Chapter 5
第五章
What is a Business
企業是什麼
The first conclusion to be drawn from the Sears story is that a business enterprise is created and managed by people. It is not managed by “forces”.
從西爾斯的故事中，我們得到的第一個結論是：企業是由人創造和管理的，而不是由“經濟力量”創造和管理的。
Economic forces set limits to what management can do.
經濟力量限制了管理者所能做的事情。
They create opportunities for management's action.
經濟力量創造了新機會，讓管理者能有所作為。
But they, by themselves, do not determine what a business is or what it does.
但是，經濟力量本身卻不能決定企業是什麼或做什麼。
Nothing could be sillier than the oft-repeated assertion that “management only adapts the business to the forces of the market”.
我們常聽到的說法“管理就是設法讓企業順應市場的力量”是無稽之談。
Management not only finds these “forces”; management creates them by its own action.
管理者不僅要發現這些“力量”，還要靠自己的行動，創造這股力量。
Just as it took a Julius Rosenwald fifty years ago to make Sears into a business enterprise, and a General Wood twenty-five years ago to change its basic nature and thus insure its growth and success during the depression and World War II, it will take somebody — and probably quite a few people — to make the decisions that will determine whether Sears is going to continue to prosper or will decline, whether it will survive or will eventually perish.
就像50年前，朱利葉斯·羅森沃爾德使西爾斯公司成為一家企業；就像25年前，伍德將軍改變西爾斯的根本體制，在經濟蕭條和第二次世界大戰期間，確保西爾斯仍然成長壯大；今天，西爾斯也必須仰仗某個人（或幾個人）的決策能力，來決定西爾斯的興衰存亡。
And that is true of every business.
而且，每一家企業都會面臨相同的考驗。
REFERENCE:
draw conclusion 得出結論Sears story 西爾斯的故事business enterprise 企業create 創造manage 管理economic forces 經濟力量set limits 限制，設限management 管理者opportunity 機會action 作為，行為determine 決定silly 愚蠢荒唐的oft-repeated 多次重複的assertion 斷言adapt 順應，適應market 市場not only 不僅just as 就像Julius Rosenwald 朱利葉斯·羅森沃爾德General Wood 伍德將軍change 改變basic nature 根本體制thus 因此insure 確保growth 成長success 成功during 期間depression 經濟蕭條World War II 第二次世界大戰probably 很可能decision 決策whether 是否continue 繼續prosper 繁榮decline 衰退survive 生存eventually 最終perish 滅亡本文內容來源參考書籍《管理的實踐》
The Practice of Management
Peter F. Drucker
* 本書為第一部從實際執行層面立論的管理學書籍，第一部兼顧管理現有企業和創新未來企業的著作