At Verizon, the Hispanic Support Organization works toward the advancement of its members into management while also volunteering for fundraisers and book drives. At biotech giant Amgen in Thousand Oaks, the affinity groups sponsor lectures on health, wellness, professional development and toss in a game of bingo from time to time. And at aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney/Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, the employee network group for Asian Americans sponsored a recent heritage month event while the college hires group took a field trip to Vandenberg Air Force base for the launch of a rocket powered by a Pratt Engine. Regardless of what they are called, these groups have become an integral part of large corporate diversity programs by melding personal interests of the employees with the overall strategy of their employer. “They marry, if you will, issues of importance and concern to (the employees) with what is important to the company,” said Nadia Younes, director of Diversity and Work-Life for Amgen. where membership in its nine employee groups has reached nearly 3,000. Commonly formed at the behest of the employers, these groups play their part in a diverse workplace by creating a comfort zone for individuals of the same gender, race, ethnic background or sexual orientation while at the same time benefiting their careers through mentoring, professional development and exposure to senior level management. How successful these groups are can be difficult to gauge as not all have a clear-cut goal or a mission statement. Success can be defined, said consultant Peter Bye, by having a clear business-related reason for having a group to begin with; putting into place the right policies and practices to guide their actions; and devoting the resources to manage the relationships with these groups. Two-way street “The more you can create the two-way beneficial relationship the better,” said Bye, the former head of diversity for AT & T; and now president of the MDB Group, based in Livingston, New Jersey. Amgen created such a two-way street with its affinity groups that provide mentoring between executives and group leaders to make them more business savvy and learn what is important to the company. The group leaders in return let the executives know what is important to them and their fellow employees. Pratt’s employee groups act as a conduit between the constituencies and management. The newest group for women started in the fall will address aspects of work and family life, said Darold Sawyer, manager of diversity and equal opportunity programs. The company funds the employee groups, which are governed by their own board of directors. Their events, such as Asia Pacific American Heritage Month, take place at the company during work hours. The role of the Hispanic Support Organization at Verizon is less a vehicle for complaints and more for helping the company promote and advance Hispanics into management, said Louis Gonzalez, the group’s California president. The organization keeps the human resources department honest by providing seminars, workshops and mentoring programs to give necessary leadership skills that will justify promoting Hispanics, Gonzalez said. “We are trying to be part of the solution,” Gonzalez said. Professional development At financial services company Merrill Lynch, the professional networking groups evolved from hosting events to raise cultural awareness and discussing issues to helping employees with professional development and creating a coaching environment, said Garrett Gin, director of communications and public affairs for the Los Angeles area. The employees with long careers at Merrill Lynch can reflect on that experience with new workers and share ideas on how to manager their careers. “It’s become a platform to learn from each other,” Gin said. The Pepsi Bottling Group, with a warehouse in the city of San Fernando, has employee groups for African Americans and Hispanics. Time Warner Cable, which has a Chatsworth office, is currently researching starting some groups of its own. Amgen’s groups grew from three informal organizations for women, African Americans, and gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender employees. Then four years ago, the company took the step to acknowledge them, give them budgets, hook them up with executive sponsors and help with goal planning. The passion and interest was present to get the groups started but the membership lacked the infrastructure to move them into a more formal role. “Most of these groups need some sort of leg up in terms of understanding how they can operate,” Younes said. Bye was unaware of public studies gauging the effectiveness of employee groups but has seen private studies. One study, from call centers in Texas, showed that members of the Hispanic employee group had better work attendance and retention than non-members. There have been cases when companies were doing marketing events that Hispanic or Asian employee groups pointed out the lack of bi-lingual literature and speakers for the event, Bye said.

By OSCAR G. DE LEON Contributing Reporter Sheraton Hotels & Resorts operate in 70 countries, serving as inspiration for the company’s diversity efforts at home. Sheraton officials say they draw on that multicultural experience to create a diverse workplace that reflects the many styles and customs found throughout the hotel network and through to individual locations such as Sheraton Universal Hotel. “Associates mirror this diversity and bring a global perspective and cultural sensitivity to their roles and responsibilities at Sheraton,” company officials say. Recruiting at the corporate level includes partnering with women’s and minority associations and conferences as well as job fairs aimed at minority candidates and the company’s outreach efforts to students extend to a diverse range of student associations, publications and conferences. Training and development at the hotel chain emphasizes tolerance and understanding for individual differences, an outlook so key to its strategy that each department is given diversity quotas, and compensation, benefits and training opportunities are linked to achieving those goals. In addition, innovative training programs are designed to foster tolerance, developing employees who are comfortable working with customers of all nationalities and cultures. Sheraton’s own HR strategies support its focus, with unrestricted benefits extended to domestic partners and online language classes provided to associates at every level. Sheraton parent Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., has been named in the top 50 or the noteworthy 25 companies for diversity by DiversityInc. Magazine for the past five years, and in 2007 was also named one of the top 10 companies for Latinos. On the philanthropic front, Starwood is the exclusive hotel sponsor of Special Olympics and of the 2007 Special Olympics Summer World Games, through Sheraton and other hotel divisions. The company expects to donate up to $150,000 based on beds sold through retail channels through June 30 to the cause.

As a health provider committed to having a diverse workplace and serving a multi-ethnic community, Health Net has incorporated a 2007-09 Diversity Strategic Plan to carry out its vision. The strategic plan includes training company leaders about diversity issues, sponsoring programs focused on women and ethnic minorities and hiring workers who have foreign visas. “One of our strategies is to build bridges into the community and tap into the diverse cultural heritage of our communities,” said Brad Kieffer, Health Net’s public relations manager. As such, Health Net hired diversity manager Wanda Kincy to focus solely on diversity issues in the company. According to Kincy, Health Net works with the Urban League to sponsor jobs fairs in the inner city to gain a diverse workforce and actively recruits employees who have H1B foreign visas and TN visas from Canada and Latin America. According to Kieffer, the company’s commitment to diversity is evident by the fact that women make up more than half of Health Net’s workforce in every state the company is in. But that commitment extends beyond the hiring process, Kincy said. The company develops affinity groups for employees of various ethnic backgrounds and lifestyles to provide networking and other professional opportunities. “People don’t check who they are at the door,” she said. “They bring who they are to work and we have to respect that.” Another part of Health Net’s commitment to diversity, Kincy said, is working directly with the diverse community it serves. As such, Health Net helps sponsor the Urban Issues Forum to help bridge gaps between the African-American and Korean communities. Health Net has also sponsored a diversity job fair at its New York location as part of its commitment to hire a diverse workforce. Health Net also works closely with the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center to sponsor AIDS awareness events. New employees at Health Net are put through an online diversity training course in which prejudices and biases are discussed.

The much-anticipated start of scheduled commercial flights from LA/Palmdale Regional Airport began on June 7. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford greeted the passengers aboard the first flight after landing at the new terminal building on property Los Angeles World Airports leases from the military. “The opening of LA/Palmdale is a major step toward realizing our city’s goal of a truly regional approach to meeting the growing demand for air travel in Southern California,” Villaraigosa said. United Express will fly two roundtrips a day between Palmdale and San Francisco International Airport. United was one of two airlines that bid Los Angeles World Airports for service out of Palmdale. A $900,000 federal grant plus additional funding from LAWA, the city of Palmdale and Los Angeles County guarantees monthly revenues for United if it falls short of projections. The airline, in turn, has made an 18-month commitment to stay at the airport. By supporting the new service, area residents will encourage more airline service that in turn will create jobs and economic impact for the entire region, Ledford said. LA/Palmdale is one of the four regional airports owned and operated by LAWA.

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Diversity in the workplace. It means different things to different people. And the subject brings up lots of buzzwords and vague phrases. “Inclusive” is a word that is often thrown around by diversity directors at large companies that have formal programs that promote a “diverse” workplace. That means getting as many people of different ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientation, cultures and physical disabilities included among the work force. Our issue this time features a special report on how diversity is promoted among businesses in the greater Valley area. It’s the first time we’ve done this and we thought it was about time. You may agree or disagree with the honorees we selected to feature in our special report as companies that do a great job in maintaining a diverse workplace. These are 15 companies that our editorial staff here at the paper felt had some programs that were models of how companies can become more “inclusive.” They’re mostly large companies that have the resources to be truly diverse. Oh, yes, the Valley is diverse believe it or not despite its reputation as being kind of a white-bread family type place. And that is one of the reasons I felt we should do this report. It’s not all a white-bread family type place. It’s an incredibly diverse place. There are many Latinos, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, gays, lesbians and transgenders, disabled and people of many, many cultures. I forgot a lot of different diversity classifications here I’m sure. And that’s the point. There is no majority population anymore even though in the business community the power may still be largely held by the white guys. Oh, yeah. We’ve included women in discussing diversity. Because women, no matter what color they are, still haven’t achieved equality in many companies. Our special report hopefully sheds some light on the fact that diversity is very important to maintaining a productive and happy workplace. And, yes, that’s good for the bottom line. But better yet, including everybody is the right thing to do. What is a truly diverse company, you may ask? My response is: There probably isn’t any truly diverse company out there. But there are companies striving to come really close. They are attempting to do the right thing. And that is a huge start. At our event last week honoring the 15 companies we selected to feature as diversity awardees, I was approached by an attendee who felt that some of these companies weren’t really as diverse as we were making them out to be. I essentially told him that they were striving for diversity and that we should feature that in our newspaper. I told him to write a piece for our newspaper disputing our event and special report. I’m open to publishing views of people who feel that we didn’t honor the right companies or didn’t quite get it right. Hopefully we’ve put it on the agenda of Valley-area business. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected] .

Time Warner Cable’s workplace diversity program is set-up to make those from different backgrounds feel included. A mentoring component pairs up senior management with lower-level employees. “We will be working with them to understand what they need, so they can continue to learn and to grow,” said Deborah Picciolo, president of the North Los Angeles division that includes the San Fernando Valley and one of the executives who will take part as a mentor. In December 2006, Time Warner Cable started a 9-member diversity council to manage its inclusion efforts and set out priorities for employees and customers, Picciolo said. The council has begun efforts to develop a management diversity training program that 75 percent of company leaders will complete by the end of 2007; an employee mentoring program; community outreach through events and volunteer activities; a supplier-diversity program to provide more opportunities to small, minority and women-owned businesses; and employee outreach that will include a new diversity and inclusion section to the new hire orientation class. The makeup of the council reflects the different types of jobs Time Warner Cable has available, including upper management such as Picciolo, but also technical supervisors and marketing managers, said Patricia Rockenwagner, the regional vice president of communications. The company also has a reputation for its community outreach programs. According to M.C. Townsend, executive director of the Regional Black Chamber of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley, “Time Warner is an exemplary example of corporate responsibility in the community.” She went on to say that since the chamber’s inception more than seven years ago, they have financially supported chamber events, underwritten projects and have come through with volunteer help or materials the chamber needs. Being a communications company, overcoming language barriers is also an important goal of the company. When recruiting new employees, Time Warner goes into the Korean and Hispanic communities to insure that bilingual speakers are available when necessary, Picciolo said. Language differences are also addressed in the company’s programming. A package is available for shows broadcast in both English and Spanish. Asian-language and Russian-language programming is also available in areas of the city with large populations speaking those languages. “We’ve adjusted our programming to meet the needs of those communities,” Rockenwagner said.

After a protracted bankruptcy proceeding, a choice, four-acre property in Burbank has finally been sold to a New York investment group for about $42 million, well under the $60 million appraisal value. But the purchase price may not turn out to be much of a bargain after all. The property, along the 3400 block of West Olive Avenue at West Alameda Ave. in the prestigious Burbank Media District, is a site designated for redevelopment by the city of Burbank. And some of the terms of the development agreement could create real headaches for anyone wishing to develop the property. The market for condominiums has changed since the agreement was first struck, a possible relocation of the church that sits on the property has yet to be resolved, and there is a new Burbank city council that may or may not entertain different ideas for the development. “There are too many unanswered questions for someone to put up that kind of money,” said John Battle, a principal with real estate brokerage Lee & Associates who, with Duncan Lemmon, represented the trustee in the bankruptcy sale proceedings. “There’s a lot of money out there for real estate investments, but they’re not stupid.” As the Burbank Media District evolved into a prestigious address with some of the most expensive office buildings in the Valley, the project area, characterized by older, mom-and-pop businesses including a local landmark Dimples, had become increasingly incongruous, and the city of Burbank earmarked it for redevelopment. In 2005 the city reached an agreement with Platt Co. to redevelop the Burbank Media District property into a mixed-use site with 30,000 square feet of office space and 220 condominium units. But in 2006, with foreclosure looming, Platt filed bankruptcy and the future of the property fell into the hands of the bankruptcy court. Last week, the court resolved a final wrinkle allowing an agreement to sell the property to DB Burbank LLC, a unit of Platt’s lender, Fortress Investment Group LLC, in New York, to proceed. The sale is contingent on closing by June 15, according to the court order. The purchase price was essentially the amount Platt owed Fortress on the land acquisition, well under the $60 million the parcel had been appraised at last year, according to court documents. Despite the attractiveness of the parcel, only three other bids were received, all of them lower than even the DB offer. The second highest bid was $25,250,000; next a $23 million bid and a third ranging from $11.2 million to $19 million each with its own set of conditions. All the offers had contingencies of at least 30 days, the court documents revealed. (Bidders names were removed from the documents and could not be determined.) Officials at DB did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story. The low bids in part reflected problems associated with bankruptcy court sales, which typically require that transactions be cash deals with no contingencies, meaning buyers don’t have an opportunity to conduct due diligence before committing to the purchase. At the same time, several critical elements surrounding the project have yet to be ironed out, and with greater risk of problems down the road, buyers were not willing to pay top dollar for the site. In particular, the development agreement with the city of Burbank includes a provision to rebuild International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, which sits on the property. Because churches require especially large amounts of parking, a developer would prefer to move the church to another location, but church officials have yet to agree to the proposal. Added to those potential problems, a deadline for the original development agreement is looming, and if it is not met, the new developer would have to start from scratch, working with the city to carve out a new agreement based on current market conditions. “If they don’t perform, the development agreement could terminate in February, 2009,” said Joseph McDougall, senior assistant city attorney in Burbank, adding that the contract is somewhat more complex than the 2009 deadline date. Several milestones must be met along the way. The project still must be submitted for design approval and a traffic study and there are issues surrounding public rights of way, among other requirements that have yet to unfold. Meanwhile, changes have occurred in the marketplace since Platt determined that the condominiums, which in the current design make up the lion’s share of the redevelopment plan, would be the highest and best use for the land. These days developers are finding it more difficult to secure condominium financing, and when they do the terms are far less attractive. “I have talked to several fund managers, and they’re underwriting criteria has become a little more stringent,” said Richard Gentilucci, president of BTG Advisors LLC a land use and planning consultancy. “They’re looking more at the market today versus the future market.”

Mann Theatres CEO Peter Dobson squeezed in this interview on a day that started with a ceremony for George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, enshrining their hand and footprints in cement in the courtyard of the chain’s landmark Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood and ended with the premier of the trio’s “Ocean’s 13” that evening. A chain that once operated in nine states, Encino-based Mann has consolidated its holdings to the Los Angeles area, although it does have expansion plans in the works. Warner and Viacom jointly own the theater chain. Its newest theater, to open in 2008, will be a 14-screen facility in Thousand Oaks with four separate VIP balcony areas. A former owner of a theater chain in the United Kingdom, Dobson was tapped five years ago to head Mann, after a stint as a film buyer for Warner Bros., particularly because of his film buying experience. “It’s not easy to book the Grauman’s or the Santa Monicas of the world because there is very heavy competition,” Dobson said. The Grauman’s courtyard, by the way, has hosted 193 hand and footprint ceremonies and is home to 240 individual slabs of impressions left by Hollywood’s biggest stars. “There is still plenty of room,” Dobson said. Q: With all the options available these days to view entertainment, why should people still go to a movie theater? A: The main reason people go to a movie theater is to get out of the home. With home entertainment the way it is at the moment and the quality that is offered at home, it still never substitutes for a night out for people. Q: What role does Mann Theatres play to get people to come to their locations? A: Mann Theatres has a long tradition in Los Angeles. We have the famous Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood and theaters in Westwood as well as our theaters along the 101 [Freeway] corridor and Santa Monica. Q: How is this summer going so far in box office totals? Last summer is considered to have been a rebound after a poor 2005. A: This year to date we are 5 percent up on last year, mainly through particularly good films through the beginning of May. When I say good films I mean good business-wise. There was a smattering during the spring but it was a fairly weak start to the year. It all came alive with “300” in March. Q: Being a boutique theater chain, are you going for an upscale filmgoer willing to pay for the extra amenities not found at other movie chains? A: That’s not actually true. We took over the infrastructure of eight- to nine-screen theaters or single screens as in the case of the Westwood or Grauman’s. But our future is to do precisely that. We have a very exciting project coming up in the Thousand Oaks mall. Q: Digital cinema is the latest technological change in exhibition. Do you have the equipment installed in your theaters? A: It’s something I’ve really tried to spearhead, being in the studios’ backyard as it were. We have digital projectors all over the place. Q: How is that changing the business of showing films? A: At first when we installed them it was a beta test to see how efficiently they can run and how the public responded because the picture does look different on the screen because it’s perfect. The public really have taken to it and I think they will welcome the same quality be it week one or week six of the picture. Q: You’ve teamed up with Real D to show 3-D films. A: Yes, again we were the first in the country to have Real D in the Chinese 6. We’ve done all the demonstrations for all the studios and all the various distributors from all over the world in that theater. Our belief in it was to install it in five of our theaters for “Chicken Little.” We’re very pro 3-D because we do feel that it is the way to do something a little bit special. There is a lot going on right now with 3-D. Directors and producers are realizing the value it brings to cinema. Q: And it also plays into giving the viewer something different that they can’t watch at home. A: Correct. Q: It’s like what they did in the 1950s the first time 3-D came along when theaters were in competition with television. A: Yes, but it’s so much better. It’s like wearing a pair of sunglasses. It’s not like wearing a piece of cardboard with the different color lenses. It’s a little more natural and people are embracing it. Our exit polls show that people would travel a distance to see [a film] in 3-D. Q: Now they have to start producing the product in 3-D. A: Exactly. Of course this takes a long time. Not only to produce it in 3-D but also to get it onto the set as it were from a script because the script has to be written with the 3-D in mind. It’s just isn’t a case of saying let’s make it 3-D over 2-D. Q: Any thoughts on the debate over the narrowing of the release windows for film to theaters, DVD and television? A: I feel strongly about it. I am not advocate of doing away with the windows or with the gaps we have at the moment. I think the gap we have now is probably about right. The movies cost more and more and more to make and the sooner they can get through all these different windows the quicker they can get their money back on the movie to make more movies. Unless you’ve got the theatrical shop window, as I call it, it doesn’t necessarily mean the subsequent windows are going to make money. Q: Piracy is always a big issue in the entertainment industry. What are your thoughts on that? A: I hate it. They are leeches on our business and it affects everyone from the cinema owner even to the public. Everything has to cost more. If more people went to the movies and bought it on video at the regular prices things could be a little bit cheaper. The fact that it is being stolen from us is very bad. I welcome that other countries have now made it a jailable offense to pirate movies. Q: Tell us more about the plans for Thousand Oaks. A: When I was working for Warner Bros. we had a theater in Barcelona where we developed three screens out of the 14, I think it was, with VIP balconies and bars. This was a huge success so much so that AMC and a local exhibitor opened 14 screens opposite us and it did not affect our business one bit. This is what people wanted. They wanted the opportunity to see a movie in luxury with the bar. What we are doing in Thousand Oaks is building 14 screens, four of which will be VIP balconies. We are having a French-themed bar which will serve exclusively 21 and over. We’ll have finger foods and other food and the cocktails. It will have its own separate entrance and its own VIP window at the box office to fast-track people upstairs. Peter Dobson SNAPSHOT: Title: CEO of Mann Theatres Age: 58 Personal: Separated, three children

Linda Coburn By Contributing Reporter “Providing Culturally Competent Health Care” is the title of a half-day employee training program that Glendale Memorial Hospital has implemented as just one component of its mission to better serve its culturally diverse patient population of about 1.2 million people. In the 18 months since its inception, more than 80 percent of the nursing staff has already completed the training session. “We’ve had a very positive response,” said Deborah Wilson, vice president of human resources and organizational development. “Without nursing’s cooperation it would just be another program but they are mandating people go and then are doing testing and follow-up with participants,” she said. “We would love to put physicians through the program,” said Wilson, but getting them to commit to the time is a challenge. “Doctors aren’t employees,” she added. The hospital has devoted an uncommon amount of time and resources to the training, said Wilson. “We’re now expanding it to a full day,” she said. According to Vicki Mertes, organizational development specialist for the hospital, “Anybody who delivers care directly to patients at bedside is required to attend.” But some departments with staff that are not in that position have seen the value of the program and are sending their employees as well. “In addition to the nursing staff, staff in the pharmacy and laboratory as well as some therapists and administrative staff have also gone through the training,” said Mertes. Communicating with patients and their families is another big priority. Besides English, the top three languages spoken by patients and their families are Spanish, Armenian and Korean. Glendale Memorial uses a mix of paid and volunteer interpreters including hospital staff and volunteers who have passed a medical terminology competency exam. They also subscribe to the “Cyracom Interpreter Phone” service. This is a special phone that links hospital staff with a service that has interpreters for a wide variety of languages. If someone speaks an uncommon language, like Swahili, for example, a patient care provider would use the special phone to reach an interpreter. Once the interpreter is on the line, the provider can speak into the phone, say, ‘tell the patient so-and-so’ and then hand the phone to the patient and someone gives the patient the information they need in their own language. “It’s pretty immediate,” said Wilson. “You have to go find the phone but once you dial up it doesn’t take long to get an appropriate interpreter on the phone. Many hospitals use this service.” As far as whether the staff reflects the diversity of the patient population, Wilson thinks Glendale has done a fair job. “We don’t have a lot of nurses who are Latino and that is because nationwide there are not a lot. We are increasing in the Armenian nursing staff. There’s a national nursing shortage so we can’t be as selective as we would like,” she said. Glendale does have a large number of Armenian physicians, and a fair number of Latino and Korean physicians as well. Recently the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations added “culturally sensitive healthcare” to its scorecard. “For the first time, accredited hospitals are being surveyed against the standard,” said Wilson, “But how hospitals choose to do that is up to them.”