Harley Davidson Strategic Analysis
BUAD 4980
Strategic Management
REPORT #1: STRATEGY ANALYSIS
Harley Davidson
Zach Jones
1. INTRODUCTION
This project is one of three reports I will complete as part of the strategic analysis of Harley-Davidson. This first report focuses on strategy analysis and includes the following sections. First, the major concepts related to the competitive advantage analysis will be defined. Second, those concepts will be applied to the case of Harley-Davidson in order to analyze its competitive position in the global automobile industry. The analysis of Harley-Davidson will be followed by its evaluation to identify the major problem the company is facing and a proposed solution to overcome the challenge and continue to achieve a competitive advantage.
2. CONCEPTS Several strategic tools are used to determine whether a firm has achieved competitive advantage. These most tools are SWOT analysis, value chain analysis, and competitive advantage analysis. Each of the tools involved a number of concepts. This section will define the key concepts involved in the SWOT analysis, the value chain analysis, and competitive advantage analysis.
2.1. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a strategic tool used to examine external forces and internal resources in order to determine a firm’s ability to respond effectively to the requirements of its external environment. The concepts related to external forces are defined first, followed by the concepts of the internal resources. The purpose of the external analysis is to identify opportunities (O) and threats (T) in a firm external environment. Opportunities are external factors that a firm can take advantage of to accomplish its objectives. Threats are external factors that can limit a firm’s ability to achieve its objectives. Both opportunities and threats can be either industry or general forces. The purpose of the internal analysis is to identify strengths (S) and
Strategic Management
REPORT #1: STRATEGY ANALYSIS
Harley Davidson
Zach Jones
1. INTRODUCTION
This project is one of three reports I will complete as part of the strategic analysis of Harley-Davidson. This first report focuses on strategy analysis and includes the following sections. First, the major concepts related to the competitive advantage analysis will be defined. Second, those concepts will be applied to the case of Harley-Davidson in order to analyze its competitive position in the global automobile industry. The analysis of Harley-Davidson will be followed by its evaluation to identify the major problem the company is facing and a proposed solution to overcome the challenge and continue to achieve a competitive advantage.
2. CONCEPTS Several strategic tools are used to determine whether a firm has achieved competitive advantage. These most tools are SWOT analysis, value chain analysis, and competitive advantage analysis. Each of the tools involved a number of concepts. This section will define the key concepts involved in the SWOT analysis, the value chain analysis, and competitive advantage analysis.
2.1. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a strategic tool used to examine external forces and internal resources in order to determine a firm’s ability to respond effectively to the requirements of its external environment. The concepts related to external forces are defined first, followed by the concepts of the internal resources. The purpose of the external analysis is to identify opportunities (O) and threats (T) in a firm external environment. Opportunities are external factors that a firm can take advantage of to accomplish its objectives. Threats are external factors that can limit a firm’s ability to achieve its objectives. Both opportunities and threats can be either industry or general forces. The purpose of the internal analysis is to identify strengths (S) and