Foreign Trade University

BTEC LEVEL 7 EXTENDED DIPLOMA IN

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

NAME OF STUDENT

ASSIGNMENT ISSUE DATE: 16 April 2018

MODULE CODE Y/602/2058

UNIT TITLE Developing Strategic Management and Leadership

ASSIGNMENT TITLE Hewlett-Packard

ASSIGNMENT NO 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

NAME OF ASSESSOR

SUBMISSION DEADLINE 21 May 2018

TO BE FILLED BY STUDENTS
Please complete in full all categories neatly before submitting the work for assessment

NUMBER OF PAGES SUBMITTED

ASSESSMENT TITLE (A Copy of the assessment
brief MUST be attached together with this work)
DATE ASSESSMENT BRIEF IS RECEIVED

SUBMISSION DATE

I, __________________________ hereby confirm that this assignment is my own work and not the
product of plagiarism, collusion or other academic irregularity. I have referenced the sources from which
information is obtained by me for this assignment.

…………………………………………. …….……………….
SIGNATURE OF STUDENT DATE

FOR OFFICIAL USE

Assignment Received By: Date:

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

TO BE FILLED BY STUDENTS
Please list the evidence submitted for each task. Indicate the page numbers where the evidence
can be found or describe the nature of the evidence (e.g. video, illustration).

Task Page Number or

Evidence Submitted
Ref Description

1.1 explain the link between strategic management and leadership

analyse the impact of management and leadership

1.2 styles on strategic decisions

evaluate how leadership styles can be adapted to different

1.3 situations

review the impact that selected theories of management and

2.1 leadership have on organisational strategy

2.2 create a leadership strategy that supports organisational direction

use appropriate methods to review current leadership

3.1 requirements

plan for the development of future situations requiring

3.2 leadership

plan the development of leadership skills for a specific

4.1 requirement

report on the usefulness of methods used to plan the

4.2 development of leadership skills

Additional comments to the Assessor:

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

Coursework Policies
1. All coursework submitted must include
a. A copy of the full brief given by the assessor (with the signed coversheet)
b. All source material must be cited in the text and a full reference list of source material
(including author, title, publisher and date) listed at the end of the submission.

2. All work must be submitted in the mode instructed by the assessor.

3. Work submitted under the student’s name must only be the work of that student. All
information sources must be acknowledged. Plagiarism is a serious offence and will render
offenders liable to disciplinary action as set out in the Foreign Trade University rules and
regulation.

4. Students MUST keep a copy of all submitted work for reference purposes prior to the original
being handed in and returned. This will provide proof that the work was completed, in the
event that the work goes astray.

5. Whenever a candidate submits work after two weeks without an authorised extension, a
Referral grade will be awarded. Assessors may comment on the quality of the work for
learning purposes.

6. Requests for extensions of submission deadlines must be made in writing prior to the
submission deadline to the appropriate Course Administrator or Programme Leader and
must be supported by documentary evidence.

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

Unit Outcomes

Assessor’s decision Internal

Outcome Evidence for the Feedback
criteria First Re- Verification
Task
attempt work

Explain the link

between strategic
1.1
management and
leadership

Understand the
Analyse the impact
relationship
of management
between and leadership
strategic 1.2
styles on strategic
management decisions
and
leadership

LO1

Evaluate how
leadership styles
1.3
can be adapted to
different situations

Review the impact

that selected
theories of
management and 2.1
leadership have on
Be able to
organisational
apply strategy
management
and
leadership
theory to
support
organisational
direction
Create a leadership
LO2 strategy that
supports 2.2
organisational
direction

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

 Assessor’s decision
Evidence for the Internal
Outcome Feedback
criteria First Re-
Verification
Task
attempt work

Use appropriate
methods to
review current 3.1
leadership
requirements

Be able to
assess
leadership
requirements

LO3

Plan for the

development of
3.2
future situations
requiring leadership

Plan the
development of
leadership skills for 4.1
a specific
requirement
Be able to plan
the
development of
leadership
skills

LO4
Report on the
usefulness of
methods used to
4.2
plan the
development of
leadership skills

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

 Assignment

( ) Well-structured; Reference is done properly / should be done (if any)

Areas for improvement:

ASSESSOR SIGNATURE DATE / /

NAME:.........................................................................................

(Oral feedback was also provided)

STUDENT SIGNATURE DATE / /

NAME :..............................................................................

FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

VERIFIED YES NO

DATE : ...........................................................................

VERIFIED BY : ...........................................................................

NAME : ...........................................................................

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

SCENARIO - Hewlett-Packard (HP)

COMPANY – Hewlett-Packard (note: the following article is taken from the text
‘Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership by Tim
Irwin Ph.D. (Author), 2009 pages 40 to 44 ’ but tailored for this assignment. Some of
the organisational positions have change over time).

A NEW BUT UNBEFITTING LOOK

Before joining H-P, Fiorina had already gained a reputation for her hard-charging, high-
fashion style. She fit well in sales and marketing circles where self-promotion was
acceptable and the limelight was your best friend. She felt H-P should join that circle. "In
certain respects, Fiorina did exactly what she had been asked to do," explained a 2005
Time magazine article. "Hewlett-Packard ... was a pocket-protector paradise, its culture
defined by the H-P way: paternal, collaborative, entrepreneurial, community minded and
inconspicuous .... Fiorina was brought in to drive a state through that squishy culture's
heart.... The company needed to reposition itself in a new, networked environment.
Fiorina ... was well versed in the dangers of cultural inertia." 1

It took little time for Fiorina's cultural makeover of H-P to take hold ... and begin turning
sour. While no one was arguing the need for a more unified front, H-P insiders began to
sense that Fiorina's change strategy was less about H-P and more about promoting its new
boss.

In attempts to confront the problems that ailed H-P, Fiorina shaved the number of H-P's
business units from eighty-three to only a handful and consolidated executive authority
through her office. She then stemmed financial losses in the PC division through extensive
layoffs.2 Although the measures allowed the company to cut costs, they were in stark
contrast to the long admired, fraternal culture of the company, and offended disciples of the
H-P Way.

Fiorina's make-or-break moment occurred in 2002, when she pushed through a

controversial merger with Compaq, overcoming opposition from board member and Hewlett
family member, Walter Hewlett, in the most expensive proxy battle ever fought. Although the
merger made H-P the immediate market leader in personal computers, Fiorina's treatment
of Walter Hewlett showed a gross disregard for H-P's roots, something her critics had been
charging almost from the beginning.

Had the merger proved to catapult the company into the limelight as Fiorina expected, it is
reasonable to think she might still hold her position. As it happened, however, the $19 billion
acquisition and merger with Compaq fell well short of profit targets. Not only did this bring
into question Fiorina's leadership, it brought out another side of the boss that few had yet to
see.

1
Bill Saporito, et. al, "Why Carly's Out: HP's ousted CEO, Carly Fiorina, tried to revive the Silicon Valley legend with the
vision thing. What the company needs is far more fundamental," Time, 21 February 2005.
2
Pui-Wmg Tam, "Hewlett-Packard Board Considers a Re-organisation Management Moves Stem from Performance Concerns;
Helping Fiorina 'Succeed,"' Wall Street Journal, 24 January 2005.

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

"In 2003," explained the Time article, "despite Fiorina's promises that operating margins
would reach 3%, the company's PC division earned a meagre 0.1 % on $2 1.2 billion in
sales. And last August, the company's Enterprise Servers and Storage Group, which sells to
corporate customers, reported a $208 million loss for the quarter. As a furious Fiorina
reacted by publicly firing "the server unit's boss and two others, the board began to take a
harder look at her performance."3

As the H-P insiders and the broader business community became more confident the
Compaq merger was a bust, Fiorina became more defensive about her ability to execute
the company's strategy. She turned, instead, to blaming others for the company's failure to
meet earnings expectations. The board then began suggesting she spread the leadership
load, perhaps to a new chief of operation. She strongly resisted the notion. While many had
their hunches, the makeover had not been so clearly personal to Fiorina until then.

"The tide really began turning against Fiorina," Business Week writer Ben Elgin wrote,
"following H-P's massive profit shortfall in the third quarter of [2004] . .. H-P's second miss
in five quarters ... Although Fiorina fired three top sales executives for the miss, the board's
doubts about its CEO grew. At the same time, the board's prodding of Fiorina to bolster H-
P's operations talent went largely unheeded." 4

As Fiorina held firm, H-P's stock price continued to fall at one point to 55 percent below its
pre-Carly price. The board tightened its position and eventually made it clear to Fiorina that
they planned to shift some of her operational responsibilities to her direct reports, potentially
chief strategy and technology officer Shane Robison. According to sources close to the
discussions, it was their intention not to fire Fiorina in this process but rather to help her
succeed. "The board felt," wrote Pui-WingTam in the Wall Street Journal; "Ms Fiorina had
great abilities."5

Fiorina strongly resisted this plan, citing two primary reasons: I) Robison's lack of
experience in running a company, and 2) it was the CEO's prerogative to delegate
operations, not the boards. Because of her resistance, the board asked for her resignation,
on the grounds that they needed a leader with more operational talent.

"As a light rain drizzled outside," explained Business Week's Ben Elgin, "the directors
stewed over their star CEO's failure to execute her ambitious plan for the company. In
addition, directors were concerned about the 'board's inability to work constructively with
[Fiorina],' according to an H-P insider. The next day, they asked Fiorina to step down and on
Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 5 a.m. Pacific-time, H-P stunned the world, announcing Fiorina's
dismissal, ending her five-and-a-half year stint atop one of the legends of Silicon Valley." 6
The board finally concluded, explained a Time article, "that Fiorina had one significant
weakness as a chief executive: she just wasn't very good at running the business." 7

On the day the ouster was announced, some employees raised their glasses and H-P's
stock price jumped as much as 10.5 percent at one point, settling up 6.9 percent. "The
stock is up … on the fact that nobody liked Carly's leadership all that much,'' said Robert
3
Saporito, "Why Carly's Out."
4
Ben Elgin, ''The Inside Story of Carly's Ouster," Business Week, 21 February 2005.
5
Pui-Wing Tam, "Fallen Star: H-P's Board Ousts "Fiorina as CEO-Amid Languishing Stock, Computer Chief Resists Pressure
to Delegate-A Big Merger's Missed Goals," Wall Street Journal, 10 February 2005.
6
Elgin, "The Inside Story of Carly's Ouster."
7
Saporito, "Why Carly's Out."

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

Cihra, an analyst with Fulcrum Global Partners." The Street had lost all faith in her and the
market's hope is that anyone will be better." 8

WHY FIORINA EVENTUALLY FACED DEMISE

Fiorina's rock-star image and tendency toward self-promotion exacerbated the tensions
brought on by her operational changes. Morale dropped as did the very identity that had
made H-P a computing icon. "She had a flair,'' described Tam in the Wall Street Journal, "
for marketing and public speaking, and jetted world-wide to visit customers, employees,
shareholders and world leaders. She greatly expanded H-P's fleet of corporate jets and
attracted criticism for everything from her hairstyle to her designer suits." 9

In the end, her high-profile style, penchant for travel in Gulfstream jets, and abrupt
management methods were deeply at odds with the paternal, understated culture of H-P.
She was a self-assured, extroverted salesperson in a company full of quiet, introverted
engineers. If anything, she needed to lean to their side of the spectrum, not the other way
around. Nearing the end of Fiorina's tenure, Richard Hagberg, a consultant from San
Mateo, California, told her that "rock stars were probably not going to be accepted by ... a
bunch of engineers." But instead of reaching out, Fiorina isolated herself. Unlike the leaders
before her, she rarely socialized with H-P staffers. 10

"Ms. Fiorina's leadership was also marked by a drop in morale," wrote Wall Street journal's
Pui-Wing Tam. "She had ... many fans in the business world. Yet inside H-P, she was a
highly polarizing figure who stirred deep animosity from many veteran employees. " 11

To the board and many on the outside, Fiorina symbolized the very image the company
needed to prop them back on track. But in this case, opposites did not attract. Over time,
the perception of Fiorina as a self-promoting, stubborn aristocrat could not be the face of
such a collegial company.

The case above has been based on a real life organisation, but details have been
changed for assessment purposes and do not reflect the current management
practices. Students are encouraged to search the internet for cross references in
answering this assignment

8
Paul R. La Monica, "Fiorina Out, HP Stock Soars," CNNMoney.com, February 10, 2005. Available at http://money.
cnn.com/2005/02/09/technology/hp_fiorina/index.htm.
9
Tam, "Fallen Star."
10
Saporito, "Why Carly's Out."
11
Tam, "Fallen Star."

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

Role

You are working in the company as a consultant. You are asked to write a report to the
Board of Directors addressing various issues like strategic management and developing
leadership skills including the following:

Tasks

(1.1) Explain the link between strategic management and leadership

(1.2) Analyse the impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions

(1.3) Evaluate how leadership styles can be adapted to different situations

(2.1) Review the impact that selected theories of management and leadership have on
organisational strategy of Hewlett-Packard

(2.2) Create a leadership strategy that supports organisational direction

(3.1) Use appropriate methods to review current leadership requirements

(3.2) Plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership

(4.1) Plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement

(4.2) Report on the usefulness of methods used to plan the development of leadership
skills

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018

GRADING CRITERIA

A pass grade is achieved by meeting all the requirements defined in the assessment
criteria for each outcome at page 3 and 4.

PRESENTATION

1. The assignment should have a cover page that includes the assignment title,
assignment number, course title, module title, Lecturer/tutor name and student’s
name. Attach your assignment to the assignment brief/cover page without writing
your name except your signature to enable blind marking.

2. Ensure that authenticity declaration (your signature) has been signed.

3. This is an individual assignment.

4. Content sheet with a list of all headings and page numbers.

5. A fully typed up professionally presented report document. 4,000 to 5,000 words.

Use 12 point Arial or Times New Roman script.

6. Your assignment should be word-processed. Exhibits/appendices, charts, tables,

graphs are not included in the word count. A CD copy of the assignment should
be included to enable assessor to check for plagiarism.

7. Use the Harvard referencing system.

NOTES TO STUDENTS FOR SUMMISSION

 Check carefully the submission date and the instructions given with the assignment.
Late assignments may not be accepted.
 Ensure that you give yourself enough time to complete the assignment by the due
date.
 Do not leave things such as printing to the last minute – excuses of this nature will
not be accepted for failure to hand-in the work on time.
 You must take responsibility for managing your own time effectively.
 If you are unable to hand in your assignment on time and have valid reasons such as
illness, you may apply (in writing) for an extension.
 Failure to achieve a PASS grade will results in a REFERRAL grade being given.
 Take great care that if you use other people’s work or ideas in your assignment, you
properly reference them in your text and any bibliography.
 NOTE: If you are caught plagiarising, the University policies and procedures
will apply.

BTEC L7 DSMLS ‘Hewlett-Packard’ April 2018