HP Project Management Office: Setup, Goals, and Structure

Introduction

Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) is one of the largest information and technology (IT) corporations in the world. HP is a company that is well suited for the 21st century, as it employs its competencies and technological advancements to offer healing, education, and connectivity to individuals across the world. Hewlett-Packard is centered in the information systems industry and specializes in storage computing, hardware, software, and network services. HP is well renowned for providing technological solutions to individual consumers, businesses, and all sorts of entities across the globe. The main mission of Hewlett-Packard is to simplify and advance the manner in which technology and services enable both individuals and institutions to address their issues and challenges. For instance, the Hewlett-Packard Healthcare Information System (HCIS) is a fully integrated information system developed and maintained by the company for leading organizations in the healthcare industry (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).

To date, there is no internationally acknowledged and adopted standard for project management offices (PMOs), and the models employed by different organizations are dissimilar and vary considerably. However, there is a common set of basic requirements, tools, and functions that any project management office must have in order to be of great value to the company establishing it. A Project Management Office can be described as an organizational entity that encompasses numerous roles and functions with regard to a group of projects. It is an entity that can maximize project management by standardizing or regulating practices and consolidating various initiatives across the enterprise. PMOs are not static entities — most change every few years. Project management office applications and implementations are situationally dependent and shift in response to operational, structural, societal, and other forces. Moreover, these forces do not impact PMOs in predictable or uniform ways (Al-Maghraby, 2011).

Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the significance of a project management office in governing and controlling the execution of their projects. This is why more and more companies in the information systems industry are establishing project management offices. This paper considers the aspect of project management offices with respect to Hewlett-Packard Corporation, one of the largest companies in the information services (IS) industry. It also sheds light on the intended purpose and role of the PMO, the manner in which the PMO is to be established at HP, the essential components needed within the PMO along with its organizational structure, and the roles and responsibilities of the personnel involved (Al-Maghraby, 2011).

Organization's Mission, Vision, and Values

The mission statement of an organization describes its main purpose — why it exists as an entity. In other words, the mission conveys what the organization has determined to achieve while it is in operation. A mission statement is articulated for both the organization's internal and external benefit and focuses on the present state of the organization. The mission of Hewlett-Packard Company is to provide products, services, and solutions of the highest quality that deliver great value to its consumers, enabling the organization to earn consumers' respect and loyalty (Ireland et al., 2009).

The vision statement of an organization, by contrast, focuses on its future state. It can be considered the motivational basis or context for the existence of an organization. Unlike the mission statement, the vision highlights the direction in which the organization intends to go and underpins the strategic plan. The vision of Hewlett-Packard Company is to perceive change in the marketplace as a prospect for growth, and to employ its profits and capacity to develop and produce services, products, and solutions that satisfy the emerging needs of the consumer (Ireland et al., 2009).

The company holds a number of shared values, which include integrity and honesty in all of the organization's dealings. The company also ensures that it works in an effective and collaborative manner, seeking ways to serve its consumers. In addition, HP strives to create an organizational culture centered on trust, dignity, and respect for all individuals. The company also strives for excellence in all of its actions and activities. Lastly, HP values meaningful innovation — the company aims to develop technology that is not only beneficial but genuinely significant (Ireland et al., 2009).

Hewlett-Packard has seven key corporate objectives, discussed below.

i. Consumer Loyalty

With regard to consumer loyalty, HP strives to provide its consumers with products, services, and solutions of the highest quality and value, thereby earning their loyalty and respect. The company is keen to listen to its consumers in order to gain a proper understanding of their needs and thereafter offer solutions and services that translate into customer success — an aspect that is vital to earning consumer loyalty and expanding its consumer base. The level of quality and innovation that the company delivers further increases consumer loyalty (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).

ii. Profit

The company asserts that in order to attain adequate and satisfactory profit to finance its growth, generate value for its stakeholders, and provide the necessary resources, it is imperative to achieve its other corporate objectives. The fundamental belief supporting this objective is that everyone is responsible for the profit generated by the company, and that it is vital to balance short-term objectives with long-term objectives in order to maintain profitability. Profit enables the company to attain its corporate objectives and reinvest in new and emerging business prospects. Lastly, profit has a strong correlation with cash generation, which in turn brings greater flexibility to the company's business operations at a lower cost (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).

iii. Market Leadership

Hewlett-Packard aims to continuously grow and become a market leader by repeatedly providing beneficial and substantial products, services, and solutions to the industries and markets it serves. HP also plans to extend its business operations into new fields capable of building its expertise, capabilities, and consumer interests. The company recognizes that being average in the market is not sufficient and therefore strives to be a leader in all fields in which it participates (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).

iv. Growth

Another objective for the company is growth, in the sense that it must perceive change in the marketplace and industry as an opportunity to grow as a business. As a result, it must employ the profits generated and its capabilities to develop and manufacture innovative products, solutions, and services that satisfy the constantly changing and emerging needs of the consumer. Hewlett-Packard's large size and diversity in business give it the capacity to weather economic cycles and to make the most out of them. Such growth emanates from being a smart risk-taker (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).

v. Employee Commitment and Motivation

HP as a corporation aims to help its employees share in the success achieved by the company. The company seeks to provide individuals with employment opportunities centered on their performance and to create a safe, stimulating, and appropriate work environment that appreciates diversity and acknowledges the contribution of every individual. HP also seeks to ensure that employees are satisfied with the work they accomplish. The performance of the company is reliant on the motivation of its employees, and therefore their loyalty is key. In addition, having a diverse workforce enables the company to maintain a competitive edge; creating a stimulating and satisfying work environment drives a high level of innovation (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).

vi. Global Citizenship

Another key corporate objective of Hewlett-Packard is good citizenship across the world. The company ensures that it fulfills its accountability and responsibility to society by being an intellectual, economic, and social resource to every community in which it conducts business. The company believes that bettering society is not a responsibility that should fall to a few, but rather one that ought to be shared by all. In addition, HP holds a fundamental belief that to develop consumer and investor loyalty it must operate according to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Good citizenship is good business, as it advances and improves the company's brand (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).

vii. Leadership Capability

The final corporate objective of HP is leadership capability. The company strives to develop leaders at every level who are responsible and accountable for attaining business outcomes and representing the values of the company. Leaders demonstrate self-awareness and a readiness to receive criticism and continuously develop. Leaders motivate and nurture collaboration and transform ideas and strategies into achievement through dedicated and clear objectives (Hewlett-Packard Website, 2015).