Hewlett-Packard: Individual And Organizational Factors

Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) recent controversial history with chief executive officer’s (CEO) provides us different examples of both individual and organizational factors which can influence a political environment, especially in the workplace. Although the dysfunction of HP has been blamed mostly on individual factors, the material in the background readings provide insight on some of the organizational factors that also influenced the political battles among the top leadership of the company. Robbins (1997) discusses variations of politicking in an organization based on characteristics and qualities of people and the organization's culture or internal environment. With that in mind, HP has gone through multiple changes with CEO’s and board

Dunn caused an increase of political positioning between CEO and the HP board. Plus, board members became further divided with unethical leaks of classified company information, and Mrs. Dunn’s approach and investigation to discover the source of the leaks. Similar to her predecessor, Dunn was influenced by low self-monitors, with an internal locus of control, and a keen interest in the organization. An illustration of these behaviors is described with her actions trying to control her environment by hiring an investigating firm to spy on board members. Further, Patricia ignored requests from board member Tom Perkins to deal with the unethical leaks internally, creating a perception of illegitimate political actions. In this case, Mrs. Dunn appears to use the political behavior “Make a quick showing” (Luthans 2015), which is understandable due to the damage created by the leaks. However, her actions caused the board to react much like they did with Carly Fiorina, where they formed an alliance and investigated the techniques used in her investigation. Ultimately, with the discovery of inappropriate investigative technique and the resignation of prominent board members, Dunn eventually stepped down from her

Keyworth II, one might think George was serving self-interest. However, the decisions of Carly Fiorina were undeniably devastating to the company. Therefore, Keyworth’s information leaks may have benefitted the company in the long term. Similarly, Dunn’s approach to her investigation by tapping and spying on board members might be viewed as distrustful and unethical. On the other hand, some may have viewed her actions as noble because she was trying to solve an issue with trust and respect among the top leadership ranks. Further, Mrs. Dunn’s investigation finally singled out the perpetrator, perhaps addressing future problems and sealing a bond between CEO and board members. Unfortunately, with the departure of both Keyworth and Dunn, the subject can only be debated. Plus, with the circumstances of the next CEO’s, the ethical decisions of both seem to a smaller issue of cause to the demise and problems HP faced then and continued to face in the