HP

HP

HP

1. What is your impression of the operation of HP?

Historically, HP has placed a priority on corporate citizenship, even as the company grew from its 1939 founding in the iconic Palo Alto garage into a diversified $100 billion technology company operating in 170 countries.

HP's first statement of corporate objectives, "The HP Way" (a perennial citation in management texts), was written in 1957 by founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard; by as early as 1966, it included a provision "to meet the obligations of good citizenship by making contributions to the community and to the institutions in our society which generate the environment in which we operate."1 Still, HP's approach to corporate citizenship had always been very much an intramural affair- and the company consciously avoided trading on its efforts in areas like sustainability, preferring to quietly advance its social agenda. (Hp.com 2001)

"Up until about five years ago, we had the 'Boy Scout and Girl Scout approach,' as I call it," says Mark Heinz, HP's stakeholder relations manager, who works on HP's Social and Environmental Responsibility (SER) team, managing relationships with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). "We just relied on our reputation as sort of the 'good scouts' of the industry, but we didn't actively publicize any of our activities in this area to NGOs or other sustainability organizations." But as issues like climate change and global supply chain responsibility became more prominent in the mainstream press, HP soon realized, in the face of public questioning and competitive promotion of its various green initiatives that it needed to raise awareness of its decades-long commitment. (HP 2005)

"I think a challenge for HP, honestly, is that we have been working on environmental and sustainability initiatives for quite a long time, well before such issues were really of interest to customers," explains Shelley Zimmer, who is responsible for SER policy within all of HP's product groups. "We're only now beginning to understand how to communicate the details to customers. Now that they are interested, it's become a bigger issue for companies and for consumers across the world. (hp.com 2009)

2. Conduct a SWOT Analysis of HP to be submitted in an MS Word table.

Strengths

Competitive and cost advantages

Proper processes

Strong products, services, and brand

Skilled leadership

Competent workforce

Access to timely information

Use of cutting-edge technology

Proven track record

High customer satisfaction and loyalty

Market leadership

Weaknesses

Deteriorating competitive advantage

Low profitability

Lack of managerial depth and talent

Lack of key competencies

Internal operating problems

An unclear strategic direction

Morale or turnover problems

Limited product and service offerings

Slow speed to market or responsiveness

Poor brand recognition

Opportunities

Move into new markets

Increase the customer base

Diversify

Increase customer satisfaction

Integrate vertically or horizontally

Acquire other organizations

Increase market growth

Move into new markets

Capitalize on new technologies

Expand product and service offerings

Threats

Decrease in need or desire for products

Slower market growth

Increasing competitive pressures

Adverse government or regulatory policies

Likely entry of new competitors

Adverse demographic changes Likely entry of new competitors

Heightened consumer expectations

3. Define competitive advantage and competitive strategy. Does HP have a competitive advantage and/or a competitive ...