Hewlett- Packard: Chef Executive Officer
Hewlett-Packard (HP) is one of the leading IT companies in the world, established in 1938 by two graduates; Bill and Dave, with a starting capital of approximately $539. Today, the company boasts of annual revenue worth over US $100 billion.
It is among the leading companies in terms of market share in PC products. Since its formation, the company has undergone several changes in its top leadership structure especially after the death of Packard, one of its co-founders (Malone, 2007). Today, the company has not officially announced its chief executive officer but the immediate former chief executive was Mark Hurd.
The change of leadership has been greatly associated with fervent search for executive qualities of a leader as viewed from individual and credible management industry perspectives. This paper examines Hurd in relation to his qualities as viewed from both perspectives and his legacy at HP.
Mark Hurd stepped into the helm of leadership in 2005 which saw the company gain market dominance during his tenure. From his period as a leader, Hurd has been viewed as a visionary and modest leader who offered much more than was expected from him since he over-delivered (Meyer, 2008). This quality enabled him to take the company to greater heights with less anticipation from company rivals. He possessed high ambition which enabled him to reach his visions and targets easily.
Secondly, he was an initiative leader who took ventures into domains where previous leaders had not ventured in. His initiatives included next generation enterprise data architecture and services and broad transition from analog to digital imaging (HP, 2011). These proved to be the next greatest future investments at HP. Thirdly, he was a great role model since he encouraged all stakeholders including customers to help him understand ways in which service delivery would be improved.
The credible management industry thought that Hurd was suitable for the job because he possessed sense management competencies and as a result gained corporate acceptance. Firstly, Hurd exhibited likeability qualities and was able to evoke sympathetic feelings from both the management and clients and this facilitated company growth to a leading share capital status. Secondly, Hurd had a personality that would automatically fill others with enthusiasm in discharging roles and responsibilities.
This quality led to his recommendation by the credible management industry. Thirdly, management saw the “cooperative abilities” (Meyer, 2008) of Hurd in interwork relationships and thus prioritized his presence in the company for strong work relationships thus leading to high productivity at HP. All these qualities are essential for optimal company performance and growth (Pham-Gia, 2009).
Having considered his qualities and as the former CEO at HP, Hurd has left an organizational legacy that entails customer prioritization and market leadership through cooperation. This legacy has been achieved through his success in driving HP to earning one of the top market shareholding positions in the IT industry and his involvement of all stakeholders in the running of daily company affairs.
In conclusion, HP has undergone several changes of top-level leadership especially after the death of Placard, one of its co-founders in search of good qualities of leadership as required from personal and credible management industry. These have been found in Hurd during his tenure at HP. The management industry was well convinced of his leadership abilities, enthusiasm and evoking with sympathy and thus left an organizational legacy of customer prioritization and market leadership through cooperation.
References
HP, (2011). Former CEOs. Web.
Malone, M.S. (2007). Bill & Dave: how Hewlett and Packard built the world’s greatest company. New York: Penguin.
Meyer, T. (2008). Leadership Qualities – Is There a Perfect Leader? Munchen: GRIN.
Pham-Gia, K. (2009). Case Study: Hewlett-Packard – Any Chance to Beat Its Global Competitors? Munchen: GRIN.