Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-06-13 01:59Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the internal challenges faced by Alibaba, highlighting a decline in its core values and culture, which has led to a phenomenon referred to as "big company disease" [1][38]. Group 1: Historical Success - Alibaba's past success is attributed to four main factors: the era's trends, Jack Ma's vision, strong values, and institutional support [4][39]. - The economic growth from 1999 to 2024, with GDP increasing from $1 trillion to $18 trillion, created significant opportunities for Alibaba [5]. - The rise of internet users from 8.9 million in 1999 to nearly 1 billion in 2020 facilitated the growth of Alibaba's business [5]. Group 2: Current Challenges - Since around 2017, Alibaba has shown signs of fatigue, with the growth rate of internet users declining to single digits [11][41]. - Many strategic acquisitions have failed, such as the purchase of Koubei and Ele.me, which did not yield the expected results [12][41]. - Internal innovation has been scarce since 2015, with few successful new business ventures outside of e-commerce-related initiatives [15][41]. Group 3: Internal Issues - There is a consensus among employees about increasing issues in three areas: people, finance, and operations [16][41]. - Recruitment practices have shifted towards hiring external talent, often leading to a lack of alignment with Alibaba's culture [17][41]. - Financial issues include grade inflation and unclear performance rewards, resulting in a lack of motivation among employees [19][41]. Group 4: Cultural Decline - The company's core values have weakened, with a shift towards prioritizing short-term results over long-term vision [28][41]. - HR has failed to uphold the company's values, focusing more on performance outcomes rather than cultural integrity [34][41]. - The middle management has become bloated, leading to ineffective decision-making and a lack of accountability [36][41]. Group 5: Recommendations for Improvement - The author suggests restoring core values, restructuring the HR system, and reforming management practices to enhance team effectiveness [38][41]. - Specific recommendations include making performance evaluations transparent, reducing redundancy, and focusing on genuine operational improvements [38][41].