Business is built from its community and its community from ...

Community responsibility -?businesses and business leaders come out for Omaha

Let?s be honest. Sometimes we cringe when we are told that we are responsible for doing something, like attending a distant relative?s birthday party on a beautiful Saturday afternoon or cleaning the garage when a good book is calling. We just hate being told that ?we have to.? But kicking and screaming, we usually do what we have to do.

Other times, our sense of responsibility wells up and we voluntarily do the noble thing. We visit a great aunt in the hospital after a long day at work and when we leave we think, ?I?m glad I did that. I know she really appreciated the company?? And we smile, feeling good all the way around, for stepping up to what we know is right, for doing what it means to be human.

So it?s not surprising when business people have different responses to the notion of community responsibility. Sometimes I have heard business people rail ?don?t tell me we have to do anything for the community. If I want to, I will. But I am not obligated to do so!? Other times, I talk to business people who enjoy using their position and power to advance community causes. Community responsibility is not a requirement for them, but a right?.a satisfying, thirst-quenching, honor-building right.

Omaha business includes all kinds of people with every kind of attitude about community responsibility. In this, we are like every other metropolitan area. But absolutely everyone I?ve ever talked to about the uniqueness of the Omaha business climate ? newbies in Omaha, business visitors in Omaha, seasoned Omaha leaders ? says the same thing. ?Businesses and business leaders come out for Omaha. They turn up for community events. They sponsor community programs. They donate money and support volunteerism. There is a strong sense of community responsibility here.?

Three years ago, the Omaha Business Ethics Alliance? worked with a cross section of Omaha business practitioners to identify the core values that define our business climate. ?A team of researchers scoured thirty interviews of Omaha business leaders, facilitated numerous focus groups and conversed with the Business Ethics Alliance? Trustees. Five core values surfaced, one was community responsibility. Its definition emerged from the lips of the business people:

a sense of responsibility to the whole community and not just oneself, one?s family or one?s organization; a culture of reciprocity between business and the community where commitment of time, talent and treasure shape the long-term vibrancy of the community and business.

Beautiful words. Inspiring words. The words acknowledge that there is a natural tie that binds us. That self worth evolves from recognizing our relationship with others. That business is built from its community and its community from business.

But how community responsibility is exemplified is different for different business people. For some it means holding onto the Omaha traditions. For others it means finding responsible way to encourage economic development. There are many worthwhile ways to demonstrate community responsibility.

Now is the time to bring the intricacies of the Omaha definition of community responsibility to life! The Business Ethics Alliance? has created a short three minute video that will be presented around town at various public events. The video, and facilitator notes, can also be downloaded from our website for use within organizations to create discussion about the Omaha core value. ?We challenge you to access our entire website (www.businessethicsalliance.org) and introduce its contents to your colleagues at work.

In the next two months, we will be blogging about community responsibility. We will describe best practices, giving examples from Omaha and beyond, of companies and business leaders that exemplify community responsibility to the extreme. Guess bloggers will join in the fun, so be sure to watch for them.

We invite you to play with us. Make comments on our blog. Join in the conversation about Omaha?s community responsibility!

Bev

Beverly Kracher
Executive Director
Business Ethics Alliance?

Source: http://www.businessethicsalliance.org/blog/business-is-built-from-its-community-and-its-community-from-business/

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