Change Management Plan For McDonalds

Change Management Plan For McDonalds McDonalds came into existence in the year 1940 when two brothers Mac and Dick applied their mind in opening a series of world class restaurants all over the world. The two brothers came up with new and innovative ideas to attract a large base of customers. The restaurant focused on giving limited food items with fast services, and at a reasonable price, which in the future could increase their market. Their dream turned into a reality and today, McDonalds is doing exceptionally well in its field by providing the customers with quality products. The mission of the company is to provide quality service, hygiene and value, and the customers, while leaving the restaurant, should have a smile on their face (A brief history of McDonalds). The operations of McDonalds began when Ray Kroc opened its first restaurant under McDonalds corporation in USA in 1955. With the passage of time, McDonalds achieved great heights. The business of McDonalds expanded globally in 1967 when the restaurant was opened in different parts of the world like Canada, Puerto Rico, etc. Today, it has become a leader in the fast food industry world wide. The main aim of the company is to understand the needs of the customers and provide them with the best services. This has been done by the company by applying strict standards of food and service quality. McDonalds is operating at a global level, and giving best services to the customers has helped the company in retaining them as the customers do not face problem with the services and quality given by McDonalds. The major competitors of the corporation are Burger King, Yum Brand, KFC and Wendys International Inc. McDonalds has always given its customers prompt services and have paid due attention to their desired needs. Thus, it is working well in its field by fulfilling all the desired objectives of the customers in the best possible manner (Bloemer, Ruyter Wetzels, 1999). Force Field Analysis Force Field analysis carries a major importance in the organization as it is a useful technique of analyzing all the forces, which are working in favor or against the organization. In other words, it is a specialized method of measuring the pros and cons of the company. The force field analysis, if done in a proper manner, can help the company in strengthening the forces, which support a decision and minimize the errors, which have a negative impact on the company. With the help of this analysis, the company can decide whether the project designed in feasible or not. Force field analysis helps in identifying those changes, which hamper the growth of the organization and focuses on improving the same (Force Field Analysis, 2010). Forces for Change: Intense Competition: There is a huge competition in the fast food chain company. In a highly competitive world, McDonalds needs to have a pace with its competitors and develop new products, which are behind the reach of its competitors. McDonalds, in order to have an edge over its rival companies, should make such products, which have quality and are affordable to the masses. Competition is becoming fierce and there is a need that new products should be launched in the market by the company, which makes the company remain on top with the maximum profit. Customers: The taste of the customers keeps on changing. There is a need that the taste and preferences of the customers should be understood by McDonalds so that they are retained in the organization and do not shift to the competitor companies. New changes in the product should be brought so that the customers do not get bored having the same meal over and over again. It is a fact that the customers are the king of the market and their needs should be satisfied in the best possible manner. This will help the company in attracting a large number of customers towards itself. Technology: Technology plays an important role in a fast food restaurant. Latest and innovative tools should be applied by McDonalds so that they are able to give product to the customers. Obsolete product will not only hamper the growth of the organization, but the company can lose its customers in the coming time. Obsolete use of machines will make workforce disturbed and they will not carry out their work with enthusiasm and zeal. Hence, the company should always use latest technological tools, which will prove beneficial for the organization in the long run (Carter, Ulrich and Goldsmith, 2005). Health consciousness among the customers: Todays customers have become health conscious and they want that the product provides them with energy, rather than giving them any kind of suffering. As McDonalds is a fast food chain company, its priority is providing the best meal to the customers by including those ingredients, which do not affect the health of the patrons. If the company focuses on this aspect, more loyal customers will get attracted towards the organization as they will come to know that the company takes care of its customers health in the best manner. Forces against change: Cost of Implementation: Implementing a change in the organization is not an easy task. An organization having a size as McDonaldà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s would find difficulties in implementing a change since it has to be done uniformly over a wide area. The large size of McDonalds is a major deterrent of implementing the change management process. Time Requirement: The implementation of change in McDonaldà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s would consume a lot of time since it is spread to many locations. Large time implies that it would require manpower as well as capital to make the change for a long time. Management Support: Concern of the management plays an important role in the organization. At times, it is seen that management does not provide its support for implementing new methods in the organization. They are against adopting any kind of new method in their workplace. This not only hampers the overall growth of the organization, but the strategic objectives of the company are also not achieved due to this. Organization Dynamics of McDonalds: As already stated above, McDonalds is one of the largest food service providers, which satisfies the needs of the customers globally. It is currently operating in more than 30,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries. The company has a team of skilled and experienced managers, which have helped in making the company a recognized brand name all over the world. Excellent operating system and global infrastructure make the culture of McDonalds strong and sound. The managers and assistant managers get their training from Hamburger University so that they can provide best quality, service, convenience and value to the patrons. The corporate culture of McDonalds has a shared value system, which helps in forming the company decisions (Kincheloe, 2002). Training is given to around 55,000 employees every year at McDonalds. Expenses of around 10 million are spent on the overall training of employees. There is a need that experienced and trained employees should lead the organization so that they can provide the best ingredient of success for the organization. On the job vocational training is provided to the employees in the corporation, which teaches them high set of skills, which they can apply in the near future. The new recruits are provided with an induction program so that they understand the workplace as well as the culture properly. The trainers always provide a helping hand to the trainees so that they not only learn the operating skills, but also understand the workplace where they are going to spend most of the time. In addition to this, step by step manual and video tapes are provided to the employees, which cover minute details of how to deliver outstanding services to the customers. When McDonalds started from scratch, it focused on building a reputation based on trust and dependability among the employers and employees. The company has achieved great heights because it has always understood the problems of the employees and provided them with the best possible solution. There is a great amount bonding between the employers and employees as the company has its own Human Resource Management program, which fosters the employee loyalty and keeps them satisfied by making the employees work as a team. For example, all McDonalds employees in Singapore are entitled to receive in house medical benefits, which motivate them to perform better in the organization and develop a feeling of mutual trust and confidence among the employers and employees (Royle and Towers, 2002). Changes required: McDonalds offers various kind of uniform menu in its fast food products. It is one of the top sellers and innovative companies. It has entered various segments so that the needs of every class of customers could be fulfilled. In spite of being an established brand, it has always remained into controversies due to the meal offered to its customers. To remain a world class company and achieve high profits, there is a need that management should redefine its image in terms of health and nutritional products to be provided to its customers. Today, the people have become conscious regarding their health and figures. They want to have that food, which can keep them healthy and fit in the long run. The problem with McDonalds is that it has already gained a reputation of being a fast food chain company where junk food is provided to the customers, which affects their health. There is a need that the company should keep in mind that those products should be made, which measure the health safety. There is a need that the company should do something for avoiding the rising health problems among the customers and regain its image back. The corporation should introduce new marketing communication plan, which attracts the attention of the customers, who are health conscious. A campaign should be launched under the brand image of the company, which offers the products that are irresistible and also provide significant information that the product is fresh and healthy (Whats Wrong with McDonalds, n.d.). For example, the company can write the ingredients in its menu so that the customer can go through it and can see that the items will not harm their health anyhow. If the company is not able to do so on time, it will not only lose its customers, but its market image will also be dropped down in front of its competitor companies. McDonalds, to regain its positive image again, should implement the aforesaid changes as soon as possible by implementing Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). A lot of advertising and promotion campaign should be performed by the company by focusing on healthy products introduced in their meals, especially for those customers, which are health conscious. This will create a new image among the health conscious customers and will create awareness among the growing children about obesity and also among the target market. This will act as a driving force for the company by retaining the customers in the organization. Model for change Management: At times, there is a need that the organization should bring some changes, which are beneficial for the company in the long run. The organization can improve its actions by conducting a thorough research in advance and then implementing the best possible measures, which provide the company with maximum benefits. For this, Kurt Lewins introduced a three step change process, which would help McDonalds in implementing positive changes in its working. The action for change consists of three basic steps, which are unfreezing, changing and refreezing. (Kurt Lewin Three Step Model, 2010) Unfreezing: It is a process where an individual sets aside his old behavior, which can cause harm to the growth of the company. Under this step, McDonalds should identify its internal operations and diagnose where the company is lacking behind in terms of the product provided to the customers. The manager of the firm should help the employees in clearing out their old roles and purposes. For this, the managers can analyze the working of their employees as whether they are carrying out their responsibility with due sincerity or they are facing any other kind of problem in hampering the operations. Diagnosing the situation properly will help the company in implementing new models of behavior, which can be explored and tested in advance. This will help the employees in casting aside their old behavior and they will be motivated to introduce the new model (Robbins, 2009). Changing: In this step, the organization should develop individual employee so that he can learn new behavior and methods of working and apply new roles into the working. There are some guidelines for the organization to follow so that change could be managed effectively. The first guideline is that that McDonalds should recognize that the change introduced is to improve the overall performance results. The second guideline is that the workforce should be made responsible for those changes, which are brought by them. The last guideline is that the employees should be motivated on time so that they work as a team and initiate coordinated efforts. Refreezing: It is the last stage in the model for change, which states that whatever the individual has learned in the workplace should be integrated in his actual practice. At this stage, the employee has to follow new beliefs, feelings and behavior, which he has learned from his superior at the time of changing phase. Thus helps them to adopt a new behavior, instead of reverting back to their old behavior. Therefore, it is essential that reinforcement should be carried out by the company for the incorporation of new behavior. Road map for change implementation plan: Bringing new technology and introducing innovative products have always helped the organizations whether they are operating on a small scale or a big one. The organizations, while considering for bringing a small change or a systematic change have to face many problems in implementing the change. Same is the case with McDonalds. The organization knows that the change needs to take place, but how to deliver the change is a difficult task. For this, John Kotter, who is a change management guru, has introduced an eight step process, which can help the organization in leading the change. The eight steps for leading change are as follow: To create urgency: The management should motivate the employees that the change will not only benefit the company, but will also attract the customers towards itself. The organization with the help of this model can identify potential threats and develop a picture as what can happen in the near future and how to cope up with the challenges in the best possible manner (Kotters 8-Step Change Model, 2010). Develop a strong coalition: The organization in order to bring change should develop a team of effective leaders, which can develop team building and identify the weak areas so that a strong mix of people is developed within the company. Develop a vision for change: McDonalds should develop a vision that identifies a value, which is central to change. It should implement the vision in an effective manner so that the company can achieve its strategic objectives. Communicating the vision: After creating a vision, the management should communicate the vision to all the levels of management so that the workforce can work accordingly and always has an edge over its competitors. Eliminate obstacles: If McDonalds follows the above given steps properly, the changes can take place in the organization without any problems. Also, if there are any kinds of hindrances in the path of the company, a proper lay out of the structure and joint effort of the team members will help in eliminating the obstacles, which can create hindrance to the profits of the company in the long run. Develop short term success: Short term win will help McDonalds in achieving success, leaving no room for failure. If the team members apply best of their knowledge, targets will be achieved and each win will boost their morale and next time they will achieve the target with minimum cost. Build on change: the organization should keep on building new changes and bring improvements so that the work is carried out in a right manner without giving any failures. For example, Kaizen approach should be adopted by the company so that continuous change improvement can take place. Implement the changes in the corporate culture: McDonalds should identify what specific changes are required in the working and its vision and values must be seen in day to day operations. For this, the organization should talk about its success with the workforce and motivate them by telling how the organization has received success in the change process (Watson, Gallagher and Armstrong, 2005). It is therefore necessary that McDonalds should plan each of its steps carefully and build proper function so that the changes are implemented effectively. Critical Analysis: Change management plan plays an important role in the organization and the tools and techniques applied above will give the company a competitive edge against its rivals. The force field analysis, if applied in the company, will help in knowing its driving forces as well as those forces, which are acting against it. On the other hand, the disadvantage of this factor will be that implementing this analysis can be costly and its success can also not be guaranteed in the long run (Fiske, Gilbert and Lindzey, 2010). Other than this, the Kurt Lewin model for change management can bring various improvements in the working of the employees as well as give an idea where the organization is actually standing and what measures it can take to cope up with the problem. It also proves to be an effective method of improving decision making ability of the employees. However, applying this method can be a drawback as this method depends more on theoretical approach than on a practical one. It totally depends on the skills and capabilities of the individual carrying out the work. Finally, Kotters eight step methods will help in knowing every minute detail of the company in the best possible manner, but for this approach to be implemented in the company there will be a requirement of additional cost and time for the management. They will have to understand every step properly, as the wrong implementation of one step can result in the whole plan going in disarray (Sofo, 2000). Conclusion Hence, it can be summed up by saying that McDonalds is doing exceptionally well in its field by providing the customers with the best possible products. It has taken various steps to increase its responsiveness by introducing new e-mail response system to address the queries of the customers. On the other hand, there are some shortcomings, which are not only hampering the image of the company in the eyes of its customers, but it is also loosing its costumer base. There is a need that the company should introduce health conscious meals in its menu so that the customers are provided with the best products. This will help the company in achieving success in the long run. Also, the customers will be retained with the company in the near future.

The Rise of Antibiotics

The Rise of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections by_ Ricki Lewis, Ph. D. _ When penicillin became widely available during the second world war, it was a medical miracle, rapidly vanquishing the biggest wartime killer–infected wounds. Discovered initially by a French medical student, Ernest Duchesne, in 1896, and then rediscovered by Scottish physician Alexander Fleming in 1928, the product of the soil mold Penicillium crippled many types of disease-causing bacteria. But just four years after drug companies began mass-producing penicillin in 1943, microbes began appearing that could resist it. The first bug to battle penicillin was Staphylococcus aureus. This bacterium is often a harmless passenger in the human body, but it can cause illness, such as pneumonia or toxic shock syndrome, when it overgrows or produces a toxin. In 1967, another type of penicillin-resistant pneumonia, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and called pneumococcus, surfaced in a remote village in Papua New Guinea. At about the same time, American military personnel in southeast Asia were acquiring penicillin-resistant gonorrhea from prostitutes. By 1976, when the soldiers had come home, they brought the new strain of gonorrhea with them, and physicians had to find new drugs to treat it. In 1983, a hospital-acquired intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Enterococcus faecium joined the list of bugs that outwit penicillin. Antibiotic resistance spreads fast. Between 1979 and 1987, for example, only 0. 02 percent of pneumococcus strains infecting a large number of patients surveyed by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were penicillin-resistant. CDC's survey included 13 hospitals in 12 states. Today, 6. 6 percent of pneumococcus strains are resistant, according to a report in the June 15, 1994, Journal of the American Medical Association by Robert F. Breiman, M. D. , and colleagues at CDC. The agency also reports that in 1992, 13,300 hospital patients died of bacterial infections that were resistant to antibiotic treatment. Why has this happened? â€Å"There was complacency in the 1980s. The perception was that we had licked the bacterial infection problem. Drug companies weren't working on new agents. They were concentrating on other areas, such as viral infections,† says Michael Blum, M. D. , medical officer in the Food and Drug Administration's division of anti-infective drug products. â€Å"In the meantime, resistance increased to a number of commonly used antibiotics, possibly related to overuse of antibiotics. In the 1990s, we've come to a point for certain infections that we don't have agents available. † According to a report in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have identified bacteria in patient samples that resist all currently available antibiotic drugs. Survival of the Fittest The increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance is an outcome of evolution. Any population of organisms, bacteria included, naturally includes variants with unusual traits–in this case, the ability to withstand an antibiotic's attack on a microbe. When a person takes an antibiotic, the drug kills the defenseless bacteria, leaving behind–or â€Å"selecting,† in biological terms–those that can resist it. These renegade bacteria then multiply, increasing their numbers a millionfold in a day, becoming the predominant microorganism. The antibiotic does not technically cause the resistance, but allows it to happen by creating a situation where an already existing variant can flourish. â€Å"Whenever antibiotics are used, there is selective pressure for resistance to occur. It builds upon itself. More and more organisms develop resistance to more and more drugs,† says Joe Cranston, Ph. D. , director of the department of drug policy and standards at the American Medical Association in Chicago. A patient can develop a drug-resistant infection either by contracting a resistant bug to begin with, or by having a resistant microbe emerge in the body once antibiotic treatment begins. Drug-resistant infections increase risk of death, and are often associated with prolonged hospital stays, and sometimes complications. These might necessitate removing part of a ravaged lung, or replacing a damaged heart valve. Bacterial Weaponry Disease-causing microbes thwart antibiotics by interfering with their mechanism of action. For example, penicillin kills bacteria by attaching to their cell walls, then destroying a key part of the wall. The wall falls apart, and the bacterium dies. Resistant microbes, however, either alter their cell walls so penicillin can't bind or produce enzymes that dismantle the antibiotic. In another scenario, erythromycin attacks ribosomes, structures within a cell that enable it to make proteins. Resistant bacteria have slightly altered ribosomes to which the drug cannot bind. The ribosomal route is also how bacteria become resistant to the antibiotics tetracycline, streptomycin and gentamicin. How Antibiotic Resistance Happens Antibiotic resistance results from gene action. Bacteria acquire genes conferring resistance in any of three ways. In spontaneous DNA mutation, bacterial DNA (genetic material) may mutate (change) spontaneously (indicated by starburst). Drug-resistant tuberculosis arises this way. In a form of microbial sex called transformation, one bacterium may take up DNA from another bacterium. Pencillin-resistant gonorrhea results from transformation. Most frightening, however, is resistance acquired from a small circle of DNA called a plasmid, that can flit from one type of bacterium to another. A single plasmid can provide a slew of different resistances. In 1968, 12,500 people in Guatemala died in an epidemic of Shigella diarrhea. The microbe harbored a plasmid carrying resistances to four antibiotics! A Vicious Cycle: More Infections and Antibiotic Overuse Though bacterial antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon, societal factors also contribute to the problem. These factors include increased infection transmission, coupled with inappropriate antibiotic use. More people are contracting infections. Sinusitis among adults is on the rise, as are ear infections in children. A report by CDC's Linda F. McCaig and James M. Hughes, M. D. , in the Jan. 18, 1995, Journal of the American Medical Association, tracks antibiotic use in treating common illnesses. The report cites nearly 6 million antibiotic prescriptions for sinusitis in 1985, and nearly 13 million in 1992. Similarly, for middle ear infections, the numbers are 15 million prescriptions in 1985, and 23. 6 million in 1992. Causes for the increase in reported infections are diverse. Some studies correlate the doubling in doctor's office visits for ear infections for preschoolers between 1975 and 1990 to increased use of day-care facilities. Homelessness contributes to the spread of infection. Ironically, advances in modern medicine have made more people predisposed to infection. People on chemotherapy and transplant recipients taking drugs to suppress their immune function are at greater risk of infection. â€Å"There are the number of immunocompromised patients, who wouldn't have survived in earlier times,† says Cranston. â€Å"Radical procedures produce patients who are in difficult shape in the hospital, and are prone to nosocomial [hospital-acquired] infections. Also, the general aging of patients who live longer, get sicker, and die slower contributes to the problem,† he adds. Though some people clearly need to be treated with antibiotics, many experts are concerned about the inappropriate use of these powerful drugs. â€Å"Many consumers have an expectation that when they're ill, antibiotics are the answer. They put pressure on the physician to prescribe them. Most of the time the illness is viral, and antibiotics are not the answer. This large burden of antibiotics is certainly selecting resistant bacteria,† says Blum. Another much-publicized concern is use of antibiotics in livestock, where the drugs are used in well animals to prevent disease, and the animals are later slaughtered for food. â€Å"If an animal gets a bacterial infection, growth is slowed and it doesn't put on weight as fast,† says Joe Madden, Ph. D. , strategic manager of microbiology at FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. In addition, antibiotics are sometimes administered at low levels in feed for long durations to increase the rate of weight gain and improve the efficiency of converting animal feed to units of animal production. FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine limits the amount of antibiotic residue in poultry and other meats, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture monitors meats for drug residues. According to Margaret Miller, Ph. D. , deputy division director at the Center for Veterinary Medicine, the residue limits for antimicrobial animal drugs are set low enough to ensure that the residues themselves do not select resistant bacteria in (human) gut flora. FDA is investigating whether bacteria resistant to quinolone antibiotics can emerge in food animals and cause disease in humans. Although thorough cooking sharply reduces the likelihood of antibiotic-resistant bacteria surviving in a meat meal to infect a human, it could happen. Pathogens resistant to drugs other than fluoroquinolones have sporadically been reported to survive in a meat meal to infect a human. In 1983, for example, 18 people in four midwestern states developed multi-drug-resistant Salmonella food poisoning after eating beef from cows fed antibiotics. Eleven of the people were hospitalized, and one died. A study conducted by Alain Cometta, M. D. , and his colleagues at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland, and reported in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine, showed that increase in antibiotic resistance parallels increase in antibiotic use in humans. They examined a large group of cancer patients given antibiotics called fluoroquinolones to prevent infection. The patients' white blood cell counts were very low as a result of their cancer treatment, leaving them open to infection. Between 1983 and 1993, the percentage of such patients receiving antibiotics rose from 1. 4 to 45. During those years, the researchers isolated Escherichia coli bacteria annually from the patients, and tested the microbes for resistance to five types of fluoroquinolones. Between 1983 and 1990, all 92 E. coli strains tested were easily killed by the antibiotics. But from 1991 to 1993, 11 of 40 tested strains (28 percent) were resistant to all five drugs. Towards Solving the Problem Antibiotic resistance is inevitable, say scientists, but there are measures we can take to slow it. Efforts are under way on several fronts–improving infection control, developing new antibiotics, and using drugs more appropriately. Barbara E. Murray, M. D. , of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston writes in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine that simple improvements in public health measures can go a long way towards preventing infection. Such approaches include more frequent hand washing by health-care workers, quick identification and isolation of patients with drug-resistant infections, and improving sewage systems and water purity in developing nations. Drug manufacturers are once again becoming interested in developing new antibiotics. These efforts have been spurred both by the appearance of new bacterial illnesses, such as Lyme disease and Legionnaire's disease, and resurgences of old foes, such as tuberculosis, due to drug resistance. FDA is doing all it can to speed development and availability of new antibiotic drugs. â€Å"We can't identify new agents–that's the job of the pharmaceutical industry. But once they have identified a promising new drug for resistant infections, what we can do is to meet with the company very early and help design the development plan and clinical trials,† says Blum. In addition, drugs in development can be used for patients with multi-drug-resistant infections on an â€Å"emergency IND (compassionate use)† basis, if the physician requests this of FDA, Blum adds. This is done for people with AIDS or cancer, for example. No one really has a good idea of the extent of antibiotic resistance, because it hasn't been monitored in a coordinated fashion. â€Å"Each hospital monitors its own resistance, but there is no good national system to test for antibiotic resistance,† says Blum. This may soon change. CDC is encouraging local health officials to track resistance data, and the World Health Organization has initiated a global computer database for physicians to report outbreaks of drug-resistant bacterial infections. Experts agree that antibiotics should be restricted to patients who can truly benefit from them–that is, people with bacterial infections. Already this is being done in the hospital setting, where the routine use of antibiotics to prevent infection in certain surgical patients is being reexamined. We have known since way back in the antibiotic era that these drugs have been used inappropriately in surgical prophylaxis [preventing infections in surgical patients]. But there is more success [in limiting antibiotic use] in hospital settings, where guidelines are established, than in the more typical outpatient settings,† says Cranston. Murray points out an example of antibiotic prophylaxis in the outpatient setting–children with recurrent ear infections given extended antibiotic prescriptions to prevent future infections. (See â€Å"Protecting Little Pitchers' Ears† in the December 1994 FDA Consumer. Another problem with antibiotic use is that patients often stop taking the drug too soon, because symptoms improve. However, this merely encourages resistant microbes to proliferate. The infection returns a few weeks later, and this time a different drug must be used to treat it. Targeting TB Stephen Weis and colleagues at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth reported in the April 28, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine on research they conducted in Tarrant County, Texas, that vividly illustrates how helping patients to take the full course of their medication can actually lower resistance rates. The subject–tuberculosis. TB is an infection that has experienced spectacular ups and downs. Drugs were developed to treat it, complacency set in that it was beaten, and the disease resurged because patients stopped their medication too soon and infected others. Today, one in seven new TB cases is resistant to the two drugs most commonly used to treat it (isoniazid and rifampin), and 5 percent of these patients die. In the Texas study, 407 patients from 1980 to 1986 were allowed to take their medication on their own. From 1986 until the end of 1992, 581 patients were closely followed, with nurses observing them take their pills. By the end of the study, the relapse rate–which reflects antibiotic resistance–fell from 20. 9 to 5. 5 percent. This trend is especially significant, the researchers note, because it occurred as risk factors for spreading TB–including AIDS, intravenous drug use, and homelessness–were increasing. The conclusion: Resistance can be slowed if patients take medications correctly. Narrowing the Spectrum Appropriate prescribing also means that physicians use â€Å"narrow spectrum† antibiotics–those that target only a few bacterial types–whenever possible, so that resistances can be restricted. The only national survey of antibiotic prescribing practices of office physicians, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, finds that the number of prescriptions has not risen appreciably from 1980 to 1992, but there has been a shift to using costlier, broader spectrum agents. This prescribing trend heightens the resistance problem, write McCaig and Hughes, because more diverse bacteria are being exposed to antibiotics. One way FDA can help physicians choose narrower spectrum antibiotics is to ensure that labeling keeps up with evolving bacterial resistances. Blum hopes that the surveillance information on emerging antibiotic resistances from CDC will enable FDA to require that product labels be updated with the most current surveillance information. Many of us have come to take antibiotics for granted. A child develops strep throat or an ear infection, and soon a bottle of â€Å"pink medicine† makes everything better. An adult suffers a sinus headache, and antibiotic pills quickly control it. But infections can and do still kill. Because of a complex combination of factors, serious infections may be on the rise. While awaiting the next â€Å"wonder drug,† we must appreciate, and use correctly, the ones that we already have. {draw:rect} Big Difference If this bacterium could be shown four times bigger, it would be the right relative size to the virus beneath it. Both are microscopic and are shown many times larger than life. ) Although bacteria are single-celled organisms, viruses are far simpler, consisting of one type of biochemical (a nucleic acid, such as DNA or RNA) wrapped in another (protein). Most biologists do not consider viruses to be living things, but instead, infectious particles. Antibiotic drugs attack bacteria, not viruses. {draw:rect} *The Greatest Fe ar–Vancomycin* Resistance When microbes began resisting penicillin, medical researchers fought back with chemical cousins, such as methicillin and oxacillin. By 1953, the antibiotic armamentarium included chloramphenicol, neomycin, terramycin, tetracycline, and cephalosporins. But today, researchers fear that we may be nearing an end to the seemingly endless flow of antimicrobial drugs. At the center of current concern is the antibiotic vancomycin, which for many infections is literally the drug of â€Å"last resort,† says Michael Blum, M. D. , medical officer in FDA's division of anti-infective drug products. Some hospital-acquired staph infections are resistant to all antibiotics except vancomycin. Now vancomycin resistance has turned up in another common hospital bug, enterococcus. And since bacteria swap resistance genes like teenagers swap T-shirts, it is only a matter of time, many microbiologists believe, until vancomycin-resistant staph infections appear. â€Å"Staph aureus may pick up vancomycin resistance from enterococci, which are found in the normal human gut,† says Madden. And the speed with which vancomycin resistance has spread through enterococci has prompted researchers to use the word â€Å"crisis† when discussing the possibility of vancomycin-resistant staph. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci were first reported in England and France in 1987, and appeared in one New York City hospital in 1989. By 1991, 38 hospitals in the United States reported the bug. By 1993, 14 percent of patients with enterococcus in intensive-care units in some hospitals had vancomycin-resistant strains, a 20-fold increase from 1987. A frightening report came in 1992, when a British researcher observed a transfer of a vancomycin-resistant gene from enterococcus to Staph aureus in the laboratory. Alarmed, the researcher immediately destroyed the bacteria. Ricki_ Lewis is a geneticist and textbook author. _ {draw:rect} FDA Consumer magazine (September 1995)

The Advantages of Vaccination Free Essay Example, 2250 words

Vaccination has been an advantage in the general health of individuals by playing a major role in decreasing the rate of diseases that are infectious. Despite the many controversies and agents fighting against vaccinations, there are reasons that prove that the benefits outweigh the risks associated with vaccinations and that the vaccines are of great value to the people and to the society as a whole. Vaccinations help in preventing infectious diseases and also reducing the risk of death from these infections. Without vaccination, people become more susceptible and vulnerable to infectious diseases because they lack the antibodies necessary to fight the disease. If one is not vaccinated, tackling with a specific disease becomes a long painful process and therefore it is important for people to overlook the few disadvantages like the concern about their safety and get immunized to reduce the threat these diseases carry. Immunization protects a child from complications that may arise from the vaccine-preventable diseases like loss of hearing, amputation of the limbs and many more. According to the research in the past, most of the vaccines have helped in preventing diseases greatly with most of the vaccines being approximately 90% effective. We will write a custom essay sample on The Advantages of Vaccination or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention pg36)If one is not vaccinated, he/she becomes a threat to the person next to them. In cases of outbreaks, the unvaccinated individuals become the major mode of transmission due to their susceptibility. These individuals can transmit a disease even to the young infants who are too small to receive immunization or too sick individuals who cannot receive a vaccine due to their disease. If a greater number of people in a community are vaccinated, this reduces the chances of disease to cause an outbreak. This provides immunity for the whole community in some way and this kind of immunity is called the herd immunity.

Why Democracy Needs an Investigative Journalism - 1815 Words

I N T R O D U C T I O N â€Å"A free, aggressive, open and bold press is part of the spiritual core of our Democracy†. -Thomas Jefferson In the world we are living today, investigative journalism is becoming a significant part in our daily lives as it informs, unleash and reveals us the happenings in our community, society, government and in the country. Having the democracy to exercise and express our freedom of the press, which was have been suppressed before, during the Marcos regime, we can say that the Philippine news media’s role is critical to the advancement and preservation of the country’s democratic institutions and way of life and in helping catalyze equitable development. The issues and problems confronting the Philippine press†¦show more content†¦The act of doing this generally is called investigative journalism and is distinct from apparently similar work done by police, lawyers, auditors and regulatory bodies in that it is not limited as to target, not legally founded and closely connected to publicity. Investigative reporting is distinctive in that it publicizes information about wrongdoing that affects the public interest. Denunciations result from the work of reporters rather than from information leaked to newsrooms. While investigative journalism used to be associated with lone reporters working on their own with little, if any, support from their news organizations, recent examples attest that teamwork is fundamental. Differing kinds of expertise are needed to produce well-documented and comprehensive stories. Reporters, editors, legal specialists, statistical analysts, librarians, and news researchers are needed to collaborate on investigations. Knowledge of public information access laws is crucial to find what information is potentially available under freedom of information laws, and what legal problems might arise when damaging information is published. New technologies are extremely valuable to find facts and to make reporters familiar with the complexities of any given story. Thanks to the computerization of government records and the availability of extraordinary amounts of information online, computer-assisted reporting (CAR)Show MoreRelatedThe Importance of Investigative Jou rnalism Essay769 Words   |  4 PagesThough connected through the general base of being a part of the media, investigative journalism is far from the daily reporting and paparazzi reports we are used to. 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