It is hilarious that Levi Strauss & Company 17 years ago walked away from China. The reason of this decision was based on it's shared values, which provides the foundation for all the company's decision making. The leadership of CEO Robert Haas, Levi Strauss has redefined its business strategy. Hass decided to focus on a more value-centered management that would emphasize social responsibility and employee rights. As Hass stated "Values drive the business" (Howard 1990). Levi's decisions to leave China was not easily. A company task force worked for three years on developing guidelines for doing business abroad. The standards developed reflect Levi's shared values. The standards, which became known as the "Global Sourcing Guidelines", have two parts. The first is know as the "Business Partner Terms of Engagement" and addresses specific workplace issues that Levi's international business partners control, such as safe working conditions, fair wages, prohibitions against child labor, etc... Second, it is that company inspectors make periodic surprise visits to job sites around the globe. If they discover violations to those rules, Levi's will either require that changes be made on any particular case with the subcontractor. The company found no major violations of its workplace guideliness after making ten random inspections of its chinese subcontrators. Today Levi's brand jeans are produced in China.
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