Tuesday, December 18, 2007
WHAT'S NEW IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Santa isn't the only one with a mixed bag this time of year. In the world of public affairs myriad issues are coming to the fore or raising their profile. Reliable Plant magazine, for example, notes that a new report from The Conference Board says corporate reputation can both create and demolish shareholder value, and the report outlines ways to ensure the former. On the political front, according to the New York Times, companies, trade groups and lobbyists are all updating their strategies to reflect the prevailing wisdom that in 2009 Democrats will control the White House and both branches of Congress. Business lobbyists in particular are pushing hard for pro-business legislation and regulations before that expected Democratic Party preeminence takes place. Meanwhile, more in keeping with the season, the Wall Street Journal reports that corporations are now focusing more attention on philanthropy in response to both consumer and employee demands. One survey showed that 75 percent of employees would refuse job offers from "socially irresponsible" companies, while 87 percent of potential consumers would prefer products and services offered by companies that contribute to charitable causes. Those stories and more in this addition of the Public Affairs News Monitor, which wishes you and yours a happy holiday and successful new year.
HEADLINES AT A GLANCE
"Recommendations on How Boards of Directors Can Safeguard Corporate Reputation"
"Business Lobby Presses Agenda Before '08 Vote"
"Firm Decisions"
"Building Goodwill"
"U.S. Targets Bribery Overseas"
"Economy Moves to Fore as Issue for 2008 Voters"
"Nonprofits Become a Force in Primaries"
"Presidential Race Revives Painful Workplace Debate"
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
www.pac.org/conferences
Public Affairs Institute
January 6-10, 2008 - Surf & Sand Resort, Laguna Beach, California
The annual Public Affairs Institute is the nation's foremost educational and career building program for rising public affairs professionals. Class sessions are led by faculty members who are distinguished in their particular fields of expertise in a mix of large group lectures and small group discussions, allowing for an interactive, personal learning setting. Beyond the classroom, the Institute creates unparalleled networking opportunities, as each class group meets with faculty members, takes meals and enjoys free-time activities together. Institute participants commit to attending one week-long session every year for three consecutive years. Completion of the Public Affairs Institute strengthens participants' abilities as a strategic analyst, as a counselor to senior management, and as a liaison with governmental policy makers, business and community leaders.
National Grassroots Conference
January 13-16, 2008 - Key West, FL
The largest and most comprehensive conference for grassroots professionals brought to you exclusively by the Public Affairs Council. Join us for world-class speakers, interactive breakout sessions, countless networking opportunities and lessons from the top grassroots programs in the nation. Be part of one of the Council's longest running yearly events and learn the latest grassroots techniques and strategies from the country's best association and corporate grassroots managers.
National PAC Conference
February 24-27, 2008 - St. Petersburg, FL
Register by January 11 to receive the early bird discount!
The Council's highly rated conference offers best practices, tested by the most prominent experts in the field of political involvement. This conference is a unique opportunity to learn more than just administering a PAC and understanding FEC laws. This is a forum where you can make your political efforts their most effective and powerful through crafting your message and developing a cutting-edge program.
COUNCIL SERVICES
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copyright 2007
INFORMATION, INC.
Public Affairs News Monitor may be reproduced in hard copy form or electronically for internal circulation to Public Affairs Council member companies and associations.
"Recommendations on How Boards of Directors Can Safeguard Corporate Reputation"
Reliable Plant (12/06/07)
A new report from The Conference Board asserts that corporate reputation is capable of creating or demolishing shareholder value. The Conference Board's report offers suggestions on how corporate boards can help companies establish a strong reputational risk-management process. First, boards of directors should attain a shared understanding behind the theory of corporate reputation, and the discussion should be linked to an analysis of the company's stakeholder base. To better understand how certain relations are key to attaining the company's long-term goals, directors should hear management's rationale for ranking stakeholder relations. Next, boards should entrench reputation risk into their enterprise risk management programs--perhaps by using The Conference Board Road Map to Risk Governance--to make the company's response to risk events both efficient and consistent. Directors must supervise the development of a holistic, strategic, top-down risk management program where all potentially damaging business events are identified, measured and addressed in a swift manner. Because savvy communication tactics alone cannot restore shareholder confidence, directors must also ensure response strategies are selected based on a resource cost-benefit analysis to address underlying operational risks.(www.reliableplant.com)
"Business Lobby Presses Agenda Before '08 Vote"
New York Times (12/02/07) P. A1; Pear, Robert
Companies, trade groups and lobbyists are revamping their strategies in response to what Apco Worldwide Executive Vice President Craig Fuller calls "a growing probability" that Democrats will win the presidency and control the House and Senate in 2009 for the first time in more than a decade. Many companies and trade groups already have hired Democratic lobbyists and are boosting their campaign contributions to Democratic candidates in preparation. Meanwhile, business lobbyists are pushing hard for new regulations to be implemented before the Bush administration leaves office, noting that the administration is pro-business. In addition to healthcare and environmental issues, business lobbyists are focusing on family and medical leave, with the National Association of Manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce hoping Congress will pass restrictions on the 1993 law that requires firms with at least 50 employees to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to medical problems and caregiving needs. They are pushing for a narrower definition of "serious health condition," or stricter rules for chronic conditions due to concerns about workers taking intermittent leave for unverifiable conditions. These groups want changes made now because Democratic presidential candidates have discussed broadening the law to include paid leave and widen the pool of eligible workers.(www.nytimes.com)
"Firm Decisions"
Wall Street Journal (12/10/07) P. R8; Needleman, Sarah E.
While Giving USA reports that corporations accounted for just 4.3 percent of charitable contributions in 2006, totaling $12.72 billion, nonprofit organization say the absence of red tape makes it easier for them to seek help from corporations than private foundations. Private foundations are flooded with grant applications, and they often require formal proposals and make funding decisions at particular times of the year. According to Council on Foundations Managing Director Matthew Nelson, "Companies have the ability to respond to immediate needs, such as disasters, because they can get volunteers from employees, match donations and give away product." Do Something CEO Nancy Lublin notes that it took only a PowerPoint presentation and several phone calls, emails, and meetings to earn the support of PepsiCo Inc.'s Frito-Lay division, which eventually publicized the organization on Doritos bags. Corporations are focusing more attention on philanthropy in response to consumer and employee demands. Opinion Research Corp. polled 1,100 Americans on behalf of Cone Inc. and found that 75 percent would turn down job offers from companies believed to be "socially irresponsible," and 87 percent would stop buying a product if another brand of similar quality and price was made by a company that contributes to charitable causes.(www.wsj.com)
"Building Goodwill"
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11/29/07) P. D1; Barrett, Rick
There is currently more focus on corporate team-building exercises that help out area charities. GE Healthcare Technologies staff in Milwaukee recently put together Trek bikes for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Care Center and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. In addition to promoting teamwork and problem-solving abilities, the exercises also provide employees with a positive feeling. In certain cases, team-building activities could be regarded as tax-deductible if they have a charitable result. Nick Connor, vice president of TeamBuilders, which has worked with Miller Brewing Co. and other big conglomerates, notes that clients want metrics behind the activities so they can determine their worth at the office. Over the long term, team-building charitable exercises could result in larger donations as the enrollees discover the value of the charities' operations. The exercises can be employed for leadership training and for demonstrating the importance of freely giving. Connor stresses that any team-building activity has to be followed up at work if the lessons are to remain. (www.jsonline.com)
"U.S. Targets Bribery Overseas"
Washington Post (12/05/07) P. D1; Johnson, Carrie
The number of civil and criminal cases filed against American businesses and their subsidiaries abroad has doubled since 2004, according to recent statistics from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Federal officials have charged five FBI officers with uncovering unsavory business practices that could lead to corruption and political unrest under the auspices of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Since the Enron debacle, fraud and corruption have come to the forefront of litigation, with about 60 federal cases pending against chemical, telecommunications, and oil firms. Bribes to foreign customs agents and officials are at the top of the heap, which is unusual considering bribes were once tax deductible in most European nations. Nations such as Germany also are spearheading their own investigations and prosecutions in bribery and other corporate fraud cases, although Britain continues to lag behind. Experts indicate many more cases are being brought because some firms are turning themselves in, hoping for regulatory leniency. Other firms are stepping up their oversight of foreign units and firing perpetrators from their own ranks, rather than involve the government.(www.washingtonpost.com)
"Economy Moves to Fore as Issue for 2008 Voters"
Wall Street Journal (12/04/07); Calmes, Jackie; Phillips, Michael M.
A recent survey by Wall Street Journal and NBC News reveals that the economy and healthcare are the biggest priorities of 52 percent of voters in the upcoming presidential election, while terrorism and social and moral issues--deemed most important by voters prior to the 2004 election--will be taken into account by just 34 percent of voters in 2008. Additionally, the survey indicates that voters are more concerned about healthcare, home-price declines, and surging gas prices than the war in Iraq. "If you look at a market basket of middle-income goods--college tuition, gas, child care, healthcare, food--you will find inflation growing twice as quickly as the overall measure," says Economic Policy Institute Senior Economist Jared Bernstein, who notes that incomes are no longer growing at a rate higher than inflation. Concerns about earnings also might push the issue of illegal immigration to the forefront in the 2008 election. Democratic candidates are proposing plans to ease the healthcare crisis--with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) calling for all workers to be required to have health coverage--cut taxes for the middle class, bolster college financial aid, and hold adjustable mortgage rates steady, among other things. Meanwhile, Republicans have proposed healthcare plans that would scale-back regulation and provide tax incentives for purchasing health coverage.(www.wsj.com)
"Nonprofits Become a Force in Primaries"
Washington Post (12/05/07) P. A1; Solomon, John; Mosk, Matthew
Nonprofit 501(c)(4) groups are making headway in the presidential primaries. Friends of the Earth Action, Americans for Fair Taxation, and NumbersUSA, to name a few, have rolled out radio advertisements or are encouraging members to call or e-mail candidates on various issues. Unlike independent political groups governed by Internal Revenue Service Code 527, 501(c)(4) groups can accept any amount of money from any donor without having to disclose contributions. Former Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chairman Michael Toner notes, "You can do many of the same things you can with a 527, while also shielding your donors, and that is very attractive to the organizers and their backers." However, donations to 501(c)(4) groups are not tax deductible, and FEC Chairman Robert Lenhard says the commission will be looking closely to ensure that those endorsing candidates or soliciting donations do not focus all of their efforts on political action. "We will look at what they say in their ads, and what they say in their solicitations. To the degree that influencing elections is their major purpose, they will need to register as a political committee," says Lenhard. Groups registered as political committees are restricted to donations of $2,300 or less.(www.washingtonpost.com)
"Presidential Race Revives Painful Workplace Debate"
Washington Times (12/03/07); Lopes, Gregory
Two months after President Bush took office in 2001, a Republican argument repealed an ergonomic regulation passed days before the end of President Clinton's term. Experts believe if a Democrat wins the 2008 presidential election, it could start another debate over ergonomic regulations, which encompass a variety of workplace injuries. Almost every Democratic candidate already supports a new ergonomics standard, which they argue would reduce the 360,000 related injuries that occurred in the United States last year. Business groups, such as the National Association of Manufacturers, argue that implementing a national standard would cost the industry too much, with estimates ranging from $4.8 billion to $126.6 billion. During President Bush's time in office, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) took 36 proposed workplace-safety regulations off the agenda as it moved to a more anti-regulatory stance. While OSHA officials point to the 30 percent decrease in injuries between 2002 and 2005 as proof that their plan to only focus on industries with the most risk of injury is working, no citations have been issued for ergonomic hazards since 2005. If a Democrat is elected, they could have trouble reinstating the federal regulation because it was repealed under the Congressional Review Act, which states an agency is not permitted to issue a new rule that is "substantially the same" as a previously repealed rule. "If a Democratic administration went forward with an ergonomics standard, they would likely find themselves in a courtroom very fast," said Marc Friedman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (http://www.washingtontimes.com/)
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