HP Human Resources Strategy: The HP Way and HRM Practices

Introduction

Commerce and its dependence upon information technology (IT) has positioned Hewlett-Packard (HP) as a successful and large corporate entity. Human resources as a strategic instrument is necessary in order to maximize the potential of this company, and a useful, detailed investigation into these processes can yield a beneficial conclusion about how human resources best practices may be implemented within a corporate model such as HP's.

The purpose of this analysis is to present HP's current status and to formulate applicable human resource management ideas relevant to that situation. The paper first provides a background analysis of HP, establishing the baseline features of the company and how it fits into both the corporate and labor cycles present in today's market. It then focuses on the targeted HP employee and constructs a model of criteria exploring the work processes, knowledge, skills, and talents necessary for any individual wishing to contribute to this company. The analysis also addresses how technology can be applied to human resources management throughout HP and identifies avenues for exploiting the technological advantages the company may possess.

Additionally, this analysis examines the current labor market and its impact on the supply side of HP's human resources department. Complementing this discussion is an exploration of relevant legal issues. The paper concludes with a set of HRM recommendations specifically tailored to HP and its ability to navigate the future of its industry with sustained success and profitability.

Hewlett-Packard's History and the HP Way

Hewlett-Packard's history began in 1939 when Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett incorporated their organization around technology and various computer development ideas, including vacuum tube technology and digital relays. The massive company that HP would become some fifty years later started out as a small business operating from a tiny garage in Northern California.

The age of this company speaks to its importance in the development of technology in America. HP is considered a pioneer of computer technology, and many regard Silicon Valley's first success as beginning with the work of Hewlett and Packard. The computer and IT industry grew alongside HP throughout the twentieth century, as many advances were either invented or mastered by technicians and laborers aligned with this company.

Most importantly, HP's culture was derived from a set of principles supported by the company's original founders and passed down throughout its historic journey. This culture became known as the HP Way. Built on respect for the individual and a pursuit of excellence, the HP Way also embraced teamwork, flexibility, and community integrity as hallmark tenets. These ideals are deeply representative of the link between HRM and the greater strategic aims of the organization. The historic alignment between HP's human resources and the company's achievements has remained evident throughout its history.

HP's Current Strategy and Workforce Restructuring

HP's current position in the market has been unstable in many respects. Over the preceding five years, significant disruption to the company's internal operations had followed a series of challenges to this well-known American brand. As Franklin and Mujtaba (2007) noted, "The HP Way can survive in today's intensely competitive environment. The key to maintaining the HP Way and values like it are to create values that can be modified when changes in the firm's internal or external environment occur. The problem most companies face when trying to hold on to their core values is that the values are sometimes too rigid."

HP took a direct approach toward its individual employees in recent times as a result of its struggle to maintain a competitive advantage within its industry. The very nature of technology and its associated markets is the speed at which change occurs. Computer technology has become easier to produce and less complicated to engineer in many respects.

As a consequence of these larger shifts, HP was forced to reduce its workforce by a substantial margin. As Blanc (2015) reported, "The company's CFO Cathie Lesjak revealed during the earnings call for the third fiscal quarter of this fiscal year (3QFY15) that layoffs will exceed the previous estimate of 55,000 jobs by 5%. The planned layoffs are part of the company's long-run layoff plan which was initiated in 2012. The initial target of the plan was to eliminate just 25,000 jobs. However, the target has risen every year since then. The planned tally of layoffs grew to 55,000 jobs last year, only to rise again this year."

The HP Way outlines a reliance on teamwork and a respect for others. While mass layoffs appear to challenge this ideal, HP's restructuring may, in the long run, prove more beneficial to all parties. HP's current strategy aims to reduce labor costs and focus on generating profits by becoming leaner and more resourceful in how it creates and delivers products to its customers.