Wednesday, January 21, 2009

第44任美国总统奥巴马就职演说(中英全文)

亲爱的公民同胞们:

今天我站在这里,面对眼前的任务,深感卑微。感谢你们给予我的信任,我也清楚前辈们为这个国家所作的牺牲。我要感谢布什总统对国家的服务,感谢他在两届政府过渡期间给予的慷慨协作。

时至今日,已有44位美国总统宣誓就职。总统的宣誓有时面对的是国家的和平繁荣,有时面临的是狂风骤雨的紧张形势。在这种时刻,支持美国前进的不仅仅是领导人的能力和远见,更是美国人民对先驱者理想的坚定信仰,以及对美国建国宣言的忠诚。

过去是这样,我们这一代美国人也要如此。

我们都很清楚,我们正处于危机之中。我们的国家正在对触角广泛的暴力和仇恨网络宣战。国家的经济也受到了严重的削弱,这是一些人贪婪和不负责任的后果,但在做出艰难选择和准备迎接新时代方面,我们出现了集体性的失误。家园失去了;工作丢掉了;商业萧条了。我们的医疗卫生耗资巨大;我们的学校让许多人失望;每天都能找到更多的证据表明我们利用能源的方式使得对手更加强大,并且威胁到了我们整个星球。

这些,是从数据和统计中可以看到的危机信号。而更难以衡量但同样意义深远的是美国人自信心的丧失──现在一种认为美国衰落不可避免,我们的下一代必须降低期待的恐惧正在吞噬着我们的自信。

今天我要向你们说的是,我们面临的挑战是真实存在的。这些挑战很多,也很严重,它们不会轻易地或者在短时间内就得以克服。但记住这一点:美国终将渡过难关。

今天,我们聚集在这里,是因为我们选择了希望而不是恐惧,团结而不是冲突与争执。

今天,我们在这里宣布要为无谓的抱怨、不实的承诺和指责画上句号,我们要打破牵制美国政治发展的陈旧教条。

我们仍是一个年轻的国家,但借用《圣经》的话说,摒弃幼稚的时代已经来临。是时候重树我们坚韧的精神;选择我们更好的历史;弘扬那些珍贵的天赋和高尚的理念,并代代传承下去,即上帝赋予的信念:天下众生皆平等,众生皆自由,且均应有追求最大幸福的机会。

在重申我们国家伟大之处的同时,我们深知伟大从来不是上天赐予的,而是要靠我们努力争取。我们从不抄捷径,也不会退而求其次。我们的历程不属于那些胆怯懦弱、享受安逸或追逐名利之人。这条历程属于勇于承担风险者,属于实干家和创造者,他们中的一些人名留青史,但更多的人却在默默无闻地工作着。正是这些人带领我们走过了漫长崎岖的旅途,带领我们走向富强和自由。

为了我们,他们背起简单的行囊漂洋过海寻找新的生活;为了我们,先辈们忍辱负重,用血汗浇铸工厂;为了我们,他们在诸如(独立战争时的)康科德、(南北战争时的)葛底斯堡、(二战时的)诺曼底和(越南战争时的)溪山等地作战并献出生命。

一次又一次,我们的先辈们战斗着、牺牲着、操劳着,只为了给我们带来更美好的生活。在他们眼中,美国的强盛与伟大超越了个人雄心,也超越了个人的出身、贫富和派别差异。

我们仍在继续着这一历程。美国仍是世界上最繁荣、最强大的国家。危机的发生并未削弱我们工人的生产力,我们仍拥有善于创造发明的头脑,我们的商品和服务仍像上一周、一个月乃至一年前那样受到青睐。我们的能力并未被削弱。但是墨守成规、着眼小利、不肯做艰难决定的时代已经过去了。从今天开始,我们必须振奋起来,扫去心头阴霾,再次投入到重整国家的工作中来。

放眼望去,到处都有工作要做。国家的经济状况需要我们采取大胆迅速的行动,不光是为了创造新的就业,也是为增长奠定新的基础。我们将修建路桥、电网、数据线路,不仅仅是为了促进商业也是为了将我们紧密相连。我们将恢复科学应有的地位、并用科技的魔力提高医疗卫生水平、降低就医成本。我们将利用太阳、风以及大地所提供的能源来驱动汽车、开动工厂。我们将改造各级学校,让它们能适应新时代的要求。所有这一切我们都能做到。所有这一切我们都将做到。

现在,有人质疑我们的目标是不是太大了,他们说我们的系统无法承受过多的宏大计划。他们太健忘了。因为他们忘了这个国家曾经取得过怎样的成绩,他们已经忘了当想象力与共同目标以及必要的勇气结合到一起时,自由的人民所能发挥的能量。

这些怀疑论者不能理解美国正在发生的改变,曾长期耗费我们精力的陈腐政治争议已不被接受。如今我们提出的问题不是美国政府规模是太大还是太小,而是它是否发挥应用的作用、是否能帮助美国家庭找到收入理想的工作、可以担负得起的医疗服务和足够安度晚年的退休储蓄。如果答案是肯定的,那么我们要继续执行这些政策,如果答案是否定的,那么我们就结束这些政策。我们当中所有管理公共资金的人要负起责任,要精打细算、革除陋习,并确保我们的工作受到公众监督,唯有这样,人民与政府之间至关重要的信任才能得以恢复。

现在摆在我们面前的问题也并非市场究竟是股好的还是坏的力量。市场创造财富、提高自由度的力量无与伦比,然而当前危机提醒了我们,没有监管,市场可能成为脱缰之马,而且一个只追求繁荣的国家注定不能永葆荣华。一直以来,美国经济的成功并不仅仅依赖于国内生产总值的规模,还有我们经济繁荣所惠及的范围以及我们赋予每一个心怀渴望的人以机会的能力──这一点并非发自谁的慈悲之心,这是我们实现共同利益的最可靠途径。

至于共同防卫领域,我们拒绝在自身的安全与理想之间做出取舍的错误选择。我们的国父在面临着我们难以想像的困难之时还起草了宪法以保障法制与人权,世世代代的美国人用鲜血捍卫并丰富了这份宪法。它里面蕴含的信念至今仍光照世界,我们不能出于一时之便将它放弃。我想对今天正在观看这个仪式的百姓和官员说--不论他们身处最繁华的都市还是像我父亲出生地那样的小村落--他们应该知道,无论男女老幼,只要他们致力于寻求和平和有尊严的未来,美国就是他们的朋友,而且我们已准备好再次在这条道路上担当领导。

我们在此回忆先辈,他们战胜了法西斯主义和共产主义,靠的不只是导弹和坦克,更是靠坚定的盟友和不移的信念。他们明白仅凭武力不足以保护我们,也不能让我们为所欲为。相反,他们知道我们国家实力的增长源于我们对自己力量的谨慎使用,我们的安全源于所开展事业的正义、我们的榜样力量以及谦卑与克己品质的融合。

我们将信守这一传统。在这些原则的指导下,我们能够应对这些需要投入更多努力、更多国与国的合作及理解的崭新挑战。我们将开始负责任地从伊拉克撤军,并在阿富汗打造来之不易的和平。我们将与老友与宿敌一道竭力化解核武威胁,并遏制地球变暖趋势。我们不会为自己的生活方式道歉,我们会坚定不移地捍卫它,对于那些想靠恐怖主义和滥杀无辜来达到目的的人,我们会对他们说:现在我们的精神力量更加强大,坚不可摧,你们不可能战胜我们,我们注定会打败你们。

这是因为我们知道,大杂烩的传统是美国的力量所在,而非我们的弱点。我们国家是由基督徒、穆斯林、犹太人、印度教徒和无神论者组成。地球各个角落的语言和文化汇聚成了美国,正是因为我们曾品尝过南北战争和种族隔离的苦酒,并且在经历了这些黑色的篇章之后变得更加强大更加团结,因此我们毫不犹豫地相信旧日的仇恨终有一天会成为过去,种族的界线不久就会消失,而且随着世界变得越来越小,人类的共有品性将会自动显现。在引领一个和平新时代的到来方面,美国必须发挥自己的作用。

对穆斯林世界,我们正在共同利益和彼此尊重的基础上寻求一条新的前行道路。对全球那些想要播种冲突、将自己国家的问题怪罪于西方社会的领导人,你们应该知道你们的人民将根据你们建设什么而不是摧毁了什么来评价你们。对于那些通过腐败、欺骗、压制异见来统治的人,你们应该知道你们站在了历史的对立面。但是如果你们愿意放开紧攥的拳头,美国会向你们伸出手。

对贫困国家的人民,我们保证将和你们合作,让你们的农场丰收,让水源清洁,滋补饿坏的身体,滋养饥饿的心灵。对那些与我们一样相对富裕的国家,我们说,不能再对外界的苦难漠不关心,更不能毫无顾忌地消耗世界的资源。世界已经改变,我们也必须随之改变。

当我们审视前方的道路时,我们以谦卑感激的心想起那些勇敢的美国同胞,他们正在遥远的沙漠和偏僻的山岭上巡逻。今天,我们应该聆听他们的声音,这也是长眠于阿灵顿国家公墓的先烈们每时每刻都在提醒我们的。我们尊敬他们,不仅是因为他们捍卫了我们的自由,更因为他们代表着奉献精神;他们致力于寻找超越自身的生命真谛。而此时,在这个将界定一个时代的时刻,我们更需让这种精神长住我们心间。

因为即使政府尽最大努力,尽最大义务,这个国家最终仍得依靠每个美国人的信念和决心。这种力量是洪灾泛滥时,陌生人间的温情善举;是人们宁可裁减工时也要保全朋友工作共同度过经济最困难时期的无私忘我;这是消防员们毅然冲入浓烟火海的无畏勇气,也是父母培养孩子的无私之心,孩子最终决定我们的命运。

或许,我们今日面临着全新的挑战,我们迎接挑战的工具完全陌生。但是,我们赖以走向成功的价值观──勤劳、诚实、勇敢、公正、宽容、好奇、忠诚和爱国──从未改变。这些价值观是真实的。它们是推动我们历史进步的沉默的力量。我们所需的就是回归这些真实的价值。如今我们需要的是一个勇于负责的新时代。人人都需要认识到,我们对自己,对国家乃至整个世界,都负有责任。我们不会抱怨,而会欣然接受这份责任,坚信没有什么能比承担艰巨的任务更让人的精神充实,更能塑造我们的性格。

这是公民应尽的义务,应做的承诺。

这是我们信心的源泉──认识到上帝召唤我们对难以琢磨的命运进行塑造。

这是我们所崇尚的自由与信念的真谛──这就是为什么今天,不同肤色,不同信仰的男女老幼在这个大草坪上汇聚一堂;这就是为什么六十年前,一位黑人父亲走入餐厅甚至无人理睬,而今天他的儿子可以站在这里,在你们面前许下最庄严的誓言。

所以让我们铭记这一天,铭记我们的身份和我们走过的道路。在我们的国家诞生那一年,先辈们在最寒冷的日子里,围聚在结冰的河边靠微弱的篝火取暖。首都失守,敌军不断挺近,鲜血染红了白雪。就在革命的成果倍受质疑之时,我们的国父下令向人民宣读这样几句话:

“让这段话流传后世……当一切陷入寒冬,万物俱灭,只有希望和勇气可以长存……这座城市和这个国家,在共同的危机下团结起来,共同面对前方的艰难。”

这就是美国。面对我们共同的危机,在这艰难的寒冬,让我们牢记那些不朽的字句。怀着希望和勇气,让我们再一次冲破结冰的逆流,迎接任何可能来临的狂风骤雨。让我们的子孙传唱,当我们面对考验时,我们拒绝结束我们的旅程,我们没有回头,没有踟蹰不前。我们在上帝的关爱下眺望远方,我们带着自由这个伟大的礼物,将它安全地传递给未来的世世代代。(来源:华尔街日报)

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

业务流程管理(BPM)

业务流程管理(BPM)与其说是一项技术,还不如说是一门商业学科,要确保面向服务的架构(SOA)能够提供商业价值,它就必不可少。而且BPM对于那些需要应对类似《萨班斯-奥克斯利法》这些要求公司定义流程的法规的企业来说也很重要。因此,Gartner在其新近公布的“2008年十大战略性技术”中,业务流程管理名列其中。BPM在经历了数十年的发展后,如今,正悄然掀起一场流程管理的热潮。

通晓管理的人都知道,业务流程管理(Business Process Management,BPM)并不是一个新的管理思想。早在上个世纪初,法国管理学家亨利·法约尔就开创了管理过程学派,后经美国哈罗德·孔茨等管理学者的发展,成为现代管理理论的主流学派。管理过程学派研究的对象就是管理的过程和职能。

因此从20世纪80年代后期起,很多学者开始把企业流程管理放到一个更广泛的意义上来阐述。为了区别于生产管理课程中的“流程”概念,“业务流程”的说法开始流行。现在,“流程”的概念已经今非昔比,它几乎渗透到了管理的每一个环节。

BPR的低谷和BPM的产生

客观地说,业务流程最开始是以BPR(业务流程重组,Business Process Re-engineering)风靡全球的,但是风靡之后是大量失败的案例。1995年,BPR的创始人之一哈默在《华尔街日报》的一次访谈中承认了自己的错误: 70%的BPR项目不仅没有取得预期的成果,反而使事情变得更糟。1996年美国的“商业周刊”也发表了题为“重组循环”的质疑文章,世界范围内一度出现谈BPR色变的局面。

面对触目惊心的失败率,理论界和企业界痛定思痛,充分了解了导致BPR项目失败的原因并进行了认真分析总结,认为: 流程管理不仅是“重组”大拐弯,流程的持续改进更关键。在此思想影响下业务流程领域产生了其他新的概念和方法: 业务流程创新、业务流程优化、业务流程改进等。同时BPM技术是从早期的工作流管理、EAI、流程自动化、流程集成、流程建模、流程优化等技术中发展起来的,技术上兼收并蓄,内涵丰富,目前由于SOA的出现,BPM因而充实进了更丰富的内容。可以说现在的BPM是BPR、IT技术为了适应管理的需要融合进化而成,变得更有生命力。

BPM热潮的推动力

那么,为什么业务流程管理在今天又成为企业管理的焦点呢?

首先,对战略的重视转为对支持战略实现的流程的重视。

20世纪90年代,随着信息技术的广泛应用,以时间为基础的竞争模式成为企业管理关注的要点,正是对竞争认识的深化转为对流程的重视。关注时间的流程管理和提高效率的信息系统应用融为企业管理的组成部分。因此,关注时间和效率的企业流程被认定为一种企业资源,成为当今企业管理的焦点。

其次,面对席卷全球的信息化浪潮和日益激化的竞争市场,业务流程出现的问题愈加突出,直接导致企业无法快速适应当前市场和经营环境的变化,因此,企业必须通过更加高效的运作系统来不断提高自身的应变能力和适应能力,这其中BPM是最为重要和有效的方式之一。

第三,BPM的内涵日益丰富吸引了不同方面关注者的“眼球”,成为解决流程领域综合性问题的框架和思想。

BPM作为管理技术,是企业进行战略选址、设施规划、库存控制、运输优化和建立完善的管理体系的核心工具和方法。企业流程管理不仅是企业流程再造,而且成为最新的管理理论和模式的核心内容。

第四,ERP应用的发展日益凸现BPM的重要性,ERP方法逐渐科学化,BPM成为ERP实施成功的保障。

对于已经应用ERP系统的企业来说,ERP的应用要将信息技术融合为企业业务流程的组成部分。ERP必须与企业的流程管理现状相适应,必须有利于企业流程管理的提高。因此,ERP等软件不能与流程管理分离,BPM是企业成功实施ERP的基石。企业如果需要借助IT项目提高管理水平,进行相应的基本流程和组织结构的优化或重组,则必须实施BPM。

BPM发展趋势

BPM作为业务流程理论和工具的综合,它的发展已经经历了漫长的过程,它的未来则呈现诱人的前景。BPM的管理理论和方法从以有形的现场流水线管理发展为以无形信息为内容的业务流程管理,未来可以从三个方面概括它的趋势:

● 海纳百川,管理融合

与BPR理论同时出现的还有业务流程改善(BPI)、全面质量管理(TQM)、Six Sigma、流程变化管理等,这些理论可以被看成是防止BPR高风险的补充形式或风险弱化形式,以缓和渐进的方式从局部领域开始,逐级对流程资产进行优化。这些成熟的和最新的理论完善、充实了BPM理论体系,BPM的定义、它的操作方法、支持工具、适用范围正在得到全面的研究和发展。

● 套件化

BPM来源于工作流技术、系统集成、ERP等技术,目前它正在将工作流、应用集成、业务规则和绩效管理等复杂的应用环境逐渐聚集,形成BPM套件。BPM套件的优势是把人工工作流、应用集成、业务规则和绩效管理等应用环境的管理置于统一管理的平台之内,新一代集成BPM套件开始理清这种复杂的应用环境,为业务与IT协作提供新的对话平台。BPM套件是用于开发和运行管理业务流程软件的集成套件,用户无须整合来自不同厂商的不同技术就可以建模、部署和监测BPM系统。

目前,BPM套件的另一个新趋势就是与绩效管理结合起来,BPM产品的流程引擎通常以事件的形式报告某一数据和状态的快照,以便用于绩效管理。另外,通过将SOA技术和BPM的结合,简化BPM套件产品的处理机制、帮助IT人员更好地维护服务的策略,同时对SOA所连接到的系统产生更好可见度。

● 智能化

随着BPM应用的深入,BPM正在呈现出智能化的诱人前景。体现在业务规则的专家化、绩效监控和流程优化的智能化。

企业流程不仅是一个概念,已经成为一种知识。建立企业流程专家知识库,是指在软件开发过程中,实现业务流与程序流的分离,从而实现对大部分环境变化通过修改规则库或知识库即可满足,提高流程的柔性。BPM不是简单的IT项目和流程的规范,它更是知识的创造、扩散和应用过程,即知识管理过程,只有将BPM和知识管理结合起来,才能为企业创造巨大的价值。

业务流程可以通过分析业务流程执行期间捕捉到的一些关键度量来得到改进,在实际需要时将业务事件转换成业务流程和企业运作能够利用的形式付诸实施。为此,业务流程监控BAM (Business Activity Monitoring,BAM)解决方案应该能够识别在该环境中正在发生的事情,解释这种信息的意义,并决定对此如何行动。要识别重大事件需要一些高级的分析方法和业务规则系统,这些分析方法和业务规则系统应该能够在其他事件和企业运作历史的上下文环境中解释事件。这是一个自我调整的策略,当被应用到业务活动监控系统中时,将实现智能化的BPM。

BPM与精益管理

传统的精益管理思想为企业描绘了美好的蓝图,而BPM则为实现精益管理提供了绝佳的途径。

精益生产LP (Lean Production)的核心思想就是力求消除一切浪费,追求尽善尽美,称之为“世界级制造技术的核心”。精益生产方式的优越性不仅体现在生产制造系统,同样也上升到产品开发、协作配套、营销网络以及经营管理等各个方面,上升到精益管理,它将成为21世纪标准的全球企业管理体系。

业务流程管理的主旋律之一就是使最终产出(不管是实体产品还是无形服务)具有更好的一致性和稳定性,它更能适应按需生产的要求和消费理性提高对产品和服务的高水准要求。精益生产依托于制造流程,而业务流程管理依托于业务流程,从这个方面讲BPM追求的是业务流程的精益,精益管理和BPM追求的目标是一致的。

BPM实现流程精准化

精益生产采用准时生产、零库存、一个流生产及自动化等先进的生产管理手段,来提高企业的管理水平。BPM强调量化流程绩效目标,没有量化就没有精确。

一个业务流程好坏优劣的评定,不能只凭感觉和印象。流程的指标是考核流程绩效的客观度量,正是流程精准化的体现。最常用的流程指标是流程及业务活动的运行周期(Lead-time),即完成某一个流程或业务活动,需要的时间周期。如发货流程中的包装完好率和运输准时率等。

BPM实现卓越管理之目标

精益管理强调“非常准时”和“按需要生产”,它要求生产过程中各个环节衔接的准时化,没有不必要的物流停顿和库存,按用户的质量、数量和交货期要求进行生产。准时化生产通过对生产流程的物流和信息流的改善得以实现。顾客想要的是: 快速、正确、便宜和容易。精益管理的要求则是实现最快速度、准时准量、成本最优、服务最周到。同样BPM以卓越管理目标为中心,追求在产品质量、成本和服务方面的不断完善。

BPM和卓越管理有同样的追求,如最低的库存、最短的生产周期、最合理的资源利用、最高的生产率、最低的生产成本、准确的交货日期、最强的市场适应能力等等。在BPM的解决方案中这个卓越管理是可设计、可模拟、可测量的。BPM通过持续性的活动,不断改变,追求卓越。

但是经过精益改造的企业发现,精益生产是没有办法一步到位的,精益的改善是永无止境的。BPM虽然确立了卓越的、可衡量的流程目标,但它也是一个持续改进的闭环管理工作。

BPM是团队管理的高度体现

精益管理强调团队在管理中的作用,把员工的智慧和创造力视为企业的宝贵财富和未来发展的原动力; 精益管理的所有方法,最终要通过全体员工的工作和劳动来实现。小组工作法则是实现这一目标的组织基础。小组工作法的思想源于它对人在企业中作用的全新认识,小组工作法继承东方文化的中庸思想,即强调了每一个人的积极性和创造性,又强调团队精神,让职工更多地参与企业事务,培养职工对企业的忠诚,把职工利益和企业利益紧紧结合在一起,这是小组工作法取得成功的精神支柱。

BPM实现了从传统的面向职能管理转变为面向流程管理。新的企业观强调流程和整体,关键是让企业的员工能够树立流程的观点,并按企业流程来管理和运作企业。业务流程中每个角色在BPM完成后往往是原管理区域的优秀人员,他们将成为新项目、新流程线的核心。BPM通过生命周期各阶段,建立了对整个流程目标分析、标准化规范化设计、自动化和监控,实现对以流程为单位的团队考核,整个团队打破部门壁垒在流程整体利益上组成高效的企业细胞。

BPM实现客户至上的管理模式

精益管理认为企业为了保持和扩大市场份额,先要有相对稳定的销售渠道和客户,为了保证产品的质量和技术含量,必须有相对稳定的原材料和配套件以及协作件的供应商。企业同其销售代理、客户和供应商的关系,已不再简单地是业务往来对象,而是利益共享的合作伙伴关系,这是现代管理观念的重大转变。

BPM则通过将和客户直接相关的流程设为关键流程,并将成本、服务、质量、时间设为核心指标,部署相应的解决方案,实现客户至上的管理模式,把顾客利益和企业利益统一于企业目标,为真正实现以客户为中心的运营方式提供了可能。