Mention the name Hewlett-Packard, or HP for short, and people are likely to think of printers—an area where the MNC has managed to excel worldwide in recent years. However, HP has many other offerings...

Mention the name Hewlett-Packard, or HP for short, and people are likely to think of printers—an area where the MNC has managed to excel worldwide in recent years. However, HP has many other offerings besides printers and has rapidly expanded its product line into the international arena over the last decade. Since its merger with Compaq and acquisition of EDS (Electronic Data Systems, which in turn, owned a majority stake in Mphasis, an Indian outsourcing company), 3Comm, Palm, and others, HP is active in providing IT services and a range of personal electronic devices. Visit HP’s website at www.hp.com, and review some of the latest developments. In particular, pay close attention to its product line and international expansion. Using the country/language tab in the upper right corner of the screen, choose three different countries where the firm is doing business: one from the Americas, one from Europe, and one from Southeast Asia or India. (The sites are all presented in the local language, so you might want to make India your choice because this site is in English.) Compare and contrast the product offerings and ways in which HP goes about marketing itself over the Web in these locations. What do you see as some of the major differences? Second, using Figure 6–2 and Table 6–3 as your guide, in what way are differences in organizational cultures internationally likely to present significant challenges to HP’s efforts to create a smooth-running international enterprise? What would you see as two of the critical issues with which management will have to deal? Third, what are two steps that you think HP will have to take in order to build multicultural team effectiveness? What are two guidelines that can help it do this?