In early 2004, Donald Trump took the idea of using a tournament for hiring executives to a whole new level with the premiere of the TV show The Apprentice.
On the show, a group of contestants compete for a position running one of Trump's many companies for a starting annual salary of $250,000. Generally speaking, on each episode, the contestants are divided up into teams and compete to most successfully complete some business-related task, and a member of the losing team is eliminated.
a. Contestants for The Apprentice are carefully auditioned and screened, to make sure that each contestant has the skills necessary to do well on the show. Why do you think this screening is done?
What kind of risk is being eliminated by this audition process? What would happen if there was one contestant who, right from the beginning, demonstrated more potential and greater capabilities than the other contestants?
b. Though only one contestant will end up with the job at the conclusion of the show, each must try to prove his or her worth to Trump by performing well in the team challenges. What impact do you think the tournament structure of this "ultimate job interview" has on these team challenges?
c. Some of the challenges can be quite demanding, and the contestants often work very hard. Wouldn't it be easier if they all shirked the challenge rather than working hard? Trump would still (presumably) have to choose one of them as the winner-and chances are it would be the same person whether everybody worked hard or not. Why are the contestants not likely to all agree to stop trying so hard?