浅析非财务指标在公司绩效评价体系中的应用(Stimulating-Innovation)-外文翻译.doc

第一章 创造与创新通常而言，创造（Creativity）是指以独特的方式综合各种思想或在各种思想之间建立起独特的联系这样一种能力。能激发创造力的组织，可以不断地开发出做事的新方式以及解决问题的新办法。创新（Innovation）则是指形成一种创造性思想并将其转换为有用的产品、服务或作业方法的过程。也即，富有创新力的组织能够不断地将创造性思想转变为某种有用的结果。当管理者说到要将组织变革成更富有创造性的时候，他们通常指的就是要激发创新。我们可以贴切地指导3M公司看作是富有创新力的组织，因为它能产生新颖的思想并转换成盈利的产品，如玻璃纸带、防刮保护涂料、不干胶纸贴和带有松紧的一次性尿布等。同样，取得辉煌成功的计算机芯片制造商英特尔公司也是这种组织，它在芯片微型化方面领先于所有的制造商。奔腾和奔腾的开发成功，使该公司占有了与IBM兼容的个人计算机微处理器市场的75%份额。以50亿美元的年销售收入作为支撑，该公司每年投入12亿美元用于厂房和设备，8亿美元用于研究开发，从而保证有新的、更有力的产品源源推出，使公司保持竞争的领先地位。第二章 促进创新的因素有三类因素可用来激发组织的创新力。它们就是组织的结构、文化和人力资源实践。2.1促进创新的结构因素 根据大量的研究，我们可以总结出有关结构因素对创新作用的三个结论：（1）有机式结构对创新有正面的影响。因为其纵向变异、正规化和集权化程度低，有机式结构可以提高组织的灵活性、应变力和跨职能工作能力，从而使创新更易于得到采纳。（2）拥有富足的资源为创新提供另一重要的基石。组织资源充裕。（3）单位间密切的沟通有利于克服创新的潜在障碍。像委员会、任务小组及其他这类机制都可促进部门之间的相互交流，从而得到创新成功组织的广泛采用。例如，3M就是高度分权化的、拥有小型有机式组织的大部分特征。这家公司还有一个“大口袋”，用以支持其鼓励科学家和工程人员将15%以上的时间用于他们自己选择的开发项目的政策。2.2促进创新的文化因素 富有创新力的组织，通常具有某种共同的文化，他们鼓励试验，赞赏失败，不论成功还是失败都给予奖励，等等。充满创新精神的组织文化通常有如下的七个特征：（1）接受模棱两可。过于强调目的性和专一性会限制人的创造性。（2）容忍不切实际。组织不抑制员工对“如果就”这样的问题作出不切实际的、甚至是愚蠢的回答。乍看起来似乎是不可行的，但往往可能带问题的创新性解决。所以我们应该容忍不切实际的行为。（3）外部控制少。组织将规则、条例、政策这类的控制减少到最低限度。（4）接受风险。组织鼓励员工大胆试验，不用担心可能失败的后果。错误衩看用能提供学习的机会。（5）容忍冲突。组织鼓励不同的意见。个人或单位之间的一致和认同并不意味看能实现很高的经营绩效。（6）注重结果甚于手段。提出明确的目标以后，个人被鼓励积极探索实现目标的各种可行途径。注重结果意味着，对于任一给定的问题，可能存在若干种正确的解决办法。（7）强调开放系统。组织时刻监控环境的变化并随时作出快速的反应。2.3促进创新的人力资源因素 在人力资源这一类因素中，我们发现有创造力的组织的积极地对其员工开展培训和发展，以使其保持知识的更新。同时，它们还给员工提供高工作保障，以减少他们担心因犯错误而遭解雇的顾虑。组织也鼓励员工成为革新能手。一旦产生新思想，革新能手们会主动而热情地将思想予以深化、提供支持并克服阻力，以确保创新得到推行。最爱有项研究表明，革新能手们有一种共同的个性特征：高度自信、有持久力、精力旺盛、敢干冒险。革新能手们也显示出与动态式领导相似的特征。如他们会以其对创新成功的潜在可能的认识，以及他们个人对其使命的坚信不移来激励和鞭策他人，并善于从他人处争取支持的力量。另外，创新能手们一般拥有提供相当大决策自主权的职位，这使得他们能在组织中引入并推行所提倡的创新。注：图标、致谢及参考文献已略去（见原文）附：Stimulating InnovationAbstract “Innovate or die!” These harsh words are increasingly becoming the rallying cry of todays managers . In the dynamic world of global competition , organizations must create new products and services and adopt state-of-the-art technology if they are to compete successfully. The standard of innovation toward which many organizations strive is that achieved by such companies as DuPont , Sharp, Eastman Chemical, and the 3M company . Management at 3M ,for example ,has developed a reputation for being able to stimulate innovation aver a ling period of time . One of its stated objectives is that 25 percent of each divisions profits are to come from products less than five yeas old . Toward that end , 3M typically launches more than 200 new products each year . During one recent five-year period , 3M generated better than 30 percent of its $13 billion in revenues from products introduced during that period . Whats the secret to 3Ms success ? What , if anything ,can other managers do to make their organizations more innovative? We will try to answer those questions as we discuss the factors behind innovation.Keywords: Create; Innovation; Inspire; SuccessHOW ARE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION RELATED? In general usage, creativity means the ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to make unusual associations between ideas. An organization that stimulates creativity develops novel approaches to things or unique solutions to problems. Innovation is the process of taking a creative idea and turning it into a useful product ,service, or method of operation. custom Foot, The innovative organization is characterized by the ability to channel its creative juices into useful outcomes . When managers talk about changing an organization to make it more creative , they usually mean that they want to stimulate innovation . The 3M Company is aptly described as innovative because it has taken novel ideas and turned them into profitable products such as cellophane tape , Scotchgard protective coatings , Post-It notepads ,and diapers with elastic waistbands . So , too , is the highly successful microchip manufacturers in miniaturization ,and the success of its Pentium and chips gives the company a 75 percent share of the microprocessor market for IBM-compatible PCs .Whit $5 billion a year in sales , Intels commitment to staying ahead of the competition by introducing a stream of new and more powerful products is supported by annual expenditures of $1.2 billion for its plant and equipment and $800 million for research and development.HOW CAN A MANAGER FOSTER INNOVATION? Three sets of variables have been found to stimulate innovation . They pertain to the organizations structure , culture, human resource practices. How do structural variables affect innovation ? On the basis of extensive research , we can make three statements regarding the effect of structural variables on innovation . First , organic structures positively influence innovation because they have less work specialization and fewer rules and are more decentralized than mechanistic structures . They facilitate the flexibility , adaptation ,and cross-fertilization that make the adoption of innovations easier . Second ,easy availability of plentiful resources is a key building block for innovation . An abundance of resources allows management to purchase innovations , bear the cost of instituting innovations , and absorb failures .Finally , frequent interunit communication helps to break down possible barriers to innovations , by facilitating interaction across departmental lines . 3M, for instance , is highly decentralized and takes on many of the characteristics of small , organic organizations . The company also has the deep pockets needed to support its policy of allowing scientists and engineers to use up to 15 percent of their time on projects of their own choosing. How does an organizations culture affect innovation? Innovative organizations tend to have similar cultures. They encourage experimentation . They reward both successes and failures .They celebrate mistakes. An innovative culture is likely to have the following seven characteristics:(1)Acceptance of ambiguity Too much emphasis on objectivity and specificity constrains creativity.(2)Tolerance of the impractical Individuals who offer impractical, even foolish , answers to what-if questions are not stifled .What seems impractical at first might lead to innovative solutions.(3)Low external controls Rules , regulations , policies , and similar controls are kept to a minimum.(4)Tolerance of risk Employees are encourages to experiment without fear of consequences should they fail . Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities.(5)Tolerance of conflict Diversity of opinions encouraged . Harmony and agreement between individuals or units are not assumed to be evidence of high performance.(6)Focus on ends rather than on means Goals are made clear, and individuals are encouraged to consider alternative routes toward their attainment. Focusing on ends suggests that there might be several right answers to any given problem.(7)Open systems focus The organization closely monitors the environment and responds rapidly to changes as they occur.What human resource variables affect innovation? Within the human resources category, we find that innovative organizations actively promote the training and development of their members so that their knowledge remains current , offer their employees high job security to reduce the fear of getting fired for making mistakes , and encourage individuals to become champions of change. Once a new idea is developed , champions of change actively and enthusiastically promote the idea , build support , overcome resistance, and ensure that the innovation is implemented . Research finds that champions have common personality characteristics: extremely high self-confidence, persistence, energy, and a tendency to take risks. Champions also display characteristics associated with dynamic leadership. They inspire and energize others with their vision of the potential of an innovation and through their strong personal conviction in their mission. In addition, champions have jobs that provide considerable decision-making discretion. This autonomy helps them introduce and implement innovations.