The inevitable triumph of the Bric countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – has become almost a commonplace observation in business. Even if a few too many exotic chickens are being counted before they have hatched, the threat represented by these and other emerging countries is changing the way established businesses in mature markets think. There's a wave of powerful new competitors on the horizon who can price their goods and services at startlingly low levels. Incumbents are going to have to get more efficient and increase their productivity. That's why you can expect to hear incantations of this management mantra over the coming years: do more with less.
巴西、俄羅斯、印度和中國這四個金磚國家(Bric)必然會取得成功幾乎已成爲商業界的共識。儘管人們對金磚四國過早地懷有了一些異乎尋常的期望，但這些國家以及其它新興國家所代表的威脅正在改變成熟市場老牌企業的思考方式。市場上即將出現一批強大的新競爭對手——它們商品和服務的價格可以低到令人喫驚的水準。現有企業將不得不提高效率和增加產能。因此你可以預期在未來幾年會聽到許多企業拿下面這句管理箴言當口頭禪：少花錢多辦事。