Harvard Case - Hewlett-Packard Co.: The War Within
"Hewlett-Packard Co.: The War Within" Harvard business case study is written by Krishna G. Palepu, Jay W. Lorsch, Eliot Sherman, Carin-Isabel Knoop. It deals with the challenges in the field of Organizational Behavior. The case study is 35 page(s) long and it was first published on : Nov 1, 2006
At Fern Fort University, we recommend a multi-pronged approach to address the internal conflict and cultural clashes within Hewlett-Packard, focusing on fostering a unified organizational culture, promoting effective leadership, and implementing robust change management strategies. This will involve a combination of leadership development programs, communication initiatives, and structural changes to create a more cohesive and collaborative environment.
2. Background
This case study explores the internal conflict and cultural clashes within Hewlett-Packard (HP) following the merger of HP and Compaq in 2002. The merger, aimed at creating a global technology giant, resulted in a clash of cultures, leadership styles, and organizational structures. This clash manifested in employee dissatisfaction, low morale, and a lack of trust between different departments and divisions. The case highlights the challenges faced by Carly Fiorina, HP's CEO at the time, in navigating this complex situation and her attempts to implement a unified vision for the company.
The main protagonists of the case study are:
- Carly Fiorina: CEO of HP, responsible for overseeing the merger and implementing a new vision for the company.
- The HP Culture: Characterized by a strong engineering focus, a decentralized structure, and a culture of innovation.
- The Compaq Culture: More focused on sales and marketing, with a centralized structure and a more hierarchical management style.
- The Employees: Facing the challenges of adapting to a new organizational culture and navigating the power struggles within the merged entity.
3. Analysis of the Case Study
This case study can be analyzed through the lens of several organizational behavior frameworks:
- Organizational Culture: The merger of HP and Compaq created a clash of organizational cultures, resulting in a lack of shared values, beliefs, and assumptions. This clash manifested in different approaches to decision-making, communication, and employee motivation.
- Leadership Styles: The case highlights the different leadership styles of Carly Fiorina and other key executives. Fiorina's leadership style, characterized by a strong vision and a focus on results, clashed with the more decentralized and collaborative leadership style prevalent within HP.
- Change Management: The merger presented a significant organizational change, requiring effective change management strategies to navigate the transition and minimize resistance. However, the lack of clear communication and employee engagement led to widespread dissatisfaction and resentment.
- Power and Politics: The merger created a power struggle between different departments and divisions, as individuals and groups fought to maintain their influence and control. This led to internal conflicts and hindered the company's ability to function effectively.
- Team Dynamics: The merger resulted in the formation of new teams, bringing together individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, and expectations. The lack of effective team building and conflict resolution strategies led to poor team performance and a lack of collaboration.
4. Recommendations
To address the challenges faced by HP, we recommend the following:
- Leadership Development: Implement leadership development programs to equip executives with the skills and knowledge necessary to manage a diverse and complex organization. This should include training in cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution, and change management.
- Communication Strategy: Develop a clear and consistent communication strategy to ensure that all employees understand the vision for the merged company, the rationale behind the merger, and the expected changes. This should involve regular communication from leadership, town hall meetings, and employee surveys.
- Organizational Culture Integration: Promote a shared organizational culture based on the strengths of both HP and Compaq. This can be achieved through developing a shared set of values, principles, and behaviors that reflect the company's vision and goals.
- Structural Changes: Re-evaluate the organizational structure to ensure that it supports the new vision and fosters collaboration. This may involve streamlining departments, creating cross-functional teams, and empowering employees to make decisions.
- Employee Engagement: Implement strategies to increase employee engagement and build trust. This can include employee recognition programs, opportunities for career development, and initiatives to promote work-life balance.
5. Basis of Recommendations
These recommendations are based on the following considerations:
- Core Competencies and Consistency with Mission: The recommendations focus on fostering a unified organizational culture that aligns with the company's mission to deliver innovative technology solutions.
- External Customers and Internal Clients: The recommendations aim to improve employee morale and engagement, which will ultimately lead to better customer service and improved business performance.
- Competitors: The recommendations are designed to enhance HP's competitiveness by fostering a more agile and responsive organization.
- Attractiveness ' Quantitative Measures: The recommendations are expected to improve employee satisfaction, reduce turnover, and enhance productivity, leading to improved financial performance.
6. Conclusion
The merger of HP and Compaq presented a significant challenge for the company, requiring a strategic approach to address the cultural clashes and internal conflicts. By implementing the recommended strategies, HP can overcome these challenges and create a unified and successful organization.
7. Discussion
Other alternatives not selected include:
- Divesting Compaq: This would have avoided the cultural clash but would have also limited the potential benefits of the merger.
- Maintaining separate cultures: This would have preserved the unique strengths of each company but would have hindered the creation of a unified organization.
The key assumptions of our recommendations include:
- Leadership Commitment: The success of these recommendations depends on the commitment of leadership to implement them effectively.
- Employee Buy-in: Significant employee buy-in is crucial for the success of the cultural integration and change management initiatives.
8. Next Steps
The implementation of these recommendations should be phased in over a period of 12-18 months, with the following key milestones:
- Month 1-3: Develop and launch leadership development programs.
- Month 3-6: Implement communication strategy and conduct employee surveys.
- Month 6-9: Begin organizational culture integration initiatives and implement structural changes.
- Month 9-12: Launch employee engagement programs and monitor progress.
- Month 12-18: Continue monitoring progress and make adjustments as needed.
By following these steps, HP can overcome the challenges of the merger and emerge as a stronger and more unified organization.
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Case Description
In September 2006 it was revealed that the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) had been carrying out an extended investigation of its own employees, board members, and journalists outside the company. The investigation was launched in response to a series of leaks to the press that could only have come from highly placed members of the company. Fully understanding the context of the events of September, however, requires knowledge of board personalities and events that began under former CEO Carly Fiorina and continued thought the successful turnaround under her successor, Mark Hurd. As such, special focus is given to the individual board personalities and their conflicts over this time in order to fully explore the environment in which the investigation would later take place.
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