Case Study On Kodak, What Went Wrong?
Patricia A. Webster
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
CASE STUDY REPORT 2
Introduction
This case study will analyze what areas of failure caused Eastman Kodak to continue to have continued underperformance and misalignment within the company’s operations. There were four serious counts of corporate failure on the park of Kodak’s strategic planning and decision making. The analysis will review these failures, recommendations for change will be discussed, and clear explanations as to why the wrong decisions lead to the failure for growth will be reviewed. A conclusion will discuss how Kodak has managed to survive despite the bad corporate decisions and how the company must reconsider the majority of the recent strategic choices they have made.
Strategic Analysis George Eastman founded Eastman Kodak Company in 1880. Within four years Kodak had become a household name after he replaced glass photographic plates with a roll of film. His decision regarding the company’s philosophy was to focus on quality. He stated, “Nothing is more important than the value of your name and the quality it stands for”. By 1963, color prints surfaced by this company. By 1981 they launched new product lines including cameras, graphical arts, and medical imaging. Their top sales tripled to $10,000,000,000 at that time. Kodak’s performance today is in trouble, sales are drastically falling, the company’s profit margin had declined to a staggering 3% in 2005. The chairman of the shareholder’s stepped down that year conceding a disappointing performance all-around. Due to declining economic environment in this country the company continues to fall. Several corporate failures have contributed to the spiral downward. The connection between logic and creativity was not present. They failed to jump on board with the digital age and technology
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