Introduction
Harley-Davidson Inc (HD) is an American motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903 by Harley Davidson. Its headquarters are in Milwaukee. It produces and sells motorcycle parts and accessories, heavyweight motorcycles. The company is one of the great companies after surviving major financial crisis that hardly hit the entire global economy. It has been able to survive a strong competition from similar producers to build a strong customer base despite the many challenges it has been going through. All this can be attributed to its highly experienced and skilled management team.
HD’s mission is to fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling by providing an expanded line of motorcycles and branded products and services in selected market segments to the general public and specifically to motorists. It has gradually improved the quality of its products by introducing new production techniques that have seen it operate efficiently while at the same time delivering high quality products to its die hard customers (Sonnenberg, 2004). It currently sales its products in most parts of the US, japan, Washington and Pennsylvania. Its range of products meets the customer needs and preferences. The blue jeans, leather jackets, Dyna, MTV, Sportster, Vtwin engine motorcycles and VH1 are used by sundry people (Reid, 2010).
HD respects the individuals, competitors, keeps promises, encourages intellectual curiosity, is fair and upholds the spirit of honesty. The company is known to be one of the companies that offer the best working conditions to its employees and its partners (Reid, 2010).It creates a fair competing ground by ensuring that its competitors have an equal opportunity to operate in the various markets (Sonnenberg 2004). For instance, when the US placed a tariff against importation of motorcycles, HD advised the government to lift the tariff after it stabilized.
Its products are of high quality and fairly priced to make them affordable to many individuals. However, HD is continuously expanding its markets so as to reach as many people as possible. It has also ensured that the company operates at a profit so that stakeholders can reap the highest benefits from their investments (Sonnenberg 2004). Harley-Davidson management has explored and incorporated new labor-friendly production techniques that reflect respect for its manufacturers. The management is so keen to evade any instance that will compromise the values or profitability of the company. In 2012, when St. Paul Harley-Davidson sued HD over a partnership deal that St. Paul Harley-Davidson thought it will keep it out of business, HD was willing to discuss the matter and resolve it (Reid, 2010). It was finally resolved and the suit dropped. HD allowed it to continue with online marketing. Its customers were notified of this.
The major stakeholders of HD are Heller Financial Corporation, Harley’s family and Dean Witter Reynolds. The stockholders are out to ensure that the company grows so that they can benefit from their investments. The company is trying to achieve this by opening new branches in many parts of the world. The one in Kansas City is known to be one of the best performing branches (Reid, 2010). It has also identified and empowered its dealers to ensure that they effectively counter the effects of its competitors. Currently, most customers worship its products and have even gone to the extent of tattooing its name. It has partnered with other companies such as Best Western International to ensure that it takes a big portion of the market.
The strong brand name that the management has worked so hard to create and maintain has actually paid. For instance HD’s financial report for the first quarter of 2013 indicated a growth. Its operating income grew by 33.0% to $276.8 million compared to operating income of $208.1 million in the previous year (Davidson, 2013). The operating income had benefited from higher shipment of motorcycles, lower restructuring cost and higher gross margin. Revenues generated from motorcycles actually grew to $1.15 billion compared to $995.9 in the previous year (Davidson, 2013). This is far much above that of its close competitors such as Honda or Hyundai. The company’s management has therefore largely made decisions that are in line with the needs of the company’s stakeholders.
HD should undertake the following recommendations to ensure that it continuously remains in business:
- Develop unique high quality products that will be difficult for competitors to copy. Such products will lack close substitutes and more customers will go for them. If the quality is good, more people will buy it thus the competitors will lose most of its customers and might soon go out of business. This will give HD ample time to serve its customers.
- Diversify its activities further so that more people can access the products without having to incur large costs. This will make its products affordable and more people will go for them.
- Acquire more small companies so as to reduce competitors. By so doing, the company will have few competitors and will thus be easy to strategize on how to overthrow them and dominate the industry.
In conclusion, the goal of Harley-Davidson is to satisfy customers by not only meeting, but also exceeding their expectations and give them superior value for their money. They continuously expand their services so as to reach many people and acquire a large share of the market. The management has also continuously made decisions that are in line with the expectations of the stakeholders. As such stakeholders have given the company the required support and that is why it is a notch above its competitors.
References
Davidson, Jean, & Oeflein, Jon Davidson. (2013). Harley Davidson Scrapbook. Octane Pr.
History of Harley-Davidson, Inc. – FundingUniverse. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/harley-davidson-inc-history/
Reid, Peter, Well Made in America. (2010). Lessons from Harley-Davidson on Being the Best, New York, McGraw-Hill.
Sonnenberg, F. K. (2004). Managing with a conscience: How to improve performance through integrity, trust, and commitment. New York: McGraw-Hill.
