This article reports the results of a content analysis of the debut season of the reality television show, The Apprentice. All 15 episodes were examined to determine the role that communication competencies played in competitors’ success or elimination. Results indicate that the ability to persuade effectively was most critical to winning tasks, but leadership skills and interpersonal skills were the most common sources of praise and criticism from teammates and Donald Trump and his associates. Women appeared to be judged more critically for their interpersonal skills than men, whereas evaluations of men focused primarily on their leadership abilities.
About the show. (2005). NBC.com. Retrieved January 31, 2005, from http://www.nbc.com/nbc/The_Apprentice_3/about.shtml
2.
American Management Association offers business lessons learned from “The Apprentice.” (2005). Retrieved January 31, 2005, from http://www.nbc.com/nbc/TheApprentice_3/lessons_learned/
3.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
Bass, B. M. (1981). Stodgill’s handbook of leadership. New York: Free Press.
5.
Bednar, A. S., & Olney, R. J. (1987). Communication needs of recent graduates. The Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication, 50 (4), 22-23.
6.
Brummett, B. (1984). Burke’s representative anecdote as a method in media criticism. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 1, 161-176.
7.
Burgoon, M., & Miller, G. R. (1985). An expectancy interpretation of language and persuasion. In H. Giles & R. N. St. Clair (Eds.), Recent advances in language, communication, and social psychology (pp. 199-229). London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Conrad, C., & Poole, M. S. (2002). Strategic organizational communication in a global economy (5th ed.). New York: Harcourt.
9.
Davies, P. G., Spencer, S. J., & Steele, C. M. (2005). Clearing the air: Identity safety moderates the effects of stereotype threat on women’s leadership aspirations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88 (2), 276-287.
10.
Eisenberg, E. M., & Goodall, H. L. (2004). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint (4th ed.). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
11.
Fayol, H. (1949). General and industrial management (C. Storrs, Trans.). London: Pitman.
12.
Geis, F. L., Brown, V., Walstedt, J. J., & Porter, N. (1984). TV commercials as achievement scripts for women. Sex Roles, 10, 513-525.
13.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., & Signorielli, N. (1979). Women and minorities in television drama 1969-1978. Philadelphia: The Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
14.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., & Signorielli, N. (1980). Aging with television: Images on television drama and conceptions of social reality. Journal of Communication, 30, 37-47.
15.
Gyenes, K. (2004, April 15). “Apprentice” sparks classroom discussions. Retrieved September 6, 2004, from http://www.CNN.com
16.
Herrera, I. D. (2004, April 5). “The Apprentice” exposes the reality of glass ceiling. USA Today, p. 13A.
17.
Ho, R. (2004, March 3). Professor Trump. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pp. E1, E4.
18.
Industry Report. (1999, October). Training, 36 (10), 37-81.
19.
Jones, D., & Keveney, B. (2004, April 15). 10 lessons of “The Apprentice.”USA Today, p. 1A.
20.
Kane, K. R. (1993). MBA: A recruiter’s-eye view. Business Horizons, 36, 65-68.
21.
Kassarjian, H. H. (1977). Content analysis in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 4, 8-18.
22.
Krapels, R. H., & Davis, B. D. (2000). Communication training in two companies. Business Communication Quarterly, 63 (3), 104-110.
23.
Maes, J. D., Weldy, T. G., & Icenogle, M. L. (1997). A managerial perspective: Oral communication competency is most important for business students in the workplace. Journal of Business Communication, 34 (1), 67-80.
24.
Maupin, R. J. (1993). How relevant is the current business communication curriculum for accounting students?Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business, 29, 245-249.
25.
Nellermoe, D. A., Weirich, T. R., & Reinstein, A. (1999). Using practitioners’ viewpoints to improve accounting students’ communications skills. Business Communication Quarterly, 62 (2), 41-60.
26.
North, A. B., & Worth, W. E. (2004). Trends in selected entry-level technology, interpersonal, and basic communication SCANS skills: 1992-2002. Journal of Employment Counseling, 41, 60-70.
27.
O’Hair, D., Friedrich, G. W., & Dixon, L. D. (2002). Strategic communication in business and the professions (4th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin.
28.
Peterson, M. S. (1997). Personnel interviewers’ perceptions of the importance and adequacy of applicants’ communication skills. Communication Education, 46, 287-291.
29.
Pincus, J. D., & DeBonis, J. N. (2004). Top dog: A different kind of book about becoming an excellent leader. New York: McGraw-Hill.
30.
Pincus, J. D., Rayfield, B., & Ohl, C. M. (1994). Public relations education in MBA programs: Challenges and opportunities. Public Relations Review, 20 (1), 52-68.
31.
Scudder, J. N., & Guinan, P. J. (1989). Communication competencies as discriminators of superiors’ ratings of employee performance. Journal of Business Communication, 26 (3), 217-229.
32.
Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). (1991). What work requires of schools: A SCANS report for America 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.
33.
Seymour, S. (1989). Communication training: Are we shortchanging the first-line manager? In Proceedings for the 54th Annual Convention of the Association for Business Communication, 167-175. New York: Association for Business Communication.
34.
Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2002). Fundamentals of organizational communication: Knowledge, sensitivity, skills, and values (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
35.
Sonnenfeld, J. (2004). Does this TV program paint a “real” picture?The Wall Street Journal Online. Retrieved September 6, 2004, from http://www.wsj.com
36.
Trump, D. J. (2004, March 10). Donald Trump responds. Retrieved December 5, 2004, from http://www.collegejournal.com/sidebar/20040311-trump.html
37.
Waner, K. K. (1995). Business communication competencies needed by employees as perceived by business faculty and business professionals. Business Communication Quarterly, 58 (4), 51-56.
