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Organizational culture change case study
Organizational culture change case study
Organizational culture change case study
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Harley-Davidson Inc. was founded in 1903 and produced most of its motorcycles to be sold to the US military during World War 1. In 1953, Harley-Davidson became the only US motorcycle manufacturer for the next 46 years (Harley Davidson Museum). In 1988, Mr. Richard Teerlink was appointed the Chief Operating Officer of Harley-Davidson Inc. until 1997 (Bloomberg). Mr. Teerlink started with Harley around 1981 as VP and CFO of Harley, which was when the company was trying to reshape its corporate culture. This was a time when the company was facing serious competition from Japanese motorcycle manufacturers like Honda, who were continuing to take up US market share since the 1960s. Harley-Davidson Inc. had to transform itself and break away from the typical corporate culture in order …show more content…
Teerlink was the CEO of Harley Davidson Inc. he restructured the informal culture of the company into a formal culture. This allowed people of the company to be more aware of the company’s goals and offered them a new style of training. He did this to become on the same level of efficiency as the Japanese competitors. In an interview, Mr. Teerlink was asked what set Harley Davidson apart from its competitors he responded saying, “Harley-Davidson doesn 't sell transportation, we sell transformation. We sell excitement, a way of life" (New York University). This was a good description of what Mr. Teerlink had planned for the company and how he would start Harley-Davidsons international venture. He knew the company had a niche in the heavyweight motorcycle industry with its brand name, so the company started licensing deals. The company produced many items for owners, such as t-shirts, jewelry, and leather goods, which they expanded into their international markets. In 1993, the company was able to acquire a 49% interest in the Buell Motorcycle Company. This allowed Harley-Davidson engines to be built with performance motorcycles, which opened up a new market for the
Needless to say, that experience has changed over time. It began from a simplistic design in 1904 as a motorized bike. However, as time progressed it brought about the introduction of the biker gang era. These were the bad asses image riding their heavy bikes down the highway, rebels who refused to give in to society’s pressures. It was the time of the Hell’s Angels, with their patches, long hair, and untidy beards that became the symbol of freedom on the road. They created the mantra of the bad ass dude on a bad ass American bike and no one was gonna tell him what to
Harley Davidson has built a brand that is more than just the spread eagle on a load rumbling motorcycle, but for those who purchase a Harley they are purchasing a lifestyle, an experience, or piece of American culture if you will. Due to this differentiating factor Harley has been able to charge a premium for its products and still be successful against its lower priced competition. Harley built upon this lifestyle when it created the Harley Owners’ Group (HOG). Harley would promote shows, rallies and rides through HOG in the US and even in other countries. This helped to build its coveted image into more of an exclusive club.
Allstate insurance is the second largest property and casualty insurance company by premiums in the United States. Allstate insurance handles about 12% of the U.S home and auto insurance market. (Allstate, 2014). Many of Allstate’s customers fall under what one could refer to as a traditional selection of insurance for automobiles. Recently, Allstate has noticed a major shortcoming in lifestyle insurance, which includes coverage for motorcycles, boats, and other recreational vehicles, in comparison to its competitors. The motorcycle insurance sector is a 10.4 billion dollar industry and growing (PRWEB, 2012). The U.S. Department of Transportation website reports some astounding figures, including that 5,370,035 motorcycles were registered three years before the article, 7,138,476 motorcycles registered at the time of the article, and grew to 9,477,243 registered motorcycles at the end of 2012 (NHTSA, 2013). It is obvious as to why Allstate would identify motorcycle insurance as a worthy lifestyle product to devote marketing research dollars into in order to develop new strategies for cornering a share of the market.
Early on in the novel he is introduced as a fellow veteran and childhood friend of Tayo’s, much like Rocky. Unlike Rocky, however, Harley is no longer striving to leave the reservation and be accepted into the world of the whites, he is trying to relive being in the army, the feelings of equality, of being desirable. “Harley didn’t use to like beer at all… Something was different about him now, after the war. He drank a lot of beer now.” By giving a clear distinction between his prewar and postwar drinking habits, Silko emphasizes the change his character has undergone, the effect war has on these reservation veterans. They use beer as a way to avoid their problems, numb all the pain accumulated from the white man’s war. People such as Harley find themselves pursuing their past, hiding from even the present, such as when he and Leroy were able to obtain a junk pickup truck. They literally run from their issues, spending their time just drinking, sleeping, and driving a pickup they owe money for. Harley’s life ends in this very truck “The old GMC pickup was crushed around them like the shiny metal coffin the Veterans Office bought for each of them… It was not much different than if they had died at Wake Island or Iwo Jima” This similarity is highlighted by Silko as a way to remind us that, although veterans like Harley had survived the war, they never truly lived afterward, because they so heavily dwelled on their
Sales and profits reached record levels in 1984, and in 1986 Ford surpassed General Motors in income for the first time since 1924. In addition, Ford’s market share increased to just under 20%. Ford Motor purchased several companies in the mid 1980’s, including the First Nationwide Financial Corporation, the New Holland tractor division of Sperry and 30% of Otosan, the automotive subsidiary of the Turkish Koc Group.
...es how powerful of a symbol it has become. You wouldn’t consider the fact that someone drives a Honda Accord a defining characteristic of his or her identity but somehow that changes when it becomes a Harley Davidson Heritage Softtail. "Four wheels move the body two wheels move the sole" (Harley Davidson Ad/ 1992). It becomes clear that the motorcycle is much more than a vehicle; it is a manifestation of American values. When you break it down nothing seems more American that freedom, and brotherhood. Film has fully capitalized on these characteristics helping make the motorcycle a powerful image that has had a defining impact on American culture.
Foreign markets were beginning to show promise with the vehicles that were going to put out on the market. The Ford Motor Company began to feel the pressure and felt that it needed to be in the limelight of the competition. Lee Iococca, the CEO of Ford, decided that it was time for a change and thus the Ford Pinto was introduced. However, the Pinto had numerous flaws that cost the Ford Company more than ever anticipated.
In 1903 the Ford Motor Company came to be. Ford, along with other investors including John and Horace Dodge raised $28,000 and in the first 15 months produced 1700 Model A cars. These cars were known for their reliability, yet were still too expensive for the average American. Over the next five years Ford and his engineers produced models with the letters B through S, the most successful of which was the Model N (priced at $500) , and the least successful was the Model K (priced at $2500). It was obvious from the Model N that the key to the companies success lay in inexpensive cars for a mass market. The answer that Ford and the American consumer were looking for was the Model T.
This case study is about “Specialized Bicycle Components Inc.” known as Ride the Red “S”. Specialized was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard. According to Chris Murphy, director of marketing for Red “S”, specialized is for serious riders. He says, “The customer is buying the ride from us, not just the bike.” The company began to produce its own bike parts by 1976, and introduced the first major production mountain bike in the world in 1980. Specialized now has an extensive global distribution network of 5000 retailers in 35 countries in Asia, North America, South America, and Australia. They maintained a reputation as the technological leader in the bike and bike accessories. The formal mission is still the same since they established the company “To give everyone the best ride of their life.”
The motorcycle industry offers products which can be viewed as luxuries or wants as opposed to necessities. When concerning Harley-Davidson, most motorcycle owners have purchased their bikes as a second vehicle, using them more during weekends and off-time instead of during the work week. This implies that the motorcycles serve for recreational purposes and thus are an item which can be expendable at times. This has hurt the industry recently with the slight recession the United States economy is facing. Another interesting thing to note about the motorcycle industry is the different appeal bikes carry in different global regions. In the United States for instance, Harley-Davidson has had much success because of the market trends and tastes people enjoy. Harley-Davidson has benefited from a U.S. market which enjoys casual and recreational riding. This isn’t necessarily the case overseas, as in Europe the trendy pick is a sleeker street bike, with a focus on speed and handling as opposed to power and comfort.
Italian manufacturer Piaggio ranks as one of the world’s top four players in its core business. It has consolidated leadership in the European 2-wheeler market. Piaggio should not miscalculate its competitors. Competition in the industry is very powerful, not only nationally but internationally as well. This is due to two well-established companies in this sector which are the Japanese Yamaha and Honda. Yamaha and Honda strengths are their long-run experience in the sector and the high quality image of products. Due to participations to the motorcycle championships, these two companies constantly receive positive feedbacks to their efforts in researching for first class products. In the future, other kinds of competitors are expected to arise: Chinese companies whose ability to imitate and create similar products at highly competitive prices is getting more and more dangerous (Piaggio, 2008)
Harley-Davidson was founded in 1903 by William Harley and Arthur Davidson and continued to grow throughout the First and Second World Wars, before being absorbed by American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969 (James & Graham, 2004; Johan Van & Brian, 2000). Facing stiff completion from Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, AMF sold Harley to a group of executives led by Jeff Bluestein and Vaughn Beal (James & Graham, 2004; Teerlink & Ozley, 2000). A tariff on imported heavyweight motorcycles and a public offering put Harley-Davidson on sound financial footing. Richard Teerlink joined the company in 1987 as President and brought about substantial structural change working with consultant Lee Ozley (Teerlink & Ozley, 2000). Today, Harley-Davidson is a cultural phenomenon consisting of Harley-Davidson Credit and Insurance, ...
The lack of competition for Harley-Davidson gave them a profitable advantage and they became quite successful with the sales of their motorcycles. However, by1969, Harley-Davidson experienced some financial hardships through losing ventures and was purchased by American Machine and Foundry Company(AMF). As time went on Honda and Kawasaki entered the U.S. market and by 1981 Japanese motorcycles were viewed as a high performance motorcycle that was also dependable. By 1987, Harley-Davidson was a publicly traded company that has removed its product line into four different styles with a unique engine. Their quality improved as well. Through all the hard times, Harley-Davidson faced they always seemed to bounce right back. (Strategic Management ,
the only person other than Ford to successfully break in to the automotive industry. (Henry Ford Biography, 2015) The second car produced by Ford was the Model N, a $600 dollar four-cylinder automobile which became the bestselling car in the country. (Henry Ford Biography-Childhood, Life, Achievements & Timeline, 2015) Much of the Ford’s success was due to the assistants that Ford had. James S. Couzens, C.H.Willis, and John and Horace Dodge, the Dodge brothers who would eventually start Dodge motors learned a lot from Ford at this time. (Henry Ford Biography, 2015) In 1907 profits were over $1,100,000 dollars and the company had a worth of $1,038,822. This was substantial amount of money at this time. After the success of the first two models Ford had a vision for a better, cheaper, motorcar called the Model T which got its name due to the fact the o-s where not approved or liked by Ford. So, in 1908, the Model T was introduced to the public. (Exhibits, 2014) The Model T was easy to
Corporate culture is the shared values and meanings that members hold in common and that are practiced by an organization’s leaders. Corporate culture is a powerful force that affects individuals in very real ways. In this paper I will explain the concept of corporate culture, apply the concept towards my employer, and analyze the validity of this concept. Research As Sackmann's Iceberg model demonstrates, culture is a series of visible and invisible characteristics that influence the behavior of members of organizations. Organizational and corporate cultures are formal and informal. They can be studied by observation, by listening and interacting with people in the culture, by reading what the company says about its own culture, by understanding career path progressions, and by observing stories about the company. As R. Solomon stated, “Corporate culture is related to ethics through the values and leadership styles that the leaders practice; the company model, the rituals and symbols that organizations value, and the way organizational executives and members communicate among themselves and with stakeholders. As a culture, the corporation defines not only jobs and roles; it also sets goals and establishes what counts as success” (Solomon, 1997, p.138). Corporate values are used to define corporate culture and drive operations found in “strong” corporate cultures. Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Bonar Group, the engineering firm I work for, all exemplify “strong” cultures. They all have a shared philosophy, they value the importance of people, they all have heroes that symbolize the success of the company, and they celebrate rituals, which provide opportunities for caring and sharing, for developing a spiri...