Kodak & Fujifilm - Research Paper Example

Kodak & Fujifilm of the of the Contents History and core business 3 Management Approach for Innovation 4 Management Differences for Competitive Advantage 4 Approach to Ethics and Social Responsibility 5 Change Management 6 Building Flexibility 7 References 9 History and core business Kodak Kodak or Eastman Kodak Company was founded in the year 1888 by George Eastman. Kodak is recognized for its imaging information. The company is best known for its photographic film products. Kodak was in a dominant position till 20th century and captured about 90 percent of the total photographic sales in US. However, the company struggled post 1990s and saw drastic decline in sales and revenues (Kodak, 2014). In order to revamp its company and its overall positioning, the company has now forayed into digital printing and digital photography. The company’s core business during its initial days was photographic films. The company has diversified and at present provides functional printing, packaging, graphic communication as well as professional business services across the globe. Its major business segments include Graphics and enterprise, Digital Printing and Commercial and entertainment films. Fujifilm Fujifilm or Fujifilm Holdings Corporation was founded in the tear 1934 in Japan. It is a multinational imaging and photography organization headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. During its initial years, the company was involved in production of motion pictures, x-ray and photographic films. Later the company diversified into optical lenses, glasses as well as equipments market. At present, the company’s core business includes production, development, servicing and sale of color films, photofinishing equipments, digital cameras, photofinishing chemicals, color paper, graphic arts materials and equipments, equipments for medical imaging, displays for flat panel, printers, photocopies and optical devices. Management Approach for Innovation Kodak In order to gain sustainable competitive advantage, the company builds its innovation platform on its technological heritage. The company has a unique design strategy which is always looking for opportunities across every product’s entire life cycle. As a result, the company is able to offer unique solutions at every stage of the product life cycle. For instance, customers are offered to choose among various applications such as offset plates, printing solutions, packaging solution and workflow systems in order to enhance the efficiency of their services and products. Apart from that the company’s capabilities in material science and deposition has also resulted in innovative and alternative products such as fuel cells, batteries, solar panels and biotech products such as films for tissue regeneration, disposable sensors and antimicrobials. The innovation expertise of the company has also forayed into fields such as biochemistry and bio-fuels. Fujifilm The company has been known for its innovative foray into various new fields. The company was one of the first to start plate making films, x-ray films, still cameras as well as color reversal movies. Since then the company forayed into many diverse sectors including biotechnology, electronics, medical equipments, digital equipments (Fujifilm, 2014). The company believes that innovation can only be achieved by proper synchronization of the tangible and intangible resources. As a result, the company has a strong communication with every member and segment of Fujifilm group. The company also has a robust and lean management structure integrated with the parent corporation. Management Differences for Competitive Advantage Kodak The company suffered huge financial loss after the 1990s because of the rapid technological changes. As a result, the company brought many changes in its management. The first difference was extensive cost cutting by shutting down loss making factories. The company also outsourced the manufacturing department. In order to save its business models and strategies, Kodak started patenting its products and business models. The company also turned to cost-benefit pricing strategy for avoiding bankruptcy as well as generating enough revenues for further investment and diversification (Elahi, 2013). Another management difference which can be attributed to the success of Kodak in its later part is focusing on core investments. Kodak’s digital strategy is at present the most beneficial and the company has its major focus on this department. Fujifilm Fujifilm’s competitive advantage comes from its continuous research and development. The fundamental research technologies of Fujifilm are themselves versatile including inorganic and organic materials, formation as well as processing of think films, software and image, mechatronics and xerography. The major success of the company can be attributed to its extensive coverage in diverse fields. The company created differentiation by applying its various product and design technologies by combining core and fundamental technologies and promoting the research and development activities in its crucial business fields and at the same time creating new businesses for future. Approach to Ethics and Social Responsibility Kodak Kodak is committed to perform in an ethical, environment as well as socially responsible mode. The company is dedicated to various commitments including maintenance of safer operations and facilities as well as providing goods and service that are safe. The company also commits to produce minimum hazards and burden to the environment in the entire lifecycle of their products. Kodak is a member of EICC and the brand’s social responsibility programs aligns with global standards and industry best practices. The company makes sure that its workers are treated with dignity and respect and manufacturing facilities are environmentally responsible as well as safe (Coelho, McClure & Spry, 2003). Apart from that, the company has also been praised for its cutting edge and anti-discrimination standards and policies for bisexual, gay as well as transgender employees. So far, the company’s brand value has been uplifted because of its socially responsible acts. The company company’s share has also seen a surge as well as its revenues and profits. Fujifilm The company complies with the global standards by fulfilling all legal and economic responsibilities as well as responding to the demands of the society by contributing to the cultural and technological development of the society as well as environmental preservation. The company has stringent policies which are regularly monitored and followed including green policy, biodiversity guidelines, policies for social contribution, procurement and supplier policies, quality policies as well as safety and occupational health policies (Tuan, 2012). The company has also established a regular feedback system for its employees and workers with the objective of continuous improvement of its programs and ethical standards. As a result, there is a greater loyalty and work efficiency among Fujifilm’s workers and employees which has also resulted in increased sales and revenues for the organization (Wallis, 2010). Change Management The market of Fujifilm grew substantially after 1997. However, the majority f the customer preferred low-priced products. As a result, an intense price-war started between Fujifilm and Kodak. Fujifilm realized that it had competitive advantage as long as the price was lower than its major rival, Kodak. In response, Kodak also lowered its pricing giving neck to neck competition to Fujifilm. After some time, value packs and service offering were the only major differentiation between the two fighting companies. In order to adapt itself in the changing market conditions, Fujifilm started diversifying into various businesses such as digital imaging, medical equipments supply and biotechnology. The company also underwent drastic transformation of its overall business structure. The major change in Kodak came during the 1980s when the company forayed into digital cameras. Initially the company was very slow in transformation and adaptation which resulted in huge loss of revenues and left Kodak near Bankrupt. In order to revive itself, it started doing extensive market research for better customer insights. The company then started to evaluate the key unmet needs of the customers which basically included value pricing, good features in affordable prices, guarantee and warrantees and good after sales service. The company successfully utilized these market trends for preparing innovative strategies and soon recovered its lost market share. The company also shifted its strategy from entire in-house production to outsourcing which helped in minimizing wastes and focus on its core competencies. Building Flexibility The current business environment is very volatile. As a result, business objective and mission created one or two decades back may no longer serve the purpose. Thus, organization’s need to constantly revamp and revive their objectives as well as business missions. In order words, these should be flexibility in the decision making process of the organizations. There are various ways through which an organization can become more flexible: 1. Identification of the critical issues It is not only identifying the current issues but also constant research into the expected or perceived future problems. Identification of the critical present and future problems will help managers in deciding the best course of action as well as better utilization of the current and available resources. It will also help in preparing strategic action plans taking many life cycles. For instance, the revenues generated from a short term objective or plan can be further capitalized into making further sales and promotional plans. 2. Diversification Diversification into new and emerging products as well as market will not only minimize the risk of product or market failure but will also increase the company’s opportunity for cross-selling. For instance, a particular product might not be popular in one nation or region but can be sold in other regions. Thus, diversification will allow risk mitigation to companies. 3. Innovative Thinking It has always been the best approach to reduce any risk as well as enhance the overall flexibility of organization’s decision making. Constant research and development for innovative products and services will help in introducing new products, services as well as trends in the market. References Coelho, P., McClure, J. & Spry, J. (2003). The Social Responsibility of Corporate Management: A Classical Critique, Economics, 18(1), 10-15. Elahi, E. (2013). Risk management: The next source of competitive advantage. Journal of Risk Management, 15(2), 117 – 131. Fujifilm. (2014). About Us. Retrieved from http://www.fujifilm.com/ Kodak. (2014). Our Company. Retrieved from http://www.kodak.co.in/ek/IN/en/About_Kodak_Top/Our_Company.htm Tuan, L.T. (2012). Corporate social responsibility, ethics, and corporate governance. Social Responsibility Journal, 8(4), 547 – 560. Wallis, S.E. (2010). Developing effective ethics for effective behavior. Social Responsibility Journal, 6(4), 536 – 550 Read More