日本企业挣扎求生

2009年年底,日本丰田开始了日本国内乃至全球的汽车召回,丰田汽车的安全问题顿时吵得沸沸扬扬。2010年1月19日,日本航空公司正式向政府申请破产保护。从“车到山前必有路,有路必有丰田车”的神话,到此时“车到山前必有路,只是丰田刹不住”的困境,这个汽车“一哥”能否挽回品牌信誉,保住全球顾客呢?而作为日本乃至整个亚洲规模最大的航空公司之一的日本航空能否绝地逢生,东山再起?日企没落,究其根本,或许就如丰田汽车总裁丰田章男2月24日出席美国众议院就丰田汽车召回事件举行的听证会上的反思――“我们逐渐混淆了优先的顺序,以至于无法像从前一样停下脚步、仔细思考、做出改进,甚至没能坚守传统,悉心聆听消费者的声音。”

So Toyota is in a bit of a tailspin[陷入困境] right now.

Car Saleswoman A: It’s a major safety concern.

News Report: It is a public relations nightmare.

Car Saleswoman B: The gas pedal[脚踏板]...

This is a sort of global press that attacks the core of Toyota’s identity. The worldwide recall for sticking accelerator pedals will cost the automaker hundreds of millions to fix, and millions more in the damage to its reputation for quality. But Toyota is just the latest Japanese corporate icon to lose its way[迷路,走失].

Remember the Sony Walkman? Well, no one in the era of the Apple iPod and iPhone does either. Sony was once the giant in personal gadgets[小玩意].

But analysts widely agree it

became too big, too corporate, and lost its focus.

Japan Airlines also grew and grew so much that its expenses

gobbled up[吞噬] its profits.

Corporate inflexibility, which led to planes with empty seats flying all over Japan, helped knock the once-proud airline into bankruptcy just a few weeks ago注, making it one of the country’s biggest ever corporate failures.

Lah: Do you see Japanese companies being as strong today right now, as they were five…ten years ago?

Timothy Kirkwood: I’d say, across the

board[全面], no.

Tokyo based financial advisor Timothy

Kirkwood has seen the booms and busts of

Japan’s economy. In recent years, companies like Toyota focus on global expansion and branding and let go of what it’s known for.

Kirkwood: There has been some outward-

looking[外向型的] management that has enjoyed the success of the global…let’s say, the global

consumer spending boom that we’ve seen during

the good times. But I think they were overly

exposed to the downside. And I think that’s what’s causing the problems in Japan right now.

It’s happening as neighbor China is seeing an expanding economy, set to overtake Japan this year. China is proving it can make Japan-like gadgets and cars cheaper.

But as Nintendo has proven, Japan can be the world’s capital of quality, innovation[创新] and ingenuity[聪明才智], hard to copy anywhere in the world.

Analysts believe Toyota can take the knocks[遭受挫折] and recover, as long as Tokyo’s boardroom takes a hard look[极其慎重地考虑] at itself and gets back to basics[回归本源].

目前,丰田企业陷入了严峻的困境。

汽车销售员甲:那是一个危及人身安全的重大问题。

新闻报道:那是一场公关噩梦。

汽车销售员乙:油门脚踏板……

这是一种来自全世界的压力,直接击中了丰田的品牌核心。这次因油门脚踏板问题引发的全球性汽车召回事件,将给该汽车制造商造成数以亿计的维修费用支出,而该事件对其品质信誉的损害还会让该公司蒙受更大的经济损失。然而,丰田只不过是日本企业中最新的“迷途孤雁”。

还记得索尼随身听么?活在苹果iPod和iPhone时代的人肯定不会记得这回事了。索尼曾经是随身设备行业的巨头。但是分析家普遍认为该公司的发展规模实在太庞大,太企业化了,以致失去了焦点。

日本航空公司也是不断扩展,以致入不敷出。企业缺乏灵活性,导致空座的飞机在日本飞来飞去。1月19日,这家曾经骄傲一时的航空公司宣告破产,成为该国有史以来最大的一次企业失败。

拉赫:和五年前……十年前相比,你认为如今的日本企业依然那么强大吗?

蒂莫西・柯克伍德:我认为,就全局而言,答案是否定的。

驻东京经济顾问蒂莫西・柯克伍德见证了日本经济的兴衰起落。近年来,丰田等公司将经营重心放在全球扩张和品牌建立上,偏离了企业所著称的根本。

柯克伍德:这种所谓的外向型经营曾经带来全球性的成功……比如说,在经济好的时候看到这种经营模式带来的全球消费激增。但我认为这也会让他们面临过多不利因素。我想那就是日本目前面临这些问题的原因所在。

与此同时,邻国中国的经济日益增长,有望在今年赶超日本。中国逐渐向我们证明,该国能制造出和日本产品相似、但价格更低的设备和汽车。

但是,任天堂也向世人证明――日本可以成为品质、创意和才智的世界中心,全世界没有

其他地方可以效仿。

分析家们相信丰田经得起这次挫折,只要其东京董事会能够认真审视企业自身的问题并回归本源,该公司就能重新站起来。

注:2010年1月19日,日本航空公司正式向东京地方法院申请破产保护,其核心子公司日航国际和金融子公司JAL Capital也在申请之列,将同总公司一起接受破产重组。这成了日本历史上最大的破产案之一。