INTERGROUP CONFLICT

MY NAME IS EARL, S02E22, GET A REAL JOB

Show Summary
The series stars Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Eddie Steeples and Nadine Velazquez. Earl J. Hickey (Lee) is a petty criminal whose winning $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. Lying in a hospital bed, under the influence of morphine, he develops a belief in the concept of karmic retribution when he hears about karma during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. To turn his life around, he makes a list of every bad thing he's ever done in an attempt to correct them, as he believes that this is the only way he can gain positive karma. After doing his first good deed, he finds the $100,000 lottery ticket he had previously lost. He sees this as a sign of karma rewarding him and, with his newfound wealth, he begins doing good deeds according to his list. As he continues to fulfill good deeds, Earl seems to be only doing so to improve his own life but begins to develop a sincere sense of morals and ethics, refusing to participate in illegal or morally wrong activitiesthough sometimes finds himself in very awkward situations including a suicidal stunt man, a second-hand hot tub that gives his ex-wife Joy a communicable toe disease, a Korean War veteran who wants to reclaim some possessions Earl destroyed (including the ear of a fellow soldier) and a psychotic "witch woman" who proves him right in thinking she is evil when she knocks him and many others out and stores them in her basement.

Cast of Characters
Character Earl Hickey Randy Hickey Jaime Pressly Nadine Velazquez Eddie Steeples Actor Jason Lee Ethan Suplee Joy Turner Catalina Darnell Turner Episodes
96 96 96 96 96 episodes, episodes, episodes, episodes, episodes, 2005-2009 2005-2009 2005-2009 2005-2009 2005-2009

Episode Recap
Earl and Randy don't usually set the alarm clock, but today is their first day at their new jobs, stocking appliances for Mr. Waadt. Up until now, Earl has kept himself from becoming an adult, #273B on his list. Once he got his GED, it was time to start looking for a job. Earl learned that it's easy to get a job, but hard to find one you want to keep. Supervisor Reggie explains the perks of the job to Randy and Earl: everyone gets a one-week vacation and a store credit card. Twice a day the guys eat snacks from the vending machine. After four hours, Earl's already not sure if he can perform this job for the rest of his life. When salesman Ricky calls Earl to the sales floor, it's just like the first
1 Starling D. Hunter III 2012 | starling@qatar.cmu.edu| Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar | http://qatar.cmu.edu

day he drank chocolate milk and realized he wanted to have a moustache for the rest of his life - Earl wants to sell appliances in the front of the store. Reggie explains that no one's ever moved from the back to the front of the store. It's a little ironic: the salesman all wear Dockers, but they call the guys who work in the back Dockers,' because they work on the loading dock. The Dockers wear Dickies, which is what they call the guys who work in the front, because they are. Earl goes the extra mile to show Mr. Waadt that he wants to be a salesman. The Dockers think Earl is sucking up, despite his claims of being a regular guy. Earl remarks that he's spent his whole life making fun of people who try to get ahead - maybe he was wrong. All the Dockers, even Randy, try to sabotage Earl, but Mr. Waadt takes notice of his hard work, and gives Earl a shot. If he can sell $5000 in appliances by end of day Sunday, he's in. Now that Earl's wearing Dockers, all the salesman, led by smarmy Ricky, promise they'll do whatever it takes to keep Earl from joining their ranks. On Sunday, it looks like Earl has failed to reach his goal, when a little old church lady comes in to the store to purchase a boatload of appliances for a soup kitchen. Earl asks the Dockers to load the truck, but they refuse, so Earl does it himself. The guys are amazed - no Dickie has ever pulled his own stock! While he's busy, Ricky lies to the church lady and scoops the sale. It's closing time at the store, and despite a rousing don't-give-up speech from Reggie, Earl turns his in his tie and name tag to Mr. Waadt. Reggie knocks on Mr. Waadt's office door. He puts down his store credit card, demanding to buy a refrigerator from Earl. Ricky's protests fall on deaf ears, as all the Dockers line up to buy appliances from Earl in a show of solidarity for one of their own. Earl wins the day, and is promoted to salesman.i

Discussion Questions
1. On the whole, is the conflict between Dockers and Dickies functional or dysfunctional? 2. Which of the four factors described on pp. 268-272 contribute to the intergroup conflict? 3. Which of the ten methods of conflict resolution described in pp. 273-6 are used and to what effect? 4. Recommend some specific team-building techniques (as described on pp. 280-3) that would have lessened the likelihood or severity of the intergroup conflict.

Solutions
Write to starling@qatar.cmu.edu for to obtain a copy of the solution to this case.
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http://mynameisearl.wikia.com/wiki/Get_a_Real_Job; See also: http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/03/my-nameis-earl-get-a-real-job/

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