Shareholder Meeting


"Shareholder Meeting" is the 11th episode of the sixth season of the American comedy series The Office and the show's 111th episode overall. It was written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Charles McDougall, and originally aired in the United States on NBC on November 19, 2009.
The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Michael heads to a shareholder meeting in New York, and brings Andy, Dwight, and Oscar with him. Michael is shocked when he and other higher members of the company are booed onstage and tries to improve the situation, but instead worsens it. Meanwhile, Jim struggles to get Ryan to do some work.

Plot

gets excited when he's invited by CEO Alan Brand to be honored on stage at the Dunder Mifflin shareholder meeting in New York. He brings Andy, Dwight and Oscar along for the ride in the limo that was sent, making Oscar outraged that the company would spend money on sending a limo when they are about to go bankrupt. Oscar is further infuriated that they booked a huge conference room for the meeting. Andy suggests that Oscar bring up these grievances at the meeting, but Oscar refuses out of fear for losing his job. When the meeting begins, the panel is greeted by jeers, which is not what Michael was hoping for. When the panel moves to take a break, the crowd's jeers increase as they protest that the panel has yet to offer any solutions to Dunder Mifflin's situation. Sick of the negative vibe, Michael impulsively announces a 45-day plan to fix Dunder Mifflin, which is greeted with enthusiastic applause.
Meanwhile, Jim has a hard time getting Ryan to do work, as Ryan sees no point since the company is on the verge of closing. Later Phyllis decides to take a two-hour lunch break, and when Jim tries to stop her, she bluntly tells him that Michael always lets her take two-hour lunch breaks and that she does not have to listen to Jim since he cannot fire her. The rest of the office backs up Phyllis's assessment, and it emerges that Ryan sent an email around the office regarding Jim's lack of authority over the office. Jim thinks that he needs to make an example of Ryan in front of everyone, but Pam does not think Jim is capable of doing so. Jim, after giving Ryan one last chance to do his work, gives him his own personal office space in the small closet in the kitchen, which lacks windows and possibly internet access so he will not bother anyone or become distracted. He presents this "honor" to Ryan in front of everyone, showing them he means business. A humiliated Ryan tries to apologize, but Jim puts him in the closet anyway.
Back in New York, a frustrated David Wallace reveals to Michael that Dunder Mifflin's corporate leaders have no plan to get the company back on track, much less a 45-day plan. Michael is astounded by this but remains positive, and calls Oscar into the hotel room for some suggestions. However, Oscar is visibly embarrassed and unwilling to criticize the management to their faces. Oscar instead compliments them, does not repeat any of his earlier suggestions, and leaves. Michael follows and rebukes Oscar for backing down, but Oscar still refuses to help him. When Michael returns, he is further lambasted by the CEO and former U.S. Congressman Chris O'Keefe who openly insults Michael. In his defense, Michael points out he is the only person who seems to be making money for Dunder Mifflin and the only one offering any positive suggestions, and goes so far as to return the former Congressman's insult. Enraged, O'Keefe, who is presiding over the meeting, takes away Michael's limo privileges. Michael then triumphantly sneaks away with Dwight, Andy, and Oscar back out into their limo and drives out of the city. As they leave, Michael justifies his actions by saying that of everyone there, he and his team are the only ones who deserve to celebrate with limo rides. As they leave, the camera catches a glance at the stock market ticker, where the Dunder Mifflin stock price, currently at $1.13, down 6 7/8, continues to drop dramatically.

Production

New York outdoor scenes for the episode were filmed in California. Two taxi cabs along with Michael's limo, using New York plates, were shot in front of a California intersection with a Roman Revival style building in the background for a New York effect. The building has both a California state flag and US flag hanging over its entrance.
The cold opening for the episode deals with Dwight and his fictional Earth Day super hero "Recyclops". During Jim's narrative, he discusses the history of Recyclops, and a montage of Dwight harassing past receptionists was shown. The receptionists that Dwight harasses include: Pam, who is accompanied by Jim, circa 2006; Ryan; Ronni, who was introduced during the fifth season episode "Weight Loss"; and Erin. These clips were created to look as if they had been filmed in the past and were only then being used. This was not the only time this technique was used in the series. During the seventh season episode "Threat Level Midnight", there is a short sequence that was shot to look as if it had been filmed during the show's second season, although the scene itself was filmed in 2011. Furthermore, during the season nine episode "Customer Loyalty", the cold opening features a montage of Jim setting up a prank—which involves sending Dwight on a quest for the Holy Grail that heavily suggested that Jim set up the prank sometime during 2006, which would have taken place during the show's second season. Appropriately, the montage was filmed to look as if the documentarians were using archival footage of Jim; his hair matches the style that Jim had during the first few seasons of the show.

Reception

This episode was watched by 7.39 million viewers, with a 3.7 rating and a 10 share in the 18–49 demographic.
"Shareholder Meeting" received positive reviews. Dan Phillips of IGN called the episode "funny from beginning to end", particularly praising the scenes between Michael and the board. Phillips also enjoyed the subplot between Jim and Ryan, stating that it "carried its fair share of comedic weight".
Michael's announcement that Dunder Mifflin would be going "carbon neutral" was a tie-in with NBC's "Green Week".