Extroversion- Introversion
Extroverts tend to enjoy social interaction and can be labeled as assertive and enthusiastic. They enjoy large social gatherings and gain energy from them. After watching “The Office” for years the character of Michael Scott is easily evaluated. Emotional Intelligence can be distinguished by many characteristics, specifically, Michael is labeled as an extrovert. He is not only outgoing and assertive but he goes over the top on both of these levels. Michael is not only loud and outgoing but his character makes it easy to evaluate him against many introverts since it is him who makes the social environment uncomfortable. He creates the atmosphere of pure awkwardness and the minor characters in this show consequently feed off of this. His crude and blunt comments are what create his extroversion. Although they are usually inappropriate, his personality not only distinguishes him but also creates the characteristics of the rest of the cast.
Thinking-Feeling
Michael Scott works purely off his feelings. He does not have much regard for those around him, is not in tune to their feelings at all, and does not respond to social cues well. He constantly makes poor decisions when it comes to keeping things secret between parties in the office, and insults people based on their race, gender and job performance. This can be exemplified by Michael’s repeated mishandling of the relationship between Pam and Jim, and his treatment of the HR representative, Toby.
Judging-Perceiving
Michael Scott is most definitely a P. He approaches work as play and works in burst of energy. He is a casual leader who keeps laid out organized plan to a minimum. Throughout the work day he constantly distracts his employees and tries to be their friend rather than their leader. He lives a flexible spontaneous life that is guided by his emotions and feelings.
In one of the episodes Jim, Michael’s co-manager, makes a graph of how Michael spends his time. The graph is 80% “distracting others”, 19% “procrastination” and 1% “critical thinking”. It is clear, through this graph, that everyone in the office sees Michael as a P. He is not known to work hard on a daily basis or add any structure to the work environment.
Sensing-Intuitive
Michael Scott is more of an intuitive thinker than a sensing thinker. One of the most entertaining parts about the office is listening to the wild, big picture ideas Michael gets and watching his attempts to put them into practice. Even though his plans are often imaginative and inventive, they often fall apart because Michael misses details and is unaware of what is going on in reality.
You have characterized Michael as a perceiving type and have listed several examples of how this negatively affects his work environment, portraying this in a purely negative light. Do you think there are any qualities of perceiving types that can be beneficial in the work place?
ReplyDeleteDoug Weidman
"Throughout the work day he constantly distracts his employees and tries to be their friend rather than their leader." This is what was said about Michael, and I don't think this is a negative aspect of a boss or manager if he or she is able to still motivate the employees to get the job done in an efficient manner. With that being said, what steps do you think Michael should take to maintain a balance between friendship and productivity with his employees? How necessary is it for bosses and employees to have a friendly relationship?
ReplyDeleteTom
Michael spends his time '80% “distracting others”, 19% “procrastination” and 1% “critical thinking”'. As a leader, part of Michael's role is to set standards for everyone else who is part of their team. How do you think his attitudes and tendencies towards distracting others/procrastination affects the productivity of other people? Although it seems that they do not always have the most productive days at work, they also have a very unique dynamic and very strong team bond. Do you think there is something to be said for the strength of their cohesive team unit who is not always productive, as opposed to individuals who do not work well at all as a team, yet are productive on an individual basis?
ReplyDeleteAshley Kogutkiewicz
As a fellow "The Office" fan I think you did a great job analyzing Michael's personality type using the four dimensions however, most of it was done in a negative light. To me one of the funniest aspects of the show is that despite how nontraditional Michael's management characteristics and tactics are, the Scranton branch is still successful and puts up good numbers. Do you think this is done purely for humor or do you think that an unconventional EFPI boss can be successful? I personally think that the other character's personality types are the opposite of Michael's and that while they may appear to clash at first they actually complement each other, leading to the success of the branch.
ReplyDelete-Alex