HP Paper

Using the below references write a 4-5 page paper using APA format. 12 font, in-text citation.

 

BACKGROUND: All organizations have internal politics. However, most organizations keep their political battles private and it is rare that the public will know the details about political intrigue within the major corporations. However, Hewlett-Packard (HP) is rare in that its political battles were waged publicly. HP will make for an ideal case study both because of the intense political behavior occurring at the top and because many articles have been written about these political battles.

HP has been through five CEOs since 2005, and each change of CEO has been controversial. The drama started in 2005 when then CEO Carly Fiorina was under attack from several members of HP’s Board of Directors. Some board members even took the dispute public by leaking information to the press. Fiorina fought back by investigating the leaks, but ultimately lost the battle and was ousted as CEO. Her replacement, Patricia Dunn, continued to investigate leaks by the board through the use of private investigators. Even more controversy emerged when it was discovered that the investigators used the method of “pretexting” in order to obtain phone records of board members.

 

There is a lot written about HP’s many dramas over the years; here are some articles to get you started:

Veverka, M. (2011). The soap opera at HP continues. Barron’s, 91(39), 25.

Granelli, J. S. (2006, Sep 20). Lockyer probe of HP spying reaches to ’05; sources say the inquiry goes back to the ouster of CEO Carly Fiorina, a possible victim. Los Angeles Times 

Kessler, M. (2006, Sep 08). Controversial HP probe started under Fiorina; stock falls as board continues public feud. USA Today

Pearlstein, S. (2011, Sep 25). How HP, silicon valley’s darling, became a soap opera. The Washington Post

 

Once you have finished reviewing the background materials and have completed your research on HP’s internal politics, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following issues:

 

1. What individual and organizational factors of HP and its senior leaders led to the intense political behavior? Refer to some of the specific factors discussed on pages 877-883 of Robbins (1997) that you think apply the most to HP in this situation.

2. What types of political behaviors did HP’s board members and CEOs exhibit? Be specific and use the types of political behaviors discussed in pages 297-301 of Luthans et al. (2015).

3. Were the leaks to the press by members of the board ethical? Was the investigation by Patricia Dunn into the links ethical? Use the ethical framework discussed on pages 896-898 of Robbins (1997) to guide your answer.

 

Robbins, S. (1997). Chapter 11: Power and politics. Essentials of Organizational Behavior. Pearson Education, New York, NY, pp. 869-901. Retrieved from www.rim.edu.bt/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/OBCDCH116.pdf

 

Luthans, F., Luthans, K. W., & Luthans, B. C. (2015). Chapter 10: Power and politics. Organizational Behavior: An Evidence-based Approach. Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing, pp. 296-304 [eBook Business Collection]