Kodak's Failure
Nov 20, 2014 07:19:42 #
dinosaur39 wrote:
Is it true that Kodak resisted digital photography... (show quote)
It is probable that Kodak were just putting off the evil day - what ever they did would not keep them going. They belonged to another age.
Nov 20, 2014 07:27:49 #
On a more positive note, take a look at GE. I think somewhere in my closet I have one of those little gold colored Kodak Digital camera, as I remember it wasn't that bad.
Nov 20, 2014 07:32:36 #
rook2c4 wrote:
The primary cause for Kodak's failure was short term planning to maximize short term profits. The board members at Kodak in the 1990's and their greed are to blame. They are the ones responsible for bringing in a CEO who was known for making money quick, with little regard to a company's long-term future.
That's the American business model in a nutshell. Make lots of money - Now!
They all made their money, so it doesn't matter what happened to the company that made them rich.
I've heard the same type of thing about the music and publishing businesses. It's not about the quality of the product; it's about how much profit can be made - quickly.
Nov 20, 2014 07:40:30 #
Here is an interesting article from the Huffington post describing exactly how Kodak failed by the inventor of the digital camera, Steven Sassoon.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/digital-camera-inventor-kodak-bankruptcy_n_3315622.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/digital-camera-inventor-kodak-bankruptcy_n_3315622.html
Nov 20, 2014 08:03:07 #
Kodak developed (no pun) digital sensor & early on partnered with Nikon with a Kodak branded camera. Think it was a N90 body. But yep, the board decided digital could not compete with film.
Nov 20, 2014 08:04:33 #
DougW wrote:
You know the saying " You can't railroad till its time to railroad "
Had a Nash Metropolitan from the mid 50s,
cool little car with a 4 cylinder engine, got good gas mileage. Failure. No one wanted them, then.
Had a Nash Metropolitan from the mid 50s,
cool little car with a 4 cylinder engine, got good gas mileage. Failure. No one wanted them, then.
And now. . .
Nov 20, 2014 08:06:30 #
Curtphoto wrote:
Kodak developed (no pun) digital sensor & early on partnered with Nikon with a Kodak branded camera. Think it was a N90 body. But yep, the board decided digital could not compete with film.
In their defense, it's very difficult to predict future market conditions. One company after another has regretted not moving ahead. Yet, many companies have failed because they invested in technology that never went anywhere.
Nov 20, 2014 08:07:56 #
I have many "classic" Kodak how-to books from "Betterworldbooks.com" Typically $4. These are valuable for knowledge not cluttered by the complication of digital. The tech people at Kodak were the kings of photography the knowledge is still valid. Tragic that the Kodak 1 was seen as an R&D joke by management, and the Kodak equal to film was too expensive and the name Kodak was associated with low cameras... not a valid tag. Long live the story -- long live the technology.
Below is the R&D proto type asking for funds to develop and ignored as a joke since as it is said "but we make film."
Below is the R&D proto type asking for funds to develop and ignored as a joke since as it is said "but we make film."
Digital 1 Kodak R&D Prototype
Nov 20, 2014 08:25:27 #
There have been many of these corporate "boo boos". In the 1970's Sony held both the copyrights to the beta system and the VHS system. They were ordered by the FTC to surrender the rights to one of these systems. Sony chose to keep the exclusive rights to the beta system over the VHS system. Someone lost his job over that one...
Nov 20, 2014 08:26:53 #
I always preferred Fuji or Agfa film over Kodak for color and Ilford for B&W. Never cared too much for Kodak chemistry, either, and preferred Ilford paper (B8W). Kodak has made some good point and shoot cameras. I used a Z210 for several years, when I couldn't afford a DSLR. They also make a good color processor.
My first camera was a kodak Brownie that belonged to my mother in the early 1960's. Learned a lot from that old Brownie!
My first camera was a kodak Brownie that belonged to my mother in the early 1960's. Learned a lot from that old Brownie!
Nov 20, 2014 08:29:40 #
The problem with Kodak and the railroad industry is that they lost sight of their Mission Statement. In Kodak's case, their mission was to "capture photographic memories" and not to manufacture film and chemicals. How you do this is where they failed. The factories should have been converted into digital camera manufacturing, lens production, circuit boards production, etc. Kodak had the people, the buildings, the infrastructure---what they didn't have was the vision from their mission statement.
Nov 20, 2014 08:38:57 #
tomcat wrote:
The problem with Kodak and the railroad industry i... (show quote)
I think their Mission Statement changed to "Make Lots of Money."
Nov 20, 2014 08:45:40 #
jerryc41 wrote:
I think their Mission Statement changed to "Make Lots of Money."
How about "Make lots of money THIS QUARTER!"
The management of Fortune 500 companies tends to focus on short term results for two reasons:
1) Quarterly bonuses for themselves.
2) Demands of "Wall Street" for immediate results.
Jerry
Nov 20, 2014 08:47:37 #
jgitomer wrote:
How about "Make lots of money THIS QUARTER!"
The management of Fortune 500 companies tends to focus on short term results for two reasons:
1) Quarterly bonuses for themselves.
2) Demands of "Wall Street" for immediate results.
Jerry
The management of Fortune 500 companies tends to focus on short term results for two reasons:
1) Quarterly bonuses for themselves.
2) Demands of "Wall Street" for immediate results.
Jerry
Yes, unfortunately, and that includes manipulating the books.
Nov 20, 2014 08:48:54 #
There is a funny video on You Tube from 2006 when the CEO of Kodak made a prepared speech, with video clips, called "The Winds of Change". In it he does poke fun at Kodak for not only missing the digital boat but having it and passing it off for the advantix film! It's pretty funny: "Booyah!" Just Google Winds of Change Kodak.
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