2026年1月15日 星期四

彼得·德魯克並沒有廣泛使用「精英統治」(meritocracy)這個術語(這個術語是在其他語境下普及的......)Deming Philosophy and "Five Lies Our Culture Tells By David Brooks} 兩翻譯版本可比較:紐約時報 v.s Google 翻譯。大西洋月刊: 精英制度Meritocracy讓生活變成了一場永無止境、令人痛苦的競爭。這個制度已經不再對任何人有益了

 

人工智慧概述


彼得·德魯克並沒有廣泛使用「精英統治」(meritocracy)這個術語(這個術語是在其他語境下普及的),但他的管理理念與精英統治的核心原則高度契合,強調才能、績效和個人責任,而非等級制度或社會地位。


與菁英統治原則的關鍵契合點


德魯克的思想本質上支持一種基於個人能力和貢獻的晉升體系。


尊重員工:他認為員工是資產而非負債,公司應該是一個建立在信任和尊重基礎上的社群,這意味著重視員工的工作成果而非其背景。


目標管理(MBO):德魯克的目標管理理念成為績效管理的基石,它要求上下級共同決定目標,並根據預期結果明確職責。這明確地關注個人的成就。


個人對職涯管理的責任:在「後資本主義主管」時代,德魯克強調,隨著傳統企業「階梯式晉升」模式的消失,個人必須承擔起管理自身職涯和了解自身的責任。


專注於效能和貢獻:德魯克強調效能而非效率,專注於「做正確的事」來服務客戶並平衡各種需求,這需要個人無論其正式職位如何都能做出有意義的貢獻。


文化重於策略:重視人才並允許員工根據能力晉升的文化是組織成功的關鍵要素,這一理念常與德魯克的名言「文化可以把策略當早餐吃掉」聯繫在一起。


潛在的細微差別和考量


德魯克在支持擇優錄用理念的同時,也採取了整體性的方法,認識到「唯才是舉」體系之外的複雜性。


菁英管理的弔詭:現代關於菁英管理的研究揭示了一個潛在的悖論:那些明確標榜自己是菁英管理的公司,實際上可能表現出更大的偏見,因為員工往往認為自己已經做到了公正。德魯克意識到需要持續自我評估以避免偏見。


可教的謙遜:基於德魯克的思想,對一種可行的精英管理模式的解讀認為,領導者需要具備“可教的謙遜”,即樂於接受新思想並不斷學習,這有助於防止有時與僵化精英階層相關的傲慢自大。


超越智力:德魯克的著作表明,精英不僅僅包含智力或技術技能;它還包括同理心、品格以及為共同目標而協作的能力等「素質」。

Peter Drucker did not extensively use the specific term "meritocracy," which was popularized in a different context, but his management philosophy strongly aligns with its core principles, emphasizing 
talent, performance, and individual responsibility over hierarchy or social status. 
Key Alignment with Meritocratic Principles
Drucker's ideas inherently support a system where individuals rise based on their abilities and contributions. 
  • Respect for the Worker: He believed employees were assets, not liabilities, and that a corporation should be a community based on trust and respect, which implies valuing individuals for their work rather than their background.
  • Management by Objectives (MBO): Drucker's concept of MBO, which became a cornerstone of performance management, required superiors and subordinates to jointly identify common goals and define responsibilities based on expected results. This focuses explicitly on what a person accomplishes.
  • Individual Responsibility for Career Management: In the "post-capitalist executive" era, Drucker stressed that individuals must take responsibility for managing their own careers and knowing themselves, as traditional corporate "stepladders" disappeared.
  • Focus on Effectiveness and Contribution: Drucker emphasized effectiveness over efficiency, focusing on "doing the right things" to serve customers and balance various needs, which requires individuals who can make meaningful contributions regardless of formal position.
  • Culture over Strategy: A culture that values talent and allows people to rise based on ability is a key element for success in an organization, a concept often associated with Drucker's famous quote, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". 
Potential Nuances and Considerations
While supporting the ideals of merit, Drucker's approach was holistic and recognized the complexities beyond a simple "merit-only" system. 
  • The Paradox of Meritocracy: Modern studies on meritocracy have highlighted a potential paradox: companies that explicitly label themselves as meritocratic may actually exhibit more bias because individuals believe they are already impartial. Drucker was aware of the need for continuous self-assessment to avoid bias.
  • Teachable Humility: One interpretation of a workable meritocracy, building on Drucker's ideas, suggests the need for "teachable humility" in leaders, a willingness to be open to new ideas and constant learning, which guards against the arrogance sometimes associated with a rigid elite.
  • Beyond Just Brains: Drucker's work implies that merit involves more than just intelligence or technical skill; it includes "competencies" like empathy, character, and the ability to work collaboratively towards a common purpose. 



Deming Philosophy and "Five Lies Our Culture Tells By David Brooks} 兩翻譯版本可比較:紐約時報 v.s Google 翻譯。大西洋月刊: 精英制度Meritocracy讓生活變成了一場永無止境、令人痛苦的競爭。這個制度已經不再對任何人有益了。


Meritocracy has made life an endless, terrible competition, Daniel Markovits wrote in 2019. The system is no longer serving anyone well.
https://theatln.tc/0WStj6yL
丹尼爾·馬爾科維茨在2019年寫道,精英制度讓生活變成了一場永無止境、令人痛苦的競爭。這個制度已經不再對任何人有益了。 https://theatln.tc/0WStj6yL

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 美國文化的五大謊言  Five Lies Our Culture Tells By David Brooks

美國文化的五大謊言


四年前,奧巴馬擔任總統期間,我出版了一本名為《品格之路》(The Road to Character)的書。當時美國文化狀態似乎不錯,我關注的是個人如何深入自己的內心生活。特朗普擔任總統期間,我在這個星期又出版了一本書,《第二座山》( The Second Mountain)。很明顯,這段時間情況不是很好,我們的問題是社會問題。整個國家正在經歷某種精神和情感危機。

大學裡的精神健康機構人滿為患,自殺率飆升,數千萬美國人容忍甚至讚美總統令人厭惡的行為。問題的根源在於:我們創造了一種基於謊言的文化。

下面是其中一些:

事業上的成功令人滿足。這是我們強加給年輕人的謊言。在他們年輕的時候,我們把他們當中地位最優越的人塞進大學錄取程序,把成就和地位焦慮置於他們生活的中心。廣告裡那句伴隨終生的格言開始了——如果你成功了,生活會很美好。

每個真正嚐到成功滋味的人都能告訴你,這不是真的。我記得我第一本書的編輯打電話告訴我,這本書進入暢銷書排行榜時。我……什麼感覺也沒有。那是身外之事。

事實是,如果你覺得自己是失敗者,成功可以讓你從羞愧中解脫出來,但事業上的成功本身並不能帶來積極平和或成就感。如果你讓生活圍繞著成功展開,那麼你的野心總會同你的成就競爭,讓你感到焦慮和不滿。

我可以自己讓自己快樂起來。這是關於自足的謊言。它謊稱幸福是一項個人成就。要是能再贏一把,減掉15磅,或者在冥想方面做得更好,那我就幸福了。

但人們在臨終時對自己生活的回顧告訴我們,幸福是在充滿愛的親密關係中找到的。它通過克服自足,建立起一種相互依賴的狀態。它存在於關懷的給予和接納中。

親密關係是人生的意義這種話說起來容易,但很難做到。其他人的複雜性是很難看清的。進行發自內心的深入交流,而不是膚淺的溝通,是件難事。很難停止表演!沒有人教過我們這些技能。

人生是一段一個人的旅程。這是蘇斯博士(Dr. Seuss)的《哦,你要去的地方》(Oh, the Places You'll Go)這樣的書講述的謊言。成年後,所有人都在做自己的旅行,積累一些經驗,經驗最多的人會勝出。這個謊言鼓勵人們相信,自由是沒有約束的。要獨立。保持流動性。保留所有選項的可能性。

事實上,生活得最好的人會束縛自己。他們不會問:接下來我能做什麼很酷的事情?他們會問:我在這裡的責任是什麼?他們會對一些問題做出反應,或者因為一種深沉的愛召喚他們真正的自我。

通過在一個社區、一個組織或一個使命中紮根,他們贏得了信任。他們擁有帶來的持續改變的自由。我們選擇的枷鎖讓我們獲得自由。

你必須自己找尋真理。這是對意義的私有化。學校或社會沒有義務去教授一套一致的道德價值觀。每個人都選擇自己的價值觀。用你自己的方式來回答生活中的終極問題吧!做你自己!

問題是,除非你是亞里士多德,否則你可能做不到。我們中的大多數人最終會有一些模糊的道德感受,但沒有道德明確性或目標感。

現實是,價值觀是由強大、自信的社區和機構創造和傳遞的。人們通過服從社區和機構,並參與其中的對話來塑造自己的價值觀。這是一個群體過程。

比起窮人和不那麼成功的人,富人和成功人士更有價值。我們假裝自己沒有說這個謊,但我們的整個唯才體制都指向了這一點。事實上,唯才體制當中包含著一堆謊言。

它傳達的訊息是,你的成就決定你的一切。唯才體制的虛假承諾是,你可以通過依附知名品牌來贏得尊嚴。唯才體制的情感是有條件的愛——如果你表現出色,人們就會愛你。
唯才體制的社會學認為,社會是圍繞著一組內部小圈子組織起來的,內部是有成就的人,外部是其他人。唯才體制的人類學認為,你不是一個需要拯救的靈魂,而是一組需要最大化的技能。

難怪今天做年輕人這麼難。難怪我們的社會正在分裂。我們接受了超個人主義的謊言,並將它們作為不言而喻的假設,讓它們支配我們的生活。

我們大談政治革命的必要。但更重要的是文化革命。


戴維·布魯克斯(David Brooks)自2003年起擔任《紐約時報》專欄作者。他是《品格之路》(The Road to Character)一書的作者,即將推出新書《第二座山》(The Second Mountain)。

翻譯:晉其角

Five Lies Our Culture Tells

The cultural roots of our political problems.
David Brooks
Opinion Columnist





  • Four years ago, in the midst of the Obama presidency, I published a book called “The Road to Character.” American culture seemed to be in decent shape and my focus was on how individuals can deepen their inner lives. This week, in the midst of the Trump presidency, I’ve got another book, “The Second Mountain.” It’s become clear in the interim that things are not in good shape, that our problems are societal. The whole country is going through some sort of spiritual and emotional crisis.

    College mental health facilities are swamped, suicide rates are spiking, the president’s repulsive behavior is tolerated or even celebrated by tens of millions of Americans. At the root of it all is the following problem: We’ve created a culture based on lies.

    Here are some of them:

    Career success is fulfilling. This is the lie we foist on the young. In their tender years we put the most privileged of them inside a college admissions process that puts achievement and status anxiety at the center of their lives. That begins advertising’s lifelong mantra — if you make it, life will be good.

    Everybody who has actually tasted success can tell you that’s not true. I remember when the editor of my first book called to tell me it had made the best-seller list. It felt like … nothing. It was external to me.


    The truth is, success spares you from the shame you might experience if you feel yourself a failure, but career success alone does not provide positive peace or fulfillment. If you build your life around it, your ambitions will always race out in front of what you’ve achieved, leaving you anxious and dissatisfied.

    I can make myself happy. This is the lie of self-sufficiency. This is the lie that happiness is an individual accomplishment. If I can have just one more victory, lose 15 pounds or get better at meditation, then I will be happy.


    But people looking back on their lives from their deathbeds tell us that happiness is found amid thick and loving relationships. It is found by defeating self-sufficiency for a state of mutual dependence. It is found in the giving and receiving of care.

    It’s easy to say you live for relationships, but it’s very hard to do. It’s hard to see other people in all their complexity. It’s hard to communicate from your depths, not your shallows. It’s hard to stop performing! No one teaches us these skills.

    Life is an individual journey. This is the lie books like Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” tell. In adulthood, each person goes on a personal trip and racks up a bunch of experiences, and whoever has the most experiences wins. This lie encourages people to believe freedom is the absence of restraint. Be unattached. Stay on the move. Keep your options open.


    In reality, the people who live best tie themselves down. They don’t ask: What cool thing can I do next? They ask: What is my responsibility here? They respond to some problem or get called out of themselves by a deep love.

    By planting themselves in one neighborhood, one organization or one mission, they earn trust. They have the freedom to make a lasting difference. It’s the chains we choose that set us free.

    You have to find your own truth. This is the privatization of meaning. It’s not up to the schools to teach a coherent set of moral values, or a society. Everybody chooses his or her own values. Come up with your own answers to life’s ultimate questions! You do you!

    The problem is that unless your name is Aristotle, you probably can’t do it. Most of us wind up with a few vague moral feelings but no moral clarity or sense of purpose.

    The reality is that values are created and passed down by strong, self-confident communities and institutions. People absorb their values by submitting to communities and institutions and taking part in the conversations that take place within them. It’s a group process.

    Rich and successful people are worth more than poorer and less successful people. We pretend we don’t tell this lie, but our whole meritocracy points to it. In fact, the meritocracy contains a skein of lies.

    The message of the meritocracy is that you are what you accomplish. The false promise of the meritocracy is that you can earn dignity by attaching yourself to prestigious brands. The emotion of the meritocracy is conditional love — that if you perform well, people will love you.



    Technology has made our lives easier. But it also means that your data is no longer your own. We'll examine who is hoarding your information — and give you a guide for what you can do about it.


    The sociology of the meritocracy is that society is organized around a set of inner rings with the high achievers inside and everyone else further out. The anthropology of the meritocracy is that you are not a soul to be saved but a set of skills to be maximized.

    No wonder it’s so hard to be a young adult today. No wonder our society is fragmenting. We’ve taken the lies of hyper-individualism and we’ve made them the unspoken assumptions that govern how we live.

    We talk a lot about the political revolution we need. The cultural revolution is more important.





    David Brooks has been a columnist with The Times since 2003. He is the author of “The Road to Character” and the forthcoming book, “The Second Mountain.” @nytdavidbrooks

google 翻譯
我們的文化揭示了政治議題的文化根源。

大衛布魯克斯

作者:大衛布魯克斯

專欄作家

2019年4月15日

四年前,在歐巴馬總統任期內,我出版了一本書,名為《品格之路》。當時美國文化似乎還不錯,我的重點是探討個人如何深化內心世界。本週,在川普總統任期內,我又出版了一本書,名為《第二座山》。在此期間,情況顯然並不樂觀,我們的問題根植於社會層面。整個國家正經歷某種精神和情感危機。

大學心理健康中心不堪重負,自殺率飆升,數千萬美國人容忍甚至讚揚總統令人作嘔的行為。這一切的根源在於:我們創造了一種建立在謊言上的文化。

以下是一些謊言:

事業成功令人滿足。這就是我們強加在年輕人身上的謊言。在他們懵懂的年紀,我們把最有特權的孩子送進大學入學流程,讓他們的生活重心放在成就和地位焦慮上。這開啟了廣告界歷久不衰的口號——只要你成功,人生就會美好。

每個真正嚐過成功的滋味的人都會告訴你,這並非事實。我記得我的第一本書的編輯打電話告訴我,它上了暢銷書清單。當時的感覺……就像什麼事都沒發生一樣。這對我來說無關緊要。

真相是,成功可以讓你免於因覺得自己失敗而產生的羞恥感,但單憑事業上的成功並不能帶來真正的平靜和滿足。如果你把生活重心放在事業上,你的野心永遠會超越你已取得的成就,讓你焦慮不安,永無止境。

我可以讓自己快樂。這是自給自足的謊言。這是幸福是個人成就的謊言。如果我還能再贏一場,減掉15磅,或是在冥想方面有所進步,我會感到快樂。

但那些在臨終之際回顧一生的人告訴我們,幸福存在於親密而充滿愛的關係中。它源自於克服自給自足,建立相互依賴的狀態。它存在於給予和接受關懷之中。

說自己為人際關係而活很容易,但做起來卻很難。很難真正看清他人複雜的一面。很難從內心深處而非膚淺的角度去溝通。很難停止表演!沒有人教過我們這些技能。

人生是一段個人旅程。這是像蘇斯博士的《哦,你將要去的地方! 》這樣的書所宣揚的謊言。在成年生活中,每個人都會踏上一段個人旅程,累積各種各樣的經歷,而誰的經歷最多誰就贏了。這種謊言鼓勵人們相信,自由就是不受約束。要保持獨立。要不停地走。保持開放的心態。

事實上,真正活得精彩的人會選擇安定下來。他們不會問:「接下來我還能做什麼很酷的事?」他們會問:「我在這裡的責任是什麼?」他們會回應某個問題,或被深沉的愛所感召。

透過紮根於某個社區、某個組織或某個使命,他們贏得了信任。他們擁有自由去創造持久的影響力。正是我們選擇的枷鎖,最終讓我們獲得自由。

你必須找到屬於自己的真理。這就是意義的私有化。學校或社會沒有義務教導一套連貫的道德價值。每個人都選擇自己的價值觀。找到你自己的人生終極問題的答案!做你自己!

問題在於,除非你是亞里斯多德,否則你可能做不到。我們大多數人最終只會擁有一些模糊的道德感受,卻缺乏清晰的道德認知和人生目標。

現實是,價值觀是由強大而自信的社群和機構創造並傳承下來的。人們透過融入社群和機構,參與其中的對話來吸收價值觀。這是一個群體過程。

富有且成功的人比貧窮且不太成功的人更有價值。我們假裝不說謊,但我們整個精英制度都指向這一點。事實上,精英制度本身就充滿了謊言。

菁英制度傳遞的訊息是:你的成就決定你的價值。精英制度的虛假承諾是:你可以透過依附知名品牌來贏得尊嚴。精英制度的情感是有條件的愛——如果你表現出色,人們就會愛你。

科技讓我們的生活更方便。但這也意味著你的數據不再屬於你自己。我們將探討誰在囤積你的資訊——並為你提供應對之策。

精英制度的社會學基礎是:社會圍繞著一系列內圈組織起來,成功人士位於內圈,其他人則位於外圈。精英主義的人類學觀點是,你不是一個需要被拯救的靈魂,而是一套需要被最大化的技能。

難怪如今當個年輕人如此艱難。難怪…

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