Final answer:
Michael and Jim did not use any objects to help their decision process for distributing salary increases in 'The Promotion' episode of The Office; they grappled with making fair distribution choices that caused employee discontent.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the episode titled "The Promotion" from the TV series The Office, Michael and Jim, the co-managers of the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin, faced the challenge of distributing a very small pool of funds allocated for salary increases. To aid their decision-making process, they did not use any physical objects but rather attempted to devise a fair system for distributing the raises which resulted in considerable tension and dissatisfaction amongst the employees.
The situation depicted serves as an example of the difficulties that can arise with salary increases, employee management, and the distribution of limited resources within a company. In the context of the show, it's worth noting that previously, a character named Dwight Schrute created a fictional currency called "Schrute Bucks" as a motivational tool which had attributes of real money, but this concept was not used in the episode concerning Michael and Jim's co-management.
The concept of Schrute Bucks, as referenced in the question, does touch upon elements of motivational strategy and organizational behavior. It was designed with features of real currency, such as serving as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value, which in theory incentivizes employees to perform better to earn these rewards. However, in practice, it was executed with a comedic effect showing the shortcomings and failures of poorly thought-out management incentives.