Case Study: Harley Davidson (HD)

Read the case study located on page 176 of the section titled Case Studies in your textbook and prepare a 7- to 10-page report in a Microsoft Word document, based on the following situation:

You have been asked to consult with Harley Davidson (HD) on three major strategic issues. In preparation of making recommendations for those issues. 

You should write a report  that addresses the following key strategic issues:

• Discuss the interaction among the economic, political, sociocultural, and technological sectors of the business environment to identify opportunities and threats.

• Summarize HD’s current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).

• Appraise the effects of  HD’s size, speed of strategic decision making and implemetation, innovation, and quality on their ability to take competitive action.

• What has HD’s corporate-level strategy been historically? Be sure to justify your answer with examples.
• Explain how this strategy will stand up against the competition and conditions in the industry.

• Would following an acquisition or merger strategy be a good idea?  Why or why not?  If you were to recommend pursuing an acquisition, what problems would you advise HD to watch out for?

• Discuss the uncertainties and risks of doing business in different regions throughout the world.

• Would HD be wise to pursue a cooperative strategy?  If so, which type of cooperative strategy would be best, why would it be best, and with whom should HD pursue this strategy?  If a cooperative strategy is not a good idea for HD explain why not.

Based upon your analysis, provide Harley Davidson with your recommendations related to their three major issues:

• Harley Davidson products are viewed as leisure items rather than necessities.  How should HD push sales in a down economy?  Should (or can) HD market their products as something other than leisure items?
• HD’s target market is difficult to manage.  In recent years HD has attempted to broaden its age 29-55 male market by including younger riders and women.  Is this the correct target market for HD?  If so, should marketing be segmented?  How?  Would marketing to different segments water down HD’s image?
• HD’s product demand is difficult to manage.  Recently overseas competition has refocused their product lines from the low end of the market to the more median price range.  As they did this, they also broadened their product lines.  How should HD manage their products?  Should HD have a product line to meet the needs of the entire market or should they focus on one area of the market?  If they follow a market focus strategy, what should their new target market be?

Support your responses with examples.

Cite any sources in APA format.

Your case for Week 3 (due Tuesday) is a big one worth 200 points. I am sending your help documents and required headings early as this 7-10 page analysis may take some time. Be sure to read the assignment in your classroom. Use this only as a help document. The required headings and organization only are shown below. If you have any questions or need some help, please give me a call. Papers without these headings will be returned as it will hold up timely feedback to all students on such long papers. 

Be sure to provide your introduction and conclusion…  below are the headings which reflect the grading rubric in the assignment

General Business Environment 

· Discuss the interaction among the economic, political, sociocultural, and technological sectors of the business environment to identify opportunities and threats. 

SWOT Analysis 

· Summarize HD’s current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). 

Ability to Take Competitive Action 

· Appraise the effects of HD’s size, speed of strategic decision making and implemetation, innovation, and quality on their ability to take competitive action. 

Corporate-Level Strategy 

· What has HD’s corporate-level strategy been historically? Be sure to justify your answer with examples. 

Strength of Corporate-Level Strategy 

· Explain how this strategy will stand up against the competition and conditions in the industry. 

Acquisition or Merger Strategy 

· Would following an acquisition or merger strategy be a good idea? Why or why not? If you were to recommend pursuing an acquisition, what problems would you advise HD to watch out for? 

Uncertainties and Risks of Internationalization 

· Discuss the uncertainties and risks of doing business in different regions throughout the world. 

Pursuing a Cooperative Strategy 

· Would HD be wise to pursue a cooperative strategy? If so, which type of cooperative strategy would be best, why would it be best, and with whom should HD pursue this strategy? If a cooperative strategy is not a good idea for HD, explain why not. 

Recommendations for Harley Davidson (copying questions in this section is acceptable/recommended) 
(Be sure your recommendations reflect the amount of points awarded in this paper – 30% – My suggestion is not to spend all your energy on the first 70% and then run out of steam at the end – Pace yourself as the recommendations since they are heavily weighted need to be more than a short paragraph)

1. Harley Davidson products are viewed as leisure items rather than necessities. How should HD push sales in a down economy? Should (or can) HD market their products as something other than leisure items? 

2. HD’s target market is difficult to manage. In recent years HD has attempted to broaden its age 29-55 male market by including younger riders and women. Is this the correct target market for HD? If so, should marketing be segmented? How? Would marketing to different segments water down HD’s image? 

3. HD’s product demand is difficult to manage. Recently overseas competition has refocused their product lines from the low end of the market to the more median price range. As they did this, they also broadened their product lines. How should HD manage their products? Should HD have a product line to meet the needs of the entire market or should they focus on one area of the market? If they follow a market focus strategy, what should their new target market be? 

Some additional helpful suggestions…

If it were me approaching this assignment, I might start with a generic description of the concepts involved and then apply it to the case. For example, to address the first section of the paper I might describe what the business general environment is. I might even explain why it is important a company understand and monitor its general environment. (ALL of this is in your text…go to the search space and type in general environment!) Of course you will paraphrase what you find and not quote and you will want to provide an intext citation since it is information from another source. 

You can take the same approach with each section of this paper. It will add depth to your analysis, provide academic strength (and help with meeting the page length requirement). No fluff to fill in spaces, just good relevant academic background to the concepts. 

Hope this helps….