Place yourself in the role of a market manager at Harley Davidson. Your company, Harley-Davidson, has chosen to compete in various country markets in Europe and Asia using an export strategy. Read the sections of its latest annual reports from 2009 and 2010 at www.harley-davidson.com related to its international operations. Why does it seem that the company has avoided developing production facilities outside the United States?

Harley-Davidson is a company of many strengths, from their dedicated and loyal customers, to the quality American engineered engines, and their strong culture with roots that go deep. The popularity of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle might have begun here in America but it definitely did not stop there. From Canada to the UK and now Europe and Asia…no one has been able to replicate the powerful cruiser motorcycle design so many Harley-Davidson riders respect. “We see it in the motorcycles they ride, the individuality they express and their dedication to the ultimate riding experience. When you have such an expansive and devoted global community of riders, it’s more than a business advantage; it’s an obligation we take very seriously to exceed expectations” (Anonymous, 2009). Harley-Davidson’s senior management wisely revised their business strategy to encompass its’ opportunity for global expansion and growth. By reexamining their strategy to meet the transnational demands of global consumers, Harley-Davidson has increased its global footprint and overall sales. Developing a global strategy involves the company employing the same basic competitive approach in all countries where it operates, sells the same product, in our case motorcycles, everywhere, striving to build and maintain their global brand, and coordinating its actions worldwide with strong communication and control (Thompson, 2012). <o:p></o:p> Strategic Management Assignment Paper

Student 1 response

Companies that are successful at translating their company’s brand globally, are ones that take into account other cultures and tailor their product to meet their needs. Examples from the text include Unilever developing single load detergent packets versus a large quantity product to impoverished countries where they only focus on buying what is needed for the immediate use. Unilever surveyed the country, its culture, and how consumers operate and then set out to create a product that would meet the needs of the consumer. The result was an overwhelming success. From the 2009 Annual Report of Harley-Davidson, the company outlined its goals for global outreach: “A disciplined, systematic approach is also key to growing our global family in places like India, where we are taking a primary role in defining the emerging leisure riding market. We’ve studied the <o:p></o:p>

market in depth, laid the groundwork and will start selling this summer. And<o:p></o:p>

consumer enthusiasm is greater than we ever imagined” (Anonymous, 2009). Expansion to the European market was met with great success as well. From 2009 to present, Harley-Davidson has been a major player in Europe, climbing up to the number 3 spot for heavy weight motorcycles. <o:p></o:p>

Harley-Davidson’s one hundred year iconic history and culture, coupled with state of the art engineering and craftsmanship in their motorcycles, has been key to their success in the past and onward for the future. Their short term goal is to have 40% of their total international retail unit sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles by 2014. With their history of fine-tuning their business strategy to meet the needs of the economy, the demands of their customers, and the needs of different international markets, I have no doubt Harley-Davidson will live on for at least another hundred years to come.

Student 2 response

Beginning in 1907, Harley Davidson was put together by two friends, Arthur Davidson and William Harley, who wanted to develop a motor-powered bicycle (Harley Davidson History, n.d.). The company has since evolved into a multinational multibillion-dollar company.

Over the years, Harley-Davidson has expanded into a number of different markets and countries; however, they have not shipped production overseas. The executives at Harley Davidson explicitly explain why production overseas would not be a financially sound decision. International sales reflect regional riding seasons, and dealers tend to stock less inventory during the off seasons (Harley Davidson, Inc., 2011, p. 9). With seasonal sales being an issue, Harley Davidson explains that international production would not be level throughout the year. Also, international sales total approximately 33 percent of total sales, more data supporting the idea that international production is not a sound business decision at this point (Harley Davidson, Inc., 2011, p. 6).

Regulation also plays a large role in any American company’s decision to move production to other countries. Not just regulations from the U.S. government but also regulations from the host country are considerations. Moving production would reduce the production needs from home facilities supplying international inventory, limiting time and/or jobs in U.S. factories. Strategic Management Assignment Paper.

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Organizational Strategic Management

Introduction

Strategic management is the process of developing, implementing and evaluating an organization’s vision, mission and strategy. It’s a way to ensure that the organization is achieving its goals while also making sure it has the right resources and capabilities to do so.

Vision and Mission

A vision is a broad, long-term plan for the future. It describes what your company will look like in the future and how it will operate. A mission is a specific statement of why you exist and who you serve.

A good vision should be clear, concise and simple—and it should answer three questions: Who are we? What do we want to achieve? Where do we go from here? The answers to these questions should come from top executives at all levels of an organization; they should be reviewed regularly by all employees so that everyone can see how their work contributes to achieving the organization’s goals.

The most important aspect of any vision or mission statement isn’t really its length or clarity but rather whether it motivates employees to work harder toward achieving them—and whether those same employees feel ownership over those goals as well as respect toward their leaders who have led them there!

Strategy as “fit”

Strategy is about the fit between an organization, its environment and a chosen strategy. A strategy as fit analysis helps managers determine whether they have selected the right combination of strategies for their organizations.

The process begins with a review of current market conditions and trends, along with an understanding of customer needs and preferences. Then it considers what resources are available within your company to help meet those needs through product development or distribution channels. The next step is to look at how these resources can be used most effectively by determining which strategies will best support them:

• Product development – If you’re trying to develop new products that will capture market share from competitors (or improve on existing ones), then this is where you need to focus attention first before moving onto other issues such as pricing or marketing tactics such as advertising campaigns designed specifically for different demographics groups within society who may otherwise not be aware about how much better our product really does compared against theirs!

• Distribution channel – Distribution channels like retail stores offer opportunities not only because they allow us access directly into peoples lives by being able also provide education services so consumers know what kind information actually exists out there elsewhere – but also because they provide tangible proof behind why investing time into researching various options beforehand would pay off later down road when making decisions based upon actual experience rather than just hearing rumors second hand.”

Strategy as a way to achieve goals

Strategy is a plan or method of action designed to achieve a goal. It usually involves the identification of a problem, its solution and how it will be achieved. Strategy can take many forms and is often used when a company wants to make sure that their organization is successful in the long term.

A good strategy can help an organization reach its goals by aligning business objectives with the needs of consumers or customers, while also ensuring that resources are used efficiently and effectively.

Strategic Intent

Strategic intent is a clear, concise statement of your company’s overall purpose. It should define what you want your organization to accomplish in the future and how it will do so. For example, if you’re an organization that sells products, your strategic intent could be “to increase revenue.”

This can be difficult because it requires employees to think about their own jobs in relation to the bigger picture as well as make decisions based on it—but this is exactly why having a clear strategic intent is so important! If everyone understands where they fit into the big picture, they’ll be able to work towards achieving those goals together.

Key Factors for Success

• Financial performance. This is a key factor for success because it measures how well the organization is doing financially and can be used as a benchmark against which to measure future performance.

• Market share . Market share is how much business an organization has compared with other firms in its industry or sector. A high market share indicates that you are dominant in your field, while a low market share means that there’s room for improvement or expansion.

• Competitive position . In terms of strategy, competitive positioning refers specifically to being able to compete effectively at any level within your industry; this includes being able to respond quickly when changes occur within the marketplace as well as having strong brand recognition among consumers (and consequently higher demand). Competitive positioning also includes knowing what steps need taken before launching new products or services into the market and whether they’ll succeed based on past successes/failures with similar projects; otherwise known as SWOT analysis (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats).

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is a way of thinking about the future, present and past. It helps you to understand how you want your business to grow and how it will affect other parts of your organization. This type of thinking can be used in many ways:

• To plan for growth or new products

• To assess risks and opportunities

• To create a vision for where you want to be as an organization

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is a tool that helps you identify your organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis will help you focus on the things that are most important to your organization. For example:

• Strengths: Your strengths may include an excellent product or service; an effective marketing strategy; a good PR department etc..

• Weaknesses: Your weaknesses could be poor financial controls or lack of resources in key areas (ie: HR).

• Opportunities: These are situations where there could be an opportunity for change within the company because something has changed (eg- increased demand for one of our products).

Opportunities also exist when we have identified something new in our industry which can potentially bring us new business or generate additional revenue. Examples include new technology breakthroughs like artificial intelligence or robotics which may allow us to offer services better than other companies within the same industry but at lower prices due to cost savings achieved through technological advances such as these two examples above.

VRIO Analysis

A VRIO analysis is a method of identifying and prioritizing the core customer value propositions that your organization must meet to survive.

The purpose of a VRIO analysis is to help organizations:

• Identify what customers want from them (and how they can provide it)

• Understand how each customer’s needs compete with other organizations’ offerings, and which ones are most urgent for meeting customer expectations

Scenario Planning

Scenario planning is a technique for exploring possible futures. It helps you to develop a broad range of possible futures, think strategically about the future and develop contingency plans.

The basic idea behind scenario planning is that it allows you to explore different scenarios for your business or project by imagining what might happen if certain things occur or do not occur. When done well, this exercise can help your organization make informed decisions about its future and prepare for unexpected events that may arise during its development or operation phase (see [1]).

Business Portfolio Analysis

A business portfolio analysis is a process of identifying and prioritizing the various projects, programs, or initiatives that your organization can use to achieve its strategic objectives. It involves reviewing all of the various business units within your organization, as well as any external entities with which they interact. This includes examining how each entity contributes value to customers and how it affects other businesses in its market area (and beyond).

A complete portfolio analysis will help you understand where opportunities exist for growth or improvement so that you can take action now rather than later on something small but important such as improving customer service or adding new features onto existing products/services such as software updates.

Takeaway:

• Make sure your takeaway is relevant to the topic.

• Make sure it’s concise, easy to understand and not too long.

Conclusion

We’re all in this together, and we want to help you be great. We hope you found this article helpful and that it will guide your strategic thinking. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to us!