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The word sportsmanship has traditionally had warm, positive connotations. However, recent indiscretions by the Harlequins rugby team and the Renault F1 team have put this into question. The reputation of Harlequins and its former Director of Rugby, Dean Richards, along with the Renault F1 and former Team Principle Flavio Briotore are firmly in the gutter and if things continue in this vein, the term ‘sportsmanship’ may become a synonym for deception, injustice and cheating.

For those who are not avid followers of sport, the ‘Bloodgate’ scandal as it has become known, involved a Harlequins player, Tom Williams, faking a blood injury (by inserting a blood capsule into his mouth) in order to allow specialist kicker Nick Evans onto the field for the crucial final few minutes of the match. William’s mouth was then purposely cut afterwards to make the injury real.

Renault’s deception involved former Renault driver, Nelson Piquet, who after being dropped from the team admitted that in last years Singapore Grand Prix, he was ordered to crash on purpose in order to give team-mate Fernando Alonso a slight advantage after the safety car was deployed.

Perhaps the seriousness of this latter incident is not immediately apparent, but it came to light shortly after Formula 2 driver Henry Surtees was killed, and F1 driver Felipe Massa very nearly so, by debris on the track from another car. When Piquet was ordered to crash, he was not only being ordered to put his own life in danger, but those of every other racing driver on the track – not to mention those of the stewards who are charged with clearing the debris.

These two incidents are appalling and frankly disgusting demonstrations of the lengths some are willing to go not even to win, but to fractionally increase their chances of doing so.

It is enough to make one question whether the spirit of fairplay and sportsmanship is still alive within sports at the highest level, such are the pressures placed on those who take part. However, whilst watching England play Sri Lanka in the ICC Champions trophy recently, my faith was restored somewhat.

During a critical part of the game, Sri Lankan batsman Angelo Mathews collided with an England player while attempting a run. As a result, he failed to get back to the crease in time and was ruled out. A little unfair maybe, but out nonetheless.

However, Andrew Strauss, England’s Ashes-winning captain immediately called his team in a huddle. Consensus was quickly reached that Mathews would have made his ground if it was not for the unfortunate clash, and Strauss informed the umpire to rule Mathews not out and allow him to continue to bat. Why? Because as Strauss commented afterwards “it was the right thing to do.” Strauss chose not to take advantage because it was not sportsmanlike, not proper and quite simply, not cricket.

So if Harlequins and the Renault F1 team want to do something about their flagging reputations, they could do a lot worse than watching a few games of cricket and taking some notes on the spirit in which it is played.

In these tough times for business, the motor trade has had it tougher than most.

Redundancies, plants on extended shutdown, component manufacturers struggling and dealer forecourts desolate as a Spaghetti Western film set.

The Government-backed funding package for the motor industry, announced last week by business secretary, Peter Mandelson, has had a qualified welcome. Those at the front fender end of selling vehicles appeared to like the prospect of greater liquidity in the market (without access to credit, how can dealers close sales?) along with the potential for “scrappage schemes” that are already in gear elsewhere in the EU.

In the fleet motor market, companies are responding to the economic plight by holding on to contracted vehicles longer, according to the results of a Fleet Operator Attitude Survey featured in Fleet News. The survey also suggests businesses intending to negotiate hard with their leasing company on costs and keep a tight rein on fuel expenditure.

Fleet consultant, Colin Tourick, oft quoted by Fleet News, feels that deals will be hard to come by and firms should rather be looking to work with their contract hire provider to nail cost savings. And while he extols the virtues of extending replacement cycles on vehicles, it comes with issues that need to be managed - servicing, tyres and MOTs.

A spokesman for the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association told PR Media Blog: “In the current economic environment many companies are looking to extend their contract hire terms by six months or a year, giving them greater flexibility in uncertain times and saving costs, though these can sometimes be cancelled out by the greater maintenance costs associated with an older vehicle. Modern cars are very reliable so there are unlikely to be any added safety issues involved in extending the life of a fleet car by one year and 20,000 miles. There may be an issue in extending the contract of a heavily used vehicle that has already got well over 100,000 miles on the clock.”

As companies running fleets may be new to the concept of recession and extending contract lives, it provides a great opportunity to leasing companies to be the font of cost saving knowledge to fleet managers and financial directors.

The same can be said of a perennial, non-recessionary, problem: road safety.

This year will see anniversaries for the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act and Road Safety Act, respectively making it easier to prosecute companies for manslaughter following a work-related death and penalising those who cause death while using mobile phones or speeding at the wheel. And now, the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 - implemented last month - means even greater exposure to the law for fleet managers failing in their risk managment responsibilities. And with ordinary motorists getting jail sentences, how long will it be before a fleet driver implicates not only himself, but his bosses too?

The signs are not good: the RAC’s most recent Report on Motoring revealed a majority of company car drivers confessing to using mobile phones while driving (73%), driving too close to other motorists (75%) and failing to signal clearly (79%).  RAC called for better training to improve driver behaviour; could this be a place where the leasing community could help companies - already under pressure to keep their businesses afloat - manage their road risk?

The BVRLA seems to think so, commenting: “Government guidelines clearly state that an organisation is responsible for the health and safety of any employee driving a vehicle for work. We would advise anyone managing a business fleet to take this very seriously and many of our members are able to help their customers manage this risk.”

And if compliance with the law isn’t a sufficient incentive for fleets to seek the best advice, they might be swayed by improved fuel efficiency, reduced vehicle damage, downtime and wear and tear.

Looking after both drivers and vehicles is a good advert for a company which takes its duty of care seriously. Reputation is such a critical ingredient for any organisation to protect, it makes no sense to let it perish in the wake of a road accident that could have been prevented.

Update: The latest on uptake of extended vehicle leasing contracts and the problems that come with them.

Was having an interesting chat with a couple of friends about the flurry of offers and discounts that have been flaunted by some of the high street’s perceived high end brands. We all couldn’t help wondering that, while there’s no doubt such offers have been helping people to rein in their spending, whether the brands have suffered as a result, or, if people’s perceptions of brands have changed?

There’s no denying that feeling of smug satisfaction when you manage to bag that perfect LBD or whistle n flute from your favourite top end retailer at 50% - sometimes 70% - less than it was originally being sold for, but do you ever think - as my friends and I were doing - about how much we were all being ripped off during the good ole times? Surely if a retailer can afford to drop prices so drastically in search of a sale, does it beg the question ‘how much is this really worth and how much have retailers been marking up in the past’?

Another thought that has entered my head is have people who used to shop freely without a second thought of the price tag, been put off by the barrage of offers out there or, more importantly, have their perceptions of their favourite brands changed? Does it make the affordable, throw away fashion more appealing if the more exclusive shops seem ever less so? Or do you upgrade to true investment pieces that will stand the good times and the bad?

From a PR point of view, I think brands need to remember their roots during the tough times - who are they really appealing to, where are those customers and how do brands reach them? Social media is a great way of speaking to customers directly - particularly when trust in the UK traditional media is at a low - and positive stories that communicate core values are valuable and a breath of fresh air amidst the landscape of bad headlines. Look for services/products that inspire confidence and give reassurance back to the customer and then tell your story. Focus on your original USPs in a fresh, forward-thinking way, know your strengths and trust in the reasons your customers came to you in the first place.