Strategic Management - Coursework Example

? Strategic Choices at Harley Davidson Motorcycle Corporation In 1903 Williams Harley, Arthur Davidson and Walter Davidson built their practical motorcycle in a wooden shed in the backyard of the Davidson home in Milwaukee Wisconsin USA. The company has grown in folds and bounds to become one of the strongest business brands worldwide. The company known globally has its foundation built on values and expected behaviors that guide the way business is run and the interactions with other business entities globally. It is currently at the helm of the motorcycling industry as one of the biggest manufacturers of both motorcycles and their accessories internationally. This is as a result of both hard work and determination. The company has grown from strength to strength and in this regard it has managed to stand the test of time. It has been able to overcome the snares and obstacles posed by the ever occurring challenges that are out there in the market. The firm has made use of the best strategies to conduct business and it is in that regard that it has currently managed to reap its benefits. Excellent corporate governance has been one of the strongest business strategy at Harley Davidson, although motorcycling is supposed to be fun the organization takes its business seriously. The board at Harley Davidson consists of accomplished leadership who meet often to review company objectives and make future plans for the company’s growth. In doing so the board members use their diverse experiences and backgrounds which they have acquired with time (Wheelen & Hunger,2010). The members are passionate about the company and work to ensure decision made promote fairness, financial transparency and accountability to the shareholders and customers at large. In any organization there should be continuous improvement both at the top management and the rest of the employees. Failure to develop an organization’s workforce might cause an organization to obsolete because of changes in technology and innovations. Harley Davidson has achieved continuous improvement in its management through its quality and efficiency. an organization should organize and plan to develop its employees though workshops, conference and training (Nelson, Nelson & Public Library Association, 2008). There is a belief that employees are rational human beings who have thinking capacity and therefore they should be encouraged to grow by way of training. At Harley Davidson there is a tradition that leadership in business includes contributing to the betterment of the society and this is done though charities and volunteer work. By continuous development Harley has been able to keep abreast with the rest of the world in terms of competition and new innovations. For any organization to grow all parties should be involved, once one party feels left out that can stare up a contention among the employees and this cause a problem in the company. At Harley Davidson there is be clear communication channels from the top management to the lowest employee. And wherever a problem arises both parties concerned are given equal treatment in trying to reach a solution without showing favoritism to employees at the management. The management also has learned to take views, concerns, and opinions of the employees and this enhances mutual trust between the employees and the management. Consumers are looking for new experiences every day. Harvey Davidson has rebrand over and over again so at to keep appealing to their customers and keep up with the changing markets every time. Because of international dynamics, Harley Davidson improved relationships with customer and nature of interaction. In the event that there are new innovations every time a company has to think outside the box. Through its strategies and investment Harley Davidson strived hard and has managed to be growing its products across generation and cultures. Instead of keeping its tradition in markets only in the USA it has had to expand its business in order to remain relevant in a competitive market of motorcycle. In 2012 for instant, nearly half of its sales of new motorcycle were from the new customers globally. Harley Davidson is dedicated to ensure that sales growth is achieved internationally including dealer expansion. At the end of 2009 all the way to early 2013 Harley Davidson added a remarkable 99 new dealers globally in identified emerging markets such as in in India, China and Brazil. In line with its market objectives Harley Davidson has plans of adding up to 150 dealers through to 2014. This expansion of its market has seen its sales to up tremendously. In 2008 through to 2012 international sales went up from 30.2% to 35.3%. Harley Davidson‘s strategies fit well to the motorcycle industry because each awakening day is a new motorcycle company opening somewhere with new ideas, lower prices and more appealing gadgets. To keep up with these challenges Harley Davidson has successfully reinvented, rebranded and expanded its markets to meet new demands and to stay in business. In today’s world where you sleep and wake up to new technology and a different way of doing things you may be left behind if you don’t keep up with the rest of the world. Branding managers will need to think differently. Increasingly it’s more about creating an experience around a product, rules keep changing as well as opportunities to maximize profitability and create rules in the process. However some companies seem to ignore this and keep following tradition hence this only gives Harley Davidson an advantage if making profits. Harley Davidson goals are: growth, continuous improvement, leadership development and sustainability. All the strategies employed are in tandem with its values in that they go hand in hand with its internal resources and competence (Crosbie & Knight, 2005). No product or service remain valuable forever, an organization cannot maintain competitive advantage forever based on one product. And Harley Davidson has achieved this by providing a wide range of products and services to its customer. It has sustained its markets by changing continually and adapting with changing trends in the motorcycle industry. Over the years there have hundreds of models and variations at Harley Davidson Company and this has created continuous development and innovations. Making right choices strategically at each level of the company is what divides the successful and the failed company. Harvey Davidson uses its tangible and intangible resources. It uses large arrays of manufacturing plants to keep flowing supply of products to meet its demand. The fast knowledge at management level and the even the lower employees at Harley Davidson makes easy in research and development which enable future market demands and needs. Currently Harley Davidson is in the process of restructuring its process for their production systems. After this is completed the company needs to find the product capacity level that fits the movement of the product in the market. And this will see the company grow tremendously because with its completion its market will be broad and it will be able to meet all the market demands which they are unable to at the moment (Benioff & Adler, 2007). Harley Davidson is a great and successful company with a loyal customer following and it has a very concrete business strategy in place for its future expansion and growth. However it needs to improve in a few areas. For instant they need to be conservative about their expenditure and find new investment and push for their products to move faster than they are currently. To avoid being hit by tragedies such as recession which saw it go bankruptcy few years back it needs to do major investments across the globe (Jauch & Glueck, 2008). Investment is the backbone of any company because that is an asset to the company which it can value and sell when need arises. It should also consider advertisement campaign and avoid the assumption that it’s a well-known brand name. For any company to continue being significant in the market they it should always remind its customer of the services and products it offers because new companies emerge at a high rate and thus becoming obsolete is a possibility. References Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010). Strategic management and business policy: Achieving sustainability. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. Nelson, S. S., Nelson, S. S., & Public Library Association. (2008). Strategic planning for results. Chicago: American Library Association. Crosbie, L., & Knight, K. (2005). Strategy for sustainable business: Environmental opportunity and strategic choice. New York: McGraw-Hill. Benioff, M. R., & Adler, C. (2007). The business of changing the world: Twenty great leaders on strategic corporate philanthropy. New York: McGraw-Hill. Jauch, L. R., & Glueck, W. F. (2008). Strategic management and business policy. New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More