Kodak and Fujifilm - Case Study Example

Kodak and Fujifilm Introduction: Both Eastman Kodak and Fujifilm are imaging and photography companies well known in the United States for their products and services. This particular study has been considered to focus on these two companies and learn about their histories and core businesses, their management processes, their maintenance of ethics and social responsibilities, as well as their adaptations to changing market situations. Eastman Kodak and Fujifilm: History and Core Business: The Kodak Company was initiated by George Eastman who started his career life when he was 14, struggled through and overcame the financial crises of his family, and when he was 24 years old, he realized the importance of a light weighted single click camera for clicking photographers. It was then that he started experimenting and finally developed a camera by the year 1880 based on which the Kodak Company was initiated. Thus cameras and photographic films were the core products that the company offered to the general public with intention to make it a large business (George Eastman, n.d.). The company had also focused sincerely on advertising of their products considering advertising as an important measure of business (George Eastman, n.d.). The core business of Fujifilm is manufacture of photographic film. This company was founded in 1934 and is now a leading company in the world of photography across the globe. With establishment of the company in 1934, the company gradually expanded globally and opened up its branches across different countries in the world (Corporate History n.d.). Management Approaches of Kodak and Fujifilm: The fundamental approach that Kodak has been following for managing its operations has been a humanistic approach. Eastman believed that his employees were highly important and hence should be offered with more than just wages. There are four major principles that the company followed from its initial times. These include: Production of mass products at a low cost, Distribution of the products across the globe, Extensive advertising, and Focus on the customer. There have been three policies on which the management of the company has been maintained. These are: (1) Continuous research for development and growth of the company; (2) Well behaving with the employees to make them feel important and part of the company; and (3) Reinvestment of the company’s profits in expansion of the business (Schreiner, 2012, pp.1-3). The management approach at Fujifilm Company is focused on increasing and maximizing the synergies of its employees towards accomplishment of organizational goals. The company focuses on utilizing its human resources along with other available physical resources towards developing its manufacturing process and hence attains and manages growth of the business. A lean and robust management structure is followed by the company, which is integrated with Fujifilm Holdings Corporation. There is a board of management at the company that decides on the management policies, strategies and significant issues related to the operations of the company and hence manages the effective and timely execution of the planned strategies (Management, n.d.). Management Differences between Kodak and Fujifilm Impacting on Success: While Fujifilm became a successful leader in the industry and is leading across the globe, the Kodak Company could be found to fail to keep the pace in the market. The company had to file a bankruptcy protection reflecting on the fact that the management strategies and processes followed by the company were not effective to deal with the changing market situations or to manage its business strategies well towards development (Inagaki and Osawa, 2012). The failure of the company gradually starting with declining sales of its products when in 1984 Fujifilm became the most significant rival for Kodak. The Japanese market could not be penetrated by Kodak owing to the trading practices followed in the country. As a result, the company’s stock value for its shareholders could not be improved. Gradually sales of Kodak started declining and Fujifilm gained significance in the market, eventually taking up the place of Kodak as well (Schreiner, 2012, pp.3-4). Hence it could be obtained that while the Fujifilm Company could manage its sources and targets well, the Kodak Company failed to do so and hence lost in the competition prevalent in the industry. Ethics and Social Responsibility of Kodak and Fujifilm: In regard to ethics and maintenance of social responsibility, both the companies could be obtained to be sincere about their policies and measures. The operations of the Kodak Company have always been conducted keeping in focus the impacts that could happen on the environment. Thus, maintenance of safe facilities and operations has been part of the company’s policies to operate in an ethical socially responsible way. The goods produced have also always been safe with minimum environmental effects. The suppliers of the company played an essential role in this regard (Supplier Social & Environmental Responsibility, n.d.). Ethics and corporate social responsibility is also effectively followed and maintained at Fujifilm. It is focused on developing the society in a sustainable manner. The culture and technology are advanced and developed trying to effectively meet the demands of the society and meet all legal and economic responsibilities that the company should be concerned of as a business entity. The corporate social responsibility activities of the company are constantly monitored by the management teams to ensure all measures of operations are effectively performed without affecting the environment and the society. The products are also accordingly manufactured and delivered that have minimum effect on the users or the society (Our Approach to CSR and Related Policies, n.d.). Management Capabilities of Kodak and Fujifilm to Adapt to Changing Market Situations: It could be well obtained that since the times both the companies were initiated and developed; the business environment across the globe has altered significantly. Today’s business world is encountered with increased globalization and competition with significant changes in the demands and preferences of the customers. Hence business organizations have to understand and meet the needs of the customers. A similar case could be obtained in case of Kodak and Fujifilm, where the Fujifilm Company could be found to successfully adapt to the changing market situations. On the other hand, Kodak Company failed to do, and with its declining sales, gradually lost its position in the market, which eventually has been taken by Fujifilm. With passage of time, the demand for digital technology increased with the present generation being interested in digital cameras and products more than the previous forms of cameras of films. Thus it was necessary to adapt to developing to new technologies and deliver the target customers with the digital technology. When the industry realized the crisis, Fujifilm developed its policies and moved from its core business and focused on developing products associated with digital technology. Hence it survived well and became popular among the mass (Inagaki and Osawa, 2012; Schreiner, 2012, p.5). On the other hand, although the Kodak Company had been involved in realizing the need for digital technology much earlier when in 1975 one of the engineers of the company had developed a digital camera; yet the company did not continue with the innovation, as the camera could only produce black and white photographs during that time. Later on, when the company realized that the new generation is demanding for the digital technology, they could not predict the demands and hence could not try to meet, thereby losing in the industry (Inagaki and Osawa, 2012; Schreiner, 2012, p.5). Recommendations for Backing up Decision Making Process: It is essential for every business organization to consider their decision making process in a way such that the company is capable of adapting to changing market situations. In this regard, three recommendations may be suggested as follows: Business organizations need to realize that at times the core businesses are not enough to meet the needs and preferences of a changing market. Hence diversification and moving away from the core business is an essential part of decision making for every business. It can be recommended that business organizations need to focus on keeping alternatives to ensure that if there is change in the market conditions, and then they should be capable of entering into diversified businesses, thereby meeting the needs of the market. Understanding the current needs of the customers is extremely important. It is possible that the time from when a business initiated to the current time could have led to changes in what the customers expect of the businesses. Hence market research should be incorporated as an essential strategy that would allow businesses to learn about the exact needs of the market, and accordingly plan for the further strategies. Also, it would be recommended to develop a team of research and development that would be focused only on innovation and development of the core products and services of a company, based on the current demands in the market. Conclusion: The study was focused on understanding the management processes and success or failure of Kodak and Fujifilm. It can be concluded from the study that while initial strategies are essential to start up a company, it is also extremely important to remain flexible, study and understand the needs of the current and changing market, and be able to diversify, develop and adapt to changes to deliver customers with their changing needs. Strictly following the core businesses may not be a solution for success at all times and hence companies need to have alternatives to deal with different business situations and market environments. References Corporate History (n.d.). Fujifilm. [Online]. Retrieved on 24 January 2014 from: http://www.fujifilm.com/about/history/corporate_history/ George Eastman (n.d.). Kodak. [Online]. Retrieved on 24 January 2014 from: http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Our_Company/History_of_Kodak/George_Eastman.htm Inagaki, K. and J. Osawa (2012). Fujifilm Thrived by Changing Focus. WSJ. [Online]. Retrieved on 25 January 2014: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203750404577170481473958516 Management (n.d.). Fujifilm. [Online]. Retrieved on 25 January 2014 from: http://www.fujifilm.com/about/management/ Our Approach to CSR and Related Policies (n.d.). Fujifilm. [Online]. Retrieved on 26 January 2014 from: http://www.fujifilm.com/sustainability/commitment/approach/ Schreiner, H. (2012). The Rise and Fall of the Kodak Empire. CSUB. [Online]. Retrieved on 25 January 2014 from: http://www.csub.edu/kej/documents/economic_rsch/2012-04-23.pdf Supplier Social & Environmental Responsibility (n.d.). Kodak. [Online]. Retrieved on 26 January 2014 from: http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Global_Sustainability/Health_Safety_and_Environment/Product_Stewardship/Supplier_Social_amp_Environmental_Responsibility.htm Read More