Dunder-Mifflin's 'Absolute Manager'

In a well-known TV show called The Office, they show an inside view on the lives of regular, everyday office workers with a not-so-regular manager. They are a little branch of a paper company called “Dunder-Mifflin”, and the boss, Michael Scott, often shows his odd approach to management. This office seems as though it could not function with him running it, yet they still are able to accomplish a lot. Michael has his strengths and weaknesses when it comes to managing, but with his regular foolishness around the office, it’s hard to see how he came to be the manager in the first place.

In a way, Michael’s leadership can be connected to Charles I’s rule over England. Of course, it isn't so unclear how Charles came to power. He was a part of the Stuart family, the son of James I, and ascended to the throne upon the death of his father. Charles believed he was an absolute monarch and that he had the divine right to lead. He raised taxes and fees mainly just to pay for his reckless spending. Much of this he did without consulting Parliament at all. These actions must have been seen as foolhardy and very irresponsible by the citizens of England. Michael Scott could also be described this way at times by his coworkers. At one point he even found himself deeply in debt due to completely unnecessary purchases. Although, it’s hard to compare an expensive magic kit to funding for war, but both of these things are clearly not the best uses of money.

King Charles I of England 

The clearest connection between Michael Scott and Charles I was that they both ignored important groups that they were supposed to lead with. As said before, Charles often raised taxes and fees without meeting with or even acknowledging Parliament. For a period of eleven years, he completely ignored Parliament when he should have been working together with them to lead England. In The Office, the same kind of behavior was shown by Michael when their company was bought out by another company called “Sabre”. In Michael’s Scranton, PA branch, they had a Sabre representative named Gabe who was supposed to help Michael run the office. It was obvious that Michael did not want to work with Gabe at all and he often disregarded his authority. He tried to run the office like an “absolute monarch”, managing by himself. Just like Parliament, Gabe had points throughout the series of the show where he tried to show Michael that he had just as much power as him in their office.

Even with their similarities, the endings to their reigns were quite different. While Charles was publicly beheaded, Michael left with a song to pursue his love in Colorado.

Pictography:

•  "The Office - Take User Quiz - The Ultimate "Office" Quiz." The Office - Take User Quiz - The Ultimate "Office" Quiz. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <http://www.buddytv.com/the-office/user-quizzes/the-ultimate--office--quiz-200002634.aspx>.
• "File:Charles I (Daniel Mytens).jpg." Wikimedia Commons . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_I_(Daniel_Mytens).jpg>.