🌤️🌤️HR天文台 | 昨天的解藥，今天是否還有效？曾經擺脫官僚制度的 3 間企業現況如何？
官僚制度普遍都神憎鬼厭，但似乎難以避免。上次，我們重溫了 3 大成功擺脫官僚的經典案例 ── Netflix、Amazon、Haier， 他們在 2005 年至 2015 年期間，憑著反傳統的組織及制度設計，取得階段性勝利。時移世易，在 2026 年，他們過往的勝利，在 AI 技術與新商業環境的衝擊下，是否依然行之有效？
1️⃣ Netflix：留下來的人依然享有公幹免報銷審批
- 當年的神話：公幹免報銷審批，報銷守則只有一句話：「以 Netflix 的最大利益行事」，用絕對的信任激發頂尖人才的產出。
- 當下的難題：在 2022 年 Q1，Netflix 遭遇了十幾年來首次用戶負增長（取消訂閱的用戶比新用戶多），出現市場飽和徵兆，股價一天之內暴跌超過 30%。之後，Netflix不再公布季度用戶數據，改為公布自由現金流（Free Cash Flow）與營業利潤率（Operating Margin），以維持股價。為了整頓財務表現，Netflix 必須從轉向精細化營運，這衍生了打擊用戶共享、推出廣告、裁員等政策。但 Netflix 依然保留公幹免報銷審批，留下來的人似乎依然獲得公司的絕對信任。
2️⃣ Amazon：消滅官僚制度是一場永無止境的鬥爭
- 當年的神話：團隊不能大過兩個薄餅吃不飽的規模（8-10人，雙薄餅策略）以維持最高效率；Type 2 決策（可逆的試錯決策）無需審批，直接執行，維持新創公司的敏捷度。
- 當下的難題：在技術層面，隨著 AI 與自動化工具普及，過去 8-10 人的雙薄餅小組在 AI 時代顯得人力臃腫；在商業策略層面，為了一擲千金投資千億規模的 AI 基礎建設而不讓財務報表難看，Amazon 似乎選擇了大刀闊斧裁員。雖然因為 AI 的出現，雙薄餅策略可能需要調整，但 Amazon 依然致力去除不時冒出的官僚程序，更設置官僚檢舉信箱 (Bureaucracy Mailbox)，信箱在 2024 年收到了大約 1,500 封電子郵件，根據這些回饋，Amazon 改變了大約 455 個流程。
3️⃣ 海爾集團（Haier）：默默調整策略
- 當年的神話：割捨 1 萬名中層管理者，把企業拆成 4,000 多個自主運作的微型企業，全員薪酬由小組利潤決定（最低工資加利潤分紅），讓所有員工直接面對市場。
- 當下的難題：用戶需求發生了變化，變得更加複雜，一些海爾集團的微型企業意識到，他們無法再獨自滿足用戶的所有需求，必需與其他微型企業合作。近年海爾集團引進了Ecosystems of Micro Communities (由多個微型企業透過合約組成的臨時聯盟)，促進微型企業間的合作。
💡 警世：
昨天的解藥，今天未必還有效。在瞬息萬變的時代，營運問題就猶如流感一樣，頻繁變種。我們設計的組織架構、薪酬組合、業務程序是否既解決眼前難題，同時保留對員工的信任和授權以激發生產力，必定是每間企業的考驗。
下篇預告：生活在沒有官僚制度下的員工幸福嗎？
🌤️HR Observatory | Yesterday’s Remedy: Is It Still Effective Today? A Look into 3 Corporate Giants That Once Broke the Bureaucratic Curse.
Bureaucracy is universally detested, yet it often seems inevitable. Previously, we revisited three classic success stories—Netflix, AWS, and Haier—that achieved monumental victories between 2005 and 2015 by deploying unconventional organizational and institutional designs. However, times have changed. In 2026, do these past triumphs remain effective under the twin impacts of rapid AI advancements and a shifting business landscape?
1️⃣ Netflix: The Survivors Still Enjoy Approval-Free Travel Expenses
- The Myth: Complete elimination of travel expense approvals. The expense policy consisted of just one sentence: “Act in Netflix’s best interest.” This absolute trust was designed to unlock the ultimate output of top-tier talent.
- The Current Dilemma: In Q1 2022, Netflix suffered its first negative subscriber growth in over a decade (losing more subscribers than it gained), signalling market saturation and triggering a single-day stock plunge of over 30%. Subsequently, Netflix stopped reporting quarterly subscriber data, shifting the market’s focus to Free Cash Flow and Operating Margin to sustain its valuation. To streamline financial performance, Netflix had to pivot toward lean operations, which birthed policies such as cracking down on password sharing, introducing ad-supported tiers, and executing layoffs. Remarkably, Netflix has retained its approval-free travel expense policy—meaning those who survived the cuts still appear to hold the company’s absolute trust.
2️⃣ Amazon: The Crusade Against Bureaucracy Never Stops
- The Myth: No team should be larger than what two pizzas can feed (8–10 people, the Two-Pizza Strategy) to maintain peak efficiency; Type 2 decisions (reversible trial-and-error choices) require zero approval and can be executed instantly to preserve startup agility.
- The Current Dilemma: At the technical layer, the rise of AI and automation tools has left the traditional 8-to-10-person Two-Pizza teams looking bloated in the AI era. On a strategic level, to fund a massive, hundred-billion-dollar investment in AI infrastructure without destroying its financial statements, Amazon appears to have chosen aggressive corporate layoffs. While the Two-Pizza strategy may require adjustments due to AI, Amazon remains committed to eradicating emerging bureaucratic red tape. The company even launched a “Bureaucracy Mailbox,” which received roughly 1,500 emails in 2024. Fuelled by this direct employee feedback, Amazon successfully overhauled and optimized approximately 455 internal processes.
3️⃣ Haier Group: Adapting Through Ecosystem Collaboration
- The Myth: Eliminating 10,000 middle management roles and breaking the giant corporation down into over 4,000 autonomous micro-enterprises (MEs). All compensation was dictated by team profits (“paid by users” via low base salaries plus profit sharing), forcing every employee to face the market directly.
- The Current Dilemma: User demands have evolved, becoming significantly more complex. Certain micro-enterprises within Haier realized they could no longer satisfy all user requirements entirely on their own; cross-team collaboration became an absolute necessity. To bridge this structural bottleneck, Haier introduced the concept of Ecosystems of Micro Communities (temporary alliances formed by multiple micro-enterprises via explicit contracts). This evolution fosters collaboration among distinct micro-enterprises, allowing them to tackle complex IoT and AI ecosystems collectively.
💡 Takeaway
Yesterday’s remedy may not cure today’s illness. In a fast-changing era, operational bottlenecks mutate as frequently as the flu. The ultimate test for any modern enterprise is whether its organizational structure, compensation mix, and operational workflows can solve immediate bottom-line pressures while still preserving the trust and empowerment needed to fuel employee productivity.
Next Episode Teaser:
Are employees living in a bureaucracy-free organization truly happy?
參考資料 Reference:
Variety https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/netflix-layoffs-fired-jobs-lost-1235301553/
GeekWire https://www.geekwire.com/2026/how-agentic-ai-is-rewiring-amazons-teams-and-upending-its-traditions/
Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/amazons-ai-spending-boom-is-eating-into-free-cash-flow-230734610.html
Corproate Rebels https://www.corporate-rebels.com/blog/why-haier-introduced-ecosystems-and-how-they-work