Slashdot Mirror
Same Old, Same Old at HP?
theodp writes "Computerworld Editor-in-Chief Don Tenant expresses astonishment at HP's cluelessness in the wake of its boardroom leak investigation fiasco, noting that HP CEO Mark Hurd's choice for a new Chief Ethics Officer was Hurd's go-to guy at NCR when the boss wanted internal leaks investigated." From the article: "It seems incomprehensible that no one at HP could foresee that appointing a former Hurd colleague to the ethics oversight position might be perceived as a shameless attempt by Hurd to keep from being further sullied by the scandal. But there's another dimension to all this that's even more baffling. Nearly two weeks before HP announced Hoak's appointment, BusinessWeek ran a story that recounted how Hurd had to deal with a number of internal investigations at NCR, including probes of leaks of sensitive information on Yahoo message boards."
Mark Hurd has been the best thing that's happened to HP in a long time. His decision to bring a trusted advisor from NCR to be in charge of Ethics is hardly baffling - this same individual was able to stop leaks and other unethical behavior at NCR while keeping the activities fully legal and 'above the board'. The scandal at HP arose from Mark directing subordinates to take care of the leak problem, but the subordinates not being trustworthy enough to take care of the problem legally and ethically.
The Computerworld story seems unfair in characterizing this decision as cluelessness - who wouldn't bring in their most trustworthy colleagues to solve their toughest problem?
Crack - Free with every butt and set of boobs
A few quick issues:
1) The probe started before Mark Hurd became CEO.
2) The Board of Directors, specifically the Chairman, was directing the investigation.
3) Internal council, external council and the Chief Ethics Officer (doh, he obviously wasn't qualified for his job) worked closely on the investigation.
4) Hurd was probably a bit more worried about profit and revenue, not some board room soap opera.
5) No one has said that NCR's investigations were in any way illegal or unethical.
6) The illegal activities were performed by a number of other firms.
You missed one...
10) let you 'order' a CD that has the drivers for your printer, camera, burner, or scanner for $20.
After getting burned on that one a few times, I know I'll never have an HP logo on anything I shell out cash for again.
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Where'd you get #2?
Go to www.hp.com
Click on Support & Troubleshooting (left-hand side)
Under Additional Resources on the right-hand side, click on Contact HP
Under Call HP, U.S. phone numbers for: click on Technical support after you buy.
No luck? I am based in the U.S. though.