The
last couple of weeks have seen amazing announcements by giant American
tech companies. However, all the announcements were linked by how
horribly they were handled by the respective corporate leaderships.
First, Hewlett-Packard, in one earnings call, 18 August, 2011, not
only killed all production on webOS-based hardware, the Veer, the
TouchPad and Pre 3, but effectively killed the future of the webOS
operating system. However, this was collateral damage compared to what
HP CEO Leo Apotheker did to the Personal Systems Group (PSG), the part
of the company that actually makes laptops, desktops, monitors and
printers. Mr. Apotheker announced that:
“We see the opportunity for PSG to compete and win in the PC marketplace
and our Board has authorized to us explore strategic alternatives for
PSG. We intend to evaluate a range of options that may include, among
others, a separation of PSG from HP to a spinoff or other transaction.”
In plain language, Apotheker said “We want to get out of the
manufacturing business because we think we are not making enough money.
Will someone please buy this part of the company?” Not only did the
value of the stock of HP drop twenty percent the next day, over time it
became clear that no one wanted to buy the PSG and existing customers
put purchases on hold and considered making equipment purchases
elsewhere than HP.
Second, America Online (AOL), who owns many tech blogging sites such
as Engadget, purchased the tech blogging site TechCrunch from its
founder Michael Arrington about this time last year for a reported $30
million US. A few months later, AOL purchased the Huffington Post and
the services of its founder Arianna Huffington as the head of a AOL
Media Group, to whom Mike Arrington would be reporting as editor in
chief of TechCrunch. Fast forward to last Thursday where Mike Arrington
announces his formation of a new venture capital firm, CrunchFund. AOL
announced it was investing $10 million USD in the venture. Additionally,
Mike Arrington would continue at TechCrunch. Normally American
journalists are not allowed to report on companies that they may have a
financial interest in, so this arrangement resulted in a great deal of
criticism.
Any ethical criticism of Mr. Arrington’s continued role at TechCrunch
was immediately overshadowed by the reaction of Arianna Huffington,
who was apparently never informed or consulted about the new venture of
Mr. Arrington, and who stated that Mr. Arrington was finished at
TechCrunch and no longer worked for AOL Media. Later, an AOL spokesman
confirmed that Arrington no longer worked for AOL at all. Both of
these statements contradicted statements that AOL’s CEO, made to the
media less than 24 hours before. Finally, it was stated that Mr.
Arrington did still work for AOL in something called AOL Ventures. The
confusion is still ongoing as evidenced by posts by both a TechCrunch
reporter and Mr. Arrington himself. The story is ongoing and it still
is not clear what is going on.
Most recently, Carol Bartz was fired as CEO of troubled American
search engine company Yahoo. The firing itself was not that unusual: the
fact that it was done over the phone was. We know that Ms. Bartz was
fired over the phone because she let the entire company know it through
an all hands e-mail to Yahoo staffers that was “sent from her iPad”.
Normally, a CEO of a major corporation is told face to face that their
services are no longer required and usually given time to get the office
cleaned out before the change is announced. If a CEO is fired as was
Ms. Bartz, then it usually means police officers are waiting to carry
them off. This is not the case here, as reports are surfacing that the
firing snub will be cushioned by a $10.4 million USD severance package.
It’s now being reported that Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board, Roy
Bostock, was in the air traveling to the western US and Ms. Bartz was
likewise traveling east at the time of the firing. Once the decision to
sack Ms. Bartz was made, it was thought best to get the news to her as
soon as possible. That excuse does not wash because the movements of
CEOs of major corporations are mapped out well in advance, and the
chairman of the board is certainly privy to that information. If a
large corporation is taking a decision to let the head of the company
go, then prudent thinking would require knowing where the head that you
are putting on the chopping block is going to be.
Is this a pattern of corporate miss-steps, or just odd happenstance? Only time will tell.
How we love to dream, to invent the concept of the new devices. We
would like to see the new computers were very small and were fully
function. This is a concept of gadget,
which make connecting with isq server and projecting the image on some
plane surface. This concept is a clever one, which incorporates a
transformative element and a remarkably innovative interface. When the
cylindrical device
is not in use it can be slid shut into a more compact position, freeing
up space on your tabletop. The Communicate Gadget will make sure you
maintain a tidy office because it requires a clear flat surface to
function. A full simulated keyboard and display screen, all the while receiving feedback on the commands the user inputs.
