The Office and the Economy
From the very beginning, The Office did not shy away from the realities of an unstable marketplace. The independent paper supplier Dunder Mifflin had taken its share of hits from larger office supply chains like Staples by the time the series began, and the company mantra of “the big guys can’t provide the same level of customer service” was no doubt an echo of other independents who have been driven out of business by the rise of cheaper and larger mega-corporations. Thus in the pilot episode, corporate manager Jan Levinson tells regional manager Michael Scott that Dunder Mifflin can no longer afford both a Scranton branch and Stamford branch, making downsizing inevitable. The threat continues to hang over the heads of the employees in Scranton well into the series’ second season until Michael is finally forced to lay off one of his staff in the episode “Halloween.”
While Michael Scott—with his extreme cluelessness, repeated sexual and racial remarks and unique ability to find ways to procrastinate in any situation—is an overblown example of managerial ineptitude designed to provide a wide variety of comic situations, he is still relatable to anyone who has ever worked in an office environment. Although exaggerated, his decision-making process in regards to the layoff no doubt resonated with the millions of Americans who have lost their own jobs and wondered, “Why me?” Michael’s first inclination is to choose the least productive employee but in reality he does not know his staff well enough to determine who that might be.
“It’s not a popularity contest,” he states at another point, trying to find a different determining factor. “Although it does make sense to fire the least popular because it has the least affect on morale.” He then chooses an older employee, Creed Bratton, only to be talked out of it.
“Fire someone else,” Creed tells him. “Fire Devon. He’s terrible. I am so much better at my job than Devon.” In the end, Michael indeed fires Devon by simply reciting such platitudes as “business downturn and cutbacks.”
Corporate downsizing reared its ugly head again in season three when management follows through on its threat of shutting down the Scranton branch and consolidating it with Stamford. But while Michael Scott may be a bad boss because of his inability to properly manager, the highly effective Josh Porter turns out to be a worse manager when he uses the consolidation to leverage a better job at a national rival, leaving the employees under his care twisting in the wind. With no choice left but to reverse course, corporate decides to shut down Stamford and consolidate that branch into Scranton instead.
The ironic thing is that, despite all of this upheaval and Michael’s ineffectiveness, the Scranton branch suddenly becomes successful. While this may merely be an example of dumb luck or a situation of an incompetent boss benefiting from the hard work and effectiveness of his employees, the truth of the matter is that Michael Scott is an excellent salesman. In fact, it was his success at sales that led to his promotion as manager. And while his inability to handle current responsibilities has repeatedly generated a wide variety of humor and cringe-worthy situations through the years, when it comes to sales he apparently still excels at the craft.
In season two, for instance, Michael Scott lands a major client—Lackawanna County, where Scranton resides—by following a strategy of schmoozing rather than the direct approach advocated by his direct superior Jan Levinson. From changing the location of the business meeting from the Radisson to Chili’s to ordering Awesome Blossoms and Baby-Back Ribs, from telling questionable jokes to buying rounds of drinks, Michael bonds with the county manager first before making his ultimately successful sales pitch.
Season five of The Office provides the best examples of Michael Scott’s ability to be a successful manager despite an inability to do the actual job. In the episode “The Duel,” David Wallace summons him to corporate. “Utica, Albany, all the other branches are struggling but your branch is reporting strong numbers,” he tells Michael. “What are you doing right?” But even Michael doesn’t know the answer to the question, offering such insignificant observations as “Don’t ever, for any reason, do anything to anyone, for any reason, ever,” and “Could we have it three degrees cooler in here, I always think better when it’s cooler.”
Later in the season he borrows a technique from Willie Wonka by placing gold tickets into cases of Dunder Mifflin paper offering a ten-percent discount on total orders. At first the plan backfires when the Scranton branch’s largest customer, Pennsylvania Blue Cross, discovers all of the gold tickets in their most recent shipment but the loss of revenue is offset when Blue Cross decides to make Dunder Mifflin their exclusive supplier because of the sales promotion.
Michael Scott also pursued the dream of many Americans during season five when he resigns from Dunder Mifflin and starts up a rival paper supplier. Who hasn’t, after all, believed that they could do a better job than the company they worked for? Even the AMC drama Mad Men played upon that American Dream when main character Don Draper led a revolt and convinced many of his co-workers to join him in launching a new advertising company. But there was a different economy in the 1960s than in 2009, and Michael is only able to convince receptionist Pam Beesly to join him at the Michael Scott Paper Company. Michael initially undercuts Dunder Mifflin’s prices and steals a large portion of his former employer’s business but begins losing money in the process. The current economic environment benefits Michael, however, when David Wallace offers to buy him out at a relatively cheap price in a scene where Michael Scott proves that he has a measure of business acumen after all.
“Your company is losing clients left and right,” he tells Wallace during the negotiations. “You have a stockholder meeting coming up and you are going to have to explain to them why your most profitable branch is bleeding. So they may be looking for a little change in the CFO. So I don’t think I need to wait out Dunder Mifflin, I think I just have to wait out you.” In the end, Michael is able to strong-arm a much better deal.
From layoffs to office consolidations, poor management decisions to inefficient higher-ups benefiting from the efforts of their employees, and even pursuing the American Dream of making it on one’s own to the difficulties of actually achieving that dream, The Office does not shy away from such realities. While the NBC comedy has done so in a manner that makes viewers laugh and brings a smile to their faces, it has also offered a meaningful and relevant commentary on a difficult economic chapter in the nation’s history. Michael Scott is thus more than one of the truly great comedic characters but a representation of all that is good—as well as bad—during the years that he has graced the small screen.
Anthony Letizia (April 26, 2010)
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