BM1807

ACTIVITY
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Company
Hewlett-Packard or commonly known as HP, is an American manufacturer of software and computer
services.
Mark Hurd, the CEO of HP in 2005, roared into the company by eliminating more than 15,000 jobs;
cutting down costs for research and development; and attempting to automate consulting services. A
leak of information discussed at a board of director’s strategy meeting in late 2005 led then–Board
Chairman Patricia Dunn and CEO Mark Hurd to initiate an investigation of fellow board members. Using
detectives who posed as reporters, they obtained phone records of those people on the board that they
suspected, and the spying scandal exploded into the open. Dunn was fired from her board seat in 2006
and Newsweek magazine put her on the cover with the title “The Boss Who Spied on Her Board.” Mark
Hurd escaped any serious repercussions from the scandal and announced a new, very strict code of
conduct for the corporation. By all accounts, Mark Hurd was successful at turning the company around
and was listed as one of the best CEOs in 2009. However, another scandal broke, Hurd was accused of
sexual harassment with an HP marketing consultant. While the board found that he did not actually
violate the company’s sexual-harassment policies, they did find that he submitted inaccurate expense
reports intended to conceal the relationship. He was forced to resign in August 2010 by a powerful but
small group of directors. In the wake of the Hurd resignation, there was a major board shakeup. Four (4)
directors involved in forcing the Hurd resignation resigned their board seats, and five (5) new board
members were named.

In November 2010, the board named Leo Apotheker as the new CEO. He was the former head of Global
Field Operations at SAP and would remain the company’s CEO for little more than 10 months.
Apotheker’s move to push forward the HP TouchPad tablet was a commercial failure at the same time
that HP phones were taking a beating in the market. In a stunning announcement in September 2011, he
stated that HP would exit the PC business entirely. HP was the leader in PC sales both within the United
States and globally. The outrage was immediate and overwhelming. The company reversed position two
(2) weeks later, but the board was appalled at his lack of leadership. After firing Apotheker, the board
named one of its own members, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman to run the company. The board turmoil
did not end. After a contentious annual meeting in 2013, the Chairman of the Board stepped down, and
two (2) other board members resigned. In 2014, Meg Whitman was named Chairman of the Board and
two (2) new members were added at the same time that the company was in the process of the most
significant layoffs in its history. From 2011 when Whitman took over as CEO to 2015, the company laid
off more than 55,000 employees. Effective November 1, 2015, the company split into two (2) publicly
traded companies to separate the slow-growing PC and printer business from the potentially fast-
growing cloud technology and cyber security businesses.

The manufacturing, delivery, and use of HP products and solutions requires a substantial amount of
natural resources. As part of their commitment in protecting the planet, HP measures their
environmental footprint across the value chain to prioritize areas for improvement. HP is the first
company in the IT industry to publish a full carbon footprint and one of the first to disclose a complete
water footprint. The goal of the company is to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% in 2020
and reduce its global operations’ potable water consumption by 15% in 2025.

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Names: Ven-Jo Sanchez Section: TM302B
Date: March 14, 2022

Answer the following questions: (4 items x 10 points)

1. What is/are the sustainable business practice/s of HP based on the given case?

The established committees are responsible for identifying senior executives who will be
held accountable for sustainability performance. Supply chain management In order to
meet its environmental and social goals, the company has established requirements for
first-tier suppliers. It also collaborates with its suppliers to set greenhouse gas emission
reduction and energy efficiency goals. Stakeholder Engagement, which focuses on climate
change and water scarcity by reducing its operations' potable water consumption by 15%
by 2025, is one of the sustainable business practices that HP has used as part of its
organizational commitments. Supply chain management also requires them to drive their
environmental and social expectations. It also collaborated with them to set a goal of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020.
2. What pillar/s of sustainability is/are being addressed by HP’s business practice/s?
 Using the case study of HP, the Environmental Pillar was implemented to ensure the
company's commitment to environmental protection. This type of Pillar assists the
organization in achieving long-term sustainability. The HP company is focused on lowering
its carbon footprint, water consumption, and overall environmental impact.
3. What function/s of corporate governance is/are present in the case study?
 Shareholder meetings ensure that the company's financial health and the status of its
ongoing business initiatives are kept up to date. The board of directors must hold
meetings to keep shareholders informed about the company's profitability, goals, and any
market problems that may cause them to fall short of those goals. Shareholders who are
kept informed about company practices are more likely to trust the board of directors and
stay with the company rather than sell stock.
4. How will HP resolve its given organizational problem based on the functions of corporate
governance?
 Make risk management a top priority because early detection of potential project
hazards can reduce the likelihood and severity of problems. If something goes wrong,
there will already be a plan in place to address the problem. HP requires risk
management because of this. And the accountability in the workplace. Corporate
governance ensures that the board of directors and the company's larger management
structure are held accountable. This creates a system of cross-checking to ensure that
certain company procedures and initiatives are followed correctly. It also gives the
company more flexibility in terms of adjusting goals or project methods if an investment
opportunity turns out to be less profitable than expected.
Rubric for grading:
CRITERIA PERFORMANCE INDICATORS POINTS
Content Provided pieces of evidence, supporting
8
details, and factual scenarios
Grammar Used correct grammar, punctuation,
1
spelling, and capitalization
Organization Expressed the points in clear and logical
1
of ideas arrangement of ideas in the paragraph
TOTAL 10

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References:
Bamford, C., Hoffman, A., Hunger, D., & Wheelen, T. (2018). Strategic management and business policy:
Globalization, innovation and sustainability (15th ed.). United Kingdom: Pearson Education
Limited.
Hewlett-Packard. (2019). Our footprint. Retrieved on February 14, 2019, from
https://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-information/environment/footprint.html

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