Custom «Honda Research Paper & SWOT Analysis» Essay Paper

Honda Corporation is one of the leading automobile manufacturers and dealers across the world. It is the first Japanese company to produce the most luxurious brands in the automobile industry. This company is working with clear objectives and goals that have contributed to the overall effectiveness and efficiency in its operations. However, business environment also offer various circumstances for both benefits and losses. Due to this, then it is necessary to analyze overall weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities for Honda Corporation. Weaknesses and threats play an important role in enabling Honda to reassess its policies and strategies that should improve their overall operations (Kerin, Hartley, and Rudelius 58).

Honda Corporation demonstrates various strengths in the business environment, which have been nurtured and developed through its long and sustainable operations within the automobile industry. This company has a very powerful research and development venture that aims to improve company’s brands and get a fair view of the overall and exact needs of the potential consumers. In addition, the company benefits a lot from innovations because it improves product qualities and even bring up new designs that enable adequate competitiveness for the company. However, the third strength is the company market share in leadership. Leadership in the market is a good sign that a business entity has more chances of attracting better sales at relatively best prices compared to competitors.

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This company also proves having powerful brand equity in the market. As a brand it can be equated to others, but at the same time it forms a basis for growing. This strength is a good one for Honda Corporation since it enables sustainability of business operations across the existing market segments. However, in some cases brand equity has enabled this company to expand to other regional markets without fear of offering inferior products. Furthermore, Honda Corporation offers extremely different and unique products that attract reliable demand around the market.

Besides market qualities and strengths, Honda Corporation has a major strength on using revolutionary engine technology. This technology is gaining success every new day because Honda Corporation performs new tests that are aimed at improving engine quality of usage. Finally, Honda has earned a great popularity around the world and within many markets regionally. This attribute was and will always be an indirect marketing tool for any business. Many financial analysts term popularity as one of the most beneficial tools for improving success in the business environment.

Honda Corporation suffers from a number of weaknesses, which emanate from the business competitive environment and from within the company’s operations. The cost structure is high comparing to the other automobile manufacturers in the market. This company also requires purchase deposits just like other close competitors such as Nissan and Toyota. Honda Corporation focuses more on international deposits rather than its immediate domestic ones. However, such focus is not quite good because at times international business can fluctuate to worrying levels and domestic markets in such cases would be the best place to sustain the operations and overall sales performance (Honda, 2013).

Civic model is considered one major weakness for this company. Competitors in the business world have considered inventing and dealing in many models that satisfy the needs of many consumers. This has continued to make Honda products inoffensive when it comes to issues of style and design. Another crucial weakness that affects Honda is high prices for even non-luxurious vehicles compared to same classes of vehicles from the other manufacturers. In improving truck line, this company does not really offer much of proposals and products. Other competitors outwit Honda because they come up with very strong products that attract reliable demand and at highly competitive prices.

In terms of opportunities, Honda can widely use the research and development while producing vehicles for sale. Demand and needs of various customers can be analyzed carefully by use of adequate methodologies. Emerging markets are becoming the best opportunities for this company. If Honda focuses more on sales and researches it obtains good opportunity to improve its overall performance for every fiscal year. In terms of popularity, Honda stands to benefit more through improved research and development.

As to the possible threats, Honda is under the effect of several both internal and external threats. One major threat is economic slowdown that normally affects almost the entire business environment. There are many competitors that are operating on lower costs therefore ensuring that prices remain as low as possible. Well, with low cost competitors Honda needs to be more careful on its costs of production. Price wars that normally exist within business environment tend to pose a lot of threat to Honda Corporation because such wars may not favor every dealer in the industry. Other threats include second movers and the presence of substitute products; these pose several threats to Honda and they must be monitored in order to avert possible losses from them.

Competitors in the market exist and Honda is one company that has several competitors. These companies possess various competing brands in the market and Honda really needs to be careful to benefit from such competitors. Direct competitors include Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Ford, and Nissan. All these companies provide very competitive products at greatly differentiated prices in different markets around the world.

There are several environmental factors that can affect the brand or product offered for sale by Honda. Around the business environment, there are five such major factors: social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory factors. All these act differently towards the organization and its stakeholders, customers, and suppliers. Social factors majorly affect behavioral aspects of people, as people are normally the most important resource for the organization. Cultural changes are among those social factors; however, they may affect sales performance and overall demand for Honda products. There could be a shift in tastes as people go for new fashions in the market.

Economic factors are a part of the environmental forces that enable consumer changes based on available disposable incomes by individuals. When consumer incomes are worse, the demand is low since people will not be willing to spend at all. Honda needs to forecast more about the future so that prices of its goods remain attractive even during times when economic conditions are poor. Other environmental forces like technology constantly need costs for upgrades to improve management systems. However, their costs must not be transferred fully to the consumers because they can affect greatly loyal consumers of Honda Corporation. Technological changes are very important and they must occur. Moreover, Honda needs to absorb their costs in an effective manner to avoid frustrating product prices. Honda also can be affected by un-noticeable competitors who may look small and young in the market (Honda, 2001).

The company should therefore find better ways of exerting real competition against other brands around the world. Finally, regulatory factors can hinder or promote a business entity. On an extreme end it can promote fair competition while in some cases it may attract unfair competition to this company. Honda operates across the borders and therefore it will always face various problems touching legal aspects. First, it must ensure that it has enough self-regulation to facilitate perfect and unquestionable operations. It must encourage laws that promote equality and leveled grounds for doing business.

Honda target market is very clear and is well rounded. This company seeks to market its lifestyle through life stages. It wants to improve its position and its New Year budget provides a major boost for company advertising. The company also wants to consume during the dead summers season well so that it attracts very reliable and adequate customers. Honda also wants to focus much on new technologies and by way of smart phones plans to attract more consumers that deserve high quality products.

Key success factors for Honda range from internal factors to external factors. The company has been able to sell its products around the world because it is one of the companies that have invested heavily on technology. In terms of innovation, Honda has succeeded in bringing new styles to the market so that consumers can have a wide range of products to choose from. Internal management for this company is good and since it originates from Japan Honda therefore maintains a good history that possess great loyalty for automobile products.

Recommendations for successful performance contain a short-list of weaknesses and threats to overcome. Honda actually needs to reassess its stance in the market with the aim to end with threats that bring about huge loses. However, Honda also needs to utilize domestic market for its products. This market is one that is ever reliable and will never die if it’s nurtured well. Honda should also pay more attention to customer and brand monitoring because some competitors offer their products at low costs. The company also needs to spend more in developing better styles so that consumers can have various designs to choose from. Otherwise, competitors can have their way out. Finally, high cost structure must be avoided as much as possible. An audit of the whole production department should be done just to keep such costs to manageable levels.