Edward Liddy, chief executive of AIG, warned last month that the insurer would be unable to "attract and retain the best and brightest talent" if the US government imposed curbs on executive pay. When the top management of a company kept alive by a $170bn bail-out speaks like that, we get a sense of just how resilient the ideology of talent has become within the corporate world. However, the causes and severity of this recession threaten this ideology's credibility - with potentially considerable consequences for management and the workplace.
美国国际集团(AIG)首席执行官爱德华•李迪(Edward Liddy)上个月警告称,如果美国政府对高管薪酬施加限制,那么该公司将无法“吸引并留住最优秀和最聪明的人才”。当一家依靠1700亿美元纾困资金存活的公司的高层说出这样的话时,我们意识到,人才观在企业界已变得多么具有弹性。然而,这场衰退的起因和严重程度令这一观念的可信性受到威胁,这可能会给管理和职场带来巨大影响。