MGT499 Module 1 Essay Example for Free

MGT499 Module 1 Essay Harley Davidson has been around the United States since 1903 and have always found a way to stay productive and current in this country, they have made huge strides to maintain their quality and trust in their customers. In this day and age even that may not be enough to supplant a company’s financial security and Harley Davidson may have to emphasize more on sales outside the USA. Harley Davidson’s quality mission is that they value the deep emotional connection that is created with their customers through their products, services, and experiences. They are fueled by the brand quality and trust that their customers place in the company to deliver premium quality and the promise of a fulfilling lifetime ownership experience. Harley Davidson exemplifies this commitment by embracing a culture of personal responsibility and stewardship for quality in everything they do. Harley Davidson fulfills these dreams by their corporate value of providing motorcyclists an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and services to a selected market segment. Harley Davidson’s strategic vision is the delivery of unique motorcycling experiences, as individual as are their customers. The experiences could be as basic as a Sunday morning coffee, or a full moon beach ride. This corporate passion of delivering unique customer experiences is the core of their strategy and the reason for their competitive edge. This corporate passion of delivering to their main stakeholders includes customers and employees. Since the employees of Harley Davidson are motorcyclists themselves, their commitment to delivering an unforgettable motorcycling experience is the reason for the competitive advantage the company enjoys with a distinctive and innovative legendary motorcycling product line. When employees feel like a participant they will have a mutual goal: the long term success of the Company. (Fred, 2008). This is one of the area’s Harley Davidson has placed special emphasis on. With restructuring there assembly lines it became a necessity to know if something was not correct in the process, open communication allowed employees to communicate with leaders to resolve issues quickly, minimizing loss. Employees are also encouraged to participate in Harley Davidson Learning Center for its employees; the center was created after restructuring of the workforce to create semi-autonomous workgroups. The center is dedicated to lifelong learning, but is also used to hone skills, learn new skills and if needed remedial training. Harley Davidson customers are a cult. They are as unique as the motorcycles they ride. The passions of their experiences as bikers have made permanent inroads in the landscape of the United States. They are a part of Americana popular culture. They have inspired rock songs, political frame of references, and have been strategically aligned to a sense of freedom, which is the American symbol. The needs and goals of the employees at Harley Davidson are being met. Open communication at all levels is used as a major key to achieving teamwork and employee participation. When employees feel like a participant they will have a mutual goal: the long term success of the Company. (Fred, 2008). This is one of the area’s Harley Davidson has placed special emphasis on. With restructuring there assembly lines it became a necessity to know if something was not correct in the process, open communication allowed employees to communicate with leaders to resolve issues quickly, minimizing loss. Consumers are actually fulfilling more and more dreams, which is evident by increases in sales. There are many reasons for this, Harley Davidson listens to its consumers and values their input. They also created the Harley Owners Group (HOG) so that the Company can receive feedback from its riders and continue to make their experiences better and better by improving the products. â€Å"They conduct four US national rallies, two touring rallies, and 44 state rallies. † (Fred, 2008). Where they can receive feedback from riders and enjoy some customer bonding as they share in the excitement of riding. Harley Davidson just made major improvements in 4 key areas of their current line of motorcycles, with the input of their riders. Control; Larger engine, brighter lights, and Anti-locking Braking System. Infotainment; color touch screen radio with Bluetooth, GPS, and CB communication all in one unit which can be controlled by voice commands, allowing a rider to keep both hands on the bars. Feel; redesign of Fairings, improved passenger room with back rest and arm rests. Style; Redesigned trunk and saddle bags, with on touch latches, lighter wheels and intuitive hand control switches. â€Å"Weve been one with our riders and dealers for 110 years, and were now doing a much, much better job bringing their insights and needs into great new bikes; and getting the job done 30 percent faster so they can enjoy it all sooner! The worlds best – and best-selling – touring bike just got a whole lot better because of the inspiration of our riders and the talent and dedication of our employees. † (Hoyer, 2013) My recommendation to the executives of Harley Davidson would be to inspire an international campaign of freedom. To launch an international marketing campaign and highlight the individual countries landscapes with passionate riding experiences unique to that country. Since the employees of Harley Davidson are motorcyclists themselves, I would recommend that the corporation employ motorcyclist employees in each of the international companies to work and design a line for each of the individual country markets. The competitive advantage to Harley Davidson has always been about the delivery of unique experiences, the marketing and production campaign in each of the individual countries would succeed if they are able to deliver to that country’s stakeholders an unforgettable motorcycling experience. References: Harley Davidson. (2012) Annual Report 2011. Retrieved from: http://media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/IROL/87/87981/HD. pdf Fred, (2008). A case study of Harley Davidson’s business practice. Infotechdesign. Retrieved from: http://infotechdesign. net/itd/a-case-study-of-harley-davidsons-business-practices. htmlÃ'Ž