白领商务英语－经典案例7：Lexmark International

Organization, Teamwork, and Communication

Facing Business Challenges At Lexmark International

From IBM to Independence

How do you build a new, independent organization after years of control by a gigantic, global parent? That was the challenge facing top executives at Lexmark International. The original factory in Lexington, Kentucky, was a divi­sion of IBM, manufacturing electric typewriters renowned¹ for their durability² and useful features. In later years, af­ter IBM introduced the personal computer, the division also made keyboards and printers. Then IBM decided³ to get out of the typewriter and printer business. An invest­ment firm bought the division in 1991, along with the right to use the IBM name on its products until 1996.

The new company was called Lexmark, a combina­tion of lex (derived from lexicon⁴, a dictionary or a par­ticular vocabulary) and mark (from the idea of making a mark on paper, like a printer). A 32-year veteran of IBM, Marvin L. Mann was appointed CEO. In turn, he recruited other IBM executives to head production, research and development, human resources, and sales and marketing⁵. Together, they were responsible for planning the transi­tion from operating as one of many IBM divisions to op­erating as an independent company making $1.8 billion in sales to customers all over the world.

Lexmark started life with more than 5,000 employ­ees but soon slimmed down to 4,100 by offering payouts to people who agreed to leave the company voluntarily. The company inherited a well-trained and motivated work force from parent IBM, and it shared IBM's com­mitment to high quality and strict ethical⁶ standards. However, Mann wanted some things at Lexmark to be dif­ferent from the way they were under IBM. He was con­cerned that the new company would have a hard time putting creative ideas in motion if employees on the shop floor had to go through layers of management to talk with decision makers⁷ at the top. He also wanted to speed up decision making by avoiding the delays IBM experienced when managers from different departments challenged each other's proposals. Finally, he wanted Lexmark em­ployees to risk trying new things without fearing that they would be punished for failures.

Mann and his management team knew well that these changes wouldn't be easy¾altering the way em­ployees work together and even modifying the way ideas flow upward and downward. If the new company was to thrive on its own, managers and employees alike would have to forget the IBM way and build an entirely⁸ new or­ganization. How could Mann set up a structure that would unleash⁹ his employees' creativity and entrepre­neurial spirit? In what way could he arrange work tasks to manufacture printers more efficiently¹⁰? How could he streamline¹¹ Lexmark to allow the company to respond quickly to changes in customer needs and shifts in com­petitive pressures?

 

Meeting Business Challenges at Lexmark International

Marvin Mann knew that Lexmark's move from IBM to inde­pendence would require an entirely new organization structure. Under the IBM system, eight layers of management had sepa­rated assembly-line workers from top managers, and employees had to approach manager after manager to get the necessary ap­provals for changes or new projects. In addition, coming up with new products took 2 or 3 years from the time an idea was proposed (say, for a new printer) until the first printer rolled off the assembly line. Meanwhile, aggressive competitors like Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Canon, and Epson were moving quickly to bring out new printers packed with clever features that customers desired.

Mann started by reorganizing Lexmark according to product, creating four groups that each focused on a set of re­lated products. Next, Mann cut the number of management layers from eight to four. This action helped speed up com­munication and decision making throughout the company. Mann also abandoned the IBM method of studying and de­bating proposals for months before making decisions, giving more power to managers and employees at every level. "Our people have a lot more freedom to get things done than be­fore," he observes.

Instead of a rigid¹² hierarchical structure, Mann formed teams to tackle routine problems as well as special situations. For example, a team of assembly-line workers assumed com­plete responsibility for designing a more efficient production process for laser printers. When all members of the team were satisfied that the new process would work, they signed their names to the proposal¾and were given the authority to imple­ment the change.

Similarly, teams of people from manufacturing, finance, marketing, and other departments are totally responsible for designing and producing new products. Because the depart­ments coordinate¹³ their efforts from the start, they can get a new product to market in about half the time they needed under the IBM system. What's more, they've been able to double the number of products under development without adding more designers.

With these organizational changes in place, Lexmark was able to introduce an ambitious new-product program only months after leaving the IBM family. The company revamped its existing printers and came up with a new line of laser print­ers, which were praised by computer magazines for their sim­plicity, reliability¹⁴, and print quality. In addition, Lexmark re­cently became the first company to offer ink-jet printers with 1,200 dots-per-inch print quality. The new line of printers offers photographic quality printouts with 38 percent higher print density¹⁵ than the nearest competitor. Furthermore Lexmark workers (not managers) set and then achieved a goal of 100 per­cent accuracy in making and shipping¹⁶ the millions of items Lex­mark produces every year. As a result of these and many other initiatives, sales are strong, profit margins¹⁷ are increasing, man­ufacturing costs are down, and quality is up.

Lexmark has established itself as a technology leader on solid financial ground. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency even named the company its 1996 "Office Equipment Printer Partner of the Year:' No wonder Mann sees the "print­ing on the wall" for a bright future.

1 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

2 durability   

n.经久性，耐用性

参考例句：

• Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

10 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

11 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

12 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

13 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

14 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

15 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

16 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

17 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。