Using Sociology in the Workplace Karla Kirtland Anderson President Kirtland Consulting Today's retail business environment is more fragmented and competitive than ever. Recent trends such as slowing but more diverse population growth; the proliferation of dual-career, single-parent households; increased spending power and decision-making among children; weakening consumer loyalty; and growing competitive pressures (new retail formats, retail redevelopment, consolidations and acquisitions within the retail sector, the Internet, and exchange of time/alternative entertainment venues) all underscore the need for businesses to strategically focus on building, communicating and retaining their most important commodity-the customer. The evolution from mass merchandising in the 1980's to customization and personalization in the new millennium opened many doors for myself as a market research professional who specialized in demographic patterns, consumer behavior, cultural shifts, and effects of social lifestyles. As a consumer research consultant and strategic planning facilitator in the shopping center and retail industry, my education in applied sociology provided the foundation to design research instruments, measure and analyze primary survey results and secondary source data, and link results to strategic and tactical "real-world" considerations. The major stepping-stones in my 15-year career development have been: 1) An internship which led to a full-time junior analyst position, where I focused on analyzing U.S. Census information and secondary resource data; using geographic information systems to overlay demographic data; and assisting senior level staff in survey design (questionnaire construction), data collection coordination, and data tabulation. 2) Senior analyst/research coordinator, where I tabulated and analyzed survey data and presented the findings to clients and internal audiences in verbal, tabular and graphic formats. 3) Manager and Director of Consumer Research, where I shifted my focus to interfacing with users of market and consumer research (marketing, management, operations, financial departments) on implications and recommendations for a course of action. 4) Vice President of Client Development, where I used my practical experience and know-how in the retail industry, my background as a research professional, and my education in marketing and other business sciences, to create new business opportunities. My role focused on synthesizing expertise from a variety of business disciplines and large quantities of primary and secondary market data, into a cohesive report and presentation. 5) President, Kirtland Consulting, where, since 1996, I have been wearing all of the above hats to conduct consumer research and strategic action planning for a variety of shopping center developers nationwide.