Bsop588 Project Paper 1

Quality Problems within Harley Davidson Incorporated

Course: BSOP588

Date: April 21, 201

Quality Problems within Harley Davidson Incorporated

Harley Davidson Inc.

Harley Davidson, Inc. is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Harley Davidson, Inc. manufactures and sells heavy weight motorcycles. Harley Davidson, Inc. also manufactures and sells motorcycle parts, accessories, general merchandise and related services. Harley Davidson builds five main styles of motorcycles: Touring, Dyna, Softail, Sportster, and V-Rod. The company operates through two segments: Motorcycles & Related Products and Financial Services. Harley-Davidson was founded by William Sylvester Harley and Brothers Arthur Davidson, Walter C. Davidson in 1903, in a shed located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1907 Harley Davidson, Incorporated was formed when William Davidson joined forces with his brothers and William Harley. (Autoevolution, 2008-2013) AMF incorporated acquired Harley Davidson in 1969 and expanded the capacity of motorcycles from 15,000 to 40,000. In 1981 Top managers of Harley Davidson were unsatisfied the direction in which the company was heading and purchased the company from AMF in a management buyout. Harley Davidson, incorporated became a publicly held company in 1986.Harley Davidson, incorporated is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI. Harley Davidson has over 600 dealerships and manufacturing sites and employs over 4,694 personnel.

Harley Davidson, Inc. has gone through vast changes in previous years, which has led to a decline in quality. A discussion blogger on Ceptara.com had stated that “Harley Davidson has lost its Focus on Quality as evidence by our most recent bike trip and by dozens of others expressing their opinions about HD motorcycles”. (Chris, 2010) While Harley Davidson has made improvements in their processes of quality, there is always room for improvement. In the present competitive environment, survival of the organizations depend their ability to...