yarmouk university

Organization Theory

Dr. Adel Rasheed

Prepared by
Mariam Khaled Massadeh

2013360048

The canon case is a beautiful example of how a firm can achieve great success by
using its capabilities and resources and how the use of those resources and
capabilities can impact more and more on the creation of new firm internal
competences throughout time and space. (Finder, 2014)

History
1933 1936

1933

was the Birth of Canon, There were two well-known cameras in the world, they are a German
Cameras, the cost of these cameras as 420Yen while the graduated Japanese's salary was 70Yen,
regarding to this reason Goro Yoshida started "Kwanon". (Societal Environment), Later in 1937,
this date was considered the official founding date of canon where Yoshizo Furukawa was the
first optical engineer, regarding to this new position "serener" lenses are produced.

1942

Takeshi Mitarai became a president of the company, post-war recovery level started,

Mitarai focused on three systems/concepts in the company:

1- Sanbun-Setsu System, which means sharing of the company profits by employees,
shareholders, and management. (Highly Democratic)
2- Competence-based promotion system, which means project requirements and provide
promotion opportunities to individuals with the highest performance potential based on
demonstrated competency. (Have Effective-Inner Competition)
3- Family First Concept, which means that all the team members know that when there
are family or personal emergencies, company will understand and will be able to allow
leeway for the employees to make time for those unexpected family occurrences
whether for medical or logical emergencies. (Sustainable type of Organization,
Educational Type of Organization, and Integral Type of Organization)

1945

The first Canon camera produced after the war by scrounging scarce raw materials

from the rubble of war-torn Japan. (An Evolving Type of Organization regarding to the
incomes)

1950

President Mitarai made a

trip to the US to observe the

international trade fair and the
trends in the camera market, as
well

as

to

look

for

Canon can be defined as a firm always striving to use its existing resourcesin all fields, the production, the marketing and sales and especially the
technology- to create new distinctive competences and by this also the basis
of a competitive advantage in the overall market. (Finder, 2014)

the

opportunities to establish a sales network in the United States. He visited the Bell and Howell
Company, seeking their cooperation in Canon's sales in the United States. Unfortunately, his
request was turned down because Canon cameras would not be accepted in the US market; no
matter how good the cameras were, as long as they were made in Japan. The second reason for

the rejection was that Canon's factories were all wooden buildings that could easily catch fire.
President Mitarai immediately decided to build a new factory by purchasing the plant site of the
former Fuji Aviation Instruments Co., Ltd., located in Shimomaruko, Ohta Ward in Tokyo. It was
June 1951 when a new factory building was completed, made of non-inflammable materials and
with the most modern facilities. (Revisioning Type of Organization, an Evolving Type of
Organization regarding to the incomes, Competitive Organization, Transformational Type of
Organization)

1951

The company introduced the "Serenar 50mm f/1.8" lens, which was accepted as a

masterpiece lens. The lens was designed on the optical theory developed by an engineer,
Hiroshi Ito. His theory has been applied to development of many innovative Canon lenses in the
succeeding years. The years before 1961, since 1951, they focused on research and
development where the innovation was the core to get out with new ideas that can be reflected
in new products, and this what happened in 1961; the new product "Canonet" camera became
a record-breaking hit. (Educational Type of Organization, Knowledge-Creating Type of
Organization, Competitive Organization)

1969

Canon started diversifying into the business machines field, including electronic

calculators and copying machines. The time had arrived when the company had to renew the
image that it was solely a producer of cameras. With the stated objective that the company
should become the comprehensive manufacturer of imaging and information processing
equipment, the name of the company was changed to Canon Inc. on March 1, 1969. Add for
that Cinecamera that was made via zoom lens development. (Educational Type of Organization,
Knowledge-Creating Type Of Organization, An Evolving Type of Organization regarding to the
incomes, Competitive Organization, Transformational Type of Organization)

1971 1972

"F-1" Responding to the Needs of Professional Photographers was unveiled in

1971 after five years of development. later in 1972, Based on technology developed for the "F1", Canon succeeded in producing the "High Speed Motor Drive Camera", having the shooting
speed of 9 frames/ second. (Educational Type of Organization and Knowledge-Creating Type of
Organization)

1976 1986

"AE-1," the Pioneer of Automated and Computerized Camera, Leading to the

"New F-1," the Advanced Camera System which acquired greater support among a wide variety
of users, ranging from advanced amateur photographers to professional photographers.
Canon operates in a highly competitive environment. It recognizes the importance of managing
its processes in ways that ensure that its new products come to market quickly, are to the
highest technical specifications, and can be competitively priced.
In 1983, New Types of cameras released, professional models, and these cameras realized highcost-performance through employing various automated functions and competitive pricing, also
these had Auto-Focus [AF] (which allowed focusing even in the dark), durability and reliability
professionals require for shooting under harsh conditions, was a totally automated system
including automatic film winding and rewinding system.
Later in 1986, it was a year of finishing the development of Full-Fledged Video Systems and an
Introduction of SV Cameras, the companys first an innovative still video (SV) camera, these
came after making good use of the expertise and experience from the electronic image
transmission tests conducted during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. (Educational Type of
Organization, Knowledge-Creating Type of Organization, and Competitive Organization)

1987

Canon has developed skills and technologies to take control of this potential

information overload, the know-how to manage it and the ability to share it throughout the
organization and beyond; In 1987, the year of Canons 50th anniversary, Canon added a NewGeneration Autofocus SLR Camera, EOS (Electro Optical System), where several innovative and
unique original Canon technologies were employed, which included BASIS (Base-stored Image
Sensor), the highly sensitive focusing sensor and the first commercial unit in the world to
adopted the high-precision Ultrasonic Motor (USM). The EOS successfully seized the top market
share not only within Japan, but also in Europe. (Educational Type of Organization, KnowledgeCreating Type of Organization, Competitive Company, Self-Organized, and Self-Directive)

1994

Canon prides itself on the research that it carries out into developing new

technologies. It has research centers located in Europe (e.g. France, UK) USA and Japan, the first
center was built in 1962. Also in 1994, incorporated improved features in terms of its operability
and rigidity were done by reflecting feedback from the users. These refinements enabled the

camera to continuously play the role of a highly reliable camera among professional
photographers. (An Evolving Type of Organization regarding to the incomes, Educational Type
of Organization, and Knowledge-Creating Type of Organization)

1996

Canon has used its technology, understanding and systems integration skills to help

improve its own business processes - aiding it to become more efficient, more productive and
more profitable. Because it understands the important contribution of ICT to effective working,
Canon is well placed to help other organizations (a range of business and non-business
organizations) improve and develop their own ICT systems, and they focused on educational
organizations, In 1996, the Advanced Photo System (APS) was announced by five companies:
Canon Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Minolta Co., Ltd., and Nikon
Corporation.
The "IXY" Canon's first APS camera incorporated many advantages, including small film cartridge
size, simple film loading mechanism and the latest miniaturization technologies. The "IXY"
became a runaway hit because of its unprecedented compactness and functionality. It also
contributed to produce the popular recognition that the APS is synonymous with Canon.
Increasingly the company has focused on developing environmentally friendly technologies,
producing recyclable copiers and other equipment. (An Evolving Type of Organization,
Competitive Organization and Societal Environment)

2000 2004

Latest cameras caused a sensation as the ultimate model with full-fledged

capabilities, representing the standard in next-generation of cameras.

Canon, as the leading manufacturer of the 35mm AF SLR camera in the world, continues to
accelerate its own and unique technological revolution, for example: the unique "IXY D5"
camera, which is water resistant to a depth of 5m.
In 2001, EOS hit the market as a professional digital SLR targeted at sports and news
photographers, while it featured an 11.1 megapixel sensor and was designed to be the perfect
high-end photographic tool, these efforts were to enhance functionality without compromising
on cost, and these cutting-edge products propelled Canon's digital drive as the market leader.
In result of researching and development, Canon accelerated this trend by rolling out the
PowerShot S40/S30, which had a direct printing function. The continuing spread of high-

performance personal computers and broadband Internet connections among the general
public is improving the technological environment for editing and transmission of moving
pictures shot with digital camcorder. The lineup was further diversified in 2004 with the rollout
of the XL2, a professional-use product with interchangeable lens capability.
In 2005, Canons HD CMOS drives innovation in digital video cameras; Canon introduced the XL
H1 professional video camera capable of recording/playback of high-definition video in HDV
format with mini DV tape. And in 2006, Canon introduced the worlds smallest and lightest HDV
camcorder with the capability of high-definition digital photography. Whats more, in the area of
lens technology, Canon released the TS-E17mm F4L featuring the special Subwavelength
Structure Coating (SWC) to inhibit light reflection. (Competitive Organization, an Evolving Type
of Organization regarding to the incomes, Educational Type of Organization, and KnowledgeCreating Type of Organization)

Bibliography
Canon Camera Museum | History Hall. (2014, 12 9). Retrieved from Canon:
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/history/
Finder, E. (2014, 12 13). Essay topic: The Canon Case, creative writing on Essay Finder. Retrieved
from Essay Finder: http://webspier.com/essay/57606
Kral, J. (2014, 12 13). Essay topic: Canon Case Study, creative writing on Essay Finder. Retrieved
from Essay Finder: http://webspier.com/essay/563361
Studies, B. C. (2014, 12 3). Canon case studies and information | Business Case Studies.
Retrieved from Business Case Studies: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/canon/