Newswise — Donald Trump will choose "The Apprentice" in the final episode of the NBC hit reality show Thursday. According to a former business vice-president who is now a professor at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., the show is "totally real" in terms of putting business skills to the test " and she believes Bill Rancic will pass the final exam and be Trump's pick.
Dr. Leann Mischel is an assistant professor of management at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., who has been hooked on the show. Prior to Susquehanna, she worked nearly two years as a vice-president of operations analysis and support at Advanta Bank Corp. in Spring House, Pa.; was a vice-president of operation and customer service at Priceline.com in Norwalk, Conn. for a year, and a vice-president of business engineering/call center operations at First USA Bank in Wilmington, Del. In all of those positions, she helped with corporate restructuring and quality analysis. She was also co-founder of Cara Plastics, Inc., in Wilmington " a company which performs research and development, and also manufactures plastics resins from a soy-oil base, rather than petroleum base.
"My money is on Bill," says Mischel. "While not successful at every assignment, he listens, observes, and is not overly critical of others. He simply states that they are on opposite ends of the continuum as far as ways to conduct business. He is effective because he is not overbearing and because he can adapt to the situation, and to the people he's given to work with. He's quick to notice what kinds of behavior will work with the client, and how to communicate with them. Now that I've put my money on the table, I guess I'd better stick with him!"
According to Mischel, emotional intelligence (EI) is a key predictive factor in who wins " "in fact, there are multiple factors within EI that may be leading to the individual's success."
"Adaptability is the characteristic that I see usually winning one over. If an individual has been effective at not ruffling too many feathers yet " and is successful at the tasks given by Trump " they will be perceived as more successful than even those who did some trouncing along the way," she says.
Mischel believed at first that "The Apprentice" would be on the hokey side, but has found that it is a good example of corporate life in many ways. She has found the following items to be real, and not so real on this "reality" show: What's real:
The skills being tested, the friendships formed, and the backstabbing.
"On the positive side, the tasks chosen for them to accomplish have probably been good examples of the skills needed to succeed in the position Trump has chosen," Mischel says. "I loved the fact that they all had to start out by selling lemonade. While this sounds like an easy thing to do, selling is a skill that not all of us have. The good ones can sell anything " even lemonade, for $5 a cup."
The teamwork that the applicants created among themselves is real.
"In many jobs, you spend so much time with your co-workers that you form friendships fairly quickly. The contestants have gone through somewhat of a 'boot camp' " it's the toughest interview they've ever be on " and they've all gone through it together. Co-workers who go through extreme situations and survive tend to form terrific bonds," she says. "On the other hand, as we have seen, backstabbing can come from the least expected sources. So, while one is creating great relationships with the team, there will often be those who are secretly scheming how they can make the others look bad." What's not so real:
The actual tasks, and the quick boot.
"Clearly, most organizations do not have the time to make up the types of tasks performed in this show. If there is an apprenticeship at all, the individual would be given tasks that are more similar to what they would be actually performing on the job," she says. In "The Apprentice," it appears that people are fired after only one downfall.
"In most organizations you have more than one opportunity to show your stuff. If you do a bad job, you are coached and given a second chance. On the other hand, if we look at 'The Apprentice' as just an extended interview, in reality, perceptions are quickly created and people are dismissed for much smaller infractions," says Mischel. "All in all, I've found the show to be pretty entertaining. It shows diverse personalities and gives great examples of which behaviors are more likely to lead to success, and which are more likely to end in failure."
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