KODAK

Kodak Going Bankrupt - The Need of Communication during Crisis

Kodak Going Bankrupt - The Need of Communication during Crisis

Introduction

Every organization faces challenges from time to time. Whether such a crisis is due to a financial downturn, internal changes, or a public scandal, effective communication in difficult times is essential. The UK and many other countries of the world recently experienced a serious and lengthy economic slump.

During the financial crisis, people were regularly assaulted with a constant barrage of bad news, making it difficult for even the most optimistic types to remain positive. Even those who remained employed during the slump often felt threatened, overworked, and neglected. Work “survivors” were often required to work longer hours, cutting back on spending, making do with fewer resources, and possibly doing the work of two or three employees (Coombs 2000: pp. 37-41).

In such depressed environments, managers are faced with the daunting task of inspiring others to remain positive and productive during the slump. By keeping employees informed, managers can address anxiety and ensure workers are focused on meeting business objectives (Coombs 2000: pp. 37-41).

During the 120 years of history, Kodak has continued to be among the leading companies in patents, and occupied the top spot in U.S. for many years. However, with the advent of digital photography, the company has suffered losses. Eastman Kodak Co. was filed for bankruptcy a company that remained one of the best known companies in the United States, is now facing huge crises in the industry. However, Kodak has been provided with an option to find buyers for its 1,100 digital patent, and redesign their business while continuing to pay its 17,000 workers. The board and the entire executive team unanimously believe that this is a necessary step to save the future of Kodak (kodak.com).

In the last five years, Kodak had used large patent litigation against rivals such as Apple Inc, Research in Motion Ltd and Taiwan's HTC Corp as a means of trying to generate income. Patents may be sold during the bankruptcy process. Since 2003, Kodak has closed 13 plants and 130 laboratories, and 47,000 positions were eliminated. Now, the company must finish the transformation by tackling more with the cost structure and pulling effectively money from non-strategic assets.

In this essay, we will be discussing that what steps are necessary to be taken by Kodak in this scenario and how Kodak is trying to deal with these crises. It will be explained with the help of eight steps of communication during crisis.

Communicating During the Crisis

1. Get Control of the Situation

The first step of communication during the crisis is to define the problem or issue that the employees or management of the company is facing in order to understand the situation. As a result, if the company will know the issue, then it could find the necessary information for getting control over the situation (Coombs 1999: pp. 25-36).

In the case of Kodak, an old-line technology company was unable to adapt to the ...