ANN MCDONALD Daily Reporter Staff Writer 02/21/2003

Although recent scandals have somewhat tarnished the image of corporate America, there are still many companies that are working for the betterment of their community, not just working to put money in their pockets.

But in light of these scandals, businesses may want to work harder to promote the positive things they are doing in the community, human resource professionals say.

Having a corporate social responsibility strategy, which involves being active in the community and promoting ethical business practices, is a good idea for any company to help project a positive image to the community as well as improve its bottom line.

In the Columbus area, there are many examples of businesses practicing good corporate citizenship, said Roy Lewicki, professor of management and human resources at The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business and vice chair of the Council for Ethics in Economics.

"In Columbus, we have many businesses that have demonstrated they are socially responsible," he said. "The bigger businesses are very active in the community, lending key executives to community events or underwriting community and volunteer work. The track record here has been good."

Local businesses such as American Electric Power and Nationwide are active in the community, with executives from the companies chairing many local events and running fundraising programs for local charities.

The bigger the business is, the more aware executives are of the need to have a good corporate responsibility strategy, Lewicki said. But smaller businesses also should be aware of the importance of projecting a positive image in the community, he said.

He noted that even small businesses should have some level of community involvement. A commitment to a larger cause sends the message that the business is responsible in the community, he said.

Also, businesses should not feel guilty about promoting what they are doing in the community.

"If Joe's Repair Shop is sponsoring a softball team, there is nothing wrong with them putting their name on the jersey," he said. "Some kind of recognition is appropriate."

Nobody expects a business to participate in all of the local events and charities, but picking one or two selected events or organizations is a good idea for any company. It is also a good idea to involve employees in projects throughout the community, Lewicki said.

"Smaller businesses have a tough choice because their first priority is to keep their business surviving. But building up their image is also important. (Community involvement) is always beneficial."

Before practicing "corporate responsibility," though, companies must be ethical and honest in their business interactions with customers, other businesses and employees, he said. That, more than anything else, will affect the overall level of trust of the business in the community.

Neil Drobny, a principal with Avantt Consulting in Columbus, said most businesses practice "invisible" corporate responsibility. Although demonstrating corporate responsibility through participating in charities and donating to non-profits is a good idea, it is also important that the same social responsibility is put into the day-to-day decision making process, he said.

"Executives often say 'its right that we do this project this way,'" he said. "Although you won't hear them talk about doing it for corporate social responsibility, it's part of their business DNA."

Drobny said he sees businesses practicing corporate responsibility more now than ever before and he expects that it will become even more important for businesses in the future.

"It's an issue that is on everyone's mind, more and more people are conscious of it," he said. "People expect it from companies, they expect it from employees and customers, and they expect it in the community."

Lewicki said he does not think more businesses became interested in corporate social responsibility strategies after the Enron and WorldCom scandals. Enron has not affected the reputations of small-to-medium sized businesses and although it may have affected larger ones, most of those businesses already had corporate responsibility strategies in place.

"The level at which (a company) participates in activities is determined by the value system of the community in which they are in," he said.

Lewicki and Drobny agree that businesses could do more to communicate their civic involvement to the community. Companies often fail to communicate their activities to the community so people are not aware of their involvement, Drobny said. Many businesses have clearly defined environmental, health or safety policies, even though the public may not be aware of them.

Lewicki said that it is just "good marketing" for a company to get the word out to the community about what they are doing.