Business schools incorporate The Apprentice into the Classroom

PRINCETON, N.J. Some M.B.A. and undergraduate business students are getting a taste of the reality show ìThe Apprenticeî in the classroom, according to a report on CollegeJournal.com, The Wall Street Journalís guide for career-minded college students.

To engage their students and prepare them for the ìreal world,î business schools are starting to incorporate more provocative reality education into their curriculum. While itís a far cry from the Harvard case-study method, ìThe Apprenticeî may represent the future for M.B.A. programs.

At first, professors used the cutthroat culture depicted on ìThe Apprenticeî simply to spark classroom discussion. But some teachers are going much further this school year. A few have been inspired to create entire courses modeled after the show’s high-pressure, back-stabbing team competitions; others are focusing their courses on a specific episode or two. Rather than start new courses, some professors are merely adapting ìThe Apprenticeî to fit their existing classes.

Although the show is gimmicky and devious, some business-school teachers contend that if you look beyond the sexy women and melodrama on the show, you can learn valuable lessons about team dynamics, entrepreneurship, marketing, negotiation and leadership.

ìThe show sends the unrealistic message that thereís always a clear winner and loser in business,î says Tony Lee, editor in chief, CollegeJournal.com. ìThe show may also reinforce the publicís cynical views of corporate America after the torrent of scandals the past three years. However, it does offer great entrepreneurial challenges, tremendous pressure and different management styles that are beneficial for business students to learn about.î

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