The Apprentice TV Program - Assignment Example

The Apprentice TV Program The show originated in the United States as the ultimate interview. 15-18 businessmen and women participate in the series aimed at choosing one person to hold a position in one of Donald Trump’s real estate businesses. The job offer is lucrative with a promising income of $250,000 annually. The first season of the show premiered in 2004. The show's production involved Mark Burnett and Jay Bienstock with Billionaire Donald Trump as its host. The contestants come from various backgrounds in business such as real estate, sales and marketing, and management. The shortlisted contestants live communally in a suite at Trump tower in New York City. The successful applicants become divided into two groups. The groups indulge in tasks set to stretch their creativity and business skills. Each group selects a project manager to lead them in the mission. The failing team leaves the competition. The remaining group then splits into two other groups. These undertake another task in the subsequent week. Elimination follows until three contestants remain. The competition ends with selection of one participant who secures a one year contract in one of the business interests belonging to Donald Trump. The elimination is competitive with profitability heavily emphasized. Teams that make losses during their task face elimination. Elimination takes place in two phases. After failure, the project manager in charge of the team selects two to three people most likely to be the cause of poor performance. The other members get dismissed while the project manager and the selected members face Trump in the boardroom where their fate awaits. Executives from selected companies interview the finalist duo from which Trump hires the apprentice. The apprentice TV program places its basis on apprenticeship. It is one of the oldest forms of work-based learning. The traditional system, however, lacked sufficiency causing variance in quality. A time based apprenticeship presents the most benefits to both an organization and a prospective worker. It forms a strategic approach to learning in a field of work as opposed to possession of certain skills. Apprenticeship allows workers to absorb values and ideas of a field of trade. Placement into apprenticeship varies with company's policy. Some firms prefer young people straight out of school while others prefer new learners in the team (Cunningham et al, 2004, pp.62). Apprenticeship programs began way back in time. They incorporate what is learnt in class with hand on experience. The programs run for manual, technical and managerial positions. The main purpose of the program is to develop competence in the work force (Steers and Nardon, 2006, pp.332). It is due to such programs that the engineering workforce in Germany possesses competitive advantage over various counterparts. Apprenticeship allows entrepreneurs to learn by doing (Padoan et al, 2010, pp.172). This is the main reason for the task in the TV reality show is to provide the contestants with a chance to learn and prove their skills. During the interview period, contestants live communally in a suite. This aims at building relationships between people of different characters as would be necessary in the working environment. This encourages positive attitudes and exchange of ideas necessary in the working environment. The project team leaders get a chance to develop and exhibit leadership skills. The ability to lead a team to win in a task requires strong leadership qualities which the program seeks to build. The motivation behind the TV show was the entrepreneurial vision of the producer who possesses hard-hitting business tactics. Donald trump has a burning desire to succeed in business with large goals to achieve. The showcasing of the reality series on TV holds several advantages. For entrepreneurs, it is a form of investment. When the show started in 2004, Trump received $50,000 per episode accruing to a total of $700,000 for season one. This figure has appreciated with the increase of the program rating, and the amount per episode is $3 million. This is a lucrative business opportunity. In addition, TV shows provide room for advertisement of business ventures. This increases potential for business growth for the Billionaire. Over 20 million people watch ‘The Apprentice’ in America providing an opportunity to market other ventures. Various advantages accrue as a result of apprenticeship programs. Since apprenticeship is work-relevant training, a potential employer like Donald trump, ends up with the quality of staff desired. This forms a strategic survival technique for business. The contestants, on the other hand, receive high quality training. As is the ultimate goal of the competition, the apprenticeship provides an employee with a chance to exhibit suitability for the position. Grouping encourages team building, which facilitates the execution of responsibilities. This, in turn, promotes team work. The eliminated contestants learn from their mistakes in the failures and endeavor avoiding them in order to succeed in their careers. This forms an essential aspect of career preparation. Employees become excellent judges of character upon completion of the apprenticeship program.. The value of teamwork gains emphasis and resilient increases. Without such an exposure, prospective employees may be unprepared to cope with challenges in the job market (Jordan and Whaley, 2008, pp.131). Apprentices bring with them various experiences and ideas which a firm can utilize to improve productivity. Hiring apprentices encourage the development of a loyal workforce. When apprentices receive training in an organization, they feel obligated to work for the firm. Organizations ensure continuity of skills by hiring apprentices. These apprentices obtain tutoring from the skilled old workforce and thus transfer of skill occurs. Apprenticeship brings about commitment to a body of learning. Employees gain job satisfaction through mastering of competitive capabilities and skills. The society at large benefits by obtaining people who are real experts in their fields. The TV program, ‘The Apprentice,’ offers free advice to viewers. Active followers of the program can learn something concerning team work by observing why teams fail in their tasks. Apprenticeship programs present various limitations. The programs take time. The period allocated can be inconveniencing to some people. In the TV program, ‘The apprentice,’ participants require time off from their commitments. This could have negative implications in situations where the person seeks employment elsewhere. When participating in such a program on TV, there is excessive buildup of hope which may lead to frustration in case one fails. Regardless of the time taken during such a program, there is no guarantee of quality in the worker. This means a waste of resources. There are financial costs incurred by the organization carrying out the program. The Trump enterprise, for example, caters for the upkeep of the apprentice hopefuls. There is no room for recovery of the costs if the program does not result to hiring of the apprentice. The success of ‘The Apprentice’ has not occurred without facing various criticisms. Orin Konheim, a critic, argues that the show is just about making the host look respectable at all costs. The show's design is to create an appeal that businesses or individuals can emulate Trump and become successful. The decisions made in episodes of the program imply someone has to be fired. No matter the effort, someone has to be fired on a weekly basis. This does not tally with business ethics. People deserve time to recollect their mistakes. The critic argues that the participants exhibit irresponsibility characterized by the shifting of blame when mistakes happen. To Orin, ethical business does not involve firing people every time a goal flops or every time a mistake happens. The critic continues to argue that running a successful business entails giving everyone creative freedom to act to their best with the assurance of job security. Donald is rich enough to employ all the people in the program, and the business requires their skill, as Orin puts across. Another critic, Terry Leahy, argues that the apprentice hopefuls do not represent the real world faced by students leaving schools and universities. Leahy points out that the program is not reflective of what success in a business requires. To Leahy, success in business involves irreproachable manners, ability to work in a team while motivating others, and giving more than what one takes. Leahy challenges educational systems in promoting high quality business courses. Luke Johnson, another critic, argues that ‘The Apprentice” is only but an entertaining show. The critic argues the motive behind the show is to witness enthusiastic participants become demoralized and watch fierce rivals back-biting each other. Johnson emphasizes that companies prosper as a result of team work and cooperation, but not as a result of bullying. The critic further argues that innovative companies uphold experimentation whereby mistakes occur thus providing a lesson for progression. Regardless of the criticisms, ‘The Apprentice’ still forms a success story if the premiere of the program in other parts of the world is anything to uphold. Following its success in the United States, the show receives airing in African countries such as Nigeria and South Africa, as well as, Ireland, Germany, India, and many other parts of the world. In the United States alone, the show boasts of up to 8.8 million viewers. Many other programs, which ape ‘The Apprentice’, are available. Such include, ‘The Benefactor,’ and ‘The Rebel Billionaire’. They developed as a result of the perceived success of the TV program. Bibliography CUNNINGHAM, I., DAWES, G., & BENNETT, B. (2004). The handbook of work based learning. Burlington, Vt, Gower. PADOAN, P. C., & ARZENI, S. (2010). SMEs, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Paris, OECD. STEERS, R. M., & NARDON, L. (2006). Managing in the global economy. Armonk, N.Y., M.E. Sharpe. Daily Mail Reporter. (2011, June 26). Mail online. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from Dailymail.co.uk: http://www.dailymail.co.uk Johnson, L. (2011, May 11). Mail Online. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from Dailymail.co.uk: http://www.dailymail.co.uk Konheim, O. (2011, August 08). TV Show Review. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from helium.com: http://www.helium.com Read More