ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190074
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
AT THE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE Awards, entrepreneurs who value people and turn a profit were recognized.
Yla Eason recalls the day 12 years ago when her 3-year-old son told her he could never be a super-hero. His action dolls were all white, and he was black.
Six months later, Eason gave her son what he yearned for: a black super-hero doll. But she had to do it the hard way. She created a company to produce some of the first ethnic dolls in the country.
Today, her company, Olmec Toys, has millions of dollars in sales, a sign that big retailers ignore the minority market at their fiscal peril.
Moreover, Eason is one of a growing number of people in all manner of industries who realize that a social vision can go hand in hand with sound management and profits.
She and four other entrepreneurs received the sixth annual Business Enterprise Awards on Tuesday. The awards are given by the Business Enterprise Trust, a nonprofit group founded by television producer Norman Lear.
Other winners this year are: Donna Klein, the work-life director at Marriott International, for starting a resource hot line for the hotel company's lower-wage workers; McKay Nursery in Waterloo, Wisc., for allowing migrant workers to share in profits; Motorola Inc., for paying more than $160 million to train its work force; and Max De Pree of furniture maker Herman Miller Inc., for allowing employees to share in company gains.
In a speech at the awards ceremony, President Clinton said, ``This country will never be what it could be if some people are beyond the message of Max De Pree, Motorola and others'' that all individuals can flourish.
He urged the more than 300 business leaders present to support welfare program changes. ``You have to find a way to make it good business,'' he said.
Undoubtedly, companies are increasingly doing good to satisfy savvy consumers and investors. Yet, the movement toward humane management isn't a public relations gimmick for some.
After surviving downsizing and reengineering, some managers are increasingly appreciating the secret weapon they've always had: people. Progressive companies are realizing that work-life programs or other initiatives once thought ``soft'' actually can help the bottom line.
``This movement toward social responsibility reflects the growing recognition that it's not just top management that's involved in generating profitability,'' said Charles Fombrun, a professor and author of a book on corporate images called ``Reputation.''
A recent conference at New York University's Stern School of Business underscored the link between social responsibility and financial health. A study of 216 companies showed a premium on stock market values for companies with a strong reputation for being socially responsible.
It isn't always easy to do the right thing, award winners agreed. When Eason started her toy company, she was told that blacks don't buy black dolls.
Now, she can hardly go to another toy maker's showroom without seeing multicultural dolls.
``It gives me competitive pressure,'' she said. ``But we have proven we were right - there is definitely a market for these products.''
AP Yla Eason, founder of the Olmec Toys, which makes ethnic dolls, poses with samples of her ethnic doll line last week in New York. Eason received a Business Enterprise Award at a luncheon attended by President Clinton.
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