Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 99% of all business entities in the advanced industrial world. The importance of SMEs to the real economy is immense, particularly in outlying areas, where they often play a critical role in the life of the community. Finding ways to inject vitality into small businesses is clearly a high priority for industrial economies seeking to overcome the sluggish growth of recent years. At the same time, government policy can only accomplish so much in terms of promoting small business reform in today’s highly complex society. Each company needs to adopt strategies appropriate to its sector and tailored to its own circumstances. Corporate social responsibility has a significant role to play in such private sector-driven reforms.

The presence of a worm taints even the most popular type of apple including the corporate kind.

Is it any wonder, then, that iPhone loyalists felt betrayed when Apple confirmed customer suspicions that it had been deliberately slowing down the performance of its older models? Although Apple claimed it wanted to preserve battery power and avoid sudden operational shutdowns, consumers weren’t buying it; to them, the lack of transparency seemed disingenuous.

When you first started your business, you probably did a lot of research, sought help from advisors; sourced information from books, magazines, and other readily available sources. Probably invested a lot of money, time and sweat equity to get your business off the ground. Its 12 months on, now what?