KODAK‘S BLACK-AND-WHITE DIVISION Eastman Kodak, a classic reengineering example portrayed by Hammer and Champy (1993), began with a push from the top but put much greater emphasis on customers and on empowering employees at mul- tiple levels. Kodak traces its rich historic roots back to the late 1880s, when George Eastman began to manufacture wooden boxes capable of capturing one hundred personal images on film. A century later, Kodak was a giant in trouble. Its name and film were known around the world, but the company had been rocked by intense competition, high costs, declining customer satisfaction, threats of a hostile takeover, and low employee morale. At a top management 1989, Kodak's normally gentle, soft-spoken CEO, Colby structure and Restructuring 9394 Chandler, wielded a machete to hack a wooden lectern to pieces. The message was clear and dramatic: Kodak needed fundamental change, and its functional, “stovepipe” structure had to give way to an orga- nization based on process—a seamless flow from raw materials to fin- ished products (Hammer and Champy, 1993). Kodak chose to reorganize into six flows, one of which was black-and- White film, Implementation was to begin immediately, and any laggard operations would be shut down. In the black-and-white division, a group of executives focused on creating three streams: graphics, health sciences, and solvent coatings. All other areas (financial services, human resources, and engineering support) would be “dedicated” to supporting these flows. One of the first tasks was to create performance measures and stan- dards for the flows (productivity, inventory, waste, quality, conformance to specifications). With the operating flow as the center of attention, managers and supervisors became coaches and cheerleaders. Frequent informal meetings were an opportunity to air concerns and identify problems. Employees were encouraged to develop local visions and determine priorities and improvement plans for everything from reduc- ing inventory and cutting waste to establishing relationships with sup- pliers and speeding delivery time (Frangos, 1996). The overall flow focused on satisfying external customers; each step in the process emphasized satisfying internal customers and build- ing cooperation among employees. Cross-functional teams began to achieve breakthroughs in quality and cost reduction. Two years after the restructuring was launched, performance standards were being sur- passed. The division was not only one of the company's shining stars in ‘terms of profitability but also was widely heralded as one of the compa- ny’s best places to work. Reframing OrganizationsReferences Bolman, L. G., and Deal, T. E. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008. Frangos, S. Team Zebra. New York: Wiley, 1996. Hammer, M., and Champy, J. Reengineering the Corporation. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.