Hewlett-Packard Company and Its Ethical Behavior and Social Responsibility - Assignment Example

1. Choose a company you would like to work for, and explain why you chose that company. I would like to work for Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). HP isa US-based global corporation with headquarters at Palo Alto, California. It manufactures and sells computer technology products like Desktops, Laptops, Notebooks, Printers, Digital Cameras, inkjets amongst other product. I value the technological innovation, business leadership principles, cohesive team work, employee friendly policies, an inspiring atmosphere of growth, and transparency in its operations. 2.How does your company demonstrate ethical behavior and social responsibility? What is the form of business ownership of your company (sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation)? HP is a business corporation. At the heart of HP’s business policy stands its commitment to ethics, social responsibility and uncompromising integrity for its stakeholders, which includes the communities in which it conducts business. The Standards of Business Conduct Brochure (SBCB) delineates the principles, objectives, and methods for ethical and social responsibility of the company. The Ethics and Compliance Committee headed by its chief officer bears the responsibility for enforcement of the principles. A global SBC team overlooks, records, assesses the adherence to values enshrined in the brochure. The Global Citizenship policy of HP ensures that the company fulfils its environmental and social objectives in not only in its manufacturing and business operations but also in its extensive supply chains. HP stands by a culture of ‘top downwards’ dissemination of decision-making and encourages mutual dialogue amongst employees. The progress of compliance is reviewed in periodic audits and published in the annual Global Citizenship Report. HP Corporate Communications plays a pivotal role in inter-departmental flow of corporate information. Demonstrating its commitment to social uplift HP has invested in $277 million in education in communities spread all over the globe. Besides, regularly contributing to environmental causes, HP has pioneered many waste recycling solutions. In 2006, HP achieved total elimination of PVC from its packaging. HP understands the criticality of the roles its products play in driving the world and hence ensures total commitment to quality. 3. What is your company’s vision, and how do its leaders realize that vision? Explain how its leaders accomplish organizational goals through planning, organizing, directing, and controlling people and other organizational resources. HP a world leader in computer technology operates in 170 countries with a workforce of 156,000 employees. The company’s turnover was $104.3 billion for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. HP’s leadership believes in increasing customer value through innovation and revolutionary breakthroughs in technology. The diversified portfolio helps to match the specific needs of the customers. The company’s vision is stratified in the Corporate objectives of 1. Winning Customer Loyalty 2. Increasing Profits 3 Achieve Market Leadership 4. Maintain Growth 5. Employee commitment 6. Leadership capability. The company is led by its Board consisting of nine members inclusive of the Chief Executive Officer. Three core groups; The Personal Systems Group, The Imaging and Printing Group, and The Technology Solutions Group based on core technologies drive the strategic enterprise of the company. There are two HP Executive Briefing Center to provide live interface to clients, consumers and its own employees with HP’s innovations and technologies. From the market point of view, the vast portfolio of HP products are categorised as HP Home and Office, HP Small and Medium Business, HP Large Enterprise Business, Government Health and Education, and Graphic Arts. HP Labs leads the Research and Enterprise Division. The company’s sales are also directed through three global divisions. 4. Describe your company’s leadership style. How does it recruit, train, develop, and appraise its employees? What types of pay systems, fringe benefits, and scheduling plans does your company utilize? HP is an equal opportunity employer and promotes individual talent. Team HP is composed of diverse ethnic groups, and belong to different cultures, countries and regions. HP has a strong culture for team work, but it values ideas and innovation. Team work at HP not only means physical coherence of employees but creation of virtual human resource synergies for propulsion of career and company’s objectives. From a Human Resource perspective HP has three worldwide centers—the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Central Asia, Africa. HP has an excellent Pay and Reward systems that makes working at HP a fulfilling experience. The Base Pay is structured and analysed according to the global industry standards. The Total Rewards Program is used to acknowledge and reward outstanding individual contributions and make the top performers share the company’s profits through bonuses. The fringe benefits of the company include health plans, income protection, and retirement and savings packages. HP provides high travel benefits, good accommodation, boarding and lodging, in jobs that require touring. It also offers the stock ownership plan. However, the benefits offered by HP have a local focus. HP staff goes through extensive training and development programs. The managers at the local level play an important role in developing training modules for individuals. Such arrangements as Employee Assistance Program, flexible work opportunities, and telecommuting help the staff to achieve work life balance. HP also promotes staff networks to let the staff enjoy greater sense of belonging and shared beliefs in organisational goals. 5. Describe your company’s products and services. What is its marketing plan? Does it market to industry and business customers or to consumers or to both? How does your company create product differentiation for its goods or services? Does it compete strictly on price, or does it place emphasis on nonprice differences? HP products are described are categorised in three core groups from manufacturing perspectives. The Personal Systems Group, the Imaging and Printing Group, and The Technology Solutions Group. The first looks after desktops, laptops assembling, the second bulwarks the HP famous Printing device line, and the third makes compatible software technologies. From the marketing angle the products are categorised in categories representing home based to corporate needs. HP’s product differentiation is based on its state-of-the-art technology technologies as well as cost effectiveness. HP provides the best product of customer specification at a price range that is less than its main competitors like Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, Sony and Canon. Hence the company place equal emphasis on price and non-price differences. HP provides some of the most cost-effective no-frills products targeted at the low end customers. 6. How does your company distribute its product or service? Explain the promotion mix your company uses. Examine your company’s financial statements. Is it profitable? Using the firm’s financial statements, calculate three ratios (your choice) and explain the impact they have on your company. HP distributes its products through its sales offices globally divided into three groups: the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Central Asia, Africa. US, by far, retain the biggest customer base of HP products and hence US alone has two strategically conceived sales divisions. The company has an extensive portfolio of computers and peripherals to garner maximum leverage out of computer and Internet technology. The more the world adopts, computer systems, the more efficient and broad-based HP’s product line gets. It directly markets its products to governments, corporate and business houses, while not ignoring the individual customers. HP uses a strategic mix of product differentiation, economy and diversified portfolio, and efficient distribution system to emerge a profitable venture. We will calculate the Current Ratio, Debt Ratio, Profitability Ratio i.e. one each from Liquidity, Financial Leverage and Profitability Ratios using the Total Assets and Current Liabilities, Net Income as state in the Annual Report of HP 2007. Current Ratio == Total Assets/current Liabilities $ 88,699/6134 (in millions) = 14.4% (Assets and Liabilities are stated in Millions) Debt Ratio== Total debts/ Total Assets $4997/88699(in millions)==.056% Return on assets==Net Income/ Total Assets $104826/88699(in millions)==1.1% 7. Using all the information you have gathered, develop a SWOT analysis for your company. Swot Analysis Strengths: HP has a diversified manufacturing portfolio supported by extremely good distribution systems. HP enjoys strong brand presence all over the world due its history. It has a global presence and is a pioneer of some computer technologies. It enjoys a good customer base in business to business and business to customer climate. HP products have proved their utility in the long and chequered history of the company. Company makes effective use of its international presence. The company enjoys investor confidence. Weakness: HP’s reputation was marred by the Spying scandal which rocked it from top to bottom and led to the resignation of its Chairman Patricia Dunn. Since most of its manufacturing is still US based, HP finds it difficult of compete with more cost-effective Chinese produced products. HP unlike Dell doesn’t have a strong online sales and service network. Opportunities: HP can capitalise on its strong global base in developing world and that is increasingly adopting computer technologies. The company can diversify into software solutions. It can use its sales and service network to provide more and more products. HP with cutting edge Research and Development facilities and supported by a vast customer feedback model can develop more innovative products. Threats: The main threat to HP emerges from low cost Chinese products. These products are manufactured at comparatively lower price and are sold through local networks. HP faces stiff competition from smaller suppliers. To further increase business threat to HP, its competitor like Dell, Lenovo, and IBM have fast expanded into Chinese and Indian territories. Read More