Hewlett-Packard - The new way?

This case study focuses on Hewlett Packard, a company that has often been cited in business and management literature as being 'visionary', 'exemplar', 'innovative' and 'cutting-edge'. During the 1980s and 1990s, a variety of commentators suggested that the main reason why the company was so successful over a very long period of time could be found in the management of its corporate culture - 'The HP Way'. However, since the late 1990s, the company has been experiencing difficulties and, over the last six years, a new and tougher culture has begun to emerge at the company, 'The New HP Way'. The case study is an opportunity for both undergraduate and postgraduate business and management to explore what organisational culture is, how it can shape and influence employee and company performance, and the difficulties that can be associated with changing ingrained and long-established cultures in business organisations.