As you reach out for a jar of coffee in the supermarket, you can give a hand to the people who grew the beans, discovers Mary Lean.

If love makes the world go round, greed also keeps things moving-but it makes for a stomach-churning ride. Personal greed is rampant-not least where failed company bosses receive seven-figure 'golden handshakes' while their redundant ex-employees are only offered a few thousand pounds. A recent white paper from Britain's Department of Trade and Industry offers hope that these scandals may be addressed, by linking directors' retirement pay-outs to their companies' performance.

When the very survival of the largest British motor car company was in doubt-and with it many thousands of jobs-help came from some unexpected people. One was an engineer worker named Malcolm Jack. He tells his story to Kenneth Noble.

`If the Japanese win, it is because they have a society that functions,' said one European executive.

They had jointly convened an initial round table conference on world trade conflicts the previous year.