Need a Rewrite on case study 9

Case 9: Harley Davidson: An Overreliance on Aging Baby Boomers (International Issues in Strategic Management

Conduct a strategic analysis using the Executive Summary template.  Prepare and submit a three-page executive summary that discusses what strategic alternatives are available and provide a recommended strategy. 

You are to work alone to analyze and prepare the Executive Summary for the case.  NOTE: Click "Submit Assignment" in the upper right hand corner of your screen to turn in your Executive Summary no later than Sunday, midnight CT.. Name your file with your name and the unit number, i.e. Jones1 or Brown1. Your file should be in either Microsoft word (.doc or .docx) or rich text (.rtf) format.

The following information will be required for the Executive Summary.  TEXTBOOK CASE ANALYSIS GUIDANCE(CAG) and the TEXTBOOK BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TEMPLATE  These files are required for the unit textbook case studies. 

Synopsis of the Case: The content of the synopsis should present relevant background facts about the case under examination.

Relevant Factual Information about the Problem or Decision the Organization Faced: State the precise problem or decision the organization faced.  The section should include information that addressed the business issue under examination. This section should be no longer than a single paragraph.

Explanation of Relevant Concepts, Theories and Applications Derived from Course Materials:  This section should be the bulk of your paper. Analysis of the business problem or decision in light of the course concepts must be presented, as well as the business lesson another organization could learn from this situation. Besides citation to the text, learners must conduct research in the University library related to the top. Citing the textbook only is not enough to demonstrate you understand and can apply the course objectives. Here is where comparative and contrasting positions should be considered and examples and illustrations provided.

Recommendations: Provide logical recommendations to address the business lesson identified above. The recommendations need not to be specific to the organization examined, but should consider how other organizations, if similarly situated, could lessen the impact of the problem or decision identified. Recall, that the organization under examination has already moved pasted this problem so any recommendations made, at this point, are fruitless. The focus of this section should be on what other companies should be aware of to address similar problems or decisions. Citation to the textbook alone is insufficient for analysis in this section. Learners should conduct research in the University’s library to support their positions. Depth of scholarship is not demonstrated by providing personal opinions alone, but by using examples, analogies, comparison and illustrations from the academic literature. Not only does this synthesize the material to assist the reader’s understanding, it is an effective way to present the academic sources and extend the discussion of your ideas. This section should be a paragraph or two.

Alternative Recommendations: This section is not a continuation of the prior. Provide suggestions for how to avoid the problem or decision the examined organization faced. Analysis here should be may be forward- thinking, predictive or, most likely, preventative in nature but tied to the thesis statement. Again, opinion is insufficient to provide the required academic analysis. Sources, other than the text, must be provided to sustain the statements made. This section should be a paragraph, at most.

Conclusion: End the assignment with a summary of the important points made in the document. No new information may be presented. Writing a conclusion can be done by rewording the opening or reformulation the topic sentences of each paragraph to make a summary for the reader. This section should be a paragraph, at most. 

“Case 9: Harley Davidson: An Overreliance on Aging Baby Boomers”

(International Issues in Strategic Management)

An executive summary:

Harley a true American Icon known as a status symbol with its distinct booming sound popularly known as the “Harley sound”. A well-managed company who turned around after almost facing bankruptcy in the 1980’s. They managed the coup with its amazing quality, unbeatable and hard to imitate brand image and rugged look. The brand has continuous growing sales and revenues from the Caucasian male buyers.

Harley is aware that its dependence on middle-aged, white, male consumer base in the US will be challenged with the baby boomers retiring and going out of the market. They were contributing to 2/3rd of their revenue in the early 2000’s.

The average age of the Harley customer increased to 47 years. The younger male generally cannot afford the vehicle and lack the interest and time to buy a Harley. A group of proud owners of Harley will generally be 4 plus males and mostly American.

Main Concerns:

The crisis looming for the organization is the baby boomers are soon moving to their retirement and they need to target a different group of customers and look for expansion of the company outside the saturated US market.

Recently they have started addressing the issue by redesigning their marketing, sales and business strategy.

Changes in Strategy: Recommendations and Actions

The product was redesigned and new models more suitable to current generation were launched. They shifted their target segment to African Americans, age 18-34 including a woman. They started strategically targeting non-whites and non-male customers. They also stopped discussing the shift of baby boomers.

They have introduced smaller and lighter bikes for woman and buyers are allowed to customize their bikes online.

The Harley has also started looking into improving their sales and positioning themselves in growing international market like Brazil, China, India, Mexico etc

They are available across the globe and provide a premium service to their customers. They are located in exclusive Harley stores and in upmarket areas. Besides the bike, they sell a lot of Harley accessories and products which enhance the image of the brand and make customers feel special. They follow a policy of selective distribution and a strategy of being available where ever their customers are.

Alternative recommendations:

The future target is the younger group who are already super rich with ivy league degrees and high net disposable income. They want to be seen as part of the Harley league. The organization has the challenge to give bikes which maintain and continue building the Harley fan following and same time ensure profits. The future customers who are yet to own a Harley would be interested in a little lower price and might get impacted by price changes but they can be offered financing options.

To sum it up while keeping its brand image intact the company has to focus on building a new target segment and expand its market worldwide.