Being a good corporate citizen means as much to a brand's identity as to products themselves, a high-ranking official from the world's largest computer company stressed at the International Business School last Monday. Stanley Litow, vice president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs and president of IBM's International Foundation, delivered a keynote address to inaugurate IBS' annual Business, Ethics and Society Week. Litow focused on the importance of coporate citizenship and the steps IBM has taken to connect with the community at large.

IBS Dean Bruce Magid introduced Litow, stressing the importance of corporate governance in this age of international corporations. Magid said that IBS is not only dedicated to producing upstanding professionals, but upstanding community leaders as well.

Litow began by describing the difference between "spare change" and "real change."

The spare change approach, he said, involves a corporation giving a portion of its profits to humanitarian endeavors. IBM stresses "real change" through its corporate citizenship program, he said.

"It's not about philanthropy, it's not about donations, and it's not about check writing," Litow said. "Corporate citizenship is about how you make your money in the first place."

Litow said that companies need to have good environmental, labor and social practices.

"If the business of business is business," he said, why should corporations give away profits? "I say that the business of business is being a good corporate citizen, and that's as much of a brand's identity as products."

Corporate citizenship, Litow said, depends on forming strong relations with the community. IBM employees also volunteer to be on school boards, community boards and other social organizations, he said.

"IBM employees are the community," he said. Through IBM's On Demand Community program, which helps employees find ways in which to contribute to the community, employees have donated a total of 6.8 billion hours of work.

Litow also described the elements of IBM's corporate citizen portfolio, which helps its employees participate in the community. Some of the programs in the portfolio include the matching account for learning, or 401L, which allows employees to contribute funds to a sort of 401(k) to be used in the pursuit of education unrelated to their jobs.

IBM also has a program called Transitions, which helps employees who are nearing the end of their IBM careers find new careers, and a transitions teaching program that prepares employees to teach high school and elementary school math and science that now has 100 participants, Litow said.

Another aspect of this corporate citizen portfolio is IBM's own version of the Peace Corps, that helps young employees understand the developing world, Litow said.

Litow also discussed technology that IBM has developed. IBM took its voice recognition software and worked with literacy teachers to develop a program, using the software, to teach children and adults how to read, he said.

Another technology that IBM developed to benefit the community, Litow said, is Traducir Ahora, meaning translate now. He said that this technology works 40 percent better than the average translation Web site found on the Internet and can also translate e-mails.