Bringing the inside up
By Yayu Wu & Enid Chen
Photos by Yao Fan

Name: John Markin
Nationality: American
Position: General Manager, Kodak (China) Co Ltd, Xiamen Branch
本期的“厦门外企精英系列访谈”，介绍柯达（中国）股份有限公司厦门分公司总经理马进先生。在访谈中，这位有着极其“中国化”名字的总经理，再三强调企业要本土化，他认为这是柯达持续健康发展的重要条件。

Kodak Xiamen: World’s largest manufacturer of single－use cameras
Q: Kodak Xiamen built a new factory of single－use cameras in Haicang in March 2004. It is said that it will be the world’s largest manufacturer of single－use cameras. Why was Xiamen chosen for this investment﹖
A: It’s true that the new factory in Haicang will be the world’s biggest production center of one-time-use cameras. The investment environment in Xiamen has been very productive. The government is very cooperative and helpful in getting our new business started. Kodak's headquarter is very satisfied with the performance here. That’s why we continue to make more investment in Xiamen.
We have investment throughout the country, in Shantou, Wuxi and Shanghai. We spend a lot of time to make sure that we build the factory in the right place. Since the second factory in Xiamen was built, it’s a tangible indication of how important Xiamen is. We will also move some extra facilities from Shantou to the Haicang factory. Part of our partnership with Lucky will then take over the Shantou factory and produce photographic paper there.
Q: Is the one－time－use camera recyclable﹖ Does it pose any threat to the environment﹖
A: For a one-time-use camera, we recycle about 85% of the parts. The consumers will have to take the one-time-use cameras to Kodak’s stores, where the film will be taken out for making photos, but the rest of the parts will be returned to us. After we make sure that everything is OK, we will build new ones from the recycled parts we get. Therefore, it’s good for the environment with little waste.
Localizing top management
Q: The core value of Kodak is to offer total customer satisfaction. What are the challenges in achieving total customer satisfaction in Xiamen﹖
A: The challenges we face in Xiamen are actually good challenges, which grow our business and grow our people. We are faced with how to train our employees with localized management to satisfy the customers because nobody knows how to satisfy the Chinese customers better than the Chinese managers. As we are Americans, we bring American ideas when dealing with our customers. But what we really need are Chinese solutions.
Among the 1,100 employees in Kodak Xiamen, there is an abundance of capable people. Some companies might think it’s easier to send expatriates to do the work. But that’s not the solution. The way we do things is important, although it takes time to localize and build that capability. Our investment in China is long-term oriented, so we are thinking about how to solve the future problems when we are doing things today.
As a matter of fact, we have made dramatic changes in localizing management since we started business here. We built our Haicang factory within two years, which was very fast. For the number of expatriates, we have made dramatic reduction from 80 to 12 and this will continue to decrease.
Q: Referring to localizing management， what is Kodak’s way of training employees﹖
A: Training and development is the most important thing. We spare no efforts in investing in our people. Usually we will offer training by sending them overseas. They learn state-of-the-art (最先进的) technology and meanwhile they acquire communication skills there. When they come back, we put them in challenging positions. In this way, we gradually localize the management.
Undergoing a digital transition
Q: The global trend is that more and more consumers are using digital cameras instead of the traditional ones with film. What influence does this trend pose on Kodak﹖
A: It’s indeed a critical issue for our company. We are undergoing a transition from the traditional photography to digital cameras. When people think of photography, they think of Kodak, which enjoys a good reputation in this market. When it comes to the digital ones, they also trust our brand. We have conducted a customer survey, in which we are happy to see that Kodak digital products rank high. The digital products are well accepted even in China.
Therefore, I’m very optimistic about the future development. What we will have to do is raise the competitive edge of our digital products.
On the other hand, traditional cameras will be less popular but they will not disappear. They will still be important, especially in places like China, where quite a number of people are still using the photographic cameras.
Personal management style
Q: When did you come to work with Kodak Xiamen﹖
A: I came here about one year ago. I have been working with Kodak for 23 years since I graduated from university majoring in engineering. Before coming to China, I worked most of the time in Rochester, New York, where Kodak's headquarter is located. From 1997 to 2000, I was the General Manager in Shantou and afterwards, I was back in Rochester for two years and then came back to China.
Q: What do you like about China and Xiamen﹖
A: I have a positive impression of China. Actually China is my home. I was an honored citizen of Shantou, which makes me feel more connected with this country. Xiamen is a great city too. It is very easy to travel around. It’s a very comfortable place to live with many good restaurants and friendly people. It is developing at a fast speed and in an organized way.
America is my home, but I like working in China. That’s why I came back again.
Q: What do you think is the most important qualification for a general manager﹖
A: There are several qualities that count. First of all, you should trust your staff. It’s my management style that I don’t double-check what my people are doing. They know what the expectations are and I trust them.
Secondly a top manager should be able to see where we need to be in the future, be able to visualize it and lead the people towards the goal. You can’t start a journey unless you know where you are going.
Q: So what is the goal that you described to your staff﹖
A: The goal for us is again to localize management. As we are making a transition now, this factory in China will become the most important one because this is where the new growth point is. In order to support that growth, we need to get a local team to be self-sufficient, rather than relying on people in Rochester or other factories for our performance.
Q: What do you think is the key factor for Kodak’s ongoing sound and rapid development﹖
A: It has been a formula, continuing to localize the management and invest in people. Make sure that they have the skills in achieving our goals and help the company during the digital transition.
One thing we are focusing on is strengthening the female leaders. When I came here, there were very few females in the leadership team. There are about 30% females in the salary staff, but in our leadership position, it’s only 18%. One of our philosophies is that people in the leadership team should be representatives for the employees. So our next challenge is to raise that 18% to 30%, which means more opportunities for them. So my job for the next few years is to promote and prepare more female employees for the leadership positions. We will make sure that everyone has the same opportunity, not just the males.