The history of Harley-Davidson began in 1903, in a 10 ' x 15 ' shed located in the Davidson family 's Milwaukee backyard. The Davidson brothers - William D., Walter, and Arthur – and William S. Harley crafted their first motorcycle using the best tools they had available – mostly their hands and their ingenuity.
Since that time Harley-Davidson has learned many lessons on how to operate a business. We are focused on providing our customers with not just a quality product, but also an overall experience. Our mission statement is as follows:
honesty, integrity and personal growth in all of our dealings with stakeholders. Our values are the rules by which we operate.
At Harley-Davidson, we are equally committed to a corporate vision that mandates how we run our business. Within this vision we emphasize the relationships that we deem crucial to our success, including our relationships with customers and suppliers. Our vision states:
HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC. IS AN ACTION-ORIENTED, INTERNATIONAL COMPANY, A LEADER IN ITS COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE OUR MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH STAKEHOLDERS (CUSTOMERS, SUPPLIERS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, GOVERNMENT, AND SOCIETY). HARLEY-DAVIDSON BELIEVES THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS TO BALANCE STAKEHOLDERSí INTERESTS THROUGH THE EMPOWERMENT OF ALL EMPLOYEES TO FOCUS ON VALUEADDED ACTIVITIES.Doing Business With Harley-Davidson
Our vision is our corporate conscience and it helps us to eliminate short term thinking, such as "cashing in" on the intense demand for our motorcycles by giving quantity precedence over quality to save a few dollars per unit. It also encourages every employee in our organization to be acutely aware of his or her role in satisfying our stakeholders.
Harley-Davidson has become the world leader in the