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Say cheese! George Eastman introduced the first Kodak handheld camera in 1888 for $25. "You push the button," Eastman promised, "we do the rest." By the first year of the new century, Kodak had introduced its famous "Brownie" model, which sold for the whopping price of $1. Eastman Kodak Company is now the world's leading imaging company, producing a vast range of photography products for amateur, professional, and industrial applications. One of Kodak's most popular products is the "Fun Saver," now referred to as the "one-time-use" camera; since it began production of the one-time-use cameras, Kodak has recycled more than 250 million of these cameras. Kodak's environmental conscience has not gone unnoticed. The World Environmental Center (WEC) gave Kodak an official thumbs up in 1999 when it bestowed the WEC Gold Medal for International Corporate Environmental Achievement upon the company. Smile pretty During the 1980s, growing technologies such as advanced digital imagery threatened to restructure the world market to one no longer dependent on film. In an attempt to prepare for such a scenario, Kodak countered with a $10 billion diversification into areas such as batteries, clinical diagnostic machines and pharmaceuticals. The result was a neglect of their core industry: film. Coming into focus To end the lack of focus, Kodak named former Motorola head George Fisher its CEO, a bold move for a company that had historically promoted in-house. Fisher promptly sold off Kodak's non-imaging businesses such as Sterling Winthrop and Clinical Diagnostics. Kodak then used the $8 billion from the sales of its assets to become virtually debt free, pouring resources back into its imaging business and moving it to the forefront of the digital imaging transition. The plan worked - sales rose 41%, earning Kodak $1.5 billion on revenues of $16.4 billion in 1996. Steep slopes of Fuji While Fisher was able to restructure Kodak's finances to refocus the company on the picture business, the film price war with Fuji that erupted during his term as CEO created slopes too steep for Fisher's vision of growth. In January 1997 rival Fuji drastically cut its prices, undercutting Kodak in the marketplace. The price war, combined with a strong dollar that made it harder for Kodak to compete overseas, forced Fisher to cut 20,000 jobs (including the heads of the three most important Kodak companies: Kodak Professional, Consumer Imaging, and Digital and Applied Imaging) over a two-year period. Kodak also downsized its languishing high-tech product divisions. In yet another major management tremor, Dan Carp, who has been with the company since 1970, took Fisher's place as CEO in January 2000. As a result, Kodak finally managed to overtake Fuji in dominance in the Chinese market. After a huge expansion program that has lasted the past two years, China has become the second largest market for Kodak, behind the States and now preceding Japan. There have also been talks of moving Rochester digital camera production factories to China in order to cut costs. Other site possibilities are Taiwan or Mexico, but the main goal is to come out as the number one or number two producer of digital cameras APS is A-O.K. Kodak's latest technological push, Advanced Photography Systems, offers drop-in loading and high quality 24mm film, mixing conventional and digital technology. The product is the result of an unusual collaboration between the five major imagery companies (Kodak, Fuji, Canon, Minolta and Nikon), which hope to avoid a costly format war, like the one between Beta and VHS. Though initial sales were somewhat sluggish, future CEO Dan Carp has a lot of faith in the future of APS as sales have taken off and are growing in excess of 70 percent annually. Getting the picture Kodak has improved its focus in recent years by paying attention to industry trends and transformations. In 1998, the company decided to enhance its Internet business by seizing a sizeable share of its online competitor, Picture Vision. On the digital market front, Kodak also teamed up with Intel to develop new products like Picture CDs. In a flurry of giving and taking, Kodak sold Fox Photo Chain and Nanosystems, while it acquired the medical imaging business of Imation. What do the coming years have in store for Kodak? Out of the old and into the new. The company will continue to invest in up-and-coming industries. Kodak's latest partnership is that with America Online set into effect July 1999. AOL customers can now send and receive photographs by e-mail simply by getting their photos developed at a store that uses Kodak processing and paying an extra fee. When the photos are ready, they are simultaneously delivered to the store and the user's computer terminal, with a voice message saying, "you've got pictures." Looking at its own 'true colors' In February 1999, Kodak CEO George Fisher and several senior managers met with Rev. Norvel Goff, president of the Greater Rochester (New York) chapter of the NAACP to discuss discrimination complaints from female and minority employees. After that meeting, the Eastman Kodak Company launched an internal investigation to study the pay and promotion status of 31,000 company employees. It found that "there was a discrepancy that appears to be on the basis of gender and race," a company spokesman told The Wall Street Journal. In response, the company alloted $13 million for retroactive and current pay raises to 2,000 female and minority employees in New York and Colorado. Most of the affected employees are in clerical and factory positions, and they will still be eligible for performance-based raises in 1999. Kodak appears to be on the right track towards fulfilling its "ultimate objective" to achieve greater employee diversity according to the Rochester chapter of the NAACP; in June 1999 they recognized CEO George Fisher's "leadership and commitment to diversity and cultural competence" with the Corporate Leadership Award.
Kodak "looks for team player types" so "no Lone Rangers need apply," says one contact. Another insider reveals, "the interview process here is pretty relaxed," and will typically consist of a meeting with "one or two managers, as well as some of the individuals you likely would work with." Since "Kodak usually only considers candidates at the top of their class" it is "unlikely that you would encounter many (if any) technical questions" because the company assumes you know them already. Kodak is looking for "honest, hardworking, friendly" people with a "willingness to learn." The point of the interview is to discern "more about your personality and ambitions" than your resume indicates. Interviewers are also concerned with "how you would likely 'fit in.'" Kodak offers positions in a wide variety of technical and business fields. Consult the company's employment web page, located at www.kodak.com/go/jobs, for information regarding current job openings, including job descriptions and relevant contact names and addresses. The company accepts resumes by regular mail and e-mail.
Digital age angst These are "nervous times" at Eastman Kodak Co., which is still struggling to discover how it will be able to remain relevant in the digital age. "We are in the midst of an all-out war with Fuji, and the outcome will determine the future of the company," an insider explains. Insiders find "the present time extremely challenging," but hope it will "be rewarding for those of us who remain with the company." New developments Kodak offers employees the opportunity to become involved with "the very latest technological developments" in a "social and casual" atmosphere. Some employees feel that the company's organization "responds slowly to transitions and leadership changes," but feel as though the "team-oriented atmosphere" encourages "spirited camaraderie among co-workers." Not always picture perfect Pay is "just above average, nothing to write home about." Though some insiders feel the benefits are "nothing outstanding," others see them as "above par: full medical and dental coverage life insurance, two weeks of vacation to start (plus 10 days of company holidays), a pretty good 401(k) plan, bonuses based on EVA (economic value added), and 40 hours of training for every employee (plus tuition reimbursement for some classes and programs)." Hours at Kodak run pretty long, insiders say. While there are several corporate locations, insiders warn "there are no pretty offices" and they have "better PCs at home." True colors Kodak, a conservative organization, has not historically been at the forefront of diversity within the workplace. However, in recent years employee networks "have been created to correct some inequities in promotion; improving awareness and networking." Kodak representatives say that these "networks" are endorsed by the company and available to all employees to assist "individual development" and provide "additional communication opportunities." Employees like the "reasonable and flexible work hours" and the "loose" dress code. Most technical employees, in fact, report that they "haven't worn a tie in years" but practices and attitudes differ with and division. Consumer Imaging tends to be "very conservative, traditional," as opposed to Digital Imaging which "tends to shoot from the hip." Kodak doesn't "provide large egos with many massages," so "if you want big titles, Kodak is not the place to be." What Kodak employees do enjoy is the "technical challenge" of a changing, competitive medium. At Kodak you may find yourself reaping "no tangible perks," and you probably "won't get rich" on its salary, but, say insiders, "if you like technology, you will like Eastman Kodak."
Human Resources
Digitial and traditional cameras;Film;Consumer and professional photographic products
Canon;Minolta;Nikon;Agfa More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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