• WAS AN AMERICAN MULTINATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

COMPANY HEADQUARTERED IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA

• JANUARY 1, 1939
• HP SPECIALIZED IN DEVELOPING AND MANUFACTURING COMPUTING,
DATA STORAGE, AND NETWORKING HARDWARE, DESIGNING
SOFTWARE AND DELIVERING SERVICES.
William Hewlett David Packard
MEG WHITMAN’S LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE AT
HEWLETT-PACKARD
3.) RELENTLESS
1.) SET OUT PLAN AND
PARTNER
DO WHAT YOU SAY
YOU ARE GOING TO DO
COMMITMENT

4.) SUCCESSFUL
2.) COMMUNICATE SUCCESSION
PLANNING

MARGARET C.
WHITMAN
 IS MEG WHITMAN’S LEADERSHIP STYLE RIGHT FOR
HP?
DECISIONS THAT WHITMAN HAS MADE TO ACHIEVE THE
TURNAROUND PLAN
• REDUCE COST

• REALIGN RESOURCES TOWARD HIGH-GROWTH MARKETS LIKE

CORPORATE HARDWARE AND SERVICES OPERATIONS

• REINVIGORATE INNOVATION
• WHAT LEADER TRAITS AND BEHAVIOURS HAS MEG
WHITMAN USED? ARE THEY EFFECTIVE?

• HP’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS DESCRIBED WHITMAN AS “BLUNT, FOLKSY,

AND PERSISTENT” SHE IS A DECISIVE LEADER AND TEAM BUILDER WHO
REALIZES THAT TURNING AROUND HP REQUIRES A LONG TERM
COMMITMENT TO MAKING SEVERAL ADJUSTMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS,
AND IT’S NOT SIMPLY BETTING ON A SILVER BULLET. SOME OF THE PLANS
THAT WHITMAN HAS MADE TO ACHIEVE THE TURNAROUND FOR THE
COMPANY INCLUDES REDUCING COST, REALIGNING RESOURCES
TOWARDS HIGH-GROWTH MARKETS, AND REINVIGORATE INNOVATION.
NOW, WHITMAN’S LEADERSHIP STYLE IS SHOWING GLIMMERS OF
SUCCESS.
 • HOW WELL SUITED TO HP’S SITUATION IS MEG
WHITMAN’S LEADERSHIP STYLE, AS DESCRIBED HERE?

THE SITUATION OF HP WAS THAT THEY WERE STRUGGLING TO LIVE UP TO THEIR EARLIER
REPUTATION. THE FELL BEHIND IN INNOVATION IN THE MARKET FOR COMPUTERS AND
MOBILE DEVICES. MARKET SHARE, PROFITS AND THE COMPANY’S STOCK MARKET HAD
BEEN CONSISTENTLY SLIDING. THEY WERE EVEN RECEIEVING POOR INITIAL REVIEWS FOR
INNOVATIONS SUCH AS A PC TABLET IN WHICH WAS PULLED OFF RIGHT AWAY DUE TO THE
BAD REVIEWS. HP EVEN PUSHED OUT FOUR CHIEF EXECUTIVES DURING THIS STRUGGLING
TIME OF THEIR COMPANY. WHEN THEY HIRED WHITMAN, SHE WAS ALMOST LIKE THE
PERFECT PERSON THEY NEEDED. SHE RECOGNIZED THE STRUGGLES OF THE COMPANY AS
SHE HAD BEEN THERE FOR AROUND SEVEN MONTHS. HAVING SAID THIS, SHE PLACED HP
ON A FIVE YEAR TURNAROUND PLAN IN ORDER TO GET BACK ON TRACK. WHITMAN
ULTIMATELY KNEW AND UNDERSTOOD THE PROBLEMS OF THE COMPANY AND IMMEDIATELY
SHOWED HER LEADERSHIP BY CHANGING THE COMPANY AS A WHOLE BY RESTRUCTURING
AND COST-CUTTING. SHE WAS SIMPLY THE RIGHT LEADER AS SHE KNEW THE STRUGGLES
AND SO SHE SET GOALS FOR THE COMPANY IN ORDER TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND FURTHER.
HP’S FUTURE ACCORDING TO MEG
WHITMAN
MEG WHITMAN’S 6 STEPS TO AN HP TURNAROUND
1. URGES EMPLOYEES TO TAKE HP’S SETBACKS PERSONALLY
2. FOCUSES ON CORPORATE TECHNOLOGY SERVICES MARKET
3. MAKES CHANGES IN THE WORKPLACE
4. INVITES EMPLOYEES BACK TO THE HP OFFICE
• WHAT EVIDENCE, IF ANY DO YOU SEE THAT WHITMAN IS A
CHARISMATIC LEADER? A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER? AN
AUTHENTIC LEADER? A SERVANT-LEADER?

 Whitman can be considered as a TRANSFORMATIONAL

LEADER because of her ability to motivate and inspire
other people, like what was said in the article, she did
not only inspire a normal person rather she was able to
face to face talk to her boss about how her co
employees perceive her boss. With that, the boss was
able to adjust his style so that there would be a
chemistry in their workplace.

 I consider her as an AUTHENTIC LEADER because no

matter how many doubters she had, she still didn’t let
them bring her down instead she focused on her work
and just let the employees and customers define her
leadership.
• WHAT EVIDENCE, IF ANY DO YOU SEE THAT WHITMAN IS A
CHARISMATIC LEADER? A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER? AN
AUTHENTIC LEADER? A SERVANT-LEADER?

 She is a SERVANT LEADER because of how she changed the

bandwagon of boss-employee differentiation. She showed that
despite of her being on top in their office, she is contented with
very simply things, from ordering to a local pizza to even
ordering a local coffee. I believe its much influencing to her co-
employees and very much motivating because there is no
hierarchical treatment which can make their employees feel
more comfortable whenever they need to consult their boss. It
can help with the “chemistry in the office.
• LOOK UP RECENT BUSINESS NEWS TO LEARN HOW WELL HP IS
PERFORMING TODAY AND WHETHER WHITMAN REMAINS CEO. HAS
SHE BEEN A SUCCESSFUL LEADER OF HP? WHY OR WHY NOT?

• IN THE 3RD QUARTER OF 2019, HP’S MARKET SHARE OF GLOBAL PC

SHIPMENTS STOOD AT 22.4% , MAKING HP THE SECOND LARGEST PC
VENDOR OVERALL BEHIND ONLY LENOVO. HP’S PC MARKET SHARE HAS
MOSTLY INCREASED SINCE 2012, REFLECTING AN OVERALL TREND OF
CONSOLIDATION WITHIN THE PC MARKET.
• THE COMBINED SHARE OF GLOBAL PC CHIPMENTS OF THE THREE MAJOR
VENDORS IN THE MARKET (LENOVO, HP, AND DELL) HAS RISEN FROM
AROUND 40% IN 2011 TO MORE THAN 60% IN 2019.
• CRITICS SAY THAT WHITMAN RAISED THE VALUE OF THE STOCK BY CUTTING
COSTS AT HP, AND THEY HAVE A POINT. BUT THE COMPANY HAS BEEN
MANAGED BY HER AND HER TEAM TO STAY IN THE FINANCIAL BLACK WHILE
REVENUES HAVE LEVELED OFF AND DECLINED – MOSTLY DUE TO
COMPETITION FROM SMALLER, MORE NIMBLE NEW-GEN SOFTWARE AND
HARDWARE COMPANIES.