Zero Productivity equals high Productivity. Wait What?

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
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).
1

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).
2

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 onesided. 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:
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).
10

1. Expected Office Behavior: "Good Manners in the Office: Realizing There's No

Excuse for Discourtesy." Good Manners in the Office.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_82.htm (accessed October 15,
2014).
2. Michael Scott Analysis: "Michael Scott." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Scott (accessed October 15, 2014).
3. Dwight Schrute Analysis: "Dwight Schrute." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Dwight_Schrute (accessed October 15, 2014).
4. How to be more Productive in an Office: "10 Ways to Boost Your Productivity
at the Office." Lifehack RSS. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10ways-boost-your-productivity-the-office.html (accessed October 15, 2014).
5. The Role of the HR Rep in an Office: Heathfield, Susan . "7 Reasons No One
Likes the HR Department." About.
http://humanresources.about.com/od/hrbasicsfaq/a/hr_horror_stories.htm
(accessed October 15, 2014).
6. Things that kill productivity in an Office: Smith, Jacquelyn . "7 Things That
Kill Your Productivity At Work." Forbes.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/05/08/7-things-that-kill-yourproductivity-at-work/ (accessed October 15, 2014).
7. Dunder Mifflin Mock Website: "Dunder Mifflin: A Micro-Cap Regional Paper
and Office Supply Distributor." Dunder Mifflin: A Micro-Cap Regional Paper and
Office Supply Distributor. http://www.dundermifflin.com/index.shtml (accessed
October 15, 2014).
8. Relationship between Michael and Toby: YouTube. "Michael Scott and Toby
Flenderson." YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np152Jjq9U8
(accessed October 15, 2014).
9. Toby Flenderson Analysis: "Toby Flenderson." Dunderpedia: The Office Wiki.
http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/Toby_Flenderson (accessed October 15, 2014).
10.
Contemporary Sitcom Forms: Mills, Brett. "Comedy Verite:
Contemporary Sitcom form." oxfordjournals.org.
http://screen.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/1/63.short (accessed October 15,
2014).
11.
The Office: UK: "The Office (U.K.)." Watch Online.
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70136112?sod=search-autocomplete (accessed
October 15, 2014).
12.
Assignment One: Wade, Jake Assignment One. My Documents,
September 20, 2014, November 1, 2014