沒人強迫你加入亞馬遜 No one is forced to work in the Amazon jungle
It is sometimes cited as proof of Silicon Valley’s “no-holds” war for talent, but America’s technology heartland has evolved a working culture that is simultaneously relaxed and permissive.
硅谷已發展出一種輕鬆寬容的職場文化，它有時被援引爲這個美國科技中心 “不擇手段”爭搶人才的證據。
Famously, Google offers engineers the freedom to pursue their own projects for up to 20 per cent of their working time. Meanwhile, Netflix allows its staff the unheard-of-in-America privilege of unlimited vacations. The video streaming firm also hit the news earlier this month when it offered new parents fully-paid leave for a year after birth or adoption.
其中著名的是，谷歌(Google)允許工程師利用他們至多20%的工作時間來自由從事自己的項目。與此同時，Netflix給予其員工在美國聞所未聞的無限休假的特權。這家視頻流媒體公司還在本月初上了新聞頭條——它允許新晉爲父母的員工在生產或是領養孩子後享受一年的全薪休假。
It is an approach that seems designed to appeal to a particular type of individualist cum self-starter. Or, as the Harvard Business Review succinctly put it: “Only fully formed adults need apply.”
這種方式似乎旨在吸引特殊類型的個人以及積極主動型人才。或者，正如《哈佛商業評論》(Harvard Business Review)簡單說的那樣：“只有完全定型的成年人才應該適用。”
But dispensing vacation perks along with the air hockey tables is not the only way to run a tech company. A few hundred miles up the west coast in Seattle, a very different style prevails. Where Silicon Valley celebrates the laid-back culture of its pioneering 1960s and 1970s, Amazon has a flavour more evocative of ancient Sparta.
但給出特殊的休假福利並提供空氣曲棍球桌，並非是運營科技公司的唯一方式。在美國西海岸位於硅谷以北數百英里的西雅圖（亞馬遜(Amazon)總部所在地），一種截然不同的風格盛行。硅谷標榜自己開創性的上世紀六七十年代留下的輕鬆文化，但亞馬遜的風格更令人想起古代的斯巴達。
Criticisms of its approach are not new and were aired in Brad Stone’s 2013 book, The Everything Store. But they have now been given a fresh outing in a lengthy expose in the New York Times, citing scores of interviews with present and past employees.
對亞馬遜管理方式的批評並非首次出現，布拉德斯通(Brad Stone)在2013年的著作《一網打盡》(The Everything Store)中就提到過。但現在《紐約時報》(New York Times)在一篇長篇報道中援引對該公司現任及前任員工的數十次採訪，對其管理風格進行了全新的揭露。
People who do well are said to be those who thrive in an adversarial environment with constant friction. The online retailer’s founder, Jeff Bezos, apparently abhors what he calls “social cohesion”. He prefers the idea of his staff duking it out, using data and the power of argument. And according to the New York Times, employees are encouraged to report each other using a management tool designed to give anonymised feedback both to the individual criticised and their boss.
幹得好的員工據說是那些能在衝突不斷的對抗性環境中平步青雲的人。這家在線零售商的創始人傑夫貝索斯(Jeff Bezos)似乎憎惡自己口中的“社會凝聚力”。他喜歡讓員工以數據和辯論爲武器彼此爭鬥。根據《紐約時報》的報道，亞馬遜員工被鼓勵使用一個旨在向被批評員工及其老闆發送匿名反饋的管理工具互打報告。
Mr Bezos has given a measured response. While declaring the article “doesn’t describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with”, he also urges workers to come forward and contact him directly if they are aware of such practices. Given the gravity of some of the allegations, it leaves an equivocal impression; one he could have dispelled by promising to examine his own company records.
貝索斯做出了慎重的迴應。在宣稱該文“所描述的並非我瞭解的亞馬遜，亦非每天與我一起工作的有愛心的亞馬遜人”的同時，他還敦促員工如果知道此類做法，就可以提出來，並直接與他聯繫。鑑於其中一些指控非常嚴重，這種迴應給人一種模棱兩可的感覺；他本可以承諾檢查自己公司的記錄來消除這種感覺。
There is, of course, no excuse for unfair treatment. But when it comes to Amazon’s overall style, it is less clear what Mr Bezos has to justify. Amazon’s employees are not slaves. Many of its managers and engineers are highly employable elsewhere. Nor has its approach damaged the retailer. Now valued at $250bn, the 21-year-old company recently overtook Walmart as the world’s biggest general retailing group. It does not obviously lack for computing or management talent. Indeed it is constructing an enormous campus in Seattle where it plans to bring tens of thousands of them in one place.
當然，任何藉口都不能用來進行不公平的待遇。但就亞馬遜的整體風格而言，看不出有什麼是貝索斯必須證明合理的。亞馬遜的員工並非奴隸。它的許多經理和工程師在其他地方很容易找到工作。這種管理風格也沒有對這家零售商造成傷害。現在這家成立21年之久的公司的市值爲2500億美元，最近超過沃爾瑪(Walmart)，成爲全球最大的綜合類零售集團。它看起來並不急缺計算或管理人才。實際上，該公司正在西雅圖修建一座龐大的園區，計劃將數萬人才匯聚在一起。
People often see the tech world as in some way unique. But there is no reason that it requires a management approach any more homogenised than industries that flourished before the world wide web. Not every investment bank has the work ethic of Goldman Sachs, nor management consultancy the culture of a McKinsey. Employees do not just work for a company because its bosses smile. They do so because they believe in its business model, or think they will derive fulfilment from sharing in its success.
人們通常認爲科技世界在某種程度上是獨特的，但沒有理由要求該行業擁有比在萬維網出現之前蓬勃發展的行業更爲同質化的管理方式。並非每家投行都有高盛(Goldman Sachs)的職業準則，並非每家管理諮詢公司都有麥肯錫(McKinsey)的文化。僱員不會僅僅因爲老闆微笑就爲一家公司工作。他們爲公司工作是因爲他們相信其業務模式，或者認爲他們將從分享該公司的成功中獲得成就感。
Mr Bezos is at the hard-nosed end of US entrepreneurship. But until there is further evidence that his approach is deterring vital staff from joining Amazon, or driving customers to competitors, he is unlikely to change — and there seems little reason why he should.
貝索斯屬於美國創業家中的強硬派。但在有進一步的證據表明，他的做法嚇阻了關鍵員工加入亞馬遜，或者促使客戶轉向競爭對手之前，他不太可能做出改變——他似乎也沒有應該改變的理由。
