Preview

KODAK

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
497 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
KODAK
The wild and unexpected technological breakthrough of digital imaging in 1980’s that required Kodak and Fujifilm to radically rethink their very existence. Both the companies saw the disruptive technology coming ahead. Fujifilm cannibalized the film business and Kodak wasn’t able to do it as the reengineering process had to be done.
According to Hammer in the book ‘Reengineering the corporations’ reengineering entails the radical redesign of a company’s business process. But while reengineering does start with process redesign, it doesn’t end there. Fundamental changes in business processes have implications for many other parts and aspects of an organization-every part of it, in fact. This is what Fujifilm has done and Kodak did not the execution of the process. Fujifilm started to develop in house expertise to their business, they started adding diversified portfolio to the business with a strong long term vision and became the divergent. On the other hand, Kodak was too slow in the change process and article ‘sharper focus’ from ‘The Economist’ states that Kodak believed it had a God-given right to 100% of the market, It never bothered to look over its shoulder at what was coming up from behind and relied on its strong brand. So this is the relation where book and Article from ‘Economist’ magazine are related.
Kodak monetized its R&D in one core business, photography, the digital imaging sector accounts for only about one-fifth of Fujifilm's revenue, down from more than half a decade ago. When the film business was diminishing Fujifilm’s strategy and decisions empowered them to sustain in the market and their earnings from the other investments acted as a cushion. However, according to article Kodak tried to take ‘the easy way out’ by just outsourcing the necessities and not investing in R&D for new areas was left behind by the Japanese competitor and had to face the consequences.
As said in the Hammer’s book ‘Who Will Reengineer?’ it’s the Leader, Process

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Access articles about the history, business approaches, management, and marketing of Eastman Kodak and Fujifilm. Eastman Kodak has been a developer and pioneer of photographic films for over 130 years. Although it invented the digital camera, the company was unprepared for the rapid changes in new technologies and filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2012. Fujifilm, a Japanese competitor, on the other hand, has been successful in the U.S. and global markets.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    BUS 599

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    BUS 599 Week 9 Assignment 3 A New Strategy for Kodak-Case 28 The rise and fall of Eastman Kodak…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Kodak had redundant systems operating across their different business areas and they were operating with different operating standards. The business had the philosophy to sell off non core services and as IT was being revamped it was an obvious step for IT to follow the trends of the business. The services outsourced were not part of Kodak’s core competencies. They were able to partner with specialist that had the modern technology Kodak needed. To keep these areas internally Kodak would have had to spend an estimated 15 million dollars without a clear timetable when or if that investment would be realized. Kodak was able to show that the outsourcing provided brought equal or better quality of service, helping to show that their decision was based on more than cost savings.…

    • 333 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kodak Memo

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Kodak has been slowly executing a plan to make the transition from a film business, to a profitable and sustainable digital company. Kodak has faced great difficulties such as:…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    When Kodak began making changes to its organizational architecture in 1984, its current architecture did not fit the business environment for the industry. The largest factor that motivated Kodak to make this change was increased competition and decreased market share. Until the early 1980’s, Kodak owned the film production market with very little competition. This suddenly changed when Fuji Corporation and many other generic store brands began producing high quality film as well (Brickley, 2009, p. 358). Another factor in this change was technology advancements. As technology rapidly expanded in the 1980’s, other competitors obtained the ability bring new products to market in a much shorter timeframe (Brickley, 2009, p. 358). Film and related products became more readily available, resulting in a more competitive film production industry. With this changing market environment and technological advancement, Kodak lost its monopoly in the film production market and was forced to make a change.…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    BUS 302

    • 2429 Words
    • 8 Pages

    I began writing to show how business can quickly go out of business if the owners do not keep an eye on its public. Kodak failed to meet its customer’s needs, so the company could not keep up with demands. Have you ever gone shopping and found yourself searching for an item you have seen advertised in another store, only to be told that the item was out of stock or this store does not carry that product. This is what happens when supply does not keep up with demand. The company goes under, under the strain of their competitor’s reactiveness. Kodak needed to make changes sooner rather than later when their management made decisions that could help or hurt Kodak. Fuji constantly made changes and made the necessary changes to meet their customer’s needs. As a business owner being able to reach and understand each customer will help in sales so profits will rise. Many people continue to shop where products are cheap and convenient. Staying in business is knowing and meeting different people with different wants and needs and then helping them with finding an inexpensive means of finding them. That is the nature of business and a way to keep a customer satisfied. Building a relationship with customers is the most important aspect in business. If the business does not speak directly to its customer’s they will soon have a loss in customers. Management plays an important part in the structuring of a business if the manager is not being active in the search for new ideas. Therefore technics to improve the company that company will be lost. New products must be advertised and sold in order to grow successfully. Ideas must be turned into products and problems concerning issues in a product must be changed into improvements for the customer. All these things must be completed to make sure…

    • 2429 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eastman Kodak

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Eastman Kodak appears to be profitable even though their net income has decreased. They show an increase in sales since from 2002 to 2004, but their operating costs also increased by 15.3 % from 2002 to 2003. The increase in sales was primarily through acquisitions and the impact of foreign exchange rates on their holdings. Kodak’s largest holding, Digital and Film Imaging Systems, experienced a 1% decrease during this period. In a comparative analysis of the years 2003 and 2004, Kodak increased their current assets and decreased total assets. This reflects the disposal of assets such as equipment, plant and property, and complete discontinuance of certain operations. This decrease in total assets can be seen as a prudent move in their restructuring process. They also decreased their number of employees in 2004 and cut back on their advertising expense.…

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kodak Case Study

    • 2422 Words
    • 10 Pages

    From the start, the Eastman Kodak company had many distinct advantages. After the invention of the silver halide photographic film, Kodak had a step ahead of any other company during its time. In 1888 Kodak developed a camera which was portable and George Eastman was able to revolutionize the photography industry. He patented his invention and began a journey on developing more advanced photographic technology toward the future of the company. Kodak had a distinctive competency over its competition because of the operations of its business. This helped lead the Kodak Company toward the continuous growth of their business. During the 1970’s-1980’s Kodak encountered problems with revenue and became aware of competition which was rapidly threatening the survival of their business. Kodak began to realize that drastic changes in the structure of the company and the technology of their products would be vital toward success of the Kodak brand. Kodak began restructuring their company with the help of key people and began another journey toward being the top maker of photographic equipment and accessories. The introduction of digital technology would prove to either break or help the Kodak Company.…

    • 2422 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    During Whitmore's leadership, Kodak diversified into life sciences. While entering the market of healthcare imaging (diagnostic equipment) was a proper fit, entering healthcare activities (nutritional supplements) and pharmaceuticals was not a wise decision. For a company like Kodak which has a very strong association with photography, entering a market that does not fit in with its image would not benefit the company. Another major mistake was not purchasing Chester Carlson's xerography patents now called Xerox Corp. Such an investment would have greatly benefited Kodak financially, especially due to the fact that it fit with the company's image. This clearly should a lack of future foresight. However there were good decisions made during Whitmore reign. Focus on image storage and data retrieval systems added to Kodak's market presence. The acquisition of Eikonix Corp provided Kodak with a leading position in commercial imaging market. However it was only till the late 1980s that Kodak directed its initiatives towards the consumer market. This was another flaw. Consumers play a key role in the photography market. They also want a ‘piece of the action', however at a lower cost. Instead of investing…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eastman Kodak

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages

    of Kodak, at the 1984 annual meeting: Like many companies, we are not used to working in an environment where there is rapid technological transfer from laboratory to the marketplace. But we know that will be important in our future.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kodak Harvard Case

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages

    1. What is/are the problem(s) in this case? Keep it to a single statement. At most, you may point out a couple of the key questions. The problem in the Kodak case is that Kodak is losing market value because they are reworking their product line, causing doubt in customer mindset. They have created the Funtime film to attempt to regain market value.…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Investement

    • 9031 Words
    • 37 Pages

    This case was prepared by Boris Morozov and Rebecca J. Morris both from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The views presented here are those ofthe case authors and do not necessarily reflect the views ofthe Society for Case Research. The authors' views are based on their own professional judgments. Copyright © 2009 by the Society for Case Research and the authors. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission ofthe Society for Case Research…

    • 9031 Words
    • 37 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kodak has been losing market share for the past five years to the point it has gone from 76% to 70%. The underlying causes that have generated such losses and have ultimately led consumers to favor competing brands with larger growth are:…

    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It employed over 62,000 employees and dominated this industry. As time progressed, as did the technology in this industry. Today Kodak only employees roughly 7,000 employees. The reason for this downfall was the inability for kodak to adapt with the current market. Competitors such as Nikon and Canon began switching from film photography to digital photography. As kodak made no changes to their industry, they quickly fell to the bottom as their competitors rose. Therefore, adaptation is incredibly important. New technology pushes industries to adapt. Morelli states this by explain “The forces of attraction anchor skilled labor and specialized services, but the exact kind of skills and services evolve over time, following the changing terrain of the technological frontier”. As I stated earlier, for this to occur, there need to be educated smart individuals that understand the ever-changing economy. The fact is, that there are simply not many of these people, and the individuals that do fall under this category congregate in certain areas, because that is where the jobs…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The printing market was going online and electronic with the online service providers and software packages were making four color images available electronically. Smaller printing companies were also building alliances with firms that had high-capacity networks for transmitting files. Despite digital division being a good idea, it was essentially outside their core business. All divisions knew the potential of digital technology but did not know enough about the markets and were scared of unproven technology.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays