Analysis of Kodak's globalization attempts

To enter the global arena, Kodak has shifted its emphasis from film to imaging. By doing so, Kodak has made technology a focus of its new strategy. This is evident through Kodak's recent entry into the field of digital cameras and digital imaging. Also, Kodak realized that the quality of the pictures from special occasions, such as weddings and birthdays, were most important to customers, along with the ease of making enlargements. This lead Kodak to create one-stop photo print centres where customers could make these precious copies and enlargements directly from their pictures.

To compensate for heavy global competition, mostly in part by Fuji, Kodak cut jobs to decrease their costs. They are planning to cut 10,000 more jobs in an effort to save $1 billion in costs. In addition to the reduction in workforce, Kodak is also planning to cut its budget by $100 to $150 million.

Fishers Towers Utah area from the California Zephy...

Fishers Towers Utah area from the California Zephy...

Looking north on Woodward Ave., from the Maccabee[...

Although Kodak has done a lot to cope with their losses in response to their global competition, they are now planning to refute it. In attempt to confront smaller competition such as Canon and Hewlett-Packard, Kodak is planning to unveil the core product of its digital strategy: Image Magic. They hope that this global network of digital printing stations will put them over the top and in front of their competition.

In an October 1997 edition of "Business Week", there was a cover story blatantly entitled "Can (CEO)George Fisher Fix Kodak?". George Fisher is definitely capable of turning Kodak around and making it the powerhouse of the camera industry as it was in the past. It is evident that Fisher is doing things to increase the morale and work ethic of management and employees. This will, in turn, result in higher productivity. To achieve this, Fisher encourages employees...