Kodak Fails to Focus on the Big Picture
The closing case focuses on Kodak and their failure to innovatethrough the transition from analog to digital technology. Itappears Kodak had the resources to innovate and they recognized thecoming transition but incorrectly evaluated the needs and desiresof the consumer. In addition, members of the company feared changeand resisted change efforts. For these reasons, Kodak went from atop 20 Fortune 500 company to bankruptcy in 2012.
Management Update: There are signs Kodak maysurvive. During bankruptcy, Kodak put Eastman Park up for sale.Eastman Park is a giant industrial complex built in the early 1900sto meet demand for the company’s photographic and film products. In2015, the company took the park off the market and turned it into aseparate company division. With a focus on clean technology, over60 companies have key operations on the site.
Case Question: Explain how – theoretically,anyway – making “change innovations” in each of the followingAreas of Organizational Change might have helped Kodakease the severity of the conditions that led it to bankruptcy andthe challenges facing it now that it’s emerged frombankruptcy: changing organization structure anddesign, changing people and attitudes, and changingprocesses.
