Police Today Essay Example for Free

Police Today Essay Police officers are around to keep us safe and are viewed as individuals who not only follow the law but ensure that others do the same. Though this is the usual case, not always do our police officers practice these ideas. Problems amongst the police force have been around since prohibition and are only increasing in our dangerous and corrupted society. Corruption, on-the-job dangers, and the use of deadly force are all issues facing the police departments today. Since the days of prohibition, corruption amongst officers has been a problem. Back when bootleggers were on the rise, officers were paid off to keep quiet about the consumption of alcohol. In today’s society Police crimes consist of beating innocent citizens, protecting drug dealers, accepting bribes, and murder. Often time’s big cities experience this through the protection of street gangs and drug dealers. It seems the tradition of paying officers off for illegal activity hasn’t yet dissipated in our modern times; in fact, it appears it’s gotten worse. The old pattern of payoffs by the mob to top cops has changed to local police officers being bought off by drug dealers and street gangs. So now instead of just the select few cops being bought, the city police who might have actually been trusted before are being controlled by criminals as well. Everyday police officers experience crime first-hand, and their jobs can potentially be extremely dangerous. This year, twice as many police officers have been killed in the line of duty than last year. Easier accessibility to firearms, weapons, and the growing amount of illegal narcotics on our streets play a big role in the perils of the criminal justice field. Illegal narcotics link directly to violent crime. Gangs, prostitutes and other illegal activities being disregarded by corrupt officers also have something to do with the toils and hazards that confront an officer who is committed to their job. Another factor is our juveniles, who are becoming more violent and willing to do wrong th an ever before. With the rest of our world being such a treacherous place, and with drugs and trafficking appearing easier and more prosperous than education and a career, it’s no shock that so many kids are pursuing that lifestyle than ever before. Police officers have to handle these threatening activities on a day to day basis. When there’s so much corruption in the force, it’s difficult for anyone, even the most committed; to make an impact on the crimes, especially in big populated cities. Every day in the United States, police officers face challenges that may cause them to resort to deadly force. Under these circumstances, officers are forced to use what they know or have learned during training to come to a reasonable conclusion of what to do next. Their decision may at the time seem like it is a necessary one; however, an officer must understand the repercussions of his or her actions. Deadly force is a serious item of interest in the community. Citizens like to jump to insane conclusions, such as: hate crimes or racism. Conclusions like these can scar an officer’s reputation no matter what the verdict in a court of law. This can make malice family members and friends of the victim, and essentially mar the police force as a whole. The Department of Homeland Security helps to secure our borders, airports, seaports and waterways; research and develop the latest security technologies; respond to natural disasters or terrorists assaults; and analyzes intelligence reports. The Department of Homeland Security is above state and local police and tells them what to do and when to do it. They are the brains behind everything states do. The federal government and the DHS interact with each other to develop new technology, stop and prevent terrorism, and secure borders. The DHS could improve relationships with the local and state police by involving them more in the decision making, seeing as how they know the area they are policing better than the higher ups who are elsewhere involved. Police officers, as necessary to our safety and well-being as they may be, have many flaws. Corruption, on the job dangers, and deadly force are just a few of the contributing problems of our law enforcement. Never will these dangers completely reside but with a rise in police patrol and less corruption amongst the force, our police system could be stronger than ever.

Multibacillary Leprosy (MB) Case Study

Multibacillary Leprosy (MB) Case Study 1.0 Summary of scenario and potential consequences This case is based on a 32 year old female with multibacillary leprosy(MB). Leprosy, also known as Hansens disease, is a chronic infective disease caused by acid-fast, gram-positive Mycobacterium leprae (M.leprae). Several modes of transmission have been suggested such as skin contact and sexual activities but the primary mechanism is via air by mouth and nasal discharge of untreated infected people. Leprosy can be considered in two parts in which the first milder form involves infection of superficial tissues such as skin. This indeterminate state is usually surmounted by human body eliciting sufficient immune response, with approximately 95% people being not susceptible. Nevertheless, if the body produces too high or too low a response, the second more severe form develops and progresses leaving deformities in areas such as skin, nervous system, mucosa, limbs and eyes. Thus, depending on the patients immune response, leprosy is classified by the World Health Organization(WHO) into MB in which the bodys defense system is ineffective, and paucibacillary leprosy(PB) which produces aggressive response.1 In terms of skin smear tests, MB which has large number of bacteria in skin lesion would produce positive results while PB produces negative results. Another type of classification known as Ridley-Jopling classification divides leprosy into 5 stages; tuberculoid(TT), borderline tuberculoid(BT), midborderline/borderline(BB), borderline lepromatous(BL) and lepromatous(LL) leprosy in which the latter three are the equivalent of MB. In 2009, leprosy cases were reported in 121 countries.3 Based on WHO figures, the number of new cases detected in 2008 was 249007 while the registered prevalence of leprosy worldwide at the beginning of 2009 was 213036. Although there has been a steady fall in the number of new cases detected annually, leprosy remains a global threat. In terms of signs and symptoms, those possibly encountered are numbness, nasal discharge and various kinds of lesions, macules, nodules and papules. More severe symptoms may be diffuse skin thickening, eye lesions leading to cataract, secondary infection and nerve lesions. Although leprosy can affect all people, various specific factors predispose to leprosy. Firstly, leprosy typically affects people living in tropical and subtropical climate such as Africa and South East Asia. People in endemic areas as well as the poor and marginalized community are at greater risk of contracting leprosy. In terms of age, leprosy demonstrates an age-related pattern with peak incidence in children below 10 years old and mid thirties while rarely acquired by infants.2 Besides that, men are generally more susceptible than women and genetic factors may play a role too. Despite years of incubation period, the differential diagnosis of leprosy is vital because the treatment duration is prolonged. Also, an accurate diagnosis helps in determining the appropriate and effective treatment. In vitro culture of M.leprae is not feasible given the extremely slow growth rate. Methods that can be used include skin lesion biopsy and nasal smears done using Fites acid fast tissue staining which stains the bacilli red in a blue background or using Hematoxylin and eosin stain (HE) for histological confirmation.2,4 The number of bacilli visible will denote the type of leprosy. Additionally, phenolic glycopilid-1(PGL-1) characteristic of M.leprae can be distinguished using serology techniques. Given its low mortality rate, leprosy confers debilitating repercussions nevertheless both physiologically and psychologically. Leprosy causes hypoesthesia due to impaired peripheral nerve function, muscle weakness as well as glaucoma, iridocyclitis and inflammation of the eye. As a result, patients are prone to injuries due to diminished vision, and inability to feel and control the body. The incidence of ocular problems is markedly elevated and treatment has proved to reduce prevalence of these complications as described by Gupta et al, whereby 66.3% active leprosy patients manifested ocular problems compared to cured patients at 14.3%.5 If blindness occurs, the relative death risk in blind patients compared to non-blind patients augments by 4.8fold.6 Additionally, leprosy causes clawed fingers and toes, hypopigmented skin lesions with severe ulcerations especially on feet and hands, and facial deformations. These disabilities occurs more frequently in MB patients than in PB patients,5,7 and it was suggested that MB patients have higher risk of death compared to PB patients; the average death age being 5 years younger.8 Contrasting prevalence of deformities was concluded in different studies which includes 56.97%,7 82.4%,9 84.4%,10 67%11 and these differences may be the result of improper examination technique or dissimilar grading criteria. However, the point to note here is that all studies acknowledge the severity of this disease. Apart from imposing restrictions on physical mobility, such immensely conspicuous debilities have led to a stigma linked to leprosy. Leprosy patients are often subjected to public prejudice and discrimination, leaving them significantly affected both socially and economically. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and aggressive commencement of leprosy treatment is essential to improve patients quality of life and to decrease mortality rate. 2.0 Treatment options 2.1 First line therapy The current first line therapy include dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. Dapsone is a bacteriostatic antibacterial active against M.leprae. Its good oral bioavailability allows its administration in tablet form. However, dapsone monotherapy is no longer used as several studies have established profound drug resistance.12,13,14 Following this, WHO recommends the use of three drugs; dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine, administered as multiple drug therapy(MDT) for MB.1 Supporting this is a systemic evaluation by Kundu et al. which compared dapsone monotherapy to MDT and proved that MDT was significantly superior with capacity to prevent dapsone resistance.15 The current MDT dosing is dapsone 100mg and clofazimine 50mg daily self-administered, and rifampicin 600mg and clofazimine 300mg once monthly supervised. Several studies have shown that MDT is effective in eliminating leprosy with low relapse rates.16,17,18,19 For example, Georges et al. demonstrated that patients treated with MDT until bacterial clearance showed no validated relapses in the follow up period between 4 months to 5 years and 10 months.16 If adverse effects or contraindication occurs resulting in MDT termination, WHO recommends alternative regimen.20 However, it is vital to ascertain conclusively that the negative effects are due to MDT. Dapsone should be terminated immediately if patient develops adverse effects such as Dapsone Hypersensitivity Syndrome (DHS), with rifampicin and clofazimine continued at usual dosages. The use of only rifampicin and clofazimine was proven effective for dapsone intolerant patients as described by Sapkota et al.21 These patients treated for a mean duration of 15 months post-dapsone cessation showed steady decrease in mean bacteriological index(BI). Next, if rifampicin is ill-tolerated, alternative therapy comprises clofazimine 50mg, ofloxacin 400mg and minocycline 100mg daily for six months, followed by clofazimine 50mg combined with either ofloxacin 400mg or minocycline 100mg for at least 18 months; given under supervision. Ji et al showed that ofloxacin eliminated 99.99% rifampicin-resistant cells after 22 doses in two months.22 Finally if clofazimine has poor acceptability, MDT can be replaced with ROM comprising rifampicin 600mg, ofloxacin 400mg and minocycline 100mg given monthly for 24 months. In a field trial in Senegal, patients on ROM showed satisfactory progress with exceptional compliance(>99%) possibly attributed to the simpler monthly dosage.23 This combination was further advocated by S. Ura24 and Villahermosa et al25 which compared 2 years ROM treatment with MDT. The studies concluded that both therapy depicted similar advantages regarding their effect on BI, their safety and tolerability. The latter study also showed no relapse after follow ups 5 years later or more. 2.2 Second line therapy Ofloxacin and pefloxacin are broad-spectrum flouroquinolones used as second line therapy for MB. They are bactericidal acting via inhibiting enzyme DNA gyrase required in DNA replication. Patented in 1982, ofloxacin has been reported to have profound effects on leprosy. A clinical trial executed by Ji et al showed killing of more than 99.99% of viable M.leprae in skin smears inoculated into mouse foot pad, with significant clinical improvements by day 56 of therapy utilizing 400mg ofloxacin daily.26 Also, its effect was not enhanced when combined with clofazimine and dapsone. A similar study by Jianping et al which also utilized mice footpad inoculated with leprosy patients skin biopsies had analogous findings, with no M.leprae growth detected.27 These studies supports the notion that ofloxacin possesses strong bactericidal activity. Comparing pefloxacin to ofloxacin, it was found that pefloxacin was less active, requiring 150mg/kg to exert bactericidal effect compared to 50mg/kg fo r ofloxacin.22 Although minimal side effects were encountered in these studies, the short duration of therapy will not vouch for this as severe adverse reactions have been reported including tendon damage, peripheral neuropathy, cardiovascular toxicity and hepatotoxicity. Moving on, the broad spectrum minocycline is a tetracycline antibacterial which can be used in patients intolerant to dapsone or clofazimine.28 In a clinical trial by Fajardo et al, patients treated with 100mg daily minocycline for 6 months followed by WHO MDT manifested distinct clinical improvement within the first month with negative PGL-1 antigen at the end of 6 months treatment.29 However, it has been reported that minocycline induce hyperpigmentation which resulted in termination of therapy.30 This side effect ought to be considered particularly when minocycline is used to replace clofazimine. In terms of bactericidal activity, minocycline is considered more effective than clarithromycin, but significantly diminished activity compared to rifampicin. Next, clarithromycin is a bactericidal macrolide which suppresses bacterial growth by preventing its protein synthesis. A few clinical trials have shown the advantages of clarithromycin including its capability to kill M.leprae, considerable clinical improvement, patient acceptability and minor adverse effects.31,32 Daily dosage of 500mg revealed killing of 99% bacilli within 28 days and 99.9% by day 56.32 However, limited studies with clarithromycin for leprosy use have been done. Until further researches are carried out, clarithromycin remains the second line treatment for multibacillary leprosy. Since the past two decades, concerns over established dapsone resistance and increasingly emerging rifampicin resistance have set interest on use of either thioamide or clofazimine concurrently with rifampicin. However, clofazimine was chosen by WHO due to reports of hepatotoxicity when thioamides were used with rifampicin.33,34 Nevertheless, ethionamide and prothionamide are two thioamide drugs being investigated currently as monotherapy for leprosy treatment. Although mainly used for tuberculosis therapy, both drugs have been shown to exhibit significant anti-leprotic activity based on a clinical trial by Fajardo et al.35 Treatment was well tolerated for both drugs with a clinical progress of 74% and 83% respectively. Prothionamide was found to be superior to ethionamide and the overall efficacy of both drugs was similar to that of dapsone and clofazimine. However, they were less efficacious compared to rifampicin, ofloxacin, pefloxacin, minocycline and clarithromycin. They are al so more expensive than dapsone. Consequently, thioamides are generally not recommended. Finally, rifampicin and Isoprodian comprising dapsone, prothionamide and isoniazid were used in Malta Leprosy Eradication Project(MLEP).36 During the 30-year project, the leprosy prevalence steadily declined with exceptionally low degree of relapse and toxicity. It was suggested that treatment with two Isoprodian tablets daily and 600mg rifampicin tablet completely eradicated leprosy from Malta. This may well set the baseline for leprosy treatment. However, Isoprodian being not readily available became a drawback in proceeding with this therapy. Also, the MLEP posed several limitations including the confinement of the project to a relatively small area which hinders its feasibility in larger areas. Additionally, the fact that leprosy was already declining in Malta before the project commenced in 1971 raised questions over the true effect of the therapy on leprosy elimination. 3.0 Treatment recommendation and supporting evidence After discussing the treatment options available, 24 months MDT is recommended for the 32 year old female patient in this case. This decision is made based on the evidences presented previously on efficacy of MDT and also the fact that not many reliable studies have been conducted on other alternatives. The clinical pharmacological principles of each MDT drug and more evidences will be presented in this section to justify the recommendation. Firstly, dapsone is an established anti-leprotic agent acting via preventing dihyrofolic acid formation thus inhibiting nucleic acid synthesis crucial for M.leprae development. In terms of adverse effects, dapsone has been associated with side effects such as methaemoglobinamia, haemolysis, allergic rhinitis, neurophaty, aganulocytosis and DHS consisting Type 1 reversal reaction and Type 2 erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) reaction. However, at doses used for leprosy treatment, these side effects are uncommon.37 Besides, DHS can be ameliorated with corticosteroid therapy. In order to curb resistance against dapsone, it should be used concomitantly with rifampicin and clofazimine as MDT. Also, there has been evidence of significant decline in frequency and seriousness of Type 1 and 2 reactions in patients on MDT, possibly due to rapid arrest on leprosy progression and clofazimines anti-inflammatory action.20 Next, rifampicin is an antibacterial which plays a major role in inducing rapid M.leprae cell death by inhibiting RNA polymerase involved in protein synthesis. Rifampicin has good oral bioavailability as it is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. A monthly 600mg dose is highly bactericidal and is almost as effective as rifampicin given daily as subsequent doses do not augment killing rate proportionately. Thus although rifampicin is expensive, a monthly dose contributes to its cost-effectiveness, feasibility and compliance.20 The downside of rifampicin is that adverse effects such as hepatotoxicity have been reported thus requiring frequent liver function tests and blood tests to detect liver impairment. Other common side effects include gastrointestinal disturbances, fever, headache and rashes. Also, being a liver enzyme inducer, rifampicin upregulates cytochrome P450 resulting in enhanced metabolism of many concomitantly administered hepatic cleared drugs. However, th is effect is relatively minimal due to its once monthly dosing. Furthermore, though rifampicin increases dapsone clearance rate, no changes in dose have been necessary as concluded by Pieters et al.38 Interaction with clofazimine is also not likely as rifampicin lack tendency to accumulate in tissues due to its relatively short half life (2-3 hours) compared to clofazimine (70 days). The third drug used in MDT is clofazimine which based on the MDT dosage is the most well-tolerated amongst the three drugs and is practically non-toxic.39 It is a bacteriostatic antibacterial which has predilection towards mycobacterial DNA and inhibits bacterial growth. A mere 300mg loading dose once monthly may well serve as a repository to maintain sufficient drug in the body.20 However, the downside to its use is that some 75-100% patients encounter pink colouration of the skin, but this side effect is reversible months after stopping therapy.40 Given its efficacy yet without serious adverse effects as proven by various studies and clinical trials, it would be obvious to use clofazimine as part of MDT.41,42,43 In terms of duration of MDT, the recommended duration of MDT has been constantly. WHOs previous recommendation of 24 months therapy showed high efficacy with very low relapse rate. However, in the Seventh Expert Committee(1997), the duration of MDT was shortened to 12 months.1 A study conducted by Sales et al. showed that the decline in bacillary index and occurrence of adverse reactions was analogous for both 12 and 24 months MDT.44 However, this was opposed by US National Hansen Disease Program (NHDP) which stands firm with 24 months MDT with the perspective that more vigorous and longer treatment duration generates higher efficacy with lower relapse rate.28 It also mentioned that the 12 months MDT recommended by WHO was due to cost consideration in developing countries. Besides that, based on the BNF, treatment for at least 2 years is necessary for MB.37 The fundamental objective of leprosy therapy is determined by the relapse rate and degree of disability. Having said so, many studies have showed that the relapse rate after completion of MDT for 2 years yielded either zero or very low relapse rate.45,46,47,48,49,50 These studies are parallel to a long term follow-up by Shaw et al45 which proved zero relapse using this regimen and also by a retrospective analysis conducted in China by Shen et al47 which showed that out of 2374 patients followed up for a mean of 8.27 years, five patients had relapse resulting in a relapse rate of 0.21/1000 person-years. Another basis for the 24 months MDT was the review by WHO which revealed a very low relapse rate of 0.9/10 000 person-years in analysis of more than 20,000 MB patients.49 Furthermore, Katoch et al reported that follow-up conducted between 12-44 months after MDT treatment revealed deterioration in patients who received only 12-18 months treatment and continuous improvement in those giv en 24 months therapy.51 Thus, a 24 months MDT treatment would be the wise choice for this patient. Bearing in mind that this patient is a 32 year old female who is at her child bearing age, it is paramount to ascertain if she is pregnant or lactating. Extreme caution should be undertaken if she is pregnant or lactating, taking into account risks-benefits of leprosy treatment. Several studies have demonstrated adverse effects encountered by pregnant and lactating females such as relapse, type 1 and 2 dapsone reactions and peripheral neuropathy following therapy and are thought to be due to suppression of immunity during pregnancy and breast-feeding.52,53,54However, some studies have showed that these drugs can be used safely during pregnancy.20,55 Thus, although MDT may incur risks to pregnancy and exacerbate leprosy, a well-organized health plan, frequent and regular supervision may well outweigh the risk with its potential benefits.4,54 Also, effects of MDT on lactating is very minor. Although significant amount of dapsone is found in breast milk, its risks to infants are very m inimal. In contrast, the quantity of rifampicin in milk is too small to be harmful to the baby. Likewise, only minute amounts of clofazimine are excreted through breast milk and thus far there have not been reports on severe negative effects on breast-feeding except minor skin discolouration of infant. All in all, treatment using 24 months MDT has proven highly successful with rapid conversion of disease state from infectious to being non-infectious even after the first dose. MDT remains the ultimate option due to its apparent benefits of curing and stopping transmission of leprosy, its virtually zero relapse rate, minimal side effects, ease of administration and storage, cost-effectiveness and vast clinical evidences. Additionally, patient and public education is vital to aid patient compliance and improve understanding on leprosy. In this context, health professionals carry tremendous responsibilities in giving social support and psychological rehabilitation to help patients cope with the physical and mental distress caused by the disease as well as curing the stigma of leprosy.

The Four Main Purposes Of Communication English Language Essay

The Four Main Purposes Of Communication English Language Essay Communication has been defined as the transfer of information and understanding from one person to another through the use of common symbols. Communication can flow upward, downward, and laterally, that is, from subordinates to superiors, from superiors to subordinates and from peer to peer. Most people want to be understood; they want to understand others; and they want to gain acceptance of their ideas. Rarely would a person deliberately not want to be understood; but even so, misunderstandings, incorrect communications, and failure to communicate can create confusion on a regular basis. Good communication is crucial to the success of both the individual and the organization. It doesnt matter how good a worker you are or how much you understand about the business if you cannot communicate properly. Objective 1. List the four main purposes of communication. We want to be understood; we want to understand others; we want to gain acceptance for ourselves and our ideas; and finally, we want to produce action. What does the phrase: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦as soon as you can get to it mean? Does it mean right now or as soon as you finish what you are doing right now or what? If your meaning and the other persons meaning are not the same, you may have the makings of a communications breakdown. Everything we say has at least three messages: What we meant, what we said, what the other person understood. Unfortunately, these three are not always congruent. An accountant made a mistake and he apologized thusly: I read 4, wrote 5, meant 6, and it should have been 7. Objective 2. Describe the six-step communication model and elaborate on each of its points. There are many different models of communication and each has its particular value. The model you have on page 66 of DuBrins book (10th edition) is a good one, but I would like to use another model because it has several things that are really valuable as we look at communication. We will refer back to DuBrins model a little later on. The model I want to present to you has six steps: ideation, encoding, transmission, receiving, decoding, and action. Notice in the comic strip that communications must start with a concept, that is, an idea, thus the term ideation. This first step takes perhaps a fraction of a second; and we can almost ideate and speak at the same time. Ideation requires imagination and experience because the more of each you have, the easier it is to ideate a message. The second step is encoding. This step requires putting the idea into some type of intelligible form so it can be transmitted. Writing a letter, framing a statement in your mind, determining (or even not determining) to communicate non-verbally-all these represent encoding. Consider the importance of education to encoding. Transmission is the third step; and it is the most visible and recognizable aspect of communication. Speaking, writing, and even non-verbal communication are examples of this step. The fourth step is receiving; and it is done by reading the letter, hearing the words, or sensing the non-verbal communication. Decoding, the fifth step, is the counterpart of encoding except that it is done by the receiver. Decoding requires taking intelligence from the message as it is received. This step is responsible for the majority of communications problems. The sixth step is action; if a message is received, then action of one sort or another must follow. Bear in mind that taking no action is one way of acting. M2.1 will help you understand this concept. Objective 3. Identify the different ways of communicating and list their advantages and disadvantages. Lets take the following means of communicating and discuss their advantages, disadvantages, and perhaps some suggestions for improving the communication in each medium. If you have additional contributions, we can discuss those as well. Telephone Written (memo, letter, instructions) Telephone (including voice mail) E-mail Face-to-face Objective 4. Explain the importance of non-verbal communication. Just as regular communication can take a variety of forms, so can non-verbal communication. We can identify several different kinds of non-verbal communication and each one may have some sub-categories. Here are some of the more common types of non-verbal communication: A local radio personality in Tyler, Texas, was hawking a used car lot and his statement was: I bought my last car from them. The obvious interpretation is that the last car he bought was from that dealer. What if he had put increasing emphasis on the last three words? Then it would sound like he would never buy another car from them. There are two main types of non-verbal communication: paralanguage and kinesics. Paralanguage is like language, that is, it communicates something, but not in words. It includes emphasis, vocalization, and pauses (or silence). You already know how adding emphasis to a statement (or parts of a statement) can add urgency to the message or even change the meaning. For example, if someone says, What do you think about it? he is speaking emphatically to you. Vocalization is an audible (or sometimes inaudible) component of a statement that carries meaning. For example, a laugh, a groan, or even clearing the throat can qualify as a vocalization if it carries meaning. A well placed pause can add a great deal to the message, such as when someone says, Im not saying he is dishonest, he is just (pause) creative in his dealings. Can you see the meaning the pause adds? Sometimes a question or a comment can be met with steely silence indicating displeasure with the message: Dad, can I go over to Joes house and smoke some marijuana? Kinesics includes deliberate gestures and other movements which might not be deliberate, such as stroking the chin, slumping, facial expressions, eye movement or body language. Please note that laughing, sighing, pausing, stroking the chin, or eye movement may be nothing other than what it seems. In order to be classified as non-verbal communication, the action must be a communication whether deliberate or non-deliberate. Some gestures might be perfectly acceptable in one culture and highly offensive in another. A television mini-series in 1986 entitled, On Wings of Eagles showed the daring rescue of some EDS executives held hostages in Iran. The man responsible for getting them out of Teheran told them, We need to get a ride, but do not stick out your thumb because that is an insulting gesture. The V sign can mean victory (as from Winston Churchill; it can mean peace, as with the 1960s peaceniks; or it can also be an insulting gesture in some European countries. Shifty-eyed is a label we would put on some gangster or someone not to be trusted. You can probably identify a number of other kinesics examples that add meaning or contradict meaning. Proxemics is communicating by space. Middle Eastern people prefer to get very close while communicating, but most westerners prefer a certain distance between themselves and the fellow communicator. Can you imagine what would happen if two people from these two cultures were trying to communicate and neither was aware of the proxemics preference of the other? Objective 5. Describe several ways you can improve your communications through using or not using non-verbal means. How Non-verbal Communication Helps How important is facial expression and eye contact in communication? You probably have heard the phrase, He can lie to you while he is looking you in the eye. It implies that the person is a skilled liar and that normally if a person is lying, he wont look you in the eye. Alternately, when someone says, I looked him in the eye and told him what I thought, that means he had the boldness to say what he really thought. Looking people in the eye is important because it conveys honesty and openness. Did you know that only 7% of your message is conveyed by words, while 38% is conveyed by your tone, and a whopping 55% is conveyed by body language. Did you know you cant turn your transmitter off? Even if you try not to communicate non-verbally, you are still communicating non-verbally. Read the document entitled, How to Understand Woman Talk. This is a set of hilarious definitions about how women communicate with men with paralanguage. You dont need to respond to this assignment; I just thought you would enjoy a good example of non-verbal communication. Recall our discussion of emotional intelligence in Module 1. The same general principle applies to improving communication by being aware of our non-verbal communication. If you are aware of what messages you might be sending, you can correct, delete, strengthen, or alter the message to suit your needs. I have been challenged in a meeting by a colleague who said, I can see by his facial expression that Tommy does not agree with this, but if he will hear me out, he may understand how my ideas will work. By the same thinking, if you can read non-verbal communication, you might know when to push or when to back off. Skilled negotiators know this very well, and you can gain an advantage in knowing what the other person is saying in addition to his words. Objective 6. Describe various ways to improve communications with superiors, subordinates, and peers. There is a concept called 3-D communication which describes how you communicate up, down, and sideways, that is, to superiors, subordinates, and peers. Consider the difference: Many people speak with a different style and a different tone depending on whether the receiver is a superior, subordinate, or peer. It seems reasonable to speak with respect to your superiors, but consider what would happen if you used the same degree of respect when you are communicating with subordinates Some wise person has said that one of your jobs is to keep your bosss boss off your bosss back. That is true enough and it is good advice. Here is a valuable tip that can enhance your relationship to your boss when you take a problem to your boss: State the problem. Provide some options. Make a recommendation about which option you recommend. Ask for his suggestions. Look what this process does: It shows respect for the boss by keeping him informed about the situation. It brags on you because it shows you have done your homework and you are not just being a whiny baby complaining to the boss. It shows your insight regarding a possible solution and your assertiveness in recommending it. At the same time, it shows respect for the boss by acknowledging the possibility that he might have a better idea or preference. Avoid Sarcasm Don Rickles has made a fortune by being sarcastic, but aside from him, no one benefits from sarcasm. Sarcasm is designed to hurt the other person. It serves no useful purpose, but it does inhibit communication by straining relationships unnecessarily. I cannot overemphasize the importance of respect and courtesy in communicating with others Objective 7. Describe the importance of feedback and how to cultivate it. DuBrin (10th edition, page 66) defines feedback as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the message sent back from the receiver to the sender. That is a good, workable definition, but it is also limited. Certainly the idea of feedback implies sending something back, but you can get feedback on the quality of your work or someones idea of a new procedure. Even though different definitions exist about feedback, its importance cannot be denied. How do you give and receive feedback? Ask for it. This assumes that you have a relationship with the people from whom you are requesting feedback that they feel. Provide for it and be sensitive to it. Sometimes feedback is subtle; an employee might not be as friendly and as open as normal and you may suspect that some feedback is lurking in there somewhere so you may have to go back to #1. React honestly but diplomatically. Thats the dumbest thing I ever heard, will probably not get you the Supervisor of the Year Award. Listen to the feedback. It may be dumb, but you should not allow the employee to know you think that. Express appreciation and act on it. This does not mean that you must satisfy the employees desire, but it does mean you must do something and let the employee know. If you cant do anything, then also let the employee know that as well. Objective 8. Explain the term grapevine and distinguish it from rumor. The grapevine is an informal communications network. As a manager, you should not try to kill the it because you cant; and besides, it provides a good release of tension. Good or bad, grapevine is most active when formal communications are not forthcoming. You have probably experienced the grapevine via your e-mail. A large number of interesting things are spread indiscriminately that may have some truth, but to a large extent are not nearly as wonderful or as catastrophic as they first appear. I saw one recently about a giant oil and gas reserve in western North Dakota that was supposed to solve our energy need for the next 40 years, but the environmentalists have blocked its development. It turns out there is a oil reserve there, but it is not nearly as expansive as the grapevine had it. It wasnt a trillion barrels; it is more like 3-4 billion barrels and that amount would curtail imports for about one year./p> Rumor is different from the grapevine. Rumor is unsubstantiated hearsay and it does get put on the grapevine. Rumor has several characteristics: It is usually interesting Its source not identifiable and it is unverifiable It is somewhat ambiguous It usually has an element of truth What to do about rumor? Dont pass it along. Check it out. Provide honest and open communication. http://www.analytictech.com/mb119/grapevine-article.htm Susan Heathfield is a management consultant with strong credentials in corporate communications. She offers the following recommendations about rumor and gossip: Expect a certain amount of gossip; people want to know what is going on in their workplace, and they like to discuss work issues. The key is to know when the gossip is out-of-hand. You need to act if the gossip is: disrupting the work place and the business of work, hurting employees feelings, damaging interpersonal relationships, or injuring employee motivation and morale. If rumors and gossip seem to be rampant, you might want to look at them to see if there are recurring themes. It may be that you are not sharing enough information with them, or perhaps they dont trust you and are afraid to ask about important topics. Objective 9. Explain why listening is such a significant problem. Hearing is a physiological process involving sound transmission, nerves, the ears, and the smallest bones in the body: the ossicles, comprised of the malleus (the hammer), the incus (the anvil), and the stapes (the stirrup). Listening is a psychological process which requires focus as well as understanding, processing, and evaluation. Listening is work and many times we hear things, but we dont listen to them. You have heard the phrase, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in one ear and out the other? That is an example of hearing but not listening. Most people think they are good listeners, but a study has shown that a 10% listening effectiveness rate is not rare at all; 25% is common; and anyone who thinks he listens at a 60% effectiveness rate is fooling himself. Listening is the first thing children learn but it is the last thing taught, if at all. We emphasize reading and speaking in our schools, but listening skills traditionally have not been taught at all. That is changing somewhat because people are beginning to realize the importance of good listening skills. Have you ever met someone and five minutes later you couldnt remember his name? Sounds like a memory problem, doesnt it? It is not a memory problem, it is a listening problem. You were so intent on presenting a pleasing personality and putting the best foot forward that you didnt have any room left for listening. Actually, you do have the room, but you have to give it some concentration and focus on listening to the persons name. Discuss situations in which listening was not done properly and situations in which good listening skills paid off and report the best examples. Poor listening skills is one of the biggest problems in business and industry today. Poor listening causes low productivity, low morale, broken relationships with peers, subordinates, and bosses. Most of us listen at about a 25% level of effectiveness. Thats not very good. Even when we really try, the best we can do is about 60%. Listening is one of the most important things that any of us-workers, parents, bosses, whatever-can do to improve relationships and to get the job done. Do you like people? Other than a few soreheads, most of us would say yes. If you like people, then you need to like to listen. Even though you may be rushed, even though you think you may not have time to listen, listening is absolutely vital to getting the job done and maintaining relationships with your co-workers. Listening problems include the following: Listening is work and most of us are somewhat lazy. If you dont work at listening, you will not listen well. Having said that, you cannot work too hard or you will be concentrating so hard on listening that you will not listen well. Listening implies passivity and compliance to many people and they want to be in control. Sometimes our listening consists of grudgingly remaining silent until we get our turn to speak. Emotions get in the way of listening. When someone says something that pushes our hot button, we can become so charged up that we dont listen. Objective 10. Explain the process of active listening. You may have heard the term active listening which is the same thing as reflective listening. This concept is a listening tool and a human relations tool. Reflective listening is based on the idea that if people keep talking, sooner or later they will see the solution to their own problems. In addition to that, it helps both speaker and listener to be sure that what was spoken was the same as what was heard. The process works by the listener (the supervisor, perhaps?) listening carefully, then paraphrasing back to the speaker what he heard, or in some cases just asking for more information or clarification. Heres how it works: a team leader complains to the supervisor about his teams failure to follow through on their assignments. That bunch of dipsticks; they never do anything right. Sounds like youre pretty upset with them. You bet I am. I cant get them to follow instructions. What Im hearing is that they wont do what you tell them, is that right? Sometimes using reflective listening makes the speaker compare the reflection with what he said. That may require the speaker to revise his statement to more accurately reflect what he meant. Here are some typical reflective listening phrases: What Im hearing you say isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It sounds like you thinkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ So youre just wondering ifà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ You sound really disappointed. Reflective listening should not be used to diagnose the problem or to offer solutions. Additionally the listener should not make interpretations as to what he thinks the speaker is saying. The only thing the listener should do is offer a paraphrase of what the speaker is saying. Objective 11. Describe the keys to effective listening. Find areas of interest. You should make a decision when you are listening to someone. Either that person has something to say that you need to know or perhaps you should leave if you can do it diplomatically. Judge content not delivery. Sometimes people are not as articulate or as organized in their communications as they should be. It might be important to overlook the delivery shortcomings and focus on the message being sent. Hold your fire. People can really set you off by pushing your hot buttons. As a disciplined listener, you can deliberately choose not to get angry and just continue to listen. That does not make you a doormat because you can deal with the issues in an assertive, yet tactful way when it comes your turn to speak. Listen for ideas, not just information. Could the words be hiding something important? Later we will discuss the hidden agenda; and how you can deal with it. Work at listening. As we discussed earlier, listening is work and we need to know how much work to put into the job of listening. Remember that listening is faster than speech. Most people speak at about 150 words per minute (WPM). You can easily listen to speech at 450 WPM or even more with no loss in comprehension. That leaves a time differential that allows you to daydream and perhaps lose the train of thought or you can use the extra time to compare what the other person is saying to what you know, identify advantages and disadvantages, and identify the big picture and the supporting facts. Share your experiences on listening in M2.2. Objective 12. Describe why the concept of the hidden agenda is so important in communication. A hidden agenda is a matter which a person cannot or will not bring up, but which is causes him to do certain things or not do certain things. Examples of hidden agenda President Bush has been accused of having a hidden agenda with respect to the Iraq war. His critics say the real agenda was his desire to invade Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein; or for some, the real agenda was to seize Iraqs oil assets for the United States. The agenda he presented to the world was the imminent threat of Saddams weapons of mass destruction. Con artists are masters of hidden agenda; they gain your confidence and try to convince you that they are your friend, that they want to help you, but the real agenda is to steal your money. During the Viet Nam War, a leader in the anti-war movement said, If the Viet Nam War did not exist, we would have had to invent it. The hidden agenda here is, We must have something to protest or we dont exist. How should you handle a hidden agenda? First, you have to suspect it is there. If there is evidence that what the person is telling you is not what they really want to tell you, you can reflect back what they are saying.

The Tempests Power :: essays research papers

Lust for Power Any good story starts with an observation: an observation of the silent neighbor, the infamously loud aunt at the family reunion or the mysterious stranger, smiling at nothing. William Shakespeare always wrote of these observations. His characters in each of his plays represent some part of society or desire lying within society. â€Å"The Tempest†, Shakespeare’s farewell to playwriting, contrasts the idea of civilization and raw nature pertaining to the desire for power, and the greed that overwhelms a person to get that power. Does greed and power override the rules and structure of civilization? Is it inescapable? These universal desires bring two seemingly contrasting characters, Prospero and Caliban, closer than any other pair of characters in the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Tempest† centers on the loss and gain of power. Prospero is stripped of his power in civilization, and thus uses his magical powers in order to return to nature and regain some kind of leadership role. His deliberate involvement in the shipwreck, the overthrowing of Caliban, and the romance between his own daughter Miranda and Ferdinand, shows that he is attempting to regain the status that he had lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prospero, on the outside, seems to be the all-knowing ruler. However, his unique magical gifts give him undefeatable power to wreak vengeance on his enemies. Greed and vengeance as his motives shows that corruption cannot be fled from. It complicates the relationship between Caliban and Prospero for although Prospero claims to own his savage his savage speaks not like one who is owned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caliban feels the flip side of the power struggle. He is the defeated. The reader, however, is distracted from this because Caliban is made out to be a villain, and a savage. The reader hears of his attempts to rape Miranda and he is first introduced as a â€Å"tortoise† and often referred to as a beast or monster with a deformed body. But, interestingly, despite Caliban's deformed body and animal like appearance he possesses remarkable eloquence that gives him power.

Panopticon: The Ideal Social Order :: essays research papers

Panopticon: The Ideal Social Order "The Panopticon is a marvelous machine which, whatever use one may wish to put it to, produces homogenous effects of power." Panopticism is a style of controlling the individual and making him conform to the system. That system could refer to the police or the world as a whole. There is never a definite top position, therefore, everyone feels as if they are being monitored by someone else. It is for this reason that this disciplinary mechanism is so effective. The Panopticon serves as a tool for discipline and a laboratory of power. The capabilities of a Panopticon are endless. It is the basis for the government while it could also aid in the criminal activities for the mafia. In the government there is a system of checks and balances where nothing can get accomplished without the authorization of a higher ranked official. Once these ideas are passed they are then imposed on the individuals of society by other organizations . Whether it be the police, the IRA, or a neighborhood watch group. The Panopticon can serve the public in many ways. It can defend a country, reform prisoners, treat the ill, and educate the public. It does this by creating channels of power and distributing them to the individuals. In the Panopticon, no one individual shall be granted too much power so as to place his or her own values upon the masses. The concept behind panopticism is the distribution of power in order to better society as a whole. The historical problems with power have proven, when it is unevenly distributed, those with the power take advantage and impose their values on the public. For instance, Hitler was given too much power and he massacred millions of innocent people. The Panopticon, on the other hand, serves to increase the wealth, welfare, education, and spirituality of society. The Panopticon does punish but it does so in a means of reform. It attempts to restore the individual to a being that can be a productive and positive influence. The system has two main purposes, the distribution of power and the means of establishing discipline. Every aspect of the world has the ideas and principles of panopticism behind them. The world is full of intricate and complicated people. These people group together to create tribes, governments, countries, and or civilizations. What are the rules? How are we, the most complicated form of life that we know of, suppose to act towards one another. The panoptic system has implemented itself upon the world. It has created a system where no one

Immunization: Health Care Delivery

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO). Nowadays, this is one of the global issues that experts are trying to solve on how they can help each individual to attain this stage, which in the end they across of finding ways on how an individual will be able to achieve this goal. That is through immunization. Immunizations are used to protect the human body against preventable diseases. Immunizations are usually given in the form of a shot or vaccine.When one gets immunized, the body develops the ability to fight off a given disease. Immunizations safeguard the body from illnesses and death caused by certain infectious diseases. Some immunizations are given to prevent a single disease, while others will take care of two or three diseases. Immunizations help control infectious diseases that were once common. They have reduced, and in many cases, eliminated, diseases that routinely killed or harmed infant s, children, and adults.However, the viruses and bacteria that cause vaccine-preventable disease and death still exist and can be passed on to people who are not immunized. Children need immunizations to protect them from dangerous childhood diseases. How can this be possible for everybody? That was answered by World Health Organization, when they initiated the Expanded Program on Immunization in May 1974 with the objective to vaccinate children throughout the world.Ten years later, in 1984, the WHO established a standardized vaccination schedule for the original EPI vaccines: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DPT), oral polio, and measles. Increased knowledge of the immunologic factors of disease led to new vaccines being developed and added to the EPI’s list of recommended vaccines: Hepatitis B (HepB), yellow fever in countries endemic for the disease, and Haemophilus influenzae meningitis (Hib) conjugate vaccine in countries with high burden of disease.In 1999, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) was created with the sole purpose of improving child health in the poorest countries by extending the reach of the EPI. The GAVI brought together a grand coalition, including the UN agencies and institutions (WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank), public health institutes, donor and implementing countries, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, the vaccine industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and many more.The creation of the GAVI has helped to renew interest and maintain the importance of immunizations in battling the world’s large burden of infectious diseases. The current goals of the EPI are: to ensure full immunization of children under one year of age in every district, to globally eradicate poliomyelitis, to reduce maternal and neonatal tetanus to an incidence rate of less than one case per 1,000 births by 2005, to cut in half the number of measles-related deaths that occurred in 1999, and to extend all new vaccine and preventive health interventions to children in all districts in the world.In addition, the GAVI has set up specific milestones to achieve the EPI goals: that by 2010 all countries have routine immunization coverage of 90% of their child population, that HepB be introduced in 80% of all countries by 2007 and that 50% of the poorest countries have Hib vaccine by 2005. In each of the United Nations’ member states, the individual national governments create and implement their own policies for vaccination programs following the guidelines set by the EPI.Setting up an immunization program is multifaceted and contains many complex components including a reliable cold chain system, transport for the delivery of the vaccines, maintenance of vaccine stocks, training and monitoring of health workers, outreach educational programs to inform the public, and a means of documenting and recording which child receives which vaccines.At the local level, implementation of the health care delivery system has been given greater responsibility to the local government Unit (LGU) by virtue of the Local Government Code of 1991, the Magna Carta for health workers for Republic Act 7305 in 1992, and the barangay health workers benefits in Incentives Act of 1995. The latter act provides for training volunteer workers as well as minimal incentives to convince them to help run barangay health station or centers. This volunteer will assist in clerical tasks and minor health procedures, such as weighing and measuring patients and malnutrition mitigating activities.However, this workers do it in this context that the study was conceptualize the results of the study may provide an assessment of the status of the health care delivery system and immunization status of children whose ages are 0 to 12 months old in Barangay San Juan- San Ramon of Municipality of Camaligan, Camarines Sur. The research finding can be a basis and inputs to the Local Government Units of Camaligan and Barangay San Juan- San Ramon in planning and implementation of barangay health care delivery system.Furthermore, allocation of Local Government Units (LGUs) budget or expenditure priority can also be guided towards a more responsive allocation level of health services. Results of the study may also contribute towards awareness building and educating the barangay residence about preventive health care. In terms of capacity building, the Local Government Unit (LGU) and the National Government will be given one basis for their technical support and training program for the health care workers to better improved the capacity to perform their jobs.After all, an empowered and well trained social health care work force will improved the delivery of community health care and reduce the number of children from preventable illnesses such as measles, malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and acute respiratory infection. Providing care for the children is really important. They will live to grow into adulthood and eventually become the future adult citizens. To ensure a productive future for these children, they must be protected from heavy childhood diseases which can be prevented through immunization.Presidential Decree No. 996 stated about â€Å"providing for compulsory basic immunization for infants and children below 8 years of age†. Immunization is one of the most important preventive management that should be done and given to infants in the first few months of his life. Estimates reveal that diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, and measles are responsible for the deaths of about 5 million children every year in developing countries.These diseases are preventable through immunization with a handful of vaccines that can be given within the first year of a child’s life. Immunization has been recognized and accepted as one of the most important components in the prevention and control of c ommunicable diseases. Immunization is a basic health service; therefore it is integrated into the healthcare delivery service of the ministry of health. With the assistance of UN children’s fund and WHO, the ministry of ealth launches the expanded program on immunization objective of reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of the EPI mentioned by increasing the proportion of fully immunized children in their first year of life. The researchers are fully aware and knowledgeable about the immunization that will provide maximal immunity to Expanded Program on Immunization diseases before a child’s first birthday. The respondents are well exposed to immunization activities for they have volunteered and participated in the community’s activity program. Thus, they can well undertake the study.

Internet mini case Essay

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) was a specialty retailer of products for the home. The company’s products were sold through two channels: the retail channel and the direct-to-customer channel. The retail segment comprised four retail concepts: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and Hold Everything. The direct-to-customer segment sold though eight retail catalogs: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Bed + Bath, PB Teen, Hold Everything, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma Home (which incorporated elements from the previously separate Chambers) as well as through four e-commerce sites. The catalogs reached customers throughout the United States, and the four retail businesses operated 522 stores in 42 states and Washington, DC. The retail segment accounted for 58.9% of total sales; the direct-to-customer segment accounted for 41.1% in fiscal 2003. Charles E. Williams, Director Emeritus of the company in 2003, founded Williams-Sonoma in 1956 to offer high-end culinary and serving equipment in an upscale retail environment. The company entered the direct-to-customer channel in 1972, with the introduction of its flagship catalog, â€Å"A Catalog for Cooks,† which marketed the Williams-Sonoma brand. In 1983, the company internally developed the Hold Everything catalog to offer innovative and stylish storage solutions for home and home office. The success of the catalog led to the opening of the first Hold Everything retail store in 1985. In 1986, the company acquired Pottery Barn, at that time a marginally successful retailer and direct-to-customer merchant featuring a large assortment of casual home furnishings and accessories including furniture, lamps and lighting fixtures, rugs, window treatments, linens, dinnerware, and glassware. In 1989, Williams-Sonoma created Chambers, a direct-to-customer merchandiser of high-quality, premium-priced linens, towels, robes, soaps, and accessories for bed and bath. This case was prepared by Professor Maryanne M. Rouse, MBA, CPA, University of South Florida. Copyright  © 2005 by Professor Maryanne M. Rouse. This case cannot be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder, Maryanne M. Rouse. Reprint permission is solely granted to the publisher, Prentice Hall, for the books, Strategic Management and Business Policy – 10th and 11th Editions (and the International version of this book) and Cases in Strategic Management and Business Policy – 10th Edition by the copyright holder, Maryanne M. Rouse. This case was edited for SMBP and Cases in SMBP – 10th Edition. The copyright holder is solely responsible for case content. Any other publication of the case (translation, any form of electronics or other media) or sold (any form of partnership) to another publisher will be in violation of copyright law, unless Maryanne M. Rouse has granted an additional written reprint permission. In early 1999, the company launched both its Williams-Sonoma Internet wedding and gift registry web site and its Williams-Sonoma e-commerce site. Later that year, the company launched a separate Pottery Barn Kids catalog to offer well-made, stylish children’s furniture and decorative accessories. (Pottery Barn Kids was one of the first concepts to market in what is expected to be a major growth segment during the next decade, as birthrates in the United States. are expected to surpass rates achieved at any time in the past 30 years. Birthrates among older women are soaring, and older moms tend to be wealthier and more willing to splurge on their children.) Pottery Barn Kids stores were opened adjacent to Pottery Barn stores across the United States, and by September 2004, there were 78 stores. Edward Mueller, Williams-Sonoma CEO, expected Pottery Barn Kids to be the primary growth vehicle for the company over the next several years. Williams-Sonoma launched its Pottery Barn web site and created a separate Pottery Barn Bed + Bath catalog in 2000. In 2001, the company added a Pottery Barn Kids web site, and a Pottery Barn online gift and bridal registry, and it opened five new retail stores in Toronto, Ontario. In line with its related diversification growth strategy, Williams-Sonoma tested a new catalog in summer 2002, under the West Elm brand. This new brand targeted young, design-conscious customers seeking to furnish first homes/apartments/lofts with quality furniture and accessories at affordable price points. West Elm product categories included furniture, decorative accessories, and an extensive textiles collection. In 2003, Williams-Sonoma expanded its catalog mailings for West Elm, added a web site, and opened its first retail store. Williams-Sonoma launched PB Teen with a catalog and web site in late April 2003. PB Teen was intended to fill the market space between Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids with hip, exclusively designed furniture, rugs, lighting, bedding, and accessories promoted with its catalog, interactive web site, special sales campaigns, and contests. The company’s newest concept, Williams-Sonoma Home, was introduced in third quarter 2004 to tap into what company Chairman William H. Lester noted had been an empty space between the Pottery Barn demographic and designer home furnishings. Lester hoped to position this brand extension as an upscale furniture concept that would be more classic and less fashion-forward than Pottery Barn. Dave DeMattei, Williams-Sonoma’s President of Emerging Brands, noted that the look of casual elegance was â€Å"aspirational,† using an industry term for a product that helps a consumer trade up without necessarily spending top dollar. This new home collection, put together by Steven Brady, former President for Home Design at Ralph Lauren Home, featured down-plumped sofas ranging from $2,200 to $5,800 and $3,000 leather headboards as well as crystal lamps, cashmere throws, and the upscale linens formerly featured in the company’s Chambers catalog. (The company planned to fold the Chambers catalog into the Williams-Sonoma Home catalog.) Although some industry watchers questioned whether consumers would be willing to buy somewhat pricey furnishing sight-unseen, the company’s alliances with decorators, who would get trade discounts, were expected to help overcome initial resistance. The first Williams-Sonoma Home retail stores were expected to open early in 2 005. Retail Stores As of September 2004, Williams-Sonoma operated a total of 522 retail stores located in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Toronto, Ontario: 242 Williams-Sonoma, 176 Pottery Barn, 82 Pottery Barn Kids, 7 Hold Everything, 1 West Elm, and 14 outlet stores. The company leased rather than owned its retail space. As of September 2004, the company’s gross leased square feet totaled 4,292,000, with 2,705,000 â€Å"selling† square feet. Lease terms ranged from 3 to 23 years. The average square feet per retail location increased from 7,660 in 2002 to 8,200 by August 2004, as the company replaced older, smaller Pottery Barn stores with larger stores carrying a wider variety of merchandise, including furniture. Direct-to-Customer Operations The direct-to-customer segment sold a variety of products through eight catalogs and e-commerce web sites. The company sent its catalogs to addresses from its proprietary customer lists as well as to names it received in exchange (or purchases) from other mail-order merchandisers, magazines, and other companies. The direct-to-customer business complemented the retail business by building customer awareness of the brand and acting as an effective promotional vehicle. Williams-Sonoma also used its catalogs and e-commerce sites as a cost-efficient means of testing market acceptance of new products. As of 2004, of the eight merchandising concepts, the Pottery Barn brand and its extensions had been the major source of sales growth in this segment for the previous several years. A good deal of Pottery Barn’s success was attributed to its ability to create a â€Å"lifestyle brand.† A brand gained â€Å"lifestyle† status via style, innovation, and appeal to customers who wanted to lead a particular style of life; in short, it allowed the company to reach a higher level in terms of the connection it made with the customer. Facilities/Locations Williams-Sonoma leased centralized distribution facilities in Olive Branch, Mississippi (2,152,000 square feet), and Memphis, Tennessee (1,515,000 square feet), and call centers in Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (approximately 36,000 square feet in each location). Distribution centers served both the company’s retail locations and fulfillment operations. The company also leased office, warehouse, design/photo studio, and data center space in California, New York, and Florida. In February, Williams-Sonoma purchased headquarters offices in San Francisco. Suppliers The company’s sourcing strategy included relationships with manufacturers in over 40 countries. Approximately 58% of merchandise purchases were from non-U.S. vendors, most of which were located in Europe and Asia. Substantially all of the company’s foreign purchases of merchandise were negotiated and paid for in U.S. dollars. Any event causing a sudden disruption or delay of imports from foreign vendors, including the imposition of additional import restrictions, restrictions on the transfer of funds and/or increased tariffs or quotas, or both, against home-centered items could increase the cost or reduce merchandise availability. No supplier accounted for more than 4% of Williams-Sonoma’s total purchases. Finance In fiscal 2003 (fiscal year ended February 1, 2004), Williams-Sonoma reported a 16.7% increase in net revenues over the prior year, the highest pretax operating margin and earnings per share in the company’s history and an increasing return on assets. Williams-Sonoma’s profit for the quarter ended August 1, 2004, jumped 55% as sales surged at the company’s Pottery Barn and outlet stores. Revenue for second quarter 2004 increased 19%, to $689.6 million, with direct-to-customer sales up an impressive 27%. Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids drove second quarter retail growth with same-store sales increases of 10.2%; however, same-store sales at the company’s Williams-Sonoma stores slid 1.6%. The closing price for Williams-Sonoma stock on October 14, 2004, was $36.33. (Note: Williams-Sonoma’s annual and quarterly reports and SEC filings are available via the company’s web site, www.williams-sonomainc.com, and www.wsj.com ) The Industry The specialty retail business was highly competitive and characterized by a number of challenges, including: Anticipating and quickly responding to changing consumer demands Maintaining favorable brand recognition and effectively marketing products to consumers in diverse market segments Developing innovative, high-quality products in colors and styles that appealed to consumers of varying age groups and tastes Competitively pricing products and achieving customer perception of value Providing strong and effective marketing support Specialty retail exhibited the low entry barriers characteristic of fragmented industries, barriers that may be all but eliminated with the increased popularity of the Internet. Favored products for online shopping included computers, books, CDs, electronics, toys, and housewares. Over time, industry analysts expected catalog retailing to merge with e-tailing as web sites become electronic catalogs. For successful companies with strong brand names, the combination of stores and web sites would be a powerful one; however, expenditures for e-commerce sites would hurt profitability in the short run. Competitors Williams-Sonoma’s specialty retail stores, mail-order catalogs, and Internet web sites competed with other retail stores, other mail-order catalogs, and other e-commerce web sites that marketed similar lines of merchandise. The company competed with national, regional, and local businesses as well as traditional furniture stores, department stores and specialty stores. The substantial sales growth in the direct-to-customer industry within the past decade had encouraged both the entry of new competitors and an increase in competition from established companies. Direct competitors included such national companies as Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Pier 1 Imports, and Bombay Company, as well as regional companies such as the Door Store, Rolling Pin Kitchen Emporium, Home Elements, and Expressions. Crate & Barrel A counterculture story of the 1960s, Crate & Barrel opened its first store in Chicago’s Old Town in 1962 and mailed its first catalog in 1967. Privately held Crate & Barrel prided itself on designing beautiful store displays that were difficult to copy and worked diligently to find products from smaller, out-of-the way factories that made beautiful products that consumers could afford. Although the company had significantly fewer brick-and-mortar locations (84 retail and outlet stores) than the Williams-Sonoma retail concepts with which it competed, Crate & Barrel marketed nationwide via its catalogs and web site. Restoration Hardware Restoration Hardware grew from just 20 stores in 1997 to 104 at the end of 2001, barely 37 behind Pottery Barn in brick-and-mortar locations; however, the company had had a difficult time managing growth. Its aggressive expansion between 1998 and 2000 cost it two years of profits and sank the value of its stock to as low as $.50 a share in December 2000, from $37 a share in 1998, the year it went public. The closing price for its stock on May 19, 2002, was $10.19. Both Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn sold high-dollar, vintage-style furniture and home furnishings and had many other characteristics in common, including significant growth in direct-to-customer sales. Industry observers estimated that while Pottery Barn targeted the wealthiest 20% of Americans, Restoration Hardware targeted the wealthiest 10%. Whimsical nostalgia had been a big seller for Restoration Hardware for several years, with such items as retro tools, steamer chairs that could have come straight from the set of Titanic, shot glasses decorated with optometrists’ eye charts, and down-filled â€Å"foot duvets† proving hugely popular with shoppers. Restoration Hardware’s not-so-secret weapon in the battle for upscale customers could well have been Gary Friedman. In spring 2001, Friedman, who managed Pottery Barn’s explosive growth in the 1990s, was named CEO of Restoration Hardware after having been passed over for the top job at Williams-Sonoma. Pier 1 Imports Pier 1 Imports comprised three chains of retail stores operating under the names Pier 1 Imports, The Pier, and Cargo. Products offered included a wide variety of furniture, decorative home furnishings, dining and kitchen goods, bath and bedding, and other specialty items for the home. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2004 (fiscal 2003), it operated 1,015 Pier 1 stores in the United States and 68 Pier 1 stores in Canada, and it also supported 8 franchised stores in the United States. In addition, it operated 29 stores located in the United Kingdom under the name The Pier and 40 Cargokids stores located in the United States. Pier 1 also supplied merchandise, and it licensed the Pier 1 Imports name to Sears Mexico and Sears Puerto Rico, which sold Pier 1 merchandise in a store-within-a-store format in 20 Sears Mexico stores and in 7 Sears Puerto Rico stores. The Bombay Company The Bombay Company’s retail stores and catalog emphasized classic traditional furniture, wall decor, and accessories. Furniture included both wood and metal ready-to-assemble furniture designed for the bedroom, living room, dining room, and home office. Functional and decorative accessories included lamps, jewelry, baskets, candles, scents, ceramics, frames, and desktop items. Wall decor included prints and mirrors. On January 31, 2004, the company operated 415 stores in 42 states and 56 stores in 9 Canadian provinces, as well as 46 outlet stores. The company viewed the outlets as an opportunity to increase sales to a different customer base, to assist in the orderly clearance of merchandise, and to further capitalize on its strength in designing and sourcing proprietary products. Accessories, the broadest category offered by the company, accounted for 43% of sales in 2003, while large furniture accounted for 31%, and ready-to-assemble products 14%, with wall decor accounting for the remaining 12%. Door Store The privately held Door Store operated nine retail locations in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Its products included contemporary and traditional case goods and upholstered furniture; it competed with both Pottery Barn and Hold Everything. The company’s product strategy was to anticipate trends in furniture and to make quality furniture available to style-conscious customers at â€Å"prices almost too good to be true.† The Door Store also marketed via its web site and shipped nationwide. Rolling Pin Kitchen Emporium This privately held franchise kitchen and housewares concept, with headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, had store locations in regional and upscale malls in Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. In addition to retail sales, the company marketed nationwide via catalogs and its web site. The Rolling Pin competed with Williams-Sonoma. Other Competitors Other competitors across retail concepts included local and regional furniture and specialty stores, department stores, and direct-ship manufacturers. Williams-Sonoma’s expansion from the kitchen into the rest of the home with its flagship brand via the new Williams-Sonoma Home concept was expected to reorder a landscape dominated by traditional retailers such as Ethan Allen and Room & Board and by â€Å"tastemakers† such as Martha Stewart for Bernhardt and Ralph Lauren Home.