Hp ( Hewlett Packard ) Essay

There are two stakeholders in this situation and they are: the companies Apple and Foxconn as well as the Chinese government. Apple has obligations to their employees both domestic and global. They need to be mindful that a corporation is only as good as its products as well as, its image. They need to be mindful that since its headquarters are in the United States, it should do all that it can to maintain a positive image. It is also important to make sure that the products they sell are quality products while keeping the price as low as possible. Foxconn has a stake in its people and the products they export. The unfair and inhumane working conditions forced the government to step in. Foxconn also needs to be mindful of the issues presented previously for Apple (the difference they are headquartered in China). The fact that labor violations were taking place, China’s government had an obligations to its people. They need to protect their citizens from hazardous work conditions and hold Foxconn accountable for their actions.

Changing Market Conditions In the early 1990's, while technological innovation continued to drive the company's success, many business units were being forced to compete on other dimensions. In consumer product lines, low prices, broad availability and ease of use had become competitive requirements. Lew Platt, HP's current President and Chief Executive Officer, once acknowledged the importance of improving customer service and responsiveness, We're not doing as good a job in order fulfillment as we need to. In fact, it's where we get our lowest marks from customers. We have to be a lot easier to do business with. Improvement in order fulfillment will strengthen HP's competitiveness, increase customer satisfaction and reduce expenses, so this is an

• The enormous surplus of labor in China imperils workers worldwide as international competition puts incessant downward pressure on wages and working conditions, leading the apparel and textile industries to favor the cheapest and most Draconian producers.

Both of these company’s stress the importance of human rights, minimum wages, and healthy workplaces for all employees. The Governments of these low wage countries try their best to ignore and disregard these conditions that are not normal. The benefits of these workers working under these conditions are too high and production is increasing in countries such as China and India.

This factory collapsed and killed over 1,000 workers (Abrams, Rachel). In addition US companies use child labor that never would be ok in the domestic market. GAP has been accused of using 8 year old workers and Apple 15 year olds (Lamarque,Hannah). Other companies work minors over 19 hours per day (Lamarque,Hannah ). Can you imagine the backlash if a US company tried these practices? Overall, if they guarantee these rights in their home markets, they should treat their employees and customers abroad with equal human rights protection.

Hewlett Packard also known as HP was founded by William Hewlett and Dave Packard in a small rented garage in Palo Alto, California which is now known as the original Silicon Valley. HP is one of the world’s largest Information Technology (IT) companies operating on a global level. HP specializes in computers, computer systems and software. Also, in the development and manufacture of hardware, software design, service delivery as well as data storage. Identified Strategies

According to the case we know that labor costs in china may have a big increase in the next 10 years, from 40% totally to 10% annual increase to even 40% annual increase.

Harrys strategy involved getting rid of the print works and distribution network as they are surplus to requirements. Although this will reduce wage costs and increase ROCE which is an objective of the business, redundancies cost money and with the long serving nature of the work force de-motivation could occur between the surviving staff as long time friends may lose their jobs. 75% of the staff at the company are part of a trade union compared to an industry average of 50% who are not afraid of taking action. Unrest between the staff could lead to industrial action such as strikes which not only create bad publicity for the business but costs RM money as production could be delayed or even halted.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world 's largest retail enterprise, with total revenue of $421.8 billion and a net income of $16.4 billion in 2011. 1 It is also the world 's largest employer, with 2.1 million employees worldwide in 2010 2, not including workers hired by its providers. In my opinion, Wal-Mart provides a clear illustration through which to look at how many multinational companies (MNCs) take part in an illegal and unethical behavior. They use their bargaining power and market control to pressure countries to overlook environmental degradation and violation of national labor laws. They dictate expected pricing for products, particularly through imports from overseas countries. Labor is fulfilled mostly by underage and underpaid employees. In the United States, since 2005, Wal-Mart has paid about $1 billion in damages to U.S. employees in six different cases related to unpaid work. 3 Furthermore, Wal-Mart opposes any form of collective action, even when employees are not seeking unionization, but simply more respect. 4 The fact that Wal-Mart opposes unions exist. The company has a long history of fighting them, to the point of closing stores after employees organize. Managers have been instructed to talk to their teams about why unions are so unwanted in their business. Overseas, the company was involved in a series of scandals, including multiple cases of bribery. In April 2012, The New York Times published a story that

China is one of our biggest labor competitors. The reason many US companies go to China for outsourcing is again, because of their workforce’s willingness to operate at low costs. Michael Zimmerman describes this as a disparity in worker “tolerance”. Where the low wages found in China are “far lower than U.S.

In 1992, Hewlett Packard made the decision to produce 1.3 inch disk drives, leapfrogging over the 1.8 inch format to position themselves as market leaders for the smaller drive. Prior to this time, HP prided itself on its leadership position within this industry and its ability to innovate more quickly than its competitors. However, the Disk Memory Division (DMD) was lagging behind the company standard, comprising only 3.2% of total HP revenues in 1992. HP was trying to use the Kittyhawk project to propel the company into a higher profile position within the disk drive market.

Imagine only seeing your family for one day once a year. Having to compete for a ticket home with millions of other workers in order to see your family that you haven’t seen in a year. This is the life of 130 million migrant workers in china. These workers make most of the things we own. Most of us don’t think about the people who make our clothes, our phones, our computers; items that we use everyday. Our way of life revolves on mass consumerism, where we value the article more than the person or persons who made it. Mass media and multi million dollar industries keep the conditions on how these people work as a total mystery. Some brands have been exposed for sweatshop and

“Inside the factory, amid clattering machinery and clouds of sawdust, men without earplugs or protective goggles feed wood into screaming electric saws, making cabinets for stereo speakers” (Goodman and Pan 1). In the article Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart’s Low Prices by Peter Goodman and Philip Pan the mistreatment of the migrant workers in China is evident. These kinds of behaviors are taking place all over in China. The abuse of the Chinese work force has reached terrible proportions and created unlawful conditions because of the demanding economy of China, and other countries’ needs of the goods; however, the companies that are centered in China are working to make sure their workers are treated fairly.

2. What do you think of the way the team set out to find a market for the Kittyhawk? What correct turns and what wrong turns did they make?

Compaq Computer Corporation was a company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers, and were the first company to legally reverse engineer the IBM Personal Computer. They possessed a large marketplace and were a severe competitor for the technical giant Hewlett Packard. Both of these organization were at a crossroads with regards to their financial futures and they were competing against the other for market penetration of the personal computer.