Bungling at the World Group, "HP is destroying itself"

Bungling at the World Group, "HP is destroying itself"

World Group or Club Chaos? This question should be the customers and
investors have made the computer giant Hewlett-Packard in the past few
weeks more. A zigzag course poisons the business, the stock is down. An
analyst speaks plainly and snubbed so that management: trust in the
governing body was weak, he said in a telephone conference. And it
speaks to all audiences from the heart.

"The Board has identified weaknesses in the business," admits the top
corporate controller Ray Lane after all, as he appoints late Thursday,
the former eBay chief Meg Whitman, the new arbiter of group. Lane is
also common for clear who has to answer these weaknesses, a native of
Germany top executive Leo Apotheker. He has to go. Immediately.

This pharmacist was only in August, the grand strategy turn announced:
The traditional PC business should be gone, for billions of dollars a
software specialist will be bought, the expensive developed tablet
computer touch pad comes after only a few weeks on the market in the
bin. The shock was great. The stock lost a fifth of their value day. But
only around the eggs made everything really bad. Pharmacist could give
no clear answer as to how it goes then.

For the PC business is the uncertainty have been absolutely devastating
told, is an insider of the New York Times. Business with corporate
customers is completely frozen. "The buying company, tens of thousands
of computer maintenance contracts, exclude HP. Dell and Lenovo are
everywhere. They have a free field. HP destroys itself"

Also, the HP Board recognizes the danger. "We needed a new leadership,"
says the chairman Lane in retrospect. He holds the ousted CEO pharmacist
before: "The decisions had to be communicated much better." Own failures
can not detect lane. Not even the appointment of former SAP handlebars
in front for nearly a year he wants to take his cap: "This council has
not selected Léo Half Board's new.."

The replacement seems to have been a rigged game. Familiar say
pharmacists have only learned from the media of the impending disaster.
On Wednesday began the disassembly: The financial news agency Bloomberg
and the IT-blog "All Things Digital" reported about the same time
(actually secret) deliberations of the Board of Directors to CEO. And
precisely these two media were the ones who had only minutes after the
official announcement of the change of interviews with Lane and Whitman.

Just for the disposal of pharmacists solves none of the business
problems. Because the German had not blindly raged at Hewlett-Packard,
but was quite real sites addressed: the yield in the PC business is
lower than in other sectors, the rise of smartphones and Apple's iPad
presses on the sales. HP has also saved on development costs for years
to supplement the profits.

Customers and investors expect the new number one Meg Whitman now
rapidly clarity. "The acquisition by Autonomy goes as planned," Whitman
said in her first appearance to the billion acquisition in the software.
And what about the separation of the PC business? "We expect that the
Board take a decision by the end of fall, perhaps even earlier." The
cliffhanger will therefore continue for now.