Week 6 Opening Case Application

Week 6 Opening Case Application

Alison Wilson

MGT 600

Rob Shah

April 17, 2016

Brookline College

Week 6 Opening Case Application.

        Antonio Perez is the CEO of Eastman Kodak since 2005 and is name is on the Fortune 500 list of only seven Latino CEO’s (Lussier & Achua, 2013).  Kodak was the digital giant who has over 17, 000 patents and was worth over $2 million dollars.  In 2012, Kodak announced they were filing a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and an aggressive restructuring strategy.  There were thoughts by investors that Perez was not acting quickly enough with the plan, but the Board of Directors thought otherwise.  On September 3, 2013, they emerged from Bankruptcy and the restructuring.  They have transformed their business to business focus become a leaner, financially stronger, and growing company.  This paper will explore the case application and questions related to the case.

Questions

1.  Describe the nature of the crisis that Kodak has been going through since Perez took over as CEO in 2005?

1. Since 2005 when Perez became CEO of Kodak there have been many issues that Kodak has been facing.  They have been trying to make a transformation by shedding debt and restructuring.  Kodak needed to transition into the digital age.  Unfortunately, they moved into the digital age too slow and with the wrong business model.  This business model relied on people printing their photos.  What Kodak clearly missed or ignored is that the dynamics of photography have changed (Johnson, 2012).  

1.  In your opinion could this crisis have been avoided?

1. I would have to say yes this crisis could have been avoided.  Kodak needed to change their business model to move forward into the digital age.  By moving forward, they could have prevented the bankruptcy.  People are not printing photos anymore because they are sharing them online.  Also now people us the cameras on their phones.

1.  How effective has CEO Perez been in managing the crisis so far?  

1. Perez is trying to build on the mistakes made and lessons learned from the recent years.  He is attempting another innovation of reinventing the company’s core business model.  His goal is to make Kodak do for photos what Apple does for music which is to help people organize and manage their personal libraries of images (Hamm & Symonds, 2006).  He clearly has put forth a major effort to manage the crisis and help to turn things around.  

1.  In your opinion, has Mr. Perez been an effective communicator in the way he handled the crisis?  

1. Perez has tried hard to get the employees of Kodak behind the program.  He had to replace some executives before being able to get the company back on track.  He built committee groups to suggest ways to improve the company.  The executives and employees felt that Perez was a good leader, credible, influenced others and remained an effective communicator.  So my answer is yes, I do feel that Perez did communicate effectively during the crisis.  

1.  What are some of the changes Mr. Perez has instituted to avoid a repeat of a similar crisis in the future?

1. Kodak launched an all-out blitz on the digital camera market by adding EasyShare cameras to the product line.  They continued over time to add model after model of quality cameras at reasonable prices that made photo sharing easy.  They also added the printer dock where people could attach their camera, press a button and print their photos instantly.  Perez built committee teams that worked together to make suggestions on how to better the company.  It gave the employees a voice.  Most importantly, Perez created a new business model that made the company better.  

1.  Describe the threats facing Kodak in its external environment.  Do these threats justify or go against adopting a learning organizational culture?  

1. The external threats include political and legal, economic, and socio-cultural and technological.  The political and legal external factors revolve around the Laws and government environmental regulations.  These regulations will impact the way Kodak operates due to the proper waste disposal of the products that Kodak manufactures.  Economical is the decline in the prices that makes it affordable for consumers to be able to buy digital cameras.  Technology has made the addition of the camera phones which allow photos to be shared on social media sites like Facebook.

1. In your opinion, does Kodak represent the traditional organization or the learning organization?  

1. Kodak used to be a bureaucratic company during the time of the crisis.  They now are working on transforming the company into a business to business company that focuses on its imaging business.  Now they are migrating back to their old roots of a learning organization.  Kodak can now be described as being company centered. Innovative, creative, passionate, and imaginative.  They have a changing environment with a flexible structure and effective communication.

1.  What additional steps will you recommend that Antonio Perez takes to make Kodak more of a learning organization?

1. Antonio Perez needs to move more towards a learning organization.  There are many ways he can do this.  First is to create a shared vision at Kodak.  Having the employees develop a common purpose and commitment to make learning an ongoing part of the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2013).  Another way is to build confidence in followers’ capacity to learn and adapt.  By allowing the employees to solve problems, it can increase their confidence and pride.  Las would be to encourage creative thinking.  Encourage employees to think outside of the box will enhance a learning organization.  

Conclusion

        Kodak need to strategically transform their entire business model.  It will help them to capture new and unique growth opportunities.  They need to take an organizational learning approach to help improve efficiency.  Leadership including Perez needs to communicate and influence a vision to be able to capture a new business model.  Kodak needs to reinvent themselves to be able to move forward in the future.  Antonio Perez lead Kodak out of the crisis, and now they are moving into being a stronger company.