Good Example Of Tom’s Shoes Essay

TOM’s shoes does offer a unique product – a pair of comfortable shoes that can be worn by any person of any age. At the same time, the company exhibits a different model – that of selling and giving. For every pair of shoe that is sold by the firm, it gives away another pair of shoes to the less fortunate and marginalized. According to the firm’s website, it has given away over 35 million pairs of shoes. Thus people could be said to be attracted not only to the shoes, but to the nature of its “One for One business model. The element of philanthropy is indeed attractive to consumers nowadays, who are more conscious of the social responsibility element of companies they patronize. The company’s success is reflective of how consumers today are more conscious about where their money goes.
As the company has factories around the world, it has taken the services of a third party in order to perform audits such that no labor laws are violated, and such that all the workers are treated fairly. Regular inspections of the factories and other transit hubs are conducted in order to ensure that there is an adequate supply of the shoes coming in while all the workers involved in the production and transport of the shoes are treated equitably and fairly.
The One for One business model is reflective of the interconnectedness of all the stakeholders of the company. The model is able to respond to the demands of the new consumers, who are now conscious of where their precious dollars go and how they are used to help others. It is also reflective of the demands of the laborers and the basic resource producers, that they be treated and paid fairly for their work. If the workers and basic resource producers are not paid fairly, then they would be able to produce high quality shoes that would be enjoyed by customers and the recipients of the giving program around the world. If there was no giving program, then the sales of the company may be lower, as consumers will gravitate towards those companies that have a strong giving or poverty reduction component in their strategies. The giving component has created a “win-win” situation for all the stakeholders of the company, including the company itself.