2008年9月30日星期二
百事集团的战略协同
透视百事可乐的战略协同
■ 卜金涛 战略协同,利大?弊大?
“1+1>2”是对协同概念最通俗的解释。对协同的经济性来源众说纷纭,但普遍认为:设备、人员、资金、技能、知识、关系等资源的共享会使各业务单位的成本摊低,产生协同效益。协同效应是企业采取多元化战略的重要理由和关注重点。
70年代至80年代是西方公司实施多元化战略,进行跨国业务扩张的高潮时期。它们通过大量购并活动努力扩大业务范围和地理区域,取得了暂时成功。但随后的整合过程却颇费周折,各业务单元之间的协同不仅有正效应,而且存在负效应。因为要取得协同,就必须通过建立一定的水平组织或将共享对象和职能上交总部,由此产生大量协调费用、信息费用,并且使业务单位管理者的积极性、自主性、灵活性都受到影响。这些负面效应足以抵消正面效应,导致关联性多元化失败。尤其是90年代初,环境的动荡多变对企业的应变能力提出了更高要求,而取得“协同效应”的多业务公司就如同三国时期曹操的连环船,庞大而迟钝。90年代开始,许多多元化的国际企业又纷纷剥离非核心业务,回归主业。
百事可乐多元化战略的终止,再一次从实践领域对战略协同理论提出质疑。回顾百事的战略变迁,对国内一些正在实施多元化战略的企业有一定借鉴意义。
百事在多元化中曾利益占尽
百事可乐公司始建于1902年。到了20世纪40年代末,百事发展成为成功的专业软饮料企业。1963年至1986年唐纳德·肯道尔任百事的首席执行官,自此百事的战略导向发生了巨大变化:百事在软饮料业一直居可口可乐之下,肯道尔要求公司对可口可乐从被动防守转向积极进攻,从此可乐之战连绵不绝,百事饮料的市场地位也大幅度提高;另一方面,肯道尔深信 “快餐薯条与碳酸饮料密不可分,往往是顾客同时购买和消费的对象”,兼并快餐业与餐馆一定程度上可以增加自己的饮料业务销售点,这种协同效应至今仍是百事集团关注的战略要点。
1986年至1996年百事的首席执行官韦尼·科勒威继续执行肯道尔的关联性多元化战略,形成了百事可乐组织的八大组成部分:百事可乐北美公司、百事可乐国际公司、弗里托雷公司、百事可乐食品国际公司、必胜客比萨饼世界公司、泰科、贝尔世界公司、肯德基炸鸡公司和百事可乐食品系统世界公司。八个部门分属软饮料、快餐和餐馆三大主营业务。1991年销售额近 200亿美元,其中软饮料69.152亿,快餐55.658亿,餐馆71.269亿,餐馆业务首次在销售额上超过软饮料。这些餐馆系统在百事的领导下在美国和国际市场高速增长,尤其在国际市场上年销售额增长率持续多年超过12%。
此外,百事的多元化战略还包括:1968年巨资购入了北美长途搬运公司, 1970年购入了威尔逊运动用品公司,1972年购入亨利酒业公司。90年代初百事的产品与服务五花八门,涉及饮料、食品、运动用品、货物运输和建筑工程等。
百事通过发展快餐业务提高了百事饮料的零售市场控制力,并且使整个公司收入大幅提高。如1993年可口可乐汽水销售量以4∶1压倒百事可乐,但后者总收入却高出前者7.5%。协同效应被百事关注,但百事也非常注重避免协同的负效应,为保持各部门的积极性和灵活性,各业务主管基本都是直接向百事首席执行官韦尼·科勒威报告工作,各业务部门保持高度的自治权,总部仅仅对各业务部门的高层人事任免、战略规划、资本支出进行管理。在百事公司的餐馆与连锁店之间,只有特别少的活动是共享的,所以很大程度上各餐馆是作为独立的业务单位来开展业务活动的。即使是联合行动也一般由部门发起,而不是公司总部,部门总裁拥有决定是否参加任何联合活动的特权。为了防止高度自治的多元化带来各业务部门出现部门本位主义,百事赋予全体员工百事公司的股票期权,培养各部门形成对“百事可乐的认同感”,并沿着已经分散化的组织进一步下放权力。
为取得各业务部门的协同正效应,百事采取了非常有限的活动共享与横向沟通:
1.共同顾客任务小组:百事存在一些多个业务单位都需要接触和协调的重要顾客或供应商,如沃尔玛公司、马里奥特公司、ARA公司等,小组成员来自各业务单元和总部,加强百事对外关系个协调性、有效性。
2.百事可乐公司的食品系统:1981年成立了这个供应和分销部门,利用网络技术提供24小时在线订货登录能力和库存采购系统,为饮料、食品和餐馆提供部分可共享的供应、储存、运输、分销等服务,为各部门带来了成本节约,但是以餐馆连锁店为代表的部门坚持关键商品的采购控制自治,例如肯德基自己采购全部鸡肉。
3.非正式协同:根据绩效评估提供的信息,工作调动在百事可乐中高层经理中是司空见惯的事情。由于拥有在百事多种连锁店工作的经验,所以一般不需要正式的调查和思想交流。
利弊兼收之后,回归主业
风云突变。恩里科1996年4月出任公司首席执行官,1997年1月23日宣布重组计划:美国百事可乐公司将放弃不景气的快餐店,以便集中力量开发饮料市场的主体业务,与可口可乐一争高下。在不到一年时间内,他把包括肯德基、必胜客在内的餐饮业从百事可乐公司分离出去,并收购了TROPICANA果汁公司,还将百事可乐公司的瓶装公司成功上市。通过快餐业分离,快餐业务组建新的公司,经营管理权下放到新设公司,而百事集团对该公司享有收益权,这样分离保证了快餐公司在资金上自主而非总部进行资金调配,解决了饮料制造和快餐业争夺资源的矛盾,而且保留了快餐网络支持可乐销售的功能。
但为时已晚。百事公司饮品在1996年美国市场的占有率落后于可口可乐11个百分点,是20年来差距最大的一次。同时在除中东以外的全球各大市场均遭惨败,在快餐业又有麦当劳与之抗衡。仅以炸鸡快餐为例,在国际市场麦当劳平均每天新开10家左右的新店,而肯德基平均每天才新开一家。百事的市场地位受到威胁,在恩里科的领导下百事向主业回归。百事的高速发展得益于关联性多元化,但发展之后协同的负效应也逐渐显现,而竞争对手采取了更为有效的战略措施。对百事主业回归的原因分析如下:
1.资金冲突。快餐店在经营上需要大量固定资产投资和广告宣传,需要大量的资金投入。
据统计,1994年快餐店占用资金量达到整个集团的48%,这还不包括由快餐店发展的快餐食品加工业。百事饮料主业资金投入不足,而可口可乐全力投入饮料业:对世界各地的瓶装厂进行参股或控股,或是以契约联结与实力强大的瓶装厂构成战略联盟;在零售方面建立了规模庞大的自动售卖机系统;与重要零售商结为战略联盟,如麦当劳、迪斯尼等;购并软饮料和酒精饮料企业。
2.管理能力。快餐业与饮料业虽说关联性很高,但是经营特点、管理方式全然不同,领导者的管理能力有一定局限性。同时由于存在多个高度自治的业务部门又使总部缺乏快速有效对环境作出反应的能力,这种不良影响一直在百事存在。例如1999年可口可乐发生饮用中毒事件,市场人士批评恩里科反应迟钝,未能利用此事促进百事可乐的进一步发展。
3.多元化增加竞争压力。百事进军快餐业是为了借助快餐业广泛的营销网络,来促进饮料的销售,从而提高核心产品的市场竞争力,同时借助饮料核心业务所提供的资金发展关联产业,但却也使百事在多个领域增加竞争压力。80年代晚期,可口可乐发动极富侵略性的广告运动,劝说餐馆经营者拒绝购买百事可乐,因为这样作实际上间接帮助了自己最强大的餐馆业务竞争者之一。此举使百事1991年失去了汉堡王公司和温迪公司的业务。
4.非核心业务迅速膨胀损害核心能力。百事快餐业务的迅速膨胀使百事集团的业务结构发生了根本性改变,原来的核心业务——可乐制造只占总业务量的35%,原先拥有和潜在的饮料业务核心能力随着不断快餐业务的扩大和被重视,不断削弱。而可口可乐与麦当劳主业清晰,努力维护和创建核心能力。与百事的多元化战略相比,它们购并的业务与企业主业更加关联,可共享的资源与活动较为广泛,资源使用比较集中。百事对快餐业务进行了购并,而可口可乐与快餐业务结成战略联盟。同样是为了增加零售点,可口可乐代价小、专业化程度高、经营灵活。
百事战略协同的启示
百事可乐从多元化经营向主业回归给我们以下启示:
1.多元化的协同正效应是显在的,而负效应是潜在的、难以估算的;
2.企业可以通过战略联盟寻求外部协同,而不必将关联性业务纳入企业内部;
3.注意从属业务与核心业务可能存在的资源冲突和管理跨度;
4.调整企业管理组织结构,使管理层能够协调和控制各项业务的发展,以服从企业经营战略;
5.估算多元化经营最优规模,特别注意防止从属性行业“喧宾夺主”现象的发生,从而超越核心业务所能提供的资源补充范围,导致核心业务乃至企业的市场竞争力的削弱。
How to Write an Abstract
(Draft 10/20/97)
Phil Koopman, Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract
Because on-line search databases typically contain only abstracts, it is vital to write a complete but concise description of your work to entice potential readers into obtaining a copy of the full paper. This article describes how to write a good computer architecture abstract for both conference and journal papers. Writers should follow a checklist consisting of: motivation, problem statement, approach, results, and conclusions. Following this checklist should increase the chance of people taking the time to obtain and read your complete paper.
Introduction
Now that the use of on-line publication databases is prevalent, writing a really good abstract has become even more important than it was a decade ago. Abstracts have always served the function of "selling" your work. But now, instead of merely convincing the reader to keep reading the rest of the attached paper, an abstract must convince the reader to leave the comfort of an office and go hunt down a copy of the article from a library (or worse, obtain one after a long wait through inter-library loan). In a business context, an "executive summary" is often the only piece of a report read by the people who matter; and it should be similar in content if not tone to a journal paper abstract.
Checklist: Parts of an Abstract
Despite the fact that an abstract is quite brief, it must do almost as much work as the multi-page paper that follows it. In a computer architecture paper, this means that it should in most cases include the following sections. Each section is typically a single sentence, although there is room for creativity. In particular, the parts may be merged or spread among a set of sentences. Use the following as a checklist for your next abstract:
- Motivation:Why do we care about the problem and the results? If the problem isn't obviously "interesting" it might be better to put motivation first; but if your work is incremental progress on a problem that is widely recognized as important, then it is probably better to put the problem statement first to indicate which piece of the larger problem you are breaking off to work on. This section should include the importance of your work, the difficulty of the area, and the impact it might have if successful.
- Problem statement:What problem are you trying to solve? What is the scope of your work (a generalized approach, or for a specific situation)? Be careful not to use too much jargon. In some cases it is appropriate to put the problem statement before the motivation, but usually this only works if most readers already understand why the problem is important.
- Approach:How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem? Did you use simulation, analytic models, prototype construction, or analysis of field data for an actual product? What was the extent of your work (did you look at one application program or a hundred programs in twenty different programming languages?) What important variables did you control, ignore, or measure?
- Results:What's the answer? Specifically, most good computer architecture papers conclude that something is so many percent faster, cheaper, smaller, or otherwise better than something else. Put the result there, in numbers. Avoid vague, hand-waving results such as "very", "small", or "significant." If you must be vague, you are only given license to do so when you can talk about orders-of-magnitude improvement. There is a tension here in that you should not provide numbers that can be easily misinterpreted, but on the other hand you don't have room for all the caveats.
- Conclusions:What are the implications of your answer? Is it going to change the world (unlikely), be a significant "win", be a nice hack, or simply serve as a road sign indicating that this path is a waste of time (all of the previous results are useful). Are your results general, potentially generalizable, or specific to a particular case?
Other Considerations
An abstract must be a fully self-contained, capsule description of the paper. It can't assume (or attempt to provoke) the reader into flipping through looking for an explanation of what is meant by some vague statement. It must make sense all by itself. Some points to consider include:
- Meet the word count limitation. If your abstract runs too long, either it will be rejected or someone will take a chainsaw to it to get it down to size. Your purposes will be better served by doing the difficult task of cutting yourself, rather than leaving it to someone else who might be more interested in meeting size restrictions than in representing your efforts in the best possible manner. An abstract word limit of 150 to 200 words is common.
- Any major restrictions or limitations on the results should be stated, if only by using "weasel-words" such as "might", "could", "may", and "seem".
- Think of a half-dozen search phrases and keywords that people looking for your work might use. Be sure that those exact phrases appear in your abstract, so that they will turn up at the top of a search result listing.
- Usually the context of a paper is set by the publication it appears in (for example, IEEE Computer magazine's articles are generally about computer technology). But, if your paper appears in a somewhat un-traditional venue, be sure to include in the problem statement the domain or topic area that it is really applicable to.
- Some publications request "keywords". These have two purposes. They are used to facilitate keyword index searches, which are greatly reduced in importance now that on-line abstract text searching is commonly used. However, they are also used to assign papers to review committees or editors, which can be extremely important to your fate. So make sure that the keywords you pick make assigning your paper to a review category obvious (for example, if there is a list of conference topics, use your chosen topic area as one of the keyword tuples).
Conclusion
Writing an efficient abstract is hard work, but will repay you with increased impact on the world by enticing people to read your publications. Make sure that all the components of a good abstract are included in the next one you write.
Further Reading
Michaelson, Herbert, How to Write & Publish Engineering Papers and Reports, Oryx Press, 1990. Chapter 6 discusses abstracts.
Cremmins, Edward, The Art of Abstracting 2nd Edition, Info Resources Press, April 1996. This is an entire book about abstracting, written primarily for professional abstractors.
Dreamer:由互联网管制想到的
2008年9月24日星期三
The Geography of Thought
2008年9月21日星期日
一个小饭馆
里面的辣鸡爪、兔头还有鸭头味道不错。
鸡爪煮得很烂,兔头其实肉不是非常多,两颊、眼窝和兔脑之外就没有了。
“重要的是过程,而不是结果。”这句话只在两种场合之下试用。
一种是大快朵颐、奋力饕餮的时候,一种是make love的时候。
其他情况之下,这只不过是一种无力的自我安慰。
2008年9月17日星期三
场考
2008年9月6日星期六
东涌名店仓
only @hong kong
timberland @factory outlet
Citygate
Citygate Shop 109-111, Level 1
20 Tat Tung Road
Tung Chung
Tung Chung
Hong Kong 852-21093629
2008年9月5日星期五
我爱沛纳海, Breitling & Mont Blanc
香港中环遮打道10号太子大厦G30铺(中环地铁站K或者H出口,文华东方酒店后面)
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2008年9月3日星期三
Munchausen at work
http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080902/eoe133804.asp
制造麻烦,邀功请赏
…………
这个故事折射出一个颇为棘手的工作现象:员工暗地里制造问题,以便将来可以为解决问题而受到嘉奖。这种现象正受到越来越多的关注。
乔治亚工学院(Georgia Institute of Technology)的商业学教授内森•班尼特(Nathan Bennett)将这种行为称为“孟乔森工作综合症”(Munchausen at work),因为它很像一种罕见的心理失调疾病──患者喜欢通过假装生病或者诱使他人生病而引起注意。
班尼特说,他采访过的大多数有经验的管理人士都遇到过孟乔森工作综合症现象,并且都认为这种行为具有破坏性。此类做法很难被察觉和根除;当事人可能因之获得提升或者赏识,进而鼓励更多的造假行为。班尼特说,员工会投你所好。