Iqbal Wahhab's explanation of how employees and the general public want businesses to contribute to charity as a condition of their labour and custom ("Capitalism? It's our survival kit", March) highlights where people's economic thinking and expectations have gone wrong.
Charitable activities, commendable as they are, are short-term and self-perpetuating. An enterprise that commits 25 per cent of its profits to growing its business through research and development, new equipment and marketing is much more likely to alleviate long-term unemployment.
Businesses should spend more on growth rather than use resources for good causes, which perpetuates dependency.
Hanan Baradon
Independent corporate finance and strategy consultant
I read with interest the latest debate in Director ("Are they [women] truly welcome in the City?", March). I'm afraid the reality is grim. Similarly to other sectors including retail, education and commerce, women are still at the bottom of the food chain.
Why is this? By contrast, Third World countries such as Pakistan have higher female public profiles because the authorities are forced to demonstrate equality. Western women are compelled to rely on youthful looks and their sexuality to get ahead. Once these have gone they are left on the scrapheap. Apologies for the bluntness, but it's true.
Simon Walker's column in IoD News in the December 2012/January 2013 issue of Director, and last month's feature on Europe ("The EU: What should Britain do next?"), embody the attitude of certain leaders with regards to our continuing EU membership.
The EU needs the UK. There is an army of bureaucrats in Brussels who have a vested interest in maintaining, and building on, what they have created. What commercial business could allow its accounts to remain unsigned for nearly 20 years and get away with it?
We shouldn't be frightened to try to make changes and leave the EU if those changes are not accepted. Europe will quickly realise that tariff-free mutual trade is healthy and beneficial to everyone.
News that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) originally underestimated business growth in 2012 will come as little surprise to many SMEs – the vast pool of 4.8 million organisations that are fuelling the UK economy.
SMEs consistently bucked the trend among business owners last year despite the recession. The economic condition of Britain's SMEs is not a story of depression and decline but of dynamism, innovation and growth in a fast-moving and increasingly competitive world.
SMEs need to be aware of the country's economic situation so that they are able to react to changes, but it should be a peripheral matter. The main goal for businesses should be to do a better job than their competitors.
