Summative Case Study 3 - Hewlett-Packard

At Hewlett-Packard, where the MBWA theory was practiced, executives were encouraged to be out of
their offices working on building relationships, otivating, and keeping direct touch with the activities of
the copany! "he practice of MBWA at all levels of the copany reflects a coitent to keep up to
date with individuals and activities through iproptu discussions, #coffee talks#, counication
lunches, and the like!
$n the early days of Hewlett-Packard %HP&, 'ave Packard and Bill Hewlett devised an active anageent
style that they called Management By Walking Around %MBWA&!
(enior HP anagers were seldo at their desks! "hey spent ost of their days visiting eployees,
custoers, and suppliers! "his direct contact with key people provided the with a solid grounding fro
which viable strategies could be crafted!
Before Palo Alto)s punky garage band the 'onnas, the yth of the garage was established by Willia
Hewlett and 'avid Packard, %Master (trategists& founding a copany building electronic test and
easureent e*uipent on +,-- capital!
"hese two sart fellows five years out of (tanford, established Hewlett-Packard .orporation and won the
bid for an audio oscillator to test the sound e*uipent for Walt 'isney)s #/antasia#, and their fantasia
becae reality.
"heir copany)s 0123 Hewlett-Packard 10--A was the first personal coputer, but they arketed it as a
#desktop calculator# so as not to evoke iages of $BM! "hey developed the laser printer, the single unit
printer4copier4scanner4/A5er, and a bunch of other stuff!
$n the 013-s $ran-$ra* war, their 6hio office shipped ilitarily useful tech to $ra*! By 7---, a series of
corporate buyouts and ac*uisitions ade H-P the world)s largest anufacturer of personal coputers!
"he garage yth was re-energi8ed %and craftily exploited& by (teve Wo8niak and (teve 9obs in the 01:-s!
$n y 0110 urali8ed interactive kiosk #.ollaborationation# $ lined the yth of the garage, as
applicable to y own fruitful fors of collaboration, garage bands and even counity urals!
Main Benefits
MBWA is an inforal top anageent practice! $t akes the entire workplace less foral! $t was MBWA
that ade leadership ore effective in any well-run organi8ations! MBWA fre*uently goes together
with an open-door anageent policy! $t #lets senior anageent hunt for and en;oy chatting with the
creative thinkers in the guts of the organi8ation#!
At first, eployees ay suspect that MBWA is ;ust an excuse for anagers to spy and interfere
unnecessary! "his suspicion usually falls away if the walkabouts occur regularly, and if everyone can see
their benefits!
MBWA has been found to be particularly helpful when an organi8ation is under exceptional stress< for
instance, after a significant corporate reorgani8ation has been announced! $t is no good practicing MBWA
for the first tie on such an occasion, however! $t has to have been a regular practice before the stress
arises!
"o Peters, the guru of =xcellence, saw #anaging by wandering around# as the basis of leadership and
excellence! Peters called MBWA the #technology of obvious#! Here are a few tips to assist you in that
sae pursuit as you Manage By Wandering Around!
o Appear relaxed as you ake your rounds! =ployees will reflect your feelings and actions!
o >eain open and responsive to *uestions and concerns!
o 6bserve and listen and let everyone see you do it!
o Make certain your visits are spontaneous and unplanned!
o "alk with eployees about their passions -- whether faily, hobbies, vacations, or sports!
o Ask for suggestions to iprove operations, products, service, sales, etc!
o "ry to spend an e*ual aount of tie in all areas of your organi8ation!
o .atch your eployees doing soething right and recogni8e the publicly!
o .onvey the iage of a coach -- not an inspector!
o =ncourage your eployees to show you how the real work of the copany gets done!
e!uired"
?sing the $nternet and inforation fro this case, coplete a Huan >esources (W6" analysis
for Hewlett Packard!