HP Case-Study (Continued): Leadership

• Then it gives a summary of the rationale behind HP’s changes in the scope of its business activities.

This could be simply attributed to its leadership. Over the past years, the strategic activities in HP have seen a lot of variation and displeasure as a result of the unfortunate reactions and decisions stirred by its board members.  This was either caused by absence of cooperation, wrong leadership choices, poor accountability, or both.

These activities ball down to Carly Fiorina’s regime (HP’s CEO), which instated the acquisition of Compaq. Unity was split among the board members as a result of opposition, which established a political setting. This also crippled the secrecy of the organization; key information and decisions began to leak. After series of investigation, the felons were pointed out; the CEO was reportedly involved and exiled. 

Mark Hurd took over the throne, and his five years tenure brought a favourable success to HP. However, the reason of his departure from the company remains very unclear, but it is renown for contributing to the increased conflict among the board. 

Leo Apotheker became the new head of HP; he vowed to transform and recover some of the losses the company faced as a result of Marks exit. This seemed very difficult, but Leo remained persistent. During this battle, his tyranny coupled with some outrageous decisions he made, pushed board members over the edge. The politics reverted against him, and he was dismissed, and replaced by Meg Whitman.

In my opinion, the leaders were too carried away fighting for their personal interest, rather than construct and enforce a rigid strategy that will guide and motivate the company's employees, foster unity, and encourage collective growth.  

•  And finally, it gives reasons for and against the decision to exit PC manufacturing which contributed to the departure of the last CEO Leo Apotheker.

 For: the PC business didn’t seem promising, the returns were not profitable.

Against: It will create financial loss and lead to the eventual exit of investors.

This study of Hp emphasizes the relationship between strategic planning and leadership. Hewlett Packard might have had great strategic plans, but its poor leadership management made it impossible to implement the strategies.