Mgt 400: How Politics Influence the Decisions of Hewlett Packard

Andrew Hoang

MGT 400

How Politics Influence the Decisions of Hewlett Packard

Introduction

Hewlett Packard is an informational technology company that has a clientele that spans the entire globe.  It began as a simple two-man company that sold electronic test equipment, and ultimately blossomed into an industry leader in computer and printer technology (Kobie, 2013).  However, the leap from a tiny, two-person company into an industry leader required more than an influx of new technological ideas.  Regardless of the ideas or technology a company sells, the company must pass through the realm of political influence.  Although politics is typically thought of as an interaction with the government, there is also an internal side to politics that involves the interaction of people inside of the company.  In order to understand the role politics plays in the development of Hewlett Packard, it is important to consider politics as a whole, both internally and externally, examine how politics has helped and hindered other corporations of this magnitude, analyze how Hewlett Packard has historically dealt with the changes in politics, and ultimately what the positive and negative effects of politics has had on Hewlett Packard.

The Internal and External Role of Politics in Large Corporations

        Large corporations face many obstacles in maintaining their dominance that allowed for them to rise to such large levels.  One of the main struggles that large corporations deal with is the political aspect of business.  Externally, the corporations must deal with the government, which can create both a positive and a negative environment.  Large companies must do a lot of work in order to use the influence the government has to their greatest effect (Frost & Egri, 1990).  One of the main tactics that is used to develop good relations with people in the government is to use lobbyists to help spread the agenda of large corporations.  In order to influence influential members of the government, lobbyists employ a variety of strategies to cultivate an environment that is most likely to achieve positive results for the company.  Lobbyists must be able to steer the conversation away from topics that will not have a positive influence on their corporation.  It is more beneficial to spend their time on conversations that they at least have a chance of swaying the decisions of government officials on, instead of wasting their time trying to change the opinion that someone already has their mind made up on.  Corporations also use the media to spin their agendas in a positive light, which may be contrary to what the government may say about a particular entity.  Without the backing of popular opinion, large corporations would be completely defenseless against government regulations.  However, with the backing of a large segment of the population, they can craft their ideas to show that what they are doing is what the country wants.  In addition to getting the backing of popular opinion, large corporations also attempt to get the backing of smaller businesses in order to present the concept that they are not trying to influence the government for their own goals.  Lobbyists also attempt to buy credibility for their corporations by employing a figure that has a large sway in the eye of the populations.  Attracting a star to speak favorably about a corporation allows them to gain more credibility in the media, which also helps to sway the opinion of the aforementioned general population.  Creating a think tank that is populated with respected members of academia, along with other individuals that have access to government officials also plays a role in how companies deal with the government.  Large corporations also employ lobbyists to find out information about why a particular government official is against something that will help the maximize profits.  Finding out what the official is skeptic about allows the corporations to focus efforts on changing things that will make the official more likely to back the ideas of the corporation.  In addition to attempt to change the mind of its critics, large corporations must find factions of people in government officials who oppose a certain idea because it is generally not one person who is stopping a particular idea.  By finding the groups, large corporations are able to either work with the group as a whole, or change their tactics to find another group that will help change the viewpoint of the opposing group.  In today’s society, the Internet plays an influential role in how the general population and government officials view certain ideas.  One way to do that is to increase the amount of positive things that are said about a particular corporation, although that can end up looking shady if false information is being provided.  Finally, having direct contact with government officials makes the lives of large corporations much easier.  In order to do this, corporations usually give sizeable donations to a particular candidate or someone that a candidate may want to back.  In addition, the companies may also hint at a possible well-paying job in the future if the candidate eve wants to leave the elected position (Cave & Rowell, 2014).  Although contact with officials within the government is one struggle of external politics, large corporations must also deal with various taxes that are placed on them, which would cause a decrease in the amount of money a company would net in a fiscal year.  However, the companies also can receive some sort of subsidy that would help to minimize the losses through taxes or create additional money to use to develop new parts of their corporation.  Despite all of these things that go on in the external political environment for large corporations, there is also an internal type of politics that deals with how the corporation governs itself.