Let the Game Begin

Eighteen candidates and, if Donald Trump continues his table-thumping dismissals, the fifth season of The Apprentice will be down to one in no time. On the eve of the show’s season premier, The Apprenti unsheathe the pen and sword to determine what viewers are in for over the next few months.

The Contestants
Casting directors have created a remarkably well-balanced show, though the data is still sketchy as not every contestant entered responses for each question. Contestants are evenly split along gender lines: nine women, nine men. They come from a varied educational background with six bachelor degrees, eight post-graduate degrees, and two with no college experience. The age range is remarkably centered; the mode, median, and average for the contestants is 30 years old with a high of 38 (Stacey) and a low of 22 years old (Lee). The issue of diversity is the most difficult to assess as few candidates declare their race, ethnicity, or nationality. Three candidates (or 17% of the candidate pool) were born outside the United States: the Former U.S.S.R., Canada, and England; two candidates are African-American (Roxanna and Michael), a third is Filipino-American (Charmaine), and a fourth Cuban-American (Pepi).

While age, sex, nationality, ethnicity, and education will certainly play a critical role in bonding and team performance, issues which garner less attention may be just as important. Andrea skipped college and went on to become a multi-millionaire while Tarek was raised in the public housing project of New Bedford, MA and went on to win a scholarship to an elite boarding school. Contrast those experiences to the silver spoon pasts of many other contestants and it is a recipe for conflict. The relationship status of contestants may also play a role as twelve contestants are single while only three are married and only Lenny has children. Finally, we cannot discount latent factors such as sexual orientation, which played such a critical role last year when Donald Trump outed Clay in the boardroom, or religion, which drove a wedge between Ryan and Clay.

Leadership
Asserting authority will be critical to the success of any contestant. But when we think of authority, we normally think of our supervisor. Project managers in The Apprentice do not carry this sort of Legitimate Authority. Legitimate Authority is handed down to a supervisor because of his or her position. Project managers in the show hold such a tenuous grip on their power that they need rely on other forms of authority. More often, contestants rely on Expert Authority (power awarded to those with relevant experience), Referent Authority (power given to those with charisma or respect from a higher authority), or Representative Authority (power given when a person is selected by his/her group).

Viewers should also be on the lookout for the effects of Reward Authority and Punishment Authority levied by Trump, as contestants that are labeled as “weak” or “losers” early on will find it exceedingly difficult to assert authority. Similarly, contestants who are praised or rewarded by Trump will have an easier time leading other contestants.

Finally, there’s the role of personality types with type A’s being naturally attracted to the show. “Type A people are characterized by ‘extreme competitiveness, striving for achievement, aggressiveness, haste, impatience, restlessness, hyperalertness, explosiveness of speech, tenseness of facial musculature and feelings of being under pressure of time and under the challenge of responsibility’ Type B were more laid back” (Handy, Understanding Organizations, 71). A little type B could go a long way to assuaging Trump and the other candidates.

Leader, Manager, or Teammate?
Let’s face it; a contestant on The Apprentice needs to be all three. Management has been synonymous with stability and control, but now managers are also expected to be leaders who value change, empowerment, and relationships. “Leadership cannot replace management; it should be in addition to management” (Daft, The Leadership Experience, p. 16). On The Apprentice, the business world is in constant flux and contestants will need to be stable, flexible, and team players in order to keep from getting fired.