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2 pages/≈550 words
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APA
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Management
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Case Study
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Harley-Davidson Motor Company Operations Strategy

Case Study Instructions:

The case reports should be concise (2 pages, 1 inch margins, 11 or 12 point font, exhibits excluded) and focus on the preparation questions in syllabus.
State clearly your assumptions, analysis and recommendations.
Case: Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Chapter 12 in textbook)
Case preparation questions (slightly modified from the questions in the case in Chapter 12):
The objective of this case is to investigate various approaches to change capacity and to distill the key drivers that guide the appropriate capacity strategy. You should complement your qualitative analysis with an NPV analysis. (This is a very realistic case and to capture some issues you will have to make some extensions to the basic NPV analysis, as described in Appendix A of the textbook.)
1) Describe and evaluate Harley’s operations strategy (using the framework of Chapter 1).
2) Demand uncertainty is a major factor in strategic capacity decisions. How does Harley-Davidson take uncertainty into account in its planning processes? How does Harley-Davidson’s history affect its decision-making process?
3) What is your recommendation to Harley-Davidson? Complement your recommendation with an NPV analysis. Use a discount factor 12% and a marginal tax rate 37%. (Hint: You may start with forecasting future demand for Harley Davidson.)
4) What other qualitative factors should Harley-Davidson consider when analyzing the alternatives?
Hand-in: Case report on Harley-Davidson.
Simulation: The Polysilicon Industry 

Case Study Sample Content Preview:

Case Report: Harley-Davidson Motor Company
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Case Report: Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Harley-Davidson Motor Company was once the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer in the United States in the 1900s. The company had over $5 billion in annual sales and more than ten thousand employees (Scott, 2008). Its common manufacturing facility was in York, Pennsylvania, where it produced more than 200,000 motorcycles per year. The company also had plants in Wisconsin and Missouri. The company also sold a line of motorcycle parts and accessories and operated a large number of more than 600 dealers in the US. Harley-
Description and Evaluation of Harley-Davidson’s Operations Strategy
Harley-Davidson's operations strategy focuses on creating unique customer experiences through its products and services. The company designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles and provides related services such as insurance, financing, and parts and accessories. Harley-Davidson's operations strategy is based on two pillars: The company strives to be flexible to respond quickly to changing customer needs and market conditions. Harley-Davidson continually invests in research and development to bring new products and services to market. The company's operations strategy has helped it to become a market leader in the motorcycle industry.
Davidson Motor Company has two operating facilities: the Capitol Drive plant in Wisconsin, which produces the engines and transmissions for the super heavyweight models, and the Sportster and the New York facility that assembles the final compartments. The company has outsourced very few of its components, and this leads to producing many of its parts in-house. Harley Davidson had its operating strategy after a visit to Japan since they used robots and cheap labor to create a lower cost structure, and yet Japan was the biggest competitor. The Productivity Triad is what the company embraced. Employee Involvement is where the employees increase members' input into decisions that affect the company's organization and the employee's well-being.
Harley-Davidson's products are known for their quality, durability, and style, and the company has a strong brand identity (Coutinho et al., 2018). In addition, Harley-Davidson's operations strategy has enabled the company to be responsive to market changes and introduce new products and services regularly. Moreover, the company ensures that all employees participate fully in solving any arising problems in the company and controlling the quality. Just-In-Time Inventory, or what Harley Davidson called the Materials as Needed, reduces inventory and advocates the production of small quantities of materials only. This leads to an increase in the efficiency of the operations and eliminates waste. Statistical Operator Control is yet another operating strategy that deals with sufficient employee training that helps them measure the quality of their output and consequently assure quality throughout the process. This has led to stock turnings increasing from 5-20, and productivity has increased by 50%. The sale of motorcycles has increased from 76%-99%.
How does Harley-Davidson Motor ...
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