惠普拆分的利弊與潛在風險

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.

週一，惠普（Hewlett-Packard）宣佈將拆分成兩家上市公司：惠普企業公司（Hewlett-Packard Enterprise）與惠普公司（HP Inc）。此舉有潛在的好處，但也會帶來許多問題。

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.

公司規模過於龐大，會造成管理困難，這將對社會造成不利影響。今年早些時候，美國聯邦存款保險公司（FDIC）副董事長湯姆o霍尼格告訴我，他依然擔心美國最大的銀行仍過於龐大，危機重重。但太大的公司對社會造成的傷害，並不限於金融服務性公司，也不只是正常的反壟斷定價方面的問題。

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權力在政治領域支配民衆，或恣意控制個人數據與隱私，這樣的公司對於社會是危險的。此外，大公司也會造成其他危害，因爲他們的董事會與高層的生活圈子與員工截然不同，因此，對於普通員工每天的努力，他們缺少同理心，而這會成爲一種令人遺憾的趨勢。董事會開始認爲員工只是可供他們“開採”的資源，而不是與他們一樣的人，結果整個社會因此受到損害。

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）近期的一系列報道中，梅根o麥克阿德聲稱，提高員工薪酬的好處並沒有想象的那麼多。令人震驚的是，麥克阿德竟然忘記了，食不果腹和居無定所帶來的壓力會降低員工的積極性和工作效率，並且會造成更高的員工流失率。她也沒有考慮提高最低收入員工的工資，所帶來的更廣泛的經濟倍增效果。此外，麥克阿德提出了一條有趣的論據，她認爲In-N-Out漢堡（In-N-Out Burger）的員工得到的待遇優於麥當勞（McDonald’s），與公司的規模有很大關係。我不確定她的說法是否正確，但可以確定的一點是，更小的公司能夠給高層管理者提供瞭解員工日常生活的機會；上下級之間的親近關係，使得公司更難不近人情地對待員工，雖然這樣的情況不可能完全消除。

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.

惠普拆分後的兩家新公司，可能仍無法具備現任CEO梅格o惠特曼所希望的靈敏性，或者我們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確的方向前進。

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.

儘管如此，兩家新公司的治理結構方案卻非常荒謬。現任惠普首席董事陸思博被任命爲惠普企業公司董事長，該公司將專注從事服務器、存儲與網絡業務。惠特曼將擔任惠普企業公司的CEO。而在令惠普損失慘重的Autonomy收購案中，陸思博與惠特曼作爲董事會成員，均需要對當初的收購決定負責。當時，董事會的決定曾遭到惠普CFO（首席財務官）凱西o萊斯傑克的反對。惠普宣佈，萊斯傑克將擔任惠普企業公司的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?

除了擔任惠普企業公司的CEO外，惠特曼還將出任拆分後的新惠普公司董事長，該公司將專注從事個人電腦與打印機業務。這一決定毫無意義。讓老上司盯着新任CEO（迪昂o維斯勒將出任新惠普公司的CEO），沒有任何好處。難道新成立的惠普企業公司還不足以讓惠特曼忙得不可開交嗎？

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?

此次拆分帶來了許多問題。惠普最近同意實施“代理參與”(proxy access)，即允許股東提名將參與公司投票的董事人選。如今，“代理參與”能否應用於兩家新公司？

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?

惠特曼的薪酬是否會有所變化？她目前的薪酬是否會由維斯勒與惠特曼平分？畢竟，現在的惠普將分成兩個人管理。公司的新薪酬計劃是否會讓惠特曼從公司股票的短期上漲中獲益，即使她並未創造出自己所承諾的長期價值？或者，薪酬計劃將要求兩位CEO對長期成果負責？

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.

如果董事會能夠解決公司的治理缺陷和潛在的失誤，此次拆分將給惠普帶來積極效果。從惠特曼手中剝離一半業務，從深層意義上而言，也可能意味着董事會對她的長期信心不足。如果是這樣，未來公司必將有更多變化。

Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (), 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.

本文作者愛麗諾o布洛斯罕是獨立董事會培訓諮詢機構價值聯盟和公司治理聯盟（The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance）的首席執行官。她於1999年創辦該機構。她從2010年10月起成爲《財富》雜誌定期供稿人，並著有兩本有關價值評估與治理的著作。