Hewlett-Packard Co confirmed yesterday it has enlisted the help of a consultancy firm to carry out a no-stones-unturned analysis of the company’s business culture, its strategy and its organization with the possibility of divesting itself of some of its non-mainstream divisions. Speaking to ComputerWire yesterday, company spokesperson, Marlene Somsak, confirmed press reports that HP had enlisted the services of a large management consultancy firm. A report earlier this week in the San Jose Mercury News named McKinsey & Co as the most likely consultancy firm, although Somsak refused to confirm any details. Although she said it was common for companies the size of HP to review its internal goings on a regular basis, she did admit that this particular investigation was bigger than usual. It is a commonplace occurrence for companies to enlist the help of consultants, she said, It is completely consistent with our behavior over the decades. But is this one at a higher level? Is this report going to be more in depth? Yes it is. She said HP carried out such bigger-than-usual self-examinations every four to five years. It’s just part of what we do to keep growing, she said, we feel it’s a duty to our shareholders to always be open to change. She dismissed speculations over which particular divisions would be divested as wild stabs. Her comments were in response to the Mercury News reports, quoting an HP source, that the three most likely candidates for divestiture are HP’s test and measurement division, its medical electronic equipment division and its chemical analysis division. People are free to do that but we certainly don’t have anything to announce at this time. There are no active negotiations. She added that HP acquired companies almost every year and divested certain activities as well.
