the right choice in situations such as these clearly demands integrity --- and the courage to follow where one's integrity leads.

   几年前， 我是哈佛商学院的一名年轻的助理教授， 当时我认为管理良好的关键在于纯智能。 我根据学生们的聪明程度给他们打分， 以为分数最高的将会成为商界最为成功的人士。 我还认为商学院的职责就是把有关商业， 仅仅是有关商业的各个方面教给未来的经理们：如何弄清问题，分析问题，如何条理清晰、逻辑严谨地确定各种方案并最终做出明智的决定。

     在美国以外生活、工作了几年，在一家名牌商学院当了7年院长之后，我的想法逐渐发生了变化。 当我在现实生活中获得了对付重重困难的第一手经验之后，这些困难正潜伏在暗处等待着，甚至最聪明、最训练有素的经理们也难以逃脱， 我发现自己列出了越来越长的一串我认为一名好的管理人员所必须具备的特点和技能--而这些特点和技能都是商学院里很少教授的。

   首先是清晰明了地表达你自己思想的能力。 娴熟的口、笔头交际技能对于有效的管理是绝对必要的。

    第二，你必须具备那套被称为领导技能的特殊素质。要当一名好的领导人，你必须对他人体察入微，能激励他们去实现共同的目标。

    此外，我认定有效的管理人员必须是多面手。他们不仅了解商界，而且对生活和社会的文化、社交、政治、历史以及(尤其是在今天)国际等方面有所了解。这意味着大量的文科和人文学科知识应该成为每一位经理所受教育的一部分。

   而且，在当今世界，一位好的管理人员还必须有勇气和一种强烈的正义感。他或她必须知道把禁止自我放纵和迅速赢利的界限划在何处，必须明辨是非，并坚持正确的东西。 这有时会是极为困难的。 在公司环境中划定这条界限有时需要在看似冲突的“正确事物”中作出选择。例如，如果你必须决定是否要关闭一家处境困难的工厂，那么谁的利益应该放在首位呢? 工厂主的利益? 雇员的利益? 顾客的利益? 工厂所在社区的利益又怎么样呢? 这是个棘手的问题。 在典型的经理生涯中，这样的难题比比皆是。

   有时候这些选择涉及到诚实或坦率的简单问题。更多的时候，它们则比较微妙，牵涉到诸如是否以短期内看似积极、但对公司所服务的不同群体的长期利益却不利的方式来节省时间和紧缩开支的问题。在这类情况下作出正确的选择显然需要为人正直--以及沿着自己的正直人格指示的路前进的勇气。

     最后，他必须具有使积极有益的事情发生的能力。正是这一特点，而不是任何别的特点，才造就了一个真正成功的管理人员。对于一家公司来说，一个可以信赖的、能使正确的事情及时发生的经理比再多才华横溢、受过高深教育，能大张旗鼓地进行策划分析但却从不讨诸实施的经理们要有价值得多。最有价值的经理是那种说“这事我能干”--然后接着就干的人。

  许多商学院继续把注意力几乎只集中于分析技能的培养上。结果，这些商学院仍在继续培养出大量通晓分析策略和决算表，但仍然不知道如何管理的毕业生!

    当然，作为一个实际问题，商学院在教它们的学生如何管理时也只能做到这一步。 只有艰苦环境中的磨炼才能充分培养我在这里讨论到的这些管理特点和技能。换句话说：学习管理的最佳途径就是管理。