2011年11月17日 星期四

【書摘】明茲伯格:管理,既不科學,也非專業

【書摘】明茲伯格:管理,既不科學,也非專業:


將領導者和管理者劃為兩股逕流,已經蔚為風潮。領導者是做正確的事,因應變化;管理者是正確地做事,因應繁瑣。坦白講,我不明白這種區分在組織的日常運作中有何意義。當然,理論上我們可以把領導和管理分開來看,但實務上能這樣分嗎?或者更確切地說,我們有必要做這樣的區分嗎?



讓一位無法發揮領導作用的人來管理,你的感覺如何?可能很糟吧。同理,你怎麼會想讓不諳管理的人來領導呢?他可能完全和現實狀況脫節,那樣的「領導者」怎麼可能搞清楚狀況?就像吉姆‧馬奇(Jim
March)說的:「領導需要實務操作,也需要理想。」


加拿大皇家銀行的人都知道他們的執行長約翰‧克雷宏(John
Cleghorn)有個習慣,他連在趕往機場的路上,都會打電話回辦公室,告訴公司的人「哪裡的提款機壞了,要儘速修理」,諸如此類的事。這家銀行在各地安裝的提款機有數千台,克雷宏這樣做算是事必躬親(micromanaging)嗎?或許他只是想以身作則,讓大家對這類問題提高警覺罷了。



事實上,如今我們更應擔心的是「宏觀領導」(macroleading):管理高層試圖以遠端遙控的方式來管理,脫離現實,只會一味空談「大局」。現在流行談的是高層對我們管理過度(overmanaged),但領導不足(underled)。不過在我看來,目前的情況恰好相反,高層其實是對我們領導過度(overled),但管理不足(undermanaged)。



松下公司的創辦人松下幸之助曾說:「公司的大事和小事由我負責,中間那些不大不小的事,就交給別人來做吧。」換句話說,領導者不能一味把事情交給管理者來做,我們應該把管理者視為領導者,把領導力視為管理得宜,而不是把管理者和領導者分開來看。



無論是在學術界,或是在報紙專欄上,探索領導的榮耀遠比了解管理的真相容易。顯然,這麼做對管理者不利,其實這也削弱了領導者自己。我們對領導力愈入迷,就愈難領悟其要領。事實上,我們愈是宣稱課程內容可以培養領導力,我們就愈發自大狂妄。(二○○七年,我在哈佛大學的MBA網站上看到,「領導者」和「領導力」等字眼竟然被提了五十幾次)因為領導力是自己努力掙來的,不是別人冊封的。



此外,把領導和管理分開來看,視領導者為高高在上的偶像,等於是把社交流程轉變成表彰個人的流程。不管再怎麼強調領導者授權下屬,領導力依舊以個人貢獻為重。每一次我們倡導領導力,其實也是把其他人貶抑為下屬。對所有組織的合作來說,群體精神很重要,但是當我們強調領導力時,群體精神也受到輕忽。我們應該提倡的是,群體內的每位成員自然參與,而不是只提倡領導力而已,畢竟領導者和管理者都是群體內的一分子。所以,本書將以管理為重,主張管理和領導力都應自然融入在「群體精神」(communityship)中。


◎管理的應用



多年來,我們一直在尋尋覓覓管理的真理,如今,該是我們了解「管理既不是一門科學、也不是一種專業」的時候了。管理是一種實務,透過經驗的累積,根源於背景脈絡中,需要因地制宜。



管理肯定不是一門科學。科學是透過研究來開發系統化的知識;管理則是為了促進組織內的任務完成,幾乎與科學無關。管理甚至稱不上是應用科學,因為應用科學還是一種科學。不過,管理的確需要應用到科學──管理者必須應用他們獲得的一切知識,他們也會運用科學方法進行分析。(這裡的科學方法是指科學證明,而非科學發現)



事實上,有效的管理比較依賴巧思,尤其仰仗技藝。巧思是憑直覺產生的「洞見」和「遠見」。(一九五四年杜拉克寫道:「『直覺』管理者的日子屈指可數了。」但是半個世紀過去,我們怎麼還沒數完呢。技藝強調的是從經驗中學習,亦即從實務中解決問題。



組織裡可以列入計畫的工作大多不需管理者費心,交由專業人士來處理就行了。如此一來,管理者手上所剩的大多是繁雜的事情,例如棘手的問題、複雜的關係。這也是為什麼管理實務基本上是「柔性」的,我們為什麼會常用經驗、直覺、判斷力、智慧等用語來形容管理的原因。結合大量的技藝,恰到好處的巧思,並運用一些科學,你就會得到一份契合實務性質的工作。管理沒有「最佳妙方」,需要因地制宜。



管理也不是一門專業。有人曾指出,工程學也不算是科學或應用科學,它本身也是一種實務。但是工程學的確會運用到大量的科學來整理和驗證其效用,所以算是一門專業,也就是說,它可以脫離具體情境,在實際投入工程之前先傳授。就某種意義來說,橋梁就是橋梁,或者說,至少鋼材就是鋼材,即使鋼材需要跟著應用的情況調整。醫學也是同樣的道理,但管理就不是如此了。



真正的專業人士和科學家一樣,他們的確比一般人內行。病人不會與醫生爭論醫學知識,醫生也不會在分子化學家面前班門弄斧,畢竟「術業有專攻」。然而,自以為很懂的管理者則有礙管理,因為管理者主要是一個推動營運的角色。根據這裡的定義,管理者是指對整個組織或組織內的某個部門負責的人。套句一九二○年代瑪麗‧帕克‧傅麗德(Mary
Parker
Follett)的名言,管理者大多是靠別人完成任務,這些人包括單位裡的屬下和單位外的相關人員。管理者必須知道很多事情,尤其是所處的情境,他們需要根據那些資訊做決策。不過,在大型組織和重視「知識工作」(knowledge
work)的組織裡,管理者更需要激發他人充分發揮潛力,這樣他們才能知道更多,把決策做得更好,表現得更稱職。



最近,我在批評專業化管理時,有人問我,那些克盡職責、認真看待管理實務的管理者難道沒有專業性可言嗎?他們的確很重要,但是大家可別把克盡職責和從事專業混為一談,我們應該把管理看成一種使命。所以,努力把管理專業化,變成一門科學,其實是在破壞這個使命。



書名:經理人的一天--明茲伯格談管理



明茲柏格貼身觀察29位不同領域的管理者實錄,點破經理人工作上的惱人迷思,解答13個無可避免的管理難題,管理-單純卻不簡單,半世紀以前,彼得.杜拉克(Peter
Drucker)率先提倡管理,但之後領導力超越管理,成為眾所矚目的焦點。明茲伯格想讓管理恢復它應有的主導地位,他說:「我們應該把管理者視為領導者,把領導力視為管理得宜。」



出版社:天下雜誌


作者:亨利.明茲伯格

明茲伯格是加拿大麥基爾大學(McGill
University)的管理學教授,獲獎無數。《華爾街日報》把明茲伯格列為「全球最具影響力的管理大師之一」。後現代企業教父湯姆.彼得斯說他是「世界首屈一指的管理思想家」。在管理界,明茲伯格叛逆、原創的性格十分鮮明,經常提出打破傳統及迷思的獨到見解。



買書去


Asian Mobile Gaming From GameApe.tw


Gameape Feature Friday: Insights on Asian Mobile Gaming From GameApe.tw
Once upon a time, there was a brick of a phone made by Nokia that came preloaded with a game called Snake. The objective was simple: eat more and more dots without running into yourself as you grow. This game seems so long ago that it’s difficult to fathom that such a simple concept could pioneer a multi-billion dollar mobile gaming industry. Not two decades after Snake, a man named Luke Hsu sits down to log into his computer and as he does so, one cannot help but notice that he types not by touch, but with his two index fingers. Thinking about it, though, it makes sense. As General Manager of gameape.tw, a website dedicated to mobile gaming, he probably does most of his typing on a touch screen these days. He wouldn’t be the only one. With companies like Zynga and Rovio taking the world by storm with addictive, mobile, and social games – and experiencing brisk business doing so – people and their touch screens have moved gaming into new territory.
In our continuing coverage of companies that presented at last week’s appWorks Demo Day, Hsu sits down with us for a chat. During our discussion, he’ll talk about the evolution of gaming into mobile, how it’s making money, differences in East vs. West, and the issues with iTunes. Get your fingers ready.
Insight 1: Mobile Replacing Consoles As a Logical Evolution in Gaming
The CEO of Rovio, the company behind the mobile blockbuster Angry Birds, declared that console gaming was out. With expensive and relatively static games, he predicted they would lose out to a more innovative class of mobile games. Asked whether he believes this to be true, Hsu replies “my senior editor told me he hasn’t turned on his consoles in 6 months. Go on [Taipei’s metro system] the MRT. Do you see anyone playing PSPs anymore?” I can’t help but agree with the anecdotal evidence. The Nintendo DS and PSP that used to be in children’s hands during our family dinners have been replaced by a variety of Apple products.
quote11 Feature Friday: Insights on Asian Mobile Gaming From GameApe.twHsu begins an allegory: “Consider the RPG in its earliest format.” The earliest Role Playing Games were played with dice on a board, esoteric pastimes accessible to a slim band of society. The format was later ported to videogame form, and became slightly more accessible; playable, he says, “for the rest of us.” That format then expanded to MMO (massively multiplayer online) RPGs, and games like World of Warcraft subsequently created global links and attracted throngs of people who would never lay hands on a D&D die. “For the rest of us,” he reiterates. The format proceeded to mobile, where a player can casually dabble in countless RPGs available, removed from any stigma that may have once surrounded the genre. He arrives at his main point: through this evolution, gaming continually attracts more segments of society and is truly becoming ‘for the rest of us’. Through this evolution, a generation of console gamers is graduating to mobile, without a new class of console gamers to fill the ranks, as even toddlers embrace the mobile format in droves. “The death of the console is inevitable,” he concludes simply.
Insight 2: The Importance of a Wise Payment Structure in a Game’s Success
Luke pulls up a table on his website with three columns, the top 10 games requiring payment, the top 10 free games, and the top 10 top grossing games in Taiwan. He points out that the only games that are on both the ‘requiring payment’ and ‘top grossing’ lists are Angry Birds and Zenonia 3. It’s not because the top grossing games simply cost more to download. Rather, it’s because of the high amount of in-game purchases its players make. This is an extremely important consideration for developers: do you aim to make money from downloads, or make a free game good enough that users are willing to pay for more content?
top10 Feature Friday: Insights on Asian Mobile Gaming From GameApe.tw
Only 4 of the 10 top grossing games in Taiwan are not free to download
Hsu is a fan of the in-game purchase model, something that is backed up by the data. Of the top ten grossing games in Taiwan, six of them are free. “A user is more willing to try a free game. If they like it, they’ll perhaps make some purchases. The developers still make money, probably much more than $.99.” By his estimation, the in-game payment itself is an Eastern innovation. Introduced by Asian MMORPGs as a method to make subscription prices cheaper, it is a model that has seen great success in mobile gaming as well. “The trick is finding the balance between download price and in-game purchase price for your market.”
Insight 3: East vs. West, Willingess to Spend Money on Gaming is Different
graph Feature Friday: Insights on Asian Mobile Gaming From GameApe.tw
legal/illegal downloads by country for the mobile game Pah!
When the subject of east and west is brought up, Hsu asks excitedly “do you know Pah?” Faced with a confused look, he explains that he is talking about a novel game that is played by voice. He brings up a table the creators released on individual countries’ payment/piracy rate based on its 90,000 users. The report (shown left) shows that Asian countries are at polar extremes. In 6th and 8th are Japan and Taiwan, respectively, higher than many countries in the west. At the bottom of the list are Malaysia, Russia, Macau, and China, the latter at a stunningly low 2.66% payment rate. “The Taiwanese are really willing to pay for their games. Others are not so much.” He bolsters his claim with data he’s culled from his MMORPG sister site and predecessor to GameApe, yatta.com.tw. “Taiwanese and Korean MMORPGs have an average revenue per user that is 3-4 times the cost to maintain a monthly subscription,” he says. “In many western countries, you do not tend to see the same Korean and Taiwan willingness to pay.”
Insight 4: The Issue With iTunes is GameApe’s Raison d’Etre
quote2 Feature Friday: Insights on Asian Mobile Gaming From GameApe.twGameApe exists simply because it solves several problems with iTunes.
  1. iTunes is in a bind with how honest it can be with regard to game quality. “iTunes is like a department store.What department store will admit they carry a dud product?” The reviews are instead carried out by users and are susceptible to publisher influence. He pulls up a top-100 game that has six 5-star ratings and two 4-star ratings in iTunes. “If I were a publisher, I could get 8 of my friends to do that. The honest reviews are the value added through GameApe.”
  2. The publisher also provides the information about the game. He points out an example of a game featuring screenshots of buxomly cartoon women but none of actual game content. “Of course they are only going to say it’s a great game in the description and choose the screenshots that will attract users.”
  3. outdoors Feature Friday: Insights on Asian Mobile Gaming From GameApe.tw“The Editor’s Picks for Taiwan are clearly not picked by or for Taiwanese people.” An app called “Apps for the Great Outdoors” scrolls through the Editor’s Picks window of the Taiwanese app store and I see what he means. The apps feature surf reports and animal tracking skills. As we sit in an office nine floors up, in the heart of an urban center (locales in which most Taiwanese live), I doubt we’ll be doing much surfing or tracking. He asks rhetorically, “where are the Mahjong games?”
As our conversation comes to a close, I peek at the office outside the meeting room. Grown men are at their desks, fingers dancing away as they test out mobile games on their iPads. In the days of Snake, the very thought of being paid to do this would have been preposterous. And yet, 13 years later, here we are with these men, tapping, tapping, tapping. For the masses, indeed.

This interview was conducted in Mandarin and translated into English

2011年11月15日 星期二

愛評網 VS Cyber Agent Ventures


  • 愛評網店家數為7.5萬家餐廳、不重複到訪人數每月500萬人,是全台美食第一大網站。至於獲利,愛評網2010年營收為新台幣3000萬元。(網路文章)

  • 【Inside】CyberAgent Ventures在台成立分公司,年底前花6000萬投資兩間網路公司

    數位時代網站|撰文者:Inside部落格發表日期:2011/10/26
    推文至Facebook 推文至騰訊微博 推文至新浪微博 推文至Plurk 推文至twitter
    CyberAgent  Ventures 這個名字也許大家真的很陌生,但是接下來台灣網路圈的朋友應該會越來越熟悉這家公司;他們在10月份正式成立公司,在之前,他們已經在台灣投資過宇峻奧汀、愛情公寓以及愛評網(100萬美金,占20%股份),在中國大陸則投資過 土豆網(影音網站)、機鋒網(Android討論社群)、五分鐘(Faceboom遊戲,開心農場)等知名服務,在日本則投資過日本的社群網站Mixi,母公司CyberAgent並與社群網站DeNA一同成立了一間智慧型手機網路公司,韓國的Kakao Talk等,詳細列表可以參考這裡,你可以發現除了日本、中國大陸、台灣、韓國外,投資對象還包含了越南以及印尼等地的網路公司。
    在10/18號,該公司在台灣進行了一場小型的開幕茶會,而根據事後的許多媒體報導,比如說Foucs Taiwan的這篇,台灣區的總經理Alice Fang表示:
    • 「在年底前計劃再投資兩間台灣網路公司,一間是入口網站(Internet Portal)」
    • 「投資金額則各為3,000萬台幣」
    • 「接下來計劃於大中華區花2,300萬美金於投資25家新創公司,主要是手機應用開發商」
    • 同篇報導也指出,iPeen在接受投資後,人力規模由30人擴增至70人,預期營收將從2010年的3,000萬台幣向上衝到2011年的9,000萬台幣,並將推出與Android相關的平板以及手機服務。
    在日本,CyberAgent Ventures 的母公司為CyberAgent,2011年預計營業額為1,100億日幣(約430億台幣)。
    • Ameba 社群網站(部落格、影音分享以及社群Pigg)
    • 網路媒體
    • 網路廣告代理
    • 投資育成(即CyberAgent Ventures)
    根據其六月底的公開資訊,Ameba的會員數有1,645萬人、一個月的造訪人次可到達2,691萬人,在日本排行第五(不過印象中好像Facebook 現在似乎已經追上?),根據下面這張圖,每個月的PV可以到達 268億。
    而Pigg則擁有820萬人會員,中國大陸的新浪看到其火熱的狀況,也山寨了一個稱之為「火星微」的類似社群網站
    每季Ameba的虛寶營收上看25億日幣,每月會員ARPU將近2,000塊日幣。 其餘廣告等事業都也都跟著Ameba的高流量,而水漲船高更多詳細資訊,可以參考本份PDF


    所以,大家可以開始猜年底是哪兩家公司要被CyberAgent投資了?