Eastman Kodak: Holding onto Old Strategies and Manufacturing Techniques – Research
Developing a willingness and ability to engage in self-reflection is a critical leadership skill that is not
easily learned yet which reaps many rewards. The LSI enables you to examine your own unique
way of thinking and how it influences your behavior.
Your Assignment:
Complete (on your own) the LSI according to the procedure outlined here, so that you end up with
your “Life Styles Circumplex” profile: 12 “personal thinking style” scores, one score for each
section of the circumplex.
Write a 3�5 page paper examining and explaining your LSI results. There are more details in the
table below.
LSI Style Interpretations: Go to the LSI1 Results page, find your circumplex profile, and click on
the circumplex “slice” of one of the styles. The site will bring you to a customized interpretation of
the style you clicked on. Click on each of the 12 “slices” to see all of the customized style
description pages.
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How to Use the Inventory
Click here to go to the Life Styles Inventory (LSI) exercise.
Eastman Kodak: Holding onto Old Strategies and Manufacturing Techniques – Research
Proposal
Eastman Kodak is U.S. based technology company, whose main focus is the imaging
solutions for individuals and businesses. Its headquarter is in Rochester, New York, and was
founded in 1888 by George Eastman. It deals in a range of products under the same line of
imaging solutions, including functional printing, packaging, professional imaging services, and
graphic communications. Kodak is a leading player in the imaging industry, with other able
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competitors such as Fujifilm as well as a score of other firms. While its track record is
commendable, Kodak is criticized for being slow in adopting new technological changes. More
so, its current CEO is being faulted for not ably addressing the basic internal problem of the
company: having an organizational behavior that is bent on old manufacturing techniques, as
well as maintaining high operational costs. In this case, I am acting in the capacity of the
Organization’s consultant.
The main problem that Eastman Kodak has been facing for years is the organizational
culture that refuses to embrace current manufacturing techniques, so that it does not compete
ably in the international market, which is flooded with technological gadgets. In the
contemporary world, technology has driven the production processes of companies to another
level, and all entities are subscribing to this change. However, Kodak has kept hold of most of its
old manufacturing techniques, and has not implemented the new changes that have so far
emerged. It is projected that since the technology market is one which is fast-developing, a
company that does not conform to the current manufacturing and management techniques is sure
to be left behind, and receive a considerable drop in its market share. Thus, the research question
for this scenario is: what is the impact of a poor organizational behavior on performance?: A
case study of Eastman Kodak.
Eastman Kodak, as has been previously mentioned, was once a market leader in the
imaging industry that steered clear of considerable competition. However, with the emergence of
new methods of manufacturing, the company has not be able to act swiftly to completely
integrate those new techniques. This is a problem that can see the company into total ruins,
owing to the rate at which new technology is being introduced each day. Basically, the company
has a poor organizational behavior, where it holds on to the outdated styles and techniques,
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instead of installing new ones. As a consultant, I plan to create an extensive awareness about the
importance of the new technologies. Additionally, I plan to identify key layers in the market, and
study what they are using. This way, I will provide a realistic suggestion to the company’s
management, so that the identified techniques can be implemented. This will initiate a change
process, which is expected to begin with the awareness campaign, followed by a
recommendation of needed technological advancements, and then organizing the procedure or
installation and implementation.
The TOC (Total cost of ownership) that my topic is related to is return on information
technology. This TOC is relevant in that the company (Kodak), needs to adopt technology in
almost all its processes. As a consultant, this TCO will be helpful in determining the current
customer needs, and tailor goods that meet the require taste and preference.
