ABSTRACT
322In one episode of NBC's hit sitcom The Office, Michael Scott learned that his branch had a budget surplus and was informed that the extra money needed to be spent by the end of the day or they would lose the money altogether. When the employees found out about the surplus they immediately started lobbying for different ways to spend the money. Some people wanted a new copy machine and another group wanted more comfortable chairs for the office. The people who wanted a new copy machine tried to persuade Michael to spend the extra money on this item by demonstrating how the copy machine was flawed and taking him out for lunch where they tried to win his favor by telling jokes and being friendly. The receptionist, Pam, tried to convince Michael to spend the money on new office chairs by providing evidence that they spend more time in their chairs each day than making copies and by flirting with him. When he consulted the CFO about what to do, Michael learned that as the branch manager he would get a bonus if they didn't spend the money. Unable to make a decision, Michael delegates the decision making to the employees. Since more people wanted the chairs, they all agreed that it would be better to have new chairs than to give the money to Michael as a bonus.
