经济学人131:惠普 董事会的游戏

 　　Business Hewlett-Packard Board game

　　商业 惠普 董事会的游戏

　　More turmoil¹ at the top of the world's biggest tech firm

　　世界最大的科技公司，陷入比以往更大的混乱之中

　　A FEW months after Léo Apotheker, the former boss of SAP, a German software firm, took over as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HP), he joked that he had learned to say "awesome²" like a Californian following his move from Europe to Palo Alto. Unfortunately for Mr Apotheker, that is not an adjective that many of HP's investors³ and board members would apply to his leadership. Rightly or wrongly, they have become disillusioned⁴ with him. As The Economist⁵ went to press, speculation⁶ was swirling⁷ that he would soon be ousted⁸ as chief executive, less than a year after his arrival.

　　前德国软件公司SAP老板，李艾科.阿波台克在接任惠普首席执行官几个月后开玩笑说,他从德国来到帕洛阿尔托后,已经学会像加利福尼佬那样说"牛X"了。可不幸的是，对于阿波台克来说, 许多惠普的投资人和董事会成员没能适应他的领导,也不会用这词儿形容他上台以来所取得的成绩。错也好，对也好，他们已经对阿波台克先生失望了。在本期《经济学家》出版之际，阿波台克即将被赶下首席运营官宝座的猜测已甚嚣尘上。而这据他上任的时间还不到一年。

　　Whatever happens, the saga⁹ is another blow for a company that has lurched from one boardroom crisis to another. Mr Apotheker took the wheel at HP in November 2010 following the departure of Mark Hurd, who left abruptly¹⁰ amid stories of sexual indiscretions and problematic expense-reporting. Mr Hurd had taken over from Carly Fiorina, who was binned¹¹ in 2005 after the firm's profits plunged¹². A year later Patricia Dunn, HP's then chairman, also departed after a scandal involving an investigation¹³ into suspected press leaks from HP directors.

　　不管发生什么，走马灯式地换第三个CEO对一家把一个董事会危机转嫁到另一个危机的公司来说，是又一打击。阿波台克先生在2010年11月掌舵惠普，接任突然离职的马克?赫德，后者离职的原因是私人性生活不检点外加花费报销有问题。而赫德先生的前任是卡莉.菲奥莉女士，她在惠普利润大幅下滑后，于2005年被赶走。转过年来，时任惠普主席的帕特丽夏?邓恩因卷入怀疑公司董事会成员向媒体泄密的调查，同样下了课。

　　Repeated ructions at the top are harmful for any firm. But they have been devastating¹⁴ at HP, which faces brilliant competitors such as Apple in the hardware business and IBM in enterprise software and services. Mr Apotheker is partly to blame for the fact that the firm has been reluctant to follow his leadership. But so, too, is the board, which seems uncertain about what kind of leader HP needs.

　　高层之间反复不断的争吵指责对任何公司来说都是有害的。而对于惠普而言，则更为致命。它所面对的竞争对手各个业绩彪炳，比如在硬件产业的竞争者苹果，和软件及服务业的竞争者IBM。阿波台克先生被指责的部分原因是他无法驾驭惠普，这确属事实。但惠普董事会也应被批判。他们似乎并不能确定惠普需要那种类型的领导。

　　A couple of things appear to have brought matters to a head. Since his arrival, Mr Apotheker has had to lower HP's revenue forecasts three times (see chart). In part, this reflects slower-than-expected growth in the personal-computer (PC) market, of which HP has a larger share than any other firm. HP's critics, however, claim that its boss has not done enough to arrest the sales slide, which has dented¹⁵ its share price.

　　几件事情叠加在一起，使局面到了不可收拾的地步。自从阿波台克上任以来，三次降低惠普收入预测(详情看图表)。从一方面说,这一举措反映了惠普享有最大份额的个人电脑市场增长比预期缓慢。然而，惠普的批评者却称阿波台克在遏制销售业绩下滑上做出的努力不够，从而使惠普的股价一路下跌。

　　Some board members also believe Mr Apotheker has failed to win broad support within HP. One person familiar with the board's deliberations employs a medical analogy, likening Mr Apotheker to "a perfectly¹⁶ good organ" that simply has not worked when transplanted to a very different body. Asked for a response, HP refused to comment on speculation.

　　一些董事会成员同样认为阿波台克先生没能在惠普内部赢得广泛的支持。一位收悉惠普董事会研究思路的人士用器官移植来做比方。他把阿波台克先生比喻成"一个运行完美的器官"，但这个器官被移植到一个非常复杂的肌体后却无法做出简单的活动。当被问及就此做出回复时，惠普拒绝对此推论给予评论。

　　It seems to be these issues, rather than any broad disagreement on strategy, that have caused friction¹⁷ between HP's chief executive and its board. Directors are said to support Mr Apotheker's public musing¹⁸ about whether or not to sell the company's PC business. They also approve, it is said, of his whopping $10.3 billion bid for Autonomy, a British firm whose software helps companies sift¹⁹ through mountains of e-mails and other data. Investors are less sure: HP's shares dropped 20% on the day the deal and a possible spin-off of its PC business were announced.

　　似乎正是这些问题，而不是其它在战略构想上更广泛的分歧造成了惠普首席执行官与董事会的摩擦。外界认为，惠普董事会员支持阿波台克公开考虑是否出售公司的个人电脑业务。据说，他们同样赞同其提出的花费大约103亿美元收购英国软件公司Autonomy。其拥有的软件技术能帮助诸多公司筛选数量巨大的电子邮件和其它数据。投资者可不像惠普董事会那样赞成这样的计划：在惠普宣布收购Autonomy并告知有可能剥离旗下个人电脑业务后，其股价当天就大跌20%

　　HP is unlikely to back out of buying Autonomy now, whatever happens to Mr Apotheker, not least because it is determined²⁰ to grow in high-margin software businesses. More than two-fifths of Autonomy's shareholders²¹ have already accepted HP's bid and British rules would make it hard to pull out of the deal.

　　不管阿波台克先生是否离任,惠普现在想撤销并购Autonomy是不可能了。更何况惠普已经决定要在高盈利的软件产业加大投资。超过五分之二的Autonomy股东已经接受惠普的报价，想要不再收购，英国的法规也不会轻易答应。

　　Either a weakened Mr Apotheker will have to do a better job of selling these moves to the market, or that job will fall to his successor. If the board does push for his departure, one possible candidate for his job could be Meg Whitman, the former boss of eBay and an HP director. Ms Whitman is also an adviser²² to Kleiner Perkins, a venture firm where Ray Lane, HP's chairman, is a partner.

　　在未来，要么地位不稳的阿波台克先生尽更大的努力把这些计划在市场中付诸实践，要么就是他的继任者来做这些事情。如果惠普董事会确实要赶他走，继承他职位的可能人选之一是前eBay老板，在惠普担任过董事的梅格?惠特曼。她同时还是一家风险企业Kleiner Perkins的顾问之一。而这家公司的合伙人之一就是雷?兰恩，惠普公司董事长。

　　Investors seem to think that an Apotheker-less HP would be better off: the company's share price rose almost 7% on September 21st after news of a potential defenestration leaked out. But it is not clear that someone such as Ms Whitman, who comes from a consumer-internet background, would be an ideal successor at a company that does a lot of its business with other corporations.

　　投资者似乎认为带有较少阿波台克德印记的惠普会更好。当他要卷铺盖走人的消息不径而飞后，惠普的股价在9月21日上涨了几乎7个百分点。向惠特曼女士这样，虽有为消费者提供网络服务的背景，但是否就是惠普的理想继承者，对此前景并不明朗。毕竟惠普的商业运作对象主要是企业用户。

　　Whatever happens, Mr Lane and the rest of HP's board will find themselves under the spotlight²³. "Is Léo the problem, or is he just a symptom of an underlying²⁴ problem?" muses²⁵ Chris Whitmore, an analyst²⁶ at Deutsche Bank. HP's shareholders should perhaps be asking themselves the same question.

　　不管发生什么， 雷先生及董事会的其它成员将发现自己会暴露在聚光灯下。"是李艾科有问题，还是李艾科只是个深层问题的表象？"德意志银行的分析师克瑞斯.魏特摩尔对此旋入了沉思。惠普公司的股东应该或许也会问自己同样的问题。

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

5 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

8 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

9 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

10 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

11 binned   

v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mobile phones were binned to cover their tracks and cash passed aroundin Doritos packets. 他们用手机来掩饰行踪，用多力多滋的包装袋来配送现金。 来自互联网
• Such wrongly wrought proteins need to be binned before they cause substantial damage. 这些折叠出错的蛋白质在引发灾难前就需要被封存。 来自互联网

12 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

15 dented   

v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。
• I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

17 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

18 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

19 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

20 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

21 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

22 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

23 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

24 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

25 muses   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe. 欧洲那种御用的诗才，我们已经听够了。 来自辞典例句
• Shiki muses that this is, at least, probably the right atmosphere. 志贵觉得这至少是正确的气氛。 来自互联网

26 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。