外文翻译--公司的核心竞争力.docx
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中文4890字
本科毕业论文(设计)
外文翻译
外文题目 TheCoreCompetence oftheCorporation
外文出处 HarvardBusinessReview May-June1990
外文作者 普拉哈拉德
原文:
TheCoreCompetence oftheCorporation
Themostpowerfulwaytoprevailinglobalcompetitionisstillinvisibletomanycompanies.Duringthe1980s,topexecutiveswerejudgedontheirabilitytorestructure,declutter,anddelayertheircorporations.Inthe1990s,they'llbejudgedontheirabilitytoidentify,cultivate,andexploitthecorecompetenciesthatmakegrowthpossibleindeed,they'llhavetorethinktheconceptofthecorporationitself.
ConsiderthelasttenyearsofGTEandNEC.Intheearly1980s,GTEwaswellpositionedtobecomeamajorplayerintheevolvinginformationtechnologyindustry.Itwasactiveintelecommunications.Itsoperationsspannedavarietyofbusinessesincludingtelephones,switchingandtransmissionsystems,digitalPABX,semiconductors,packetswitching,satellites,defensesystems,andlightingproducts.AndGTE'sEntertainmentProductsGroup,whichproducedSylvaniacolorTVs,hadapositioninrelateddisplaytechnologies.In1980,GTE'ssaleswere$9.98billion,andnetcashflowwas$1.73billion.NEC,incontrast,wasmuchsmaller,at$3.8billioninsales.Ithadacomparabletechnologicalbaseandcomputerbusinesses,butithadnoexperienceasanoperatingtelecommunicationscompany.
YetlookatthepositionsofGTEandNECin1988.GTE's1988saleswere$16.46billion,andNEC’ssaleswereconsiderablyhigherat$21.89billion.GTEhas,ineffect,becomeatelephoneoperatingcompanywithapositionindefenseandlightingproducts.GTE'sotherbusinessesaresmallinglobalterms.GTEhasdivested SylvaniaTVandTelenet,putswitching,transmission,anddigitalPABXintojointventures,andcloseddownsemiconductors.Asaresult,theinternationalpositionofGTEhaseroded.NonU.S.revenueasapercentoftotalrevenuedroppedfrom20%to15%between1980and1988.
NEChasemergedastheworldleaderinsemiconductorsandasafirsttierplayerintelecommunicationsproductsandcomputers.Ithasconsolidateditspositioninmainframecomputers.Ithasmovedbeyondpublicswitchingandtransmissiontoincludesuchlifestyleproductsasmobiletelephones,facsimilemachines,andlaptopcomputersbridgingthegapbetweentelecommunicationsandofficeautomation.NECistheonlycompanyintheworldtobeinthetopfiveinrevenueintelecommunications,semiconductors,andmainframes.Whydidthesetwocompanies,startingwithcomparablebusinessportfolios,performsodifferently?
LargelybecauseNECconceivedofitselfintermsof"corecompetencies,"andGTEdidnot.
RethinkingtheCorporation
Once,thediversifiedcorporationcouldsimplypointitsbusinessunitsatparticularendproductmarketsandadmonishthemtobecomeworldleaders.Butwithmarketboundarieschangingevermorequickly,targetsareelusiveandcaptureisatbesttemporary.Afewcompanieshaveproventhemselvesadeptatinventingnewmarkets,quicklyenteringemergingmarkets,anddramaticallyshiftingpatternsofcustomerchoiceinestablishedmarkets.Thesearetheonestoemulate.Thecriticaltaskformanagementistocreateanorganizationcapableofinfusingproductswithirresistiblefunctionalityor,betteryet,creatingproductsthatcustomersneedbuthavenotyetevenimagined)
Thisisadeceptivelydifficulttask.Ultimately,itrequiresradicalchangeinthemanagementofmajorcompanies.Itmeans,firstofall,thattopmanagementsofWesterncompaniesmustassumeresponsibilityforcompetitivedecline.Everyoneknowsabouthighinterestrates,Japaneseprotectionism,outdatedantitrustlaws,obstreperousunions,andimpatientinvestors.Whatishardertosee,orhardertoacknowledge,ishowlittleaddedmomentumcompaniesactuallygetfrompoliticalormacroeconomic"relief."BoththetheoryandpracticeofWesternmanagementhave createdadragonourforwardmotion.Itistheprinciplesofmanagementthatareinneedofreform.
NECversusGTE,again,isinstructiveandonlyoneofmanysuchcomparativecasesweanalyzedtounderstandthechangingbasisforgloballeadership.Earlyinthe1970s,NECarticulatedastrategicintenttoexploittheconvergenceofcomputingandcommunications,whatitcalled"C&C"Success,topmanagementreckoned,wouldhingeonacquiringcompetencies,particularlyinsemiconductors.Managementadoptedanappropriate"strategicarchitecture,"summarizedbyC&C,andthencommunicateditsintenttothewholeorganizationandtheoutsideworldduringthemid1970s.
NECconstituteda"C&CCommittee"oftopmanagerstooverseethedevelopmentofcoreproductsandcorecompetencies.NECputinplacecoordinationgroupsandcommitteesthatcutacrosstheinterestsofindividualbusinesses.Consistentwithitsstrategicarchitecture,NECshiftedenormousresourcestostrengthenitspositionincomponentsandcentralprocessors.Byusingcollaborativearrangementstomultiplyinternalresources,NECwasabletoaccumulateabroadarrayofcorecompetencies.
NECcarefullyidentifiedthreeinterrelatedstreamsoftechnologicalandmarketevolution.Topmanagementdeterminedthatcomputingwouldevolvefromlargemainframestodistributedprocessing,componentsfromsimpleICstoVLSI,andcommunicationsfrommechanicalcrossbarexchangetocomplexdigitalsystemswenowcallISDN.Asthingsevolvedfurther,NECreasoned,thecomputing,communications,andcomponentsbusinesseswouldsooverlapthatitwouldbeveryhardtodistinguishamongthem,andthattherewouldbeenormousopportunitiesforanycompanythathadbuiltthecompetenciesneededtoserveallthreemarkets.
NECtopmanagementdeterminedthatsemiconductorswouldbethecompany'smostimportant"coreproduct."Itenteredintomyriadstrategicalliancesover100asof1987aimedatbuildingcompetenciesrapidlyandatlowcost.Inmainframecomputers,itsmostnotedrelationshipwaswithHoneywellandBull.Almostallthecollaborativearrangementsinthesemiconductorcomponentfieldwereoriented towardtechnologyaccess.Astheyenteredcollaborativearrangements,NEC’soperatingmanagersunderstoodtherationaleforthesealliancesandthegoalofinternalizingpartnerskills.NEC'sdirectorofresearchsummedupitscompetenceacquisitionduringthe1970sand1980sthisway:
"Fromaninvestmentstandpoint,itwasmuchquickerandcheapertouseforeigntechnology.Therewasn'taneedforustodevelopnewideas.”
NosuchclarityofstrategicintentandstrategicarchitectureappearedtoexistatGTE.Althoughseniorexecutivesdiscussedtheimplicationsoftheevolvinginformationtechnologyindustry,nocommonlyacceptedviewofwhichcompetencieswouldberequiredtocompeteinthatindustrywerecommunicatedwidely.Whilesignificantstaffworkwasdonetoidentifykeytechnologies,seniorlinemanagerscontinuedtoactasiftheyweremanagingindependentbusinessunits.Decentralizationmadeitdifficulttofocusoncorecompetencies.Instead,individualbusinessesbecameincreasinglydependentonoutsidersforcriticalskills,andcollaborationbecamearoutetostagedexits.Today,withanewmanagementteaminplace,GTEhasrepositioneditselftoapplyitscompetenciestoemergingmarketsintelecommunicationsservices.
TheRootsofCompetitiveAdvantage
ThedistinctionweobservedinthewayNECandGTEconceivedofthemselvesaportfolioofcompetenciesversusaportfolioofbusinesseswasrepeatedacrossmanyindustries.From1980to1988,Canongrewby264%,Hondaby200%.ComparethatwithXeroxandChrysler.AndifWesternmanagerswereonceanxiousaboutthelowcostandhighqualityofJapaneseimports,theyarenowover;whelmedbythepaceatwhichJapaneserivalsareinventingnewmarkets,creatingnewproducts,andenhancingthem.Canonhasgivenuspersonalcopiers;Hondahasmovedfrommotorcyclestofourwheeloffroadbuggies.Sonydevelopedthe8mmcamcorder,Yamaha,thedigitalpiano.Komatsudevelopedanunderwaterremotecontrolledbulldozer,whileCasio'slatestgambitisasmallscreencolorLCDtelevision.Whowouldhaveanticipatedtheevolutionofthesevanguardmarkets?
Inmoreestablishedmarkets,theJapanesechallengehasbeenjustasdisquieting. Japanesecompaniesaregeneratingablizzardoffeaturesandfunctionalenhancementsthatbringtechnologicalsophisticationtoeverydayproducts.Japanesecarproducershavebeenpioneeringfourwheelsteering,fourvalve-percylinderengines,incarnavigationsystems,andsophisticatedelectronicenginemanagementsystems.Onthestrengthofitsproductfeatures,Canonisnowaplayerinfacsimiletransmissionmachines,desktoplaserprinters,evensemiconductormanufacturingequipment.
Intheshortrun,acompany'scompetitivenessderivesfromtheprice/performanceattributesofcurrentproducts.Butthesurvivorsofthefirstwaveofglobalcompetition,WesternandJapanesealike,areallconvergingonsimilarandformidablestandardsforproductcostandqualityminimumhurdlesforcontinuedcompetition,butlessandlessimportantassourcesofdifferentialadvantage.Inthelongrun,competitivenessderivesfromanabilitytobuild,atlowercostandmorespeedilythancompetitors,thecorecompetenciesthatspawnunanticipatedproducts.Therealsourcesofadvantagearetobefoundinmanagement'sabilitytoconsolidatecorporatewidetechnologiesandproductionskillsintocompetenciesthatempowerindividualbusinessestoadaptquicklytochangingopportunities.
Seniorexecutiveswhoclaimthattheycannotbuildcorecompetencieseitherbecausetheyfeeltheautonomyofbusinessunitsissacrosanctorbecausetheirfeetareheldtothequarterlybudgetfireshouldthinkagain.TheprobleminmanyWesterncompaniesisnotthattheir