On Monday, Hewlett-Packard announced that it plans to split itself into two public companies: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. The move has potential benefits and problems.
周一,惠普(Hewlett-Packard)宣布将拆分成两家上市公司:惠普企业公司(Hewlett-Packard Enterprise)与惠普公司(HP Inc)。此举有潜在的好处,但也会带来许多问题。
Companies that are too big to manage are detrimental to society. Earlier this year, FDIC Vice-Chair Tom Hoenig told me that he continues to be concerned that the largest banks in the U.S. remain too large and risky. But the harm to society from companies that are too big goes far beyond financial services firms or even normal anti-trust pricing concerns.
公司规模过于庞大,会造成管理困难,这将对社会造成不利影响。今年早些时候,美国联邦存款保险公司(FDIC)副董事长汤姆o霍尼格告诉我,他依然担心美国最大的银行仍过于庞大,危机重重。但太大的公司对社会造成的伤害,并不限于金融服务性公司,也不只是正常的反垄断定价方面的问题。
Large companies can be dangerous when they use concentrated power to overrule citizens in the political arena and when they exercise unbridled control over individuals’ data and privacy. Massive companies can also create other hazards because their boards and top managers live in spheres so different from their workers that the absence of empathy for the normal daily struggles can become an unfortunate epidemic. Boards begin to think about employees as resources to exploit rather than human beings like themselves, and society suffers because of that.
如果大公司利用其集中的权力在政治领域支配民众,或恣意控制个人数据与隐私,这样的公司对于社会是危险的。此外,大公司也会造成其他危害,因为他们的董事会与高层的生活圈子与员工截然不同,因此,对于普通员工每天的努力,他们缺少同理心,而这会成为一种令人遗憾的趋势。董事会开始认为员工只是可供他们“开采”的资源,而不是与他们一样的人,结果整个社会因此受到损害。
In a recent series for Bloomberg, Megan McArdle argued that the benefits of paying workers more are less than you may think. Astonishingly, McArdle forgets that the stress of empty stomachs and homelessness can render employees vulnerable to lower engagement and productivity and higher turnover. She also failed to consider the broader economic multiplier benefits of higher wages for the lowest paid workers. That aside, McArdle makes an interesting argument that part of the reason employees are treated better at In-N-Out Burger versus McDonald’s has to do with companies’ size. I’m not sure she’s completely right about that, but certainly smaller firms offer more opportunity for top managers to understand the daily lives of their staff; proximity makes it more difficult, although not impossible, to treat employees inhumanely.
在彭博社(Bloomberg)近期的一系列报道中,梅根o麦克阿德声称,提高员工薪酬的好处并没有想象的那么多。令人震惊的是,麦克阿德竟然忘记了,食不果腹和居无定所带来的压力会降低员工的积极性和工作效率,并且会造成更高的员工流失率。她也没有考虑提高最低收入员工的工资,所带来的更广泛的经济倍增效果。此外,麦克阿德提出了一条有趣的论据,她认为In-N-Out汉堡(In-N-Out Burger)的员工得到的待遇优于麦当劳(McDonald’s),与公司的规模有很大关系。我不确定她的说法是否正确,但可以确定的一点是,更小的公司能够给高层管理者提供了解员工日常生活的机会;上下级之间的亲近关系,使得公司更难不近人情地对待员工,虽然这样的情况不可能完全消除。
The two new companies HP HPQ 1.99% is creating may still elude the nimbleness current HP CEO Meg Whitman hopes for, or a more humane approach to management that we all desire. But HP is moving in the right direction with the split.
惠普拆分后的两家新公司,可能仍无法具备现任CEO梅格o惠特曼所希望的灵敏性,或者我们所期待的更人性化的管理方式。但此次拆分意味着惠普正在朝着正确的方向前进。
With that said, the proposed governance structure for the two new firms is absurd. Pat Russo, currently HP’s lead director, is slated to be chair of the new Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, a servers, storage, and networking firm. Both Russo and Whitman, who will be CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, were responsible as board members for the disastrous Autonomy purchase decision, a move that the board made over the objection of HP CFO Cathy Lesjak. HP announced that Lesjak will become CFO of the new enterprise firm.
尽管如此,两家新公司的治理结构方案却非常荒谬。现任惠普首席董事陆思博被任命为惠普企业公司董事长,该公司将专注从事服务器、存储与网络业务。惠特曼将担任惠普企业公司的CEO。而在令惠普损失惨重的Autonomy收购案中,陆思博与惠特曼作为董事会成员,均需要对当初的收购决定负责。当时,董事会的决定曾遭到惠普CFO(首席财务官)凯西o莱斯杰克的反对。惠普宣布,莱斯杰克将担任惠普企业公司的CFO。
In addition to her CEO role at Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, Whitman will also be chair of the new HP Inc., a personal computer and printers company. This move makes little sense. It is never good to have the old boss hovering over the new CEO, who in this case will be Dion Weisler. Won’t Whitman have her hands full at the new enterprise company anyway?
除了担任惠普企业公司的CEO外,惠特曼还将出任拆分后的新惠普公司董事长,该公司将专注从事个人电脑与打印机业务。这一决定毫无意义。让老上司盯着新任CEO(迪昂o维斯勒将出任新惠普公司的CEO),没有任何好处。难道新成立的惠普企业公司还不足以让惠特曼忙得不可开交吗?
The split raises many questions. HP had recently agreed to proxy access, which would allow shareholders to propose board nominees that would be included on the company’s ballot. Will proxy access now apply to both of the new companies?
此次拆分带来了许多问题。惠普最近同意实施“代理参与”(proxy access),即允许股东提名将参与公司投票的董事人选。如今,“代理参与”能否应用于两家新公司?
What will happen to the size of Whitman’s paycheck? Will her current pay be split between Weisler and Whitman since, jointly, they will be managing what is now HP? Will we see new compensation plans that will allow Whitman to take advantage of short-term pops to the company’s stock even if she doesn’t create the long-term value she has promised for some time? Or will the pay checks hold both CEOs accountable for long-term results?
惠特曼的薪酬是否会有所变化?她目前的薪酬是否会由维斯勒与惠特曼平分?毕竟,现在的惠普将分成两个人管理。公司的新薪酬计划是否会让惠特曼从公司股票的短期上涨中获益,即使她并未创造出自己所承诺的长期价值?或者,薪酬计划将要求两位CEO对长期成果负责?
The split could be a real positive for HP if the board addresses the company’s governance flaws and potential missteps. Stripping half of HP from Whitman could also signal that, behind the scenes, the board lacks long-term confidence in her. In that case, there may be many more changes ahead.
如果董事会能够解决公司的治理缺陷和潜在的失误,此次拆分将给惠普带来积极效果。从惠特曼手中剥离一半业务,从深层意义上而言,也可能意味着董事会对她的长期信心不足。如果是这样,未来公司必将有更多变化。
Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://www.thevaluealliance.com), an independent board education and advisory firm she founded in 1999. She has been a regular contributor to Fortune since April 2010 and is the author of two books on valuation and governance.
本文作者爱丽诺o布洛斯罕是独立董事会培训咨询机构价值联盟和公司治理联盟(The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance)的首席执行官。她于1999年创办该机构。她从2010年10月起成为《财富》杂志定期供稿人,并著有两本有关价值评估与治理的著作。