Strategic Management Project: Environmental Analysis of HP Company

This assignment presents a comprehensive strategic management analysis of Hewlett-Packard (HP) Company. It begins with a brief overview of HP, detailing its industry, activities, and products. The core of the analysis involves a SWOT matrix, identifying the company's opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses. The assignment also explores HP's social responsibility initiatives, evaluating their impact on competitive advantage. Furthermore, it applies Porter's Five Forces framework to assess the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, the threat of new entrants, and the intensity of rivalry among existing firms. Finally, the assignment identifies and justifies the competitive strategy employed by HP, supported by relevant references.

Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
 The Assignment must be submitted on (WORD format only).
 You must mention question number clearly in their answer.
 Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students
or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No
exceptions.
 All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font.
No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).

Structure of the project
The 3 assignments of this course will be parts of a project, which aims to study the four basic
elements of strategic management of the company 'X' from your choice. It is structured as follow:
- Part 1: Assignment 1= Environmental scanning & strategy formulation.
- Part 2: Assignment 2= Strategy implementation.
- Part 3: Assignment 3= Evaluation and control.
Description of the company 'X'
- It is a company from your choice;
- From real national or international market;
- It is publicly traded company;
- Produces and commercializes more than one product;
- Sufficient information about the strategies of the company, its functions and product lines are
available;
- This company should have at least one partnership with other company (es) (alliances, joint
venture, arrangement…).
Note.
The selected company must meet the above criteria. If you face any ambiguity regarding the choice
of the corporation, kindly feel free to ask more clarification from your instructor.

Assignment 1: Part 1 of project
Environmental scanning & strategy formulation
Learning outcomes:
1. Understand the basic concepts and terminology used in Strategic Management.
(Lo 1.2)
2. Identify opportunities and threats as well as strengths and weakness in the
operating environment of hypothetical and real-world organizations (Lo 2.9)
3. Understand issues related to strategic competitive advantage in organizations
(Lo 2.2)
4. Identify appropriate strategies for different situations (Lo 3.1).
Assignment Questions
1. Briefly present your selected company (name, industry, nationality, location, size, activities,
products…) (Max 200 words). (0.5 mark)
2. Determine the opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of your selected company by
completing the SWOT matrix in the answer sheet. (1 mark)
3. Does your selected company have social responsibility? If yes, discuss its impact on
competitive advantage of the corporation. (Max 400 words) (1 mark)
4. Based on the figure 4.3 (Ch4-slide no 18) and the textbook text relative to Porter's Five forces
of competition framework, assess the power of the buyers, suppliers and substitutes of your
chosen company. How formidable are the barriers to entry and how intense is the rivalry
among existing firms? ( 2 marks)
5. What is the competitive strategy used by your selected company? Justify. (0.5 mark)

Answers:
1. Briefly present your selected company (name, industry, nationality, location, size,
activities, products…) (Max 200 words). (0.5 mark)
Answer:
The selected company is the American Multinational Company Hewlett-Packard
identified with its HP trademark. HP Company was established in 1939, has its headquarters in Palo
Alto, California, in the USA, and has multiple regional offices. The information Technology
Company deals with a variety of technology-centered product s and services. HP Company deals
with consultation services on computerized devices, development and maintenance of software and
hardware, and computer device manufacturing. According to HP Company (2019), HP estimates
66,000 employees and over $ 103 billion in assets valuation. HP Company is listed in the NYSE,
making massive investments in sustainability and development. The annual net income for HP
Company is $USD 5 billion. HP Company has settled on several acquisitions, including the US$ 15
billion acquisition with the 3PAR and 3COM corporations.
Until 2015 when the company split into Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc, it was
running as a sole entity. HP Company's products include digital scanners, computer servers, laptops
and desktops, and printers. HP has an office strategy that steers its development and investment plan
of $3.6 billion, which focuses on developing a global technical community. HP software also
provides cloud computing solutions and data professional assistance.
2. Determine the opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses of your selected company
by completing the SWOT matrix in the answer sheet. (1 mark)

Opportunities Threats
- Production and procurement cost
reduction due to supply chain
digitization and e-commerce.
- HP Company has an innovative
capability and resources to
manufacture new products.
- Globalization and expansion of the
online markets.
- Extension of brand presence due to
diversification.
- More ventures dealing with PC
hardware and software products
- Government regulations, political
and legal sanctions.
- Market competition and the threat
of substitution by consumers.
- The manufacturing cost in terms of
labor and raw materials is
escalating.
Strengths Weaknesses
- HP Company has a robust
corporate trademark making it a
recognizable global brand.
- High leverage rates in the market
have created a strong financial
condition
- Due to adaptation to globalization,
the company has an extensive
product portfolio.
- Availability of resources leading to
growth and higher innovation.
- Higher dependence on the US
market with little focus on global
markets in recent years.
- Recent fallouts leading to
declining gross margins
- HP Company overlies external
suppliers for raw materials
creating the incapacitation threat in
the market.
- Dependence on external suppliers

- The company has a large consumer
base, thus attaining high sales and
shipments with a significant
market share.
3. Does your selected company have a social responsibility? If yes, discuss its impact on the
competitive advantage of the corporation. (Max 400 words) (1 mark)
Answer
Social responsibility has reinstated the firm's sustainability performance improving its
leverage and market capacity. One social responsibility program adopted by the company is the Eco-
Advocate program. The program focuses on creating public awareness through education on
recycling and environmentally friendly technological solutions (Smith et al., 2010). The program
improves the organizational product scope consumption creating sustainability and the organizational
capacity to acquire more assets. The organization also focuses on Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) programs to ensure they get involved in societal structures. The corporation is envisioning
global longevity and financial sustainability that significantly depends on its product scope. Through
higher concentration with social networks, the company can create more sales. The above tends to
reduce its initial cost expenditure and leverage costs to ensure consumer-friendly product and service
innovations. The above increases the organizational outputs. Social structures support good public
relations, and passionate employees and consumers are critical in organizational development
(Pratap, 2018). HP has incorporated the above strategy focusing on cost-efficient and consumer-
friendly product lines, thus increasing its productivity and market acceptance by consumers.
HP Company is also involved in educational programs like the introduction of the
entrepreneurship training program to students across the US and across Asian markets. The company
has also donated facilities like innovation hubs and incubators for continuous research and

development. In other regions, the company creates exceptional employment opportunities for
women to foster women's empowerment. HP has reputable strategies that aim for the conservation of
natural resources. According to Pratap (2018), HP Company has undertaken environmental
management as social responsibility. The company manufactures environmentally friendly products,
recyclable machinery, and green products. The company has also built facilities for the aged and
settled on several rural development projects. HP is involved in cross-sectional social activities to
foster global business incentives of caring for the consumer and the human resources. The
environmentally friendly solutions ensure production cost is controlled since it conserves resources
necessary for production. With such regulations and conflicting laws, there is a reduction in
opportunities for investment in green products.
4. Based on the figure 4.3 (Ch4-slide no 18) and the textbook text relative to Porter's Five
forces of competition framework, assess the power of the buyers, suppliers, and
substitutes of your chosen company. How formidable are the barriers to entry, and how
intense is the rivalry among existing firms? ( 2 marks)
Bargaining power of suppliers- in this segment, few suppliers supply on credit while others
offer low-cost services, making the supplier's bargain power inferior. With low barging power,
suppliers tend to risk HP's ability to conquer their competitors.
Bargaining power of buyers-HP operates in perfectly competitive markets where buyers
have great choices; hence high power, with such capabilities from buyers, new products have to be
created to match the demand.
The threat of new Entrants: new products from Korea and China have eaten up this USA
venture's market space. The substantial higher risk makes the firm invest more in new products,
which tends to over-consume the input, thus low output.
The threat of rivalry between existing firms: existing firms have created a middle-market
where buyers have an advantage of opportunity cost, which improves the inter-firm competition.

With such margins, the market share is shared with all competitors; thus, a weaker product loses the
market to purchase.
Barriers to entry: sizeable initial investment for the HP brand limits it from producing
cheaper products. The other barrier is a high expenditure on marketing and distribution. The
additional barrier is the need for constant innovation to match market speed.
5. What is the competitive strategy used by your selected company? Justify. (0.5 marks)
Answer
HP Company uses three competitive strategies to marginalize its product utility a sustainable
market competition and consumer satisfaction. The initial strategy involves continuous innovation
and the creation of products and services that match the market dynamics. Through active
aggressiveness, the company creates new products that outmatch competitors' systems and printing
ventures. The above incentive eradicates the substitution threat and improves the business core
objectives earning the company an imitable competitive advantage. The second competitive
advantage is capturing growth and matching its products to prevailing consumption trends. In 2020,
HP acquired Hyper X Solutions at US$ 425 million to focus on diverse computer peripherals (Beir
ao da Veiga et al., 2016). The above strategy increases the firm's sustainability and market
satisfaction. The last approach is continuity in the market over several markets. Through the
company's foundational strength and innovation, the company has produced products like HP Jet
Fusion 3D Solution and the new Sprout Pro.

References
Beir ao da Veiga, L., Chernov, A., Mascotto, L., & Russo, A. (2016). Basic principles of hp virtual
elements on quasiuniform meshes. Mathematical Models and Methods in Applied
Sciences, 26(08), 1567-1598. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.02242.pdf
HP Company. (2019). Reinventing the world for tomorrow, today. https://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-
labs/index.html?jumpid=in_r12137_us/en/corp/about_us/explore-hp/labs
Pratap, A. (2018). HP Strategic Analysis. https://notesmatic.com/2018/08/hp-strategic-analysis/
Smith, N. C., Read, D., & López-Rodríguez, S. (2010). Consumer perceptions of corporate social
responsibility: The CSR halo effect. SSRN Electronic Journal, 23.
https://flora.insead.edu/fichiersti_wp/inseadwp2010/2010-16.pdf