Read the Apprentice Case located on pages 91-92 in Chapter 5 of the textbook (Case 5.1). After reading the case, identify the 3-5 major communication issues faced by each team in the case. In addition, recommend a minimum of one strategy that each of the teams could use to address each of the communication issues identified. Please align the discussion of the issues, as well as the recommendations with the four elements of the Corporate Communication Model (Figure 3: Page 186) in the Welch & Jackson (2007) article.

text from: Working In Teams by Brian A Griffith

The TV reality show The Apprentice first aired on NBC during the winter of 2004 and quickly became the hit that it is today. At the beginning of each season, 16 contestants are divided into two teams that compete against each other for the ultimate prize of becoming the president of one of Donald Trump's companies. Every week the two teams face off in various challenges, ranging from selling lemonade on the streets of New York City to organizing charity events. The project leader of the losing team must face Trump in the boardroom and explain why the team did not succeed. Trump then identifies a member of the team who, in his opinion, was most responsible for the loss and issues his now famous decree, "You're fired."

In week two of the first season, the two teams, Versacorp (all men) and Protg (all women), were given the task of designing an advertising campaign for a private jet service. Each team chose a project leader and began to structure the task. The men made a strategic error when they decided not to conduct customer interviews. Not knowing the distinguishing characteristics or the desires of the customer proved to be fatal and led to Versacorp's downfall. In addition, one of the more eccentric members of the team, Sam, talked excessively during planning sessions, frequently getting off topic. In one of the meetings, when he spent valuable project time lying on the floor of a conference room taking a nap, his credibility was compromised. As a result, when he later tried to interject his ideas and influence other members, he was interrupted by the project leader, Jason, and marginalized.

In contrast to the men, Protg met with the customer and eventually decided upon an advertising campaign that used sexual overtones in its print ads. However, not all the members were comfortable using that approach, as it risked offending the customer. In the process of discussing options and making decisions, a number of members had different opinions, and tempers flared. Even though the women won the competition, it became obvious that there were serious interpersonal problems on their team. Two of the members, Omarosa and Ereka, had engaged in a number of arguments, and other members of the team were concerned that their dislike for each other would hurt the team's performance in the future.

For this challenge, Trump asked Donny Deutsch, the principal of a successful advertising agency in New York City, to decide the winning proposal. Deutsch and his two associates were torn between the men and the women. The sex appeal in the women's presentation may not have been appropriate for an actual print campaign, but it showed that they were more creative and willing to take risks. Ultimately, those qualities persuaded Deutsch to declare the women victorious. In addition, he commented that their presentation was sharper and more persuasive than that of the men. Their ability to communicate their ideas with passion and enthusiasm connected well with Deutsch.

After losing the task, Jason, the project manager for the men's team, identified Sam as the team's biggest problem. Jason explained to Trump how Sam failed the group by literally falling asleep during the project and not caring about the team's performance. Sam told Trump that Jason was just an average leader who made many mistakes, including not meeting with the customer. He added that because the team did not take the time to thoroughly understand the customer's needs, the project plan was flawed from the start. Thus, Sam didn't respect Jason's leadership and became passively detached. In the end, Trump held the team leader, Jason, responsible and fired him; Sam was spared. However, the group members became so frustrated with him that they decided to make him team leader for the next project in an effort to get him to "put up or shut up." While this may have been a strategic move to deal with Sam, the team suffered, losing the next competition. Although the women's team was winning competitions, interpersonal conflicts began taking their toll. Hostility and mistrust among members began to compromise the team's ability to perform.