汽車行業又落下了一枚重磅炸彈——三菱汽車上周承認,25年來該公司一直在編造本土生產車輛的燃油效率數據。去年大眾爆出了“排放門”,2014年豐田就“踏板門”做出了賠償,高田公司安全氣囊缺陷引發的召回還在進行之中。證據表明,這些事件中都有一些人做出了不道德行為,知情者則更多,而且這些行為得到了默許,甚至可能是明確的認可。由此折射出的文化是,員工可以為了競爭力而不惜采取任何行動或者發表任何言論,就算這會打碎消費者的信心。然而,失去了消費者的信任后,銷售必然會直接受到沖擊。 1991年,面對擁擠的交通和停停走走的城市行車狀況,日本監管部門改變了衡量油耗的方法。三菱卻未按照新標準調整檢測措施。從那時起,該公司估算的燃油效率都一直偏高。受影響車輛的總數很難確定,但看來包括62.5萬輛近期開發的小型轎車(Dayz和Dayz Roox),其中大多數都是三菱為日產制造的貼牌車。 三菱表示油耗方面的錯誤并非故意,但外界很可能對此置若罔聞。很難想象該公司在這么長時間里能一直避開合規檢查,特別是在福特等其他汽車廠商在此期間都遭到過類似投訴的情況下。實際上,三菱在過去五年中曾五次上調Dayz的油耗目標,總的提升幅度超過10%。簡而言之,就算是無意而為,三菱也該發現這個問題了。 全面內部審查即將展開。豐田和日產的汽車銷售受到了沖擊。三菱首席執行官和首席運營官據說都準備辭職。股價幾乎腰斬。現在,美國環保署正在調查三菱是否也在美國說了謊。 那么,這對三菱的未來意味著什么呢?它還能復蘇嗎?三菱首先需要認識到,消費者、投資者和供應鏈合作伙伴(特別是日產)已經不再信任它,證據就是該公司市值的直線下墜。 成熟的消費者把信心定義為對某種不可見事物的信任或認可。他們相信,安全氣囊的作用是在事故中挽救他們的生命,絕不會因為發生器生銹而噴出金屬碎片,因為制造商知道這可能讓他們受傷甚至喪命。當他們為了升級為“清潔柴油車”而多付一筆錢的時候,他們相信廠商的話,也就是油耗又低,有害氣體排放又少。當他們購買新車時,他們相信汽車只會在他們想加速時才加速。但在上述這些案例中,消費者都信錯了人,這些問題也都直接影響到了銷售。 不光是汽車制造商,企業都要理解組織文化的重要性。允許眾多決策來削弱消費者的信任未必是文化薄弱的跡象,這也可能代表了強大但方向有誤的文化。文化凌駕于策略之上。他們需要對此予以糾正。 許多人都說,是競爭壓力或過度監管帶來的負擔讓企業文化變成了這樣。然而,消費者給予信任的程度以及他們在信錯了人之后原諒對方的速度也可能促成這種局面。從多個角度來說,相信看似可信的東西容易,忘記不可信的東西則較難。 在處理冷戰遺留問題方面,美國前總統羅納德?里根有句話很出名,叫做“doveryai no proveryai”。這是一句俄羅斯諺語,意思是信任,但要檢驗。今后,對于需要檢驗而且要有措施來保障檢驗的情況,消費者和監管部門都需要進行反思。同時,消費者還要決定把信任交給誰。這就是競爭和自由市場的偉大之處。辜負信任的一方則可以通過更好的產品、服務以及對社會負責的經營舉措重新贏得信任。回過頭來看,里根是對的。“誰人”樂隊也希望如此,因為他們曾唱道:“我們不會再被愚弄。”(財富中文網) 洛基?紐曼是俄亥俄州邁阿密大學牛津分校法默商學院教授。 譯者:Charlie 審校:詹妮 |
Another auto industry bombshell was dropped when Mitsubishi admitted last week that it had fudged fuel efficiency estimates on cars it had produced in Japan for the last 25 years. This comes after VW’s VLKAY -2.71% emissions scandal last year, Toyota’s settlements in 2014, and ongoing Takata TKTDY 3.13% airbag recalls. In all of these cases, evidence suggests that less-than-ethical steps were taken by multiple people with even broader knowledge and implicit—if not explicit—acceptance. This suggests a culture that allows employees to do or say whatever it takes to be competitive—even if it breaks faith with the consumer. But when consumers lose faith, it’s bound to directly impact sales. In 1991, regulators in Japan changed the way in which they measured mileage in the kind of urban, stop-and-go traffic consistent with driving in a crowded Japan, and Mitsubishi essentially failed to update its process to the new measurement standards. It’s been overestimating mileage projections ever since. The total number of cars affected will be difficult to determine, but it appears to be 625,000 recently developed small cars (Dayz and Dayz Roox), most of those made by Mitsubishi for Nissan NSANY -0.34% . Mitsubishi’s claims that the fuel efficiency errors were not intentional will likely fall on deaf ears. It is hard to imagine that the automaker could avoid compliance checks for so long, especially given that similar claims have been lodged against other carmakers, like Ford, during the same time period. In fact, Mitsubishi actually raised the mileage targets for the Dayz five times, totaling more than 10%, over the last five years. In short, if it didn’t know, it should have. A full internal audit is coming. Toyota TM -1.00% and Nissan car sales are taking a hit. Mitsubishi’s CEO and COO are said to be in the process of resigning. Stock prices are down almost half. Now the EPA is looking at whether the automaker cheated in the U.S., too. So looking ahead, what does this mean for Mitsubishi MMTOF -4.94% ? Can it bounce back? The company first needs to recognize that it has lost the trust of customers, investors, and supply-chain partners (especially Nissan), evident by the devastating drop in market capitalization. Consumers grow up defining faith as trust in or acceptance of something that can’t be seen. They take it on faith that an airbag designed to save them in an accident won’t have a rusting source of shrapnel that the manufacturer knew could hurt or kill them. When they pay a premium to upgrade to a “clean diesel,” they trust the manufacture’s claims that great mileage can be had with low emissions as well. When they buy a new car, they have faith that acceleration will only occur when they intend it to. But in all of these cases, their faith was misplaced, and it directly impacted sales. Companies—not just automakers—need to understand the significance of organizational culture. Allowing decisions that undermine consumer trust to proliferate is not necessarily a sign of a weak culture, but of strong—yet misguided—culture. Culture trumps strategy. They need to get it right. Many claim the pressure to compete or the burden of overregulation drives company cultures to this point. However, it could be enabled by how much consumers assume on faith and how quickly they forgive when that trust is misplaced. In many ways, it’s easier to trust what seems credible than to forget about what isn’t. When former president Ronald Reagan was dealing with the dismantling of the Cold War, he famously used an old Russian proverb, “doveryai no proveryai,” which means trust, but verify. Looking forward, consumers and regulators alike need to rethink circumstances that warrant verification and processes for ensuring it. But consumers get to choose where to place the faith. That’s the great thing about competition and a free market. Those who break the faith can earn it back with better products, services, and socially responsible business practices. In hindsight, Reagan was right. Hopefully so was rock band The Who, when they sang, “We won’t be fooled again.” Rocky Newman is a professor of Miami University’s Farmer School of Business in Oxford, Ohio. |