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Business
商业报道
Corporate governance in Germany
德国公司的管理
Diversifying the board
董事会的多元化
German boards have long been cosy men's clubs. But things are changing
德国的董事会曾一度是享乐者的天堂，但是现在不一样了。
HERMANN JOSEF ABS liked to joke, What's the difference between a doghouse and the supervisory board?
HERMANN JOSEF喜欢开玩笑：狗屋和监事会有什么不同？
The doghouse is for the dog; the supervisory board is for the cat.
狗屋是给狗的，监事会是给猫的，
For those unfamiliar with the nuances of German humour, for the cat is slang for something like trash.
这是德国式幽默，猫在俚语里通常指代废物。
The late banker would know: while running Deutsche Bank from 1957 to 1967, he also sat on dozens of supervisory boards.
已故的银行家或许知道，在1957到1967年间主管德意志银行时，HERMANN JOSEF ABS还是几十个监事会成员里的一个。
This was the peak of Deutschland AG, a clique of long-serving bosses, autocratic chairmen, do-nothing board members and their financier friends.
过去，监事会是德国公司的顶层，他们是由一群长期担任老板的小团体，独裁主席，游手好闲的董事会成员以及他们金融界的朋友们组成。
Big German companies' supervisory boards are supposed to act as a check on their management boards.
大型德国公司的监事会应该管理董事会，
But in practice their relations were too cosy for this.
但是实际上他们的关系过于亲密。
This past year the stumbles of two titans seemed to highlight how much corporate power is still concentrated in few hands in the Germanspeaking world.
去年这两大巨头的过失似乎在过于强调企业大权仍掌控在少数德国人手里。
As 2013 began Gerhard Cromme was chairman of the supervisory boards of both Siemens, an industrial conglomerate, and ThyssenKrupp, a steelmaker.
2013年伊始，Gerhard Cromme成为西门子及钢铁制造商蒂森克努伯两家企业的监事会主席。
But big losses at foreign mills and heavy fines over a cartel case cost him the chairmanship at ThyssenKrupp.
但是卡特尔事件中国外钢厂的巨大损失及高额罚款让他失去了蒂森克努伯公司监事会主席一职。
Then in July, a boardroom bunfight at Siemens ended with the departure of Peter Lscher, the chief executive.
同年7月，西门子董事会舞会事件以其首席主管Peter Lscher的离职而告终。
Mr Cromme belatedly called for his firing—but only after hiring him and protecting him for years.
Cromme请求延迟他的解雇，但也只是在雇佣和保护了他几年之后。
Josef Ackermann, a Swiss former boss of Deutsche Bank and a Siemens board member, had defended Mr Lscher.
德意志银行前瑞士分行行长兼西门子董事Josef Ackermann力挺Lscher。
When Mr Lscher went, so did he.
当Lscher走后他也离职了。
Shortly before this he had quit as chairman of Zurich, a Swiss insurer, whose chief financial officer had committed suicide, leaving a note berating Mr Ackermann.
在这之前不久他还辞去了瑞士保险公司苏黎世董事长一职。该公司的首席财务官自杀了，只留下一张便条斥责Ackermann。
Now he has no big corporate job, there have been reports that Mr Ackermann may have to step down as a trustee of the World Economic Forum after its gabfest in Davos this week.
现在他没有大公司工作，有报道称本周在达沃斯会议进行冗长的谈话后，Ackermann只能降职为世界经济论坛的受托人。
At first glance, corporate power in Germany still looks male, German and concentrated.
乍一看，企业大权仍集中在德国男性手里。
But its boardrooms are slowly getting more diverse.
但是董事会正慢慢变得多样化。
In 2003 the average supervisory-board member at a public company sat on 1.9 boards; now the figure is 1.6.
2003年监事会成员中上市公司平均占了1.9席。
A 2001 cut in tax on sales of shares let banks and insurance companies, which played big roles as lenders and part-owners, start disentangling themselves from companies.
然而现在这个数据是1.6。2001年销售股份削减税被放款及合伙大户银行和保险公司承包，并开始解决纠纷。
Into the gaps, and onto the boards, has come a new generation of more active members.
为了填补空缺，也有很多新一代的有活力的成员加入董事会。
Boards have little choice but to be sharper, says Christoph Schalast of Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
法兰克福金融管理学院的Christoph Schalast表示董事会别无选择，只有变得更加锐利。
Many companies are now paying fines and settlements for their behaviour before the financial crisis.
现在许多公司都在金融危机到来之前为他们的行为支付罚款和理赔款。
A 2010 change in the law doubled the statute of limitations for such misdeeds to ten years.
2010年修改法律诉讼时效等罪行翻了一倍，达10年了。
Progress on making boards more international is slower.
董事会的国际化进程变缓了。
Eight of the largest 30 public companies have foreign bosses, but the rest of their boards' members are predominantly German, even at the country's most multinational firms.
规模最大的30家上市公司中有8家老板都是国外的，但是即使在大多数跨国公司，其董事会其他成员主要还是德国人。
But Burkhard Schwenker, the boss of Roland Berger, a consulting firm, says that counting passports is simplistic: what matters more is international experience, which German firms increasingly look for when recruiting both management-and supervisory-board members.
咨询公司Roland Berger的董事长Burkhard Schwenker却表示哪个国家的其实不重要，在招募管理及董事成员时更看重的是德国公司急需的国际经验。
If boards are becoming more professional and diverse, is accumulation of board seats a bad thing in itself?
如果董事会变得越来越专业越来越多样化，积累董事会职位本身是坏事吗？
Jrg Rocholl, the president of the European School for Management and Technology, says that studies disagree on whether busy board members are better or worse for profits.
欧洲管理与技术学院的院长Jrg Rocholl表示繁忙的董事会对企业收益是利是弊仍意见不一。
But he agrees that boards are becoming more capable, and says this has been a factor in Germany's economic revival.
但可以肯定的是董事们正变得越来越能干，这也是德国公司经济复苏的原因之一。
Pay for German board members is going up; but these days, members are earning it.
董事成员的工资上涨了，但是这段日子是他们应得的。
