Cognitive-Behavioral Case Study of London: A Conceptualization and Treatment Plan

In this conceptualization and treatment plan, the client’s presenting problems will be discussed in detail including symptoms and diagnosis. All disclosed problem areas for the client are described including, depression and anxiety. Cognitive behavioral theory is explained including the theory’s core concepts and key elements. Cognitive behavioral theory is utilized as the theory of choice throughout the treatment plan and conceptualization. The goals and interventions utilized are outlined also utilizing cognitive behavioral theory techniques. The goals for this client and treatment plan include; In conclusion the expected outcome of each intervention utilized is disclosed and all other challenges of the entire process are given. Presenting Concerns London presents as a 24-year old biracial woman of African-American and Caucasian decent. London came into counseling due to ongoing depression and poor peer relations caused by her anxiety and mistrust issues. London is a single mother recently discharged from the military with minimal support systems in place. She is currently working in a job she dislikes and feels trapped in her present life as it is. Her child’s father is incarcerated and she has been hiding this information from her family out of fear of judgment. London has four siblings three of which are younger than she. London and her siblings were raised by their paternal grandmother due to her parent’s drug abuse issues. London’s grandmother often displayed signs of depression during her childhood although it went undiagnosed without treatment. London described some symptoms of post-partum depression after the birth of her son, which went untreated. London does not have good relationships with her siblings nor does she have any solid peer relationships she feels she needs. London was raised as a Christian, but feels disconnected from God and guilty over her choices to have a child out of wedlock. London is now feeling increased anxiety about telling her family about her issues with her son’s father and what his return will do to their already strained relationship. Case Conceptualization Speaking to London revealed many issues with forming and maintain healthy relationships. London’s lack of substantial relational exchanges with her parents seems to have caused much anxiety now that she herself is a parent (she reports being anxious around her child). Both London’s mother and father were not present during the ties she was trying to build a solid sense of self-awareness. London reports constantly being indecisive about things, as she was unsure of her likes and dislikes. London may have developed a poor sense of self, as she felt rejected by both parents. That rejection has now resurfaced in the relationship with Zion’s father, Xavier. Like her parents, Xavier left London during a pivotal time in her life. London may now believe she will become withdrawn and distant towards her own child the way her mother and father had done to her. London’s disconnect from herself and reality continued throughout adulthood when her grandmother did not pay as much attention to her as she would’ve liked. London has allowed feelings of incompetence and inadequacy hinder her progress at work, school, and in her peer relationships. London developed a habit of distancing herself from others in an attempt to avoid developing relationships. This distance included her siblings as she indicated she does not call them, visit them, or take any of their calls. London is also dishonest about what is going in her life with her family. London’s distorted view on her relationships has fueled her desire to maintain unhealthy relationships with men including her children’s father and other male figures. London reports being afraid to break off the relationship as she does not feel she can find someone else. Goals and Interventions

Law Enforcement Today Essay

Many police departments are facing budget problems, forcing them to cut their police force down. Many officers are being asked to do things they normally don’t do such as patrolling. Police departments are also facing increasing crimes due to the poor economy. More people are engaging in criminal activities. Local and small agencies interact with the communities that they patrol on a daily basis. Sharing information between agencies are important not only for Home Land Security but for the public’s safety as well. Law enforcement agencies are using The Home Land Security Information Network which allows them to securely collaborate with partners across the country. Law enforcement professionals also use HSIN to share information including Be on the Lookouts (BOLOs), Requests for Information (RFIs), For Your Information (FYIs), Intelligence Reports, and other Law Enforcement Sensitive documents. HSIN allows users to create and distribute messages to large, mission-specific contact lists. This rapid, secure information exchange provides law enforcement professionals with critical intelligence as they conduct work in the field (â€Å"Homeland Security Information Network – Law Enforcement Mission†, n. d. ). The purpose of this State and Local Fusion Center Concept of Operations (CONOPS) is to establish a framework for a comprehensive, coordinated and consistent approach for outreach by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to State and Local Fusion Centers (SLFCs). This CONOPS outlines DHS processes relating to SLFC support including intelligence and operational information flows and interactions, deployment of officers, component integration, and identification of SLFC requirements, technical assistance and training. DHS will also ensure outreach, communication, and integration with other multidisciplinary partners (i. e. , fire service, public health, and emergency management), to further ensure and facilitate information sharing between SLFCs and these disciplines. This CONOPS will be periodically reviewed and modified as additional processes are implemented and refinements identified The CONOPS provides transparency into DHS support to SLFCs. The CONOPS also: – Furthers the goals of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the Program Manager Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE) to develop and support a national information sharing environment and network of fusion centers. Underscores the role of the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis as the Executive Agent for DHS SLFC Program and DHS’s representative to various Federal Senior-level advisory groups providing guidance and support to fusion centers. – Defines the roles and responsibilities of the State and Local Program Management Office (SLPO) to execute the DHS SLFC Implementation Plan and to lead DHS outreach to SLFCs which includes, but is not limited to, the assignment of DHS intelligence analysts and officers and the provision of tools to the fusion centers nationwide. The SLPO serves in the central coordination role for DHS interaction with SLFCs. – Institutionalizes the Single Point of Service (SPS), a coordinated Office of Intelligence and Analysis/Office of Operations Coordination and Planning business process, developed to ensure all SLFC inquires are responded to expeditiously by the appropriate elements within DHS and there is accountability for this transactional activity. An assumption circulating within information sharing discourse is that the effectiveness of information sharing can be measured in terms of information flow, distribution, timeliness, coordination, and related system performance measures. 44 The Information Sharing Environment’s (ISE) stated mission is to ensure the ability of agencies to share information – but just who is responsible for ensuring that such abilities to share information tangibly improve preparedness remains unclear. This study indicates that using system performance measures and capabilities to assess the effectiveness of information sharing is inadequate and potentially wasteful and misleading. In developing metrics to assess the benefits of information sharing, officials must engage in the difficult task of relating system use to tangible improvements in preparedness. Information-sharing initiatives also unfold within varying budgetary constraints and divergent funding priorities. As a result, future research needs to address how financial and structural conditions influence information-sharing processes and practices. This study also suggests the need for comparative and longitudinal research of information sharing. However, future studies that attempt to construct concrete variables for hypothesis testing may similarly confront the contingency of the meanings of information sharing and preparedness. Although information sharing and preparedness are socially-defined concepts, their meanings can be mapped within different organizational contexts and across time using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Doing so can potentially assist policy makers and practitioners assess the utility of information-sharing strategies and the impact of associated organizational change efforts.

Abercrombie & Fitch Essay Example for Free

Abercrombie & Fitch Essay ? Think about high school and all the students that fill up its student body. When thinking of the students, do stereotypes and cliches come to mind? As teens form close relationships with others, they struggle to understand who they are and where they fit in; they start to form their own identity in relation to others. High school is a critical time of social development which forms these cliches. Social styles differ- some teens want to join groups, others prefer not to interact in extra curriculum activities after or during school, and then there are students that are just socially awkward. For example, some students prefer to play sports which lead them to hang out with all the athletes. Some students despise sports and so they form their own groups like the nerds or bums. Within each different cliche, there is a distinct style in their clothing. These stereotyped cliches are often classified by their clothing style which creates the groups like â€Å"preps†, â€Å"jocks†, and â€Å"nerds. † The word prep was originally used for rich students who went to expensive private schools that were well known to students from public schools. These students weren’t always snobs, and they normally did much more sophisticated things then an average middle class student. For example, instead of playing football, they played a game of polo, and shopped in Grunkemeyer2 stores like Coco Chanel, Dolce and Gabana, Christian Dior, and Gucci. They dressed on the formal end with exceptions of wearing plaid shorts, or canvas pants on casual occasions. In today’s society, we have the public school â€Å"snobby preps†. Snobby preps are the people that everybody loves, but hates at the same time. The prep is the boy or girl that is concerned with the way they look. They can usually see themselves on the cover of a Ralph Lauren catalogue or modeling for Abercrombie and Fitch because of their great looks and style. The prep usually dresses nice everyday to school and swears to the bible to never wear sweatpants to school or wear the same outfit more than twice. The prep would never want to be caught at Goodwill, The Dollar Store, or Wal-Mart shopping for clothes. Brands like Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, Hollister, Abercrombie, and Coach are the stores they prefer to shop at and whenever they need money, they just ask their daddy. Their personality is usually outgoing and they are very involved in activities. The popularity of themselves may be the product of their happiness. There would be no one for the prep to date if we didn’t have the jocks. There would be no school spirit if we didn’t have the jock guys and gals. Jocks tend to be those star athletes that have the confidence that relies on cockiness. Oh wait, it is cockiness. As a jock, they must have a high self-esteem that gives them the right to be popular. Being a jock isn’t as easy as it sounds; you have to love the sport you play, and enjoy the pressure of being so good. After all, the entire school is counting on them to win and get that winning title. Jocks feel lucky for who they are because they get many perks for being an athlete. First, they can come to school every day wearing Nike, Under Armour, or Michael Jordan clothes looking like a bum and not be judged on their looks. The girls can go without doing their hair and wear it in a messy bun and the boys can go without matching cloths and no one will say a thing to the athlete. Of course, you can’t Grunkemeyer3 forget the free spirit apparel that gets given to them so they can have a new pair of sweatpants and t-shirt for everyday of the week. Second; if they are good enough, their grades won’t matter because they’ll be going to college on an athletic scholarship. Don’t be ashamed, the jock physically earned their way there! Unlike a jock, where everybody praises them, literally everyone: the team, coaches, teachers, students, family, and the community. Then there are people like the nerds who get picked on because people look down on them. The nerds are very shy, wear unflattering clothes, and have a congestion problem, so what? They have the brains. Who cares what everyone else thinks, they still have friends and way more success for their future. The nerds might blame it on the thick crooked lensed glasses or high water jeans because they cannot get â€Å"Ms/Mr. Perfect† to date them. However, it’s the Harry Potter, Star Wars, and science fiction shirts that no one understands and stops them from getting a date. It could also be their whitie tighties or grandma underwear that is still hanging out from the wedgie they got after gym class. Nerds are very insecure when it comes to fashion. Unfortunately, they will not go outside their box when it comes to clothing, but they will go out of the box when it comes to math or science. Since they can’t score â€Å"Ms/Mr. Perfect† they established a great group of friends that they can do math problems with on the weekends. No moment is ever dull in a nerd’s life. Fashion can tell a lot about a person. What kind of clothes someone wears can allow people to label them and make stereotypes. Stereotypes will classify you in to a cliche, which is what everyone has to deal with even outside of high school. The most common cliches are the preps and the snobs. They dress to impress by wearing the best of best name brands and wear Grunkemeyer4 them every day as they walk down the hall judging other’s outfits. Next are the jocks, of course, people can tell they are jocks because they are wearing their free Nike sweat suit with the team logo as they walk down the hall way with confidence. Lastly, the nerds are wearing their science fiction t-shirts that people are reading and thinking â€Å"People really wear those? † as they walk down the hall way. Think about your style, what cliche do you think you are in? Abercrombie & Fitch. (2016, Oct 01).

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Economics - Essay Example According to this system of pricing, it is not as the view of Smith and Marshall of the mixed bag where different people participate in production to a common pool and keep the products for all but is a situation where individuals have control over resources (Sandri 13). While people were producing and living in communities in the past, in the current day, people adopted the issue of capitalism where they advocate for individualism. This means that they maximize profit on any opportunities they have and they are therefore, profit maximizing rather than building a community minded and working to maximize their satisfaction of all (Sandri 31). In the market, different factors that influence the production and exchange of products determine wages and profits individuals or organizations make. The amount of a product in the market is a key determiner of its cost because the law of supply and demand implies that t if the supply is high, and the demand is low, the product will cost little amount of money and the if demand is high and the supply is low, the price will be high. This means that when prices are high, the chances for profit will be high and the vice versa is true even in payment of products and services including labor. In the subjective theory of value, people involve themselves in activities that cause them to exploit the opportunities they have in their environment without disruption from the society. In this theory, reform is not required because it ensures that people have their position in exploiting the environment so that they can get rewards and benefits in a specific venture. In the subjective theory of value, distribution of income among people is not encouraged because different people play different individualistic activities and the benefits of it extend to the one who participated in it (Sandri 21). In the subjective theory of value, people concentrate on the capitalistic models of economic system in which people concentrate on the differen t things that happen in the society and cause competiveness in people. In this model of economy, according to Marx, competitiveness ensures that few have a lot of resources while a large number of people have less to accumulate for their own. This theory of economy ensures privatization of property such as land and capital to various privileged individuals in the society (Sandri 27). My social theory is that capitalism which advocate for individualism and the potential of each individual in establishing a system of production and distribution of benefits. In this model of production, people focus on improving their lives and in the process the economy of all the people are improved. Government laws provide a framework for people to exploit the resources around the economy as well as regulating potential for exploitation of citizen in the capitalistic system. The role of the government in a system of economy should be to ensure stability and sustainability of the system so that there is continuity of production in the economy. Economics is not a pure science that operates according to set out rules but it is a science that operates according to variations that exist within contexts. This implies that people exchange goods and services as determined by the conditions that prevail in the environment in which the processes are taking place. In recommending a policy, a

Thinking about literature review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Thinking about literature review - Assignment Example Technology and educational change have led to the rise of NBLT, which uses internet hence; increasing literacy in the information. However, Postman (1993) condemns that use of computers for having led to lose of confidence in human judgement and subjectivity. Nevertheless, the invention of internet has enabled students to use the Web for their research. Indisputably, a majority of students use the internet to begin their research assignment (Chen et al., 2010). The distance students are not able to reach their various libraries in order to access the books with relevant information (Chen et al., 2010). These students therefore get the information for research work from the internet. Neil Postman (1993) argues that technology has a monopoly of power in our society especially given that the society no longer use technology as a support system but because it is shaped by it. Postman argues that technology in communication affects the education as well as monopolizing reading habits of the youth. Postman (1993) adds that technology has led to information chaos besides cultural changes especially through printing and broadcasting. Even though the use of the internet has led information literacy, Postman argues that invention of technology has disadvantages too (Postman,

Writing a memoir Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing a memoir - Essay Example I once came face to face with my own feelings toward a bully that made me reassess my own ability to feel empathy toward someone who had never done anything but expressed profound hatred toward me and others. This bully's name was Fidel and he had a habit of picking on people. One day a kid fought back and Fidel was on the receiving end of a good old-fashioned whooping. My sympathy went toward Fidel who had been such a perfect model of a bully rather than the little kid who had avenged us all. Why Why on earth did I suddenly feel this compassion toward a person for whom I had never felt anything but contempt I realized that day that the mind is far more than a mystery; it is a comic mystery, forever capable of upending expectations. What I learned from feeling an unexpected depth of emotion toward someone that I normally feared and despised was that placing some kind of expectation upon emotions is senseless. Whenever I hear someone say something like "nobody would ever react in such and such a way" what they are really saying is everybody reacts the same way to every circumstance. My compassion for a brutal bully allows me to laugh at people expressing such remarkably unimaginative beliefs. The experience with Fidel and the intrusio

Company law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Company law - Coursework Example Dissolution of a company can be voluntary or through winding up. Voluntary liquidation of a  company  occurs when the shareholders of a company come to a consensus,  pass  a resolution saying that they have agreed to  dissolve  the company. On the other hand, the court may  give  out an  order  for the winding up of a company commonly done at the behest of a creditor who has not been paid.  According to Ahmadu and Robert (425) global trends have led companies to be cautious in the way their operations  are halted. Question 1 Liquidation of any company entails the winding up of financial statements in order to  create  time  for effective dismantling of the structure of the company and  help  in  fairly  distributing the assets of the company to its creditors.  Liquidation provides the only  true  way of ending the activities and operations of a company because both the assets and  financial  structure  are evaluated  (Ahmadu and Rob ert, 471). The court order for compulsory winding up Zed Ltd provides both the company and creditors with transparency and accountability because an independent entity, the liquidator,  is given  the task of protecting the interests of the shareholders, directors, creditors, and members. Since the court has appointed a liquidator, it shows that the creditor had enough  proof  to show that Zed Ltd truly is not able to pay all its debts. In addition, the company has in the recent past had cash flow problems. Therefore, Zed Ltd is insolvent. In the case of Niger Merchants Co. v Copper (1877) 185 ChD 557n, Jessel MR proposed that pursuing a winding-up petition for a solvent company is an abuse of the court’s process (Hicks and Goo, 609). Other such cases include Mann v Goldstein, and the sentiments of Malins VC in Cadiz Waterworks Co. v Barnett (1874) LR 19 Eq 182. Zed Ltd is unable to pay its debts; hence the creditor can apply to the court for a petition for winding-up. Section 123 provides information that can be used to substantiate whether or not a company is unable to pay its debts. The companies act provides provisions that are to be followed during liquidation as asserted by OECD (246). Although Zed Ltd was not aware of the petition filed in court by one of their creditors, the law requires the company not to  accept  any deliveries of goods for which it has not prepared any payment procedures. Also, the company  is supposed  to maintain the current status of its creditors, but it should not improve or  make  worse the situation. Nonetheless, any improvement or worsening of the situation may  lead  the directors to incur personal liability or be liable for misfeasance (Debt UK, 2008). The company has to ensure that no assets fall into the hands of creditors  because  they may be available for set off. Zed Ltd was under pressure to  pay  up its outstanding bills and debts; it sold a spare machine for ?10,000 whose  i nitial  price  was ?9,000. Moreover, the company had donated a minibus to a charity in an  attempt  to promote the company’s image. However, Zed Ltd was not aware of the petition filed against it in court. The sale of the  spare  machine and the issuance of the minibus to  charity  involve  company assets. However, the minibus  was given  to charity on 15 October 2009; creditor cannot  challenge  this  move  because it had taken  place before the petition

Select one of your favorite brands that is involved in licensing Research Paper

Select one of your favorite brands that is involved in licensing. Write one page on why or why not it works for the brand - Research Paper Example 529). Acne Studios is a part of the Creative Collective Acne. The Studio was founded in the year 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden. Acne Studios is a fashion manufacturing brand that designs fashion apparels and jeans. The operations of Acne Studio are not only limited to Sweden. In fact, the operations are expanded across the world. In order to expand its operations, the company relies on licensing agreements. With the help of licensing agreements, the company has successfully expanded its operations in Europe and Asia. The Swedish company is also planning to expand its business in London, Paris, and Japan. The effectiveness of licensing for Acne Studios can be realized from the fact the company has successfully expanded its operations in 35 locations with the help of licensing agreements (Okonkwo pp. 353). Under the licensing agreement, the company sells its licenses to other companies. Those companies use the brand, design, and IP of the parent company. The licenses can be sold to several companies in the same market. The licensing agreements have also allowed Acne Studios to exercise control over how the brand is used. This has allowed the company to maintain the standard of its products (Okonkwo pp. 353). Hagedoorn, J., S. Lorenz-Orlean, and H. van Kranenburg. â€Å"Inter-firm Technology Transfer: Partnership-embedded Licensing or Standard Licensing Agreements?† Industrial and Corporate Change 18.3 (2008):

Plotinus and His Theory of Beauty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Plotinus and His Theory of Beauty - Essay Example It is everything and nothing, everything and nowhere. The One is the source of all beings and, as the Good, the goal of all aspirations, human and non-human." (Bussanich, 1996, p. 38). According to Plotinus, everything that exists in the world flows out of the One and it is the One which emanates the divine Intellect. In turn, the Intellect originates the Soul, which incorporates the world soul, the human and other souls, and it is the Soul which produces the nature and matter in the universe. To Plotinus, one of the most striking features of the One is that it remains ever-complete and undiminished, in spite of the emanation and the idea of emanation of the One indicates that reality is structured in a hierarchical order, stretching from the uplifting source down to corporeal matter. Plotinus' theory of beauty can be realized in relation to his overall metaphysical psychology. As Binita Mehta maintains, the perception of beauty, according to Plotinus, dumbfounds the soul and fills i t with love. ... It is a phenomenological fact that an experience of rapturous delight that beauty evokes creates an appetite in us for further similar experiences For Plotinus, even a purely sensuous beauty can serve as a starting point of the quest for higher beauty." (Mehta). According to Plotinus, even the beauty in the material world should be realized as the reflection of the intelligible beauty. Therefore, there is an essential power for beauty as the apprehension of sensible beauty can very well propel the soul to realize the source of this lower form of beauty in the intelligible realm. In other words, beauty in every form and element can lead one to the ultimate source of beauty which is the source of everything in the world. Essentially, a reflective analysis of the theory of beauty according to Plotinus confirms that beauty is closely connected to the Divine or the One who is the ultimate source of all beings, and the concept of beauty has a great role in the ascent of the Soul to the One or the Divine. The notion of beauty has an essential role in the metaphysics of Plotinus who develops his theory of beauty in the I.6 and V.8 of his book the Enneads and a reflective analysis of these sections of the book can greatly offer the basics of notion of beauty according to the author. In the I.6 section of the book, Plotinus maintains that "Beauty addresses itself chiefly to sight, but there is a beauty for hearing too, as in certain combinations of words and all kinds of music, for melodies and cadences are beautiful; and minds that lift themselves above the realm of sense to higher order are aware of beauty in the conduct of life, in actions, in character, in the pursuit of the intellect; and there is beauty of the virtues. What loftier beauty there may be, yet, our

Controversies as a Result of the Alien and Sedition Acts Essay Example for Free

Controversies as a Result of the Alien and Sedition Acts Essay In the late 1700s and into the early 1800s, large controversies over the Alien and the Sedition Acts, containing four bills, took place. Some of the controversies included immigration, slander and libel of the government, and states’ rights. While the controversy set the stage for Jefferson’s election, it also left some in tense and unsettled states. The Alien and Sedition Acts brought many disagreements upon the states. The Acts had two bills that seemed to stand out most among the government. The second bill of the Alien and Sedition Acts gave the President power to deport â€Å"all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United Stats. † Just before the Acts were created, President George Washington wrote to the Vice-President John Adams in 1794 of his believe that immigrants brought with them not only their language, but their habits and formal morals too. Later, he goes on to say, that this is not particularly a bad thing because as time goes on, as generations grow, all people will become one. Just before that though, in 1785, Thomas Jefferson had made close to the same note, but a bit different. He believed it would be a miracle for the morals and beliefs of the immigrants to halt in changing at the exact point of liberty. He believed that infusing the aliens into our United States would create a â€Å"heterogeneous, incoherent, distracted mass. † Altogether, immigration was an extremely controversial topic. Each person had their own opinion, especially the rising parties who seemed to almost separate the nation more. While the Acts had allowed the President this power, it also prohibited the slander of libel of the President or any other part of the government. It seems to almost be a coincidence. After this was passed, Federalist prosecutors arrested more than twenty Republican newspaper editors and politicians. The Federalists had accused them of sedition, and convicted and jailed a number of them. Many believed that this part of the Sedition Act was against the First Amendment that forbade the †abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. † As a matter of fact, the Republicans actually tried to charge the Sedition Act as a violation of the First Amendment, although it did not appeal to the Supreme Court. This was because the Court was not sure how to review the case considering the board was made up of mostly Federalists. Jefferson sent a letter to Francis Hopkinson of Pennsylvania clearing up a rumor that he was a Federalist. He states that he â€Å"never submitted the whole system of (his) opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. † Last, but definitely not least, was the issue of whether or not the states had a right to judge the Constitution. After the Republicans tried to charge the Sedition Acts as a violation against the Constitution, Madison and Jefferson looked to the state legislature which led to their declaring the Alien and Sedition Acts to be â€Å"unauthoritative, void, and of no force. This resolution set forth a states’ rights interpretation of the Constitution, asserting that the states had a â€Å"right to judge† the legitimacy of national laws. Albert Gallatin, a Democratic-Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, made a speech in the House of Representatives on the proposed Sedition Act wherein he stated, â€Å"The only evidences brought by the supporters of this bill consist of writings expressing an opinion that certain measures of government have been dictated by an unwise policy, or by improper motives, and that some of them are unconstitutional. The Alien and Sedition Acts caused many controversies. The controversies led to many letters and arguments with the government. With this being said, the major problems seem to have been the topics of immigration, slander and libel of the government, and states’ rights. Although, after these controversies developed over the Acts, the Acts were then rethought. It is often wondered, even now, why the Alien and Sedition Acts were ever passed in the first place.

Using Ventricular Assist Devices Policies and Procedures

Using Ventricular Assist Devices Policies and Procedures Section 1 – USING VADs II-1 Policy (Section 1) – A. Excepting emergencies, newly placed external or implanted vascular access devices, placement must be confirmed by x-ray prior to infusing any medications or solutions. Note: lines inserted into the femoral vein do not require chest x-ray. B. Administration sets connected to a VAD must be cleaned and prepped using alcohol anywhere along the administration set where entry is made, using a friction scrub for 15 seconds. If the patient displays symptoms of infection: (i.e. febrile, chilling, or has drainage from the VAD exit site), blood and/or site cultures need to be obtained. A physician order is required. C. Emergency care of the VAD includes all of the following: 1. Notify the physician immediately to obtain order(s) if a VAD is cracked, leaking, or has a hole. Clamp the VAD between the site of the defect and the exit site. Clamping must be done atraumatically either with a plastic clamp or with a metal clamp padded with gauze. 2. If the VAD Dacron cuff protrudes from the exit site, secure the VAD with tape and notify the physician. 3. If symptoms of VAD infiltration occur (i.e. edema of the neck, chest, back or abdomen, or shortness of breath), stop the infusion and call the physician immediately. D. For patients who are being treated with antibiotics for sepsis or r/o sepsis, antibiotics ought to be rotated to each lumen of a multi-lumen VAD at least every 24 hours, if possible, i.e. it is optimal to rotate each antibiotic dose, or minimally every 24 hours, until blood cultures are negative for 72 hours. (See Reference Below to II-1-D) E. All central venous access devices which are Present on Admission (POA) or inserted with the intent of the patient being discharged with the device, e.g., hemodialysis, chemotherapy, long term antibiotic therapy, etc. do not require daily validation of medical necessity, but should be inspected for signs and symptoms of infection. All other Central venous devices shall be evaluated for medical necessity on a daily basis. Section 2 – OBTAINING SPECIMENS FROM VADs II – 2 POLICY – (Section 2) – Medical Center A. Aseptic technique is to be used when obtaining laboratory specimens from any type of Vascular Access Devices (VAD). B. Drawing blood from a VAD is performed only by a licensed healthcare professional within their scope of practice using needle-free devices when obtaining or transferring specimens. C. Specimens must be labeled in the presence of the patient and must include patient name, medical record number, date of birth, visit number (for Medical Center only), and date and time of specimen collection. Write the first initial and last name of the person who collected the specimen on the label. Vascular Access Device (VAD), External and Implanted, Catheter Care Page 3 of 17 D. Labs requiring a blue top anticoagulant tube (such as PT/PTT/INR or other clotting studies) should be drawn peripherally. In those instances in which these studies must be drawn through the VAD, this specimen should be the last specimen drawn. E. Syringes less than 10 ml are not to be used when flushing a VAD in order to avoid causing excessive pressure or fracture to the VAD. F. When drawing from a child less than two years of age, a stopcock is used to maintain a closed system and the discard blood is returned to the child within 60 seconds. G. To prevent over-heparinizing a pediatric patient, no more than 50units/kg should be given within a four-hour interval. If flushing does exceed this amount, an MD order should be obtained and individualized for that patient. H. For multi-lumen VADs: When drawing labs from one lumen, clamp other lumen(s) for duration of the blood draw, even if other lumen(s) is heparin locked. This prevents blood from possibly being introduced into second lumen when heparin locked. It also prevents possible contamination of lab specimen if fluid is infusing in second lumen. I. Heparin for routine VAD flushes requires an order in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The dosing and frequency guidelines are found on Attachment C of this policy. II-4 POLICY – (Section 4) – A. An RN who has demonstrated competency in this procedure may perform needle insertion, site care, and needle removal of an implanted Vascular Access Device. B. The surgeon will access the port in the operating room on newly placed ports. C. Sterile technique must be utilized when accessing the implanted VAD. D. Only a 90-degree safety non-coring needle is used to access implanted VADs. Needles are changed every seven days. The recommended non-coring needle sizes for both adult and pediatric patients is 19-22 gauge, 3/4 – 1†. Blood or more viscous solutions require a lower gauge needle. Needle length is dependent upon the amount of subcutaneous tissue and depth of port. Do not access port if area is blistered or there are signs/symptoms of infection. E. Post-op dressings can be removed 24 hours post-op (unless ordered otherwise by physician). Steri-strips at insertion site should remain in place for 7-10 days. F. Implanted VAD site dressing changes are to be done once a week, with the needle change, or whenever it becomes loose, wet, or soiled. G. A heparin-locked non-coring needle may remain inserted for seven days for intermittent IV infusions. If a non-coring needle was placed and the patient does not require therapy, the needle must be removed by an RN prior to the patient being discharged home. H. Topical anesthetics may be used to help minimize the pain of needle insertion.

Napoleon Essay -- essays research papers

Guidance to Freedom or Just Another Tyrant?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When most people think of Napoleon Bonaparte they think of either a tyrant emperor or a brilliant war strategist. Maybe both are right but in whatever conclusion any person comes to, they will know he was a small man who accomplished many great things. Napoleon conquered countries and developed a mass empire, which led to his celebrity like fame. He was a man that respected cultures and every religion and even cried when his men died on the battlefield. Bonaparte was an amazing person who drove himself with great ambition to become one of the greatest leaders ever in history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In life every great leader has had their own story to tell. Napoleon was born a Corsican, at Ajaccio, in 1769. He had seven brothers and sisters and he was also a descendent from the Florentine nobility. He moved to France and started school at the age of nine. At school he was picked on because of his Italian accent and because of his influent French. When he turned sixteen he joined the French artillery and became a lieutenant in a short period of time. Napoleon spent the next seven years reading the works of philosophers and educating himself in military matters, by studying the campaigns of great military leaders of the past. He then became a general and then in 1795 was appointed to stop an uprising in Paris and seceded in doing so. After stopping the uprising he was then given the position of commander in chief of the interior French army in Italy. In 1799 he was elected as the First Consul of France because the people were sick of the directory. He rose up in power in the military and also politically. He then formed his own empire and won many battles with his brilliance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bonaparte was an intelligent man with an extrodinary memory, while staying very open minded toward other people’s beliefs. As Vox states â€Å"When he had an hour for diversion, he not infrequently employed it in looking over a book of logarithms [†¦]. So retentive was his memory of numbers, that sums over which he had once glanced his eye were in his mind ever after (69).† If I lived in his empire I would at least respect Napoleon for his brilliance, his ability to memorize information, and his will to learn more. Although, Napoleon still had his flaws. He was still only human ... ...gh his extremely successful Italian campaigns, his revolutionary changes in the French government and battles against the Third Coalition Napoleon gave France total domination over Western Europe. France then became a great nation because of Napoleon’s brilliance and achievements as a leader. Works Citied Blair, Victor. Napoleon, The Man, Encapsulated. 10 Dec. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Britt, Alber Sidney. The Wars of Napoleon. New Jersey: Avery Publishing Group Inc.,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1985 Holtman, Robert. Napoleonic Propaganda. New York: Greenwood Press Publishers, 1969 Holtman, Robert. The Napoleonic Revolution. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1967 Markham, Felix. Napoleon and the Awakening of Europe. London: The English   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Universities Press Ltd., 1954 Miller, Tom. Before Brumaire: Napoleon’s Development as a Ruler. 10 Dec. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Naylor, John. Waterloo. London: Pan Books Ltd., 1960 Vance, Thomas. The Lost Voices of Napoleonic Historians. 10 Dec. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Vox, Maximilien. Napoleon. New York: Grove Press Inc., 1960

GPS Technology Essays -- essays research papers fc

Physics Assignment Global Positioning System GPS, of the Global Positioning System, is a system of satellites that orbit the earth above us that send signals continuously to ground stations that monitor and control GPS operations. GPS signals can be detected by GPS receivers, which by itself can calculate the location of the receiver by around ten metres. Such the accuracy and reliability of the GPS system that its is a required item for a long trip without and contact with humans. The GPS system was originally intended for military use; its use was to track and detect ships and submarines by the US military in the 1960s. As time moved on, and as the development progressed, its use changed, from only a military use to a more civilian use. When the GPS system finally became operational in the 1990s, it has proven itself to be a very sophisticated tool, being very reliable, as shown by the usage of the GPS system by both military and civilians. GPS worked by each satellite that emitted a unique radio wave also known as the ‘Pseudo Random code’, which is basically a series of random radio signals; so random, that there is absolutely no chance that thre would be a matching signal. The signals, which contain the time and the position of the satellite, are then compared by the GPS receiver from four satellites. Considering how extraordinarily sophisticated the technology is, the operating principle of GPS is remarkably simple. Each satellite continuously broadcasts a digital r...

How Various Mechanisms By Which Substances Cross The Cell Me :: essays research papers

Homeostasis is essential to the cell’s survival. The cell membrane is responsible for homeostasis. The membrane has a selective permeability which means what moves in and out of the cell is regulated. Amino acids, sugars, oxygen, sodium, and potassium are examples of substances that enter the cell. Waste products and carbon dioxide are removed from the cell. All of these substances cross the membrane in a variety of ways. From diffusion and osmosis, to active transport the traffic through the cell membrane is regulated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diffusion is the movement of molecules form one area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. Concentration gradient causes the molecules to move from higher concentration to a lower concentration. The side of the membrane that has the higher concentration is said to have the concentration gradient. It drives diffusion because substances always move down their concentration gradient. The pressure gradient also plays a role in diffusion. Where this is a pressure gradient there is motion of molecules. The pressure gradient is a difference in pressure between two different points. If the concentration of one side of the membrane is greater than the molecules will travel from the higher to lower concentration. Eventually there will be a dynamic equilibrium and there will be no net movement of molecules from one side to the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Osmosis is the diffusion of water. Like diffusion, the water moves from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential. Solutions have three different stages that the solutes can be classified in: isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic. Isotonic is when the solutions have equal amounts of solutes. Like equilibrium, there is no net change in the amount of water in either solution. When the solutions have different concentration of solutes then the one with less solute is hypotonic and the one with more solute is hypertonic. Hypotonic takes in the solute from the hypertonic side that gives away the solute. There will be a net movement in these types of solution. The molecules will move from the hypotonic solution into the hypertonic solution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third way a substance can cross the cell membrane is through facilitated diffusion. This occurs when special carrier proteins carry solutes dissolved in the water across the membrane by using active transport. When the concentration gradient can not allow travel from one side of the membrane to the other fast enough for the cell’s nutritional needs, then facilitated diffusion is used. The transport protein is specialized for the solute it is carrying, just as enzymes are specialized for their substrate. The transport protein can be How Various Mechanisms By Which Substances Cross The Cell Me :: essays research papers Homeostasis is essential to the cell’s survival. The cell membrane is responsible for homeostasis. The membrane has a selective permeability which means what moves in and out of the cell is regulated. Amino acids, sugars, oxygen, sodium, and potassium are examples of substances that enter the cell. Waste products and carbon dioxide are removed from the cell. All of these substances cross the membrane in a variety of ways. From diffusion and osmosis, to active transport the traffic through the cell membrane is regulated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diffusion is the movement of molecules form one area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. Concentration gradient causes the molecules to move from higher concentration to a lower concentration. The side of the membrane that has the higher concentration is said to have the concentration gradient. It drives diffusion because substances always move down their concentration gradient. The pressure gradient also plays a role in diffusion. Where this is a pressure gradient there is motion of molecules. The pressure gradient is a difference in pressure between two different points. If the concentration of one side of the membrane is greater than the molecules will travel from the higher to lower concentration. Eventually there will be a dynamic equilibrium and there will be no net movement of molecules from one side to the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Osmosis is the diffusion of water. Like diffusion, the water moves from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential. Solutions have three different stages that the solutes can be classified in: isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic. Isotonic is when the solutions have equal amounts of solutes. Like equilibrium, there is no net change in the amount of water in either solution. When the solutions have different concentration of solutes then the one with less solute is hypotonic and the one with more solute is hypertonic. Hypotonic takes in the solute from the hypertonic side that gives away the solute. There will be a net movement in these types of solution. The molecules will move from the hypotonic solution into the hypertonic solution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third way a substance can cross the cell membrane is through facilitated diffusion. This occurs when special carrier proteins carry solutes dissolved in the water across the membrane by using active transport. When the concentration gradient can not allow travel from one side of the membrane to the other fast enough for the cell’s nutritional needs, then facilitated diffusion is used. The transport protein is specialized for the solute it is carrying, just as enzymes are specialized for their substrate. The transport protein can be

Patriotism in the American Education System Essay

The debate regarding the education of our children has been going on since the institutionalization of education and will continue as long as we are a liberal democracy full of free thinking citizens. People will always have an opinion and we will, most likely, never be able to please every single person. William Galston and Robert Fullinwider are in full support of teaching a version of history that promotes patriotism and inspires those learning of it to feel a sense of pride and a duty to, in a sense, carry on the mission of the American heroes that have come before us and done great things in terms of the progress for our country. Harry Brighouse is quite different than Galston and Fullinwider in that he believes that by keeping the full truth, gruesome or not, from those that are being educated that we are doing a great disservice to them. I tend to side with Galston and Fullinwider with the feeling that our history needs to be taught in an inspiring sort of way. What benefit do we truly gain by teaching young Americans that yes, in fact, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great American whose work during the Civil Rights Movement was essential to where we have progressed to as a society today, but he was also an adulterer and plagiarist? By revealing the holes in an American hero’s character we are diminishing his greatness and his impact on the people that have learned of his story years and years after he made such a monumental impact on our country and the progress to end segregation. The gain from sharing that knowledge is extremely minimal compared to the damage it does to the credibility of his work that he is truly known and greatly respected for. It is much simpler and much more productive to producing patriotic citizens if we leave certain, inconsequential parts of the story out. This doesn’t mean we lie to anyone, we simply tell the part of the story that generates the desired feelings of national pride and/or patriotism while instilling the necessary knowledge to generations that will move forward to produce similar greatness, or as Fullinwider puts it, â€Å"historical knowledge contributes to citizenship, and thus â€Å"nation-building,†Ã¢â‚¬  (Fullinwider, 1996, pg. 204). Harry Brighouse is of the belief that by shielding any tiny bit of the truth from children as we educate them we are doing a lot more harm than good to them. He argues that children should be exposed to the entire truth regardless of the negative light that may be revealed of anyone involved, â€Å"American hero† or otherwise. Brighouse feels that it is the responsibility of an educational system to expose kids to as much factual information as we can and allow them the freedom to choose what they will believe and what will inspire them both in the present and the future. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. sides with Brighouse and establishes that argument that â€Å"writing or teaching history as a means of ‘defining national identity’ turns history ‘into a weapon’,† (Schlesinger, 1999, pg 37). Both Schlesinger and Brighouse would argue that history should never change, all the facts should be laid out on the table and nothing should be held back, because, if we make the decision to hold something out of curriculum, who makes that decision and what qualifies as unnecessary? Schlesinger and Brighouse’s argument centers on the main idea that educators do not have the right to manipulate history. Schlesinger goes in depth in his writings in The Disuniting of America that certain false views of history are wrong, but even dangerous for citizens to be exposed to. He claims that, â€Å"the proper account of our past strengthens the â€Å"common purpose† that holds us together. It reinvigorates the American Creed,† (Schlesinger, 1990, pg. 37). Galston and Fullinwider are on the other side of the argument, they believe that educators should teach history in such a way that instills national pride and creates informed, proud American citizens. Fullinwider calls this type of history â€Å"patriotic history.† He believes that this sort of education will inform, of course, but more importantly will establish a system of values that, in the end, will create citizens. Both Galston and Fullinwider argue for a type of history that they refer to as a â€Å"usable past.† A usable past is one that informs citizens and institutes a willingness to â€Å"make the sacrifices necessary to support and improve the nation’s political institutions,† (Fullinwider, 1996, pg. 207). Truth of the matter, like in the case of the exclusion of facts regarding Martin Luther King, Jr. unfavorable personal lifestyle during the telling of his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, is that not all men who do great things are great men of high character. In some cases, inclusion of all the facts does nothing to diminish any greatness and may, in fact, create a greater sense of the ability for one single person to make a great impact regardless of any shortcomings they may have. On the other, if all the details are not necessary then why include them? Why would we make a hero less of a hero by revealing the unnecessary truth? Facts that bind the entire story together should never be omitted. Galston and Fullinwider believe in, and support, an education that promotes national pride. They are all for a patriot history, because we will then instill the idea and sense of responsibility in young Americans that they should carry the torch, so to speak, and continue to build upon the greatness that is America. Fullinwider concludes that the purpose of teaching a patriotic history â€Å"is to help students â€Å"develop a keen sense of ethics and citizenship,† so that they might â€Å"care deeply about the quality of life in their co mmunity, their nation, and their world,† (Fullinwider, 1996, pg. 222). In Patriotic History, Fullinwider argues against Schlesinger’s point for the â€Å"nothing left out† type of historical education, by saying the Schlesinger is intending to make history seem very precise and when that becomes the case we’re leaving it up to what truth the educator believes in. Fullinwider goes even further in his argument against Schlesinger’s writing by claiming that Schlesinger’s book The Disuniting of America is, in fact itself, purely history told for effect without the intention to simply inform, but rather to draw out and strengthen commitments to national unity (pg. 210). The presentation of history is storytelling and storytelling must come from a particular point of view. Historical education may never be 100% accurate because we’ll never truly know the intentions or finer details from all the angles or perspectives of each event. Somebody has to tell the story to present the history, but it will always come from a l imited point of view. It is the duty of the educational systems to determine which point of view the story should come from and this is where I agree more with Galston and Fullinwider; before we, as an educational system, decide what we want taught to our citizens, we need to decide what we hope listeners or those being educated should get out of the experience. Like Galston and Fullinwider, I think it is in the best interest for our country to try and promote patriotism and pride in being an American. The responsibility of shaping and molding upstanding, progressive citizens falls on the shoulders of our educational systems as well as public institutions and they both must come together to determine what is best for the development of our nation. Within that responsibility lays the decision of what aspects of history we will teach our young students. For me, it comes down to favoring civic education over philosophic education. I’d rather the goal of our educational programs be to pass along the knowledge necessary to create individuals that feel a loyalty and responsibility to do something great for their country, whether that be along the lines of being a great American hero like Martin Luther King, Jr. or simply by being a consistent, educated, responsible American citizen capable of supporting and functioning within our democracy. I disagree with the argument that by teaching a certain version of history we are limiting a child’s autonomy. We are not enforcing any beliefs or completely eliminating any bit of history, we are simply fostering an environment that will produce good and loyal citizens. Agreeing to tell a story (teaching history) a certain way does not mean we are telling people how to think; quite the opposite. We are inspiring greatness and allowing people to be free thinking and promoting the idea that anyone, common, uncommon and anywhere in between, can make a great impact that will last forever. The argument that exists between the Galston/Fullinwider side of teaching a patriotic history and the Brighouse/Schlesinger side of giving the whole â€Å"truth† regardless of degrading details just muddies the argument that we should really be having: What do we hope to get out of those that are being taught this history? When we look at that question we will be able to work together to find a solution. We could go on forever, just like this argument already has, debating what story to tell and from which perspective, but that, ultimately, gets us nowhere. Lets agree to teach from a perspective of â€Å"nation building† that Galston and Fullinwider promote and continue to develop as a country. Bibliography Fullinwider, R. (1996). Patriotic History. Cambridge University Press, pages 203-225. Galston, W. (1991). Civic Education in the Liberal State. Cambridge University Press, pages 470-478. Schlesinger, Jr., A. (1999). The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society. W. W. Norton & Company, pages 12-37.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Essay

There are many events in a person’s life that can be considered traumatic. Trauma can be easily described as a distressing experience caused by an event or physical injury. The symptoms that follow a traumatic event can include disassociation, hyperarousal, and avoidance. Some people choose to cope with their symptoms in many different ways such as substance abuse, medication, and/or therapy. When working with trauma there are many diverse forms of treatment. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing [EMDR] is one form of treatment that appears to be effective. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a treatment used in psychotherapy to alleviate distress associated with trauma (Shapiro, 1991). During EMDR clients reprocess information while focusing on external stimuli such as, lateral eye movements, hand tapping, and audio stimulation. Francine Shapiro developed EMDR in 1987 after discovering that eye movements had a desensitizing effect on herslef, and also after experimenting she found that others also had the same response to eye movements. In 1987, Shapiro named this approach to treatment Eye Movement Desensitization. A case study was conducted to test the effectiveness of eye movement desensitization. The results indicated there was a significant decrease in distress and increase in confidence in positivity (EMDR Institute, 2012). When this treatment was first discovered it was reported it serves to decrease anxiety and did not claim to eliminate all posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Gaining feedback from clients and clinicians this treatment continued to develop. In 1991 reprocessing was added to eye movement desensitization creating EMDR. Adding reprocessing was to reflect the insights and cognitive changes that occurred during treatment and to identify the information processing theory (that Shapiro developed) to explain the treatment effects (2012). In 1995 the EMDR International Association was founded to establish standards for training and practice (Shapiro, 2001). There have been many studies published in regards to posttraumatic stress disorder and demonstrating the effectiveness of EMDR. EMDR therapy happens in eight stages. EMDR requires clients to think about the past, present, and future. The first phase is designed to obtain history and also to develop treatment planning. Obtaining history information can take one to two sessions or it is something that is continuous throughout therapy. Clinicians will discuss with the client the specific problem and symptoms resulting from the problem. The client does not have to give much detail in regards to history. Some people will share and give great information and specifics and there are others who are only comfortable sharing limited information. With the background information and history collected, the therapist will be able to develop a treatment plan that will identify targets on which to use EMDR (Shapiro, 1991). Targets are the events from the past that created the problem, situations that cause distress, and skills client needs to learn for future well being (1991). The second phase is preparation, it is important to explain the theory of EMDR and how it works. Establishing rapport to ensure clients are reporting accurate feelings and changes that are experienced during eye movements is helpful (Shapiro, 2001). The second phase of treatment the therapist will also ensure the client has several ways to cope with difficult situations. The therapist is able to teach different techniques of imagery and stress reduction techniques that clients can use during sessions. The techniques are used to rapidly produce change in emotional disturbances (2001). The client at this point is learning self care. The third phase is assessment, in this phase the client will select a specific memory/picture from the target event. At that time a statement is chosen that expresses a negative self belief associated with the event (Shapiro, 2001). The negative beliefs are verbalizations of negative and disturbing emotions that still exist. The common statements include I am bad, I am worthless, I am nothing, etc. The client then picks a positive statement to replace the negative belief. The positive statement should reflect what is appropriate in the present (2001). The client is then asked to estimate how true they feel the positive statement is using the one to seen Validity of Cognition scale; one equals completely false and seven equals completely true (Maxfield, 1999). Also, during the Assessment Phase, the person identifies the negative emotions along with physical sensations associated with the memory. The client is asked to rate disturbance on the Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale, with zero reflecting no disturbance and ten reflecting the worst feeling ever had (1999). The next phase focuses on the client’s emotions and sensations as they are measured using the SUDs rating (Shapiro, 2001). The desensitization phase people reprocess past events while focusing on an external stimulus. This phase allows a chance to identify and resolve similar events that may have happened and are associated with the specified event/memory. During desensitization, the therapist will lead the person in sets of eye movement with appropriate changes of focus until his SUDs levels are reduced to zero or a low number. Another phase is the installation phase. The goal is to increase the positive belief that the person has identified previously to replace the negative belief. The goal is for people to identify and believe in their positive statement and scoring it high on the Validity of Cognition scale. After the positive belief statements and installation the next phase which is the body scan phase, the client is ask to think about the past target and asked to notice and focus on changes in body. The seventh phase is closure. In this phase the client is asked to keep a log during the week of anything related to the memory that may arise. The goal is to ensure that the client leaves feeling better than the beginning of treatment (Shapiro, 1989). It is reported if the processing of the traumatic target event is not complete in a single session, the therapist will assist the person in using a variety of self-calming techniques in order to regain a sense of stability. The last phase examines the progress made thus far. The therapist makes sure positive results on scales have been maintained. The reevaluation phase is vital in order to determine the success of the treatment over time (Maxfield, 1999). Clients may feel relief almost immediately with EMDR; however it is as important to complete the eight phases of treatment. The goal of EMDR is to produce the most comprehensive and profound treatment effects in the shortest period of time, while simultaneously maintaining a stable client. The beginning of EMDR appears to be similar to exposure therapy. There are several studies and reviews that have been completed to test the effectiveness of EMDR in treating trauma. EMDR has been found to be an effective treatment for trauma. It has also been found to work faster than other therapies (Cahill, 1999). A study done by Davidson and Parker compared EMDR to no treatment and compared it to other exposure therapies such as prolonged exposure (2001). This study explored thirty four studies on the effectiveness of EMDR in treating trauma. It was discovered that among the thirty four studies, EMDR was found to be effective with an effect size of . 83 when compared to no treatment. It was also found to be a better choice of treatment than other non-exposure therapies such as CBT which only had an effect size of . 55. Controlled efficacy studies report a decrease in PTSD diagnosis of 70-90% after three to six sessions (Chemtob et al. , 2000). EMDR has been compared with cognitive behavior therapy in past clinical trials. EMDR has also been compared with and found superior to a wide range of other treatments, such as relaxation therapy, biofeedback, standard mental health treatment in a managed care facility, and active listening (Maxfield, 1999). Evidence based support has led to EMDR being acknowledged as effective in the treatment of PTSD. Independent reviewers for the American Psychological Association reports EMDR and exposure therapy as empirically validated treatments (Chambless et al. , 1998). Also the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies designated EMDR as effective for PTSD (Shalev et al. , 2000). They noted that EMDR is more efficient than other treatments as it used significantly fewer sessions than behavior therapy and took less time (2000). Cahill found similar results in a literature review conducted. They found that as a whole EMDR is effective in treating trauma, but that it is equally as effective when compared to other exposure therapies (1999). Some studies also indicate that EMDR may be more easily tolerated by clients than other exposure therapies. In a study by Schubert, it was discovered the use of eye-movements in the EMDR process reduced the pulse and heart rate in clients (2010). This suggests a calming experience as the process progresses. EMDR has been extensively researched in the treatment of trauma survivors. EMDR has been tested with survivors of a wide range of traumatic events, using a variety of control conditions, in multiple types of settings, by numerous researchers (Maxfield, 2002). Research has also investigated the use of EMDR with victims of rape, physical assault, childhood abuse, natural disasters, accidents, and other traumas (2002). EMDR is a therapeutic technique in which the patient moves his or her eyes back and forth, while concentrating on the target event or memory causing distress. The therapist waves a stick or light in front of the patient and the patient is supposed to follow the moving stick or light with his or her eyes. EMDR is fast and rapid approach to therapy. While there are many supporters of this type of therapy there are many critics that believe EMDR is pseudoscience. It is suggested, wit evidence based information EMDR is an effective treatment. It is important to note that only clinicians who have received specialized training in EMDR are able to conduct it.

Play Therapy Essay

Sometimes children go through difficult passages in their lives. It therefore becomes prudent to provide them with effective ways of helping them ease through these passages. Infact, children are good teachers and they know what they want and what is right for them (Kottman, 1993). All they need is just space to do it. Play therefore becomes very important in releasing these pent-up emotions, feelings of anxiety, fear disappointment, aggression and insecurity (Chethik, Morton. 2000). This brings us to the issue of play therapy. What is play therapy? Play therapy refers to a method of psychotherapy with children in which a child’s fantasies and symbolic meanings of his/her play are used as a medium for understanding and communication with him/her (Landreth, 2002). Through this method, the child is helped to control his/her emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs using games, toys and mediums such as clay, drawings and paint. By doing so, the child is helped to understand the muddled feelings and upsetting events that he/she has not had a chance or skill to sort out properly. Thus through this symbolic representation, the child gains a sense of control over events that in reality, seem uncontrollable. Unlike in adult therapy where one has to explain what is troubling him, children use play to communicate at their own level and pace without any feeling of interrogation or threat using toys as their words and play as their language (Landreth, 2002). Rationale for play therapy In play therapy, the symbolic of function play is vital in providing children with a means of expressing their inner world. This use of play therapy is rooted on a development understanding of children. According to Piaget (1962), children at the pre-operational stage (2-7 yrs) are acquiring language in which symbols represent mental objects. A child’s play in this stage becomes increasingly imaginary and fantasy-driven. The child is internally improving his/her understanding and knowledge but lacks the external ability to communicate this enhanced way of processing within the world. Play thus becomes the medium through which the child communicates this internal awareness of self to others. Piaget further asserts that during the concrete operational state (8-11 yrs) the child grows in his/her personal ability to reason logically and organize thoughts coherently. He/she is unable to express certain complicated emotions such as resentment or guilt due to the need for abstract thought to understand them. Play then helps the child bridge the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Landreth (2002) identifies basic principles necessary in play therapy. These include that children’s natural language is play, that they have an inherent tendency towards growth and maturity and lastly, and are themselves capable of positive self-direction since they posses the capacity to act responsibly. Play is a natural language from which children express themselves (Landreth, 2002). And as stated earlier, developmentally, it bridges the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Children gain a sense of control through play and also learn coping skills (Chethik, Morton. 2000). At times, children also receive other types of treatment. Children for instance that are unable to control their attention impulses, have a tendency to react violently, or experience severe anxiety would be included in play therapy. The therapy addresses the child’s psychological symptoms (Chethik, Morton. 2000). The child will also receive play therapy to alleviate low self-esteem feelings, excessive worry, incompetence and helplessness (Chethik, Morton. 000). In play therapy, toys are viewed as the child’s words and play as the child’s language – a language of activity. Play is then to children what psychotherapy is to adults. The use of toys enables the child to transfer his anxieties, fears, fantasies from his own feelings and guilt to objects rather then people. Through this process, the safety of children from their own feelings is guaranteed because it enables them to distance themselves from those traumatic experiences. By acting out a frightening experience symbolically through play, or reversing the outcome in play activity, the child moves towards an inner resolution and then he/she is able to cope with or adjust to problems (Axline, 1989). Through the play processes, the child is allowed to consider new possibilities not possible in reality thus greatly expanding the expression of self (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Also, within the safety of the play therapy experience, the child explores the unfamiliar and develops a knowing that is both experiential – feelings and cognitive. In a nutshell, the unfamiliar becomes familiar and the child expresses outwardly what takes place inwardly. Therefore, a major function of play in play therapy is the changing of what may be unmanageable in real life to a manageable situation via symbolic representation, through which the child is provided with opportunities for learning to cope (Axline, 1989). The process of play therapy The initial focus of therapy is in building a relationship between a child and the therapist. This relationship is what provides dynamic growth and healing for the child. It is therefore a very important tool because a child will readily express himself every time he/she feels respected and accepted. According to Landreth (1991), there are principles that should provide guidelines for establishment of a therapeutic relationship. Some of the guidelines include that the therapist is genuinely interested in the child. Also, the therapist experiences unqualified acceptance of the child and does not wish that the child were different in some way. He further creates a feeling of safety and permissiveness in the relationship so the child feels free to explore and express himself/herself totally. Landreth further asserts that the therapist should always be sensitive to the child’s feelings and gently reflect those feelings in a manner that encourages the child to develop self-understanding (Landreth, 2002). Additionally, the therapist should deeply believe in the child’s capacity to act responsibly and respect the child’s ability to solve personal problems and give him the opportunity to do so. He should also trust the child’s inner direction and to lead in all areas of relationship and avoid directing the child’s play. This therapist should appreciate the gradual nature of the therapeutic process in a slow manner, and finally he should establish only the therapeutic limits that help the child accept personal and appropriate responsibility. The primary objective of the process is not only to solve the problem but to help in the growth of the child. The therapist primarily meets with the child alone and arranges time to meet with parents separately or with the child depending with the situation. The structure of the sessions should be consistently maintained to provide a feeling of stability and safety for the child. In the session, the therapist uses specific techniques to assess how a child experiences his/her world and how he/she communicates and reacts to events and people in his/her own world. The child is led to become aware of what he/she is feeling and opportunities are given to express these feelings. Awareness is thus a very important aspect in play therapy because without it, change is not possible (Chethik, Morton. 2000). Throughout the therapy, the child is empowered and supported to learn more about who he/she thinks she/he is, to talk about things that are frightening or painful, to be self supportive as well as to experiment new behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Since the child’s world is a world of action and activity, the therapy provides the therapist with an opportunity to enter the child’s world. The child lives out the past experience and related moments at the moment of play. Without the presence of play materials, the therapist could only talk with the child about aggressive behavior exhibited in the recent past. In play therapy however, whatever reason for referral, the therapist has the opportunity to experience and actively deal with that problem immediately. By so doing, the child plays out feelings by banging them to the surface, getting them out in the open, facing them and either abandoning them or learning to control them. Toys and materials Since toys and materials are part of this communicative process for children, careful attention must be given to their appropriate selection. The rule here is selection rather than accumulation. Please note that random assortment of acquired toys and materials often appear like junk rooms and they therefore doom the therapy process to failure. They should then be carefully selected for the contribution they make to accomplish the play objective and the extent to which they are consistent with the play therapy rationale. Some general guidelines to consider are that the tools should be durable and should communicate a message of â€Å"be yourself in playing† rather than â€Å"be careful. † They should provide children with a variety in choice of medium of expression. (Eliana, G. 1994). However, they need not be elaborate and above all they should not be complex. Remember that the first toys to be used were sticks. The tools should be age appropriately manageable so that the child will not be frustrated in his efforts to express himself/herself. No toy should require the child to seek the therapist’s help to manipulate. Landreth (1991) asserts that the toys and materials should facilitate establishment of a positive relationship with the child, testing of limits, exploration of real-life experiences, development of positive image, self-undertaking, expression of a wide range of feelings and opportunity to redirect behaviors unacceptable to others. These toys can be grouped into three basic classes viz; real-life toys such as a doll, a small cardboard box with rooms indicated by tape strips or felt pen markers, doll house furniture, pacifier and a small car. Secondly, there are those acting out or aggressive release toys such as handcuffs, toy guns, dart gun and toy soldiers, aggressive puppets, rubber knife and punching bags. Finally, there are toys for creative expression and emotional release such as crayons, newsprints, blue scissors, hand puppets, plain mask, and also sand trays. Setting limits in Play Therapy This is a very crucial part of this process. The structure of the therapeutic limits is what helps to make the experience a real life relationship (Eliana, G. 994). Limits in play therapy have advantages both practically and therapeutically since they preserve the therapeutic relationship; facilitate the child’s opportunities to learn self responsibility and self control. Provide the child with emotional security and physical safety and thus enabling the child to explore and express his/her inner emotional dimensions that perhaps have remained hidden in his/her other relationships (Axline, 1989). Boundaries are necessary here to provide predictability and thus the children are not allowed to do anything they want to do. The play therapy relationship has minimum limits (Eliana, G. 1994). Exploration is encouraged, messiness accepted and persistence is the guiding principle. Play therapy is a learning experience and thus limits are not set until they are needed. The limits are worded in such a way that the child is allowed to bring himself under control. Research and Results Play therapy is an approach based on well thought out, philosophically conceived, developmentally based and research supported approach to assisting children cope with and overcome the problems they experience in life (Bratton. Et al. 2005). It has therefore been demonstrated to be effective in a variety of children’s problems including, but not limited to, abuse and neglect, aggression and acting out, autism, fear and anxiety, grief, hospitalization, learning disabilities, chronic illnesses, withdrawn children and burn victims. In the case studies reported by Landreth, the views that play therapy requires a long-term commitment is totally unfounded. Conclusion Play therapy can thus help a child to become aware of his feelings and how those feelings manifest into his/ her behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). He/she learns to become better at regulating emotions and expressing them in constructive ways. This combination of skills may help a child to become more assertive, self confident and to have self respect and respect for others. He/she then get this assurance that he/she will be understood and accepted.

The Grafton Group Project

Student Names: Stephen Bray B00037534 Johnny GeraghtyB00020240 Alan LennonB00020051 Emmet Toft B00015911 [pic] Module Name:Strategic Management 2 Lecturer:Mr Liam Bolger Submission Date:29th April, 2010 Word Count:10,413 Table of Contents Background of the company:2 History of the company:3 The Environment7 PESTEL analysis7 Political7 Economic7 Sociocultural8 Ireland population by Age 20069 Technology10 Environment10 Legal10 Key drivers for change10 The Industry11 Porters Five Forces analysis11 Substitute products/services12 Bargaining power of buyers12 Bargaining power of suppliers12 Rivalry/Competition13 Opportunities and Threats14 Opportunities identified15 Threats identified16 Financial Information Analysis17 Analysis of Financial Reports18 Liquidity Ratios18 Profitability Ratios20 Net Profit Margin per Segment20 Earnings per share (EPS)21 Analysis:23 Liquidity:23 Profitability:24 Debt:24 Return on Investment:24 Borrowings:25 problems with accessing credit. 25 Share Price26 Source http:investor/graftongroupplc. com27 Liquidity: Excellent27 Financial Strength:Excellent27 Profitability: Fair27 Growth: 027 Source www. corporateinformation. com27 Outlook for the Future28 Rationalisation measures:29 Plans for 2010:29 Opportunities 2010:29 Group Strengths30 Weaknesses31 Strategic Capability31 Critical Success factors for customers (a sample of but not limited to):33 Corporate Governance35 Grafton Group’s Compliance with the Combined Code36 The Board – who reports to whom? 37 Directors’ Independence and Board Balance38 Performance of the Board39 Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR and Ethics39 Shareholder and Stakeholder Expectations and Influences41 Culture of Organisations and Grafton Group43 Strategic Direction and Corporate level strategy44 Corporate Parent44 The corporate parent as a Synergy manager45 Strategic Drift46 International Strategy48 Table Pre-Merger48 Table Post-Merger50 Traditional reasons for Merger failure51 Through a possible merger Grafton may:52 Strategic Directions53 Market Consolidation54 Market Diversity (Related)55 International strategy – Travis Perkins and Grafton merger? 56 Bibliography59 Plagiarism Disclaimer:60 Background of the company: Grafton Group plc is an independent, profit growth oriented company with operations primarily in the UK and also in Ireland. The Group has strong national and regional positions in the merchanting, DIY retailing and mortar markets. The Group aims to achieve above average returns for shareholders. Grafton’s strategy is to build on strong positions in businesses serving the UK and Irish construction sectors, to develop in related markets, and to grow in businesses with which it is familiar. In Great Britain, Grafton is the fourth largest merchanting business trading from 430 locations comprising 219 Builders Merchanting branches trading principally under the Buildbase and Jackson brands and 211 Plumbers Merchanting branches trading mainly under the Plumbase brand. EuroMix is the market leader in the UK dry mortar market where it trades from a network of nine manufacturing plants in England and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, MacNaughton Blair is one of the leading builder’s merchants in the province where it trades from 20 locations. In the Republic of Ireland, the Group is the largest builders and plumber’s merchanting business trading nationally from 62 branches under the Chadwicks and Heiton Buckley brands. The Group is the market leader in DIY retailing in the Republic of Ireland, trading nationally from 41 stores and is also engaged in the manufacture of mortar, plastics and windows in the Republic of Ireland. Today, in Ireland, Grafton is the largest builders and plumbers merchants and the clear market leader in DIY retailing. In the UK the Group’s merchanting operation is the 4th largest in the market. 2005 turnover was â‚ ¬2. 6 billion and Profit after Tax amounted to â‚ ¬166 million. History of the company: Grafton’s origins date back to 1902 and since then the Chadwick family have played a central role in the development of the business. 1909 William Thomas Chadwick establishes his first business called Chadwicks (Dublin) Limited to supply builders merchants and major building contractors with Irish and imported cement and plaster. Today Chadwicks is the 2nd largest builders and plumbers merchanting brand in Ireland, trading from 31 branches nationally. 1930 William Chadwick acquires control of a small firm engaged in the manufacture of concrete blocks and roof tiles, which his company was supplying with cement. In 1931 Concrete Products of Ireland was registered as a private limited company. Today it is called CPI Limited and is a leading manufacturer of dry mortar in the Irish market. William Chadwick, the Group’s founder, dies at the end of the Second World War, leaving the business to his two sons – Terence and Finton Chadwick. 1965 Concrete Products of Ireland becomes a public company and purchases Chadwicks (Dublin) Limited from the Chadwick family. At the same time Marley Limited increases its holding to 51%. Marley’s relationship with Concrete Products of Ireland dates back to the end of the Second World War when Marley acquired a minority shareholding. 985 Mr. Michael Chadwick is appointed Executive Chairman. 1987 Marley plc decides to concentrate on the manufacture of building materials and as a consequence sold its controlling shareholding in the Group. The Marley shareholding was placed with institutional investors and the Group’s management. The Group opens its first DIY retailing store in the Irish market. 1988 The Group changes i ts name to Grafton Group plc and makes its first UK acquisition, a small heating and plumbing business which gives the Group familiarity with the large UK merchanting market. 990 The Group acquires MacNaughton Blair a long-established and well-known Belfast-based builders merchants. Also during the year Grafton acquires Joseph Kelly & Son (1994) Limited in Dublin, a builders merchanting business which was to become very well placed to serve the needs of the building trade in the centre of Dublin. 1994 The Group’s expands significantly in the UK with the acquisition of Bradley’s and Lumley & Hunt plumbing and heating operations. Total sales in Britain and Northern Ireland increase by 53%, representing 21% of Group turnover. 995 Grafton acquires P. P. S. Mortars – a silo mortar plant based in Glasgow. This business adopts the EuroMix silo mortar business model and technology, which has been successfully developed by CPI, the Group’s Irish concrete products business. Today EuroMix is the leading UK mortar manufacturer with eight plants. 1996 The Group continues its strategic development in the UK with its first acquisition of a builder’s merchanting business – R. J. Johnson, based in Oxford. 1997 The Group continues to acquire in the UK adding a further 14 locations through six small but significant acquisitions and achieves critical mass in its UK operations. This is the Group’s tenth year as an independent public company; a decade of considerable achievement in which sales increased 18% annually and earnings per share grew at an annualised rate of 29%. 1998 UK builders’ merchanting operations expand substantially with the acquisition of British Dredging plc, the first time an Irish company acquires a listed UK plc. This business operates a total of 23 locations incorporating 17 builders’ merchants and six plumber’s merchants. The builder’s merchanting operation is integrated under the Buildbase brand, which was established in 1997 as the trading name for the Group’s UK builder’s merchanting operation. During that year the Group makes another six acquisitions adding a further 19 locations, including the London based Deben Builders Merchants business with 10 branches and A R Hendricks Limited, a heavy side builders merchant trading from five branches. 1999 The Group continues its bolt-on acquisition programme adding a 16 more locations, through eight acquisitions in the UK. Throughout the nineties the Group continues with the expansion of its Irish merchanting and DIY retailing operations and consolidates its position as market leader in both sectors. 2000/2001 During these years, the Group continues apace with its bolt-on acquisition strategy. A total of 24 acquisitions were made during the period, many single branch operations that add value through infilling the Group’s overall network of locations in the UK. 002 This is a record year with a total of 15 acquisitions adding a further 39 branches to the UK merchanting network. These acquisitions included five small chains: Lakes in Derby, BMB in Barnsley, and PDM in Edinburgh, Aizlewoods in Rotherham and JKS Heating and Plumbing Supplies in Manchester. 2003 The Group undertakes its largest ever acquisition thus far – Jackson Building Centres in England adding 18 branches – and makes another significant acquisition with Plumbline, Scotland’s largest independent plumbers merchants with 17 locations. Overall it was a busy year with a further seven bolt-on acquisitions completed, giving a total of nine acquisitions for 2003. Grafton now has 137 plumbers’ merchanting branches trading under the Plumbase brand and 139 builders’ merchanting branches trading principally under the Buildbase and Jackson brands. 2004 The Group completes its 100th acquisition since 1998, averaging more than one per month. A total of 19 acquisitions are completed during the year, another record year for development. Grafton reaches agreement to acquire Heiton Group plc, subject to regulatory approval. 005 In January Grafton completes the acquisition of Heiton Group plc. This business includes, inter alia, the No. 1 builder’s merchanting operation and the No. 2 DIY retailing brand in Ireland and is a good strategic fit with Grafton’s existing operations and consolidates its position as the leading player in the Irish market. Overall Heiton has over 50 trading locations (six in the UK), an average of 1,900 employees and a turnover in excess of â‚ ¬500 million. We can see from this chronological list of their history that Grafton Group expanded greatly from the mid 90’s to 2005. Their growth in the UK market was surged on the back of an economic building boom in Ireland. They now have a much greater market and consumer base to compete in but also face a vastly changed environment. The Environment PESTEL analysis Political †¢ Taxation policy – corporation tax remains at 12. 5% in Ireland. Grafton Group is resident in the state and is liable to Corporation Tax on its worldwide profits. The corporation tax rate in the UK is 21% which is a huge source of competitive advantage for Grafton versus its UK competitors. Government stability – the current Irish government is in place till 2012. The UK is in the build up to a general election which could see a change in the current government and policies. †¢ Government policies towards â€Å"green† initiatives – grant towards homeowners to improve insulation, grants for solar panels and etc. Economic †¢ The UK and Irish economies are in recession leading to a sharp fall in dem and. Consumer confidence has fallen and housing related spending has reduced. †¢ The number of house completions in Ireland is 17,000 units in 2009 which is a fifth of the output during its peak in 2006. Ireland’s stock of empty homes surged 30pc to 345,000 houses in the three years through 2009 as the decade-long property boom collapsed. †¢ Sterling exchange rate weaknesses could lead to lower reported Group earnings on translation of the results of the UK business into euro at the average rate of exchange for the year. †¢ Low Interest rates – the cost of loan repayments is low and for the foreseeable future they should remain constant. †¢ The availability of credit and money is very strict and very few banks are willing to give loans to cash strapped businesses. Unemployment rate in Ireland has increased dramatically, Jan 2008 4. 8% versus Jan 2010 13. 4%. Unemployment rate in the UK has increased but not as dramatic, Jan 2008 5% versus Jan 2010 8 %. Sociocultural †¢ Declining employment and incomes for individuals. †¢ Higher personal taxes – introduction of income levy, the doubling of health and PRSI levies. †¢ A nation of savers, People are now saving more than before and consumer spending has decreased as a result. †¢ An increasing age demographic in Ireland who will require a home in the future. Ireland population by Age 2006 | |Age Group | |Males | |Females | |Persons | | | |0-14 | |443,044 | |421,405 | |864,449 | | | |15-24 | |321,007 | |311,725 | |632,732 | | | |25-44 | |681,988 | |663,885 | |1,345,873 | | | |45-64 | |468,037 | |460,831 | |928,868 | | | |65 years and over | |207,095 | 260,831 | |467,926 | | | |Total | |2,121,171 | |2,118,677 | |4,239,848 | | | | | | | | | |UK population grows to 61. million | | | | | |[pic] | | | | | | | |Technology | |Improvements in technology have led to better supply chain and logistics management. | |Bar-coding of products has impro ved inventory management. |Environment | |Organisations need to be socially responsible with their business activities; negative publicity can have a detrimental effect on| |consumer’s perception. | |A growing consumer awareness of greener behaviour and products associated with having a better impact on the environment. | |Legal | |Health and safety regulations have increased the demand for health and safety products and packaging. | | |Key drivers for change | |These are environmental factors that are likely to have a high impact on the success or failure of an organisation. There is a | |huge level of uncertainty in the current environment but an area we have identified as key is the energy efficient sector. The | |government have introduced policies and measures to address climate change. This initiative has arisen from a UN conference on | |energy for development, which is demanding countries to change their ways for the improvement towards a greener global | |environme nt. There will be a greater demand from consumers to meet those measures and therefore Grafton must satisfy this growing| |demand with energy saving products. | | | | | | | | |The Industry | |Porters Five Forces analysis | |Potential competitors | There is the potential for new entrants in the form of small independent hardware suppliers which are strategically located to entice consumers, ex. A small hardware shop beside the local shopping centre. As we can see from the below graphic many of their outlets are strategically located in and around the big cities as there is a much greater consumer base, ex. Dublin, London, Birmingham. [pic] There is a huge capital requirement required to compete with the Grafton group brands within Ireland and their closest competitors are B&Q (20% market share) and Hombase (17% market share). The location of DIY retailing outlets is interesting as during the boom many of our local towns have seen the emergence of industrial retail parks. In Navan 4 years ago Woodies located in a newly developed retail park just off the N3, before that there was Chadwick’s and a number of small independent outlets in the town. Grafton group have 63% of market share in Ireland, as a result the power of competitive response is very strong in Ireland. However in the UK they are fourth with 10% of market share with Travis Perkins (15%), Jewson (18%) and Wolseley (19%) and as a result their competitive position is much more demanding as they have 3 competitors who are in stronger market position. Substitute products/services We believe the only substitute threat is hire companies, they offer equipment and tools to consumers on a rental basis i. e. per hr, day, week and etc. In the current climate price is a key factor in peoples decisions, therefore consumers may opt to hire equipment for tasks rather than spending vast amounts on equipment that might only be used infrequently. Bargaining power of buyers Grafton’s consumers are powerful because, †¢ Buyers can switch suppliers at no cost. †¢ Buyers purchase from multiple sellers at once, they opt for suppliers conveniently located to the project. Buyers are shopping round for the best value. Bargaining power of suppliers The Grafton procurement process has improved f urther with new internal appointments to lead heavy side and light side purchasing. There was an increased focus on reducing the supplier base and developing closer alliances with key suppliers. This has resulted in greater leverage being achieved from the Group's purchasing scale and improved purchasing terms. The volume of products sourced directly through the warehouse facility in Shanghai continued to increase providing a new sourcing option for the Group's businesses to procure quality products at competitive prices. We can see from the above that the power rests with Grafton; suppliers are keen to meet the demands of their customer as they have a strong foothold in both the UK and Irish marketplace. Rivalry/Competition In Ireland their competitive position is very strong and through consolidation and job cuts they will be better placed than most building supply firms especially the many small independents that are under serious financial strain as the economic property boom which they depended on is long gone. Many independents face closure and Grafton group and its brands will be best placed to take advantage when the economy recovers over the coming years. Competitive rivals are organisations with similar products and services aimed at the same customer groups. When we look at one of Grafton’s brands Woodies DIY and their offerings, we see that they are competing with many different retailers. They offer a product range which caters for all your interior and exterior requirements, ex. Bag of cement, paint, timber, kettles, toasters, lighting, TVs, etc. They compete in a very fragmented industry but what many people don’t realise is Grafton is the parent company and all these separate brands from the consumers perspective competing with one another doesn’t matter as all profits go into the one organisation. Grafton is competing with any organisation who offers interior and exterior household products, ex. B&Q, Homebase (part of Home retail group), Argos (part of Home retail group), Power City, Harvey Norman, etc. From our experiences with Woodies they differentiate themselves from the competition as they offer a complete range of products from their store which means you can get all your needs in the one store. However if you look at the UK operating margin history it was roughly 6/7% over the past ten years versus Irish operating margin history of 11-13%. This means that competition is much stronger in the UK and they must price more competitively in the UK. Opportunities and Threats We can see from the below graphic that their decision to expand its operations in the mid 90s to the UK has been extremely successful with 68% of their turnover coming from the UK. Grafton must now look to the UK with a population of 61 million versus Ireland 4. 2 million as their primary source for turnover and opportunity. [pic] Turnover breakdown Ireland Merchanting |370,167 |19% | |DIY Retailing |247,784 |12% | |Manufacturing |19,891 |1% | |Total |637,842 |32% | In the UK their operation consists mainly of b uilders and plumbers merchanting. THE MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS – BUSINESS POSITION MATRIX (GE and McKinsey Company Model) |HIGH MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS |MEDIUM MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS |LOW MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS | |HIGH BUSINESS | | | | |POSITION | | | | |MEDIUM BUSINESS | | | | |POSITION | | | | |LOW BUSINESS POSITION| | | | Invest Grow = Green Selective Investment = Yellow Harvest/Divest = Red The G. E. Matrix is an extremely useful tool to assist an organisation in exploring its Business Position based on its competitive position and the attractiveness of the markets under the organisation’s consideration Opportunities identified †¢ Demographics – In Ireland 1. 5 million are under the age of 24 and in the UK roughly 15 million are under the age of 30. These people will require a home over the next 5 – 10 yrs and therefore there will be a demand for housing and renovations to suit individual tastes. †¢ Worldwide government energy initiatives – consumers are encouraged to buy more energy efficient products. †¢ Cost reduction – with demand in decline it important that Grafton mange their costs, ex. Supplier costs, staffing, acquisitions etc. Competitors – independents are finding the financial strain to difficult and are been forced to close their operations. Economic recovery will see Grafton best placed in the market. †¢ Markets – economists both here and abroad are saying there is a bottoming out of the recession. This should bring about a stable market place. †¢ Debtors – if debtors are managed tightly it can have a significant effect on cash flow and bad debts can be reduced to a minimum. †¢ Credit – if debtors aren’t paying on time then Grafton need to look at extending credit terms with their suppliers. We think this very possible as the power is very much with Grafton and not the suppliers. Threats identified We believe the biggest threat to Grafton Group is the level of spending available for construction related projects. The demand for building materials continues to fall in Ireland and signs of improvement are slowly beginning to show in the UK. â€Å"The construction industry has now declined for the 34th month in a row, but the rate of contraction is slowing, according to the latest Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers' Index. † â€Å"Though it's great to see the UK construction sector turn the corner after two years of relentless contraction, it's still very early days,† said David Noble, chief executive officer at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. There is now a reliance on the public sector for new work and if they don’t provide the funding for new projects then construction suppliers could be in for a difficult few years. Private investment is very unlikely in the current environment with consumer confidence very low and economic conditions unstable. Financial Information Analysis 2009 2008 Revenueâ‚ ¬1. 98bn â‚ ¬2. 67bn Adjusted operating profitâ‚ ¬26. 2m â‚ ¬118. 6m Operating profit per income statement â‚ ¬4. 9m â‚ ¬99. 2m Profit before tax â‚ ¬13. 6m â‚ ¬64. 1m Free cash flow 171m â‚ ¬212m EBITDA â‚ ¬74. 1m â‚ ¬172. 9m Adjusted earnings per share5. 4c 32. 2c Basic earnings per share 5. 8c 25. 1c Dividend/share purchase 5. 0c 15. 0c Net debt â‚ ¬322m â‚ ¬435m Gearing 35% 50% Analysis of Financial Reports The following is an analysis of the financial reports of Grafton Group plc. We will try to illustrate the current financial situation the group is in compared to previous years and also attempt to analysis the outlook for the future. Grafton’s presence in the construction and raw materials market means they have been very much affected by the economic downturn, in particular the significant slowdown in the construction market and the housing market in both the UK and Ireland. I will use liquidity, profitability, debt and other ratios deemed appropriate as tools to help analyse and diagnose the financial health of the group. I will use a year on year comparison in order to determine the direction in which the group is going and identify any trends. Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio (current assets : current liabilities) 20082009 920,482: â‚ ¬601,987â‚ ¬891,364 : â‚ ¬550,793 1. 53: 11. 62:1 Acid Test Ratio (Current assets less stock : current liabilities) 20082009 â‚ ¬920482 -â‚ ¬331124 : â‚ ¬601987â‚ ¬891364-â‚ ¬265748 : â‚ ¬550 793 1 : 0. 981. 14 : 1 Cash at Bank and Short term deposits (at end of year) 20082009 â‚ ¬301,984â‚ ¬224,834 Profitability Ratios Net Profit Margin (â‚ ¬000’s) 20082009 â‚ ¬64116 / â‚ ¬2672984â‚ ¬13580 / 1979766 2. 4%0. 68% Net Profit Margin per Segment Merchanting 20082009 â‚ ¬2284,484 / â‚ ¬121,921â‚ ¬1686,933 / â‚ ¬39305 5. 33 %2. 33 % Retailing 20082009 â‚ ¬303,071 / â‚ ¬11,790â‚ ¬247,784 / â‚ ¬3274 3. 89 %1. 3 % Manufacturing 20082009 â‚ ¬95621 / (â‚ ¬3159)â‚ ¬50985 / (â‚ ¬5060) -3. 3%-9. 9% Earnings per share (EPS) 20082009 32. 2c5. 4c Gearing 20082009 50%35% New borrowings v old borrowings 20082009 â‚ ¬91. 944 : â‚ ¬579,333â‚ ¬73679 : â‚ ¬536789 1 : 6. 31 : 7. 29 Short term v Long Term finance 20082009 â‚ ¬119,874 : â‚ ¬579,332 â‚ ¬103174 : â‚ ¬536,789 1 : 4. 831 : 5. 2 Analysis: Liquidity: The group has improved its current ratio year on year from 2008 to 2009, this is mainly due to a decrease in current liabilities. This is an encouraging trend for the group. The acid test ratio also shows improvement from 2008 to 2009, this is both a reflection of the improved current ratio and also the work done to try and reduce inventory holding, and reduce cash flow tied up therein and other associated costs. Cash flow was enhanced greatly by tighter management of inventory, debtors, disposal of assets (sale of freehold land, exhibiting the importance of having a strong portfolio of assets) The cash at bank and on short term deposit has been increased year on year from 2008 to 2009 by approximately 34% this is quite encouraging especially in the current environment (and not due to borrowings), as the adage goes â€Å"profit is food, cash is oxygen†. It is fair to say the group has slightly improved its liquidity situation and is more able to meet its outgoings as they fall due. Against the economic backdrop it is quite a good performance and evidence the group are handling the downturn well in a strategic sense. Profitability: Profitability is the biggest challenge facing Grafton due to the economic downturn and slowdown in the construction and housing markets. Net profit fell dramatically from 2008 to 2009 from â‚ ¬64 million to â‚ ¬13. 5 million, this was quite dramatic. Despite being worrying it was not unexpected, with the focus for the year on debt and cost reduction (and reducing capital expenditure and working capital). Merchanting, Retailing and Manufacturing all dropped considerably in profit terms. Margins were also decreased across all operations. Merchanting still remains the highest source of revenue for Grafton (%85 of group turnover in 2008 and 2009, suggesting strong competencies here). The loss in manufacturing outweighs the profit made in retailing, it is the profit made in the merchanting division that the real profit pool for Grafton. (divesting in manufacturing division may need to be considered, bar where synergies exist with other divisions, i. e. mortar manufacturing) As a result earnings per share have fallen dramatically from 32. 2c to 5. 4c, Debt: Through measures taken during the year to reduce gearing, Grafton were able to reduce an already modest gearing of 41 % in 2008 to 35 % in 2009. This is an excellent achievement in the circumstances (and exhibits a strong leadership in Strategic choices, direction, and fit). The net debt was reduced by â‚ ¬113. 1 from â‚ ¬435. 6 million in 2008 to â‚ ¬322. 5million in 2009. The groups current bank facilities are subject to a minimum net assets requirement (â‚ ¬301,984 cash at bank end2009, up from â‚ ¬224,834 end 2008, leaving the Group in a strong cash position). Return on Investment: Return on investment is down considerably from 2008 to 2009 10. 12% to 2. 19%, as profits dipped quite considerably resulting in the dramatic slump. Again this is worrying but not unexpected as the Group were attempting rationalization and consolidation (strong market share results exhibit some success in this regard) Borrowings: The ratio of new to old finance borrowings and ratio of short term to long term finance borrowing both improve year on year (1:6. 3 to 1:7. 29 and 1:4. 83 to 1:5. 2 respectively). Again this shows strong evidence of reducing debt and decreased borrowing. It is fair to say that Grafton is currently In a very challenging operating environment with the downturn In markets seriously affecting their profitability, dividends, and returns. But the Group finds themselves in an improved liquidity position, as well as considerably reducing their gearing, they also greatly increased their cash at bank negating greatly problems with accessing credit. Share Price Irish Stock Exchange Date: 29/04/2010 | Currency: EUR | Code: GRF_u. I |Current Price |3. 52 |Day High |3. 55 |Bid |3. 50 | |Last Closing Price |3. 50 |Day Low |3. 47 |Ask |3. 4 | |Change |0. 02 |Day Open |3. 47 |Year High |3. 59 | |   |   |Volume |28,045 |Year Low |2. 30 | Source http:investor/graftongroupplc. com The latest share price info as at 29/4/10 is encouraging as it shows strong recovery from a year low of 2. 30 to 3. 52 (a year high of 3. 59 has been achieved. The highest share price achieved was nearly 23 in early 2007 which illustrates the decline in the industry, and p uts the company’s current performance into context. The Corporate information. om Wright quality ratings rates Grafton’s investment quality as BBD0 which translates as: Liquidity:Excellent Financial Strength:Excellent Profitability:Fair Growth:0 Source www. corporateinformation. com Outlook for the Future The UK economy has moved out of recession in late 2009 which is encouraging news for Grafton as 68% of its turnover comes from this source. The amount of new house sales and builds are on the increase from a very low level starting which is very encouraging as the merchanting division is Grafton’s real profit pool. The Merchanting market has remained structurally sound despite the downturn and can expect a growth rate above normal trends that Grafton are well positioned to take advantage of. The Irish economy remains in recession but is expected to return to growth by the middle of the year boosted by global growth and improved export conditions. A weak employment situation, low consumer confidence and tight credit conditions make the market conditions in Ireland even more challenging, coupled with the massive drop in new house builds as housing over supply is still a problem. Further rationalisation measures and/or closures in the Irish operations should be considered. Group turnover stabilised from H1 2009 to H2 2009 which is encouraging. The cost reductions and integration benefits in the Merchanting divisions improved profitability in H2 2009. The rationalisation achieved and the increased activity expected form the UK new Housing market means that Grafton are well placed to take advantage of the recovering markets this year. Rationalisation measures: †¢ Employee base reduced in both Ireland and UK †¢ Cost reduction initiatives progressed with significant results †¢ 18 locations consolidated or closed and 10 new locations added †¢ Credit terms from suppliers renegotiated †¢ Improved inventory management †¢ Debtors managed tightly with significant cash generation †¢ Costs rationalized by â‚ ¬80 million in 2009 Plans for 2010: †¢ Further rationalisation costs will be incurred in 2010 Wider product range yielding margin growth †¢ Emphasis on overhead control and working capital management †¢ Attempt to obtain full benefits of integration Opportunities 2010: †¢ Reduced cost base †¢ Market share gains †¢ Competitors failing †¢ Irish Construction close to b ottoming out †¢ Signs of recovery in markets †¢ Positive Demographics †¢ Government Renewable energy initiatives Group Strengths †¢ Highly cash generative streamlined businesses †¢ Significant cash deposits ensures liquidity †¢ No P Banking Covenants -protection from exchange fluctuations now in banking agreements †¢ Strong balance sheet –modest gearing 35% †¢ No material refinancing required before 2011 68% of turnover in UK (increased mortgage lending, & housing sector activity in UK) †¢ Prominent market positions in the UK and Ireland –market share circa 10% and 20% respectively (satisfactory market share performance) †¢ Motivated management teams †¢ Proven strategic record, past experience of managing down cycles †¢ Spread risk †¢ Economies of scope amongst SBU’s †¢ Synergies across SBU’s †¢ Vertical integration achieving efficiencies in merchanting division †¢ Benefits de rived from lower cost base, integration, scale related and Procurement efficiencies †¢ Trading stabilised in second half of 2009 †¢ Trading outlook beginning to improve following period of significant uncertainty †¢ Tight financial control across group Weaknesses †¢ Poor performance in Ireland operations †¢ General economic downturn †¢ Housing market collapse †¢ Sharp Industry downturn Slowdown in Irish construction & housing industry (brought group turnover down 26% to 1. 98bn †¢ Very slow new housing Market in Ireland †¢ Consumer confidence in Ireland hitting retail sales †¢ Continued contraction expected in Irish economy †¢ Manufacturing operations making a loss †¢ Over reliance on Merchanting operations Strategic Capability â€Å"The ability to perform at the level required to survive and prosper. It is underpinned by the resources and competences of the organisation† Johnson, Scholes & Whittington It is clear that Grafton have the threshold competences to meet customer’s minimum requirements, and also the threshold competences to provide the same as they continue to exist (and are in a decent position to go forward). But what are Grafton’s core competencies, (activities and processes that are difficult for competition to imitate), what are their unique resources (difficult for competition to imitate or obtain). And what are the critical success factors for Grafton’s customers (the product features especially valued by customers and therefore the company must excel at). As 85% of Grafton’s turnover comes from their merchanting division this is where we will focus. Some of Grafton’s Brands, Sbu’s and subsidiaries in Merchanting include: Ireland: Heiton Buckley Chadwicks Cork Builders providers Telfords Heiton steel UK: Buildbase Jackson Building Centres Macnaughton Blair Selco Builders Warehouses Plumbase (plumbing) CPI Euromix (mortar) Critical Success factors for customers (a sample of but not limited to): Quality service and products Reliable products services Speed of service National Distribution Online ordering / catalogue. Product knowledge and advice available Simple pricing Self service capabilities â€Å"One stop shop† capabilities Wide selection / availability of products hire services Prompt & accurate delivery of products/services Strong partnership team working capabilities Trade deals/initiatives (bulk buying, relationship development) Unique resources (a sample of but not limited to): Wide network of branches Vertically integrated operations Very experienced management team Backed by strong corporate parent Financial resources (over 300 million in cash) Experience of managing previous downturns Strong Brand equity, profile and Goodwill Ability to leverage position as largest mortar manufacturer National Distribution Network (Civil & Lintels) Core Competences (a sample of but not limited to): Corporate parenting Synergy managing Proven vertical integration abilities Cross SBU linkages Co-ordination of multiple and diverse activities Excellent Financial management First class customer service Mortar manufacturing (no 1 in market) Strong Management at SBU level Strong Value chain Strong Value network Strategic Marketing Autonomy at SBU level Market Development Product development and category management National and local distribution competences The above are some examples of the critical success factors Grafton Group need to excel at for customers, and some of the unique resources and core competences that help them to meet those CSF’s. By building those resources and capabilities that help Grafton deliver value for its customers and help obtain competitive advantage. Corporate Governance What is Corporate Governance? â€Å"Corporate governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The governance framework is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of those resources. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society. † (Sir Adrian Cadbury, UK, Commission Report: Corporate Governance 1992) Ireland’s recent history of corporate governance has been highlighted with the governments bank NAMA, National Asset Management Agency. Builders, bankers and the senior public servants who failed to regulate these sectors are perceived to be getting off scot-free from the crisis they caused. â€Å"Sean Barrett – Irish Times 2nd September 2009 / Page 14 Brian Lenihan has taken action that is costing taxpayers billions of euro that would have not have be en required if Corporate Governance and common sense regulation was adhered to. The bank regulators, a supposed independent body, did not adhere to procedures and turned a â€Å"blind eye† to what was practiced over the last 20 years. â€Å"The state ownership policy should fully recognise the state-owned enterprises’ responsibilities towards stakeholders and request that they report on their relations with stakeholders. Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, Page 37 (2005) Making the right decisions with all the information without compromising the integrity of the organisation. [pic] Corporate Cartoons, Grinning Plannet Grafton Group’s Compliance with the Combined Code The Board is committed to maintaining high standards of Corporate Governance. The Board is accountable to the Company’s shareholders and this statement describes how it applies the principles of good governance set out in the 2006 FRC Combined Code on Corporate Go vernance which is appended to the Listing Rules of the Irish and London Stock Exchanges. The Board – who reports to whom? The Board of Directors is made up of nine members at 31 December 2008 comprising the Executive Chairman, three other executive Directors and five non-executive Directors. Mr. Anthony Collins, Deputy Chairman, is Senior Independent Director. The Board believes that it has the skills, knowledge and experience required by the scale, geographic spread and complexity of the Group’s operations. The Board routinely meets seven times a year and additionally as required by time critical business needs. There is also contact with the Board between meetings as required in order to progress the Group’s business. The Board takes the major decisions while allowing management sufficient scope to run the business within a centralised reporting framework. The Board has a formal schedule of matters specifically reserved for its decision. This covers the key areas of the Group’s business including financial statements, budgets, acquisitions, major items of capital expenditure and the strategic development of the Group. The Board’s responsibilities also include ensuring that appropriate management, development and succession plans are in place; reviewing the environmental and health and safety performance of the Group; approving the appointment of Directors and the Company Secretary; approving policies relating to Directors’ remuneration and severance and ensuring that satisfactory dialogue takes place with shareholders. The Directors have access to the advice and services of the Company Secretary who is responsible for advising the Board through the Chairman on governance matters. The Company’s Articles of Association and Schedule of Matters reserved for the Board for decision provide that the appointment or removal of the Company Secretary is a matter for the full Board. Directors have full and timely access to all relevant information in a form appropriate to enable them to discharge their duties. Reports and papers are circulated to Directors in preparation for Board and committee meetings. The non-executive Directors, together with the executive Directors, also receive monthly management accounts, various reports and other information to enable them to review the performance of the Group on an ongoing basis. The Board continues to hold the view that there are compelling commercial benefits to the Group and its shareholders in combining the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive and the holding of the combined roles by Mr. Michael Chadwick. The combination of the roles is balanced from a governance point of view by the strong input of the five independent non-executive Directors on the Board and the Board’s committee structure. Directors’ Independence and Board Balance It is Board policy that the Board should include a balance of executive and non-executive Directors such that no individual or small group of individuals can dominate the Board’s decision making. Five non-executive Directors, Mr. Anthony E. Collins, Ms. Gillian Bowler, Mr. Richard W. Jewson, Mr. Roderick Ryan and Mr. Peter S. Wood are considered by the Board to be independent of management and free from any relationship which could materially interfere with the exercise of their independent judgement. The Board has therefore determined all five Directors to be independent. Mr. Collins was appointed to the Board in 1988 and both Ms. Bowler and Mr. Jewson were appointed to the Board in 1995. The length of their service on the Board exceeds nine years and the 2006 FRC Combined Code provides that an explanation be made to shareholders concerning their continued independence. The Board considers that the integrity and independence of these Directors is beyond doubt. All three Directors are financially independent of the Company and have other significant commercial and professional commitments. The Company’s Articles of Association provide that one third of the Directors retire by rotation each year and that each Director seek re-election at the Annual General Meeting every three years. New Directors are subject to election by shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting following their appointment. It is Board Policy that non-executive Directors are normally appointed for an initial period of three years, which is then reviewed. It is also Board Policy that a non-executive Director who has served on the Board for more than nine years will retire annually and will offer him/ her for re-election in any case where it is proposed to exceed nine years. The overall composition and balance of the Board is kept under review. To allow corporate governance to drop in standards allows too many possible problems arise. Directors making short term decisions for their own benefit cannot be tolerated and without strong non-Executive Directors organisations have suffered. E. g. Enron, Independent News and Media. Performance of the Board Grafton Group’s long standing non Executive Directors have been re-elected at many AGMs which proves the confidence of their value to shareholders. At the beginning of the year their share price of building up to their financial report for 2010. When we were given Grafton Group as our project the share price was â‚ ¬2. 70, week of April 12 it is trading at â‚ ¬3. 40/share, an increase of 25%. Their board are doing a good job and have processes in place that do not allow any maverick activities. They tick all the boxes of operating independently of management. Insider dealing is not evident, â€Å"interlocking† does not exist similar to Jim Flavin, member of both Fyffes and DCC. The CEO of Woodies and Atlantic Homecare is Ray Coleman. Some would argue the same CEO of both could lead to conflict but as both have different strategies it make business sense for this to be the case. Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR and Ethics â€Å"The Grafton Group recognises the importance of conducting its business in a socially responsible manner. This is demonstrated in the way we deal with our employees, customers, suppliers and the communities in which we do business. The Group considers that corporate social responsibility is an integral element of good business management. Grafton Group Website â€Å"Business only contributes fully to a society if it is efficient, profitable and socially responsible† – Cannon (1992, p. 33) â€Å"Few trends would so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their shareholders as they possibly can†- Milton Friedman (1962) Grafton Group’s CSR is centred on the following areas. ? The Environment – Reduction of waste that impacts on environment, affiliation to Irish and UK environmental specialists. e. g. Biffpack in UK ? Health and Safety – Adherence to best practice for employees, customers and visitors to their stores Human Resources – Acknowledge the importance of employees to achieve success, reward them accordingly and become number one choice of employment in their field ? Community – Recognise the responsibility to the communities in which they are located, support local charities e. g. donated tools and equipment to Goal following Haiti earthquake in 2009 Grafton Group, we feel, is what all corporations do – tick the box of CSR! Very few Financial Reports had any reference to CSR until l ast 10-20 years. To make them stand out on CSR issues as Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream or The Body Shop do, they would have to incorporate it into their overall business strategy. Would this give them a competitive advantage over their business rival? Would CSR promotion become part of their strategy? Our view is that a company in the industry it serves will be dictated by their consumers as to how important CSR really is. In Grafton Group’s case this will not happen. Their stance on CSR is Laissez Faire to Enlightened Self-Interest. The emphasis is mainly on their shareholder short term orientation i. e. highest profit as possible and adhere to the law at all time. They may worry about how they are perceived such as pension fund investors. They are definitely not a Shaper of Society where they influence society in a better light and not always driven by super profit making e. g. Paul Newman food investment and Niall Mellon Trust. Shareholder and Stakeholder Expectations and Influences The difference in both shareholder and stakeholder expectations is determined largely on the performance of The Grafton Group, history of performance, market in which it trades, promises made and promises previously delivered on. Since they began trading Grafton Group has consistently made profit and grown which has given shareholders a return on their investment. The collapse of the building trade in Ireland and UK has meant a large fall in share price but due to the market’s performance no shareholder could have expected anything else. Bob de Wit and Ron Meyer, 1998 describes the value perspective of shareholders and stakeholders and how, if any, interlink. In summary the difference is that shareholder’s perspectives have an ends, i. e. make a profit and value of company increases. Stakeholder’s perspectives have and ends and a means where profit is a want but not at the cost of something that would be considered unethical. The power that a board such as Grafton Group must withstand can determine whether shareholders or stakeholders have more of an influence on decisions than is healthy. â€Å"Power is the ability of individuals or groups to persuade, induce, or coerce others into following certain course of action. † Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, P160 If an organisation succumbs to the power of an outside influence their control is diluted. Some people within organisations, by right, have more power than other, e. g. the formal power a CEO enjoys. ? Legitimate Power: Power of the position, CEO ? Reward Power: e. g. Manager deciding who gets overtime Coercive Power: who decides on who gets the bad jobs to perform e. g. â€Å" if you do not do this you will not get the other†, bullying style ? Expert Power: This is more a personal power that a knowledge based professional may exercise ? Referent Power: This explains the influential power someone can exhort through charisma or personality traits e. g. Richard Branson of Virgin Group Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, P161 It is interesting that the brand power Woodies and Atlantic Homecare enjoy in the home DIY market sector is a symbol of power for both shareholders and stakeholders. Stakeholder mapping is an interesting way to determine the power and level of interest certain groups have in organisations. | |LEVEL of INTEREST | |LOW HIGH | | |A |B | |LOW |Minimal Effort |Keep Informed | |POWER | | | |HIGH | | | | |C |D | | |Keep Satisfied |Key Players | The level of interest within Grafton group lies mainly with employees, shareholders and Board of Directors. The Key Players are the Board of Directors and Shareholders as they have a vote as to who by and how the company is run. Stakeholders such as government are low in power and would have a low level of interest. Some of the manufacturing Grafton Group are involved in may require them to be socially responsible to the community in which they are located and must keep them informed of any changes that may affect them. They would have a high level of interest but a low form of power. Culture of Organisations and Grafton Group The culture of organisations is largely shaped by the founding fathers. For example Lever Bros. Ltd has a long tradition with social responsibility before it was known as CSR. William Heskeath Lever first established Port Sunlight village to improve the living conditions and well-being of employees of the Port Sunlight Soap factory. This created a culture of CSR which is maintained today. Similarly with the Grafton Group, CEO Michael Chadwick, has been with Grafton Group since he was 23 years of age. The culture of the company is largely a result of his business philosophies and strategies. We asked for an interview but we were declined, we asked for a list of questions to be answered if we sent them to his secretary and this too was declined so it is difficult to get an insight into his business philosophy. The Grafton Group do not apologise for being shareholder oriented in terms of profits in the form of dividends or company value increase. They have not allowed themselves be affected by the current economic climate and do not show any forms of strategic drift. Strategic drift is where organisational strategies develop incrementally on the basis of cultural influences and do not keep up pace with the changing environment in which they trade. Grafton have reacted to the downturn of their business and do not wait for changes to be made as reactionary. Henry Mintzberg has noted that â€Å"strategy is a pattern in a stream of decisions†. If decisions are made as a reaction to their environment it can be too late. Grafton Group’s Board of Directors is long serving and successful, due to this fact they have created a culture of expectancy for shareholders and for themselves to delivery. This behaviour filters through to line managers and front of customer staff (boundary spanners) to achieve success. The success of the past and alignment to environmental change has created a winning culture. They have created a theme around their strategy and have not deviated from it. They operate in Ireland and the UK in markets they understand and do not expand outside these industries. This helps succession planning for managers moving from business units to gain more experience keeping within the core competencies of the Grafton Group. Strategic Direction and Corporate level strategy Strategic Vision is a detailed future oriented vision of the strategic direction that a company is planning to take going forward, that takes into account the competences and capabilities that it both has and needs to achieve to achieve its vision. â€Å" A strategic vision is a road-map of a company’s future, providing specifics about technology and customer focus, the geographic and product markets to be pursued, the capabilities it plans to develop, and the kind of company that management is trying to create† (Thompson & Strickland 2001, P6). According to Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2008, the â€Å"Exploring Corporate strategy model is made up of the corporate culture, business ethics, CSR, the strategic position, the strategy in action and strategic choices. Strategic choices encompasses some of the following areas of an organisation †¢ Business Level Choices †¢ International Choices †¢ Evaluation †¢ Innovation †¢ Corporate Level Choices Corporate Parent As we know the Grafton group encompasses many different brands, which is their cash generating and highly profitable business units. Throughout Grafton’s history they have managed to acquire many related business all in an effort to strengthen the group as a whole. Through this vertical integration Grafton have offered themselves many advantages and increased their competitive strength. Grafton’s strategic development has continued to grow with major acquisitions made both in Ireland and the UK such as 1990 – Macnaughton Blair, a Belfast based builders merchant †¢ 1994 – Bradleys and Lumley & Hunt plumbing and heating †¢ 1995 – P. P. S Mortars, silo plant based in Glasgow †¢ 1998 – British Dredging. Grafton were the first ever Irish company to acquire a British plc †¢ 2000-2002 – A total of 39 acquisitions were made, building the groups strength further in Ireland and the UK †¢ 2003 – Jackson Building Centres in England adding 18 branches and plumbline, Scotland’s largest independent plumber merchants. †¢ 2004 – The Grafton group officially makes its 100th acquisition †¢ 2005 – Grafton acquires Heiton Buckley. (www. graftonplc. com) As we can see here, Grafton has had a very strong acquisition based strategy to vertically integrate with all the suppliers and related business in an effort to grow in strength and position and to make themselves a real presence in the Irish and UK markets. However it’s all well and good to acquire all these other business, but what is the point in having them unless you can use them to your advantage. This is Grafton’s role and responsibility as the now corporate parent to all these acquisitions, to turn them from simply business units into strategic business units that will benefit the group as a whole and strategically fit. The corporate parent as a Synergy manager A corporate Parent identifying factors are a large corporate office with a main emphasis on facilitating cooperation across its SBU’s with a continued focus on cost reduction, scale related benefits, closer integration, branch consolidation and brand synergies. As a corporate parent to its SBU’s, Grafton group seeks to enhance value across its business units by managing and instilling synergies across its business units. The backward, forward and horizontal integration of its suppliers of raw materials and competitors has afforded Grafton a strategic advantage. In order to promote synergy management across its strategic business units, Grafton group tries to create the synergies by thinking holistically and viewing the SBU’s as interlinked with a common purpose between such as; ? DIY retailing – Woodies and Atlantic Homecare ? Manufacturing – CPI Euromix, MFP and Wright windows Merchanting – Heiton Buckley, Chadwicks, Cork builders providers and Telford The main point to remember is that the business units should benefit from the corporate parent by the co-operation between them that’s afforded by the corporate centre Grafton Group. A more streamlined UK merchanting business incorporating the Buildbase, Plumbase and Jacksons brands and specialist merchanting businesses is enabling a deeper integration of the overall business. The new structure will result in significant synergies beyond the rationalisation measures already implemented. These arise particularly in procurement, accounting and other central services. A single management team is now in place for all brands operating from a single head office location. Costs continue to be more aligned with sales and the management team works closely with the Group Chief Operating Officer in driving cost reduction, branch consolidation and brand synergies while leveraging scale-related benefits. With regard to synergy management the following questions should be answered: ? Is there common purpose between business units – YES ? Does parent try to achieve co-operation between business units – YES ? Provide central services and resources – YES In 2009 one of Grafton’s management priorities was â€Å"To unlock latent synergies in downturn†. (Grafton Financial results 2009 PP) Strategic Drift This is the tendency for strategies to develop incrementally on the basis of historical and cultural influences but fail to keep pace with a changing environment. (Liam Bolger, lecture notes 2009). Strategic drift is certainly not something that Grafton can be accused of as they react quickly to the economical downturn to keep themselves competitive, especially within the domestic market of Ireland where there core strength lies. Grafton Group has reduced their overall debt from â‚ ¬584 million (2005) down to â‚ ¬322 million (2009). The majority of this occurred in the last 2 years with a reduction of â‚ ¬228 million or 41% (Grafton Group plc final results 2009) Employee base reduced in both Ireland and UK Cost reduction initiatives progressed with significant results †¢ 18 locations consolidated /closed and 10 new locations added †¢ Credit terms from suppliers renegotiated †¢ Debtors managed tightly with significant cash generation †¢ Costs rationalised in 2009 by â‚ ¬80 million Further plans to manage through 2010: †¢ Further rationalisation costs to be incur