Hurd Identified After Being Appointed the New

¶ … Hurd identified after being appointed the new CEO of Hewlett-Packard were:

Vague Strategic Vision:

Previous CEO, Carly Fiorina's vision for HP, "digital, virtual, mobile, personal," was vague. No one knew whether it was being executed or not. It is important that the vision for the company should be specific and well-understood by every employee of the organization. A company cannot exist without having a purpose or a vision.

Under-Managed:

Another problem with HP was that it was under-managed. The previous CEO, Carly Fiorina, was a broad visionary, who failed to provide company with a specific and clear direction. Hurd not only gave a direction to the company but he also gave a purpose. He focused more on solving problems and executing the plans. He started working with the divisional levels to learn about their problems and how to go about solving them. He asked and gave them what they wanted. He made sure that all the operations ran smoothly.

Fiorina's Autocratic Style:

HP's history shows that it always communicated a friendly, approachable environment in the company. But the previous CEO changed that. Instead of making employees feel that all of them were working together, and that they could come to her regarding any problem, her autocratic leadership style created distrust among employees. They started feeling like they were working for her, instead of with her. People with autocratic style of leadership are very controlling, bossy and dictatorial. This type of style is not best for HP because the company demands creativity and a participative type of environment, rather than tyrannical. Such an autocratic style usually fails to encourage employees to do their best, and also creates a hurdle in the way of employee's trust in the company's success. It also leads to reduction in sales, low employee morale and slow growth.

Complicated Matrix Structure:

Complicated matrix structure was one of the main operational issues of HP. HP's matrix structure demanded reporting to more than one manager, such structure can create a lot of conflicts and confusion among the employees, and increase their level of errors and misconceptions. This structure demands a very high level of synchronization among managers. It created problems for the HP's employees because they did not know how their bonus and reward system worked, whether the bonus was given based on their performance or division wise. A company should have a straightforward reward system which should be clearly communicated to employees. This structure also created problems for the sales division, who were reporting to five different other divisions. Also, due to the misunderstandings, this led to many talented executives walking out of the company and HP couldn't attract any new ones.

RECTIFYING THE PROBLEMS

Leadership Style

The first step to rectify the problems was the appointment of Mark Hurd, the leader HP really needed. His leadership style was participative and he focused on clear visions, aims and purposes. He kept the strategic vision of "digital, virtual, mobile, personal" but modified it a bit. He ensured that everyone knew what it meant and gave them a purpose, to believe in what they're doing. Employees need direction, and that's what Mark Hurd did. To get the message across the company, the company could arrange various workshops and activities for the employees where they could not only interact with each other but also with the high level management and this would serve two purposes: create a friendly environment which will encourage employees and make them believe in the company's vision and its higher management, and also motivate them to do better.

Hurd could use both a delegative and participative style of leadership. He could invite and encourage employees to give their suggestions on the best way to solve the problems in the company. This would increase employee's trust in the company and its board of directors.

Structure & Reward system of the organization

Mark also helped in making the matrix structure of the company less complicated and more understandable. When he came to know about one sales division reporting to five different divisions, he decided to take an initiative. He divided the sales division so that each of the HP's product division had its own personal sales division. The matrix structure of the company should implement a simple reward system. This could help in attracting new employees and retention of existing ones. This will also act as a motivational tool for the employees and will increase their productivity and performance. The CEO's decision to link the matrix structure with the divisional and company performance was a very good idea. Also, the company's structure could be turned into more of a flat structure. A flat structure makes the flow of information, task allotment, and management in the company very easy.

SUGGESTIONS

Participative Style of Leadership

The CEO should adopt a participative style of leadership, so that various issues like low confidence and doubts among employees could be addressed. He should focus more on creation and retention of good relationships with the employees. Through this, the management would come to know about employees' problems, their needs and wants, what they look for in their higher management etc. The management, instead of focusing on their needs, will have to concentrate more on employees' needs which will show them that they care about their well being and their trust in them will be revived.

The CEO can also offer supervision to their employees which will encourage contribution from them. They will be motivated to do better, their productivity will increase and if the rewards are given to them for their efforts, it will also stimulate them to go further and they will be more creative in their workings, they will also enjoy their work and strive to make the company a successful one. The higher level employers can motivate the employees through this style of leadership but they'll have a final say when making decisions. Also, if the employees are directly dealt with, their morale increases, and they are able to get their point through to the employers, which increases their trust and loyalty to the company (Foti, 2007).