Hewlett-Packard is one of the leading companies worldwide in the computer and communications industries. In 2000 it was ranked by Fortune magazine as the #2 U.S.-based company in the category of computers/office equipment, and in that same year it placed #14 on the Forbes 500 composite ranking of all U.S. public companies. At the close of 2000 Hewlett-Packard employed over 88,000 people worldwide. Hewlett-Packard (HP) designs and produces an entire range of products for the consumer, commercial, and government markets. These products include personal computers, printers, and calculators. Besides individual products, HP creates, services, and supports entire computer and communication systems for the commercial and governmental sectors. Moreover, Hewlett-Packard has long been a leader in the electronics test and measurement market for both field and laboratory work.
Besides being one of the leading electronics companies in the world, Hewlett-Packard is historically important because it had a profound impact on the initial development of the electronics and computer industries. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Hewlett-Packard is widely regarded as the founding member of the Silicon Valley computer industry. This important historic role can be traced back to the founders of HP, William Hewlett (1913-2001) and David Packard (1912-1996). Together, these two men not only pioneered many new and innovative electronic devices, but they also introduced new thinking into American business practices regarding the relationship between employees and company management.
The story of Hewlett-Packard's development, from its legendary founding out of a garage to the electronics giant it is today, is a story that parallels the spectacular rise of the electronics and computer industries. Below is a brief, chronological outline of Hewlett-Packard's development that notes some of its more notable contributions in the fields of consumer and commercial electronics.
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard both graduated from Stanford University in 1934 with bachelors' degrees in electrical engineering. On a two-week Colorado camping trip they discovered many shared interests and developed a close friendship. Eventually the two men decided to start a business together (the order of the names in "Hewlett-Packard" was supposedly decided by a coin toss). In 1938 the Hewlett-Packard partnership bore fruit with their first successful product, known as the resistance capacity audio oscillator (HP200A), which was used to test sound equipment. The first commercial use of the HP200B oscillator was for the production of the classic animated film Fantasia, when Walt Disney ordered eight of the devices. The next year, 1939, the Hewlett-Packard Company was formally founded.
In the 1940s HP industrial products gained acceptance among many scientists and engineers. The advent of World War II started an avalanche of new orders from the U.S. government for electronic instruments. One of the areas HP focused on during wartime was the microwave bandwidth; e.g., radar-jamming devices.
Throughout the 1950s Hewlett-Packard experienced significant growth in the electronics arena. In 1951 HP introduced the HP524A high-speed frequency counter, which dramatically reduced the time needed to accurately measure high frequencies. Many radio stations purchased the HP524A in order to accurately calibrate their transmitted frequencies.
The company's growth prompted management, led by David Packard, to look inward at Hewlett-Packard's structure and objectives. In 1957 Packard issued a set of corporate objectives developed as a guide to management decision-making. These objectives, along with Hewlett-Packard's management style, formed what is known today as "the HP way." The following year management took additional steps to resist bureaucratic tendencies by establishing "product groups" as a structural business system. Product groups became self-sustaining organizations held accountable for their own profit (or loss), and were also held responsible for the development, manufacture, and marketing of their own products. Any product group that grew to 1,500 people was broken down into smaller groups.
In 1959 HP became an international business presence when it opened a large manufacturing facility in Germany, followed by the establishment of its European headquarters offices in Geneva, Switzerland. Currently HP owns facilities in over 120 countries.
In the 1960s HP continued its steady growth in the test-and-measurement marketplace and branched out into new fields like medical electronics. The company began developing a reputation as a progressive, well-managed company, and as a good company for which to work. In 1966 HP Laboratories became the company's central research facility, which eventually developed into a world-class commercial research center. HP continued its radical notions concerning employee/management relations in 1967 by discontinuing the use of time clocks in the workplace; later, flexible employee work hours were introduced. In 1968 the HP9100, the world's first scientific desktop calculator, was introduced.
The 1970s brought significant growth in both earnings and employment to Hewlett-Packard. Additionally, company leadership began to decentralize HP by transferring power away from headquarters' management. Several new products made their debut in the 1970s. For example, in 1972 HP introduced the HP35, the world's first handheld scientific calculator, and also the HP3000 minicomputer, which ushered in the beginning of distributed data processing (the networking of multiple computers to solve aspects of a single problem).
In the 1980s HP became a major player in the computer industry by introducing a range of new computer models, from desktops to powerful minicomputers. HP also successfully entered the printer market with its series of inkjet and laser printers designed for personal computers and minicomputers. Some notable product entries in the 1980s were the HP85 microcomputer, introduced in 1980 and featuring 16 kilobytes of RAM, 5-inch-diameter monitor, keyboard, cassette tape recorder for data and program storage, and a small built-in printer; it sold for $3,250. In 1982 the HP 9000 was introduced as the first "desktop mainframe." In 1984 HP debuted its line of inkjet and laser printers. The LaserJet laser printer became the world's most popular personal desktop laser printer, as well as the most successful product in Hewlett-Packard history. By mid-1999 HP had sold more than 35 million LaserJets. In 1988 the Deskjet became HP's first mass-market inkjet printer. 1989 was the 50th anniversary of Hewlett-Packard's founding, and the garage where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started their business was named a California Historical Landmark.
The 1990s witnessed many product introductions and successes for HP, such as continued development of their highly successful family of printers, and their line of HP3000 and HP9000 computing systems. Additionally, several entirely new entries in the computer market were introduced, including the HP95LX handheld computer in 1991, which weighed eleven ounces and cost about $700; and the Pavilion PC in 1994, aimed at the home computer market. In the medical arena, HP introduced the SONOS1500 echocardiograph, designed to image a patient's heart in real time without the need for an invasive procedure. Also in the 1990s, HP became one of the first companies in the world to encourage telecommuting in all its facilities.
Today, Hewlett-Packard is continuing its tradition of laboratory research and product development by bringing innovative electronic devices and services to the marketplace. While not abandoning traditional products and services, HP management has nevertheless recognized the enormous potential of the Internet and is positioning itself to become a solid player in this rapidly evolving global technology.
This is the complete article, containing 1,158 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page).
