COMMENTARY ON PARTNERSHIP : Businesses Should Lead Efforts in Community Cooperation : Orange County Together provides a blueprint for protecting and providing opportunities for residents.

In this giant metropolitan region of 12 million people, problems are no longer neatly confined to specific communities. The Los Angeles riots of April, 1992, convincingly demonstrated that and struck a chord of critical self-analysis--not just in our neighbors to the north but here in Orange County as well.

Many Orange County residents are rightly concerned that a similar explosion of frustration, anger and violence might yet happen here.

We have to face the fact that government alone ought not, and cannot, solve the problems or avoid the crises looming in the future. Neither can community agencies, businesses and civic organizations, by themselves, launch a recovery from massive social upheaval.

But together we can.

The best work that is being done to ameliorate the results of the Los Angeles riots is being done through partnerships: the coming together of community, church, business, government and public agencies in cooperative, coordinated and focused efforts.

One such important effort, Rebuild L.A., was established after the damage was done. Orange County Together has been created to help prevent the damage from occurring.

Orange County Together is a thoughtfully designed project initiated by the United Way of Orange County and the Orange County Human Relations Commission. It has brought together diverse residents who have evaluated the state of human relations in our county and developed a blueprint to protect and provide opportunities for its residents. It is an initiative that I co-chaired along with community leader Becky Esparza, the chairwoman of the Human Relations Commission.

It is also an invitation to my colleagues in the business community to become full partners in transforming Orange County into a safe, prosperous and inviting place to live.

The business community can enable us to learn about, live with and leverage the diversity of cultures in this county to our mutual benefit and safety.

More than 200 residents shared with us their views on the challenges of accepting diversity in Orange County. We listened, then produced a blueprint for action entitled “Recommendations and Plans for Transforming Orange County.” Though broadly written, it provides specific direction and partnership opportunities to the broad spectrum of community and government entities operating here. Key recommendations propose that we:

* Reduce hate crimes by building collaboration between law enforcement and victims’ groups.

* Promote programs that teach us to understand the values of the county’s various cultures and how to integrate them into the general community.

* Advocate “community policing,” a service-oriented, problem-solving partnership between law enforcement agencies and the community.

* Create partnerships between businesses and the public schools to develop programs that increase the skills of students and their opportunities for employment.

* Promote the hiring of a diverse work force.

So why should business take a leadership role in this effort?

First, a business is a “resident” of a particular community. The social climate of its community has as much to do with its success or failure as any economic condition.

Second, business depends upon the community for most of its work force. It is critical that the community provide a dependable, trained and stable work force that meets the specific needs of the business community. It is the responsibility of business to identify those needs in order to provide for its future management and labor force. Business as mentor to students and financial support to schools are just two critical programs in this effort.

Third, the people in a community are the purchasers for much of the products produced by its businesses. It is important to have a stable and employed community that, quite simply, gets along and has money to buy those products. It is equally important that the public be able to discern the good will and commitment of the business.

Fourth, businesses may be tempted to move to communities that appear to be more conducive to profitability. However, it is often more cost effective to remain and invest in the revitalization of existing communities with huge markets and established infrastructures, like those here in Orange County.

By participating as partners with Orange County Together, business can discover new partners from the larger community who will assist in developing creative responses to its specific requirements.

More important will be the demonstration that business is committed to the development of the community--its people, children and institutions--by recognizing the value of working in partnership with the wider community. And that’s good business for all of us.