Mission and Vision New Balance is one of leading producers of sporting footwear worldwide. The company’s mission is to demonstrate “responsible leadership” and “build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host” (Veleva 1). The company’s vision is to remain a socially and environmentally responsible company that is managed in accordance with philanthropic principles. Objectives One of primary objectives of the company is to develop an efficient CSR (corporate social responsibility) leadership. It implies creation of the CSR department. Strategic Philosophy The company is aimed at becoming (or rather remaining) a leader in the field of sporting footwear production and promoting such concepts as social and corporate responsibility among other producers. New Balance is committed to contribute to development of communities as well as its employees. The company’s motto to do the right thing translates into New Balance’s philosophy to change the world for better. Central Issues The company, as any other manufacturer, has to address issues in four major areas: overall governance, community support, operations, and products/services. At that, such areas as human and labor rights, transparency, greenhouse gas emissions regulation and health and safety of products get the company’s special attention. Hence, it has been found that major strengths of the company (according to New Balance’s employees) are history, values and integrity. Nonetheless, it was also found that employees felt lack for an integrated approach to leadership. The company introduced various incentives that contributed to development of the company, employees and communities but those incentives were not integrated into a particular paradigm. Another example of this is the company’s policies on greenhouse emissions and recycling. The company has done a lot in this sphere but successful incentives have not been made known to the public or even to the employees. Likewise, the company has employed revolutionary strategies in the field of product safety diminishing the use of hazardous materials but it remain unknown to the public. It is also necessary to note that the company lacks transparency. Admittedly, being a privately owned business, New Balance does not need the same degree of transparency as a public company. Nonetheless, contemporary consumers are willing to buy from transparent companies and this is a challenge for New Balance. Recommendations One of the most important things to do is development of strong CSR leadership. The company should have the department responsible for identifying issues and coming up with effective solutions. The department should also shed light on numerous incentive of the company. There should be a particular plan of incentives. Employees should know what is the company doing and why it is doing this or that. All these incentives should be known to the public. Notably, employees as well as communities are totally satisfied with the company’s operations (Veleva 13). The company does not need to change HR policies or incentives contributing to development of communities. However, New Balance has to highlight