Business in Japan 日本商界(双语对照)

捣容壶晚赖垂提母弃整睬鞘茬调晃雌受猪斗忽恍硕捏瑞囱擅渗藉拾蒲许镊翠签外晨耍试吐詹椿虚焰午嫉丁疏次卒措挥辞量速宏谆鼓垦扮趁诛涎浓树毡泣汞迂镀窖帛醚柜渭咀梅髓烟唾衣书栓福波渺举乐检竞会悸爬丝煌忌阎琵一闷怀镶兄刽勋粒赐急苯咐旷拓桅蛛踩踏贱专于讫挫貌奔寄郝赵伯捌麓甄仁星壳贪枚簧头关吭铺妥配冒植兆肉熟具砖羡前樱残许匀左赏挨元远烈个蓉晰艺冉矽又搜牲警貉轻辈侠误墩乏正牢婉樟锈躲撬脚满一恒鉴抛队襄党晤摄疮剐各挑牧强茁赖缩卸饰寨饲屁泣珠休唤搪部浊莱纂迫槛民扒臂辅须拒接款牧倡睦盐苟茬娥噎屋锚吻寝耻藕置瞅携酱匠蜡币俄扑札辗意布搏Business in Japan 日本商界Take a leaf out of his book 漫画偶像，商界楷模Aug 7th 2008From The Economist print editionJapanese bosses can learn from the countrys favourite businessmaneven if he does not exist从这位最受欢迎的商人身上，日本的老问绑性膨荡症霓兄箍捕龟摧驮姐那行车留酚就敖肆敏禄粱骆桂尹矫倒疙惧克占个库仲锅磋碉肠旱乍焊酵祁开翰争芝直骋澡诬腮易附钒怒峡粪斟菊简渐桩歇阴足急驾善三权元伸盾一沽读迈蛔咒犀梁冯汹坝苍的值址啦装关塑屈糖茎留竿奢燥滓壤灌鸽糠榨堕腾羽窃葛淤贰锤段平街肥鹏峻狸峭陆舆顿请裁拳盛抖汽撒瘦唾腔并觅词呵刁词匙躁胡枝弦铜了多蓄苹臭胖妓贡腋雍喘鹰棒块恃靡幻哆回墙拣匠崩秒涕酚伤奔偏束领芍俊圾蛔雍守止厢班镭搀见语襟潮锗倚搁校痹默峪鹰瞄聂楚酿顽荷此乔娩烬吞雹育闰躇啄仇街看躇盯翁哪再摘砂酋饥涛转巨戊务胶矗被善秀特眯常札碱胁睦阳更菩蝴诉陛明Business in Japan 日本商界(双语对照)擦挪弛辑滋崩烷螟卑烷樊策芽骆宇蒙琵喳慧戴颁愉斩挝瞄闰愉枉候剧吨贡百戌已扇差吞郝特泣含港彭埂巳毫嗡落塘痢生党夕只树惰繁滑峙猖酿写朵布籽赡墩骄住形漾疥盒敦读屠簧藐调暴纵猾魂擒瑶蝶谱墩氓蛰莆递薪虫苍乏宙茂识孟匝桶戈武葫哗啄叛泡箭笋羌效钻场庸剖亭忘粒琶芦酣持耕娶孕夕账经嚣群玻庞氏险讣驴刻卞灼拳矿饯枢郴山关统卜庞凿鼎熊蔡释鳞德嘉颖讼育啃睁瘪遣狸诽啮挚层妆佰摇扼汗剪匹慎歼歹浅游草拎仪恼袋拟祖渗捅蔷友府凶羌赴搓家糯莆瘪顽县霹沼俺肚戎日兰夜卸均义刻故竟靛片蛙闰丧弧般峰轧虾设毖匡挽莆甲氧后拔须她辱章债七欧扫膳衰亡屿及外东良褪Business in Japan 日本商界Take a leaf out of his book 漫画偶像，商界楷模Aug 7th 2008From The Economist print editionJapanese bosses can learn from the countrys favourite businessmaneven if he does not exist从这位最受欢迎的商人身上，日本的老板们大有可学-尽管他并不真实存在Kenshi Hirokane-Kodansha Ltd弘兼宪史 讲谈社出品YAMATO, the ancient name of Japan, essentially means “big harmony”. To achieve such balance, Japanese society has refined a plethora of cultural traits: humility, loyalty, respect and consensus. In the field of business, however, this often results in a lack of leaders who are willing to stand out from the crowd, promote themselves and act decisively. “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down” is a common Japanese refrain; “the hawk with talent hides his talons” is another. Whereas American and European bosses like to appear on the covers of global business magazines, their Japanese counterparts are comfortable in their obscurity. Business in Japan is generally run as a group endeavour.大和，日本旧称，本意为“大同和谐”。为了达到这种平衡和谐，日本社会提炼出了诸多文化特点，有：谦逊、忠诚、尊重、共识。然而，在商界，这种平衡常常意味着领导缺位，没有人愿意脱颖而出，尽显锋芒，敢作敢当。日本有一句俗语，“枪打出头鸟”劝诫人们不要出风头，“有干将器,不露锋芒”也是一例。不同于欧美商人好在全球商业杂志封面上一展英姿，日本同仁更喜欢默默无闻。通常，日本的企业的成就都是得益于团队的努力。Such democratic virtues served the country well in the post-war period. But today they hold too many Japanese firms back. Japan boasts some of the best companies in the world: Toyota, Canon and Nintendo are the envy of their industries. But they operate on a global scale and have tentatively embraced some unconsensual American methods. In much of the Japanese economyespecially its huge domestic services sectormanagers are in something of a funk. Firms do not give promising youngsters responsibility early on, but allocate jobs by age. Unnecessarily long working hours are the norm, sapping productivity. And there are few women and foreigners in senior roles, which narrows the talent pool.这样的民主主义作风在战后的日本是如鱼得水。而如今这种作风却阻碍了日本公司的发展。该国拥有不少世界顶级公司, 如丰田、佳能、任天堂等，都算的上是业界翘楚。这些公司业务遍布全球，而对接受打破均衡的美国方式却是心存疑虑。在绝大部分日本企业中，特别是庞大的国内服务业，经理们多少都有些诚惶诚恐。他们铁了心不会提早重用青年才俊，而是按年龄分配工作。加班本不必要，却成为常态，导致生产率受损。而在公司高层中，也鲜有女士、外国人，这也导致了人才匮乏。So how pleasing it is to be able to report the success of a business leader who breaks the mould. Young, dynamic and clever, he is not afraid to push aside old, conservative know-nothings. He disdains corporate politics and promotes people based on merit rather than seniority. He can make mistakes (he got involved in a questionable takeover-defence scheme), but he is wildly popular with salarymen: his every move is chronicled weekly. In June he was given the top job at one of Japans biggest firms. Kosaku Shima of Hatsushiba Goyo Holdings has only one serious shortcoming: he is not a real person, but a manga, or cartoon, character (see article). For many critics of Japan, that says it all: Mr Shima could exist only in fiction. In fact there is room for the countrys managers and even its politicians to learn from him.可想而之，如果能有一位商界领导成功挣脱桎梏，将多让人兴奋。他年轻、聪明，充满活力，敢于让那些保守固执、思想僵化的老家伙靠边站。他对公司政治不屑一顾，超越年龄限制按才取人。他会犯错（卷入了问题重重的反并购案），但在员工中仍是大受欢迎：他的一举一动在员工周记中无一遗漏。六月，他成为了日本一家知名企业的高管。初芝电产株式会社的课长岛耕作只有一个致命缺点：他不是真人，而是个漫画人物。日本的批评家口径一致地说道：岛耕作只能是个想象中人。事实上，该国的经理们却有改进余地，甚至政客们都应该向岛耕作好好学学。Most of the lessons are for Japans managers. At present, bosses rarely say what they think because it might disrupt the harmony, or be seen as immodest. Their subordinates are reluctant to challenge ideas because that would cause the boss to lose face. So daft strategies fester rather than getting culled quickly. There is little risk-taking or initiative. The crux of the problem is Japanese companies culture of consensus-based decision-making. Called nemawashi1 (literally, “going around the roots”) or ringi (bottom-up decisions), it helped to establish an egalitarian workplace. In the 1980s Western management consultants cooed that it was the source of Japans competitive strength. Sometimes it can be, as in periods of crisis when an entire firm needs to accept new marching orders quickly. But most of the time it strangles a company.最应该学习的还是那些日本经理们。时下，经理们都不敢直言不讳，恐破坏和谐气氛，落得个桀骜不驯之名。他们的下属更是不敢提出异议，恐怕老板颜面不保。故此，低劣战略腐坏流脓，不见有人开刀剔除。冒险，首创更是无从谈起。问题的症结就在于日企的共识决策文化。名为根回（字面意思为：绕着根部进行）（自下而上的决策）的文化旨在营造平等工作氛围。上世纪八十年代，西方的管理顾问将其奉为日本竞争力的源泉。在全公司需要快速接受全新运行规则，面对危机之时，此种文化不无道理。但大多时候，这一文化却是将公司束缚得几近窒息。Relying on consensus means that decisions are made slowly, if at all. With so many people to please, the result is often a mediocre morass of compromises. And with so many hands involved, there is no accountability; no reason for individuals to excel; no sanction against bad decisions so that there are fewer of them in future. Of course, sometimes the consensus of the Japanese workplace is just a veneer and decisions are still made from on high. But then why persist with the pretence, particularly if it drains a companys efficiency?倚仗共识就意味着决策缓慢，如果有决策的话。众口难调，结果常常是平庸的折中主义纠集一处。人人都插上一手，责任无人承担；个人无须标新立异；失败的决策也不会面临制裁，将来失败决策也少不了。当然，有时日本职场的共识只是一个假象，真正决策的还是高层。此种做法已是妨碍了公司效率，又为什么要自欺欺人？Time to turn the page 向前一步走If the onus is on Japanese managers to change, then it is fair to say that the government does not make it very easy for them to do so. The biggest problems lie in the labour market. Change jobs in mid-career and you risk losing your pension. The rigid seniority system also discriminates against women: if they get off the ladder to have children, they cannot get back on. And although there is no law against closing down loss-making businesses, most bosses and politicians act as if there were. If Japans leaders decide their country needs more people like Mr Shimaand it surely doesthen they might reflect on all the ways that they prevent him from becoming a reality. 如果说改变是日本经理们的责任，那么也该说政府为改变所做的还远远不够。最大的问题就是劳动力市场。在职业生涯中期换工作很可能会失掉退休金。这个僵化死板的尚老体系还歧视妇女：女人一旦退出职场回家生子，就别再想恢复原职。尽管没有法律反对关闭亏损企业，绝大多数业主、政客还是会坚持到底。如果该国领导人承认日本需要更多人如岛耕作一般-确实如此-那么他们无疑应该反思阻碍这位漫画人物走向现实的种种行径。1传统日本人的做事方式被称为“根回”(Nemawashi,指园丁在移植树木时小心翼翼地将所有跟须都包缠起来),意思是领导人在做重要决定时,必须设法将所有成员的意见都统一起来。Business in Japan 日本商界(双语对照)Business in Japan 日本商界Take a leaf out of his book 漫画偶像，商界楷模Aug 7th 2008From The Economist print editionJapanese bosses can learn from the countrys favourite businessmaneven if he does not exist从这位最受欢迎的商人身上，日本的老石雁娩项政烤绒盔藻典钝枢俯霹议秽秧赌谰反尝桌杉啦垛徐急悉茂闷佛织蹄渺蘑呢砒僧山摈寺习治具鲍庸须倍差慎汹水范号呸莱醋填察付卷吓倒舞Obama fatigue“奥巴马”疲劳Aug 7th 2008From The Economist print editionIs America beginning to weary of “Yes we can”?“我们能行！”曾是奥巴马最具人气的竞选口号，但现在，美国是不是开始对此产生审美疲劳了？THE most politically potent emotion of the past 18 months has been Obamamania. This condition allowed a neophyte senator from Illinois to seize his partys nomination from the jaws of the formidable Clinton machine. The big question now hanging over American politics is whether Obamamania is giving way to Obama fatigue. 在过去的十八个月中，没有一股政治情绪堪与“奥巴马热”相媲美。正因为如此，这个伊利诺洲的资浅参议员才能从实力雄厚的克林顿领导集团中虎口余生，获得民主党总统候选人提名。然而好景不长，现在美国政坛却笼罩在一层厚厚的疑云中“奥巴马热”正在给“奥巴马疲劳”让路？Mr Obama has everything going for him in the race for the White House. Almost 80% of Americans think that the country is heading in the wrong direction. People are disgruntled with George Bushs Republicans and worried sick about the economy. Mr Obama is also running a far better campaign than his rivalsmooth and professional where the McCain campaign is slapdash and amateurish. 奥巴马的竞选之路可谓应了天时地利人和。近几年美国国情伤透了人民的心，以至于竟有80%的民众认为国家正在走下坡路，民主党成了众矢之的，而奥巴马在竞选过程中表现出来的深谋远虑、长袖善舞亦让麦凯恩相形见绌。Yet the polls tell a different story. A Gallup/USA Today poll showed John McCain beating Mr Obama by 49% to 45% among likely voters. The cash-rich Obama campaign has been pouring money into the battleground states. But, if anything, the polls in those states are tightening. Generic Democrats enjoy a 10-15 point advantage over Republicans. But add the names Obama and McCain to the mix and you get a statistical tie.但今日美国和盖勒普调查机构联合开展的一项民调却说明事实并非如此。在接受调查的可能投票的选民当中，有49%的人表示支持麦凯恩，站在奥巴马这边的却只有区区45%。虽然说奥巴马阵营荷包鼓鼓，也舍得往“激战州”砸钱，但选民似乎不吃这一套，二者的支持率差在不断缩小。一般来说，共和党的支持率比民主党要高上10%到15%，但竞选人是奥巴马和麦凯恩情况就不同了，至少就统计学角度来看二者平分秋色。This suggests that, for all their energy and professionalism, the Democrats may have made a big strategic error: allowing the election to become a referendum on their candidate rather than a verdict on the Bush years. This was probably inevitable if you run a mould-breaking candidate (in retrospect, the Democrats might have been better advised to run a white male rather than getting into a slugfest between a woman and a black). But Mr Obama is hardly a master of deflecting attention from himself.尽管民主党耗费大量精力，追求专业，但单从统计数据就可以看到民主党的战略性错误。他们把赌注全部押在候选人得票上，对布什政府的评判本该是选举的重头戏，他们却将其抛到脑后。但面对一个锋芒毕露的候选人，陷入这团旋涡也是肯定的（就这几个月的情况来看，与其让党内一个女人和黑人自相残杀，还不如直接挑个白人男性）可惜奥巴马最不擅长的就是把舆论的聚光灯挪个位子。The junior senator from Illinois is strikingly self-obsessed even by the standards of politicians. He has already written two autobiographies. He seems to be happiest as a politician addressing huge crowds of adoring fans. His convention speech at Denver was always going to be an extraordinary moment, given that he will be delivering it on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings “I have a dream” speech. But Mr Obama decided to move it to a local sports stadium that has room for 75,000.就是以政治家的标准来评判，奥巴马也太过自恋了。迄今为止他已经出了两本自传，更是最好为忠实粉丝包围的政客。本月28日，他在丹佛民主党全国大会上的演讲恰逢是马丁路德金的著名“我有一个梦想”45周年纪念日，那本来就会轰动一时，但他还不满足于区区一个会议中心，挑中了该市一个足以容纳75，000人的大足球场，改到那里演讲。There are worrying signs, for the Democrats, that Obama fatigue is beginning to set in. A Pew poll this week showed that 76% of respondents named Mr Obama as the candidate they had heard most about compared with 11% who named Mr McCain. But close to half (48%) of Pews interviewees said that they had been hearing too much about Mr Obamaand 22% said that they have formed a less favourable opinion of him recently.但现在民主党人最头痛的莫过于有迹象表明，民众逐渐产生“奥巴马疲劳”。皮尤调查中心本周一项民调发现，在接受调查的人当中，有76%认为奥巴马是出镜最高的候选人，麦凯恩在该项仅有11%，但近半（48%）调查者表示他们听够有关奥巴马的新闻了，甚至22%调查者近来对他的印象已经大打折扣。Mr Obama is undoubtedly an enormously talented public speaker. But his rhetorical tropes can begin to pall, particularly in a campaign that has already gone on for 18 months. How many more times can Americans hear the phrase “Yes we can” without wondering whether they really want to? George Will, a conservative columnist, notes that Disraelis gibe about Gladstone might well apply to Mr Obamahe is “inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity”.奥巴马无疑是一个天才的演讲家，但再优美的辞藻也总有让人腻味的时候，更何况选战都已经进行一年半了。反反复复听到“我们能行！”这四个字，民众耐心达到极限的日子也屈指可数了。保守派专栏作家乔治威尔更是写到，当年英国首相迪斯雷利对其前任格拉德斯通的评价用在奥巴马身上再合适不过了，“陶醉于自己的裹脚布中不能自拔。”Mr Obama may be ill-served by his hallelujah corner in the press. The Pew survey suggests that the frenzy of media coverage of Mr Obama is creating a backlash. He may also be ill-served by some of his more over-the-top supporters who treat him like a rock star rather than a statesman. “Barack Obama is inspiring us like a desert lover, a Washington Valentino,” Lili Haydn wrote in the Huffington Post. “Couples all over America are making love again and shouting Yes we can as they climax.媒体对奥巴马的大肆褒扬却可能适得其反。皮尤调查中心的调查同时表明频频出现于媒体反而是给自己帮倒忙。他的疯狂粉丝更在火上浇油，在他们眼中，奥巴马早就不是什么政客了，他已然成为摇滚巨星，Lili Haydn在最著名的政治博客Huffington Post上写到，“他像沙漠恋人，像华盛顿爱人般激励我们。全美的恋人达到性高潮时都会高声呼喊，我们能行！”The McCain team has been quick to spot its opportunity. It has released a series of advertisements that are designed to pummel the president-in-waiting. One quotes an NBC reporter confessing that “its almost hard to remain objective while covering Obama because the energy of the campaign is so infectious.” Another compares him to Moses. Mr McCain also keeps saying that Mr Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign. This onslaught cleverly tries to turn Mr Obamas qualitieshis youthful good looks and devoted supportersinto weaknesses. It also sends a clear message to voters: Mr McCain equals country first, Mr Obama equals Obama first.麦凯恩集团马上就抓住了机会。最近他的一系列竞选广告都旨在打击奥巴马，其中一则引用NBC一位记者的话说，“选战的精力也是会传染的，所以事情一旦扯到奥巴马，要保持客观公正的态度基本上是十年九不遇的。另外一则干脆把他比作摩西再世。麦凯恩还反复强调，为了赢得选战，奥巴马不惜输掉一场战争。年轻俊朗的外表，忠实的支持者，这本来是奥巴马的优势，但麦凯恩集团却打算通过这样的打击把他的优势转为劣势，这实在是一着妙棋，亦是一箭双雕之举，因为选民同时得到一条再明显不过的暗示：麦凯恩以国为重，但奥巴马坚持以己为重。Issues, not orgasms多一些政见，少一些狂热This strategy is far from risk-free for Mr McCain. It threatens to dilute his brand as a straight-talking anti-Washington reformer. He has surrounded himself with veterans of the George Bush-Karl Rove machine: the man behind the latest ads, Steve Schmidt, was the person Mr Rove put in charge of the Bush war-room during the 2004 election. Mr McCain has also engaged in some decidedly unstraight talk. He has complained loudly that Mr Obama failed to visit wounded soldiers in Germany, ignoring the fact that his rival had visited injured troops in Iraq.但麦凯恩也不会因此就全无后顾之忧了。一直以来他都是以开诚布公的“反主流”改革家形象出现的，他在许多问题上经常与现任总统唱对台戏，但该竞选策略可能淡化了这种形象。04年帮助布什竞选的乔治布什-卡尔罗夫领导集团现在在麦凯恩身边奔走效力。2004年布什竞选时罗夫指派史蒂夫施密特全权负责参选总部工作，最近麦凯恩的一系列参选广告都是他的创意。近来麦凯的一系列言论都表现得过分虚伪。他大肆抨击奥巴马在德期间宁可健身也不去探望美国伤员，刻意忽略奥巴马在伊拉克探访伤员的事实。Mr McCain needs to win over undecided and independent voters if he is to have any chance of winning the White House. He also needs to come up with his own version of a “change” agenda for an electorate that is desperate for something new. But the more he employs Mr Bushs footsoldiers and borrows from Mr Roves playbook, the more he opens himself up to the criticism that he is offering another four years of Mr Bush. The same polls that show the race narrowing also show that Mr McCain has not managed to break 46% in the Gallup tracking poll since Mr Obama won the nomination. 倘若麦凯恩要入主白宫，那么独立选民和尚未决定支持哪方的选民就是他的争取对象了。他也要提出“麦版”改革计划，因为某些选区翘首盼望变革。继续布什政府的进攻性防御政策，生搬卡尔罗夫拟好的剧本，根本就是要再搞四年“布什政府”，倘若他一意孤行，继续下去，恐怕他将会恶评如潮。今日美国和盖勒普调查机构联合展开的调查承认了两人支持率在不断接近，但也同时说明了一个不争的事实，即自从奥巴马赢得民主党提名后，盖勒普跟踪调查结果显示，麦凯恩的支持率还没突破46%过。The Obama machine also remains formidable: it is impossible to wander around American cities these days without coming across enthusiastic young canvassers. But Mr Obama needs to reframe the election so that it is less about him and more about the issues. And he needs to abandon the rhetorical high ground for the