腦科學走進商學院課堂

When Victoria Westerhoff decided to study for an MBA at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school in 2016, an unusual elective caught her eye: consumer neuroscience. The field was important to her — she trained as a cognitive scientist at Yale.

當維多利亞•韋斯特霍夫(Victoria Westerhoff)2016年決定在賓夕法尼亞大學(University of Pennsylvania)沃頓商學院(Wharton Business School)攻讀MBA學位時，一門不尋常的選修課引起了她的注意：消費者神經(jīng)學(consumer neuroscience)。這個領域對她很重要——她在耶魯大學(Yale)學的就是認知科學。

As part of the Wharton course, Ms Westerhoff used an eye-tracking system to assess how much attention she paid to product placement in film clips, and she noted a lift in attention paid to products placed prominently. “The more time your eyeballs are on something, the larger the impact,” she says.

在沃頓商學院的這門課中，韋斯特霍夫使用了眼動追蹤系統(tǒng)來評估她對一個短片中所展示產(chǎn)品的關注程度。她注意到，放在突出位置的產(chǎn)品受到關注度會增加。她說：“你的眼球在某個物體上停留的時間越長，它對你產(chǎn)生的影響就越大。”

That research made her realise how science can improve business. Neuroscientific consumer research can be more detailed and effective than traditional methods, such as surveys. “We can capture the emotional responses that help drive unconscious decisions, including what we buy,” Ms Westerhoff says.

這項研究使她意識到，科學對商業(yè)會起到多么大的助益。與市場調(diào)查等傳統(tǒng)方法相比，神經(jīng)學消費者研究更為詳細而有效。“我們可以捕捉到促成無意識決策——包括購買決策——的情緒反應，”韋斯特霍夫說。

Business education is not limited to accounting, strategy and finance. Future leaders are trying out “mind-scanning” electroencephalography (EEG), heart-rate monitors and meditation, as schools create courses at the nexus of business and brain science to help students improve productivity, influence decision-making and handle stress.

商業(yè)教育的范疇并不局限于會計、戰(zhàn)略和金融。隨著學校開設將商業(yè)和腦科學相結合的課程，幫助學生提高工作效率、影響決策和應對壓力，未來的商業(yè)領袖們正在嘗試“思維掃描”腦電圖、心率監(jiān)測儀和冥想等方法。

Neuroscience “will play a huge role in the future of business education,” says Michael Platt, a Wharton professor, because “we have reached a point where we understand so much about the human brain — how it processes information — that we can use neuroscience to do business better”.

沃頓商學院教授邁克爾•普拉特(Michael Platt)說，神經(jīng)科學“將在未來的商業(yè)教育中發(fā)揮巨大作用”，因為“我們對人類大腦的了解已經(jīng)達到相當?shù)乃?mdash;—關于大腦如何處理信息——我們可以利用神經(jīng)科學來更好地開展業(yè)務。”

Thomas Bonfiglio, a regional director with American Medical Response in New York, a medical transportation company, says practising guided meditation with his team at the beginning of meetings has made them more productive. Mr Bonfiglio learnt techniques on a two-day neuroscience for leadership course at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, in 2014.

紐約一家醫(yī)療運輸公司美國醫(yī)療救援(American Medical Response)的地區(qū)總監(jiān)托馬斯•邦菲利奧(Thomas Bonfiglio)說，在會議開始時與團隊一起練習引導式冥想提升了會議效率。邦菲利奧2014年在麻省理工(MIT)斯隆管理學院(Sloan School of Management)為期兩天的領導者神經(jīng)科學(neuroscience for leadership)課程中學到了這一技巧。

“We have a lot of aggressive, alpha-type personalities,” he says. “It was often difficult to get the group to work together.” But after introducing meditation, they worked more quickly and effectively, Mr Bonfiglio says.

他說：“我們的團隊中有很多人屬于具有攻擊性的阿爾法型(alpha-type)人格。過去通常很難讓團隊協(xié)同工作。”但是，采用冥想方法后，大家的工作進度加快，效率也提高了，邦菲利奧說。

“At first people were sceptical because it took up time. However, I found that instead of arguments, there was more positive discussion, and the tone was more conciliatory.”

“剛開始，大家都持懷疑態(tài)度，因為這樣做占用了時間。但是，我發(fā)現(xiàn)，大家不再爭論了，而是更積極地參與討論，且說話也更加和氣。”

Demand 需求

Another reason schools launch neuroscience programmes is because students demand them. At Columbia Business School, enrolment to a three-day “neuroleadership” executive course has increased by 50 per cent over the past two years.

學校推出神經(jīng)科學課程的另一個原因是因為學生有這方面的需求。哥倫比亞商學院(Columbia Business School)為期三天的領導人神經(jīng)科學(neuroleadership)高管課程的參加人數(shù)在過去兩年間增加了50%。

“Demand is growing because business leaders who are ahead of the curve know that emotion can impact their performance,” says Yoshie Tomozumi Nakamura, Columbia’s director of organisational learning and research.

哥倫比亞商學院組織學習和研究系主任Yoshie Tomozumi Nakamura說：“課程需求不斷增加，因為那些走在時代前沿的商界領袖知道，情感會影響他們的績效。”

A moderate increase in heart rate can improve performance because it increases the amount of blood in the brain, and the neurotransmitter activity that enhances cognitive processing, according to Lee Waller, director of research at the UK’s Hult International Business School.

據(jù)英國霍特國際商學院(Hult International Business School)研究中心主任李•沃勒(Lee Waller)說，心率適度加快可以讓人有更好的表現(xiàn)，因為心律加快會增加大腦中的供血量，并且提高神經(jīng)傳遞介質(neurotransmitter)的活性，從而增強認知過程。

“We think clearly, make good decisions and learn well,” she says. But too much stress causes the opposite response as more blood flows to the limbs — known as “fight or flight”— and that reduces cognitive function.

她說：“我們會變得思路清晰，做出明智決定，學習效果也會改善。” 但是，過大的壓力則會產(chǎn)生相反的反應，因為會有更多的血液流向四肢——即所謂的“戰(zhàn)斗或逃跑反應”——這會降低認知能力。

‘Muscle memory’ ‘肌肉記憶’

Participants on a three-day leadership programme at Ashridge Executive Education, part of Hult, practise stressful scenarios, such as criticising an employee’s performance.

在霍特國際商學院阿什里奇高管教育部(Ashridge Executive Education)舉辦的一個為期三天的領導力培訓項目中，參加者會體驗壓力情景，如對員工的表現(xiàn)提出批評。

They wear heart-rate variance monitors to understand the impact of stress on their sympathetic nervous system — which activates the fight-or-flight response — and how well their bodies recover.

他們佩戴心率變化監(jiān)測儀，以了解壓力對交感神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)(激活戰(zhàn)斗或逃跑反應的神經(jīng)系統(tǒng))的影響，以及身體的恢復情況。

Sport and management 運動與管理

Elite athletes are helping to improve managers’ performance. This year, 100 MBA and executive MBA students from Mannheim Business School will visit TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, a top-tier German football club.

一些優(yōu)秀運動員也正協(xié)助提升管理者的績效。今年，來自曼海姆商學院(Mannheim Business School)的100名MBA和EMBA學生將訪問德國頂級足球俱樂部霍芬海姆足球俱樂部(TSG 1899 Hoffenheim)。

They aim to learn how to use sports analytics — the application of data and analytics to performance management — in business.

他們的目的是了解如何將運動分析方法——利用數(shù)據(jù)和分析進行績效管理——運用于商業(yè)領域。

TSG teamed up with SAP to place sensors on footballers to gather data from training, such as speed averages and ball possession. The data can be used to personalise training to focus on a player’s strengths or weaknesses, for instance to focus more on acceleration and to assess movement to reduce the chance of injuries.

霍芬海姆足球俱樂部與思愛普(SAP)合作，給足球運動員戴上傳感器來收集諸如平均速度和控球等訓練數(shù)據(jù)。這些數(shù)據(jù)可用于制定個性化訓練計劃，專門針對每個運動員的優(yōu)勢與劣勢，例如，更加專注于加速訓練，以及評估其跑動情況來減少受傷幾率。

“We will ask the students to come up with ways to use people analytics to improve organisational performance,” says Dr Sabine Staritz, Mannheim director of corporate relations.

曼海姆商學院負責企業(yè)關系的主任塞班•斯達利茲(Sabine Staritz)博士說：“我們會要求學生想出一些利用人員分析來提高組織績效的方法。”

For example, some companies track employees’ heart rate, sleep and other personal data to avoid a different type of injury: burnout.

例如，一些公司跟蹤員工的心率、睡眠和其他個人數(shù)據(jù)，以避免造成另一種類型的傷害：過度疲勞。

“Practice develops ‘muscle memory’: the next time we encounter the experience, our brain remembers how we dealt with it, and we are able to cope with the stress better,” Mrs Waller says.

沃勒說：“練習會形成‘肌肉記憶’：當我們下一次遇到類似經(jīng)歷時，大腦會記得過去的應對方式，從而使我們能更好地應對壓力。”

In an ethics course at Kellogg School at Northwestern University, MBA students are taught how neuroscience can “influence people or persuade people”, says Adam Waytz, an associate professor.

美國西北大學(Northwestern University)凱洛格商學院(Kellogg School)的副教授亞當•韋茨(Adam Waytz)說，在該學院的一門倫理學課程中，MBA學生會學習神經(jīng)科學如何能夠“影響他人或說服他人”。

He says research suggests that people are more likely to take moral action, such as donating to disaster relief, when they feel emotion, rather than when presented with reasoning and logic. That understanding may help fundraisers design more effective campaigns, for example.

他說，研究表明，當人們的情感受到觸動時，而不是聽別人講道理時，他們更可能采取道德行為，比如向救災活動捐款。了解這一點可能有助于籌款人員設計更有效的募捐活動。

Expertise 專長

However, neuroscience presents business schools with problems. One challenge they face in teaching the subject is finding scholars who can apply neuroscientific research to business, says Patricia Riddell, professor of applied neuroscience with Henley Business School at University of Reading.

然而，神經(jīng)科學也給商學院帶來了問題。雷丁大學(University of Reading)亨利商學院(Henley Business School)應用神經(jīng)科學教授帕特里•夏里德爾(Patricia Riddell)說，教授這門課面臨的一個挑戰(zhàn)是，很難找到能夠將神經(jīng)科學研究應用于商業(yè)領域的學者。

“That expertise is in very short supply,” she says. Henley has used academics from University of Reading’s psychology department to teach neuroscience to students on its MA in leadership course.

她說：“擁有這項專業(yè)知識的人非常少。”亨利商學院一直用雷丁大學心理學系的學者給選修領導力課程的碩士研究生講授神經(jīng)科學。

The greater worry is that neuroscience could be used in a way that manipulates people into buying products, for example, by using stimuli in advertising to activate parts of the brain associated with pleasure.

更大的擔憂是神經(jīng)科學可能被濫用。例如，通過在廣告中使用刺激因素來激活大腦中與快樂相關的部分，從而操縱人們購買產(chǎn)品。

“We do not want students to graduate and claim that they have found the ‘buy button’ in the brain,” says Angelika Dimoka, director of the Center for Neural Decision Making at the Fox School of Business.

?？怂股虒W院(Fox School of Business)神經(jīng)決策中心主任安格莉卡•迪摩卡(Angelika Dimoka)說：“我們不希望學生畢業(yè)后說，他們已經(jīng)找到了大腦中的‘購買按鈕’”。

Fox runs a PhD programme in decision neuroscience. “We teach our students about the ethical use of neurophysiological tools in business, by organising workshops and conferences,” Dr Dimoka says. “But we can’t police every future decision they make.”

福克斯商學院開設了決策神經(jīng)學博士課程。“通過組織研討會和會議，我們教學生明白，在商業(yè)活動中使用神經(jīng)生理學工具要合乎道德規(guī)范，”迪摩卡博士說，“但是我們無法對他們在未來做出的每一個決定進行監(jiān)督。”