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 C

   Years ago, when I was a young assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, I thought that the key to good management lay in raw brainpower. I graded students on how smart they were, expecting the ones with the highest marks to be the biggest successes in the business world. And I thought the role of business schools was to teach future managers every aspect of business and only business: how to define problems, analyze them, identify alternatives in a clear and logical fashion, and finally, how to make an intelligent decision.

    My thinking gradually changed, over years of living and working outside the United States, and by serving seven years as president of a prestigious business school. As I gained real-life, first-hand experience with the multitude of difficulties lying in wait for even the smartest and best-trained managers, I found myself with a growing list of traits (特点) and skills that I felt a good manager must possess --- and that are seldom taught in business school.

   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。