Global business
全球商业
In praise of the stateless multinational
表彰无国界的跨国公司

Not without its flaws, but infinitely preferable to the state-bound version
尽管并不完美，但这个超越国境的模型还是令人无限向往

IF YOU hanker after the idealistic spirit of international co-operation, talk to the boss of an emerging-market multinational. Not the boss of Gazprom, perhaps, which has behaved like an arm of the Russian state. But try Chairman Yang Yuanqing of Lenovo, who has moved his family to North Carolina to deepen his appreciation of American culture, so as to help him integrate his Chinese and American workers. Or Lakshmi Mittal, the London-based Indian boss of Arcelor Mittal, who says his multinational team of executives get on so well that he forgets there are different nationalities in the room, and who believes his firm has no nationality, instead being “truly global”.

如果你渴望跨国合作的理想主义精神，那么你和跨国新兴市场的老板就有的聊了。当然也许不是Gazprom的老板，因为该公司就像俄罗斯政府的臂膀；而应该是联想集团的杨元庆董事长，他为了加深对美国文化的理解而举家迁往北卡，此举也帮助他整合了中美员工；还有总部在伦敦的阿赛乐-米塔尔钢铁公司的印度裔老板头拉克希米•塔尔，宣称自己的跨国管理团队相处的是如此之好，以至于他都忘记了不同国籍的存在，他坚信自己的公司没有国界限制，而是”真正意义的国际化”。

Lenovo and Arcelor Mittal are at the leading edge of a new phase in the evolution of the multinational corporation, as our special report this week argues. At first companies set up overseas sales offices, to watch over the export of goods made at home. Then they built small foreign replicas of the mother ship, to cater to local demand. Today the goal is to create what Sam Palmisano, the boss of IBM, calls the “globally integrated enterprise”-a single firm in which work is sourced wherever it is most efficient.

正如我刊本周特别报告中指出的那样，联想和阿赛乐-米塔尔处于跨国公司全新进化阶段的前沿位置。首先公司设立海外销售办公室来关注从母国出口到境外的产品；然后仿照母公司的模式在境外建立小型机构，用以迎合本地需求。目前跨国公司的目标是建立IBM老板彭明盛所宣称的”整合全球的企业”–一个可以在全球任何地方利用最高效资源工作的公司。

For business leaders, building a firm that is seamlessly integrated across time zones and cultures presents daunting obstacles. Rather than huddling together in a headquarters building in Armonk or Millbank, senior managers will increasingly be spread around the world, which will require them to learn some new tricks.

作为当今企业领袖，想建立一个整合所有时区和文化的无缝公司会遇到让人生畏的阻碍。因为高管人员不能再呆在位于Armonk或者Millbank的总部大楼里，而是要分散到世界各地；而这需要他们学习一些新的技巧。

How do you get virtual teams of workers to bond, for instance? The answer seems to be a lot of time spent talking-as well as the odd junket. MySQL, an online database firm, holds virtual Christmas parties, at which teams around the world play games and exchange virtual gifts. And what about overcoming all those awkward cultural differences? Lenovo, for example, has had to encourage normally reticent Chinese workers to speak candidly in meetings with American colleagues.

再举例来说，你怎么才能让这样一队虚拟员工团结在一起呢？答案似乎应该是大量的交流探讨和古怪的公费旅游。MySOL是一家在线数据库公司，每年它都会举办虚拟圣诞派对，全球各地的团队在线游戏并交换虚拟礼物。那么该怎么克服那些尴尬的文化差异呢？以联想为例，它通常会鼓励很含蓄的中国员工，鼓励他们在与美国同事的会议上可以畅所欲言。

Some people assume that stateless multinationals inevitably compete away standards in a race to the bottom. It is true that multinationals tend to shop around for taxes, but in other ways they are usually sticklers for good behaviour. Encouragingly, firms from emerging markets are finding that a globally integrated company needs a single culture, and that the best way to foster this is to make the highest ethics anywhere in the firm the norm for everyone, wherever they are working. Anything less tends to corrode the culture.

有些人预测无国界的跨国公司必将在淘汰赛中坚持到底：跨国公司确实有在全球范围内寻找避税宝地的趋势，但是在其他方面，它还是良好行为的坚决拥护者。可喜的是新兴市场公司认识到在全球范围内实现整合的公司需要单一的文化，而促进这一文化的最佳方式就是将全公司范围内的最高道德作为工作在世界各地的每一个人的规范，同时尽量避免可能损伤该文化事件的发生。

A globally integrated firm cannot allow corrupt practices by employees in some countries and not others, so it must outlaw them everywhere. On the other hand, it cannot enforce religious practices and holidays, or different ways of life, so it must preach tolerance. One investment bank, for example, is extending its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender network to its Indian operations over the opposition of its local boss.

全球整合公司不允许一些国家的员工出现腐败行为，而在另一些国家却没有，因此它必须开除他们；在另一方面，它也不能强制宗教信仰、法定假日或者生活习惯，所以它必须鼓励宽容。以一家投行为例，尽管印度分部的老板持反对意见，但还是将业务范围扩展到了同性恋、双性恋和变性人的服务上。

Flag-wavering
摇旗呐喊

In fact, the real threat comes from overly chummy links between a state and its multinationals. Although politicians may have been more comfortable in a world where what was good for General Motors was good for America, that tended to lead to protectionism and antiquated working practices. Firms in which loyalty to the state goes beyond the economic value it offers usually expect something in return-soft contracts and subsidies, perhaps, or standards conveniently set in their interest. In fact the sorry story of GM itself highlights the dangers of being a national champion. Rather than fear the stateless corporation, people would be wise to do all they can to make them feel at home in their country.

实际上，真正的威胁来自于跨国公司同某一个国家过分亲密的联系。政客们习惯生活在一个这样的一个世界中：那些对通用汽车和美国有利的东西总会导致贸易保护主义和陈旧的工作习惯。那些忠诚于美国的公司付出了超过经济价值以外的贡献，它们期望美国的礼尚往来：宽松的合同，还可能是津贴或者是为了它们的便利而设立的条件。实际上通用汽车的悲惨故事本身就已经突出了作为领军人物的危险性。人们不应该对跨国公司感到恐惧，而是应该明智的尽力让那些公司习惯在本地运作。