Kodak
Eastman Kodak was once the dominant player in photography, as a maker of film in particular, but all other ancillary photography products as well. The advent of digital cameras put the nail into the coffin of this business, which had already been challenged by the arrival of new players into the market. Since that point, Kodak has basically been in a death spiral, laying off employees, selling off businesses, and losing market value. The company's most recent successes were lawsuits that it filed in defense of some of its patents. The company is now valued at just $300 million, but it has $2.6 billion in unfunded pension obligations and there are doubts as to whether or not Kodak will survive the year.
Objectives
There are many objectives that Kodak can set for itself. The first operational target is to have a profitable business that does not involve selling patents. Right now, what Kodak needs to do in order to ensure its long-term survival is it needs a hit product. It has tried to build one and failed thus far, but the reality is that without a hit product Kodak will not survive much longer, as its financial position is just not good enough. Another operational objective will be to get the company organized in a way that will encourage more innovation and entrepreneurship. Kodak basically needs to put itself in a position where it is coming up with new business ideas, acting as an incubator of sorts, rather than relying on a series of businesses that as yet are not working.
The first financial objective is that the company needs to establish stable cash flow. This is critical because the company is in a solvency crisis. The second financial objective is to find a way out of those pension obligations, either by funding them or by walking away from them. The pension obligations are going to make it impossible to sell Kodak -- a buyer might just wait for the company to go bankrupt and the pick up a desirable asset at auction for pennies on the dollar. Solving the riddle of the pensions is a critical...
The company finds itself having to try to attract talented people, but without the cash or desirable location (sorry, Rochester) to attract the best talent. Further, there is perpetual uncertainty about the future of the company. Thus, reinventing itself as an innovator has proven to be a much greater challenge for Kodak than it has been for Fujifilm. Part of the problem was the conservative culture at Kodak, and
Investing in new research and development and trying to outshine Fuji should have been the main objective. This could be accomplished through more R&D funds, more canny market assessment of consumer needs, and providing bonuses for innovation, not cutting back salaries and making staff member's dependant upon bonuses for their livelihood. How does this example relate to the concept of economic Darwinism? According to the theory of economic Darwinism: "behavior leading
Kodak Eastman Kodak has been facing difficulty external environmental circumstances for nearly two decades, as the digital photography revolution has severely impacted Kodak's business. The company's revenues have declined for at least the past five years, and in four of those years Kodak recorded a loss. In the fifth year, 2007, the profit derived from "extraordinary items" rather than operating income (MSN Moneycentral, 2011). The company's businesses include digital and still
Eastman Kodak: Problem Analysis and Recommendations Over the last few years, our company has been on a loss making streak. Our sales margins have continued to decrease year after year. This effectively means that we no longer dominate the photographic film marketplace like we used to do just over a decade ago. It is important to note that as our performance (in terms of sales) further declines, our competitors, including but
S/G/a expenses were 19.6% of sales in 2005 and 17.1% of sales in 2009. It would take a further 16% reduction in the S/G/a expense just to break even at 2009 sales, so a cut of 20% or more in 2010 is needed to allow the company to break even in the face of steadily declining sales. One piece of goods news, however, is that the company's revenues improved
Eastman Kodak Company (hereafter known as Kodak) has not achieved a maximum penetration of the college student market. In terms of current initiatives, Kodak sponsors the Student Filmmaker Program. The program provides project grants, educational allowance programs, scholarships, and support services. Kodak's Cannes Program offers an opportunity for students to extend the Cannes International Film Festival (Kodak). While these initiatives have increased the exposure of Kodak within the student
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