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Three Core Elements of the HP Way |
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Defining and
Agreeing on the HP Values:
providing the framework for setting corporate objectives and
establishing standards for HP employees in dealing with their
co-workers and
customers.
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Setting and Agreeing on the Objectives:
getting everyone to agree on corporate objectives and to
understand what the company is trying to achieve.
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Empowering Employees:
turning everybody loose, so that people could move along in a common
direction.
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The Centerpiece of the HP Way
HP
Values |
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We approach each situation with the
belief that people want to do a good job and will do so, given the
proper tools and support. We attract highly capable,
diverse, and innovative people and recognize their efforts and
contribution to the company.
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Our customers expect HP products and services to be of the highest
quality and to provide
lasting value. To
achieve this, all HP people – but especially
managers – must be
leaders who
generate enthusiasm
enthusiasm and respond with extra effort to meet customer needs.
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We expect HP people to be open and honest in their dealings, so as
to earn the trust
and loyalty of others. People at every level are expected to
adhere to the highest standards of business ethics and must
understand that anything less is totally unaccepted.
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We recognize that it is only through effective cooperation within
and among the organizations that we can achieve our goals.
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We create an inclusive work environment that supports the
diversity of our people and stimulates
innovation. We
allow people flexibility in working towards goals in ways that they
help determine are best for the organization.
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HP
Corporate
Culture
Is Based On: |
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respect for others
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a sense of community
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plain hard work
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Competitive Advantage
HP leaders have "an
advantage
that enables them to learn and adjust as few others can. The depth, breadth,
and vitality that come alive daily through the firm's
values
– the HP Way – are asset from which most of the Silicon Valley continues to
learn. HP general managers regularly discuss and assess the vitality of the
HP Way, a process, that inevitably results in corrective actions to ensure
its continued viability."2
HP Values
Originally put in writing in 1989 by David
Packard,
HP values are the centerpiece of the Hewlett-Packard
Way. "Hewlett-Packard's stated
values
are not uniquely different from most major companies. What makes the HP Way
unique, though, is the seriousness with which values are treated as a
management tool. They are not spread by sloganeering, but serve as criteria
for daily decision-making and advancement. Brought to life as well as
Hewlett-Packard does the HP Way,
values based management lifts everyone above trivial concerns to focus
on those that are truly important."2
Inspiring Culture: 5 Elements
Integrating Critical
Opposites
To create an organization that could sustain
its
competitive advantage
regardless of marketplace whims and what their competitors were building, HP
founders based their
corporate culture
on the integration and reinforcement of critical opposites. This became
known as the Hewlett-Packard Way. HP has achieved "what appears to be the
greatest dichotomy: creating an environment that celebrates individualism,
but at the same time one that is also wholly supportive of teamwork.
Although HP people are taught to engage in
cross-functional teams,
they are also rated on the performance of decentralized business units and
personal achievement."1
Supporting Teamwork
"Interesting, when the Japanese look at HP,
they say this is a Japanese company. This stems from the Japanese focus on
teamwork
and on forging a highly developed collaborative workplace. In an Asian
environment, the
group
supercedes the individual."1
HP environment is not a near clone of the
Japanese-style teamwork, however. The company managed to avoid the
traditional weaknesses of both
American and Japanese companies that have allowed either individualism
or consensus building to be taken to the extreme. HP excelled in
managing dualities
– specifically in creating a delicate
balance
between
individual creativity
and teamwork.
Developing
Cross-functional Individuals
Most companies tend to recruit,
train and promote people within functional corridors. But Hewlett-Packard
(HP) breaks the walls, creating a carrier network that begins with the
recruitment of diverse people in terms of their skills and personality and
then promotes horizontally, as well as vertically throughout the company.
"Typically, HP employees move through four to six functional areas in the
course of their carriers. This creates broad knowledge of the company and
fosters the kind of
teamwork other companies covet".1
Systemic Innovation: 7 Areas
Smart Business Architect
When it
comes time to promote, managers don't look who is next down the carrier
line, they look for the best people. Neither employees should follow a
pre-defined path to a particular post, nor need they to get a bigger title
to be given new responsibility. |
