Eastman Kodak and Fujifilm Sandra Greene BUS 302 Professor Cheryl J. Johnson 2 Feb, 2013 Eastman Kodak and Fujifilm 1. Describe the history and core business of each company. Kodak was considered the Google of its day. It was founded in 1880 and known for its pioneering technology and innovative marketing. “You press the button, we do the rest,” was its slogan in 1888. By 1976 Kodak accounted for 90% of film and 85% of camera sales in America. Until the 1990s it was regularly rated one of the world's five most valuable brands (The Last Kodak Moment, 2012). The business was built based on four principles; mass production at low cost, international distribution, extensive …show more content…
Fujifilm, on the other hand, set goals and implemented them. One goal was to penetrate the U.S. market and make a major impact. They succeeded. When they realized that there was a move towards digital, they prepared for it and then acquired new business lines. The developed a cosmetics line, they found new outlets for its film expertise (in one sort of film they have 100% market share). They slashed costs and jobs and spent millions on a mass reconstruction. The 60% of profits they loss from film was replaced with new revenue. They “embrace change and diversity to become a more effective force for a better future” (Fujifilm) (The Last Kodak Moment, 2012). Our Commitment 4. Evaluate each company’s approach to ethics and social responsibility and the impact those approaches have had on each company’s profitability. “Kodak’s case study tells the story of a long-standing company with a reputation for social responsibility earned through its community activities, its implied commitment to lifetime employment, and its high-wage and comprehensive fringe benefit policies” (Kochan, 1999). However, as their market position declined in market there was an increased need to focus on costs. One way to do this was a long and slow process of layoffs which obliterated employee trust. In the end they realized that their old belief that a socially responsible employer guaranteed jobs for life was no longer
The problem in this case is concerned with Eastman Kodak losing its market share in film products to lower-priced economy brands. Over the last five years, in addition to being brand-aware, customers have also become price-conscious. This has resulted in the fast paced growth of lower priced segments in which Kodak has no presence.
What are the strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practice? Discuss with reference to case studies of your choice (1200-1500 words).
Company Q is a corporation whose stakeholders have not placed a major emphasis on social responsibility, instead it appears that the primary focus is placed on profit. With their profits on the decline, they are shying away from opportunities to help their community. By placing a higher priority on social responsibility Company Q will have the opportunity to help the community through charitable donations, employee volunteer initiatives, and creating quality jobs for the persons who live in the community. At the same time, Company Q will can also improve their public image and potentially increase profit.
I am tasked is to evaluate Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility and recommend three actions that Company Q could take to improve their attitude toward social responsibility. In evaluating Company Q’s attitude towards social responsibility there are a couple of examples that displays the company’s lack of social responsibility awareness. Company Q closed a couple of stores in higher-crime-rate areas with a claim that the stores are consistently losing money. The issue here is that closing these stores can create the perception that Company Q does not care about customers in these areas. In addition, after years of their customers requesting they start offering health-conscience and organic products, the company went
Discuss the four components of corporate social responsibility and how they relate to a charitable campaign such as (Product) RED. How does participation in a cause-marketing event contribute to a company's social responsibility? What role does sustainability play?
Kodak is known for providing the quality services, innovative products offering the best quality to customers. It developed competitive advantages and satisfied its customers during many years. Kodak has evolved different strategies in the field of traditional photography where it brought innovations and modification. Kodak has a successful history in the industry. According to the case study, the main reason behind the success of Kodak in the industry is its quality.
The problem in this case is Kodak's steadily eroding market share and shareholder value in the film rolls market. This is especially undesirable given the fact that the market has been growing at a tepid 2% annual rate and the steadily increasing threat from competition. Kodak needs to come up with a strategy for corrective action so as to arrest this decline, regain market share and increase share holder value. Kodak's strategy is to reposition itself by targeting a new segment of price sensitive customers and re-segmenting the super premium customers’ space by including a wider segment of special occasion customers.
One of the major issues mentioned in the case is about corporate social responsibility. Dentex Corporation came up with the styling new line of car, Rento. It was considered as a rushed project, thus they skipped
The founder of Kodak, George Eastman, was a photography enthusiast and wanted to simplify the process of creating photos. Eastman established what was to evolve into the Kodak Company in 1880. The Kodak Company was built on four basic
It is considered that photography only became widely available to the public when the Kodak Eastman Company introduced the box shaped Brownie Camera in 1900. (Baker, n.p.) Its features became more refined since its original placing on the market; one of the reasons why it has become considered the birth of public photography is because of the processing. Using a similar image capture system, the brownie exposed the light to a 120mm roll of film, which could be wound round, meaning six photographs could be taken before the slides needed removing. The first Brownie used a six-exposure cartridge that Kodak processed for the photographer. (Kodak.com, n.d.) Realistically, the armature photographers did not need to understand darkroom processes,
“Things changed dramatically in 1888 when George Eastman introduced the Kodak camera. A small hand-held box, it cost only $25--about the price of a higher-end iPad in today’s money, which put it in the range of the well-off middle class. And it offered simplicity: It arrived with 100 shots preinstalled, and when they were taken you shipped the entire camera back to Eastman’s factory in Rochester, New York, where workers developed the photos and mailed them back to you along with your reloaded camera. “You press the button, we do the rest,” as the Kodak slogan rang” (Thompson, Clive, 2012). This was the start of the Kodak monpoly of the film and photography industry.
Taking pictures with the Kodak camera was simpler than the earlier camera because first, it did not require a darkroom or chemicals and glass plates. It did not require any of these things because it was not only one person’s job to develop and take the photo. The photographer could send their camera in, and the Eastman Kodak Company would develop the pictures for them. “In the first year, 13,000 people paid $25 for a Kodak; they each took 100 pictures, returned the camera and within ten days, Kodak sent back the prints and camera with film for another 100 pictures,” (Buckland and Lefer 250). This opened up a whole new door for inexperienced photographers. All they had to do was take pictures, and send the camera
* Marketing- Kodak is the world’s foremost imaging innovator. Its reputation in the film printing business is dominant. Introducing a new line of cost efficient printer ink will be effective and popular. Kodak’s target market will include anyone with a household printer. Kodak’s goal will focus
The Eastman Kodak Company was established in the 1880’s as a film business, set on establishing its brand name in the marketplace through customer-focused advertising and growth through research and development and low cost mass production. The founder, George Eastman, described Kodak’s competitive philosophy by commenting that “nothing is more important than the value of our name and the quality it stands for. We must make quality our fighting argument” (Gavetti, Henderson & Giorgi, 2005).
As Kline (2017) stated, “Socially responsible companies can reduce their credit spread by 40%, avoid market losses from crises (saving millions), double the probability of receiving investment grade ratings, reduce share price volatility 2-10%, and reduce systematic or market risk by 4%.” More interestingly, Kline (2017) mentioned, “...the researchers found that corporate responsibility could potentially increase the market value of a company by up to 6% over a 15- year period. Market value may grow even more -- to 40-80% higher than peers ' and competitors ' market value -- for companies with strong relationships with stakeholders such as environmental and social NGOs.” Similarly, Kline (2017) voiced, “The study found several advantages on the human resources front due to retention of talent attracted to CR. Staff turnover rates are 25 to 50% lower in responsible companies, who can save around $3700 on average in wage increases to encourage an employee to stay when he or she would rather go elsewhere.” Kline (2017) brought up some engaging trends, “ In fact, in responsible companies 5% of employees say they are willing to accept a decline in compensation. These companies register a 7.5% increase in