Stanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded HP in 1939. The companyصs first product, built in a Palo Alto garage, was an audio oscillator, an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers. One of HPصs first customers was Walt Disney Studios, which purchased eight oscillators to develop and test an innovative sound system for the movie Fantasia.

Foundation

Following graduation as electrical engineers from Stanford University in 1934, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard wen on a two-week camping and fishing trip in the Colorado mountains, during which they became close friends. Bill continued graduate studies at MIT and Stanford while Dave took a job with General Electric. With the encouragement of Stanford professor and mentor Fred Terman, the two engineers decided to start a business زand make a run for itس themselves. Hewlett-Packard Company was founded in January 1, 1939.

Management

by Objective

Products from the fledgling company won excellent acceptance among engineers and scientists. The start of World War II turned a trickle of U.S. government orders for electronic instruments into a stream and then a flood. HP built its first building and added several new products.

As HP grew, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard created a management style that formed the basis of HPصs famously open corporate culture for technology companies. Dave practiced a management technique eventually dubbed as زmanagement by walking aroundس, which was marked by personal involvement, good listening skills, and the recognition that زeveryone in an organization wants to do a good job.س As managers, Bill and Dave ran the company according to a principle later called management by objective, communicating overall objectives clearly and giving employees the flexibility to work toward those goals in ways that they determined are the best for their own areas of responsibility.

HP also established its open door policy, open cubicles and executive offices without doors, to create an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding. The open door policy encouraged employees to discuss the problems with managers without reprisals or adverse consequences.

Bill and Dave made other important management decisions: providing catastrophic medical insurance, using first names to address employees (including themselves), and forming regular employee parties and picnics.

Stock Grants

Hewlett-Packard went through a growing and maturing process in the 1950s, learning much about the زnewس technology of electronics and internal effects of growth. زHowس the company should grow was as hotly debated as زhow muchس the company should grow. HP hammered out its corporate objectives, the basis of its special management philosophy and the core of the HP Way.

The company went public in 1957. In keeping with Bill Hewlett and Dave Packardصs respect for workers, HP took the then- unusual step of giving stock grants to employees.

The growing company began building on the site that became its corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, California. It also embarked on a path toward globalization, establishing, manufacturing, and marketing operations in Europe.

Into Asia

HP continued its steady growth in the test-and- measurement marketplace and branched out into related fields like medical electronics and analytical instrumentation. It also developed its first computer (the HP 2116A), making its entry into that business in 1966.

The company continued its expansion overseas, forming several subsidiary companies. It expanded in the early 1960s into Asia with a Japanese joint venture. In the U.S., HP opened its first manufacturing plants outside Palo Alto. It began to be noticed as a progressive, well-managed company and a great place to work.

Portable Computing

HP continued its tradition of innovation with the introduction of a new array of computing products. Foremost among them was the HP-35, the first scientific handheld calculator, which ushered in a new era of portable, powerful computing.

HP continued to look for new opportunities around the globe, laying the groundwork for an eventual joint venture with China over the course of several trips by HP representatives to that country.

The 1970s was marked by significant growth in earnings and employment, with HP passing the $1 billion mark in sales in 1976. The company passed the $2 billion mark three years later in 1979. Toward the end of the decade, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard delegated day-to-day operating management of the company to John Young.

First Laser Printer

HP became a major player in the computer industry in the 1980s with a full range of computers, from desktop machines to portables to powerful minicomputers. HP also linked computers with its electronic instruments and medical and analytical products, making them faster and more powerful.

HP made its entry into the printer market with the launch of inkjet printers and laser printers that connected to personal computers. HPصs high quality, inexpensive inkjet printers spelled the end of dot-matrix printers. The HP LaserJet printer line, which debuted in 1984, went on to become the companyصs most successful single product line ever. The quality and reliability of HPصs printers made HP a highly recognizable brand by both consumers and businesses .

Near the end of the 1980s, HP was recognized for its rich past as well as for its technological advances and products. The garage where the company started was declared a California historical landmark, and HP celebrateed its 50th anniversary.

Work-Life Balance

HP is one of the few companies in the world to successfully marry the technologies of measurement, computing and communication. The company made new advances in portable computing, entered the home-computing market and continued to invent new printing and imaging solutions. For most of the 1990s, HP enjoyed growth rates of 20 percent.

Early in the 1990s, John Young retired and was replaced by Lew Platt, under whose leadership HP continued to grow. HP became recognized as a company whose policies on work-life balance, diversity and community involvement help attracted and retained top employees.

At the end of the 1990s, HP reformed its measurement and components businesses to form a new company, Agilent Technologies. It also brought onboard a new CEO, Carleton (Carly) Fiorina, who focused the company on reinventing itself for growth and leadership in the 21st century.

Compaq acquired Tandem Computers and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Leading IT Provider

At the beginning of the 21st century, HP focused on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers, from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio of printing equipment, personal computing and IT infrastructure, HP grew to become one of the worldصs largest IT companies.

On May 3, 2002, HP completed its merger transaction with Compaq Computer Corp.,. The new HP became a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and business. The companyصs offerings included IT infrastructure, personal computing, access devices, global services, imaging, and printing.