Harley Davidson - Organizational Behavior - 2737 Words

Harley History Harley Davidson was seen in America as a company that produced motorcycles with â€Å"raw power.† The company was founded by Arthur and Walter Davidson and William Harley in 1903. In 1918, Harley Davidson had become the largest motorcycle producing company in the world. Their production totaled 28,000 motorcycles. Production continued to increase with the onset of World War II and the military use of Harley’s motorcycles. The mystique of the product had a tough sense to it with famous actors such as James Dean and Marlin Brando sporting the bikes. After World War II, foreign competitors became interested in the motorcycle market. Japanese competitors entered the market in 1959; Harley Davidson executives did nothing to†¦show more content†¦This provided a substantial amount of freedom in determining the procedures to be carried out for producing the product. Skill Variety (chapter 7) Instead of just relying on the line workers to construct the product, Beals and his team wanted to make sure that the motorcycles were going to be of a much higher quality than in the past. To avoid catastrophes, such as oil leaking onto a showroom floor, â€Å"top management reasoned that training and empowering employees to measure quality and recommend change was essential for improvement† (Buller Schuler 2006). Using the Statistical Operator Control method, employees could now see how problems developed and how they could fix them during the production process. Task Identity (chapter 7) The same employees that were measuring the products for quality issues were also manufacturing the product. This would allow the employee to really become part of his/her product. It would also allow for a more efficient method of production. Creating a Learning Organization Learning Organization (chapter 19) To have a continuous ability to adapt and change would allow Harley Davidson to keep up with the competition and provide its employees with the knowledge to continue to produce quality products. In the 1990’s, Harley Davidson â€Å"began emphasizing organizational andShow MoreRelatedEssay on Harley-Davidson Circle Organization1314 Words   |  6 PagesHarley-Davidson Circle Organization Harley Davidson’s remarkable success and turnaround from a company nearing extinction to a business model of success (James Graham, 2004; Johan Van Brian, 2000; Teerlink Ozley, 2000) is secured by the environment developed at Harley-Davidson through the organizational changes led by former CEO Rich Teerlink. Mr. Teerlink fundamentally changed the structure of Harley-Davidson from a command and control, top down leadership company to one of collaborativeRead MoreAnalysis Of Harley Davidson s Human Resource Management1167 Words   |  5 PagesChapter 9 When investigating Harley Davidson I found many concepts from chapter 9 that can be applied to Harley. One aspect from chapter 9 that is applied to Harley Davidson is Human resource management. â€Å"Human Resource Manage also known as HR is the function in companies/organizations that is designed to maximize employee’s performance when in the workplace in order to achieve the company’s strategic objectives.†(Understanding Management) There are many different strategies that Harley’s HR usesRead MoreStrategic Plan Harley Davison7521 Words   |  31 PagesStategic Plan Executive Summary –Harley Davidson Strategic Plan The motorcycle industry is a consolidated industry. The U.S. and international heavyweight motorcycle markets are highly competitive. The major players, such as Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda, generally have financial and marketing resources that are substantially greater than the non-major players. Competitions in the heavyweight motorcycle market are based on several factors; price, quality, reliability, styling, product features, customerRead MoreVictory Motorcycles7088 Words   |  29 Pagesmotorcycle manufacturer based in Spirit Lake, Iowa, United States, which began production of its vehicles in 1998. Its parent company, Polaris Industries, created the firm following the modern success of Harley-Davidson. Victory’s motorcycles are designed to compete directly with Harley Davidson and similar American-style motorcycle brands, with V-twin engines and touring, sport-touring, and cruiser configurations. The first Victory, the V92C, was announced in 1997 and began selling in 1998 . VictoryRead MoreMarket Segmentation and Product Positioning1650 Words   |  7 PagesCompany: 4 1.4.Primary Characteristics of the Motorcycle 4 1.5.Branding Strategy 5 1.6.Product Positioning: 6 1.6.1.Short-run Strategy: 6 1.6.2.Longer-Run Strategies 6 1.7. Conclusion: Market Fit with Organizational Strategy. 6 References 7 Market Segmentation and Product Positioning 1.1. Introduction Market segmentation is the division of a market into different groups of customers with distinctly similar needs and product/serviceRead MoreHr Case Study Harley Davidson2653 Words   |  11 PagesUNIT: Human Resource Planning and Development/ Part 1 The Harley Davidson Case Study NAME OF STUDENT: Ute Meschke NAME OF TUTOR: Richard Bills COURSE DMS YEAR 2009 WORD COUNT: 2199 SUBMISSION DATE: 27.11.2009 I confirm that no part of this coursework, except where clearly quoted and referenced, has been copied from material belonging to any other person, e.g., from a book, handout, another student. I am aware that it is a breach of regulations to copy the work of another withoutRead MoreMarketing and Financial Markets41809 Words   |  168 PagesPart 3: Using information, Technology, and Target Market Analysis 127 5. Marketing Research and information Systems 128 6. target Markets: Segmentation, evaluation, and Positioning 158 Part 4: Customer Behavior 191 7. Consumer Buying Behavior 192 8. Business Markets and Buying Behavior 222 9. Reaching Global Markets 244 Part 5: Product decisions 279 10. 11. 12. 13. Product Concepts 280 developing and Managing Products 304 Branding and Packaging 326 Services Marketing 354 PartRead MoreTeam Cohesion1509 Words   |  7 Pagesmost often unsubstantive. Conflict has been shown to produce two very different sets of results, beneficial versus detrimental. â€Å"Conflict can be a catastrophe that threatens organizational unity, business partnerships, team relationships, and interpersonal connections,† but conflict can also â€Å"spark personal and organizational learning by helping people to openly, honestly, and empathetically discuss the issues that are blocking their relationships† (Cloke and Goldsmith, Ï .28). With this in mind,Read MoreBrand Community9592 Words   |  39 Pagesconsumer following, such as: Harley Davidson, Jeep, Apple Computers and Saturn also have a highly visible â€Å"brand community† (Muniz and O’Guinn 2001) or â€Å"brand club† (Langer 1997). Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) defined the brand community as â€Å"a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand† (p.412). A brand community , such as the Harley Owners Group (HOG), is a group of likeminded consumers (e.g., Harley owners) who interact withRead MoreTeaching Notes Robert Grant - Strategy 4th Edition51665 Words   |  207 PagesBattle for Survival 26 3 The US Airline Industry in 2002 33 4 DaimlerChrysler and the World Automobile Industry 41 5 Wal-Mart Stores Inc., May 2002 49 6 Eastman Kodak: Meeting the Digital Challenge 62 7 Organizational Restructuring within the Royal Dutch/Shell Group 70 8 Harley-Davidson, Inc., January 2001 77 9 Online Broking Strategies: Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab and E*Trade 83 10 11 12 Emi and the CT Scanner [A] [B] 88 Rivalry in Video Games 98 Birds Eye and the UK Frozen Food Industry