TOMS Shoes: Helping Soles All Over the World - Essay Example

TOMS Shoes is expanding its community involvement program in another product, eyeglasses, in collaboration with Seva Foundation on the same lines, as in the sale of shoes. For every eyeglass sold, a new pair will be given free to needy children in poor countries. Tom Shoes has been criticized for affecting the sale of local companies. TOMS Shoes has not been transparent enough in reporting the financial details of the company to justify its stance that it is leading to fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. A) What is the ethical issue?

The ethical issue pertains to affecting the local businesses of shoe shops. Another ethical issue relates to the non-publication of the financial statements of TOM Shoes. B) Why is this an ethical issue? This is an ethical issue because local businesses are suffering losses in their business operations, as their sales are not happening.2. Who is affected and how? Local businesses are the most affected stakeholders. Rather than encouraging the local shoe manufacturing industry and creating new enterprise potential, TOMS Shoes is going against their interests.

Instead of helping local businesses how to reduce costs and earn revenue, it is creating a crisis for their survival.3. What leadership issues need to be addressed? TOMS Shoes need to address the issue of making available all its balance sheets for the past and present financial years so that other stakeholders could know the cost incurred by TOMS on a single pair of shoe and the sale price. Until these and other financial details are made public, how can the Company claim its right of doing praiseworthy work in the field of corporate social responsibility?

This is a big leadership issue. No company can claim its right to do social and humanitarian work, although a private company, the claim needs to be authenticated. Critics counter-claim that TOMS One for One program can be a marketing tactic to sell in huge quantity its production of shoes in the name of doing social service. The onus of relieving this burden lies in the management of TOMS Shoes. Its corporate leaders need to be transparent enough about the cost incurred on a pair of shoes to silence the critics.