MENTORING & SOCIALIZATION

IN

THE OFFICE, S02E15, BOYS AND GIRLS THE OFFICE, S03E05, INITIATION
Show Summary
The second season was the series' first full (twenty-two episode) season, and had its first 40-minute "super-sized" episode. Many workers seen in the background of the first season were developed into secondary characters, while the general threat of downsizing continued. Romantic relationships begin to develop between some of the characters. Michael spends the night with his boss Jan, in the wake of the latter's divorce, but does not sleep with her. Dwight and Angela become romantically involved, but keep the relationship a secret from everyone else. Kelly develops a crush on Ryan, and they start dating. When Roy sets a date for his wedding to Pam, Jim grows depressed and considers transferring to the Stamford, Connecticut branch, but tells Pam in the season finale that he loves her, even though Pam still insists she will marry Roy. The two kiss, but Jim transfers to the Stamford branch soon after.i

Cast of Characters
Michael Scott, regional manager of the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, feels he is everyone's best friend in the office; his employees feel otherwise. His former co-manager, sales representative Jim Halpert, is newly married to the former receptionist turned sales representative, Pam Halpert (ne Beesly). Their relationship comes after three seasons of friendship laced with romantic tension.Dwight Schrute, the assistant to the regional manager, is an award-winning salesman and former Lackawanna County volunteer reserve deputy sheriff known for his authoritarian personality and science fiction fandom. There is an ongoing rivalry between Jim and Dwight, whose differing personalities often cause them to be at odds with each other. In one episode, Jim dressed up like Dwight and mocked him in which Dwight called this "identity theft." Jim, however, showed considerable kindness to Dwight after he lost his girlfriend, Angela Martin. Ryan Howard, who started out as a temporary worker in the Scranton office, was later promoted to Dunder Mifflin's Vice President for Regional Sales, which would make him Michael's boss, until his treachery was exposed for corporate fraud and he was fired, ending up again as the temporary worker at the Scranton branch. Ryan was later rehired as a salesman by Dunder Mifflin in season five
1 Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu

as part of the buyout of the Michael Scott Paper Company. However, he was demoted back to temp as there was only room for one new salesperson and Michael chose Pam for the position. The accounting department features Angela Martin, an admitted uptight Christian who wishes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as serious as possible; Kevin Malone, a clueless, overweight man who revels in juvenile humor and frequently indulges himself with gambling and M&Ms; and the patient Oscar Martinez, whose homosexuality and Mexican American heritage make him a favorite target for Michael's off-color comments. Rounding out the office are the stern salesman Stanley Hudson, who barely stands for Michael's constant references to his Black-American heritage (he also doesn't like to take part in Michael's time wasting meetings and sometimes sleeps in them or works on one of his crossword puzzles); Cornell alumnus, anger-management grad and Angela's former fianc Andy Bernard, formerly of theStamford, Connecticut branch office; eccentric quality assurance representative Creed Bratton; the kind and caring saleswoman Phyllis Lapin-Vance, who marries Bob Vance from Vance Refrigeration across the hall from the office; the bubbly and talkative customer service representative Kelly Kapoor; the depressed, alcoholic single mother supply relations representative Meredith Palmer; and frequent target of Michael's abuse, human resources representative Toby Flenderson.

Episode Recap
S02E15 (Boys & Girls): Jan leads the female Dunder Mifflin employees in a "women in the workplace" seminar. Miffed at being excluded, Michael conducts a competing "men in the workplace" seminar in the warehouse. Roy approaches Jim under the belief that Jim used to like Pam. Darryl and his equally irritated crew are forced to participate in Michael's shenanigans, which culminates in Michael trying to drive a forklift. Michael's recklessness makes a complete mess of the warehouse while jeopardizing the employees' safety. Michael's plans to hold his own seminar backfire when the warehouse workers decide to form a union. Jan intimidates them into reconsidering, citing a liquidation of the branch if it were to unionize. Jan urges Pam to take a corporate training program in graphic design in New York when Pam reveals that she wants to be a graphic designer, but Roy squashes the idea. Jim rebukes Pam for listening to Roy when he is clearly wrong and acting selfish, which creates tension between them. Pam then tells the camera she is happy with her life now, and that they don't even make her dream house in Scranton. She then breaks down and cries in front of the camera. As the day comes to a close, Michael leaves the warehouse in complete disarray.ii S03E05 (Initiation): Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) plans on going to his first sales call with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). Dwight surprises Ryan by taking him to Dwight's beet farm to both teach and haze. After Dwight tries to force Ryan to wrestle his cousin Mose (Michael Schur), Ryan gets angry and walks out. Dwight apologizes to Ryan and begins to give Ryan serious sales advice as Ryan takes notes. The two then go on a sales call which ultimately doesn't work out for Ryan. Irritated, Ryan throws eggs at the building housing the company that refused his sale. Dwight and Ryan then go to a bar and return to the office, where it appears they formed a new bond. Jan Levenson (Melora Hardin) instructs receptionist Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) to keep a log of Michael Scott's (Steve Carell) activity, and throughout the day, she dryly notes Michael's antics, including a Bill Cosby impression for a potential customer and waiting in line with Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker) for a free soft pretzel, while
2 Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu

hinting to Michael that he should focus on being productive. After consuming his sugary pretzel, Michael emerges from his office and launches into a hyperactive, sugar-fueled speech before falling asleep at his desk. At the end of the day, Pam realizes that Michael's antics secured a large sale. At Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch, Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) discovers that Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) swapped his chair for hers, but Jim foils her efforts to switch them back. The two flirt for a while before Karen steals Andy Bernard's (Ed Helms) chair. Later that night, Jim, who was trying to call Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner), ends up talking to Pam on the phone for the first time since the two kissed. The two have a lengthy conversation and begin to reconnect. Jim misinterprets Pam's parting phrase to Ryan as being directed at him, and the two awkwardly end their conversation.iii

Discussion Questions
1. In S02E15, is Jan an effective mentor to the other women in the office? 2. In S03E05, Does Dwight do an effective job of socializing Ryan?

Solutions
Write to starling@qatar.cmu.edu for to obtain a copy of the solution to this case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_(U.S._TV_series)#Season_two http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_and_Girls_(The_Office)#Synopsis iii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiation_(The_Office)
i ii

Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu