評(píng)論
打印
1. Assume for a moment that you're a manager going to work for a branch of a global organization in a foreign country. You know that your environment will differ from the one at home, but how? What should you be looking for?
1. 此刻(for a moment)假設(shè)(assume)你是一位美國經(jīng)理，你準(zhǔn)備到一家全球組織的國外分支(a branch of)機(jī)構(gòu)工作。你知道你的環(huán)境將與國內(nèi)的不同，但二者的差異會(huì)達(dá)到什么程度呢？你應(yīng)當(dāng)注意些什么？
2. Any manager who finds himself or herself in a foreign country faces new challenges. In this section, we'll look at some of those challenges and offer guidelines for responding. Although our discussion is presented through the eyes of a U.S. manager, our analytical framework could be used by any manager who was to manager in a foreign environment, regardless of national origin.
2.任何一位發(fā)覺自己處于一個(gè)陌生國家的管理者都面臨著新的挑戰(zhàn)。在這一節(jié)中，我們將考察（look at）這些挑戰(zhàn)，并對(duì)如何做出反應(yīng)提供一些指導(dǎo)(guidelines)。雖然(although)我們將以一位美國管理者的視角來展開(present)我們的討論，但是我們的分析框架能為任何在國外環(huán)境中經(jīng)營的管理者使用，不受國籍之限。
3. The Legal-Political Environment 法律-政治環(huán)境
4. U.S. managers are accustomed to stable legal and political systems. Changes are slow, and legal and political procedures are well established. Elections are held at regular intervals. Even changes in political parties after an election do not produce radical or quick transformations. The stability of laws governing the actions of individuals and institutions allows for accurate predictions. The same can't be said for all countries. Managers in a global organization must stay informed of the specific laws in countries where they do business.
4.美國的管理者習(xí)慣于(be accustomed to)穩(wěn)定的法律和政治體系。在這一體系中，變化是緩慢的，法律和政治程序是完善的(established)，選舉定期舉行，即使總統(tǒng)大選后的政黨變化也不會(huì)引起快速的、根本的(radical)改變(transformations)。由于支配個(gè)人和機(jī)構(gòu)行為的法律是穩(wěn)定的，因此就可以進(jìn)行準(zhǔn)確的預(yù)測(predictions)，而其它國家并非都是如此。在全球組織任職的管理者必須熟知(stay informed of)他們經(jīng)營業(yè)務(wù)的國家所特有的法律體系。
5. Also, some countries have a history of unstable governments. Managers of businesses in these countries face dramatically greater uncertainty as a result of political instability. For instance, political interference is a face of life in some Asian countries.
5.一些國家的政府在相當(dāng)長的歷史時(shí)間內(nèi)都是不穩(wěn)定的。這些國家的企業(yè)管理者由于(as a result of)政治不穩(wěn)定而面臨高度不確定性(uncertainty)。政治干預(yù)(political interference)也是一些亞洲國家現(xiàn)實(shí)生活的一個(gè)方面（a face of life）。
6. The legal-political environment doesn't have to be unstable or revolutionary to be a concern to managers. Just the fact that a country's laws and political system differ from those of the United States is important. Managers must recognize these differences if they hope to understand the constraints under which they operate and the opportunities that exist.
6.法律-政治環(huán)境并非只有不穩(wěn)定或具有革命性才會(huì)引起管理者的注意。事實(shí)上，一個(gè)國家法律或政治體系與美國的差異才是重要的。管理者如果希望了解他們經(jīng)營中的(under which they operate)約束(constraints)以及存在的機(jī)會(huì)(opportunities)，就必須認(rèn)識(shí)這些差異。
7.The Economic Environment 經(jīng)濟(jì)環(huán)境
8. The global manager must be aware of economic issues when doing business in other countries. One of the first is understanding the type of economic system under which the country operates. The two major types are a market economy and a command economy. A market economy is one in which resources are primarily owned and controlled by the private sector. A command economy is one in which all economic decisions are planned by a central government. In actuality, no economy is purely market or command. For instance, the United States and the United Kingdom are two countries at the market end of the spectrum but they do have minimal governmental control. The economies of Vietnam and North Korea, however, would be more command-based. Then there's China, a country that's more command based, but is moving to be more market-based. Why would managers need to know about a country's economic system? Because it has the potential to constrain decisions and actions. Other economic issues a manager might need to understand include currency exchange rates, inflation rates, and diverse tax policies.
8.全球管理者在其它國家開展業(yè)務(wù)必須了解一些經(jīng)濟(jì)因素(economic issues)。首先，要知道所在國家的經(jīng)濟(jì)體制類型。兩種主要的經(jīng)濟(jì)體制是：市場經(jīng)濟(jì)和計(jì)劃經(jīng)濟(jì)(a market economy and a command economy)。在市場經(jīng)濟(jì)中，資源主要是由私營企業(yè)(the private sector)所掌握和控制。在計(jì)劃經(jīng)濟(jì)中，經(jīng)濟(jì)決策由中央政府決定。事實(shí)上，沒有一種經(jīng)濟(jì)是純市場或純計(jì)劃的。例如，英美兩國都處在市場經(jīng)濟(jì)的一端，但是他們還有少量的政府控制。又如，越南和朝鮮的經(jīng)濟(jì)在更大程度上以控制為基礎(chǔ)。還有中國，這個(gè)國家的經(jīng)濟(jì)正從偏重以計(jì)劃為基礎(chǔ)(more command-based)向偏重以市場為基礎(chǔ)(more market-based)轉(zhuǎn)化。為什么管理者必須了解一個(gè)國家經(jīng)濟(jì)體制的情況呢？因?yàn)檫@可能會(huì)約束他們的決策和行為。管理者必須了解的其它經(jīng)濟(jì)因素包括匯率(exchange rates)、通貨膨脹(inflationrates)和不同的稅收政策。(constraint n. 強(qiáng)制; 限制, 約束; constrain vt. 強(qiáng)迫; 限制, 約束)
9. A global firm's profits can vary dramatically depending on the strength of its home currency and the currencies of the countries in which it operates. Any devaluation of a nation's currency significantly affects the level of a company's profits. The strength of a foreign nation's currency can also affect manager's decisions.
9.一個(gè)全球化公司的利潤會(huì)受到本國貨幣(its home currency)及其經(jīng)營所在國貨幣(the currencies of the countries in which it operates)的比值的影響而發(fā)生劇烈的變化（vary dramatically）。一國貨幣任意幅度地貶值(devaluation)都能影響管理者的決策和公司的利潤水平。
10. Inflation means that prices for produce and services are going up. But it also affects interest rates, exchange rates, the cost of living, and the general confidence in a country's political and economic system. In most developing countries, consumer prices are rising more slowly than they were in the late 1990s, although inflation rates can, and do, very widely. Managers need to monitor inflation trends so they can make good decisions and anticipate any possible changes in a country's monetary policies.
10.通貨膨脹意味著產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)價(jià)格持續(xù)上升(are going up)。同時(shí)，它還會(huì)影響利率(interest rates)、匯率、生活成本(the cost of living)和對(duì)國家政治經(jīng)濟(jì)體制的總體信任(the general confidence)。在大多數(shù)發(fā)展中國家，物價(jià)比20世紀(jì)90年代末要上漲得慢，盡管通貨膨脹率(inlfction rates)也確實(shí)發(fā)生了劇烈的變化(can and do very widely)。管理者必須密切關(guān)注通貨膨脹趨勢(shì)以做出明智的決策，并預(yù)測(anticipate)國家貨幣政策任何可能的變化。
11. Finally, diverse tax policies are a major worry for a global manager. Some host countries are more restrictive than the organization's home country. Others are far more lenient. About the only certainty is that tax rules differ from country to country. Managers need exact information on the various tax rules in countries in which they operate to minimize their business's overall tax obligation.
11.最后，不同的稅收政策也是全球管理者的一個(gè)主要擔(dān)憂。一些東道國比該組織母國的約束(restrictive)更多，而有的則寬松(lenient)一些。僅有一點(diǎn)可以肯定的是，國與國之間的稅收規(guī)則不盡相同。管理者需要準(zhǔn)確地知道他們經(jīng)營所在國的各種稅收規(guī)則，從而將企業(yè)的全部稅收義務(wù)(their business's overall tax obligation)減至最少(minimize)。
12.The Cultural Environment 文化環(huán)境
13. A large global oil company found that employee productivity in one of its Mexican plants was off 20 percent and sent a U.S. manager to find out why. After talking to several employees, the manager discovered that the company used to have a monthly fiesta in the parking lot for all the employees and their families. Another U.S. manager had canceled the fiestas saying they were a waste of time and money. The message employees were getting was that the company didn't care about their families anymore. When the fiestas were reinstated, productivity and employee morale soared.
13.一家大型的國際石油公司發(fā)現(xiàn)它在墨西哥一個(gè)工廠的員工生產(chǎn)率下降了20%，它派一名美國管理者去查明原因(find out why)。在與一些員工交談之后，這位管理者發(fā)現(xiàn)，公司過去每個(gè)月(monthyly)都會(huì)在停車場為所有員工及其家屬舉辦一個(gè)喜慶日(fiesta)。另一名美國管理者取消了這個(gè)喜慶日，認(rèn)為那是在浪費(fèi)時(shí)間和金錢。而員工從中捕獲到的信息是，公司再也不關(guān)心他們的家庭。當(dāng)恢復(fù)(reinstate)喜慶日后，生產(chǎn)率開始上升，員工士氣(employee morale)開始高漲。
14. At Hewlett-Packard, a cross-global team of U.S. and French engineers were assigned to work together on a software project. The U.S. engineers sent long, detailed e-mails to their counterparts in France. The French engineers viewed the lengthy e-mails as patronizing and replied with quick, concise e-mails. This made the U.S. engineers think that the French were hiding something from them. The situation spiraled out of control and had a negative effect on output until team members went through cultural training. (reply with 以…作答; hide from 把…藏起來; 不讓…發(fā)現(xiàn); go through 經(jīng)歷; 經(jīng)受)
14.在惠普，由美國和法國工程師組成的跨國團(tuán)隊(duì)(a cross-global team)被委派共同開發(fā)一個(gè)軟件工程。美國的工程師給法國的同事(their counterparts in France)發(fā)送了長篇幅、詳細(xì)的郵件。法國工程師認(rèn)為冗長的郵件是美國人自認(rèn)為高人一等的表現(xiàn)。他們快速、簡短地回了郵件。這使得美國工程師認(rèn)為法國人向他們隱瞞了一些情況。局面的失控(out of control)對(duì)產(chǎn)出(output)產(chǎn)生了消極的影響(had a negative effect on)，直到團(tuán)隊(duì)成員經(jīng)歷(go through)了文化培訓(xùn)之后才有所改善。
15. As we know, organizations have different cultures, countries have cultures too. National culture is the values and attitudes shared by individuals from a specific country that shape their behavior and their beliefs about what is important.
15.我們知道，組織有不同的文化。人類學(xué)家也一直在告訴我們，國家也有文化。民族文化是一個(gè)國家的居民共有的(shared by individuals from a specific country)價(jià)值觀(the values and attitudes)，這些價(jià)值觀塑造了他們的行為以及他們看待世界的方式。
16. Which is more important to a manager-national culture or organizational culture? For example, is an IBM facility in Germany more likely to reflect German culture or IBM's corporate culture? Research indicates that national culture has a greater effect of employees than does their organization's culture. German employees at an IBM facility in Munich will be influenced more by German culture than by IBM's culture.
This means that as influential as organizational culture
may be on managerial practice, national culture is even more influential.
16.對(duì)于管理者來說，國家文化和組織文化哪一個(gè)更為重要呢？例如，德國的一家IBM公司是更有可能反映德國的民族文化，還是IBM的公司文化呢？研究表明，民族文化對(duì)員工的影響要大于組織文化的影響。在慕尼黑的一家IBM公司工作的德國雇員，受德國文化的影響比受IBM文化的影響大。這就意味著，與組織文化對(duì)管理實(shí)踐的影響相比，民族文化更具有影響力。
