Video Case: J Timberland Walks the Walk

Video Running Time: 13:36

Organization Discussed: Timberland

Concepts Spotlighted in Video:

• Business ethics
• Social responsibility
• Ethical standards.
• Branding
• Quality
• Competition
• Customer satisfaction
• Collaboration
• Innovation

You know people who talk the talk of volunteerism and service. But do they walk the walk as well? Timberland is an extraordinary example of an entire company based on walking the walk of social responsibility? in its own boots. The Stratham, New Hampshire-based company has been making high-quality, durable work boots for decades under the name of Timberland, and prior to that under the name of the Abington Shoe Co., which Timberland”s founder Nathan Swartz purchased in the 1950s. The firm is probably best known for its waterproof leather boots, but it has added new lines of footwear that include casual fashion shoes, boat shoes, and hiking boots, as well as clothing and outerwear. While continuing to build its reputation as a brand that stands for durability, ruggedness, and the American outdoors, Timberland has been constructing a reputation for integrity and commitment to the community as well.

Ken Freitas, Timberland”s vice president of social enterprise, loves to talk about the ways that his company has been able to build social responsibility right into its brand. Doing good and doing well are not separate things, he says. We”re a business? part of our profits get put back into the enterprise and community.Timberland implements this commitment through a series of programs in which its employees ? including top managers? and corporate dollars participate. Through its Path of Service Program, employees receive up to 40 hours of paid time per year to participate in community service projects at local schools, day-care centers, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), food banks, and the like. They might clean up a nearby beach or help build a park. Years ago, Timberland established its Service Sabbatical Program, in which three- to six-month sabbaticals are awarded to as many as four employees who wish to use their professional skills in assisting local nonprofit organizations full-time. Then there”s the Global Serv-A-Palooza, the annual worldwide, companywide celebration during which 2,000 employees, vendors, and community partners participate in a day of service.

Timberland”s organized approach to community service began in 1989 following a phone call from a new volunteer program called City Year, which was based in Boston. As part of City Year, graduating high school students from diverse backgrounds would take a year off before starting work or college to participate in community service. Because many of the volunteer jobs involved outdoor work, City Year asked Timberland to donate 5O pairs of its work boots to the cause. Timberland agreed, and the next year City Year requested 70 pairs. A relationship was born during which both City Year and Timberland have grown nationwide. To date, Timberland has invested more than $10 million in the program and now outfits every City Year volunteer in boots, pants, shirts, jackets, and rain gear. Yes, Timberland is helping to build City Year, notes Ken Freitas. But City Year is helping to build Timberland.

How does Timberland measure the success of its community service programs? One of the key challenges in a social responsibility program is measurement, admits Freitas. How do you know if it is successful? One way Timberland has been able to keep track of this is through joint marketing efforts with City Year. When a retailer in Philadelphia asked Timberland to make red boots to satisfy its younger customers (instead of the traditional tan work boots), Timberland balked at first. But then managers realized that red was the official color of City Year, and red boots might become the signature footwear of City Year volunteers. So Timberland made the boots and supplied them to the Philadelphia retailer as well as City Year participants, and all three organizations experienced growth in the Philadelphia area. This type of growth is reflected in Timberland”s revenues, which currently reach more than $1 billion each year. But Freitas cautions against overdoing measurement. What brings people to a brand isn”t necessarily measurable, he explains. So Timberland adopts a management and magic philosophy that incorporates tangible results while leaving room for the unexpected or unexplainable.

At Timberland, social responsibility starts at the top. Our company has a strong set of values that form the resolve for all that we do in the community? humanity, humility, integrity, and excellence, writes Jeff Swartz, president and CEO. We strive to lead as responsible corporate citizens and to invest our resources, skills, ingenuity, and dedication to create positive change. If you happen to attend a Timberland national sales meeting, you”d better leave your golf clubs and swimsuit at home and wear your work boots instead. You might spend the day building a playground.

Chapter 2 Video Case Questions for Critical Thinking

1. In what ways does Timberland fulfill its responsibilities to consumers, employees, investors, and society as a whole?

2. In addition to a climate of social responsibility, do you think Timberland is likely to foster a climate of ethical awareness throughout its organization? Explain your answer.

3. In what ways does Timberland”s Path of Service Program help develop the quality of its workforce?

4. Think of a small or large company in your hometown or in the town where you go to school. In what ways does the company serve its community? If it does not, describe ways in which it could.

Experiential Exercise

Our approach to building and sustaining strong communities includes three primary strategies: civic engagement, environmental stewardship and global human rights.What is Timberland doing in each of these areas?

Go to Timberland”s websitehttp://www.timberland.com/corp/index.jsp?page=csroverview

What is Timberland doing about climate change? How does the company approach resource consumption? How is Timberlandimproving the quality of life for approximately 175,000 workers in 290+ factories in 35 countries? What more could Timberland do to be socially responsible?