Social Vision Pays Dividends Awards Honor Firms That Turn Good Deeds Into Profits

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, Eason’s 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 following a keynote address by President Clinton. 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 hotels, for starting a resource hotline for lower-wage workers; McKay Nursery in Waterloo, Wis., 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.

While companies are increasingly doing good to satisfy savvy consumers and investors, the movement toward humane management isn’t a public relations gimmick for some.

Progressive companies are realizing that work-life programs or other initiatives once thought “soft” actually can help the bottom line.

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.

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.”