HP Company Internal Politics and Culture

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Executive Summary

Hewlett Packard (HP) has grown steadily to have its presence felt all over the world. Wal-Mart has experienced phenomenal growth since inception due to embracing sound strategic management practices. Most successful organizations make effective strategies as central aim to their operations.

For Hewlett Packard, it has established a series of effective and elaborate management ranging from, bureaucracy, and contingency, cultural and technological approaches which has maintained its success and business achievements over the years.

Thus, these management processes has enabled the HP to counter competition threats posed by its competitors, increase organization management practices and guaranteeing customer satisfaction.

Introduction

Business operations in the modern world are experiencing drastic and unequivocal changes that are unprecedented. Fierce and sustained competition prevailing in the global market has exacerbated idea generation and action strategies as a means of securing business going concern.

While the majority of the CEO uses historical concepts to manage business, the new generation managers are blending the new ideas with pre-existing principles to step up competition.

To understand better business operations in the modern world, this reports endeavors to elaborate on Hewlett-Packard (HP) Company application of four perspectives, Bureaucratic, Contingency, Cultural and Technological approaches. The HP Company has market tremendous success over the last two decades to assume its zenith position as a world leading computer producers.

Hewlett-Packard at a glance

Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard both graduates of Stanford University established the HP Company in 1939. The two continued to operate their electronic garage under their new name (Hewlett-Packard) until its incorporation in August 18, 1948. The Company sold its share to the public in 1957 to attain public connotations.

The company’s notable technological contribution was the launch of audio oscillation (light bulb) in 1972. The audio oscillation was temperature dependent resistant that makes it more stable compared to competitors outputs that were unstable. Despite its stability, the company adopted a low-price strategy to enter the market by a blob. HP sold each oscillation at $54 while competing firms sold unstable oscillation for over $ 200.

The company started diversifying globally in 1960’s when it formed a partnership with Sony and Yokagawa Electric of Japan. The steady progress in discovery and innovation enhanced its global brand name. In 1970’s the company produced the fasted hand help electronic calculator, developed screen labeled function keys.

In the same period, Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple came up with the master plan of Apple 1 computer. Later, innovations accelerated to the current position where the company is enjoying world dominance.

The success of HP since its inception to date is vested in employing skilled, levelheaded management and investing heavily in innovations and technological prowess. The company’s growth matrix includes internal development through innovations, acquisitions and, mergers. The key mergers and acquisitions are Appollo Computer (1989), Convex Computer, merger with Compaq in 2002.

The company’s outstanding performance has attracted steady earnings and steady growth. Despite the stead performances, the company has been changing its CEO with the latest been the resignation of Mark Hard in June 2010 and appointment of Leo Apotheker on September 2010.

Bureaucratic Approach

Hewlett-Packard has been using conventional management where leaders are elected to fill vacant positions. However, this is not always the case as the company also bureaucratic perspectives where officials are not elected. For instance, the company appointed CFO Cathie Lesjak as the interim CEO after the resignation of Mark Hudd.

The appointment shows that the company at times deploys leaders from internal and grooves them to world-beaters. In essence, bureaucratic leadership is one of the most influential leadership strategies in terms of influencing the employees, motivating them and shaping their performances.

The other prominent and most prominent is the democratic attributes contained in the leadership model. While the leaders strive to encompass the opinion of others, rarely, do leaders establish personal opinion prior to obtaining the teams perception.

At HP, the CEO just like other department managers works in consultations with other board of directors who furnish him with their perceptions and ideas on policy issues. Although, the CEO receives an opinion from others, he uses all the facts at his disposal to make a collective decision.

Ideally, bureaucratic leadership follows the rules to the letter and endeavors to foster the trend to the entire organization. Although, HP adopts several leadership models, rules are at the core of its operations. There are clear rules that govern the conduct of employees at the place of work, operation criteria, job description and reporting.

The line managers are entitled to ensure all rules are adhered to while errant staffs are subject to punishment stipulated in company’s statutes. While rules state the norms, conduct and ethics that bind its employees, often, these rules are violated. For Instance, the former CEO was forced to resign after being alleged of sexual harassment and corrupt deals. While this move fulfilled the law, his replacement Mr.

Apotheker was alleged to take part in multi-million fraud at SAP. This is high profile contravention of the same principle that is dearly held by the organization.

While the approached is deemed worthwhile, managers and business analyst have posted valid and increased criticism of the model. For example, the slow operation and substandard quality produced by Apple Inc is down to Steve Jobs up and down leadership approach. While the engineers’ detected defects of the Apple antenna a year earlier. They did nothing to correct the problem but continued with the production.

On several accounts, Steve leadership was coupled with cruel and manipulative characteristics that often reduced employees into tears. This was a disincentive as the staff morale was negatively affected (Filloux 2011).

The contingent approach

The contingent management approach asserts that no single approach is sturdier enough to run a successful business. Proponent of this approach contends that for a business to be effective, organized, profitable and motivating, several approaches should be put together to achieve the collective goal. However, the biggest challenge that emerges is how to condense the entire organization under one control.

This prompts a question on whether the company requires a mechanistic or functional structure to meet its goals profitably. However, through experience, HP Company has struggled to come up with a single perspective that best fit them. The prevalence of risk and uncertainty advocates for diverse approach to cater for unseen variables. The unstable economic environment requires adoption of mechanistic approach with a centralized structure that best offer stability and consistency.

Thus, contingency perspective best fits with such environmental eventuality by providing the most sought after flexibility and stability in the business. In addition, the approach also fosters efficiency and flexibility in operation. Whereas, uncertainty calls for random and unstructured approach in solving problems for non-routine tasks contingency perspective offers best remedy for the problem.

Technology classification

Technology is diverse and encompasses both the approach of doing tasks and the mechanistic diversity, skills and inherent ingenuity of transforming raw material to products. According to Joan Woodward, technology may be classified according the scope of operation namely batch, large scale, continuous process and mass production.

Charles Perrow puts forth a competitive approach by describing tasks in terms of variety and analyzable. He also asserted the need to have structural alignment in organizations. Finally, James Thomson technological approach is based on interdependence of among departments (pooled, sequential and reciprocal).

The success of HP is attributed mainly to its ability to adopt and utilize different types of technologies. The rich investment in technology, management diversity and increased innovation provide the basis of continued sustainability and stability across the organization production line.

While technology is chore element in the HP operation, integration of both technical and organizational technical disposition remains the bedrock of company’s success. Nonetheless, the continued success does not shelter the company from facing fierce rivalry in the international market due to adoption of state-of-the-art.

Structural Limitations

Hewlett-Packard is known to have recorded immense profit margin over its rich history. However, the company has being facing stiff structural limitations that have slashed the company’s performances. For instance, the projected annual profits are expected to decrease by up to negative 3.26 per cent compare to last year (Sandholm, 2011).

The slump has been attributed to heavy expenditure to revamp computer productivity, enhance maintenance and increased high-level consultations. After taking the helm, the current CEO Leo Apotheker blamed his predecessor Mark Hurd of failing to institute proper policies to improve structural problems. According to him, the company focus was on production at the expense enforcing strong operational foundation.

The effect of proper structural foundation at HP is vividly manifested by employee turnover. By the end of 2008, the company reported a massive lay-off of 24,700 jobs. Owing to the fact, Mark Hudd was compelled to mitigate the alarming joblessness by instituting pay-cut across the board. A double-digit drop in revenues from printers, serve and PC sales instigated the move.

He reduced his salary by 20 percent, while the senior executive remunerations were slashed by 15 per cent while other executives received 10 per cent cut while the lowest grade got a 2.5 per cent pay cut. The desperate move to mitigate unemployment only aggravated the situation since it adversely affected staff morale and commitment (Fiveash 2009).

The solution to the underlying structural abnormally requires total overhaul of operation and adjustment of organization policies. The first step in reversing the situation is carrying enhancing cost savings and setting salary ceiling.

The company should also enhance an error free environment as a means to enhance operational margins. Other measures into consideration include strengthening control measures and tightening loopholes to enhance efficiency.

HP culture

Each company has a unique way of that distinguish it from others such as unique dress code, Staff Corporation and customs. Hp is no exceptional. However, narrowing down to a specific culture is a stellar order since the company assumes a multifaceted approach. The company host several business frontiers that have unique qualities and dress codes ranging from suits to jeans, casual and official, technical and nontechnical.

Amidst this diversity, the company has a common culture of hard work, uniqueness and conquest. Each employee strives to stand out, add value and by engaging the intellectual and ingenuity ability to the fullest.

The resolute and determination portrayed by the HP staff stands out in an extraordinary way. As the world moves faster, so does the HP drives the IT revolution equipped with passion, curiosity, and desire to concur even the impossible. The HP culture accords significance attention to knowledge as the potential unlocking key for innovative endeavors and outstanding creativity.

While intellectual skills are vital, HP builds its potentiality in dealing with common sense and doing things right. For instance, each employee is trained to understand customer needs before embarking in developing solutions. In a wider perspective, the company strives to keep its customers at the forefront by projecting the current and future needs before producing the product.

It is not a coincidence that HP has a global outlook. The company draws staff from across the globe and enhances its international ties by outlook pool the best brains in the world. With such diversity, HP enhances international integration, fights racism, and religious discords among its staff.

The company nurtures its team and set their mind to focus on the infinite opportunities and occupation development. The human resource department inspires employee through global integration and a chance to expand their potential beyond ordinary to extra ordinary.

Smart thing to do

However, the company had effected various changes to its culture since the appointment of its new CEO, Carly Fiona, and each CEO injects a new insight into the team. As a result, the team is more competitive; more service oriented, and enhanced engineering focus. This legacy has been carried over since the company was founded.

Nonetheless, the rich management intellectuals each with diverse ambition, and the way of achieving his objectives, the company requires a unifying policy to have common perspective. Unless, the company harmonizes its mentality and a consistent way of executing matters, the culture portrayed to the global market will always be diverse.

Hurwitz (2011) suggests that optimal thing to do is for the company to cultivate a unifying culture. This might be done by forming a team to aggregate diverse approaches to enhance the HP culture.

Political Perspective

Politics and leadership is part of any organization. Since HP is not exceptional, the organization has all the channels of distributing power and responsibility. The company organization structure assumes a network portray that encompasses hierarchical format. The mechanism is such that commands and authority flows from top to bottom and responsibility flows in the opposite direction.

Leo Apotheker is the senior most people in the organization structure and is followed by an executive body that helps him in policy formulation. The company has conventionally used the structure for a long time. However, in June 13, 2011, the company announced a change of structure in line with the company strategy that was announced in March 2011.

The new structure not only fosters transparency, but it also equips executive with numerous checks and balances. The structure also strives to redirect attention to customers and enhance collective responsibility. The move saw one of the most successful executive, Livermore, joins the Board of directors.

While the move elevates the global outlook of the company, the change also inspire other leaders to increase their contribution earn promotion Thacker, 2011).

The company’s top leadership has been male dominated as all the CEO in the company have been men. However, the trend is changing quickly since women contribution is highly appreciated and is becoming significant each day. For instance, Meg Whitman appointment as the new chief executive reveals transformation in the helm of leadership.

Her leadership ability is evident in the way she handles issues head on and her iron-will to venture even in difficult issues. Her determination has made her be nicknamed a power woman for her leadership strategy she calls “a bias for action” (Forbes 2011).

Gone are the days when organizations were led by autocrats. The current world requires intelligence, focus and high psychological understanding to bring out the best out of the employee. While some CEO take pride in running things with an iron-rod, organization is evolving and appreciating new leadership method such as participatory leadership, autocratic, or laissez-faire leadership.

In most cases, the organization opted for laissez-faire and democratic leadership where employees are given space and time to express their views and participate in decision-making. Conventionally, the leadership method had helped the organization to mold a coherent working environment that free expression and participation.

Conclusion

Hewlett-Packard is the leading world electronic producer in the world with quality and unique products. The sustained success has been attributed to steady leadership, excellent leadership, and investment in the in innovation and research. In addition, the company has enhanced its market dominance through internal grooving of leaders to replacing retired employees.

The company has enhanced its global reputation by employing employees from across the globe. HP has an ambitious culture, hunger, and desire to produce exceptional quality against all odds. Just as the case with any company, the HP Company has internal politics that governs and determine the way orders and instruction are conveyed across the company.

While the company has been male dominated, recent appointments shows a change to accommodate women in high management levels.

References

Forbes, M., Meg, W., 2011. Hewlett-Packard’s New CEO: Leading With A “Bias For Action“. Web.

Filloux, F., 2011. Apple’s Antitrust Problem (Part 2). Web.

Fiveash, K., 2011. HP Imposes Staff Wage Cuts: Mark Hurd lowers the foloor to saver workers. Web.

Hurwitz, J., 2011. Can Hewlett-Packard Make its Own Luck? Harvard Business Review. Web.

Sandholm, D. C., 2011. Hewlett-Packard’s Problems Are ‘Severe’. Web.

Thacker, M., 2011. New Release. HP Press. Web.

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