Analysis of Harley Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was founded in 1903. The home base was originally founded in and even today remains in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson’s popularity grew significantly during World War I, when the U.S. infantry used 20,000 of the company’s motorcycles in its war effort (Taylor, 2010). Best recognized for its manufacturing of heavyweight motorcycles, Harley-Davidson has captured half the U.S. market and a third of the global market (Wikinvest, 2010). Harley-Davidson motorcycles are noted for their classic lines, custom paint jobs, dependability, fine craftsmanship and the Harley-Davidson signature choppy sounding engine. Most importantly, it has been

Harley Davidson been in business for over a hundred years. The company operates in several related markets. They sell motorcycles, motorcycle parts and operate a financial component. Additionally the company operates in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia. All Harley-Davidson business segments operate internationally.

By 1907 they had manufactured up to 100 motorcycles, and their backyard garage had doubled in size because production was growing. These are some strengths that Harley-Davidson experience as a growing company.

Harley-Davidson is well known for its unique motorcycles. Its subsidiary, Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC), manufactures five families of motorcycles, namely, Touring, Dyna, Softail, Sportster and V-Rod. These models are distinguished by their frame, engine, suspension, and other characteristics. The company shipped 233,117 motorcycles in the fiscal year ended December 2011, comprising 39.5% Touring motorcycle units, 39.2% Custom motorcycle units, and 21.3% Sportster motorcycle units.

There are many ways to analyze the performance of a company, some more popular than others. According to the Barney text the accounting method is the most popular way of measuring a firm's performance (Barney, 2002). Some of the reasons for the popularity could include the fact that accounting measures of performance are publicly available on many firms and they communicate a great deal of information about a firm's operations. Other methods of performance analysis include firm survival and the multiple stakeholder approach.

As for South America, Harley-Davidson Inc. HOG +0.31% opened a permanent Latin America headquarters, joining a growing list of U.S. companies looking to tap into the emerging market. (By Melodie Warner in Market Watch) South America has a growing economy and a huge acceptance for an icon in the motorcycle industry like Harley Davidson. In the same way Japan embraced Harley “Their economy is a fast growing luxury market” p.c11.

Good relationships, continuous improvement, employee and management involvement, team building or employee training and empowerment are not just words out of a management book for Harley-Davidson. Only by adopting those management techniques and building a solid base between the management and the Unions/employees made it possible for Harley-Davidson to improve its management processes. While management 's responsibility is to build

Celebrating their 100th anniversary next year, Harley-Davidson is a true American success story. From their modest beginnings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to one of the most recognized company names worldwide, they have been passionate about motorcycles. Harley offers an experience like none other with the one of a kind look, feel, and sound only available on a Harley. Besides their main business of building and selling motorcycles, they have began to offer financing and insurance through Harley-Davidson Financial Services, and they also offer a full line of accessories and apparel to make the Harley experience complete.

Since the founding of Harley-Davidson in 1903 by Arthur and Walter Davidson and William Harley, the company has a rich heritage and a loyal following. The company has proven to be resilient and innovative throughout the years. They have made their fair share of mistakes, especially while under the ownership of AMF, whose decisions almost destroyed Harley-Davidson. They have also made an inspiring come back, recapturing their share of the market and more. Harley-Davidson has managed to attract all sorts of riders including motorcycle “rebels”, women and blue and white color workers. In fact, in our church small group there are two

Harley-Davidson has managed to dominate the U.S. market by investing in research and development, experimenting with its designs and

Regardless of their emergence in the market in the year, in 1903, Harley-Davidson together with the motorcycle industry did not have an easy start until the end of the Second World War. Many people used motorcycles during the period the war took place. Harley-Davidson was instrumental in supplying around 90,000 motorcycles to the American military during this period. Many veterans opted to buy motorcycles after returning home. This is because they enjoyed riding the motorcycles during the war and desired to continue riding them after the end of the war. This generation was called the "baby boomers" and became the primary target for Harley-Davidson to market their products.

•     Started as a partnership between a draftsman and a pattern maker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903. William Harley and Arthur Davidson intrigued by the newly invented motorcycles began experimenting with ideas to design and build their own motorcycle. They enlisted Arthur's brothers, Walter a skilled mechanic and William a machinist who gave live to the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. That early partnership has evolved into a family of millions of Harley-Davidson, Inc. stakeholders throughout the world.

Milwaukee is where it all started for Harley Davidson. In 1903, William Harley Walter and Arthur Davidson created the first of millions Harley Davidson. It was one of the two major motorcycles that were able to survive the great depression. Since 1977, the only motorcycles sold to the public under the Harley-Davidson brand have been heavyweight motorcycles, with engine displacements greater than 700 cc, designed for cruising on highways. It is one of the most well known brands in the world of motorcycles and otherwise as well. Harley-Davidson maintains an enormous brand community, which keeps active through clubs, events, and a museum. The worth of Harley Davidson brand and its logo was somewhere around $40 million which was 0.8% of the

 The first step in conducting a strategic sourcing is to build a team and a project charter. A team that is cohesive towards the product/service is beneficial to the organization and project. “The team needs to develop a work plan and communication plan.” Monczka, 2011, pg.205) If an organization is looking at design a new interior for a car, the team musts to be made up of the personnel and leaders that are vital in the redesign of the interior of the car. The team must have members that possess strong skills in team building and be able to lead. Once the team has been established a team leader must be chosen. This is valuable because the team leader holds the team together and ensures all parts of the project are maintained and time lines are kept. “Every sourcing team should begin by assigning a project lead, who will coordinate

In addition to the adequate amount of suppliers, a third criterion would be based on the supplier’s ability to use ePass. The fourth criterion is the ability to repeat the sourcing method yearly in order to make the system effective for a long term basis. The last criteria that the sourcing team should consider ensuring that the overall ePass system requires less time while lowering the cost of sourcing. The sourcing teams needs to ensure that the overall process increases the firms’ efficiency and that it doesn’t put Betapharm at risk.