MOTIVATION: EQUITY THEORY

IN

THE OFFICE, S02E04, THE FIRE

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

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
Pam transfers a call from Katy to Jim's desk and the two make lunch plans. In a talking head interview, Pam explains that Jim and Katy (the purse saleswoman from the episode "Hot Girl") have started dating. Michael gives Ryan a glowing checkpoint review. When Ryan expresses his interest in starting his own business someday, Michael takes it upon himself to teach Ryan the first of the ten rules of business. The fire alarm sounds, and while Dwight and Angela both attempt to take charge of the the evacuation, Michael pushes others out of the way in his escape out of the building. In a talking head interview, Ryan explains that he doesn't want to have a nickname or be known for anything at the office. Once everyone is safely outside, Jim begins a game of "three books on a desert island". At Dwight's turn, he misses the point of the exercise and asks for an axe and a hollowed-out book filled with survival gear. Pam is looking at her barefeet. Jim changes the topic from books to DVDs. In a joint talking head interview, Jim and Pam mock Meredith's choices, although Pam admits that she too likes Legally Blonde. Jim teases Pam for liking that movie. Michael learns that Ryan is going to business school at night. Michael invites Ryan to quiz him but doesn't even understand the first question. In a talking head interview, Michael explains that he learned more about business from working at a fast-food restaurant than Ryan will ever learn in school. Dwight, still jealous of the attention Ryan is getting from Michael, attempts to bully the young employee but merely earns a scolding from Michael. Ryan becomes increasingly uncomfortable with Michael's friendliness. Jim moves on to the next game, "Who would you do?", and Kevin instantly responds, "Pam." Jim and Pam excuse themselves from the game to talk to Dwight, who is moping in his car. Pam suggests that Ryan would be impressed to learn that Dwight is a volunteer sheriff's deputy, and Jim tries to keep a straight face when he suggests that Dwight quit, "and then that would stick it to both of them." Dwight thanks them for their concern but asks to be left alone. Jim, Pam, Michael, Ryan and even Roy join the game of "Who would you do?" Roy answers "that tight-ass Christian chick." Jim jokingly chooses Kevin, and Michael says, "Well, I would definitely have sex with Ryan." When Michael mentions that he left his cell phone in the office, Dwight rushes back into the building to fetch it. The women of the office continue playing "Who would you do?" Meredith: "Jim." Phyllis: "Definitely Jim." Kelly: "Definitely, definitely Jim." Pam considers her response and says, "Oscar's kind of cute." She also mentions that Toby is cute and the others groan in disapproval, except for Meredith, who nods and smiles. Michael asks Ryan to call his cell phone to help Dwight find it. The phone rings. It's in Michael's pocket. Dwight emerges, coughing, from the building and reveals that the fire was started by Ryan, who left a cheese pita in the toaster-oven set to "oven" instead of "toaster". Dwight and Michael proceed to mock Ryan and dub him The Fire Guy. Katy arrives for lunch and joins the DVD game. Her first movie: Legally Blonde. The fire out, everybody heads back inside. Michael promises Ryan, "I'll give you the rest of the ten tomorrow.""ii
2 Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu

Discussion Questions
The following questions are based on a theory of motivation entitled Equity Theory. A summary of this theory can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_theory Assuming Dwight is person (P) and Ryan is the comparison other (OP): 1. 2. 3. Identify each of their inputs (I) and outcomes (O) Compare their inputs-to-outcomes ratios & explain why Dwight is so worried. How does Dwight attempt to restore equity?

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://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/The_Fire

i ii

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