Human resources management problems at Hewlett Packard

HRM

Hewlett Packard is one of the largest companies in the world, with offices all over the globe. The company was created in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard.

The first Items the company sold were audio oscillators. The company's oscillators were fist purchased by the Walt Disney Company. Over the years, HP has continued to expand and today it is one of the leading technology companies in the world. The products the company currently offers include personal computers, laptops, printers and peripherals. The company also offers business solutions. The company serves individuals and organizations throughout the world ("History").

Hewlett Packard is a large technology corporation that is publicly traded ("About Us"). It operates in more than 170 countries throughout the world and employs 172,000 people. It is also a fortune 500 company that has a ranking of 14. The corporate culture of HP is creative but still corporate. One of the reasons why the company has enjoyed success is a result of the creative solutions that it provides. While other companies such as Dell and Google are known for their laid back corporate cultures, HP tends to be more serious but it does encourage creativity through teamwork (Working at HP).

The people who work for HP are from a variety of backgrounds. Most have attended college and have at least a bachelor's degree. Individuals who are software engineers and computer programmers often have special certifications. In addition, those at higher levels of management such as the CEO often have advanced degrees. As it pertains to the company's hierarchy, Mark Hurd serves as Chairman, CEO and President of the company. Next in the hierarchy is the CFO, then the Executive Vice President of Technology Solutions Group, the Executive Vice President of Imaging & Printing Group, and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer and Executive Vice President.

Analysis of Problems

Although HP is extremely successful in many ways, the company also lacks in some areas of productivity and some areas of Human Resources Management need improvement. It is important to note that HP is still recovering from the damage done by former CEO Carly Florina, who left the company in 2005. There were many blunders that occurred under her leadership and the company and its employees were steered off course and the company suffered as a result. The CEO that took Florina's place was Mark Hurd and he is the current CEO of the company.

The two primary HRM problems that the company faces are motivation and selection & training. As it pertains to motivation, because of the turmoil the company has experienced, the company must work hard to regain the trust of employees. If employees do not trust the leadership, they will not be motivated to perform. Under the leadership of Mark Hurd some of the trust between leadership and employees has been regained but there are still areas of improvement that need to be addressed. Not only do motivated employees strive to do their best, but the productivity of the company will increase with the proper motivation because employees have the energy they need to be creative and innovative.

It seems that motivation is key if HP is to increase its productivity and become more competitive in certain areas. Motivated employees are ware of their purpose and understand that they are valuable and that their input is needed. The employees are then motivated to contribute to the company in ways that are creative and innovative. This is the type of motivation needed to ensure that HP will produce superior products well into the future.

Selection and training is also a major factor that HP must address. When there is not proper selection and training the end result is usually the production of products that are inferior to the products produced by the competition. In the case of HP some of the laptops that the company manufactures including the Pavilion and the Presario have been found to have serious problems with their LCD screens and with gaining access to wireless networks. In addition there have been problems associated with running the Vista operating system on These problems are a direct result of selection and training as it pertains to employees. It is vitally important that employees that are involved in the design of the company's computers are consistent with or better than the products offered by the competition.

Solutions and Implementation

As it pertains to addressing the aforementioned problems, there are several theories and concepts that can be implemented. As it relates to motivation and the building or rebuilding of trust between leadership and employees, the company must first make a concerted effort to be more transparent with employees. Under the leadership of Mark Hurd it has been made clear that there will be open lines of communication between leadership and lower level employees. Although this has been stated the company is still working on ensuring the employees have a voice and asking for their input.

In addition to the trust that must exist between leadership and employees, in order to encourage motivation, trust amongst team members is also essential as it pertains to motivation. This is particularly important for Hp because their entire HRM strategy hinges upon teamwork. If individuals within the team do not trust one another there is no motivation and no desire to create and develop ideas and product. To this end the company would benefit greatly from a series of retreats that incorporate activities that are designed to build trust amongst team members. Although this may sound unrealistic, the retreats are a good compliment to other strategies that are designed to improve motivation.

The other strategies that can be utilized to improve motivation include greater incentives and rewards. HP currently has an incentive program in place however it should be expanded to specifically reward individuals and teams for their successes particularly as it pertains to developing innovative products or finding creative solutions. It is vitally important that individuals and teams have the motivation needed to design new products and gain a competitive advantage over the competition.

It is important for the company to assist employees in becoming more intrinsically motivated. This means that rewards can be utilized but they have to be used in moderation. If rewards and incentives are present for every accomplishment, employees may become extrinsically motivated. That is they may value the reward more than they value performing their job well. The danger in this is that productivity can suffer if people feel that they are not receiving the reward they deserve; the company will always have to offer greater rewards.

As it pertains to selection and training, the company must make a more concerted effort to recruit individuals that would provide HP with an advantage over the competition. Recruitment efforts must begin at the high school level, and HP must begin to offer programs that get students interested in the development of new types of hardware and other aspects of technology production. Incentives such as college scholarships and internships can be offered. These efforts can be made in cooperation with colleges and universities throughout the world.

In addition to recruitment, training is also a major issue that HP must be addressed. The company must offer employees continuous training because of the nature of technology and the substantial ways in which technology changes from year to year. In addition, mentorship programs could be a substantial asset for HP. There are many employees that have gained a great deal of experience over the years and they should serve as mentors to new recruits and younger workers. In addition, to this traditional for of mentorship, younger employees could also mentor older employees as it pertains to the newest technologies and the current trends. In this way all employees have an opportunity to learn and contribute to the future of the company.

The primary issue that the company may face in implementing the aforementioned suggestions is having to will and the courage to make certain changes. Some of these programs may also face objections because they will require monetary investments.