Ethical or Unethical Behaviour at Boeing Case Study

Ethical or Unethical Behaviour at Boeing - Case Study Example It has been observed that as a consequence from the cancellation of the order from Pentagon, the company had to bear an extra cost burden of more than $1 billion in its sales. Moreover, the firm was also banned from bidding in the federal contracts for around 20 months which in turn affected its shareholders, employees as well as investors by a large extent. Additionally, the company was also found to be frequently changing its CEO’s in quick succession which created confusions and cost burden as well as other leadership hazards within the internal business environment of the organisation. For instance, in 2002 the company was led by Philip Condit. After few years Condit was replaced by Harry Stonecipher, but he was also soon taken over by McNerny. Such frequent changes in the CEO’s of the company eventually affected its financial performances by a large extent. From the overall analysis, it could be concluded that the ethical or unethical practices of the company in th e presence ultimately affected the stakeholders of Boeing including the investors, the employees and the shareholders among others (Griffin 111-112). Q.2. Which Organizational Approach To Social Responsibility Did Boeing Appear To Use Under The Leadership Of Condit And Stonecipher? How Do You Think the Approach Changed Under McNerney’s Leadership? Under the leadership of Philip Condit, Boeing was observed to be highly inclined towards mergers, both in the horizontal and vertical directions within the airlines industry as a strategy to obtain competitive advantages. It has been observed in this regard that the merger led by Philip Condit was not successful which rather gave rise... Apart from that in another issue of stolen documents from the rival company and thus practicing unethical competition, Boeing had to face cancellation of the already placed order form Pentagon and a ban of 20 months from bidding in federal contracts (Griffin 111-112). Therefore, it can be observed that Boeing, under the leadership of Condit was mostly focused on competitive positioning of the company owing to which it can be stated that the company followed a compliance-based approach towards its CSR initiatives, which however, resulted in a failure.After the leadership of Philip Condit was replaced by Harry Stonecipher, the company also had to deal with many such issues. In the year 2005, Pentagon further cancelled some of its deals with the company because of ethical issues that depicted discrimination against female workers with Boeing. The female workers also claimed that they were underpaid and filed a suit against the company. The company suffered a loss of billions of dollars from the cancellation of the Pentagon deal apart from spending almost $73 million in order to settle the suit filed by its female workers. Furthermore, Stonecipher was also under the scanner for his affair with one of the female subordinates of the company which fuelled the allegation of sexual harassment against him. As a result of such issues, Stonecipher was forced to resign from his position as the CEO of Boeing. From the analysis of both the leadership styles of the CEO’s in Boeing, it can be affirmed that the organisational approach.

Chapter 5 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Chapter 5 - Coursework Example y police officers can greatly improve their effectiveness within a specific community by improving their roles as trusted and responsible police officers who are willing to help people. This would encourage citizens to develop trust on the police officers and they would report crimes to them without any fear. Other strategies include citizen contact patrol which is focused on developing sound relations between the citizens and the officers by their door-to-door visits. Also, improving the image of police officers in the minds of the citizens, focusing more on community meetings, disseminating crime control newsletters, establishing storefronts and substations to make people feel protected, organizing neighborhood watch programs to monitor and control the suspicious activities, specialized patrols and hosting community meetings where the citizens can freely discuss their problems and fears to police officers. Citizen contact patrol is a way to develop interaction between the citizens and the police officers which includes door-to-door police visits. During their visits, police officers provide general information on all the possibilities to control crime within the community, give out tips to protect oneself from any possible danger and collects information on who is carrying a gun in the house. In my opinion, citizen contact patrol is an effective way to develop greater interaction with the citizens and at the same time, it helps in lowering the rate of victimization. It improves the image of a police officer, enables them to collect sensitive information from the citizens and last but not the least, it provides awareness to the citizens on how to protect themselves in case of emergency and to report police. Police in schools is another technique to control crimes and to protect the minors who are at greater risk of danger. These police officers are often known as school resource officers (John L. Worrall). The presence of police officers at schools would

Analyse The Current Strategy Of Ryanair Tourism Essay

Analyse The Current Strategy Of Ryanair Tourism Essay You are to critically analysis the current strategy of Ryanair which comprises the following tasks. Undertake an environmental analysis of the European airline industry with implications for the budget sector and Ryanair in particular. Analyse how Ryanair has been successful in the European budget airline industry. From the above analysis, critically assess the sustainability of Ryanairs strategy. Executive Summary In this recession period to sustain a business and make it different and unique id definitely a big task and to make it growing need to implement different Strategies. Strategy is the direction and purview of a business organization in long run to achieve an advantage over other rivals by adapting with available resources and build competency. today we are discussing the Environment Analysis, strength and weaknesses and its strategy to sustainability of Ryanair a low cost Airline. This assignment will analyse the business environment of the airline industry in Europe, then it considers the competitive strategy and sustainability of Ryanair. Introduction Ryanair start its business by Mr. Cathal and her wife with the financial help of their father Tony Ryan with the total capital of  £1 in 1985. The company Head office is in Dublin, Ireland. Initially Ryanair provide flights between Ireland and UK by using secondary airport due to national airlines monopoly. In 1990 Ryanair loss was IR £20 Million and at the end of 1990 the new management team under the supervision of Michael OLeary adapted the model of Southwest USA base airline introduced the low budget cost concept in Europe and became market cost leader with no frills carrier. Gulf War 1 broke out in 1991 and airline traffic all over the world distorted. Although the down turn in overall airline traffic, Ryanair made a profit of  £ 0.3 million for the year and carry 651,000 passengers with a total work force of 477 people. In 1997 Ryanair first time ranked in Dublin Stock exchange and London stock exchange and in 2002 on NASDAQ. Ryanair added number of aircraft and number of European destinations in 1999. And in 2000 Ryanair introduced Europe largest travel website, www.ryanair.com within three months, the site was record 50,000 bookings per week. In 2005 May 26th Ryanair Holdings, PLC celebrated its 20th birthday. At the celebration party Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary said that Ryanair will be overtake British Airways by carrying 3.5 million passengers a month in 2005 In June 2009 Ryanair is offering 1200 scheduled short haul flights per day along with 145 locations throughout Europe and Morocco with an operating fleet of 196 aircraft flying approximately 845 routes. Environment Analysis The external business environment of Ryanair means the other European airlines and other influencing factors which affect the decision making, making of business strategy and the performance of Ryanair. There are number of external environmental factors which affect the Ryanair like PEST (Political, Economic, social and technological factors) Strategic management in any airline industry plays very important role to make them successful airline. The strategy of Ryanair is depends on the vision and mission its vision and mission which is based on the environment factors which are internal and external factors. These environmental factors normally called environmental analysis. In Strategic planning techniques environmental analysis plays very important role to evaluate or scan that business environment is suitable for business or not. In Ryanair these strategic policies clarify its resource strengths and deficiency, its market opportunities, the outside threats to its future success an d its competitive status relative to rivals. Environmental analysis in airline industry helps them to develop and change their strategy to meet the upcoming external changes and its help the company to lead. D. Stoffels 1994). Concept of Environmental Analysis Environmental analysis means the environmental scanning or appraisal (L M Prasad). There are two types of for Strength, Weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In Ryanair Strength and weaknesses are internal factors whereas opportunities and threats are external factors. Ryanair environment is analysis based on following structure. Figure No 1: Ryanair Environment Analysis External Analysis The external analysis is based on the opportunities and threats. Threats Volcano crises 9/11 terrorist attacks War in Iraq Oil prices Economic downturns Government Regulation The airline industry in Europe has always been under pressure from domestic and European Union. At the end of 1980 E.U deregulate the airline industry and an array of liberalisation measures followed that were to be applied throughout its territories. In 1997 E.U any airline can operate its business from anywhere within Europe. Competition At the start of 21st century competition in airline industry exploded and this competition will continue to grow up new entrants to take this advantage. Due to price competition and economic downturn and financial crises there is no entrants who want to enter in the market. Porters Five Forces Analysis of the low cost Airline According to Porter 1985 Five force analysis is a means of identifying the forces which affect the level of competition in an industry. Porters five forces model is based on the opportunities and threats of Ryanair from the external environment. Here porter analysis is applied on Ryanair external business environment. Porter five forces analysis are as under. Porter Five Forces Analysis Bargaining Power of Suppliers Boeing is the main supplier of Ryanair Airline Regional airports are mostly dependant on one airline Bargaining Power of Customers Customers are price conscious Lack of loyalty Switching airline is comparatively easy without any cost Threat from New Entrants High capital investment Some barriers to entry Threat from Substitutes Lack of brand loyalty for customers No extra cost for customer to switching Other methods of transport like Euro train, cars, Ferries and Euro lines Competitive Rivalry The low cost airline industry is highly competitive PESTEL Analysis PESTLE analysis is the most appropriate model to discuss the Political, Economic, Social, Technological factors, Environmental factors and legal factors. Political Factors Political factors means government regulations like taxation policies, environmental law, employment law, trade restriction by government and political instability. Change of Government taxation policies An international organization like Ryanair may effect by regulate the Government and taxation policies and some time these policies are in favourable and sometime in opposibe favour. Political changes in countries where Ryanair have routes Like in United Kingdom election are coming and may be new party change their business policies. Political instability Political stability plays very important role in an international company like Ryanair. Now a day in United Kingdom if government will be labour party then the policies will be in favour of the business community. Terrorist attacks on airline business Starting of 21st century the mode of terrorism is totally changed and now terrorist attacks through aeroplanes and target airline industry. Considering the events of 9/11 in USA, Manchester Airport chemical attack in UK its totally change the strategy of industry. Local government office may object to noise and new runway projects Currently Ryanair is facing Legal issues and disputes with Government. Economical Factors These factors are purchasing power of consumer and Ryanair, capital cost, economic growth, inflation rate, bank interest rate and currency exchange rate. Economic condition may affect positive or negative in the airline industry according to the country economic situation. If consumers standard of living will be high automatically they will use airline for holidays and other purpose. Fuel prices are rising day by day In these days fuel prices are going up and up and it may affect the consumer purchasing power. Social Factors In Social circumstances Ryanair will affect by peoples attitude towards luxury class, population growth and health matters. Ryanair do not offer luxury class so business trips are frequently possible to reduce company cost. Rapidly increase in travelling life style Lack of consumer loyalty Ryanair low budget airline means to attract more consumers around the globe. Technological Every business organize one unique system to operate its business Ryanair main supplier is Boeing and Boeing have less carbon emission and les noise pollution Good relationship with customers by maintaining online service Online sales/service Environmental Factors Environmental factors plays very important role in external environmental of airline industry. The important factors are as under. Natural disasters In Iceland Volcano ash disturb the whole Europe flights and airline and still writing these word almost 70,000 flights are cancelled. It will affect the airline industry around the globe. Health problems During flight some people feel really bad depression and its can decrease the profitability of the airline industry. Legal Factors Immigration law Immigration law is very major barrier in legal factors. There are some restrictions on the peoples to travel to other some certain countries. Aviation safety rules Every country has its own aviation and safety rules which affect the airline of other country. Swot Analysis of Ryanair SWOT analysis shows the organization existing strategy and position. SWOT analysis based on strength, weakness, opportunity and threats in any organization. In Ryanair this tool is used to analyse the internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. The current scenario of Ryanair on the basis of SWOT analysis is as under. Strengths Brand Name: Ryanair spent 15 years in the LCC market to develop its brand name Low airport charges will automatically reduce the cost of fare. All Boeing aircraft: Uniform fleet save training cost and technical cost High service performance: low baggage loss, in time, high rate of flight completion it gave the good image of the Ryanair performance High Aircraft Utilization Point to point service Small Headquarters: Ryanair try to reduce its administration cost due to small offices Weaknesses Bad press image Restricted expansion possibility due to budget cost Lack of skill staff Opportunities New routes and new destination Provide best and updated customer services may affect the number of customers Threats Threats from competitors like BMI, Easy jet, Air Asia, Atlantic and fly be. Economic downturn may affect disposable income. European Union may put some type of restriction if Ryanair do not accept the rules and policies. Mostly hotels are four stars due to low cost package is risky Change the choice of consumer Change the status of economy may change the situation of business policies. Question No 2. Ryanair European low cost airline Competitive Strategy of Ryanair Competitive strategy is key factor for the success of Ryanair. Ryanair followed different types of strategy which kept itself one step up from its competitor. Ryanair aim was establish itself Europes low fares leading airline through improvements and expanding day by day of its low fares services. The Ryanair strategy was simple to focus on low fares and catch more and more passenger traffic. At the end of 20th century the European aviation industry changes its cost strategy and focused on low budget model and now whole industry became low cost airlines. Ryanair based on low fares airlines and growing rapidly due to its environment friendly policies. Ryanair strategy is to provide their customers latest aircraft and advance technologies facility in their aircraft that reduce fuel burn and emissions of CO2 as much as possible. Figure No 2: Ryanair Business Model Ryanair plan to invest 17bn Euro on expansion programme of fleet replacement and now all Ryanair old Boeing 737-200 aircraft have replaced with the new Boeing 737-800. Here are the key elements of Ryanair Strategy who make itself European leading low cost airline. Low fares: Low fares are the main focus of Ryanair strategy. Ryanair sets its fares on the basis of demand of that flight. Frequent point to point Flights on short haul Routes Commitment to Safety and quality maintenance Ancillary services Choice of route Low operating costs Maximizing the use of the internet Question No 3. Sustainability of Ryanair Ryanair business model is adapted from the Southwest airline of USA. Ryanair focused on the secondary airports because majority of the national airlines concentrated on hub airports. At hubs airport acquired a scarcity value and were typically allocated to incumbent airlines in order of seniority at the airport by a scheduling committee presided over by the home country national airline. First time Ryanair used London-Luton route to promote its strategy in 1986 because slots were not available due to rush at Heathrow airport. Ryanair played a vital role to use these secondary airports and make itself a successful low cost airline. On secondary airports the deregulated market brought the opportunity to progress business with the new market entrants rather than remain underutilised. due unused airports substantial reductions was given to new airlines which they used form the expansion of passenger numbers by low cost would be financially worth it. The Ryanair product At the starting of Ryanair airline business in Europe its strategy was very simple to reduce its cost and sustain itself in the long term in airline industry was to use secondary airport. All major airports was under monopolistic condition of national airlines so Ryanair target secondary airports and its affect on Ryanair the low congestion charges, low landing charges and low rate of missing bags per passenger. Due to this situation Ryanair fully focused on its customer services. The Ryanair airport product The strategy of Ryanair was using secondary airports affect very positive result on consumer. Ryanair offers point to point flights and secondary airports become the hub airports. In secondary airports the consumption of time, cost reduce like less walking time within terminals, less waiting time for baggage retrieve and very cheap car parking. The Ryanair cost base Ryanair becomes the cost leader with very small labour force and fully focused on costs and productivity. Ryanair Europe No 1 in customer service In February 2010 Ryanair ranked No 1 around the Europe airlines. Only Ryanair is guarantee about the low cost and best customer services. These figures are published in customer service statistics in very month. CUSTOMER SERVICE STATS FEB 2009 2010 On-time flights 87% 83% Complaints per 1,000 pax 1.39 0.86 Baggage complaints per 1,000 pax 0.35 0.23 Complaints answered within 7 days 99% 99% External factors Ryanair is world fastest growing airline company According to Ryanair statistics in 2006 42.5 millions peoples travel in Ryanair airline and in 2007 it was 51 million and in 2008 the passengers was 59 millions. Ryanair Passenger Growth in Millions in 2006, 2007 Pax Chart Conclusion The above report examines the environmental analysis of European airline industry and discussed the strategy and sustainability of Ryanair in that environment. Ryanair is using very simple and good strategy according to economic condition at this time which is simple product, strict cost control over airports like aircraft suppliers and distribution costs. Ryanair focused on secondary airports that reduce its operating cost. BIBLIOGRAPHY L M Prasad, Business Policy: Strategic Management, New Delhi: Sultan Chand Sons, Educational Publishers, 2005 An Analysis of European low-cost airlines and their networks accessed on April 10, 2010. From www.sciencedirect.com Nigel Evants and David Campbell, Strategic Management for Travel and Tourism, 2003, Pages375-378 www.ryanair.com R. Casadesus-Masanell, Joan Enric Ricart, From Strategy to Business Models and on to tactics Long Range Planning (2010) Jay b. Barney William S. Hesterly Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage(concepts and cases) 3rd Edition, Pearson

Islam the Role and Function of the Mosque in a Muslim Community :: essays research papers

The role and function of the mosque in a Muslim community A mosque is generally a very symbolic place for a Muslim, being a humble way for Muslims to recreate pure divine presence on earth. The primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer. Nevertheless, mosques are known around the world nowadays for their Islamic architecture but most importantly for its general vitality to the Muslim Ummah (community). A mosque brings the community together as it acts as many things, a social centre, a community centre and an educational centre etc as it has many events which welcome both old and new members of the mosque. In addition to holding the five obligatory daily prayers, mosques hold jumu?ah prayers, or Friday prayers, which replace the midday prayer as the second required prayer on Fridays. It is required for all men to attend mosque on Friday for Jumu?ah. The sermons often have a strong practical slant, trying to integrate and apply Islamic beliefs and historical teachings into contemporary daily life. In many Islamic societies, jumu'ah often has a significant community or even political role. I believe sermons are significant in bringing the community together as the congregation is standing side by side in a line, facing Mecca, together, all united in their faith and worship of Allah There are study centres for new comers of the faith to come and learn about the Islamic faith, about the teachings of the Qur?an, learn how to read it and pronounce . These are often take place on weekends or in the evenings. Some mosques provide full time schools if you depend on the mosque to provide a full time Islamic education. Few but some mosques have Madrassah?s Arabic classes, classes on the Shariah, the hadith, the Sunnah, Tafsir(Qur?anic interpretation) and Muslim history. This will expand ones knowledge of Islam and will also draw them closer to their faith. Mostly children attend this study centre however all are welcome who care to learn.. Which can deepen the faith as it can expand ones understanding of Islam. Islam the Role and Function of the Mosque in a Muslim Community :: essays research papers The role and function of the mosque in a Muslim community A mosque is generally a very symbolic place for a Muslim, being a humble way for Muslims to recreate pure divine presence on earth. The primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer. Nevertheless, mosques are known around the world nowadays for their Islamic architecture but most importantly for its general vitality to the Muslim Ummah (community). A mosque brings the community together as it acts as many things, a social centre, a community centre and an educational centre etc as it has many events which welcome both old and new members of the mosque. In addition to holding the five obligatory daily prayers, mosques hold jumu?ah prayers, or Friday prayers, which replace the midday prayer as the second required prayer on Fridays. It is required for all men to attend mosque on Friday for Jumu?ah. The sermons often have a strong practical slant, trying to integrate and apply Islamic beliefs and historical teachings into contemporary daily life. In many Islamic societies, jumu'ah often has a significant community or even political role. I believe sermons are significant in bringing the community together as the congregation is standing side by side in a line, facing Mecca, together, all united in their faith and worship of Allah There are study centres for new comers of the faith to come and learn about the Islamic faith, about the teachings of the Qur?an, learn how to read it and pronounce . These are often take place on weekends or in the evenings. Some mosques provide full time schools if you depend on the mosque to provide a full time Islamic education. Few but some mosques have Madrassah?s Arabic classes, classes on the Shariah, the hadith, the Sunnah, Tafsir(Qur?anic interpretation) and Muslim history. This will expand ones knowledge of Islam and will also draw them closer to their faith. Mostly children attend this study centre however all are welcome who care to learn.. Which can deepen the faith as it can expand ones understanding of Islam.

Why the Maglev (Magnetic Levitation) Train

Levitating Trains The Maglev trains â€Å"A train is a connected series of rail vehicles propelled along a track to transport cargo or passengers. † -Wikipedia Trains now days are most commonly used for the transport of passengers across long distances, they are fast enough to reach a constant speed between 65 km/h to around 120km/h, although the record speed of a conventional train is of 575 km/h, held by the French TGV. It needed some modifications (shorter and higher voltage) and had passengers in it.Although, the record for non-conventional train is held by the JR-Maglev, a Japanese experimental train reaching the 581km/h without passengers (precaution) on a Magnetic-Levitation track. Answering how a train works is a very hard question, assuming we are talking about locomotives; they all have a generator behind the crews cab about half the size of a Volkswagen Beetle that powers the train with electricity by spinning, but the electrical output requires a lot of energy, tha t’s why there is a huge and powerful diesel engine that provides this power.Ignoring what the possible price of putting down a rail could be, I am going to calculate the price of having to get wheels and how long they last. A single axle 2 wheels costs $33, on the average commercial train there is about 636 wheels, so there is 318 axles, which adds up to total of $10,494 . There isn’t an exact schedule on how often they change train wheels, it all depends on the rail and how much braking the train does, for example, if it’s a very curvy â€Å"road†, more braking is applied and the more the wheels get wasted, and eventually, this slows down the entire vehicle.Regular trains also suffer from bumps and weather can play a difference in the performance of the train, the fact that the train is connected to the rail and to the floor deteriorates the materials and can make a huge sound, and if it’s a train that goes by a big town, there might be noise comp laints. Since friction seems to be the root of all problems, why not remove it? Friction is a natural force that occurs when an object or more encounter moving over each other or two objects rubbing against each other. How can a train overcome this?If only it could levitate†¦ well, needless to say, as I have mentioned a few paragraphs back, there is such a train, one that levitates with magnetism, the Maglev train, which by the name might sound Russian, but the mastermind behind it is Alfred Zehden (German), although he gave it a name in English: Maglev (MAGnetic LEVitation). The train levitates with electromagnetic (the interaction of electric currents with magnetic fields) C-shaped arms, with the top part of the arms connected to the train and the inside part holding the magnets, so the rail is situated in the space within the C.Since friction was the factor that was creating the problem, now that there is a clear (15mm) space between the rail and the train â€Å"wheels† there is no friction involved, so now the train speeds up faster to its average speed of 430km/h and it also slows down easier without any sound, and it goes unaffected by non-extreme weather, if the town has a power there is no problem because it has its own generator and also let’s not forget it is super cool because it is a LEVITATING TRAIN!Another feature it has is that regular locomotives can only run at a minimum speed of about 30km/h, with electromagnets there is no such problem, the train can cruise around at whatever it’s chosen speed is. The price of a regular (and might I add, boring) locomotive is around $2,300,000 with an added $35,000 for fuel and repairs, whereas the maglev has a more expensive staring price of 1. 2 billion, although it is expected for the price to fall to 1,800,000 in the next 30 years.In the long run and in this case a very long run because trains are one of the vehicles that last the longest, the maglev is more profitable than regu lar locomotives Cultural: As far as I am aware, culturally there shouldn’t be any problem with the maglev unless there is some cult out there that I’m not aware of that hate electromagnetism. Political: If anything, on the long run the government profit from this investment, considering it’s the fastest commercial train in the world, it gets a lot of attention. On the other hand, only 4 countries have patented the idea and of those only 2 (Aichi, Japan and Shanghai, China) have constructed the rains and 2 other under construction in Seoul, South Korea and a second one in China, which leads to think that other governments are afraid of bringing these ideas to their country and then end up being an absolute failure. Environmental: The maglev train actually does benefit the environment since there is less friction and therefore less fuel is used, and also less resources to replace train and rail parts since they won’t deteriorate because there is no friction involved. Social: Everyone is going to want to ride the super cool levitating train because it’s a SUPER COOL LEVITATING TRAIN!In conclusion, I think I have stated my point very clearly and we have solved the friction problem thanks to our friend electromagnetism. -August Paloluoma P. S please ignore Social, I still don’t know why I wrote that down†¦ Bibliography: URL: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Maglev#Technology Title: Maglev Latest date modified (LDM): 3 November 2012 at 18:01. URL: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train Title: Shanghai Maglev train LDM: 31 October 2012 at 14:51. URL: http://science. howstuffworks. com/transport/engines/maglev-train. htm Title: How the Maglev train works LDM: 26 January 2012

Ankle Sprain

An Ankle Sprain of a Female Colligate Basketball Player Objective: To introduce a case study about a mild ankle sprain. Background: The most common way to sprain an ankle in basketball is to step on someone else’s foot, or to plant and to turn the wrong way. Differential Diagnosis: Could be an injury to the deltoid ligament, CF, or the ATF ligament. Treatment: Ice, High volt, Theraband, Towel scrunches, Towel stretches, Whirlpool Conclusion: Rehab will help her get her strength back in her ankle as long she continues to work hard. Keywords: Ankle sprain, High volt, Medial and Lateral Malleolus Objective The ankle joint is the most commonly injured part of the lower leg. It happens from an unusual twisting action when the foot is planted awkwardly or when running on uneven ground. An unbearable amount of force is placed on the joint itself. Such injuries occur all the time in athletics or just by running. The ankle is made up of bones, tendons, and ligaments. The major bone of the lower leg is the tibia; it holds most of the body’s weight. It is made up part of the medial malleolus, which consist of the inside up hump of the ankle. The fibula is the next largest of the ankle bone in the lower leg. It forms the lower leg end form the lateral malleolus, the outer hump of the ankle. The smallest ankle bone is the talus which completely makes up the bone on the top of the foot. The tendons connect the muscle to the bones. There are several muscles that help control motion at the ankle. The tendon connects one or more of the bones to the foot. Tendons can be stretch to torn when a great amount of tension is placed upon it. They can also be pulling away from the bone, such as the Achilles tendon rupture. Ligaments provide connections between the bones. Ligaments are mostly sprained. The ankle has many bones that comes together to form the joint. The most commonly injured ligament is the anterior talofibular ligament that connects the front of the fibula to the talus bone on the front outer rim of the ankle joint. Ligaments are sprained when a great than normal force is placed on it. This is done when the foot is inverted most of the time. This happens when the foot is awkwardly planted or is stepped upon during activities. Stepping in a surface that is irregular, such as in an athletic event when one player steps on another player foot a sprain can result. Background A twenty-one year old female, basketball player experienced an ankle sprain by accidentally stepping on another player’s foot. The player was going up to make a shot landed on the opponents foot when she came back down, which made her ankle invert. The head athletic trainer evaluated her then taped her ankle to provide support and keep the swelling to a minimum at that time, so the player could return to play. Immediately after the game, the player’s ankle was iced down to control the swelling and was receiving NSAID’s to help with the pain or discomfort she was feeling. The player was referred to the team physician for x-rays and MRI to help rule out fractures. Treatment was started to help relieving the swelling and pain. Treatment In the first couple of days of rehab, she received high volt, and ice to help with the swelling she also did ankle pumps that also help with moving out the inflammation. As each day went by, towel scrunches, towel stretches were performed as three set each. Compression pumps were administered for 15 minutes several times a week, rhythmic stabilization, and aquatic therapeutic exercises were added as she got closer to the sub acute phase. The sub acute phases are about six days to until six weeks. In this stage she was allowed to jog straight ahead, trying wide figure-eight at first. Eventually the player was either on the bike or the stair stepper for 10 minutes a day. After the bike she was moved to the shuttle press with four cords, and three sets of ten, after the shuttle she did calf raises. The farther she progressed, the whirlpool was introduced, and both hot and cold water. Two set of tens, in all four directions using Therband was the next step of treatment; ultrasound was done to help break up scar tissue that had started to form. As her ROM improved along with other tests, she was moving closer to the return to play phase. The return to play phase this is when functional test and sport specific drill can be started. Functional testing is important along with continuing with other exercises and modalities. She moved to three set of fifteen with a Therband in all direction, hot pack assisted with high volt was added. Following the Therband the shuttle with the dynadisc, doing three set of fifteen along with four cords, she also did towel scrunches five times; wobble board, marbles and exercise. ROM exercise was done to increase plantar flexion and dorsiflexion. Differential Diagnosis There are many kinds of ankle injuries that can be present in variety of ways. The calcaneocuboid joint injury is a kind of inversion ankle sprain that involves the ligament overlying that joint. Which cause immediate swelling, pain and tenderness to the touch? The pain is localized to that region of the joint. The deltoid ligament resists abduction and lateral rotation of the ankle. However sudden forceful motion of the ankle may tear the ligament or stress it. The ligament may avulse that is attacked to the malleolus; a vast majority of case, there will be a tear through the ligament. The tear could be associated with compression of the talar joint. There could be an injury also to the ATFL and the CF ligament. Conclusion The player went through all the appropriate phases to get back in to the return to play phase. She will continue to do rehab so that her ankle with improve and get stronger.