Harley Davidson Inc Business Overview

After an investigation by the US International Trade Commission, in 1983 President Reagan imposed a 45% tariff on imported bikes and bikes over 700 cc engine capacity. The new management deliberately exploited the past appeal of their big machines, building motorcycles that purposely adopted the look and feel of their earlier models. Quality increased, technical improvements were made, and buyers returned. Harley-Davidson once again became the sales leader in the heavyweight (over 750 cc) market.

David, F. (2013). The Business Vision and Mission.  Strategic Management. Pearson Education Retrieved from http://faculty.unlv.edu/amiller/BUS496/david%20_sm14_inppt02.ppt

Harley-Davidson, Inc. since its inception has specialized in selling dream motorcycles that are of high quality and distinctive in styles. The company in the past have seen turbulent business environment to the extent of leveraged buyout, infiltration of foreign made bikes as well as government regulations. Yet despite these factors, Harley-Davidson continues to reap profits, yield high growth of approximately 15% a year and retain its customer base (Official Website 2004). This position in the market is however limited to the US whereas in other countries of the world Harley-Davidson products remain luxury item requiring emotional attachment with American iconism.

William Harley and Arthur Davidson wanted to take the work out of riding bicycles in 1901. After being joined by the Arthur brothers, Walter and William, they came up with the idea of putting a motor and a bicycle together. Many engine changes were made before the builders were satisfied. In 1903, they created the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle and produced three that year. Harley built its first building in 1907 on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee. That same year, 150 motorcycles were produced. As they were used for recreational purposes, they were also used in military situations. They proved useful in border skirmishes and the government called for 20,000 bikes to be shipped overseas. Following the war, other companies tried to

The mission statement is often publically stated and used by almost every organization today. It helps provide basic guidelines, essentially the core values of a company, and what they aim for. A mission statement gives customers

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.

The Mission Statement is a vital component in the strategic planning of a business organization. Creating a mission is one of the first actions an organization should take. This can be a building block for an overall strategy and development of more specific functional strategies (Abrahams, 1995). By defining a mission an organization is making a statement of organizational purpose.

In this paper we will perform a complete analysis of the Harley-Davidson Corporation including their corporate and business strategies, strengths and weaknesses, environmental opportunities, the five industry forces, and financial situation. Harley-Davidson has many attributes, which will be apparent in the following analysis. The paper will attempt to define the different components of the analysis and put them all together in a way that seeks to explain the way that they contribute to the overall success of the company and its stakeholders.

Harley Davidson is known as one of the main motorcycle manufacturers and sellers in the United States. The company had good business and great market share in the early 1960s when it commanded a total of about 70% 0f the motorcycle market, before the invasion or the intrusion of a small Japanese firm that manufactured lighter motorcycles, known as the Honda. The case study as identifies that Harley Davidson assumed the invasion by the Japanese firm and instead of tackling the competition, it waited for a long time which resulted in the company losing its command in the motorcycle market in the United States. Lack of action by the management of Harley Davidson resulted in the failure of the company

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.

Moreover, the emergence of these competitors is ironically at least partially the result of the fact that Harley’s production did not meet market demand. While new production capacity and facilities will certainly go a long way towards meeting short-term demand for touring and custom motorcycles in the domestic market, all indications are that there will be continued strong demand in the home market as well as growing demand in the larger European market. Looking towards the future, Harley-Davidson management must decide how to best match the company’s vision and resources (which now include Eaglemark Financing and Buell performance motorcycles) with the opportunities and threats in the global motorcycle market.

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

One of the prominent growth of production in the automobile industry is the consumption of heavyweight motorcycles. As considered USA and other parts of the Far East Asian countries were witnessed on the same line of growth. From the generation of classic bikes such as Harley Davidson, Honda and Ducati, the production of custom bikes developed, giving rise to the production, employment and economic stability towards the automobile industry and the business incorporated, import and export market. Comparatively in 1981, Harley Davidson produced more motorcycles which were to be sold privately and exporting to the foreign countries. The result initiated increased in production, employment and financial stability in the market. At the same time,

The mission statement is a written document that an organization declares its core purpose. The mission statements defines the essence of the organizations needs and their core purpose of their existence. It describes the role that they play in the community and portrays the club’s image, charisma, and individuality. If the mission statement is written correctly it can provide an explanation to internal and external individuals on what the organization stands for. Some of the components that are key to the mission statement are members, product and service, market, technology and philosophy are just a few that should be in the mission statement. Without and effective mission statement to inspire your employees and members on why you exist it won’t mean anything to them. Here is an example of a mission statement from Kohl’s

A mission statement describes the objective of a company or an organization. It shortly defines the overall goal and clarifies why the company exists (Griffin,1990). A mission statement should indicate some core points..