Eastman Kodak Company Essay, Research Paper

Eastman Kodak Company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of photographic equipment. It develops, manufactures, and markets photographic and chemical products for both amateur and professional photographers. The company’s other products include X-ray films, pharmaceuticals, copier-duplicators, acetate fibers, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and videocassettes. Kodak also provides film and equipment for commercial fields such as the healthcare and motion picture industries. Kodak also manufactures photographic equipment for the government’s aerial, space, and other scientific needs, including the fabled satellite reconnaissance cameras that can read a license plate from orbit—at least according to the lore of the Cold War

The American businessman George Eastman founded the company in 1880 as a result of his interest in making amateur picture-taking easier and less expensive. Eastman revolutionized photography in 1885 when he introduced roll film, which used a paper base instead of glass. The company marketed its first camera in 1888, and in 1889 it introduced the first flexible, transparent roll film for commercial purposes. The company’s headquarters are in Rochester, New York.

Eastman was born in Waterville, New York. His family moved to Rochester, New York, in 1860. There, he developed a dry photographic plate, which he began manufacturing in 1880. In 1888, Eastman introduced the Kodak. This lightweight, box-shaped camera contained film wound on rollers, eliminating the need for glass photographic plates. By the early 1900’s, the Eastman Kodak Company had become the largest photographic film and camera producer in the world. Research and technical improvements helped keep Eastman ahead of his competitors. Joerg D. Agin is the key decision maker of Eastman Kodak Company. Mr. Agin began his career at Eastman Kodak as an electrical engineer in 1967. He held a variety of assignments in the Motion Picture and Audiovisual Product Division.

Daniel A. Carp is the President and he began his Kodak career in 1970 as a statistical analyst and held a variety of increasingly responsible positions in market research, business planning, marketing management and line-of-business management, including general manager of Sales for Kodak Canada and general manager of Consumer Electronics Division.

The Eastman Kodak began is normal business operation in Rochester New York. Eastman began to manufacture dry plates for sale to other photographers, in a leased third floor of a building on State Street. As his young company grew, he was more determine to developed more experiments to reproduce photography industry. Eastman coined the slogan, “You push the button, we do the rest,” when he introduced the Kodak Camera in 1888. He developed a remarkable approach into the building of his business. Due to the tremendous growth of the company photographic materials were incorporated in London, England to handle distribution of Kodak products in countries outside the U.S. Before long, the combined inter national and domestic demand outpaced plant resources. The Kodak company was operated by Eastman all thru until his death in 1932.

The new implementation of the Kodak company are to provide convenience and quality to the customers so more and more people can experience the special wonders of photography and capture the cherish moments. Eastman builds a company new products and adding experts to expand his capital plant with steady persistent control. The creation of ingenious tools and processes for manufacturing film enabled the new company to turn out high-quality merchandise at selling prices that put them within the reach of the general public. In the early years of the company, film base was manufactured and coated on long glass tables. Today, machines that contain highly polished coating wheels nearly two stories high have replaced the glass tables.

One of Kodak’s greatest strengths is that it makes advanced technology intuitive and easy to use. In Kodak research labs around the world, thousands of scientists and engineers develop leading edge imaging technologies, which people don’t always see, but can use to “Take Pictures. Further.” Kodak’s goal is to improve everyday, every month, every year. This means safer workplaces, fewer lost-time accidents or illnesses, more healthy employees productively at work, fewer emissions to the environment, and more recycled materials.

In addition to manufacturing and business units, Kodak’s major corporate management systems also rely on guidance and insight from Kodak’s corporate organization. When the company is making a decision to purchase or divest companies or properties, experts ensure that issues are identified and addressed. In addition, a management system is in place to ensure that the company continuously monitors products for responsibility, even after they reach the marketplace. Medical and health experts from the corporate organization also help the company ensure that employees remain healthy and safe by providing employee assistance and fitness programs and by giving benefit consultations.

The transformation of Kodak is evident also in how we approach opportunity presented by digital technology. Because Kodak is recognized to be the picture business they use whatever tools is available to them to help people do more with their pictures. Kodak’s future plans are to be the world’s leader in picture business, and to help people who use film share in all the neat things that we can do with digital networked world. In addition, Kodak is stepping up to communication with the investments being made, great for potential growth. Kodak’s performance objectives is by continuing to build a world-class management team, by continuing to drive change throughout ranks of Kodak worldwide, and by continuing to drive profitable growth with the most useful and wonderful array of film and digital-based products in the world.

They’ve created a sustainable, profitable top-line growth for Kodak, expanding the use of pictures, expanding the market for pictures, and enabling convenience, easy access to pictures all around the globe. Kodak’s expectations for the year 2004, is the product to be the largest single product to be used by use the consumer. Also by the end of 2004 they expect to see and increases of $1 ? to $4 billion of revenue . The recent growth strategies at Kodak have focused on digital imaging and strategic partnerships with AOL, eBay, and Hewlett Packard, giving the company a strong grip in the market.

Kodak will provide full-scale Local Area Network, Wide Area Network, and wireless telecommunication services. Kodak has formed an alliance with AT&T that enables Kodak to serve as a sales agent for AT&T’s telecommunication services, managed services, wide area network services, and Web site services. This provides us with an entire digital imaging solution by connecting digital capture, processing, storage and output devices to meet our specific needs. Kodak can serve as your single point of contact for all digital imaging network needs.