Roll No: P38103 Shivangi Manjarekar Section : B

Rural Management Assignment

Honda Effect Assignment

Introduction
Through Honda motorcycle entry into the USA markets ,this case illustrates excellently how
adaptability of strategies implemented by the companies could either make them play a role
of creative disruptors and win market share or make them fall in slumps. It emphasizes the
point that strategies largely act as an anchor that steers the company in a particular direction
rather than just taking decisions in meeting rooms which trickles down into the very way in
which the organization develop its culture.
The Japanese vs American strategies – how Japs entered the red ocean
Americans have always created rigid strategies which they insisted to carry till the end. This
is complete in contrast to how Japanese make strategies. They make strategies which is
adaptable as per market conditions and consider strategies to be flexible. They exploited
American ways of making strategies, when they arrived in the American markets with their
much economical, efficient and common man friendly Honda motorcycle, even when Harley
Davidson was ruling the markets. They improved upon the existing product to better suit the
needs of the common masses. This design re-engineering was by no means an accident and
had huge investments in R&D and engineers working on design and making motorcycle more
efficient.
Marketing strategy – slowing down the speed
The motorcycles that were present in the market were largely a display of masculinity which
was projected in bulky bikes. Honda shifted the gears by bringing young families into the
focus- which was also their differentiating strategy. Their marketing strategies revolved
around the same. To comply to popular demand- Honda first launched huge motorcycles,
however, due to popular demand- they started launching smaller motorcycles.
Adaptability in strategies – survival of the most adaptable
The case of Honda highlights how tweaking and adapting fast to the changing market
conditions, consumer sentiments and most importantly breaking the myth that decision once
made is unchangeable – could have a potential to influence the market. It depicted how a
company dealt with miscalculations, unforeseen issues and mistakes. Hence strategy in this
case is to be willing to take a decision and undo the decision and implement altogether
different solution all in matter of short span of time as per the goals. This would essentially
involve out of box thinking. Hence as given in case strategy is then boiled down to all the
steps taken by the organisation to become successful by continuous adaptation.