Tom's of Maine, A Critique of a Mission Statement

Tom's of Maine is a natural personal care products Company...," and the mission statement begins here. "They have all natural ingredients and they have a commitment to the environment, this is what I had heard on the radio. That sounds like a company that is worthy of my time. So I decided to analyze Tom's of Maine's mission statement. I saw in this company a business that cares about the environment, so they must care for their employees, customers, and the general public.

"Build a relationship with customers that extends beyond product usage

to include full and honest dialogue, responsiveness to feedback..."

-line no. 4

This line is the key to the goals of the company. It outlines in a concise manner how Tom's of Maine feels towards it's customers. In the business that they are in, mainly toothpaste, the customer is the most important person to please. If the customer is not happy, they need to have a relationship with the business that encourages interaction.

This mission statement clearly defines Tom's of Maine's goals as outlined in the textbook. Thompson and Strickland, two authors mentioned in the text state that a mission statement should: "Broadly outline the organization's future coarse and serve to communicate 'Who we are, What we do, and Where we are headed.'" Toms of Maine clearly was guided by this idea of a mission statement. The mission statement points out that Tom's of Maine is committed to all aspects of it's business. I have broken down their mission statement into three categories.

The first category I will speak about is The Customer. This is where Tom's of Maine's values are written for their customer service ideals. They are concerned with their product's integrity, and they want the customer to know this. As a customer, one should feel safer and trust a company that feels this strongly about their products.

"Serve customers by providing safe, effective, innovative, natural

products of high quality."

-line #1

This shows their