Huawei: An Exemplar for Organizational Change in a Modern Environment

Abstract

Huawei’s development is an extraordinary transformation. Its founder, Mr Ren Zhengfei, a veteran of China’s Liberation Army, started Huawei as a one-man sales agent selling PBXs (Private Branch Exchange) in 1987. By 1993, Ren had built a Research and Development (R&D) team, and Huawei designed its very own digital PBX. From 1995, Huawei started entering overseas markets. Today, 25 years since Huawei started, this little known electronics manufacturer has reached sales revenue of US$35.35 billion, employing over 150,000 staff around the world, and having a product presence in over 140 countries, serving more than one third of world’s population (Huawei, 2013). From an unknown one-man sales agent to an international telecommunications equipment giant, this transformation is a quantum leap. One clear observation can be made about this case: Huawei is a Master of Change.