International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 12

International Marketing - Essay Example omotion of goods and services and exchange of such goods and services among two or more international entities in order to satisfy organizational objectives (Arnold, 2003). In this paper, the international marketing strategies and practices of the leading US multinational carbonated beverage company PepsiCo Inc. will be analysed. The company is one of the largest producers of soft drinks in the whole world. Apart from carbonated soft drinks, the product basket of PepsiCo Inc. is diversified with various foods and snacks, packaged drinking water and fruit juices. The products of the company have reached more than 200 countries in the world. Such widespread business has enabled PepsiCo Inc. to capture the second largest position in the world in terms of revenue and in North America, it is the largest. The paper will explore the international marketing and operational strategies of this world-famous beverage company, PepsiCo Inc. In the next segment, the motivation of PepsiCo Inc for expanding their business internationally and accordingly differentiated marketing, sales and distribution strategies adapted by the company will be examined in details. As mentioned earlier, due to the liberalization of economies, many companies are showing their interest in expanding their business internationally and maximizing their profitability through serving a large number of customers beyond the home country. In fact, observations of the big multinational companies have indicated that immense business opportunities are lying in the emerging nations in terms of potential customer base and availability of cheap resources, utilizing which, the companies can be benefitted to a great extent (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). The reasons behind PepsiCo Inc to participate in internationalization process are as follows. PepsiCo Inc has been operating in the beverage industry in its home market, United States since 1965 and has evolved as one of the leading companies in the

Ikea Swot Analysis Essay Example for Free

Ikea Swot Analysis Essay Strengths: * IKEA offers a unique value proposition to its customers. It offers a wide range of well designed, functional products at low prices. The design begins with low costs from the outset, striking an ideal balance between function, quality, design, and price. * IKEA introduced the flat package which can be assembled by customers * IKEA has maintained long-term relationships with its suppliers, ensuring the company has access to high-quality materials at reasonable prices. Because of this, IKEA has some of the largest margins in the industry. * IKEA’s vision is to create a better everyday life for many people, putting the concerns for the environment and people at the heart of the business. Weaknesses: * The need for low cost products could lead to a possible compromise between quality and price. * IKEA is a global company, so product standards may be difficult to maintain. * Furniture needs assembly and not everyone has the tools, knowledge or strength to put the furniture together. The instructions for furniture assembly are just pictures. There are no words to accompany the instructions. Opportunities: * IKEA can further capitalize on the â€Å"green† movement and IKEA’s customer’s desires to have less of an impact on the environment. * IKEA is already reducing their carbon footprint by packing in less material. Threats: * Competition for IKEA comes from traditional furniture stores as well as stores like Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, and other similar stores that also sell household products and small furniture. * Some stores have already mirrored the flat package, low cost packed furniture model. * Slow down in first time home buyers, which is a core market segment for IKEA, as well as the recession will limit the amount of customers that walk into an IKEA store. Questions: 1.) IKEA is already opening stores in many locations all across the globe. IKEA offers low-cost products, mostly furniture that is packaged in low, flat boxes, which the purchaser would take with them to assemble at home. IKEA will also deliver their products and the package design saves on shipping charges as well as shelf space at the store. Customers enjoy the experience of shopping at IKEA. The restaurant allows IKEA customers to make a day of the shopping trip. The average customer drives 50 miles round trip to IKEA. The furniture comes in low, flat packaging that is relatively easy to take with you. When it comes to assembly however, the instruction usually only have pictures. This saves the company money, since IKEA is global and would need to print instructions in multiple languages. 2.) IKEA has a one-way design to it store. Customers walk through the different displays and can experience the entire store. At the end of the trip is the warehouse, which has the furniture packaged in the low, flat boxes. Customers can grab a cart and choose the items that they need or liked as they walked through the store. The displays are set up so you can see how the matching furniture looks together. You can sit in the chairs, open and close the drawers, and test out the furniture before you buy. IKEA does offer delivery for a low fee. The salesperson told me that I would have to buy one of everything in the store before the shipping price would increase; I believe the shipping price was $60 for everything in my order. One can also purchase the service of having someone come to your home to put the furniture together. However, customers looking to go in and grab something quickly will find the design and layout of the store cumbersome. Customers may also see something on display that they really enjoy, however, when they get to the warehouse, they might find the shelf empty. IKEA is able to find the sold out items at other locations, however customers need to travel to the other store to make the purchase (at least this was my experience). When the sold out item is not available, the customer might want to go back to the display and find a different set of match-able items, making the shopping experience even longer and more cumbersome.

Ayn Rand - A False Romantic Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

Ayn Rand - A False Romantic The Romantic period at its height extended over just a bit more than a century, from the latter half of the eighteenth century through to nearly the end of the nineteenth century. During this period, a new school of poetry was forged, and with it, a new moral philosophy. But, as the nineteenth century wound down, the Romantic movement seemed to be proving itself far more dependent on the specific cultural events it spanned than many believed; that is, the movement was beginning to wind down in time with the ebbing of the industrial and urban boom in much the same way that the movement grew out of the initial period of industrial and urban growth. Thus, it would be easy to classify the Romantic movement as inherently tied to its cultural context. The difficulty, then, comes when poets and authors outside of this time period-and indeed in contexts quite different then those of the original Romantic poets-begin to label themselves as Romantics. The twentieth century author Ayn Rand, author of works such as The Fountainhead, Anthem, and Atlas Shrugged, is one such example of a self-labeled Romantic. In 1971 Rand published a collection of essays in a book she titled The Romantic Manifesto. This series of essays, with topics ranging from romantic art to the nature of a novel, carefully lays out Rand's conception of Romanticism and her place within it. The question one must ask, then, is how does Rand manage to write a work of nearly two hundred pages on the nature of Romanticism without ever once mentioning any of the key Romantic poets: Keats, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, and so on. The obvious answer would seem to be that Rand's conception of Romanticism must be diametrically opposed to that of... ...us, while one may draw valuable insights about some of the potential flaws of the Romantic's ideals and philosophy through a comparison with Rand, in the end it truly is a comparison of Rand and the Romantics, not a comparison of Rand and her fellow Romantics. Works Cited Bloom, Harold and Lionel Trilling, eds. Romantic Poetry and Prose. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Dutton, 1957. Rand, Ayn. The Romantic Manifesto. New York: Signet Publishing, 1975. Footnotes: 1 Preface to Lyrical Ballad; Bloom & Trilling, p. 595 2 Preface; Bloom & Trilling, p. 596 3 Biographia Literaria; Bloom & Trilling, p. 649 4 A Defence of Poetry; Bloom & Trilling, p. 751 5 The Romantic Manifesto; Rand, p. 103 6 The Romantic Manifesto; Rand, p. 122 7 Atlas Shrugged; Rand, p. 282-283 8 Atlas Shrugged; Rand, p. 1036 Â  

Iron Crowned Chapter 13

The journey back was uneventful, the most notable thing being the afterglow that now burned between Kiyo and me – something I now questioned the wisdom of. My words had been true: I'd never stopped caring about him. But he'd been right too: what had happened between us back in the glade had come from my own outrage and need to get back at Dorian. That wasn't really a good reason to start a relationship. It wasn't even a really good reason for casual sex, and honestly, I wasn't sure what my status was with Kiyo at the moment. Deanna reappeared and followed along so quietly and obediently that I finally broke the silence to reassure her I'd keep my part of the bargain. Her drab face lit up, and I had to give her credit for not pushing the matter until I settled my other business. Kiyo and I went straight to Dorian's, once we'd crossed back into more familiar territory. My plan was to deal with him first and then jump to the human world. I thought it would be safer to have the crown there. Dorian's guards met me with pleased grins, and while they were surprised to see Kiyo, most seemed to know I'd been off on some secret mission. Coming back alive was a good sign. As soon as we entered the castle, I ordered a messenger to go to Katrice and inform her that I now possessed the Iron Crown and that if she wanted to talk surrender, I was all ears. As Dorian's consort, I had the power to order around his staff – but I had a feeling that would end soon. Kiyo and I were admitted into Dorian's exalted presence out in a courtyard, where he was making a long-tormented courtier named Muran play the harp. I knew for a fact that Muran had had exactly one lesson, and Dorian seemed quite amused watching the guy struggle through. This kind of thing was one of Dorian's greatest pastimes, and usually, even though I felt bad for Muran, it provided me with a little amusement. Today I felt none. When we entered the courtyard, Dorian took one look at our faces and promptly ordered everyone away – even his guards. He still wore that small, carefree smile, but I'd seen a subtle shift in the lines of his face. He knew something was up. His astuteness was what made him such a good ruler. â€Å"Well, here you are,† he said, sitting back in the gentry equivalent of a lawn chair. Except, of course, I'd never seen Home Depot sell anything so ornate and gilded. Normally when I arrived, Dorian kissed me, but his wariness must have held him back. â€Å"As beautiful as ever, my dear, if a little beat up around the edges. I suppose this means you either succeeded or just barely escaped with your life?† â€Å"We succeeded,† I said. â€Å"I've got the crown.† Again – that smile didn't change, but an eager light flickered in Dorian's eyes. He leaned forward. â€Å"I knew it. I knew you could do it.† He studied me up and down, his gaze finally resting on the bag over my shoulder. â€Å"May I see it?† â€Å"No,† I said bluntly. â€Å"No one's going to see it. It's going to be hidden away where it can't be used to start eating up people's lands.† Dorian's eyebrows rose, and he began to speak. I could already imagine a hundred variations of what was going to come out of his mouth, something along the lines of, â€Å"Whatever are you talking about, my dear?† I stepped forward, my control snapping as I cut him off. â€Å"Don't start! Don't even start with some sugar-coated denial. You've known all along what the crown could do! You knew it'd scare Katrice because it meant I – and by default you – could take over her kingdom!† Dorian hesitated, and again, I could guess at the thoughts spinning in his head. Denial or backpedaling? He finally went with the latter. â€Å"And what better way to push her into peace?† he said at last. â€Å"The point of a war like this is to eventually march over and subdue someone anyway. Isn't it much simpler and faster to achieve that same end through another way?† â€Å"A way that rips her land from her!† I exclaimed. â€Å"And sticks me with another fucking kingdom!† I stepped forward and had to forcibly keep myself from getting closer. I was so, so angry. So angry that this man I cared about could do this to me. I was almost angrier at him than Katrice at the moment. From her, at least, I expected betrayal. â€Å"And that's what you would have wanted to do – not just scare her. You would have found some way, some justification for taking that drastic step, just like you got me to go after this in the first place.† Much of the humor had faded from Dorian's face now. â€Å"And would you have gone after it if you'd known?† â€Å"No.† He shrugged. â€Å"Well, there you have it.† I was aghast. â€Å"That's it? How the hell can you be so lax about this? How can you act like it's okay to have tricked me from the beginning – you and that hag? How can you claim to love me and lie to me?† â€Å"I do love you,† he said. â€Å"More than you know. I did this for your own good.† â€Å"You did it for your own good,† I snapped. â€Å"I can't believe I fell for it again. You've done this before, and now I'm done. Done with you. Done with all of this. I don't need your help anymore. I'll finish this fucking war on my own.† â€Å"Eugenie,† warned Kiyo softly. He didn't contradict me, not in front of Dorian, but I understood the subtext. It was the point he'd made before: not to spurn Dorian's military help. Dorian scoffed, sharing that sentiment. â€Å"Of course you need me. If you can get past your hurt pride, you'll see that we're in this together. Use the crown however you want, but be reasonable so that the two of us can finally end this war.† My voice was low and dangerous when I spoke. I was furious that he could be so condescending, that he assumed he could just smooth this all over. â€Å"There is no more us.† â€Å"Now you're just overreacting,† he said. â€Å"We need to finish this war together, and we need to be together, period. We're meant to be.† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"We're done. It's over.† I could see from his face that he didn't take that seriously either. He didn't get it. His ego wouldn't allow him to. Before he could respond, Kiyo lightly touched my arm. â€Å"Be careful. Look what you're doing.† I glanced around. The wind was rising and falling, making the apple trees sway back and forth. Dark clouds began to gather above. It wasn't uncommon for my emotions to unconsciously affect the weather, but the fact that I could do it in a land under someone else's control was a sign of how much my power had grown. If Dorian had wanted sunny weather, it should have stayed that way. The realization of what I could do was heady. Nonetheless, I pushed back, calming the air and dissipating the storm clouds. But Dorian wasn't concerned about any of that. His attention had snapped to one small gesture: Kiyo's touch on my arm. I'm not sure how Dorian knew – maybe just the way Kiyo and I stood near each other – but in that moment, Dorian realized what had happened between Kiyo and me. And that, more than any of the arguments here, was what finally broke that laid-back attitude. His face turned to stone. â€Å"Oh,† he said to Kiyo, voice completely devoid of emotion. â€Å"I see. It's your turn again.† Outrage filled me at the insinuation that I could be passed around – a sentiment not unlike what Kiyo himself had expressed. Dorian allowed me no chance to counter. â€Å"Well, if that's how it's going to be, then that's how it's going to be. You may be right that there's no us, but we are still in this war together. My armies are too enmeshed, and I can hardly let Katrice think I'm backing down. Dareth!† Dorian's voice rang out, loudly enough that one of the guards behind the glass doors heard. He swiftly opened the doors and stepped outside. â€Å"Your Majesty?† â€Å"Please escort the Thorn Queen and her pet from the premises. They are denied hospitality. Do not admit them again. Should any of her household come, they may be allowed into my presence.† His eyes flicked to me. â€Å"Send Rurik as your proxy for all military matters. He was doing all the work anyway.† Dorian's attention went back to his guard. â€Å"You have your orders.† Dareth had trouble keeping the shock off his face. I had become a fixture around here, treated nearly the same as Dorian. After a few moments, Dareth composed his features, his loyalty to his king overriding any disbelief he might feel. He turned to me, expression formal. He gestured inside. â€Å"Your Majesty.† The respect was there, but the message was clear. I was being thrown out and could see Dareth practically praying I wouldn't resist. I didn't, and while a dozen parting retorts to Dorian filled my head, I shoved them aside. He thrived on that kind of attention. It would only make him feel more important, and I wanted it made clear that I really was done with him – even though the cold reality of what was happening made my heart break. Kiyo and I began to follow Dareth without comment, but then I paused. Reaching toward my neck, I ripped off the necklace I wore, the one with Dorian's ring. I tossed it at his feet, meeting his gaze with a message I hoped he understood. He did. His answered mine with green fury. â€Å"I said get out of here.† I turned away, letting Dareth take us to the castle's front doors. As soon as we were outside, I heard him giving instructions about the revoking of our hospitality. I imagined the other guards shared his shock, but I walked on without looking back. Once Kiyo and I had traveled far enough that the land shifted and put us in Maiwenn's kingdom, he turned to look at me. â€Å"Are you okay?† he asked, worry in those dark eyes. â€Å"Fine,† I said flatly. I was confident my anger was justified †¦ but leaving Dorian still hurt. He'd dismissed me so easily, once he'd realized I'd slept with Kiyo. I'd expected something †¦ something more emotional, I guess. Some sign that I'd meant more to him than a useful consort. I should have known better. â€Å"Let's go back to Tucson.† I'd kept Volusian and Deanna away while we'd met with Dorian but brought them both back now. I told Deanna to come to my home tomorrow and that we'd start working on her problem then. To Volusian, I gave orders to return to the Thorn Land. He would tell Rurik to go to Dorian and then wait until word came back from Katrice. I had no doubt that word of my being banned from Dorian's would spread around quickly enough; I didn't want to see the reactions of my people when that happened. Kiyo and I crossed back to Arizona at a nearby gateway, going to his place instead of mine so that he could redo my stitches. He was as good as any ‘real' doctor, and I didn't want to have to explain my new cuts and bruises to someone else. A slew of cats and dogs greeted me when I entered his apartment, making me feel oddly nostalgic. â€Å"Are you sure you're okay?† Kiyo asked later. I was lying stomach-down on his bed while his needle went to work on the cut. My cheek rested on a pillow, my only view being his dresser as I tried to stay still. â€Å"Fine.† â€Å"You keep saying that, but what went down was pretty serious.† I could imagine the frown on his face. â€Å"I didn't expect him to pull hospitality.† â€Å"He knows we slept together,† I said. â€Å"Guys get upset when their girlfriends do that.† I'd broken up with Dorian in my head the instant I found out about the deception, but as far as he was concerned, I'd cheated on him. Maybe I had. But betraying someone who'd deceived you didn't seem like that much of a betrayal. â€Å"Yes,† said Kiyo. â€Å"Yes, they do.† He tied off his thread and re-bandaged it all. â€Å"Please, please do not pull these out again. The fact that this isn't infected is a miracle.† â€Å"I won't,† I said, sitting up and carefully putting my shirt back on. â€Å"I don't plan on getting in any fights for a while. I'm staying out of the Otherworld until they really need me, and investigating Deanna's murder should only involve questions. Actually, I'm hoping to pass it off on someone else.† â€Å"She won't like that,† he said. â€Å"It'll get it done,† I said. â€Å"And she'll like that. Probably even faster than if I did it.† I started to stand, but Kiyo caught hold of my hand and kept me down. His expression turned sly. â€Å"You want to stay for a while?† I shook my head, smiling faintly. â€Å"I've got some things to do. Besides, just because we did what we did doesn't mean †¦ well, it doesn't mean things are the same again.† His mischievous smile faded. â€Å"You're right. A lot kind of got rushed. I suppose we should †¦ I don't know. Do you want to go on a date?† â€Å"A date?† I laughed in spite of myself. It seemed so out of place after what we'd been through these last few days. Too ordinary. â€Å"Dinner and a movie?† â€Å"Something like that. I could pick you up later, after your errands are done. Or tomorrow if you need a little more time.† A little more time? Maybe I needed a lot more time. I really didn't know. I might have jumped into bed – figuratively speaking – right after my relationship with Dorian had crumbled, but as I'd said, that didn't mean I was ready to establish something committed with Kiyo again. I'd had sex with Kiyo in the throes of my anger; I had more to think about now that I'd cooled down – and seen Dorian's face. My head told me we were through, but my heart already missed him. â€Å"Tomorrow,† I said. Kiyo nodded. â€Å"Fair enough. I should probably check in at the clinic anyway.† I honestly didn't understand the terms of Kiyo's employment. With his constant visits to the Otherworld, he didn't seem to have any regular schedule with the emergency vet clinic he worked at. He just seemed to show up whenever he wanted. It was more convenient than my own job for maintaining a dual existence between worlds. Confused feelings or not, I let him kiss me good-bye before I left. There was a part of me that wished I could just stay with him, hiding out in his bed and avoiding the rest of the world. Worlds, even. But I had too much to do. The first thing was to get home and change into clean clothes. I arrived to what initially appeared to be an empty house, but the cars in the driveway tipped me off. Sure enough, a minute or so after I walked inside, I heard Tim's bedroom door open. He emerged, wearing only jeans, his black hair standing in all directions. â€Å"Hey, Eug. Didn't expect to see you back.† â€Å"Apparently not. I take it Lara's in there?† He had the grace to look sheepish. â€Å"Ah, well – â€Å" â€Å"Hi, Eugenie.† Lara appeared in the kitchen beside him, her hair as messed up as his. Her clothes – including Tim's â€Å"West Coast Powwow 2002† T-shirt – showed signs of hasty assembly. She was blushing, but her embarrassment turned to surprise as she eyed my appearance. She still wasn't used to seeing me in real life. â€Å"Rough day?† â€Å"Days,† I said. â€Å"Oh †¦ I don't suppose †¦ I don't suppose you'd be interested in hearing about some job offers?† It was the first time she'd been hesitant to bring up work. I think she was finally starting to understand the grueling nature of my life and that back-to-back jobs weren't as easy as checking items off a list. â€Å"Not really. Not for a few days.† â€Å"A few – † She bit off her protest and meekly nodded. I walked around them, heading for my room. â€Å"I've got things to do,† I called back to them. â€Å"So you can go back to †¦ whatever it is you were doing.† Truthfully, I didn't want to do the task hanging before me. I wanted to find whatever baked goods Tim had squirreled away in the kitchen and then take that nap I'd longed for at Kiyo's. But, no. I'd made a promise to Deanna, one I had to honor, no matter how messed up the rest of my life was. So, after cleaning up and changing, I sat on the edge of my bed and picked up my cell phone. I stared at it for a long time, running my fingers along its edges as I procrastinated. Finally, I dialed a memorized number and waited. There was a good chance that no one would answer. I was calling my mom's cell phone, though, which gave me better odds than if I'd called her house number. I knew Roland had asked her to keep her distance from me, but after seeing me at the hospital, my mom would likely resist any directives like that – if only out of fear that I'd lost a limb or something. â€Å"Hello?† My breath caught, and I almost couldn't speak. Just that one word †¦ the sound of her voice. It sent a flood of emotions through me, and I forced myself to remember my mission here. â€Å"Mom?† â€Å"Genie? Are you okay?† she asked promptly. As suspected, she feared limb loss. â€Å"Yeah, yeah, fine. How are you?† â€Å"Fine. Worried about you – like always.† â€Å"I'm okay,† I said. â€Å"Really. But I need †¦ I, um, need to talk to Roland.† Long silence. â€Å"Eugenie – â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know. But I need his help with something. It won't take long. Just one question. Please.† She sighed. â€Å"Oh, baby. I wish I could, but he's made it clear †¦ You know how he feels about everything†¦.† â€Å"It's a human thing,† I said, only partially lying. â€Å"A job in this world. Please, Mom. Just ask him if he'll talk to me for a minute?† More silence, then another sigh. â€Å"Hang on.† I waited, nervously twisting the fabric of my bed's duvet. What would happen? The two most likely options were that either my mom would relay his refusal or they would simply hang up on me. But, no. It was Roland's voice I heard next. â€Å"Yes?† Cold. Wary. After everything that had just happened to me in the Otherworld, hearing his voice nearly broke me. I wanted to sob and beg him to forgive me. Beg him to love me again. My mom had undoubtedly done a fair share of that already, though. She'd clearly had no luck. I had no reason to believe I'd fare any better, so I made my tone match his as I swallowed back tears. Just business here. â€Å"I need a referral,† I said brusquely. â€Å"To a private investigator. One who isn't going to be freaked out by the stuff we deal with. I figured you must know someone.† â€Å"You need a P.I. to deal with some monster?† he asked harshly. â€Å"No, no. It actually should be pretty mundane – all human stuff. But considering what we do †¦ Well, I thought I should have someone prepared in case things get weird.† I didn't have any reason for Deanna to interact directly with a P.I. – or for me even to mention her – but I wanted to be safe. â€Å"Well,† said Roland. â€Å"Let's make it clear: ‘we' don't do the same kinds of things.† With great effort, I bit off the retorts that wanted to burst out of me. I wanted to explain for the hundredth time that I'd never expected – or wanted – to reach this level of involvement in the Otherworld. Again, I opted for directness. â€Å"Please, Roland,† I said simply. â€Å"This is for a human family. Just forget about me for a minute.† When he didn't respond, I thought for sure the anticipated hang-up would come. â€Å"Enrique Valdez,† he said at last. â€Å"You should be able to look up his number. I'll call too and give him a heads-up.† â€Å"Oh, Roland. Thank you so – â€Å" Click. There it was. I pulled the phone away and held it in front of me again, staring at it as though it were to blame for all my problems. A few moments later, I tossed it on the floor. Anger surged through me, quickly fading into sadness. My eyes fell on my travel pack in the corner, the pack containing the Iron Crown. That – and all it represented – was the source of my problems. I fell back onto my bed, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on my ceiling. Roland, Dorian †¦ I was losing the men in my life. Why, why had Dorian done that? Why had he let me fall in love with him, only to play me? Was that what love meant to him? Was that how all his relationships worked? He'd hurt me, hurt me so terribly, and the petty, dark voice that lived inside me said that if sleeping with Kiyo had hurt Dorian in return, it was no more than he deserved. Kiyo. Kiyo was all I had left now, and I didn't know if I could trust him either. Before I could ruminate very much on that particular woe, a cold presence filled the room. I sat up quickly, putting aside all my self-pity as Volusian materialized before me. â€Å"Mistress,† he said. â€Å"Volusian,† I replied. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"I've come with a message, as you requested.† As always, his words were emotionless, yet he somehow conveyed the feeling that he resented every one of them. â€Å"Queen Katrice has responded to your news of the Iron Crown.† That was fast, even for the Otherworld. â€Å"And?† â€Å"And, she has agreed to a temporary truce.† I shot up from the bed. â€Å"You have got to be kidding.† Volusian didn't respond. I'd long since learned that any comment I made about him joking or kidding was treated rhetorically. Volusian did not joke or kid. â€Å"It worked,† I murmured, more to myself than him. â€Å"I can't believe it. Dorian was right.† â€Å"Indeed. But I assume my mistress will not resume carnal relations with him.† I made a face. If there was anyone I hated discussing my sex life with more than Jasmine, it was Volusian. â€Å"No. It doesn't matter if he was right. He lied to me to make it happen. He should have told me the whole story. He used half-truth means to achieve his ends.† Volusian nodded solemnly. â€Å"I told you that long ago, that the Oak King's own agenda will always come first. As will the kitsune's. But, unsurprisingly, my mistress chooses to ignore the only sound advice given to her and instead listens to those who use affection for their own purposes.† The word ‘affection' was spoken with particular venom. â€Å"Kiyo and Dorian don't – Look. Stay out of this, okay? I never asked for your ‘sound' advice. Get back to Katrice. How does this truce work exactly?† â€Å"Hostilities will cease until all parties are able to discuss the current situation. How said discussion proceeds will be settled beforehand by messengers. You and the Oak King may meet with her directly, or you may have representatives do the negotiating.† I tried to picture myself in a room with Dorian and Katrice. Lovely. â€Å"And where would this happen? I'm sure as hell not going to the Rowan Land.† â€Å"That too will be negotiated during this truce,† he said. â€Å"A neutral kingdom is the most likely choice. Shaya would like to discuss that with you at your earliest convenience.† â€Å"I'm sure she would. Go back and tell her I trust her to set up whatever arrangements need to be made. If I have to go myself †¦ well, then I go. I'll check in with her soon, but come back if anything happens in the meantime.† Volusian waited, and I gestured him away. â€Å"Go.† He vanished, and I sank onto my bed. My eyes fell on the concealed Iron Crown once again, and I dared to wonder if maybe some good had come out of this whole mess.

Discuss the Following “Infection Prevention is Every Healthcare Professional’s Responsibility” Essay

This essay is to discuss the statement: ‘Infection prevention is every healthcare professional’s responsibility’. In order to identify the healthcare professional’s responsibility the author will be drawing from three different sources including documents from the Department of Health, the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s code of conduct and the Royal College of Nursing. After this, the essay will talk about two different practises that healthcare professionals can use to break the chain of infection. These will include the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the importance of hand washing and the impact these practises have on infection prevention. The essay will then focus on how such high standards of infection prevention can cause psychosocial repercussions on the patient and how visitors can have a compromising effect on healthcare professional’s efforts to break the chain of infection. The Department of Health (DoH), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) all provide documents and guidelines for the public to read about the role of the healthcare professional. They are all put in place to safeguard the public, the workers, and to help professionals deliver the highest quality service to the service users. It is possible to relate a lot of these documents and guidelines to infection prevention. These services have made it clear that infection prevention is every healthcare professional’s responsibility through their policies and guidelines. In the NMC’s Code of Conduct at the chapter on keeping knowledge and skills up to date, number thirty-eight of the code states ‘you must have the knowledge and skills for safe and effective practise when working without direct supervision’ (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2008). This is important because if the healthcare professional’s knowledge and skills were not up to date then they would not understand common illnesses, causes or the most effective way to prevent them. This would therefore put the service users at risk and the healthcare professional could be held accountable. The RCN promotes good practise by setting eight main principles for professionals to take guidance from. Principle C states, ‘Nurses and nursing staff manage risk, are vigilant about risk, and help to keep everyone safe in places they receive healthcare’ (Royal College of Nursing, 2010). This is an important element of safe and effective care and provides an  understanding for the public and workers that infection is a risk that all health care professionals must be vigilant about and it is the workers as well as the public’s responsibility to make their best efforts to control it. The Department of Health creates legislation and policy which the healthcare system have to abide by. One policy document that was published by the DoH is the ‘Prevention and Control of Infection in Care Homes’ (Department of Health, 2013). It is targeted at healt hcare settings such as care trusts, and is about ‘best practise guidance’. The policy document includes information such as the chain of infection, hand washing techniques as well as asepsis and aseptic technique guidelines. The DoH has created this document to improve infection prevention by giving more responsibility to healthcare professionals and urging them to use these precautionary measures. ‘The RCN considers infection prevention and control to be a core element of quality, patient safety and governance systems and as such it is one of the RCN’s key areas of activity. Infection prevention and control is the clinical application of microbiology in practice’ (Royal College of Nursing, 2013). The chain of infection model displays the transmission of infection from one patient to another. The model has six components which if broken from the chain will prevent the infection from spreading. These components include; a causative micro-organism, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry and susceptible host. As infection prevention is every healthcare professionals responsibility, healthcare professionals should work together to break the links in the chain of infection. A common component to break is the ‘reservoir’ link. Through employee health, environmental sanitation and disinfection. Another way to break the chain o f infection is to follow standard precautions by using personal protective equipment where necessary. Personal protective equipment (PPE) are special garments or equipment used by healthcare workers and service users to help protect against infections. It includes protective clothing, gloves, respirators and more. All these are essential in the discontinuation of the chain of infection. By law, employers have to supply healthcare workers with PPE and if not worn by the workers they may be held accountable. The different type of PPE used and when to use it will be stated in the service  users care plan as some service users are more high risk than others. It is therefore the healthcare workers responsibility to use personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent the spread of infection. It is a well-known fact that hand washing significantly reduces the spread of pathogens within healthcare settings and decreases mortality rates. The Department of Health and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) regularly encourage professionals to follow guidelines they set. ‘Unhygienic practises, such as healthcare professionals not washing hands between treating patients, can spread infections’ (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2005). Studies show that regular hand washing is a fundamental procedure in the prevention of common infections such as Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). ‘If you make nurses wash their hands you can control 80% of [MRSA]’ Mark Enright, senior research fellow in microbiology at Bath University’ (Eaton, 2005). Furthermore, according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ‘hand washing is the single most important procedure for preventing the spread of infection’ (Walker-Barrs, 2000). The APIC has produced a clear guide to hand washing that all healthcare professionals should follow. Workers in the health industry come into contact with bodily secretions often infected with pathogens and therefore hand washing is advised to be carried out before and after seeing a patient (even if personal protective equipment is used). The APIC guide to hand washing also advises on the different types of soap to use. Signs in patient’s rooms should be placed to encourage visitors, staff and patients to wash hands regularly. It is the healthcare professional’s responsibility to place and emphasis on the importance of hand washing to prevent infection. Common healthcare associated infections (HAI’s) can all be reduced by putting appropriate infection prevention measures in place. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA is a well-known common infectious pathogen commonly found in healthcare settings. It attacks people with compromised immune systems therefore hospital wards are high risk settings. This puts an emphasis on how important it is to follow appropriate infection prevention methods. However, studies have undergone to find out if single room or  cohort isolation can reduce the spread of MRSA in intensive care units. The results were unexpected showing that isolating patients with MRSA doesn’t affect the chances of infection and has negative outcomes that are discussed later. ‘Moving MRSA-positive patients into single rooms or cohorted bays does not reduce cross-infection. Because transfer and isolation of critically ill patients in single rooms carries potential risks, our findings suggest that re-evaluation of isolation policies is required in intensive-care units where MRSA is endemic, and that more effective means of preventing spread of MRSA in such settings need to be found’ (Cepeda, 2005). Infection prevention in health care settings is important, however, it can have negative effects on the patient. Single room isolation is for people with serious infectious diseases and is often necessary as contact with other people can boost the chain of infection. However, there are various psychosocial implications for the client. ‘Health-care workers are half as likely to enter the rooms of patients in contact isolation’ (Kirklanda, 1999). Barriers used to protect the spread of infection like PPE can have a negative effect on the patient. For example, wearing gloves prohibits physical contact between the healthcare worker and the patient. This could give the patient a feeling that they are ‘infected’ or ‘dirty’. Furthermore, service users that get put into protective isolation may experience feelings of depression and loneliness as it reduces their contact with friends and family. These pointers require us to think about the way we go about infection prevention, for example, it would be essential to wear PPE when dealing with a patients bodily fluids however depending the type of illness they have, it may not be necessary to wear gloves when carrying out actions such as holding a patients hand. Isolation is costly, labour intensive and inconvenient for the patient and the healthcare employees. Additionally isolation is more likely to lead to patient neglect and error. A study investigating patient’s put into isolation for infection control was carried out. It found that: ‘compared with controls, patients isolated for infection control precautions experience more preventable adverse events, express greater dissatisfaction with their treatment, and have less documented care’ (Stelfox, 2003). Furthermore, Wilkins et al (1988) focused on ‘discovering whether isolation may induce mental illness†. He found that isolation  increases feelings of boredom, loneliness and insecurity. Ward, D. (2004) looked at ‘reducing the psychological effects of isolation’ and went on to find that after ‘the questionnaires were completed by 21 patients, nine participants identified negative emotions associated with isolation’ (Ward, 2004). Therefore, infection prevention is every healthcare professional’s responsibility, however, st udies have proof that some forms of infection prevention that are used today are harmful both socially and mentally. Moreover, healthcare professional’s efforts are undermined when visitors contaminate the healthcare setting with pathogens from outside. ‘The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that, nearly 2 million patients each year acquire an infection that is linked to a hospital visit. Of those, about 90,000 result in death’ (Davis, 2006). Despite hand gels, wash basins and personal protective equipment being provided as well as signs to encourage usage, visitors still do not understand the risk they are taking upon the service users when they do not acknowledge the importance of these measures. Visitors act as the ‘mode of transition’ within the chain of infection and influence the spread. As we cannot stop the public from visiting their friends and loved ones, it is the healthcare staff’s responsibility to encourage visitors to use appropriate precautions when entering and leaving the healthcare environment. The healthcare st aff may feel that there is no point in making infection prevention their responsibility if their efforts are simply disregarded and undermined by the public. To stop the spread of pathogens, visitors should be encouraged to wash their hands as often as possible, stay at home if they are unwell and ensure their immunisations are up to date. Additionally, limiting visitors will decrease the chance of the spread of infection. An article titled ‘Limit Visitors to Help Cut Hospital Infections’ states that ‘Chris Beasley said â€Å"visitors increase the risk of hospital-acquired infections† (HAIs) and that she is thinking of ways to reduce the number of non- patients in hospitals’. The article then goes on to suggest ‘patients undergoing elective surgery could have to identify their key visitors’’ (Harrison, 2005). The ‘key visitors’ idea proposed by England’s chief nursing officer provides a means to cutting the spr ead of infection by visitors. Consequently legislation putting this idea into place would support their  role of healthcare professional making infection prevention their responsibility. Through the course of this essay it has been proven that infection prevention is every healthcare professional’s responsibility and is backed up by policies, legislation and guidance from the Department of Health, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Royal College of Nursing. They have published guidance on hand washing and the use of personal protective equipment but most importantly they have set a foundation for good healthcare practise to safeguard the public. In the NMC code of conduct, numbers thirty-eight to forty-one are focuses on keeping knowledge and skills up to date. Good knowledge and skills are essential in the awareness of common illnesses such as MRSA and without them the healthcare professional is not making infection prevention their responsibility. Even though it has been proven that high levels of infection prevention can cause negative effects to the service healthcare professionals provide, there are actions we can implement to conquer them, for exa mple only using personal protective equipment when necessary as well as using single room isolation as a last resort. References Cepeda, A. (Jan 2005). Isolation of patients in single rooms or cohorts to reduce spread of MRSA in intensive-care units: prospective two centre study. The Lancet. 365 (9456), p295-296. Davis, S. (2006). Breaking the Chain – Eight Strategies for Reducing Risk of Hospital Acquired Infection. Environmental Sciences. 19 (12), p43-45. Department of Health and Health Protection Agency (2013). Prevention and Control of Infection in Care Homes. London: Department of Health and Health Protection Agency. P1-16. Eaton, L. (April 2005). Hand washing is more important than cleaner wards in controlling MRSA. Available: http://www.bmj.com/content/330/7497/922.3. Last accessed 18th October 2013. Harrison, S. (2005). Limit visitors to help cut hospital infections. Nursing Standard. 19 (41), p6. Kirklanda, K. (1999). Adverse effects of contact isolation. The Lancet. 354 (9185), p1177-1178. Nusing and Midwifery Council (2008). The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses an d midwives. London: NMC. p6. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. (July 2005). Infection Control in Healthcare Settings. Postnote. 247, p2. Royal College of Nursing. (2010). The Principles of Nursing Practise. Available: http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/principles/the_principles. Last accessed 2nd November 2013. Royal College of Nursing. (2013). Infection Prevention and Control. Available: http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/infection_control. Last accessed 20th October 2013. Stelfox, H. (2003). Safety of Patients Isolated for Infection Control. The Journal of the American Medical Association. 290 (14), p1. Walker-Barrs, A. (July 2000). Hand washing: Breaking the Chain of Infection. Available: http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2000/07/handwashing-breaking-the-chain-of-infection.aspx. Last accessed 18th October 2013. Ward, D. (2004). Infection control: reducing the psychological effects of isolation. Available: http://www.internurse.com/cgi-bin/go.pl/library/article.cgi?uid =5527;article=BJN_9_3_162_170;format=html. Last accessed 2nd November 2013.