Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Assignment Two Final
Assignment Two Final
Jake Wade
Mrs. Ashlyn
11/1/14
Introduction:
Imagine waking up in the morning and going to work for the first day at a new
job. You put on your tie and suit, grab your briefcase and youre on your way. Upon
arrival at the new Job your boss, Michael Scott, introduces himself to you as a student of
comedy. He then grabs Pams nametag from her desk, places it under his nose, raises his
arm, and marches around the office like Adolf Hitler. As you stand there in
bewilderment, you hear no laughing coming from the rest of the coworkers and you
realize that only Michael actually found himself funny. 1
Michael Scott, a former salesman and current regional manager at the Scranton
Branch of the mid-sized paper supply company Dunder Mifflin, has a funny way of
running his office. Most managers would try to make sure there is no horsing around in
the workplace. But Michael is not like most mangers. Michael has an odd gift of being
able to run the most unproductive workplace in history, and making it extremely
productive when it comes to the sales numbers. His constant office antics and frantic
conference meetings cause distractions for his workers periodically through the workday
but yet the branch avoids being closed down and becomes top amongst the other branches
of Dunder Mifflin. This is also true after Sabre buys out the company. Michael Scott,
although lacking common sense and proper work etiquette, uses his love of people and
sales knowledge to turn a dysfunctional work place into a primal hub for Scranton area
paper sales.
Before I present my paper to you, I must expose any potential biases I may have
on the topic. NBCs The Office is one of my favorite television series and it is rare that
I find a flaw in its production. This has kind of made me a little one-sided to the
argument on how Michael makes his office so efficient. Also, Michael is my favorite
manager throughout the entire series. Steve Carrells portrayal of Michael Scott is
hilarious and because I find his antics so comical that I tend to think theyre justifiable at
most times.
In this Paper I will be answering the question of how Michael takes his
unproductive management style, and turns his branch into one of the best the company
has each quarter. This is a question that not even Michaels corporate bosses can answer.
They only put up with his childish antics and frequent office mishaps because he makes
them money. Michael treats his employees like his family, he would rather them treat him
as their friend first, and their boss second. Which I think is a pretty good way of running
an office. It helps make the workplace feel a little more comfortable and maybe it will
move work along faster. Or at least that is what I thought before I saw how Michael
actually ran his office. Michaels employee, Jim Halpart, says this is how Michael spends
his day: 80% "distracting others," 19% "procrastination," and 0.1% "critical thinking."2
That does not sound like a very productive workplace to me. But Michael sparks
enthusiasm in his workers sometimes by making fake sales competitions in order to raise
1
Assignment One: Wade, Jake Assignment One. My Documents, September 20,
2014, November 1, 2014
2
Michael Scott Analysis: "Michael Scott." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Scott (accessed October 15, 2014).
business in his store. Michael is always making promises that he cannot keep due to
budget cuts and it sometimes causes friction between him and his corporate bosses. Well,
whatever Michael is doing he is doing it right
Review
of
Relevant
Literature:
Before
I
go
on
talking
about
what
goes
on
at
the
office,
I
thought
I
might
introduce
you
to
some
of
the
other
workers.
Michael
Scott,
the
Regional
Manager
and
former
salesman
of
the
Scranton
Branch,
is
the
main
topic
of
conversation
for
this
paper.
His
actions
and
Management
style
determines
how
the
office
preforms
and
since
the
quarterly
reports
turn
out
well
he
must
be
doing
something
right.
Pam
Beasley,
the
receptionist
at
the
Scranton
Branch
and
frequent
victim
of
Michael
sexually
harassing
jokes,
is
basically
Michaels
babysitter.
Outside
of
receiving
Michaels
calls
she
likes
to
do
illustration
which
Jim
Halpart,
one
of
the
salesmen
at
the
branch
really
likes.
Jim
and
Pam
are
two
best
friends
that
want
to
be
together
but
are
separated
by
fiancs,
girlfriends,
transfers
and
bad
timing.
Dwight
Schrute,
another
salesman
at
the
branch
and
sworn
enemy
of
Jim,
has
a
strong
passion
to
be
Michaels
number
two
man.
He
even
frequent
self
declares
himself
as
the
Assistant
Regional
Manager,
to
which
Jim
and
Michael
always
reply,
Assistant
to
the
Regional
Manager
which
is
the
title
Michael
gave
Dwight
in
order
to
appease
him.
3The
combination
of
Dwight
and
Michael
makes
being
an
HR
rep
of
a
mid-sized
paper
company
so
stressful
for
Toby
Flenderson.
Toby
and
Michael
do
not
get
along
very
well.
In
Fact,
Michael
hates
Toby
and
frequently
tells
him
that
to
his
face.
Michael
only
dislikes
Toby
because
he
is
the
voice
of
reason
that
stops
him
from
having
the
maximum
amount
of
fun
as
possible.
The
back
and
forth
between
Michael
and
Toby
is
one
of
my
favorite
parts
of
the
show.
I
find
he
irony
behind
a
misbehaving
manager
not
listening
to
his
HR
rep
extremely
hilarious.
There
are
a
few
more
less
important
characters
regarding
the
topic
at
hand
and
I
will
go
into
further
detail
on
them
as
well
as
the
characters
previously
mentioned
throughout
the
rest
of
the
paper.4
What
some
people
may
not
know
is
that
NBCs
version
of
The
Office
is
actually
based
off
of
Ricky
Gervais
version
of
The
Office
in
the
UK.5
Although
Gervais
program
only
lasted
for
two
seasons,
it
made
a
big
enough
impact
on
the
mockumentary
world,
that
NBC
wanted
to
make
their
own
version.
Having
yet
to
see
the
UK
version
of
The
Office
I
cannot
comment
on
the
similarity
between
the
two.
Steve
Carrells
portrayal
of
Michael
Scott
as
the
Dunder
Mifflin,
Scranton
Branch
manager
is
good
enough
for
me.
Michaels
inappropriate
and
ill-timed
jokes,
need
for
constant
attention
about
his
personal
issues,
and
ignorant
nature
makes
3
Dwight Schrute Analysis: "Dwight Schrute." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Dwight_Schrute (accessed October 15, 2014).
4
Assignment One: Wade, Jake Assignment One. My Documents, September 20,
2014, November 1, 2014
5
The Office: UK: "The Office (U.K.)." Watch Online.
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70136112?sod=search-autocomplete (accessed October
15, 2014).
him
the
number
one
distraction
and
cause
of
stress
in
the
office.
If
it
were
up
to
Michael,
he
would
insult
every
worker
in
his
office
by
the
end
of
the
day
if
not
for
Toby
Flenderson.
The
battle
of
power
between
Michael
and
Toby
is
extremely
one-
sided.
Toby
tells
Michael
to
stop
harassing
an
employee,
Michael
says
no,
attempts
to
fire
Toby,
and
tells
him
that
he
is
worthless.
Toby
basically
tells
Michael
no
every
five
minutes
so
you
could
see
the
tension
that
builds
between
the
two.
This
lack
of
freedom
infuriates
Michael
and
causes
him
to
lash
out
on
Toby
from
time
to
time.6
Michael
just
wants
to
have
his
fun
and
Toby
is
the
party
pooper.
Its
only
natural
for
him
to
dislike
Toby.7
Michael
likes
to
think
of
his
office
as
a
family.
In
fact
he
tells
his
employees
to
think
of
him
as
a
friend
first,
and
a
boss
second.8
Thats
a
weird
way
to
go
about
managing
an
office.
Usually
a
manager
would
want
a
fine
line
between
himself
and
his
employees
to
keep
the
authoritative
role.
But
not
Michael
Scott.
Michael
likes
to
try
and
create
a
relaxed
and
playful
environment
for
his
workers.
But
where
Michael
decreases
stress
in
his
employees,
he
also
increases
it.
Most
employees
get
nervous
when
their
boss
approaches
because
theyre
afraid
hell
judge
their
work.
But
at
the
Scranton
branch,
employees
get
nervous
when
Michael
approaches
because
theyll
either
become
victims
of
one
of
his
inappropriate
jokes,
be
put
into
harm
somehow,
or
being
taken
away
from
their
work
because
of
an
unnecessary
meeting
debating
on
whether
or
not
the
women
he
sold
a
printer
to
at
the
bar
the
night
before
is
actually
flirting
with
him
or
trying
to
get
a
better
price
on
a
printer.8
Michael
doesnt
necessarily
talk
about
his
real
family
much
and
whenever
he
does,
he
usually
has
a
gloomy
tone
to
his
voice,
as
if
things
werent
going
well
with
his
family.9
Thats
why
I
think
he
tries
so
hard
to
be
a
part
of
the
lives
of
his
employees.
To
make
up
for
the
family
he
never
had
and
still
doesnt
have
because
hes
a
single
regional
manager
with
dreams
for
kids
and
has
none.
Every
year.
Michael
hosts
and
award
show
called
The
Dundies
for
his
employees.8
The
award
ceremony
really
shows
his
employees
how
much
he
cares
and
tries
to
be
a
part
of
their
lives,
even
though
most
of
the
awards
are
insulting.
Michael
believes
its
important
for
the
office
to
be
a
family
and
I
have
to
agree
with
him
because
it
works
for
his
office.
Entering
the
Conversation
The
most
important
trait
that
I
think
Michael
has
as
a
regional
manager
is
that
he
genuinely
cares
about
his
employees.
You
do
not
see
that
much
in
a
boss.
6
Relationship between Michael and Toby: YouTube. "Michael Scott and Toby
Flenderson." YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np152Jjq9U8 (accessed
October 15, 2014).
7
Toby Flenderson Analysis: "Toby Flenderson." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Toby_Flenderson (accessed October 15, 2014).
8
Assignment One: Wade, Jake Assignment One. My Documents, September 20,
2014, November 1, 2014
9
Michael Scott Analysis: "Michael Scott." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Scott (accessed October 15, 2014).
Most
bosses
will
just
write
you
off
a
check
at
the
end
of
the
day
and
never
get
to
know
your
name.
They
wont
spend
their
own
money
on
a
birthday
for
every
person
in
the
office
because
the
company
only
has
the
budget
for
one
office
party
a
year.10
Michael
Scott
makes
his
employees
feel
valued.
Everyone
in
the
office
also
knows
that
Michael
means
well
with
his
jokes,
and
they
ignore
him
half
the
time.
Sometimes
they
laugh
but
rarely.
Another
variable
to
consider
in
Michaels
sales
techniques
is
that
he
sometimes
has
fake
sales
contests
that
force
the
salesmen
to
work
way
harder
than
they
would
originally
have
to.
But
at
the
end
of
those
contests
the
sales
had
spiked
and
although
the
fake
reward
Michael
made
up
didnt
exist,
the
branch
still
gained
a
ton
of
sales.
I
cannot
recall
any
exact
instances
in
which
this
happened
but
I
know
there
were
some
and
I
am
going
to
continue
to
skim
through
the
episodes
in
order
to
find
some.
David
Wallace,
the
CFO
of
Dunder
Mifflin
and
skeptical
fan
of
Michael
Scott,
is
often
baffled
by
the
success
of
Michaels
Branch.
David
has
to
constantly
put
up
with
the
antics
that
come
from
Michaels
office
and
he
only
tolerates
them
because
of
the
numbers
Michaels
office
reports.
The
on
time
Michael
ever
met
the
CEO
of
Dunder
Mifflin,
The
man
was
disgusted
by
Michael
and
his
arrogant
forms
of
comedy.
But
Davids
faith
in
Michael
and
the
hard
evidence
that
Michaels
tactics
work,
gets
the
CEO
on
the
Michael
Scott
bandwagon.11
In
Conclusion/
So-What
Michael Scott, being as dimwitted and arrogant as he is, finds success in chaos.
The argument can be made that Michael stirs up almost all of the chaos in the office but if
it works then why stop? Michaels caring and dependent nature makes him over involved
in the lives of his coworkers and although this bothers his employees, they know he
means well. Nobody wants their boss snooping around their personal lives; one because
its personal, and two because there should be a separation between work life and home
life. But Michael just does not understand this concept and that is made clear to us by the
frequent unscheduled life counseling meetings. If the employees did not want to help
Michael or worry about his problems, all they have to do is say no like Toby does.
Theyll just join the one man group of Dunder Mifflin employees that Michael despises
shortly after. Michaels childish manager techniques leads him to becoming the
companies top regional manager and for as long as corporate second guesses why, he will
continue to baffle and impress them with his branches numbers.
Works Cited:
10
Assignment One: Wade, Jake Assignment One. My Documents, September 20,
2014, November 1, 2014
11
Michael Scott Analysis: "Michael Scott." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Scott (accessed October 15, 2014).