II. Mission Statement
A. Ben and Jerry’s mission statement consists of three dimensions. This mission statement has not changed since 1978. The dimensions are social, product and economic. Under the social dimension their goal is to improve the quality of life of the broad community. They believe that capitalism and the wealth it produces do not create equal opportunity for everyone. Their social mission seeks to meet human needs and eliminate injustices in local, national and international communities. For instance, they realize that their manufacturing process produces waste, specifically water. Instead of paying a larger fee for wastewater disposal, they contracted with a pig farmer to give the water to his pigs. When the farmer ran out of pigs to drink the water, they loaned him the money to buy more pigs.
The product dimension emphasizes the desire to make the finest quality all-natural ice cream available to everyone. They support suppliers and growers that produce all-natural products that have minimal environmental impact. They are strong opponents of the use of growth hormone in the cattle industry.
The economic dimension of their mission statement is focused on increasing profitable growth, creating shareholder wealth maximization and improving opportunities for their employees.
B. Although their mission statement was created out of good intentions, the three dimensions seemed to work against each other. For example, they wanted to produce a high quality ice cream that everyone could afford. They were selling their ice cream for fifty-two cents a cone. In order to make a profit when selling high quality ice cream, you have to cover your costs. The company paid a premium to produce the ice cream and in turn charged a below premium price to its customers. Ben and Jerry were putting Ben and Jerry’s out of business. They reluctantly raised the price and were able to stay in business.
Part of their mission statement is to create shareholder...