Hewlett-Packard Personal Office Computer Division - Abridged

Hewlett-Packard (HP) was founded in 1939 by William Hewlett and David Packard, with headquarters in Palo Alto, California. The company developed, manufactured and marketed precision electronic equipment. In 1983, HP had 30 plants and 200 sales offices around the world. Sales were $4.7 billion with net income of $432 million. The company’s top management was strongly committed to a divisional structure. Each division was an independent entity with its own manufacturing, marketing, and financial functions. Divisions making similar products were grouped together for reporting purposes. In 1984 there were five groups of divisions involved with computer products (see Exhibit 1), three groups making instruments, and one each for medical, analytical, and component products.