Harley Davidson Essays (Examples)

Harley Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is mostly in business of recreational vehicle (rv) Harley-Davidson was integrated in 1981 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It is the parent business for the team of businesses working as Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Motor Company), Buell Motorcycle Company (BMC) and Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS). The Motor Company produces heavyweight bikes and provides a line of motorbike parts, devices, garments and basic product. The Motor Company produces 5 styles of motorbikes: Touring, Dyna Glide, Softail, VSC and Sportster. BMC produces sport bikes, consisting of 5 v-twin XB models and the single-cylinder Buell Blast. BMC likewise provides a line of bike parts, add-ons, clothing and basic product. HDFS offers wholesale and retail funding and insurance coverage programs mostly to Harley-Davidson/Buell dealerships and clients. The Company runs in 2 primary company sections: Motorcycles and elated Products (Motorcycles) and Financial Services. HDI is a producer of motorbikes based in…

Harley Davidson 5304

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson Inc. is an American motorcycle manufacturer specialized in heavyweight cruiser and chopper style of motorcycles with over 700 cc. Founded in 1903 and headquartered in Wisconsin, United States, Harley-Davidson is one of the two major American motorcycle manufacturers and known as a classic American icon. Since its inception, Harley-Davidson has been setting remarkable records with its top quality motorcycles for miles per gallon, speed, racing, distribution strength, etc. Today, it is the most recognized motorcycle brand in America and the rest of the world. Harley-Davidson bikes are totally incomparable with other branded motorcycles due to their sleek and classic design, iconic and heroic look, heavy weight, and V-twin and evolution engines. The major model families of Harley-Davidson include Softail, Sportster, Touring, Dyna, V-OD, CVO, Trike, etc. (Harley-Davidson Inc., 2013).

SWOT Analysis for Harley-Davidson

SWOT Analysis consists of internal and external environmental analysis. The internal environment…

Harley Davidson has led the heavyweight motorcycle market in recent years, capturing about 55% of the market, according to James R. Hagerty's article in The all Street Journal (Hagerty, 2011). But following the economic downturn, which had a negative effect on sales, and other market issues, the iconic motorcycle company needs to beef up sales and in addition the company is looking for ways to appeal to younger enthusiasts, to Latinos, and to female riders. This paper will serve as a memorandum to the marketing director at Harley Davidson, Mark-Hans Richer, offering suggestions and strategies to increase market share.

Memorandum to Mark-Hans Richer, Senior Director of Consumer Segment Marketing:

To Mark-Hans Richer:

Clearly, as you are well aware, Mark-Hans Richer, there is a need for Harley Davidson to have the vision, the desire, the needed grasp on market dynamics and the energy to embrace new strategies and bring on a…

Harley Davidson has traditionally targeted an audience of middle-aged men, in recent years targeting "older white male boomers" specifically (Hagerty, 2011). The company's demographic is usually wealthy, since the bikes are not primary means of transportation for most riders. The company has now begun targeting other audiences as a means of sustaining sales levels. Although the company sells its bikes in overseas markets, 71.3% of the company's business comes from North America. Most of what Harley sells is motorcycles (75.5%) with parts and accessories making up the bulk of the remaining sales for the company (2010 Harley Davidson Annual Report).

Harley is positioned as a luxury good, and sells primarily in the heavyweight and superheavyweight classes of motorcycles. The company markets its products to its customers as something of an escape from everyday life, a means of freedom from drudgery. The size of the bikes is also part of the…

Harley Davidson

AMF took over Harley Davidson in 1969 (Motorcycle.com, 2012), a few decades before Treacy and iersma developed their theory about value disciplines (1992), so Harley management clearly did not have these theories in mind when setting strategies in those days. The three value disciplines are operational excellence, product leadership and customer intimacy. Arguably, Harley excelled at all three in those days. The company had a very high degree of customer intimacy, fostering brand loyalty. But in those days, Harley was also a product leader. In addition to maintaining a leadership position in heavyweight bikes, Harley tried a number of innovative approaches to growing its market, such as scooters, boats, the electric-motor Servi-Car and golf carts (Motorcycle.com, 2012).

The company's culture was that of a club of owners and workers, but Harley also held a uniquely strong position within the motorcycle industry in America, and this was reflected by…

Harley Davidson

I believe that the idea of brands having a personality is little more than hyperbolic anthropomorphism. Personality by definition implies personhood, something an abstract concept like a brand cannot have. Rather than a brand having human traits, as the concept is often understood (Investopedia, 2012). A brand personality is more accurately described as a reflection of traits that the consumer either shares or aspires to. The brand "personality" by this understanding is not necessarily the same thing as the personality of the target audience, however. Harley Davidson is a good example of this -- most of the brand's core target market consists of successful, middle-aged men, a market that in reality embodies little of what it hopes the brand reflects back on them. Harley stands for something that they would like to be, or have been, rather than something that they are.

In the case of Harley-Davidson, a…

Harley Davidson External Analysis

Harley Davison's External Analysis

PEST analysis

Political

Economic

Socio-Cultural

Technological

Porter's five forces

Harley Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturing company that sells motorcycles above 700 cc engine capacity. The company was founded in 1903 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With approximately $5.3 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 as revenues, the company is now facing tough challenges in the international motorcycle market as new companies have entered to share the market fortunes (Harley Davidson, 2011). The Italian Ducati is one of the leading competitors that HD has come across during last couple of decades.

The paper is aimed at analyzing external environment of Harley Davidson (HD) by using two external analysis tools i.e. PEST (Political, Economic, Social, and Technical) and Porter's five forces (Threat of new entrants, Threat of substitutes, Threat of Supplier power, Threat of buyer power, and Threat of ivalry with the industry). PEST helps…

Harley

Feasibility Study -- Harley Davidson

1957 Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson Company has a long history of building motorcycles that have worked to actually shape culture. Its product positioning is admired by companies in most industry and most strive to develop the levels of brand loyalty that Harley has achieved. However, the company has also been negatively impacted by the recent economic downturn and is working through a rebuilding phase as market conditions are slowly stabilizing. This analysis will look at some of the industry trends that have occurred and make recommendations on Harley can continue to develop its iconic American brand.

Company Background

Harley-Davidson's mission statement is to "fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and services in selected market segments." (Harley Davidson, 1999). Their primary objective in the organizational goals is…

The younger crowd may be more attracted by the dangerousness of the bikes and by the sense of adventure involved. Older groups seek a certain return to youth and show an adherence to the idea of freedom. The motorcycle at one time had the aura of an outlaw lifestyle, as noted, an image that the company has not sought and often seeks to counter. Still, that image remains strong and does appeal to many people. This does not mean that riders are outlaws or even that they really want to be outlaws, but they do buy into that image as a way of escaping from their normal lives into a different cultural experience when they ride on weekends. This idea has appealed for dome time to urban professionals who ride motorcycles on weekends and holidays for pleasure, sometimes alone and more often in groups of business people seeking to get…

Harley Davidson has an expanding business in the U.S. with many full service dealerships. The company believes in marketing and promotions and hence puts up much hard work for the purpose ranging from publications to special events, rallies, advertisements and public associations. The Harley Ownership Group (HOG) and Buell Riders Adventure Group (BRAG) are a part of the Harley Davidson responsible for promotional activities. For the cause of expanding its name and business Harley and Davidson has licensed a large varieties of products such as t shirts and toys. Besides it has also launched two cafes each in New York and Las Vegas. It has also created an academy for people aiming to become riders. An online program to increase its sales has also been created. Thus all these factors help towards a better marketing campaign for the Harley Davidson.

Harley Davidson still faces great competition in the field of…

Strategic mergers and acquisition

The company can form strategic mergers and with companies that offer related and complementary products and services. The aim is to synergistically acquire some strategic advantages that may boost its sales.

E-marketing, e-commerce and e-business

The company can employ e-marketing-commerce and e-business to boost and streamline its marketing function, sales functions and logistics respectively.

ecent Corporate governance issues and how they ought to be handled by Harley Davidson

estriction on dealer sales

A Harley-Davidson Inc. dealer based in St. Paul, Minnesota, sued the company in a federal court, claiming that the company's restrictions on the international sales by its U.S. dealers as well as sales via third-party websites are unfair and tend to weaken the dealer's profits (euters,2011). This as well as the act of channel stuffing which saw it being sued for channel stuffing activity by one of its VP who wanted to meet his…

Moreover, the iconic brand helps to drive sales within the heavyweight motorcycle class. The brand also enables Harley to avoid the technology-based competition that many other motorcycle manufacturers engage in, as evidence by the dramatically slower pace of technological innovation at Harley vs. other motorcycle manufacturers. Thus, the reputation attached to the Harley Davidson brand is one of the most important outputs in the organization.

In general, there is a high degree of congruence between these outputs. However, there are some limitations. For example, the strength of the Harley Davidson brand helps to drive sales and market share, but it also creates limitations for the company in terms of expanding revenues by entering new segments. It has also resulted to some degree in an overreliance on the brand to drive profit, causing the company to ignore cost reduction as a means to improve shareholder value. Moreover, while the strength of…

Opportunities: The Harley-Davidson company stands to gain a significant share of the market by appealing to female consumers, if it uses marketing research to craft a successful promotional campaign.

Threats: The main threat to a successful marketing campaign to attract female consumers come from competitors that already market to females, especially Japanese motorcycle manufacturers and the Italian company Vespa.

Creative Strategy

Communication objectives include promoting the Harley Davidson sportster as the motorcycle of choice for American females who appreciate the quality, status, performance, and history of the brand. The strategy includes positioning the brand as not just a macho motorcycle manufacturer but one that appeals to all freedom-loving Americans regardless of gender. The promise of the Harley Davidson company is to deliver top performance and prestige. Tone of the message emphasizes strength and independence. Taglines should be simple yet effective and gender neutral such as "Harley Davidson: Strength. Quality. Success."…

Harley-Davidson Today: A Brief Business Overview

Harley Davidson

Vision of the Company (Slide 1)

The populations where we operate our business are very much strong, skillful and supportive. Due to our workers and merchants, the dreams are fulfilled by making partnerships with liberal organizations ("Harley Davidson," 2001).

Overview of 2009 Performance (Slide 1)

According to the management of Harley Davidson, 2009 wasn't a good year for the company. The company had decreased sales, revenue and earnings per share. The sales declined to 21.3% as compared to the sales of 2008, net income declined to 84.1% as compared to 2008 while concentrated earnings reduced to 84.5% as compared to the earnings of 2008 (Milwaukee, 2009).

Organizational Structure and Management Team (Slide 2)

The organizational structure of Harley Davidson is based on functional departmentalization. The management team and organizational structure is shown in the appendices section as Figure 1 ("The Official Board,"…

Harley Davidson -- Greatful Dead

Harley Davidson Motorcycles is an American icon and a brand which is recognized the world over. Sixty years or so ago two things happened to HD which caused HD to almost go out of business. Then something happened to change that. What happened and how has HD used marketing in an effort to regain a large portion of the market that it lost?

Over the last sixty years, Harley Davidson would become an American Icon. As its mystique as well as legend is what everybody wants to participate in and perpetuate. This is because two events occurred that would shake company down to its very foundation to include: the Great Depression and the company's economic meltdown in 1983. In both these different events, the company would wrestle with runaway debt and staggering sales. As they would lose significant amounts of market share to competitors; causing…

Harley Davidson is the world's largest producer of heavyweight motorcycles. The company is structured around operating business divisions and along functional lines including retail stores, Buell and the flagship line. The company operates four major manufacturing facilities: vehicle operations in York, PA produces touring bikes; Tomahawk, I produces saddlebags, windshields and other parts; Kansas City, MO produces several bike families and some powertrain; Menomonee Falls, I produces powertrains. Head office is in Milwaukee, and there are also facilities in Valley View, OH and Ann Arbor, MI (Harley-Davidson.com, 2011).

Harley Davidson has 9700 employees worldwide (Ibid). Most factory employees are unionized under the United Steelworkers (US) and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace orkers (AIM) (Fisher, ilson & Hahn, no date). Recent years have seen a turnaround in the company's fortunes, but this has led to some conflicts with workers. In York, a strike occurred as workers sought to gain improvements…

0%; 2002: 47.5%; 2003: 49.5%

Honda - 2001: 20.5%, 2002: 19.8%; 2003: 18.4%

Suzuki - 2001: 10.8%; 2002: 9.6%; 2003: 9.8%

Yamaha - 2001: 7.9%; 2002: 8.9%; 2003: 8.5%

Net revenues motorcycles in major markets

United States - 2002: $3,416,432; 2003: $3,307,707

Europe - 2002: $337,463; 2003: $419,052

Japan - 2002: $143,298; 2003: $173,547

Canada - 2002: $121,257; 2003: $134,319

Competitive Categories

Performance

Styling

Breadth of product line

Image and reputation

Quality of after-the-sale service

Price

Internal Analysis

As the external analysis clearly reveals, the Harley Davidson Company remains the top competitor in the motorcycle industry, since its inception in 1903. Harley Davidson has several strengths in its favor, as the company continues to increase profits and revenue, and has a positive outlook for its future. The company's main strengths are its continuous improvement, employee motivation and involvement, and key management strategy regarding the company's operations. One area of improvement…

Indeed, initially, as a new product is introduced on the market, the volume of sales is rather small. The main reasons for this are the fact that people don't know about it or that they use a different product. The price element is not necessarily relevant here and the first goal is to get the product known. This is done through extensive media advertising.

On the other hand, once the product reached the maturity and decline stages, sales promotion become essential in keeping the interest of the consumer alive. The company can expect to increase its volume levels by lower prices and remain at a certain level of net sales.

The example of Harley Davidson is relevant in pointing out the 2C aspect. The advertising component is still strong: if we go back at the case study, we note that the H.O.G. is also in charge of the entire promotional…

In this sense, the company should be attempting a strategy of aggressive growth, but not the kind of growth it has traditionally sought.

In the past, Harley-Davidson has sought to maintain a kind of brand purity that has managed to develop a loyal and committed fan-base while reducing the company's market share over all. Put simply, it does not matter how loyal these fans are if they cannot afford the company's products, and maintaining the brand at the expense of the organization is foolish. Thus, while in the past Harley-Davidson could claim to be attempting a growth strategy, in reality this strategy could be characterized as growth by way of brand stability, a contradiction whose negative effects made itself clear in the company's recent declines. By locating its potential for success in the successful development of a core brand and a group of loyal customers, Harley-Davidson has effectively made itself…

The work of Anderson, Thakur and Wochos entitled: "A Real Options Analysis: Statistical Process Control at Harley-Davidson" states that traditional analysis of the Harley-Davidson Company renders the following:

NPV of the expansion = $217,941 (discount rate = 13%)

Payback Time = just under 2 years

ARR of the expansion = 41%

IRR of the expansion = 52.8% (nd)

III. DECREASE in NET INCOME

Harley Davidson made an announcement in October 2007 that included results for the third quarter, which ended September 30 with a stated revenue at $1.54 billion as compared to last year's same quarter of $1.64 billion, which is a 5.8% decrease. Overall income decreased by 15.3%.

IV. EPS, RETURN on ASSETS, and RETURN on EQUITY

Harley Davidson's 'Earning Per Share' (EPS) has grown at a strong rate for over ten years and from 2004 to 2005 "EPS grew from $3.00 to $3.41, an increase of 13.7%." (Melief,…

Harley-Davidson Marketing

Harley Davidson Marketing

Harley-Davidson has shown itself to be one of the best, if not the best, motorcycle makers on the planet. Indeed, even with stiff competition from faster and sleeker bikes like Honda, Yamaha and others as well as more rugged bikes that are more similar to Harley such as American Ironhorse and so forth, Harley is clearly in a league of its owns just looking at objective sales and other performance data over times. Whether it be recession or other challenges, Harley remains resilient and has an extremely loyal customer base that never betrays them. While Harley-Davidson should by no means be complacent or lackadaisical about their future, they are positioned quite well so long as they remain true to their fan base and their heritage.

Analysis

The one thing that Harley-Davidson can claim that very few companies in existence, let alone motorcycle companies, is that…

Journal Entries:

Flexible Budget for 2007 fiscal Year

Beginning with a 240 million budget, reflected by historical capital expenditures) the company should divide the budget based upon existing liabilities and historical expenditures, while bolstering expenditures in the general merchandise areas and apparel productions to offset any reduction in sales due to an overall reduction in the purchases of luxury items in the economy. The company should also reallocate funds in production of less expansive bikes and the Buell line of lighter weight vehicles to match consumer desire. Marketing should pay careful attention to history of the company as a large employer in the U.S. As well as earth friendly options for more efficient engines that offer equivalent power and with the emphasis on quality growth in this area. Harley-Davidson "Annual Report 2006")

The increase of sales, which has been nominally improving over the years will likely increase in the immediate…

Harley Davidson

Strategic Management -- Harley Davidson

This work examines the strategic management of Harley Davidson Company and seeks to answer specific questions relating to this company's management through conduction of a Porter's Five Forces analysis and a review of the literature on this company.

The specific research questions examined in this study are those as follows: (1) What are the primary competitive forces impacting U.S. motorcycle producers in general and producers like Harley Davidson? (Porter's 5 forces analysis) (2) What are the driving forces in this industry and are they likely to impact the industry's competitive structure favourable or unfavourable? (3) What type of Strategy has Harley Davidson followed? Which of the 5 generic strategies is Harley Davidson employing? Is there any reason to believe that Harley Davidson has achieved a sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors or over many of motorcycle industry rivals? If so, what type of…

Another key failure factor is shifting consumer preferences. These are driven by shifting demographics, as Harley's core target market is aging out of the range at which it would consider purchasing a Harley bike. This core market -- white males in their 40s and 50s -- has been fuelled by the baby boomer generation, who are now growing too old for superheavyweight bikes (Steverman, 2009).

A third key failure factor for Harley is the company's recent credit practices. The firm engaged in subprime lending in order to sustain its business in the face of slowing sales. As a consequence, however, it now faces a credit crunch. The firm has raised only part of the operating capital it requires, and is paying a high rate of interest (15%) for the privilege (Hamner, 2009). Almost a quarter of Harley's consumer loans were subprime in 2008, resulting in defaults. Harley wrote down $80…

HOG

When choosing a strategy for international expansion, there are a number of alternatives that a company can follow, including building new production facilities overseas, compared with maintaining domestic production. Even though Harley Davidson has expanded its footprint into European markets, it has maintained its manufacturing in the United States and maintained an export model for international expansion. There are a few good reasons for this.

The first reason is that revenue at the company is relatively slow-growing. Its core demographic through the high growth years was middle-aged baby boomers. This demographic is starting to become too old to ride Harleys, and that has affected sales because Gen X is a much smaller generation and Gen Y is not in the target market yet. This has meant that domestic sales are flatlined at best. More likely, there is excess production capacity at the existing manufacturing facilities. Building new capacity in…

HOG

Harley Davidson has traditionally targeted middle-aged white men. This target arises out of a couple of factors. The first is that most users do not rely on their Harley Davidson as their primary means of transport, so the purchase is discretionary. This skews the target demographic older because younger demographics do not have thousands of discretionary dollars to spend. The bikes are also priced at a premium, which further pushes them into an older target market. The image of freedom that the company projects is also symbolic -- Harley wants customers to reconnect with their youth now that their children have left the home, and to reconnect with the spirit of freedom in their lives.

The company has utilized both the cost element and the freedom element in its positioning strategy, but the product itself also reflects the positioning. Harley makes heavyweight and superheavyweight bikes, which inherently carry a…

CEO of Harley Davidson

The Harley Davidson Company came to be in 1903, founded by William Harvey and Arthur Davidson. In 1907, the two associates incorporated the Harvey Davidson Motor Company leading to a split of stock into four, to cater for the new associate Walter Davidson. Over the years, Harley Davidson has managed to remain financially stable, despite the prior records of slowed growth, owing to the maturing market that results to low growth rates for all companies dealing with motorcycles (Mark, Tycen and Jordan 1987). The motorcycles from the company used by the military, and to date, have become an American representation because of the many Harley Rallies around the globe (Mark, Tycen and Jordan 1987).

The success of the company does not only lay in the many investments, or rather the money it has, but also the management of the company, and its workforce. The company practices…

advertisements for Harley Davidson both have the overall message that Harley Davidson's are for rebellious individuals and that societies rules do not apply to the Harley Davidson owner.

The text of the first ad, "in some circles, paisley and florals have yet to catch on" sets the tone for the ad and also conveys the meaning. Firstly, the text has an air of importance to it as well as an air of indifference. The "in some circles" is patronizing and suggests that these 'some' are not as good as the rest. The humor associated with 'paisley and florals' takes the edge of this patronizing feel, so that overall the text has a humor that means it is not to be taken too seriously. This creates a humorous and ironic tone to the ad. This text, without the picture, also captures the meaning of the ad. These 'circles' that haven't caught…

In contrast, Pfizer uses a different process type from General Motors. ecause Pfizer is a drug maker it is more interested in getting approval for new drugs and keeping the drugs it already makes out on the market for the individuals that need them. It is limited in the process type that it uses because of the regulations that are placed on it and other drug makers by the FDA. The governance in the United States reflects in what a drug maker is able to do or not do with the way that it sells its product, and this directly affects Pfizer, which might have a somewhat different process type if it had the option.

Harley Davidson, on the other hand, uses a process type that is by far the most interesting of all of the companies. Harley-Davidson definitely has the competitive advantage when it comes to their products and…

Tutor Marked Assessment-Spring 2015

Definition and Introduction to Customer elationship Management

Customer elationship Management can indicate two interlined directions. CM development process is the first step and the second is contentment of CM. The process is segmented into three components:

Initiation

Maintenance

Termination

CM involves activities which firms think help fulfill client demands, notice their preferences and resolve their issues. Conducting an in depth analysis, CM process can be divided into external and internal programs. Internal programs indicate organizational framework, culture and knowledge management. External programs indicate customer interaction (Toma, Mihoreanu and Ionescu, 2014).

Building Long-Term Customer elationship at Harley Davidson

Competitive Customer elationship Management (CM) between industrial consumers and manufacturing companies will keep and maintain the loyal consumers whilst their valuable input will be regarded as highly beneficial. Harley Davidson came to the conclusion that in order to inculcate long lasting relationships, the 'customers are always right' model has…

This consists of defining the critical business requirements and project success factors that establish an organization's objectives. Once this is defined the organization will be ready to begin the process of evaluating software alternatives and administering the entire selection project. Evaluating software tools without defined business requirements leads to duplicate efforts and ultimately a solution that could delay the selection and implementation process (How to choose software: six steps to better selection, 1999).

If a company's purchasing strategy doesn't include the newest information technology, they are likely to trail competitors that leverage these latest methods. But they must be careful before jumping into new state-of-the-art purchasing software. Improperly implementing new supply-chain programs, or failing to process-map a business before starting, can waste lots of money (Harris, 2010). This was an area in which Harley-Davidson did well in their strategy to implement new purchasing software. They did a process map of…

HOG

There are many opportunities for Harley Davidson moving forward in the motorcycle industry. Historically, Harley Davidson has sold most of its bikes in the United States and has enjoyed success almost exclusively in the heavyweight and superheavyweight categories. This leaves a lot of opportunity for Harley Davidson to capture other markets, if it can find the right branding and niches. There are also internal opportunities to lower costs and improve quality, both of which could increase profits at the company at least in the short run.

Lehman Trikes represents one of the opportunities that Harley Davidson faces (Looney & yerson, 2011). The trike industry is a niche part of the motorcycle industry, wherein Lehman offers parts and kits for converting existing motorcycles into three-wheeled motorcycles. This industry is likely to remain niche, despite some promising growth from motorcycle enthusiasts. From Harley's perspective, the deal represents a couple of opportunities.…

Strategic Choices at HD Motorcycle Corporation

Harley Davidson's strategy to become a successful organization

The corporate strategy is developed in accordance with the business strategic vision and mission. The organizations also establish business strategy to respond internal and external elements of their operating environment. Harley Davidson is an organization that has a long history of operations and also faced challenges from external and internal environments. The business has also adopted changes in its corporate and business level strategies in response to the environmental factors. The strategies enabling the business a successful business entity are reviewed in the following sections.

Harley Davidson's strategy to become a successful organization:

The business has gained its position in the market over the years. The success story of Harley Davison (HD) is based on the competitive strategy and adopted changes throughout the business. The organization grew over the years and it has followed different strategies…

Harley Davidson is somewhat hamstrung by a narrow product range and demographic, but there are some good opportunities for the brand. The biggest opportunity lies with the millennials. HD is a brand that relies on a long-term relationship with its customers to drive revenues, and this occurs over a 20-40-year period in their lives. The company's recent run of success was based on the baby boom generation, and while that is declining the next major cohort is the millennials (Ets-Hokin, 2011). HD needs to start planning now to capture this market at a relatively young age and hold it for three or four decades in order to enjoy sustained success. The other major opportunity is with overseas growth. While HD has long struggled to break into international markets, these markets still hold considerable promise. The Middle East and China in particular are good markets where wealthy clients have plenty of…

External Analysis Motorcycle Industry

External Analysis of the Motorcycle Industry

Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson, the heavy-bike manufacturer holds the purpose of fulfilling dreams of personal freedom (Purpose: Harley Davidson, 2013). The company functions in segments of Motorcycles & elated Products and the Financial Services. It is however globally known for heavy bikes that have engine displacement of 651+cc (Harley-Davidson Inc. 2013). The company enjoys a unique position in the market yet it is exposed to many new market challenges in recent future. The demand for heavy bikes has increased among those that are not necessarily filthy rich and other companies are also entering the industry. Here is the PEST analysis of Harley Davidson to study what challenges it is facing in external environment.

PEST Analysis

The PEST analysis offers a detailed picture of how the macro environment factors affect the performance of Harley Davidson. The PEST stands for Political, Economic,…

e-Activity, outline the opportunities for and threats to H-D that its closest foreign competitor poses. Propose the strategic manner in which you, as a manager, would use the information that you have outlined to your advantage.

Opportunities

Threats

Customer retention due to customization of motorcycles.

Transitioning itself into a global brand connecting with other cultures.

Expanding product sales into international markets such as India, China, and other European and Asian countries.

Diversification of product portfolio to include clothing and accessories

Cheaper goods from international competitors

Alternative modes of transportation could possibly become prominent

Economic downturn

Market Saturation in the companies primary markets

Lack of demand in international markets such as Europe, which relies heavily on public transportation

As a manager, I would focus on product differentiation and value proposition. I would focus of building a lasting brand that resonates with consumers as oppose to simply competing based on price. Fortunately,…

EP and Information Security

Introduction to EP

Even though the plans of information security include the prevention of outsiders to gain access of internal network still the risk from the outsiders still exists. The outsiders can also represent themselves as authorized users in order to cause damage to the transactions of the business systems. Therefore, strict prevention measures should be taken to avoid such situations.

The threats of both the hackers have been increased with the software of the enterprise resource planning (EP) (Holsbeck and Johnson, 2004). By performing acts of deception, the system privileges are neglected by them and take old of the assets which are mainly the cash. Its continuous integration has not succeeded in eliminating the threat of hackers who are either the insiders or enter through the perimeter security.

Considering the financial losses caused from the system-based frauds, errors and abuse by business transactions, new ways…

The ways in which they manage their dealer network dictates in part the degree to which the company will achieve its objectives.

The final critical input group for Harley Davidson is resources. As Harley's demographic has aged, its consumers have become more demanding in terms of features and ease of maintenance. This has resulted in the development of a key resource - technology. Harley Davidson typically acquires technology rather than developing it. For example, they formed a joint venture with Porsche for expertise in engine emission compliance. This illustrates that although Harley Davidson's research and development program is focused on incremental improvements, other motorcycle manufacturers are driving the industry in terms of technological advancement, forcing Harley to keep up at least a little bit.

Therefore, developing such joint ventures and other partnerships is a means crucial for Harley to acquire needed innovation. Of all the most important inputs, technology is…

These loops are focused towards existing Harley-Davidson customers, but they can also be adapted to reach out to non-customers as well. The Internet and motorcycle events are two of the best places to reach bike enthusiasts who ride other brands. If Harley can adapt these loops to non-customers they may be able to gain insight into how they can expand their potential market by reaching non-customers better.

Organizational learning can flow from strong feedback loops. Harley-Davidson has supported their brand with strong balancing and reinforcing feedback loops directed at existing customers. The techniques and technologies behind these loops can be applied to non-customers as well. This would represent a shift in thinking for the Harley-Davidson organization, which to this point has focused on existing customers. Such a move would require a shift in goals for Harley, but in the face of a strong but stagnant market share, such a goal…

Motivational Challenges at Harley-Davidson, Inc.

Today, Harley-Davidson, Inc. (hereinafter alternatively "Harley-Davidson" or "the company") is the only major heavy motorcycle manufacturer in the United States and the company enjoys fierce loyalty from an ever-widening consumer base (Company profile, 2016). This legacy is the result of more than a century of intensive research and development as well as innovation in designs that have made Harley-Davidson motorcycles legendary for their high performance and rugged appearance. This legacy, though, almost ended during the 1970s and 1980s when increased competition from Japan and problems with manufacturing nearly bankrupted the company. To its credit, though, the company's leadership succeeded in turning the company around through informed management practices including employee motivation initiatives such as the High Powered Work Organization concept. To determine the facts in this case, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide an overview of the company and a discussion concerning the…

Most of the motorcycle manufacturers want to convert their production towards eco-friendly technology powered by new wave of fuel alternates.

Swagster will capture the motorcycle market due to enhanced features including powerful engine, higher acceleration and the advanced technology of power-pack. With these added features, Swagster will promote the Hybrid motorcycle market to the next level of technology. Swagster will definitely wipe-off the recently launched oad Glide Ultra model of Harley-Davidson due to environment friendly feature. Additionally, the price of Harley-Davidson is $22,500 while the price of Swagster will be $15,000. This price difference with eco-friendly aspect will definitely attract most of the Harley-Davidson customers towards Swagster. The competitive set of Swagster also provides power pack technology and the first time improvement of color graphics. With the Swagster, the motorcycle will get the first and the foremost eco-friendly and environment friendly motorcycles around the world. (Proctor 2000)

In addition to…

Employees are encouraged to fulfill their needs; the company sees this is a way to help the organization respond more rapidly to change.

Many of these variables work together. For example, the commitment that Harley has to the needs and goals of its employees has helped to foster a work climate where employees are motivated by higher order needs. This also ties into the organizational culture, which is based around being the embodiment of the Harley-Davidson experience that the company then markets to its customers.

Centralized decision-making, however, does not easily support individual achievement and non-financial motivation. Harley-Davidson recognized this conflict during their crisis period in the early 1980s and moved to adapt their system. Operationally, they were able to move slightly away from strict bureaucratic control by developing systems that allowed for greater employee empowerment. This was the company's way of building some needed flexibility and motivation systems into…

Motorcycle Market

Motorcycle Industry Environmental Analysis

One of the primary determinants of success or failure in most industries is the level of competition and response to that competition by individual firms. In many industries this is entirely straightforward, as competition is direct in terms of product offering and pricing scale: McDonald's and Burger King are clearly in direct competition with each other, for example. Things are not quite so clear-cut in the motorcycle industry, as the product lines of many of the key players in this industry differ dramatically and cannot all be said to be in direct competition with each other, the competitive forces and macroenvironmental influences that exist in the industry can affect different companies in very different ways.

Numerous Competitors: In some regards, the motorcycle industry is very well populated and well balanced, and there is not a clear industry leader. While Harley Davidson has the largest…

Ethics, Product uality HighTech, Inc.

Disclosure to the CEO and other relevant aspects of upper-level management who are able to 'pull' the dangerous chip from the market until the needed alternations are made is imperative. PR and marketing must also be consulted about the best way to 'spin' this particular negative development. This must be done before actual injuries occur. A recent study found that "reactive recalls -- recalls due to an incident, injury or death -- were more likely than preventive recalls to result in exchanges, which dramatically reduced the recall time" as well as reduced injury ("What companies must do to recover from a product recall," 2014). If the company is forthcoming, effective damage control is possible, but only if the company is proactive. Relevant government safety personnel must also be consulted at the Consumer Product Safety Commission so that information about recalling the product can be issued.…

In contrast, Harley-Davidson is selling more of an experience and also a lifestyle change. For Harley, the open road and freedom is the catalyst of their unique value proposition. For Dunkin' Donuts, the trust they have created and sustain makes them a perfect choice for millions of consumers rushing to work in the morning who may have skipped breakfast at home. Harley-Davidson is all about a lifestyle change and freedom while Dunkin' Donuts has become a trusted source of excellent coffee, bakery items and excellent service.

American Express Video

After viewing the American Express video, can you identify a card that might fit your needs?

The Optima card which allows a card holder to carry a balance would be best, as the work I do has unequal payment dates. Freelance work pays irregularly so the Optima card would work best.

Also describe a credit card that you have. Is the…

Org Design

My most recent organization has a structure that is mechanistic in nature. This is, however, conducive with the organization's business and its goals. The organization's competitive advantage lies with efficiency and economies of scale. The ability to perform routine tasks is critical to the success of this organization. The mechanistic structure allows management to determine the optimal means of performance of these tasks, and then transfer that information to each employee. This structure relies heavily on management's abilities in work design, so that all jobs are done, and there are people in place to perform each task, even under unusual circumstances should they arise. The company's goals are of course market share and profit, but these are achieved through performing the routine tasks better than the competitors perform them.

The mechanistic structure relies on the abilities of management, and the training of the workforce to ensure that they…

This gave each member of the group a sense of affiliation within the group. Everyone felt that they were an important member of the group and their opinions and ideas counted. Because of this affiliation then each member of the group felt as if they had some power. They had influence and power over many of the important decisions that were being made, including those having to do with staffing. The affiliation and power within the group then led to affection. The members of the group truly cared about their jobs and about those that they worked with. Because of this every member of the group gave a hundred percent in order to make sure that there group was successful. This all lead to the fact that each group experienced prestige in the fact that they did their best to produce the best quality work that they could.

In order…

Company Mission, Vision, Stakeholders Strategic management starts vision mission. It consists analysis, decisions, actions organization undertakes order create sustain competitive advantages. For project, pick a company ( Harley Davidson), preferably, modules, work understand strategy .

Ducati -- passion leading from bankruptcy to success

Ducati is a name that most motorcycling enthusiasts are likely to associate with passion and brute force. The Italian bike manufacturer is known for making motorcycles designed for a particular type of people and the motorcycles it produces induce intense feelings in individuals riding them. Regardless if they are moving or if they stand still, Ducatis always manage to make heads turn and have succeeded in remaining an important player in a global market involving companies that are much larger than the Italian enterprise. This is also shown by the fact that Ducati has experienced a series of victories in the MotoGP and the Superbike orld Champions…

Cameron Balloons is a British company established in 1971 that primarily manufactures hot air balloons. Since then they have grown to production of about 500 balloons per year, with a market share of about 70% of those produced in the United Kingdom. They are well-known for quality, novelty, and their interesting balloon shapes (Harley Davidson, the Sphinx, Beethoven, etc.) (Civilian Air Authority, 2012). With their U.S. facility the company produces over 1 balloon per day, and averages almost $10M in annual sales.

Cameron Balloons is a leader in the hot-air balloon market, a very competitive market because of the overcapacity of many competitors in many countries, all vying for a limited customer. An additional strength for Cameron is that they are designed and built by two distinct companies that are independently owned and managed but are linked and committed to building the industry's best and most unique product. In addition,…

Founded in Bologna, Italy in 1926, Ducati is a leading manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. Since the 1950s, its motorcycles have dominated international motor racing competitions and have competed in road racing competitions with engine capacities of over 500cc (a measurement for the motor cylinder capacity). he motorcycle market is primarily spread across North America, Europe and Japan with new markets emerging in South America, India and China. Product diversification can be divided into four segments: the motor scooter market, the off-road market, the road market with engine capacities of less than 500cc, and the road market with engine capacities of over 500cc. he road market segment with engine capacities of over 500cc includes four sub-segments: sport, touring, dual and cruiser. he following analysis will investigate possible strategies for the company over the next 5 years.

Analyzing the Internal Environment

General Environment

Demographic -- Ducati has a diverse customer base…

Competitors exposed to lower costs

The main competitors to the company share certain costs like transportation

Economies of scale

The company's competitor do enjoy huge economies of scale.This gives them an increased bargaining power.

Porter's 5-forces analysis of Ducati cruiser market

The cruiser motorcycle market segment is the fastest growing market segment in the industry. However, Ducati has never been able to expand its market share in the period (2000-2003) as pointed out by Grant (2004).They unsuccessfully tried to capture a new market share comprising of older customers by the introduction of Sport touring model. This is a strong suggestion that Ducati must take into account the need of entering into new market segments like the cruiser market so as to take care of the relatively wealthier customer base. The porters five forces cam effectively be used in the analysis of the cruiser market segment since it is relatively unfamiliar…

Hog

The Internet is a good medium for Harley Davidson for several reasons. The first of these is that the Internet in 1998 is growing rapidly in terms of usage and at that point in history is becoming a go-to source of information for consumers seeking to learn about brands. This increased traffic is valuable because it provides a portal for consumers to learn more about the brand. This increases brand exposure for the company, and adds a new marketing channel that did not exist before.

Another reason why the Internet is a good medium is that it increases the reach of the brand at relatively low cost. In 1998, it might have cost a little more to hire good web development talent, but overall, this is a low cost means of engaging with consumers relative to, say, producing a television commercial and airing it. Thus, the Internet can lower…

In this segment S&W competes with Beretta from Italy, Heckler & Koch from Germany and Fabrique Nationale from Belgium. The most dominant competitor in this segment is Glock of Austria, which sold 50,000 Glock Model 19 pistols to Iraqi Security Forces without the consent and approval of U.S.-based collation command or the U.S. Congress. Glock, in refusing to cooperate with the U.S. military, has opened up a significant opportunity for S&W in government markets based on the conflict Glock has created and the preference of Congressional members to buy from domestic suppliers.

Available Substitute Products

There is an abundance of substitute products as the handgun marketplace is fragmented with nine different manufacturers, each with between 5% to 14% market shares. Glock and their innovation in polymer pistols and firearms revolutionized the industry in the 1980s, yet S&W was able to regain their market share by working with distributors, dealers and…

History Of Communication Timeline

TIMELINE: HITORY OF COMMUNICATION

(with special reference to the development of the motorcycle)

35,000 BCE.

First paleolithing "petroglyphs" and written symbols. This is important in the history of communication because it marks the first time humans left a recorded form of communication. Also, these written symbols became the ultimate source of later alphabets.

Wikipedia, "Petroglyph."

12,600 BCE.

Cave paintings at Lascaux show early representational art. This is important in the history of communication because the caves depict over 2000 figures, including abstract symbols. More recent research suggests these may record astronomical information.

OURCE: Wikipedia, "Lascaux."

3400 BCE.

First surviving umerian pictograms demonstrate a primitive form of record keeping. This is important in the history of communication because pictograms, together with ideograms, represent a primitive form of writing, in which a symbol either means what it looks like, or represents a single idea.

OURCE: Wikipedia, "Pictogram."

3300…

Polaris & Victory: Entering & Growing the Motorcycle Business

Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose

This is a case study of Polaris Industries and how they managed to enter the motorcycle market in 1998 with the Victory brand of motorcycles. The charge was led by Matt Parks who joined the company in 1987, by being asked to conduct research on the viability of Polaris entering the motorcycle market (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2016). The name Victory was coined when the company was still pursuing the possibility of starting motorcycle production. Victory was a confidential codename for the project, and it is Parks who came up with the name. esearch indicated that there was room for another competitor to enter the market especially in the cruiser business that was currently dominated by the Japanese producers and Harley-Davidson. Leveraging on its manufacturing capabilities, Polaris was able to begin developing a prototype for…

Inside can be found museum-like dioramas, a theater, a cafe, a doll hair salon, and lounging areas designed to facilitate interaction among shoppers and the examination and use of products" (Diamond 2009, p.119).

Diamond et al. (2009) argues that entertainment brands, such as American Girl, the Disney store have a unique power as brands, not simply to encourage consumers to buy the product, but also to foster consumer creativity, and suggest that as a result identity exists in dialogue with the corporation, and is not merely manipulated by the seller. Consumers are crafting their own unique image as they choose, consciously, to 'brand' themselves. In these "themed flagship brand stores" offering "spectacular environments… far from being overwhelmed or coerced by the sign-rich context, consumers use the retail environment as a stage on which to perform, enthusiastically enacting the brand and cocreating the spectacle. Therefore, emplacement is reconceptualized as a shared…

In fact, he did time in jail while he was the leader for arms possession and hijacking. Violence was common with this particular group, and in an effort to frighten and "intimidate" police, prison guards were killed by Hells Angel members in 1997. Eventually, Boucher was tried and convicted for orchestrating the killings (Editors).

In addition, many other criminal investigations have turned up large amounts of money, weapons, drugs, and evidence of other illegal activities, such as extortion and coercion by club members and in clubhouses across America and the world. The club Web site maintains that "1% of their members are bad, and ruin the reputation of the remaining 99%" ("Stew" & "Craig"), but the evidence continues to point to the fact that many HAMC activities are gang and crime related, and that many of its members join the organization for reasons other than a passion for motorcycles. The…

Tribal Marketing

Evidence of the Trend's Emergence

Examples of the New Trend

Virtual Tribes

Tribal Marketing Implications for Industry

Leveraging the Tribal Trend

Tribal marketing is an approach that organizes target markets into various groups or tribes. These tribes can represent various different types of group associations. For example, one group could be people who work together while another group could represent all the members who communicate on various websites (Fons). Therefore there can be traditional tribal communities where people engage in face-to-face communication as well as there can be virtual tribes of people who share information online. As a result most people are generally considered to be members of multiple tribes however not all tribes are considered to be of equal importance by tribe members.

Consumers in general have become weary of traditional marketing messages. It has become increasingly hard to reach consumers through traditional channels even when the…

IT Governance. Explain how the models are employed and how they result in strategic alignment. hat could be done differently? Also, suggest models that would make a better impact for your organizational goals and objectives. If your organization does not practice IT Governance, discuss how it could be implemented, which models would be most useful, and how that would translate into increased IT value.

Informational technology departments are often difficult for management to govern in ways that facilitate overall organizational goals. On one hand, IT departments must be subject to the same budgetary constraints as other departments that functional within the overall organizational framework. On the other hand, IT concerns are less reliant upon the needs of the financial markets and immediate forces of the business cycle than many other organizational departments. IT's needs are often more contingent upon the creativity of the staff and potential long-term developments in the…

The assumptions of industry structure and pricing are based on the market shares of the leading competitors in the motorcycle market including Harley-Davidson with 65% and Honda with 12.9%. There are over 40 different manufacturers of motorcycles globally who comprise the remaining 22% of the worldwide market (Murphy, 2008). Gaining distribution for a new motorcycle model will be challenging given the concentration level of competitors in the market. As motorcycles are considered discretionary purchases, they are influenced by the consumer sentiment index, the level of per capita disposable income, the downstream demand for motorcycle dealership and repair, and the available time consumers have for using them (Diamond, 2008). All of these factors are taken into account in the factoring of both the baseline motorcycle industry forecast and the hybrid motorcycle forecast as well.

Sales and Unit Forecasts

Using exponential smoothing and an average sale price of $9,100, the forecast for…