The Apprentice - series 6 - 2010

[Gwylan]

If Amstrad aren't a major brand in Germany and the job is with them, why would you need to be
fluent in it?
Also, I don't think any of us think they are the greatest 'prospects' but just good tv canon fodder.
I stopped watching it as a talent programme ages ago, now its a comedy series, with fantastic David
Brent moments

Good point but I was thinking generally. If I were a young person wanting to make a name in business I'd make sure that I spoke a couple of major business languages. And I suspect that the producers of the show do weed out applicants who are multilingual.

But you're right that this is more of a comedy show these days.

 

[Wozza]

If Amstrad aren't a major brand in Germany and the job is with them, why would you need to be
fluent in it?

The job isn't with Amstrad. The company was sold to BSkyB some time ago.

I believe the prize is £100k to spend on a start-up, with free 'help' (and office space) from Lord Sugar.

 

[Gazwag]

Do you honestly think Lord Sugar can speak German?

He doesn't have to he's the boss and he employees a german speaking person if he needs one. When he was starting out in business, languages was of little importance compared to today

 

[surrey jim]

The job isn't with Amstrad. The company was sold to BSkyB some time ago.

I believe the prize is £100k to spend on a start-up, with free 'help' (and office space) from Lord Sugar.

Not sure on this series but in previous ones the winner has always won a job in one of Lord Sugars companies (Amstrad and Amsprop). The job spec is normally talked about more in the 'interview' and final episode.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Sorry, this is bollocks. I'd agree that it wouldn't be fair if we were talking about the average person in the street but we're not talking about average members of the public here, we're talking about a group of bods who claim to be dynamic and bright business people and they haven't been arsed to learn the language of the UK's biggest trading partner.

Dynamic and bright business people? Do me a favour, they are a mixture of failed Corporates, bankers and ''Entrepreneurs'' (i.e people who have had a bright idea which has turned out to be bollocks) it’s a reality TV show which has as much chance of unearthing the next Bill Gates as I have of getting in the Albion team at the weekend.

Britain’s brightest and best are on more than the 100K for a year that this job pays and there's many people out there on the 50K mark who wouldn't dream of ditching their job for a 16-1 chance of doubling their money. What you have left is the fame hungry, deluded and those with nothing to lose.

I love the Apprentice and watch it every week religiously but it’s not a business program in the same way that the Jeremy Kyle show isn't a cross section of society. I don't expect Baggs or Laura to be vaguely competent let alone speak German.

 

[Gwylan]

Dynamic and bright business people? Do me a favour, they are a mixture of failed Corporates, bankers and ''Entrepreneurs'' (i.e people who have had a bright idea which has turned out to be bollocks) it’s a reality TV show which has as much chance of unearthing the next Bill Gates as I have of getting in the Albion team at the weekend.

Britain’s brightest and best are on more than the 100K for a year that this job pays and there's many people out there on the 50K mark who wouldn't dream of ditching their job for a 16-1 chance of doubling their money. What you have left is the fame hungry, deluded and those with nothing to lose.

I love the Apprentice and watch it every week religiously but it’s not a business program in the same way that the Jeremy Kyle show isn't a cross section of society. I don't expect Baggs or Laura to be vaguely competent let alone speak German.

I don't disagree with any of this. I was quoting the intro to the programme that something like "Britain's best" or "most dynamic" - can't remember the exact words but it's something like that.

As I said above, I reckon the producers weed out the applicants who are genuinely bright, dynamic and multilingual to pick the people who'd make the best television. I'm certain that among the 16,000 applicants there are some outstanding talents but being good would make lousy viewing.

I do think the Apprentice is a business programme though - they do have real business tasks to perform, it's just that they're not very good at them.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Great quote from Laura this week, I can't walk in these shoes, I thought I was giving corporate presentations not walking on cobbles

 

[Simster]

This morning I started to actually feel mildly irritated that Christopher got the boot. The reason given was ridiculously tenuous and subjective. He didn't have "a spark" or something.

You what? Chris is one of a handful on there who grafted, got organised, and as Kelvin McKenzie said later on, showed the aptitude to run the shop floor in times when the pressure was on. He has also showed no sign of wilting, unlike the others. I think if either Jamie or other Chris had been ditched, they could have had no complaints.

 

[Garage_Doors]

How real is it really though.

A highly respective professional German buyer places an order for 6 month worth of crisps based on him tasting just one , oh please !!

And accepts the terms of the order “plus delivery”
That is so open ended that he is purchasing something that he does not know the true cost, It don’t happen in the real world. Buyers have to know the full cost before they will commit.

Then he doubles the order (from 3 months to 6 months) after just a mild suggesting. Yea right.

Good entertainment, but no where near reality.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I do think the Apprentice is a business programme though - they do have real business tasks to perform, it's just that they're not very good at them.

I get what you are saying but if someone made me work all night to make sausages and then sell them the next day I wouldn't be at my best. If it was genuinely a business progam they wouldn't set them up to fail so much (In the American apprentice for example, they have the donkey work done for them) - Here, It's all about the entertainment factor.

Sim : The Apprentice is the same every year. The doers get sacked more often than not unfairly. Sugar is always after a creative ideas man, ideally in his image if he can get them. Whilst you or I would employ Scouse Chris everytime (where I work, no-one does fcuk all, everyone has meetings to talk about doing work) it's not and never will be what he is after.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Two people were getting annoying (only two?) last night. Jamie increasingly seems like a Tim Nice but Dim character who talks without ever saying anything, and attempts tasks without ever actually doing anything. And Laura whinges about everyone else, but the only chance she got to shine totally messed up her pitch despite the warning from Herr General Baggs not to speak too fast. That currywurst looked good, though.

 

[Simster]

Two people were getting annoying (only two?) last night. Jamie increasingly seems like a Tim Nice but Dim character who talks without ever saying anything, and attempts tasks without ever actually doing anything. And Laura whinges about everyone else, but the only chance she got to shine totally messed up her pitch despite the warning from Herr General Baggs not to speak too fast. That currywurst looked good, though.

A lot has been said of Laura but your observations of Jamie are also spot on. He's an absolute bumhat. Sugar clearly asked him to provide an example of one moment of genuine spark, and he replied with an absolute load of flannel. It's always cringeworthy when these kiddies think they're pulling the wool over everyone's eyes by answering a straight forward question with mealy mouthed guff, but Jamie took the biscuit there.

 

[drew]

Sorry, this is bollocks. I'd agree that it wouldn't be fair if we were talking about the average person in the street but we're not talking about average members of the public here, we're talking about a group of bods who claim to be dynamic and bright business people and they haven't been arsed to learn the language of the UK's biggest trading partner.

There's nothing special about Germans - they're not brought up speaking English (and it's total nonsense BTW that posters, signs and newspapers in German are in English. You won't see that apart from airports and major stations) but they realised that their big firms would struggle if they were limited solely to German-speaking markets and so every serious business person is required to know English. It's one of the reasons that the Germans have a car and electronics industry and we haven't.

If they'd sent the contestants to Slovenia or Denmark, fair enough but we're talking about the biggest economy in Europe here and it was a pathetic effort.

To be fair to Simster and NE, this attitude is widely held in the UK but it doesn't really reflect well on us.

Sorry but I think it is you that is talking the bollocks. Firstly, I very much suspect there are many leaders of our industries that don't talk a foreign language but as a nation we still do pretty well. Also to use the example that Germany are our biggest trading partner is plain stupid. Are we all supposed to learn German. What about those that trade with the far east. Should they learn Mandarin, Canonese and Japanese as well as learning German.

And whether you like it or not and whether it is arrogance, English is the most widely spoken language geographically (well a head of French). It is the international language of the the airways, ie pilots and air traffic control. So, whilst it would be impressive to be able to fly to any country and speak the lingo, it isn't practicable hence the world is gravitating to using English in business.

 

[Gwylan]

Sorry but I think it is you that is talking the bollocks. Firstly, I very much suspect there are many leaders of our industries that don't talk a foreign language

That is, of course, precisely the point that I was making. I've spoken to many senior people from Europe in the course of my job and they all speak English. In fact, it's not unknown for some of them to speak four, five, six or seven languages.

... but as a nation we still do pretty well.

Really? Since the Second World War we've slipped from the second biggest economy to, I'm not sure now, 7th, 8th, 9th. We have a budget deficit three times that of Germany, twice that of France, five times that of Sweden. We have no car industry, no electronics industry, no steel industry and yet we're doing fantastically.

Also to use the example that Germany are our biggest trading partner is plain stupid. Are we all supposed to learn German. What about those that trade with the far east. Should they learn Mandarin, Canonese and Japanese as well as learning German.

As I said above, I wasn't talking about the average Joe. I was talking about business leaders, so no, we don't all have to learn German. But if I wanted to work for a business that exported to Germany I should think it was essential. And yes,I think learning Mandarin would be a brilliant business asset if I were a 15 or 16-year old thinking of a future. If two people go for a job at a multinational with identical skills, academic qualifications and experience except one spoke three languages and one was monolingual, I'm pretty sure that the polyglot would nail it. I'm certainly going to encourage my kids to learn Mandarin - I think it will be an important skill in 20 years time.

...hence the world is gravitating to using English in business.

Again, exactly my point. Germans learn English because they can sell to us: we won't learn German so we struggle to sell to them. As I said, Germans have a thriving car industry and we haven't - do you really think we've got it right and the Germans have got it wrong?

 

[brighton_girl87]

I liked Jamie's failed attempt at saying "the early bird catches the worm"

 

[Trufflehound]

On the languages front, I was disapointed no one (not even Baggs the Brand) came out with "Vorsprung durch techniek" at any stage last night...

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

polyglot

Never heard that word before. I like it

 

[ROSM]

The debate about languages is all well and good, but we're missing the main issue here;

What would stop you wanting to give Stella a sound seeing to?

Now she has developed the unresolved intensity with Baggs the Brand she is becoming more alluring. She ticks all the boxes;

- she's attractive (check)
- she's clever (check)
- she looks like she could be dirty (check)
- she clearly wants to murder Baggs (check)

You just KNOW she'd be worth it

oh and I too share Simster's disgust at the removal of Christopher. It's almost as if rumours of the bad publicity had come to Lord Sid james' attention and he felt the need to pull the trigger.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Every week Baggs delivers. You can GUARANTEE that of the 10 highlights each week he'll have half of them. At least 5 minutes of every "The Apprentice: You're Fired" show is spent discussing the guy while that week's sacked no-hoper looks on.

This week:
1. Counting 1 to 20 in German is the sort of thing a smug 12-year old schoolboy would do. Comic genius.
2. Saying "I've got one of those" when gazing at plump white bratwurst. Again, genius.
3. Saying "Wunderbar"" to every German he meets. Genius.
4. Greeting a German deli owner like he was a long-lost friend. Superb.
5. His running cat-fight with Stella. Sexual tension. God, you'd so LOVE to see them get it on.