Jamie Ramos looked out her window at the early morning sky and gazed at the small crowd below: The words and pictures on their posters were pretty TAME this time, she thought. The last protest group used pictures of tarred lungs, corpses, and other graphic photos to show the effects of smoking on a persons internal organs. Their words were also hateful, so much so, that employees at the Unified Tobacco headquarters were scared to walk in and out of the main building. Those who normally took smoking breaks on the back patio decided to skip the break and eat something instead at the company-subsidized cafeteria. By midday, Unified hired extra security to escort employees in and out of the building and to ensure the protestors followed the state guideline of staying at least 15 feet from the companys entrance. The media picked up on the story and the photos and it caused quite a stir in the national press. At least this protest group seemed fairly reasonable. Late yesterday, a state court provided a reduced judgment to the family of a lifelong smoker, now deceased. This meant that Unified was going to owe millions less than originally expected. The length and stress of the lawsuit had taken its toll, especially on top management, although all employees were certainly affected. After two years of being battered in the media, learning of a huge settlement, and then continuing on with the appeals process, emotions were wearing thin with the continued criticism. Jamie wondered what this day would bring. As the manager of community relations, her job was to represent Unified in the community, manage the employee volunteer program, create a quarterly newsletter, serve as a liaison to the companys philanthropic foundation, develop solid relationship, and sere an various boards related to social welfare and community needs. The companys foundation donated nearly $1.5 million a year to charities and causes. Over one-quarter of its employees volunteered 10 hours a month in their community. Jamie reported to a vice president and was pleased with the career progress she had made since graduating from college 8 years earlier. Although some of her friends wondered out loud how she could work for a tobacco company, Jamie was steadfast in her belief that even a tobacco firm could contribute something meaningful to society. She had the chance to effect some of thise contributions in her community relations role. Jamies phone rang and she took a call from her vice president. The VP indicated that , although the protestors seemed relatively calm this time, he was not comfortable with their presence. Several employees had taped signs in office windows, telling the protestors to Go away. Other VPs had dropped by his office to discuss the protest and he thought that the responsibility for handling these issues felt into his group. He went on to say that he needed Jamies help, and the assistance of a few others, in formulating a plan to 1. deal with the protest today and 2. strengthen the strategy for communicating the companys message and goodwill in the future. Their meeting would begin in one hour, so Jamie had some time to sketch out her recommendations on both issues. What would you do?