HP Company SWOT Analysis Essay -- Business Management Essays

Hewlett-Packard SWOT Analysis Strengths   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hewlett-Packard is a global technology company and after its merger with Compaq it became world’s biggest computer hardware and peripherals company in the world, ranking 20 in the Fortune 500 list. Company is doing business in more then 170 countries including the ones that are developing and under-developed. Being a large company gives HP many advantages like dominating the market for printers, both laser and inkjet, and both for consumers and companies using the economies of scale. The company is also taking an active role in developing the capacity of new markets all around the world, engaging with other multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations and other world governing bodies to reignite the competitiveness at home and abroad through policies and strategies that can support free-market economies. This is one of the reasons that makes HP a leading technology company in the growing IT markets (HP Annual Report, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hewlett-Packard generated nearly $6.1 billion in cash flow from its operations and increased its cash and equivalents by 3 billion in 2003 (Datamonitor, 2004). Debt levels in this year were also very low which was significantly lower then the previous year. This is a great advantage which enables the company to increase its investments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HP always recognized the need to compete in global markets. Product diversity of the company is another big advantage that enables the company to hold its position even in the times of recession. As long as the products are good and have reasonable prices there will be a demand. Company has a product span from calculators to laser printers , from notebook computers to servers. The company has a long history of inventions and innovations until it came to this stage. Research and Development (R&D) is foucused on key growth areas like rich digital media, mobility, management softwares and security. HP knows that enterprises and consumers might have different needs, but the technology requirements to meet those needs are usually the same. HP labs continue to research future technologies such as nanotechnology to ensure that the company is investing in longt-term growth and competitiveness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the acquisition of Compaq the new company formed four new divisions including enterprise systems group, imaging and printing ... ...ure in the overall PC market. Dell is a strong competitor and has a focus on the standardized computer markets. The company eliminates inventories more efficiently then any of its competitors which is a main threat for HP.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HP recently had to deal with a number of lawsuits which have been filed for various reasons like unfair business practices and patent rights from other companies and academic institutions like Cornell University . The outcome of these events may create bad reputation which can affect the operations. Works Cited: 1. Datamonitor. (2004). Hewlett-Packard Company. Retrieved October 14, 2004 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.datamonitor.com 2. Hewlett –Packard Development Company, L.P. (2004). HP 2003 Annual Report , 4-11. 3. Hoover’s Online (2004) Hewlett-Packard Company. Retrieved October 16, 2004 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://0-premium.hoovers.com.oasis.lib.tamuk.edu/subscribe/co/fin/xhtml 4. Ribeiro, J. (2004, February 11) HP sets up India Call Center. IDG News Service. Retrieved October 16, 2004 from http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0211hpsets.html 5. Rivlin, G. (2004, August 13). Hewlett profits come in lower then expected. New York Times, pg. C.1.