At the Eastman Kodak Co., several things are sacred. One is the memory of prodigious George Eastman (1854-1932), the Rochester tinkerer who founded the world's biggest photographic supplier, pioneered a paternalistic system of employee bonuses and pensions, and built dozens of schools, hospitals and dental clinics. Another is research. Kodak assiduously collects Ph.D.s (more than 500 are on its staff), and lets them wade fearlessly into the chartless seas of pure research. The third is profits: the company's have tripled in the past decade, and so have its dividends.
No Fuss. Last week Kodak paid public reverence to all three....