The Apprentice Ongoing Thread (1 Viewer)

[Stephen Heath]

I'm not so sure Michael, these 4 people as a group are Donald's right hand men, they're the key players in the main corporation, and it looks like they work with the high-ranking executives of the sub-corporations. I think when Donald said he was giving them a voice because they would be stuck working closely with the person he meant it.

I don't think the question about education was a slam at Bill's degree, I think it was a matter of "here's a question we can ask that will likely provoke some kind of reaction, let's see what kind of reaction it is, so we know how he is going to deal with other criticisms".

 

[Pete B.]

Assarosa is definitely a Trump plant to see how Kwame deals with out-of-line employees. He's failing the test in my eyes. Like someone had stated earlier I'd make her a waterboy, or even better stick her in a Kennel so she can be next too kin!

Pete

 

[StephenK]

I agree Omelet HAS to be a plant. No one can be that willfully incompetent. She's definitely a test for Kwame, as I think Nick will be for Bill. If not then she's validated everything I've thought of her.

ScottR and others who's seen Oprah. Can you give a few details on her appearance, especially what set the audience booing her?

She has got to be one the best "people to hate" on TV. Right up there with Jerri's original season on Survivor.

 

[Michael Hughes]

My Point is that these underlings are going to evaluate using standard corporate business methods. The show featuring The Donald has not done that, the show rewarded out of the box thinking to a certain extent. Troy and Nick thrived. If they wanted solid educational background and decent people skills, why bother bringing in a guy like Troy and copier salesman Nick in the first place who would never have passed muster with these standard corporate types.

In the end they Kwame or Bill fits the mold of a corporate approval, good schools, experience and education, good personalities. Troy, Nick would not as they did not have that kind of pedigree, hence they were fired, based primarily on the advice of his underlings. But the reality was that they were two of the best performers for The Donald.

I found it dissapointing that he would put that much weight in these interview sessions, and not trust his own gut instinct.

We all know that in reality a corporate executive doesn't require much education or experience to get the job

It would have been nice to see The Donald go another route and actually choose a real hard work success story for this show.

 

[JakeR]

I was with this show right up until they canned Amy. How can you avoid the boardroom in something like 11 out of 12 challenges and have one mediocre day of interviews negate that? It's insanity! She was easily the best player of the group. It's like the past 12 weeks didn't even matter.

If she drops the ball on the final challenge, fine...that might even the playing field. Did Kwame even enjoy one victory as a team leader?

Why would Kwame pick Omarosa knowing her history of incompetence? This is when it all counts. Ridiculous.

Obviously, "reality TV" is an oxymoron, but please, try not to show me the strings.

 

[Frank_Lee]

I think Kwame picking Omarosa first was probably a pretty wise strategy. Whoever had the last pick was going to end up with her, which was Kwame in this case. Knowing her personality, if she was picked last she would've seen it as an insult, so in an attempt to at least start things off on the right foot, he picked her first. He obviously would want Troy on his team, but Bill and Troy have a history of not liking each other, so he wasn't worried about his superstar getting taken away. The team he was going to end up with would have probably been the same regardless of what order he chose in, but this way he could make it work in his favor somewhat.

 

[Steven L]

I think the interview process was a good move in picking the final two.

All of the tasks up to that point had been about sales and revenue – who can bring in the most. Yes, revenue and the bottom line is absolutely important as an executive, if you don’t deliver, you’re gone. But that’s only a part of it. A successful executive has to be more than just about sales. It’s about the ability to lead people, and I don’t mean just telling them what to do, but about inspiring them and getting them to buy into your vision. It’s about dealing with pressure. It’s about making decisions and making sure they’re the right ones. And it’s especially about being able to work successfully with higher-ups, peers, and subordinates.

That’s what I think the interview process and the final task is all about. There’s no money to count at the end of this one to determine the winner, no “last minute buyers” to come in and save the day. It’s all about who can lead their team effectively to complete their task successfully.

One of my main criticisms of the show earlier was that I thought it focused too much on sales and not enough on the other aspects that I think are equally as important. The interviews and final task seem to have righted that.


On another note, Kwame picked Omarosa while Nick and Heidi were still available. And although he probably would have ended up with her anyway, he set himself up and will have to deal with the consequences of that pick. When he picked her, it showed his inability to read people. He should have picked Nick, if only just so he wouldn’t have Heidi and Omarosa together on his team, because that’s a recipe for disaster.

 

[Sebastian]

I think Bill is going to take it all and is the best choice overall. Troy was a joke and nothing more than a sleazy used car salesman from Idaho. I think the executives were right on the money with Amy. Looks only take you so far sweetheart. Kwame still needs to step up. I think Nick may be a better choice than Kwame but that's me.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I don't think Troy was a joke. He saved his team plenty of times with his quick thinking, thinking outside the box, and good negotiating skills. It didn't always work, but he always appeared to be giving it a 110%. The 'just a yokel from Boise Idaho' thing was getting old though. As someone from Idaho, Boise is considered city folk. Now where I grew up, a town of 24 whopping people and an hour and 15 minute busride to school. That is yokel.

I think Amy was just lucky all this time. She wasn't terrible by any means of the word, but not up to the level of some of the other people. The way the executives talked about her was pretty much how I felt.

Ponderosa Whine, Please leave!!

A quote from Foxnews:

 

[Kachi Khatri]

Omarosa couldn't even mop the floor and she worked at the Whitehouse???


O - Out of mind
M - Mentally collapsed
A - Asinine
R - Retarded
O -
S - Schmuck
A -

I can't think of anything else, but hey as some other have mentioned she could be a plant. If this is not the case then why not bring Erika (or someone else) instead of her?

On the other hand, how about bringing Trump's own employees to work for the two finalist. This would be a better indication of their final test pitted with some unknowns. And would have benefitted Trump from some feedback.

The interview was good to see but was so abrputly edited.
I would have like to see a bit more of that.

 

[McPaul]

they just took the last 6 people booted.

I think bill has the toughest test because he's doing a golf tournament where DT will actually BE THERE and see everything that goes on.

I like bill but he is sounding very cocky right now.

omarosa is not a plant, she's just a ditz that isn't worth wasting keystrokes

I'm kind of liking Kwame right now, and if it does happen, I'm sure he'll hire Troy to be his right hand man.

 

[MickeS]

I was glad to see the interviewers expose Nick's and Amy's weaknesses as leaders. I think they are good workers, just not ready to be executives at this level. Amy was just giving them BS, and Nick was trying to sell himself. Bill and Kwame were the obvious choices out of these final 4.

Omarosa... did you guys see her on Oprah? She keeps lying and lying, and looks down on other people even though she has nothing to show for herself except for really high self-esteem. The audience boo'd her! Her behavior there was deplorable, just as her flat out lie in this episode about the phone call. And how did she have the nerve to expect Kwame to help her out with her task at the end? It was her job to do!

On Oprah, they were discussing mostly her accusation that Ereka called her a n*****. I find that extremely hard to believe, and judging Omarosa's willingness to misunderstand (remember the "pot calling the kettle black" thing?) and her willingness to lie, I'd say she was lying about this too. She kept saying, when asked about it, that she's ready to move on"... easy for her to say, yet she kept implying that Ereka said that to her.

Omarosa is a despicable person.

I hope Bill wins, but Kwame would be OK too.



Offensive term edited out by moderator. It was quoted from someone else, but still looks ugly - Cees

 

[Kevin Grey]

I'm really rooting for Bill. Kwame seems to be a nice guy but hasn't shown a whole lot of real leadership ability IMO. I was actually happy that he picked Omarisa since I figured that she would be a detriment to whatever team she'd be on.

I'm a bit worried about the typical deceptive editing though- so far it looks like Kwame's task has been a bit of a disaster while Bill seems to be on track with only the "office storage" hiccup. On this show it seems that when it looks like one team will blow away the other there is often a surprise turnaround (the Trump Penthouse episode for example). Consequently, I'm betting that Kwame will get it...

 

[Kevin L K]

Is it me or what?

As far as I'm concerned about Kwame:

1) He is a non entity

2) He is completely invisible

3) He has absolutely no personality

4) I cannot think of a single thing he has done

5) I cannot remember a single thing he has said

6) He is null and void

7) There is absolutely nothing substantial about this guy

It's like this guy doesn't even EXIST--he's not even on the radar as far as I'm concerned, and if he didn't breath or cough once in a while I wouldn't even know he was in the room. I don't mean to sound like I'm personally attacking Kwame--I don't know him and have no dislike for him--BUT I can only go by what the producers choose to show us.

Again--is it just me?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Then again, if Kwame wins, those basketballs he signed at Planet Hollywood become more than just a basketball...

 

[Kevin L K]

 

[Mark-W]

Kevin LK-

I am with you, in that Kwame, as presented on the show (and let's not forget this is how Trump and co have shaped at least some of our percecptions of the candidates), just seems like Mr.GoWithTheFlow and is not what I would call a strong leader. I have no degrees in business, but I have been regularly praised for my management of employees (both by them and my supervisiors) over the years, and I would've had a VERY serious chat with Omarosa and, based on her response, I would've either radically reduced her responsibilities
for the remainder of the task or told her to leave immediately. If you don't hold your employees accountable for their actions, not only do you loose their respect, but the other employees loose respect for you, too, and you make them put up with a person who is not pulling their weight. Frankly, not only does it make Kwame look bad, but it is unfair to the people who have to work with Omarosa.
Morale on that team is going to suck.

Then again, I bet the now-underlings are getting a hefty bonus for participating and probably get some nice reward for helping either Bill or Kwame win the apprenticeship.

 

[Jacinto]

My biggest concern with Kwame winning would be that it in effect, would negate the whole purpose of the show. Really, what was the point of all the challenges, the weeks of trials, tests, meetings, etc., if the person who looked the strongest on paper before the show even started is the one who is picked at the end? If they were just looking at resumes beforehand, Kwame would have no doubt been the most impressive to any executives going through the hiring process, so I will definitely be a bit disappointed if he wins. It will certainly diminish my anticipation for any future incarnations of this show if the person with the best education qualifications takes the prize. That's why I'm pulling for Bill.

 

[NickSo]

Check out what other business ventures the girls are up to lately:

http://www.fhmus.com/girls/covergirls/272/

FHM's photographers suck though, not as great as they could be... :frowning: Ohwell, i'll take what i can

 

[MickeS]

Talk about a lost opportunity, those pictures are terrible! Katrina looked hot on the show, I didn't even recognize her in those awful pictures. They should have left it to the Maxim guys...