The
case titled Leadership Challenges at Hewlett-Packard: Through the Looking Glass
sheds light on varying issues Hewlett-Packard (also known as HP) has been facing
regarding their election of executives. One of these executives is supposed to
work as the CEO of the company. Another problem is that the corporate strategy
of the board is not considered reliable. Basically, this case outlines the
issues the company is having because of their chosen CEOs, ineffective and
questionable corporate strategies, and of course, the consistent resignation of
CEOs due to undisclosed reasons.
Analysis
After
analyzing this case carefully, I have found that the board of Hewlett-Packard
does have a definite corporate strategy. The board members seem to be aware of
the problems the company is facing at this stage. They are skilled and
experienced enough to choose or elect a reliable CEO. However, they should
consider a couple of things before making the final decision. First of all,
they can hire someone for the position of a CEO temporarily, probably for three
to four months, in order to evaluate their performance and decide whether this
CEO would benefit the company in the long run or not. Secondly, they should
conduct interviews of as many eligible candidates as is possible for them. It
does not look like they have been able to find a suitable or perfect person for
this position so far despite the fact that all of the board members are
experienced, skilled and capable of accomplishing this task in a short time.
If
the board of Hewlett-Packard understands how skilled and experienced a person
should be in order to be elected as a CEO, it will be easy for them to make the
right decision. This way the company will not have to face issues regarding
whom to hire and when to hire for this senior position. Some of the facts I
would like to share in this regard are as follows:
1. Carly
Fiorina did not have any background in engineering and this could put the
company in difficult situations in the future.
2. Mark
Hurd had previously worked as a CEO, but they had not served such a large-sized
or multinational company. In the past, they fired a chairman because of the
lack of integrity.
3. Hurd
resigned because of a sexual harassment scandal.
4. Leo
Aptheker’s selection as the CEO was doomed from day one.
I
have also analyzed that the board is struggling with agreeing on an external
executive vs. an internal executive. What I mean to say is that sometimes they
think that the CEO should be selected from the team, and the other times, they
begin planning that new candidates should be interviewed.
Recommendation
In
the end, I would like the board of director to utilize all possible sources. I
recommend them to consider internal candidates before finding a potential
candidate outside the company. This is because those who are already working at
Hewlett-Packard know everything about the culture of the company and it won’t
take the board members much time to explain what they have to do after becoming
a CEO. The case makes it clear that Hewlett-Packard began facing problems when
Carly Fiorina was appointed as the CEO. Carly had no background in engineering,
and this made it difficult for the company to make appropriate decisions
especially when they had to acquire Compaq. After Carly Fiorina, Mark Hurd and
Leo Apotheker also served as CEOs. Both of them did not belong to the company,
so the situation took a more serious form. There is no information on how Meg
Whitman performed while they were a part of the team. I think that Meg could be
a suitable candidate for the position of CEO and the board should seriously
consider hiring them so that they can manage the company in a better way.
