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Long ago, I was a rabid fan of the reality competition The Apprentice. In fact, I watched it for four straight seasons before I began to tire of the repetitive situations, whiny, immature contestants, and recycled soundtrack. When it first came out, professors at top MBA programs nationwide actually encouraged their students to tune in to the show. It was billed, after all, as a chance to learn business from the Donald himself. Sadly, it collapsed into catfights and unrealistic portrayals of life in business.

Last week, however, I found my interest piqued once again by the stale franchise. Why? Because, this time, well-known celebrities would be competing instead of shallow, one-dimensional corporate eager beavers. Players included Gene Simmons, a Playboy playmate, Alec Baldwin’s brother, and other fairly familiar faces. The playmate went down predictably in the first round, eaten alive by the toxic (and, I might add, overrated) Omarosa. With a gruff expression, Trump mumbled to his daughter about how the slaughter was necessary, just how business is. Kids, teens, and grown-ups considering business careers nodded their heads in acceptance. People who work in the business world scratched their heads, saying, "That’s never happened at my office."

Which brings me to my point: despite the presence of the undeniably successful Trump, the view that The Apprentice gives of corporate business is so far from reality that it is a disservice to those ignorant to the ways of the business world. The attitudes learned on The Apprentice can actually be detrimental and destructive to the individual and the organization that espouse them.

Catfights - Losing your cool, raising your voice, and making personal attacks on co-workers has become generally unacceptable in most companies. Furthermore, it just makes the attacker look undisciplined, unrefined, and immature. Yelling and screaming have disastrous effects on productivity, morale, and employee turnover. When employees are angry at each other, their interactions and cooperation are impeded, communication breaks down, and things don’t get done like they should. People don’t feel like coming to work or trying hard. Many workers leave the uncomfortable environment altogether, seeking jobs where they can feel at ease. These effects are expensive. Therefore, most companies go out of their way to eliminate such situations or prevent them altogether. They certainly don’t sit there like the TV Trump and watch it patiently. This isn’t the mafia- this is a corporate office. Companies that let their employees carry on like that will soon find themselves under their competition’s boot.

Bulldozers - To get to the final challenge on The Apprentice, one has to have thrown alot of people under the bus, people who were loyal to and supportive of them, people who actually did a good job and didn’t deserve to get run over. Thus, The Apprentice preaches the virtue of the bulldozer. It teaches that success in business comes by backstabbing, double-crossing, and manipulation of interpersonal relationships. I imagine organizational behavior scholars cringe at this because it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Numerous studies have shown that those who excel in business are, more often than not, those who communicate and influence people the best. That is not to say that these individuals are without ambition. It only means that they move up the ladder through motivating those around them instead of crucifying them.

Glamour - Perhaps to keep audiences involved, The Apprentice features one flashy advertising or PR challenge after another. You know, bungee jumping out of a hot air balloon in Central Park or using supermodels to sell dental floss. And this continues week after week, as if to say, business success belongs to those who can make the biggest extravaganza. In truth, however, that is not business so much as it is marketing communications and events planning. Real success in business comes from a company’s ability to streamline its production and supply chain, target its key consumers, and efficient manage its resources. The Apprentice rarely even touches on these important facets. Trump is more likely to find a great planner for his next wedding than he is to find a worthy apprentice.

Don’t believe what you see, kids! Business is not about going to the boardroom and out-arguing others. It’s not about making the biggest noise. On the contrary, it is about disciplined planning and execution of every little detail and then a little serendipity. Best of all, people don’t have to, and usually don’t, get fired every week.

Tags: apprentice, business, celebrity apprentice, Education, trump

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 1:50 pm and is filed under Careers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.