Behavior Analysis In “The Office” TV Show Homework Essay Sample

Introduction

The TV show selected for this assignment is The Office. It is a mockumentary that portrays the daily lives of several employees and a manager in a small, marginally unsuccessful branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company (The Office (TV Series 2005–2013) – IMDb, n.d.). The show is characterized by its distinctively inappropriate workplace behaviors, each being a satirized version of some of the fundamental issues employees and supervisors face. Some notable characters in the series are Michael Scott (the manager of the branch), Pam Beesly, Jim Halpert, and Dwight Schrute (the employees).

Behavior in The Office Show

As a supervisor, Michael Scott is largely conflict-avoidant, which is explained chiefly by his strive to earn love and popularity. For instance, he tends to physically hide in his office whenever an issue requiring him to step up arises, hindering his performance as a conflict mitigator or manager (Daniels, 2005-2013). Regardless, I learned from Michael that supervising could be a process of finding and using the best abilities of every person on the team, even if he did it due to incompetence.

Pam Beesly and Jim Halpert are the characters that are socially adaptive and relatively reserved. Throughout the series, they gradually overcome shyness as a communication barrier: for instance, Pam has learned to speak up in meetings and ask for a promotion. In contrast, Dwight Schrute is an incredibly career-driven character; his assertive behavior is beneficial in situations where direct communication is needed. However, his lack of interpersonal ethics or social awareness hinders his progress. These interactions taught me that appropriately voicing one’s thoughts and concerns is valued in a workplace.

The show’s message is that there is no single morally perfect or universally right approach to solving issues, overcoming difficulties, or addressing others. Every character in the show has a combination of good and bad traits, which shine through in different circumstances. And thus, everyone deserves some empathy and understanding since everybody is simply trying to live their best lives.

Conclusion

In conclusion, by creating a satirical yet relatable image of the daily problems, The Office successfully shows how one should not behave. However, I think the satire also demonstrates that under certain circumstances, all people may show their best or worst sides, adding humor and depth to the message. Overall, this show effectively conveys the memorandum of understanding, adapting to the collective, and making the best out of the given circumstances.

References

Daniels, G. (Producer) & Dutton, E.P. (Director). (2005-2013). The Office [TV series]. In B. Silverman, G. Daniels, R. Gervais, S. Merchant, H. Klein, K. Kwapis, P. Lieberstein, J. Celotta, B.J. Novak, M. Kaling, B. Forrester, D. Sterling (Executive Producers). NBC Universal Television Studio.

The Office (TV Series 2005–2013)—IMDb. (n.d.). Web.

Hospital-Acquired Conditions Based On Surgical Site Infections

Problem Statement

Post-operative surgical wound infections or surgical site infections are the conditions that develop after surgery due to insufficient post-operative care or negligence that obligates additional medical attention other than the issues initially presented. SSIs are the second most common hospital-acquired infections after urinary tract diseases. Nevertheless, they are more severe than any other nosocomial infections because they interfere with a patient’s recovery after an operation and limit their comfort. Surgical site infections have become a public health problem worldwide because they result in adverse outcomes. For example, there have been increased mortality and morbidity cases due to SSIs, as most of these infections are resistant to antibiotics. As a result, SSIs present notable therapeutic challenges to medical practitioners who are also exposed to the risk of losing their license if a patient resolves to sue the institution for damages.

Over the years, the US government, in collaboration with stakeholders in the healthcare industry, has provided numerous resources to help reduce the number of SSIs in medical institutions. Additionally, researchers have uncovered various risk mitigation solutions and strategies to assist nurses in delivering effective post-operative care and evaluation to rule out the possibility of infections. However, the prevalence of these conditions is still notable, raising several questions about the practical adoption of these guidelines (Tomsic et al., 2020). On that account, it is crucial to investigate whether available resources are effective in deterring the various forms of negligence that contribute to the high prevalence of hospital-acquired conditions in surgical site infections. Hence, the proposed research aims to investigate the use of evidence-based solutions and resources provided by healthcare organizations to limit hospital-acquired SSIs. The research will adopt a qualitative study approach to obtain relevant information from medical practitioners.

Purpose Statement

Nosocomial post-operative infections are destructive to healthcare service providers because they affect patients, their families, and healthcare service practitioners. Apart from putting an individual’s life at risk, SSIs facilitate mental and emotional trauma that interferes with recovery. Moreover, SSIs place undue pressure on patients’ families because of increased medical costs, unmanageable economic burdens, emotional tension, and stress, which can lead to depression (Yao et al., 2018). In addition, medical practitioners and institutions are at risk of litigation in case of severe outcomes like permanent disability or death. Similarly, a high prevalence of SSIs in a particular medical institution can have negative implications on the task force due to diminished motivation, anxiety, and low levels of job satisfaction. In turn, the reparations can interfere with the effective delivery of other healthcare services, resulting in more issues within the system and complex cases. Therefore, evaluating existing frameworks and identifying gaps is critical because SSIs are associated with adversities that go against quality healthcare service delivery.

The main purpose of the research is to review and examine the most recent recommendations proposed by professional organizations and peer-reviewed articles to identify evidence-based preoperative and postoperative pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions against SSIs. Moreover, the research aims to investigate whether medical practitioners effectively adopt these solutions to limit post-operative SSIs in medical institutions. Given the scope of the study, it is reasonable to obtain data from individuals who occasionally interact with and deliver post-surgical care to patients (Holmes, 2020). Consequently, the research plans to adopt a qualitative methodology to obtain information about their perceptions of the solutions’ reliability and their practices in medical settings. SSIs can significantly diminish patients’ trust in the effectiveness of surgical interventions and discourage them from taking life-changing surgeries. Thus, it encourages a wider gap in access to quality healthcare service delivery as wealthy individuals can seek treatment overseas or in expensive facilities with advanced systems. That being said, assessing whether the available resources are functional is important since nurses and medical practitioners rely on them to make decisions and prepare for surgical processes is important. The information obtained from the research will help develop better systems to apply evidence-based solutions to medical practice.

Research Question

Nurses and clinicians assigned roles in surgical wards are responsible for delivering high-quality post-operative care and ensuring that all patients experience an uncomplicated recovery process. However, errors are imminent during surgical procedures and medical treatment solutions due to the dynamic nature of the healthcare landscape and diverse developments in the field of surgery and medicine. Nevertheless, nursing standards suggest occasional personal development and training programs to inform medical practitioners of reliable solutions to improve healthcare service delivery (Tomsic et al., 2020). Moreover, nursing bodies advocate for the use of evidence-based practices to ensure quality service delivery and limit errors. Thus, these practitioners are expected to use these solutions to advance their practice and ensure that they observe the recommendations.

Unfortunately, several risk factors expose surgical patients to SSIs, including poor sanitation and inappropriate cleaning of wounds during post-operation care. In addition, Van Niekerk et al. (2020) cite doctors’ negligence as a contributor to the increasing rates of SSIs in institutions. Nevertheless, most of these issues, their causes, and how to prevent them are detailed in research resources and recommendations from health advancement organizations. Moreover, there are several other information sources to guide medical practitioners on the appropriate practice standards. However, Tomsic et al. (2020) report that resistance to change and the misinterpretation of these guidelines are some of the factors that limit their adoption. Hence, the high number of SSIs reported in medical institutions indicates gaps in the adoption of these practices. Therefore, it is reasonable to obtain information from medical practitioners in surgical wards about how these solutions can be integrated into training and development programs to aid their improvement and limit SSIs in medical institutions using the most recent research.

The research aims to scrutinize the solutions and recommendations offered by researchers and professional organizations to limit the development and high prevalence of SSIs in medical facilities. Therefore, the research will base its initiatives on the question, “how can recent recommendations from professional bodies and peer-reviewed articles aid nurses in identifying effective medicinal and non-medicinal interventions to minimize and prevent surgical site infections?” The study seeks to analyze the ideas of medical practitioners posted in surgical wards because they come into close contact with the patients featured in the research. Therefore, the research methodology is justified as it will assist the researcher in collecting information from experienced individuals in settings that align with the research objectives (Holmes, 2020). By answering this question, the research will uncover the limitations that prevent medical practitioners from applying research evidence during surgery or post-surgical care to reduce SSIs. Subsequently, the results will inform medical practitioners of strategies to improve adherence to nursing standards of practice, resulting in the improvement of other healthcare practices as well.

Data Collection, Reliability, and Validity

The research intends to collect non-numerical data on the adoption and use of healthcare research and information resources to reduce the prevalence of SSIs in medical institutions, particularly in surgical wards. Therefore, it will adopt a qualitative research approach using personal interviews and closed and open-ended questionnaires as the primary data collection tools. In addition, the research will apply secondary data collection techniques by drawing relevant information from nursing standard policies and documents, peer-reviewed articles, or journal articles discussing the aforementioned topics (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Subsequently, the research will select participants using stratified sampling techniques, which involves dividing the study population into subgroups and randomly selecting the interview and questionnaire subjects from the featured strata. However, the study sample will be limited to about 20 to 30 individuals to enhance the quality of collected data and ease of analysis.

Surgical procedures and operations are complex tasks requiring unique expertise and knowledge in the field. Moreover, the individuals involved in the recovery process possess relevant skills to identify issues and relate them to specific causative factors. Therefore, given the main objectives of the research, the research methodology, data collection techniques, and sampling method are dependable to producing relevant results (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Similarly, the research aims to investigate concepts in the immediate environment where the cases are reported. Thus, obtaining data from people who experience associated issues daily will help yield reliable results that can be repeated over several other studies. On that account, the data collection methods and methodology are aligned with the research purpose and objectives since they comprehensively address the research question and underlying issues.

References

Holmes, A. G. D. (2020). Researcher Positionality-A Consideration of Its Influence and Place in Qualitative Research-A New Researcher Guide. Shanlax International Journal of Education, 8(4), 1-10. Web.

Moser, A., & Korstjens, I. (2018). Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 3: Sampling, data collection, and analysis. European journal of general practice, 24(1), 9-18. Web.

Tomsic, I., Heinze, N. R., Chaberny, I. F., Krauth, C., Schock, B., & von Lengerke, T. (2020). Implementation interventions in preventing surgical site infections in abdominal surgery: A systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1). Web.

Van Niekerk, J. M., Vos, M. C., Stein, A., Braakman-Jansen, L. M. A., Voor In’t Holt, A. F., & van Gemert-Pijnen, J. E. W. C. (2020). Risk factors for surgical site infections using a data-driven approach. PloS One, 15(10). Web.

Yao, R., Zhou, H., Choma, T. J., Kwon, B. K., & Street, J. (2018). Surgical site infection in spine surgery: who is at risk?. Global spine journal, 8(4_suppl), 5S-30S. Web.

International Paper: Financial Analysis

Introduction

The International Paper (IP) is an American pulp and paper company, and it is the largest such company worldwide. The company is currently experiencing a decline in its business due to the global transition from paper products to digital media. However, IP has adapted technologically and financially to the changes, but its investors are less bullish concerning the company than its competitors.¹ IP is expected to face competitive risks in the long term as there is a significant transition away from pulp and paper industry products. On the other hand, in the short to medium term, the company is positioned to continue to generate profits for shareholders.

Business Model

IP has approximately 56,000 employees, and its headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2015, the company generated total revenue of $22.4 billion, whereby two-thirds of the revenue was contributed to industrial packaging activities ($14.5 billion). The remaining a third of the total revenue was from consumer packaging ($2.9billion) and printing papers ($5 billion).² The U.S. generated the most significant portion of the total revenue because its revenue was $16.6 billion, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region with $2.7 billion, and the last was Asia and South America, each region generating $1.5 billion from their sales.

The packaging materials segment of the company includes packaging for foods, corrugated boxes, and other retail and intermediate products. IP uses approximately 80% of its industrial packaging activities to produce packaging materials. Additionally, the company owns 18 recycling and 165 containers plants.³ Further on, IP has numerous plants distributed across the EMEA region, Asia, and South America on international platforms. The printing paper segment of IP produces papers used for printing and writing. On the other hand, the pulp segment has towels, stationery, tissues, and filtration products.

The Paper and Pulp industry is competitive, which is why IP has a research and development department that helps in the regular implementation of new technological advances. These advances ensure the company’s plants are environmentally friendly and economically efficient. Due to increase environmental regulations, investing more in research and development is crucial for IP to ensure continuous public legitimacy and economic viability.⁴ Additionally, IP’s balance sheet has revealed the competitive advantage that the company possesses.⁵ For instance, in 2015, the company’s intangible assets were $726 million when goodwill was deducted. More than two-thirds of the intangible asset was from customer relationships and lists. The remaining third was allocated to software, trademark and patents, non-complete agreements, water and land rights, and others.

The industry is experiencing broader consolidation trends, which has led to IP’s recent numerous industrial partnerships and acquisitions. Most of these partnerships and additions have been made to maximize profitable lines of business for which IP has the expertise and shed their other, less financially stimulating business activities.⁶ Some of the notable purchases that IP has made are Mills and other facilities acquisitions valued at $1.6 billion in 2008 and an additional buying worthy of $2 billion in 2016 to expand its business to selling sanitary products and diapers.

Horizontal Analysis

In 2015 the company’s total revenue decreased to -5.3%. A reduction in international sales mainly caused this decrease. In 2015 exports from U.S. plants were significantly low while the exports in Europe increased, but lower prices decreased the company’s revenue.⁷ According to IP’s 10-K, the leading cause of these effects was the negative impact of foreign exchange rates.⁸ In addition, the decline in revenue of IP was contributed by a relatively weak global economy that was being experienced in 2015.

From 2013 to 2014, the return on invested capital (ROIC) and operating margin of IP increased significantly. This improvement in the company’s profitability was mainly caused by low input costs such as freight, chemicals, and energy costs. In addition, IP has been complying with its business model by making strategic transitions that have led to business activities with higher profit margins.⁹ For instance, its partnership with Russia-based Ilim Group has helped it generate higher profit margins. Additionally, the recent diversification of its equity in the Sun Food Packaging Company stake has helped IP develop immediate earnings and boost its profit margin. Therefore, the horizontal analysis of the company points to a significant potential that it can explore in the future, as well as the impressive changes that IP has undergone recently when adapting to external changes.

Industry Analysis and Assessment of Risk

The WestRock Company (WRK) and Packaging Corporation of America (PKG) are the closest competitors of IP. Both competitors have been facing similar industry challenges with IP. The pulp and paper industry challenges are increasing competition and decreasing demand.¹⁰ For instance, Exhibit 1 shows that IP and PKG have experienced declining revenue growth. On the other hand, WRK’s growth revenue has increased to 26.8%. However, WRK’s growth was not organic because it resulted from a merger between MeadWesrvaco Corporation and RockTenn Company. The merger between the two companies was a strategic move to resolve the firms’ competitive issues. Combining the resources to form a large entity will be a better effort to compete with PKG and IP.

The operating margin and ROIC of IP, PKG, and WRK are within the average industry profitability measure. For instance, the ROIC of IP is 8.11% which is less than PKG’s 11.24% but higher than WRK’s -0.2. The ROIC shows that WRK is dealing with a significant industrial challenge because it has a negative ROIC, significantly lower than the pre-merger ROIC of 11.9% in 2013.¹¹ Additionally, the operating margin of IP in 2015 was 8.6% which is less than PKG’s operating margin of 13.7% but more than 5.3% of WRK.

Recently PKG has been experiencing a slighter decrease in revenue growth compared as well as higher profit margins. Due to this, IP investors should be worried because PKG has the potential to take its market share.¹² However, this competitive risk is less significant than the more extensive industry risk that IP is supposed to handle. Other significant risks that IP has discussed in its 10-K report are quite few. These include (1) underperforming on strategic acquisitions, and joint ventures; (2) variable costs of inputs; (3) compliance costs due to progressively stringent environmental regulations.¹³ Also, (4) financial solvency and the corresponding likelihood of a ratings downgrade that is capable of increasing IP’s rate of borrowing; and (5) decrease in market demand for paper-based products should be listed.

Valuation and Future Outlook

Exhibit 2 shows that IP’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 10.9, the lowest of its competitors, PKG at 14.6 and WRK at 14.7. A similar pattern is reflected in price-to-cash-flow and price-to-sales measures. Since PKG is relatively strong, this is the main reason it has the highest P/E ratio of its competitors. Given WRK’s recent low profitability indicators, it’s odd, at least on the surface, that it has a higher P/E ratio than IP. However, a closer examination of WRK’s annual report elucidates the problem.¹⁴ According to WRK’s CEO, synergies from the company’s recent merger have already reached $165 million for the year, and these synergies will reach $1 billion annually by the end of 2018. If this synergy estimate is correct, WRK’s shareholders will benefit significantly, then the fact that WRK’s P/E ratio is more significant than IP’s becomes less unexpected. Furthermore, if these synergy values are realized, WRK’s success may come at the expense of IP. The 6-month stock price history of these three corporations, as shown in Exhibit 3, conveys a similar story. IP’s stock has only risen 5% in the last six months, but PKG and WRK have seen 21% and 15% stock price rises, respectively.

Conclusion

In conclusion, IP seems like a strong company because its strategic actions enable it to remain profitable in a struggling industry. However, its competitors will be more favorable to the investors due to their higher profit margins. Additionally, IP can potentially lose its market share if the expectations of WRK and PKG become true. From another perspective, IP has moderate concerns on debt and pension, but this has not significantly affected the profitability ratios. In addition, IP acquisitions are the main reason it tries to overcome competitive and industrial risks. Although IP’s competitors seem to be better, it is coping will the industry, and it has a high chance of surviving in the long term.

Bibliography

Coopers, L. L. P. “Global Forest, Paper & Packaging Industry Survey. 2015 edition survey of 2014 results.” PWC. Web.

“Currency Fluctuations: How They Affect the Economy”. Investopedia.

Hunt, Vivian, Dennis Layton, and Sara Prince. “Why Diversity Matters”. Mckinsey & Company.

“International Paper Financial Ratios for Analysis 2009-2022 | IP”. Macrotrends. 

“International Paper Agrees to Purchase Weyerhaeuser’s Packaging Business”. Investor International Paper. Web.

“Kimberly-Clark Corporation”. Kimberly-Clark. 

“Morningstar | Empowering Investor Success”. Morningstar.

“SEC Filings”. Internationalpaper.com.

Stynes, Mike. “Int’l Paper’s Latest Deal Reflects Demand for Diapers, Feminine Products”. WSJ.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “Commission File No. 1-3157 INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY.” Sec.gov.

“Yahoo Is Part Of The Yahoo Family Of Brands”. Finance.Yahoo.com.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3

Footnotes

1. “International Paper Agrees to Purchase Weyerhaeuser’s Packaging Business,” Investor International Paper. Web.
2. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Commission File No. 1-3157 INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY,” Sec.gov. Web.
3. Coopers, L. L. P, “Global Forest, Paper & Packaging Industry Survey. 2015 edition survey of 2014 results,” PWC. Web.
4. Ibid.
5. Mike Stynes, “Int’l Paper’s Latest Deal Reflects Demand for Diapers, Feminine Products,” WSJ. Web.
6. Vivian, Hunt, Dennis Layton, and Sara Prince, “Why Diversity Matters,” Mckinsey & Company. Web.
7. “International Paper Agrees to Purchase Weyerhaeuser’s Packaging Business,” Investor International Paper. Web.
8. “International Paper Financial Ratios for Analysis 2009-2022 | IP,” Macrotrends. Web.
9. Ibid.
10. “Kimberly-Clark Corporation,” Kimberly-Clark. Web.
11. “SEC Filings,” Internationalpaper.com. Web.
12. “Morningstar | Empowering Investor Success,” Morningstar. Web.
13. “Currency Fluctuations: How They Affect the Economy,” Investopedia. Web.
14. “Yahoo Is Part of the Yahoo Family of Brands,” Finance.Yahoo.com. Web.