Harley Davidson Business Environment

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness
Donald E. Baker
Strayer University
Dr. Nicole Ortloff
BUS 499-Business Administration Capstone
Oct 17, 2014

Mr. Richard Teerlink age 59 joined Harley Davidson in 1981 and was elected to the board of directors in 1982. In 1988 he was appointed President, and he was named Chief Executive Officer in 1989. Mr. Teerlink is also on the Boards of Directors of Johnson Controls, Incorporated and Snap-On Incorporated (Rethinking Leadership). Mr. Teerlink has been the leader in developing a value-based culture at Harley.
Shareholder Lawsuits: In re Harley Davidson, Inc. Securities Litigation was a consolidated shareholder securities class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. On October 8, 2009, the judge granted defendants’ motion to dismiss, and the clerk of court entered judgment dismissing the consolidated lawsuit. No appeal was taken from the final judgment and the dismissal of the case became final. Subsequently, on March 18, 2010, a group of individuals who appear to be inmates in a federal correctional institution filed a motion to intervene which was immediately dismissed by the District Court because judgment had already been entered. On April 5, 2010, two of the individuals filed notices of appeal of the dismissal. On May 27, 2010, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed the appeals for failure to pay the required docketing fees. The Company must maintain its reputation of being a good corporate citizen and treating customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders fairly. The Company believes it has a history of good corporate governance. Prior to the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”), the Company had in place many of the corporate governance procedures and processes now mandated by the Act and related rules and regulations, such as Board Committee Charters and a Corporate Governance Policy. In 1992, the...