Blackout in America



lllHumor in Action!R. Wilburn Clouse, PhDVanderbilt University Using Humor inDeveloping theEntrepreneurial SpiritLearning in Action! A Cross-disciplinary Problem-Based Learning Environment for EntrepreneurshipCardinal Rule No. 1 - Never Embarrass the Boss: A Case Study of a Botched Practical JokeTest Version 1.0(A Work in Progress)-571500-457200Cardinal Rule No. 1 - Never Embarrass the Boss: A Case Study of a Botched Practical JokeStoryline by Matthew R. SmithIntroduction -- A Practical Joke Gone AwryAround 5:00 p.m. on April 8, 1997, Mr. Wayne Holman, principal of Overton County High, met the director of schools, Mr. Lee Robbins, and the assistant director, Mr. John Barsness, in the doorway leading to the school’s administrative office complex. Unbeknownst to anyone else in the office complex, Mr. Robbins had arranged this meeting earlier in the day to discuss Mr. Holman’s administrative contract for the upcoming school year. After exchanging brief greetings and pleasantries with Mr. Robbins and Mr. Barsness, Mr. Holman led them down the hallway to the door of the conference room. Mr. Holman removed the keys from his pants pocket and unlocked the door to the conference room while engaging in “small talk” with the director and assistant director of schools. Mr. Holman then placed the keys back in his pocket and proceeded to open the door. When he grabbed the door handle, Mr. Holman immediately felt a greasy, slimy feeling on his right hand. He looked down and found his hand covered in a substance resembling petroleum jelly. Instinctively, he wiped his hand on his khaki pants leaving a noticeable stain. Even though his face turned red from embarrassment, Mr. Holman pretended to be unfazed by the incident in front of his perplexed guests. After the awkward moment, Mr. Holman flipped on the lights to the conference room. While still reeling from the petroleum jelly incident, Mr. Holman and his guests were stunned by the scene now before them. From the meeting table to the bookcase, almost every piece offurniture in the conference room was either in a state of disarray or upside down. At this time, Mr. Robbins, an extremely serious and stoic individual, tersely informed Mr. Holman that he was unhappy with the situation and terminated the meeting until a later date. Since Mr. Robbins was already concerned with Mr. Holman’s leadership, this incident was just another blow to his credibility as principal. Along with the embarrassment, humiliation, and anger the incident had caused, Mr. Holman became intensely worried that it had cost him his position as principal.Background and Prelude to the IncidentDuring the 1996-1997 school year, I worked as the technology coordinator at Overton County High. My office was located beside the offices of the principal, the vice-principal, and the guidance counselor. Since the counselor’s office was the largest, it was also used as the school’s conference room. During the first few months of the school year, I noticed that pranks and practical jokes commonly occurred between the vice-principal, Mr. Davis, and the guidance counselor, Mr. Swallows. While not a prankster or practical joker, Mr. Holman generally seemed oblivious to and/or unconcerned by the practical jokes frequently taking place around him. Wanting to conform and be accepted by my colleagues, I soon became caught up in the practical joking.Since the vice-principal was a good friend and served as my mentor, he recruited me to assist in devising and playing practical jokes on the guidance counselor. After our return to school from spring break in March 1997, the practical joking became much more ferocious. On the last weekend of March, someone had completely rearranged the vice-principal’s office furniture. Even the papers and the folders in the desk drawers had been completely rearranged. Suspecting the guidance counselor, Mr. Davis enlisted me to help in planning and executing a retaliatory strike against him. Following careful deliberation and planning, we decided to strike on the afternoon of April 8, 1997. On that afternoon, we left work at the regularly scheduled time with our office coworkers but returned to the school around 3:45 p.m. to implement our plan. While I served as both the lookout and the assistant, Mr. Davis proceeded to carefully overturn all of the furniture in the guidance counselor’s office except for the computer desk. Upon leaving the office after about thirty frenzied minutes of work, Mr. Davis took out a container of petroleum jelly along with a paper towel from his pocket and smeared some of the substance around the door handle. After completing our mission, we hurriedly left the school campus in a clandestine manner. While making our getaway, we made plans to be at school early the next morning to witness our anticipated comical event. Gloating in our upcoming triumph, we foolishly failed to consider that our practical joke would or could go dreadfully wrong. April 9, 20xx: A Day of Reckoning Early the next morning, Mr. Davis and I eagerly arrived at school to witness the culmination of our practical joke on the often-tardy guidance counselor. Much to our surprise, the principal, Mr. Holman, met us in front of the office door and sternly announced that he needed to see both of us in his office immediately. After quickly entering his office, Mr. Holman proceeded to angrily explain what had happened to him the night before and asked if we knew who was responsible. Since he was already on uncertain terms with the director and assistant director of schools, Mr. Holman was quite concerned that the incident would cause him to lose his position as principal of Overton County High. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Mr. Davis immediately accepted full responsibility for the incident. A long-time friend and loyal supporter of Mr. Holman, Mr. Davis apologized profusely for the embarrassment and the humiliation caused by the practical joke. He also stated he would work diligently to rectify the situation. Since I was new to the position of technology coordinator and was without tenure in the school system, Mr. Davis went to great lengths not to disclose my involvement in the incident. In fact, he worked persistently throughout the meeting to keep me from describing my role in the botched practical joke. After leaving Mr. Holman’s office, Mr. Davis went immediately to the conference room and placed the furniture back into its proper position before the guidance counselor arrived to work. He also carefully cleaned off the remainder of the petroleum jelly from the door handle. Subsequently, Mr. Davis telephoned both the director and assistant director of schools to explain the situation and apologize for it. He even met personally with them to alleviate the tension and repair the damage caused by the incident. Needless to say, Mr. Davis spent several days in Mr. Holman’s “doghouse” while I labored persistently to become inconspicuous. Thankfully, Mr. Robbins and Mr. Barsness held another meeting with Mr. Holman in early May 20xx and successfully worked out the details of a new administrative contract for the next school year. To say the least, practical jokes ceased to be played during the remainder of my employment at Overton County High. Analysis and Concepts LearnedAfter careful consideration and deliberation, the botched practical joke has taught me several valuable lessons. To begin with, we should have garnered both the awareness and support of our principal, Mr. Holman, as we made our attempts at humor. Doing so would have allowed our humor to be “kept within the group” and would have kept it “from offending outsiders” such as the director and assistant director of schools (Morreall, 1997, p. 241). As Freiberg and Freiberg (1996) noted, top management must “embrace humor” for it to be successful in the workplace (p. 209). Relatedly, Campbell (1996) stated that “efforts at levity” in an organization must “start small, especially if top managers are not on board” (p. 9). Since Mr. Holman generally was not fond of practical jokes and worked with a “narrowly focused, no-nonsense attitude”, it would have been much more appropriate for us to gradually integrate humor into the workplace in a manner that he accepted and appreciated (Morreall, 1997, p. 1). In addition, our attempts at humor through practical jokes were “simply comic relief from stressful work, temporary withdrawal from whatever is going on” (Morreall, 1997, p. 18). In other words, our endeavors of amusement helped us to “cope with problems” and served “as a safety valve” to relieve stress (Nilsen & Nilsen, 2000, p. 57). Even though our practical jokes temporarily provided relief from our occupational stress, they were negative in nature and were potentially detrimental to our professional careers. As Morreall (1997) stated, “pranks and practical jokes” often “cause inconvenience and even suffering” to both intended and unintended parties (p. 232). Instead of utilizing such a negative, sophomoric type of humor, we should have focused upon “a deeper kind of humor that empowers us in our work, rather than distracting us from our work” (Morreall, 1997, p. 19). In essence, we should have attempted to utilize more positive types of humor. According to Morreall (1997), the use of positive humor fosters a sense of cooperation and “lets everyone feel good” (p. 230). From this case study, one could certainly note that Mr. Holman did not feel a sense of cooperation and euphoria after the incident. Perhaps most importantly, it would have been more beneficial for everyone if we had utilized more “mature methods of coping” with our workplace “challenges” (Morreall, 1997, p. 75). On the other hand, I think we were focused in the right direction by trying to inject humor into our largely humorless organization. Although our attempts at humor were unrefined and risky, we were trying to incorporate “one of the easiest, cheapest, and most enjoyable” ways of combating stress in the workplace (Morreall, 1997, p. 64). Indeed, both Campbell (1996) and Meyer (1997) have noted that the use of humor can alleviate workplace tensions. Interestingly, our botched attempt at humor did have some “unexpected benefits” (Morreall, 1997, p. 243). It “promoted solidarity” among my immediate colleagues and allowed me to become part of their group (Morreall, 1997, p. 132). It also helped me and my colleagues build a level of “morale, camaraderie, and team-spirit” and also provided us with an outlet to fight organizational stress (Morreall, 1997, p. 132). ConclusionNow that we are removed from the incident through the passage of time, my former colleagues and I can now share a hearty laugh about it. As Morreall (1997) succinctly noted:Think of the funny stories you tell when you get together with old friends. Aren’t many of them about events that didn’t seem funny at all when they were happening? In fact I’ll bet that the funniest stories you tell are about precisely the things that were most disturbing at the time. (p. 41). With the passage of time, the incident is now amusing because it fits within the Incongruity Theory of humor. According to this theory, “what we are enjoying is experiencing something that doesn’t fit our mental patterns” (Morreall, 1997, p. 26). Petroleum jelly on the door handle and overturned office furniture certainly does not meet our normal work experiences and expectations, and it is now humorous to some degree. In hindsight, the incident has taught me and my former colleagues to be much more sensitive and mature with our workplace humor. ReferencesCampbell, K. (1996, November 7). “Pranks and Pet Photos Prove Good for CorporateMorale Advocates Say a Little Spontaneous Fun Can Do a Lot for Productivity Series: Work and Career.” Christian Science Monitor, p. 9.Freiberg, K., & Freiberg, J. (1996). Nuts! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Businessand Personal Success. Austin, TX: Bard Press.Meyer, J.C. (1997). “Humor in Member Narratives: Uniting and Dividing at Work.”Western Journal of Communication, 61(2).Morreall, J. (1997). Humor Works. Amherst, MA: HRD Press, Inc. Nilsen, A.P., & Nilsen, D.L.F. (2000). Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. ................
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