Departments
Ups and downs
By Dustin S. Klein
Smart Business Cleveland | September 2001
Ups to this year's Innovation in Business honorees. The 12 Master Innovators, Visionaries and Rising Stars are proof that new ideas are brewing in Northeast Ohio.
Downs to the region's M&A activity. With the number of Ohio-based transactions through the first six months of the year down from 207 last year to 178 this year, it's another sign Cleveland business has not earned a solid place at the deal-making table.
Ups to COSE. Its VentureQuest2002 program will help Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs develop business plans and begin to bring smart ideas to market. With a lack of strong start-ups over the past decade, COSE has the right program to jump-start the process.
Downs to corporate America's philanthropic giving. As large companies cut overhead, they're giving less to charity and decreasing participation outings hosted by nonprofit organizations. They say the events require too much time, money and employee involvement. But whoever said giving back was supposed to be easy?
Ups to PolyOne. The polymer services giant is moving forward with its strategic plan to reduce costs and maximize operations after the merger between Geon and M.A. Hanna that created the company. Despite what will surely be negative reaction, PolyOne will close four plants and expand eight others. It's good to see a CEO being true to his word.
