Companies

Hewlett-Packard's Mission Statement:

Customer loyalty

To provide products, services and solutions of the highest quality and deliver more value to our customers that earns their respect and loyalty.

Underlying beliefs supporting this objective:

Our continued success is dependent on increasing the loyalty of our customers.

Listening attentively to customers to truly understands their needs, then delivering solutions that translate into customer success is essential to earn customer loyalty.

Competitive total cost of ownership, quality, inventiveness, and the way we do business drives customer loyalty.

Profit

To achieve sufficient profit to finance our company growth, create value for our shareholders and provide the resources we need to achieve our other corporate objectives.

Underlying beliefs supporting this objective:

Profit is the responsibility of all.

Balance of long-term and short-term objectives is key to profitability.

Profit allows us to reinvest in new and emerging business opportunities.

Profit is highly correlated to generating cash, which brings more flexibility to the business at a lower cost.

Profit enables the achievement of our corporate objectives.

Market leadership

To grow by continually providing useful and significant products, services and solutions to markets we already serve-and to expand into new areas that build on our technologies, competencies and customer interests.

Underlying beliefs supporting this objective:

There are more places we can contribute than we will be capable of contributing: We must focus.

To be average in the marketplace is not good enough, we play to win.

We must be No. 1 or No. 2 in our chosen fields.

Growth

To view change in the market as an opportunity to grow; to use our profits and our ability to develop and produce innovative products, services and solutions that satisfy emerging customer needs.

Underlying beliefs supporting this objective:

Growth comes from taking smart risks, based on the state of the industry-that requires both a conviction in studying the trends, but also in inducing change in our industry.

Our size (and diversity of businesses) gives us an ability to weather economic cycles and turn them to our favor.

Employee commitment

To help HP employees share in the company's success that they make possible; to provide people with employment opportunities based on performance; to create with them a safe, exciting and inclusive work environment that values their diversity and recognizes individual contributions; and to help them gain a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from their work.

Underlying beliefs supporting this objective:

HP's performance starts with motivated employees; their loyalty is key.

We trust our employees to do the right thing and to make a difference.

Everyone has something to contribute: It's not about title, level or tenure.

An exciting, stimulating work environment is critical to invention.

A diverse workforce gives us a competitive advantage.

Employees are responsible for lifelong learning.

Leadership capability

To develop leaders at every level who are accountable for achieving business results and exemplifying our values.

Underlying beliefs supporting this objective:

Leaders inspire, foster collaboration and turn vision and strategies into action-with focused, clear goals.

Effective leaders coach, relay good news and bad, and give feedback that works.

Leaders demonstrate self-awareness and a willingness to accept feedback and continuously develop.

Leaders speak with one voice and act to eliminate busy work.

It is important to measure people on the results they achieve against goals they helped to create.

Global citizenship

Good citizenship is good business. We live up to our responsibility to society by being an economic, intellectual and social asset to each country and community in which we do business.

Underlying beliefs supporting this objective:

The highest standards of honesty and integrity are critical to developing customer and stakeholder loyalty.

The betterment of our society is not a job to be left to a few; it is the responsibility to be shared by all.

This objective is essential to delivering on the brand promise.

They produced cooking pots of all sizes,steamers,plate covers,tea and coffee pots and urns,if it was made of aluminum and could be used in cooking and catering,they made it.

For the home they manufactured tea and coffee sets,trays, milk jugs,sugar bowls etc,etc. Most of these items were produced in highly polished aluminum,usually etched with ornate patterns such as Willoware,and were prized items in households for many years.

Bulpitts under the Swan brand also moved into the electric kettle market when these " new fangled" items began to get more popular.In fact they were the first manufacturer to completely install shielded electric elements in their kettles which were mostly made in chrome-plated steel..

However,like many British manufacturers they were affected badly by cheaper (and undoubtedly inferior) imports from the far east and although they attempted to fight back with more competitive ranges this was at the expense of quality and eventuall the company was taken over in the 60's by Birmingham Sound Reproducers Ltd ,better known as B.S.R.Ltd,the makers of Dansette record players for the retail trade and Multiple Record Changers for onward sale to other manufacturers.

That was it probably as far as Bulpitt and Swan brand in this country was concerned,as B.S.R. themselves were swallowed up by the fast growth in the elecronic music industry in the far east.

I think there is someone selling Swan brand elecrical items in this country even now,but only because the name has been sold for use on imported items.

I hope that answers your query Peter Lineton TYelford

While basicaly correct, there are a few discrepancies. It was Goblin that was taken over by BSL Ltd, not Swan Brand. Swan Brand was acquired by Moulinex of France in 1988. However, Moulinex went bancrupt in 2001 and was acquired by Tefal UK. Swan Brand then passed into the hands of Littlewood Stores and so, is now back in the UK and still being produced. You can read a potted history of the company at: http://madeinbirmingham.org/swan.htm

Gwyn Mountfield. Cannock

GE was founded in 1892 by a merger between two companies;

1. Edison General Electric; founded in 1890 by Thomas Edison in Schenectady, NY.
2. Thomson-Houston Company; founded in 1883 when Charles Coffin purchased Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston's American Electrical Company in Lynn, MA.

The merger was collaborative. Edison and Coffin knew that they both held key patents to move the industry forward and neither could do it without the other. As a result, GE moved forward immediatley offering ammenities in lighting, transportation, industrial products, and etc. From their humble beginnings in the NY and MA areas, GE has become the current second largest company in the world according to Forbes.

Originally a national firm but have slowly emerged into limited foreign investments options in global finance sector. They also service in some capacities in retirement investments such as 401k funds and other other areas of future income growth for retirement savings.

Its ranking is still below the likes of Goldman Sachs in the global finance industry or as major investment manager in large global corporations or government economic commerce category but has been a stable for years in personal wealth finance for individuals of sufficient personal capital to expand wealth management and growth as well to small business or mid-size or regional business firms.