Thanks for the links.
Yeah, those links were great and also did a great job of even further highlighting the differences between Tana and Kendra in terms of professionalism.
Tana overdoes the sugary-sweet thing. She’d be great to run to for counseling or when you need a helping hand, but her over-the-top niceness would be too much on a daily basis. I think the appearance of edginess is a virtue in a professional setting. And I think her niceness is often a cover for her insecurities and fears.
I think Tana thinks that if she’s sweet to everyone, things will work out on their own. That’s why she lost the t-shirt task. She was too busy making the shirts extra “nice” that she failed to use his brains and actually strategerize. She was thinking “nice salesman” rather than “smart businessman”.
Not everyone responds to niceness (dammit, where’s my thesarus!). Kendra was on the ball when she said that folks on the East coast care more about the bottom dollar than they do about round-a-bout pleasantries and “honeys” and “darlings” (I know Kendra didn’t say this verbatim, but that’s what she was hinting at). Business types see through that bullshit.
All that said, I don’t think Tana is all that bad. If I were Trump, I’d feel more comfortable having Tana lead a presentation than Kendra, at least initially. Tana, being older and a bit more put-together in a lot of ways, may be able to command more respect from clients than Kendra. But I think Kendra is more trainable and coachable than Tana. Trump doesn’t have to worry about her being the annoying type who constantly reminds people she didn’t do it this or that way back when she was star employee at Nobody Gives A Shit. And she can just pick up and move, with no family or other considerations.
It also occurs to me that Trump is dealing with another pressure. Women in leadership positions aren’t all that common, and the appearance of “AA” is very apparent in this situation. He has hired two males before this. I don’t think it’s coincidental that this season’s hiree will be a female. Trump may feel that even though Tana is great, Kendra would stand up better against anti-AA scrutiny. She fits all the criteria–the college degree and street smarts. Tana can’t match up to that, despite how many lipsticks she’s peddled. For this reason, I’m kind of glad Craig was canned (not that he had much of a chance, but still). Had he been hired, it would have been even harder for Craig to stand up against attacks on his qualifications than it would have been for Tana. The heightened publicity would have made things even suckier for him and for Trump.
I’m really hoping that Trump doesn’t do what he did last season (and I’m sure he did it the first season too, but I didn’t see it) by airing that live show where he makes his top officers stand up and give their recommendations. I still remember the embarrassing performance of the CFO who couldn’t articulate why he didn’t want Jen. Please, please, PLEASE don’t give that guy a microphone! I felt so bad for Jen, hearing everyone–but especially that idiot–rag on her. It just dragged on forever.
This season’s finale is only an hour, apparently, based on that atrocity last time. And let’s hope the O’Jays also aren’t singing again. That was just pitiful.
Who “he”? Alex?
Hehe. I meant “her”.
I think it is. None of the men have been up to snuff.
Sure, we could speculate that Trump would want to choose a woman this time, but that’s just empty speculation. Trump himself has given absolutely no indications, one way or another.
I think people are projecting their own strategies onto The Donald. “Gee, if I were in Trump’s shoes, I would want to hire a woman this time,” people seem to think. “Hey, the last two candidates are women! Trump must be thinking the same thing!” As I said though, we have absolutely no evidence that this is what Trump has been thinking as well.
And if Trump were to buckle under that kind of pressure, he would be a rather poor businessman indeed.
But this is a TV show, first and foremost. You don’t think it’s possible that the producers of the show dropped a hint that it might be good for ratings if Trump hired a woman? Shoot, the same thought might have crossed Trump’s mind.
I mean, a good businessman wouldn’t let a casting director (or producer) pick his interviewees either, but there you go. Perhaps there is a good reason none of the men were up to snuff: the very best ones were not called back. Think about it. Find a female comparable to Danny, Mike, or Chris in her suckitude (as players in the game, of couse). Kristen, the worse woman by far, was a supernova compared to Mike (Verna sucked for leaving, but I’m sure no one could have predicted that).
I agree that we don’t know if Trump wanted a woman from the get-go. But I don’t think it’s ludicrous to at least consider the possibility.
I recall last season’s finale yet again when all of the officers were “testifying” about Kelly’s magnificence. Not a lot of women in that crew, and I did have a feeling that she was getting a raw deal because of her gender. Maybe Kelly was superior, but that whole bash-fest was over the top, in my opinion. The fact that almost all the bashers were men made it all the more, I dunno, harsh-looking. I’m betting I’m not the only one who feels this way.
I think there’s a really strong chance that Trump was pressured or steered towards hiring a woman. But even if he hadn’t been, the appearance of AA is still something he and the hiree have to deal with. That was really my point.
TV show or not, it’s still just empty speculation.
We can’t go around saying, “Hmmm… If I were producing a TV show, I would want to pick a woman this time. Trump would therefore want to pick a woman as well. Ergo, that’s what he must be thinking!” That is supposition, and nothing more. It’s possible that Trump is thinking the same way, but we can’t take our own feelings, project them onto him, and insist that he must surely feel the same way.
And I maintain that even though it’s a TV show, it would still be incredibly stupid of Trump to pick a winner based primarily on gender. If this person is to have any significant responsibilities at all, even amidst layers of bureaucratic faislafes, that would be a foolhardy way to hire someone.
Nobody’s saying it’s impossible. I’m certainly not saying that.
However, I do think it’s foolish to say that Trump would want to pick a woman, or that it’s “no coincidence” that the last two candidates are female. Those statements go beyond merely saying that it’s “possible” that Trump wants a female apprentice this time.
I’m kinda confused. Isn’t most of what we post on the Apprentice threads speculation? What I said is no more empty speculation than what anyone else has said said so far about the show. I’m no more projecting my feelings onto Trump than when someone posts a prediction about who he’s going to pick. I don’t see how you would think I’m projecting anything based on what I wrote (maybe you’re talking about in general?)
I agree. But it’s even more stupid holding an interview process on a TV show. There’s no telling what the Trumpster will do.
Erin, Stephanie, and Miss “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful” Audrey.
I guess I differ in that I always thought Kelly was stronger than Jenn and the bash-fest was mostly people saying what I would have said (except for the tongue-tied guy–I hope I’d do better than that). I also think it was clear that Trump was leaning towards Kelly, and everyone wanted to agree with the boss.
I’m sure there was some pressure to pick a woman after picking two men in a row. However, whether that meant that the deck was stacked in favor of more strong female candidates, editing made the women seem stronger, they outright chose to let the men go first, or there was no consideration for gender at all, there’s no way to tell.
If there was some strategy to bias the pool in favor of a woman, would it really matter? I’m sure they made their casting choices based on a number of factors that don’t reflect who was really best suited for a real job in the organization. Gender was likely just one of those factors. It’s not like it’s a real interview, or they really chose the best of the “million job applicants.” Honestly, does anyone believe that Danny and Audrey were in the top 16 for reasons other than good TV or drama?
You keep missing the point. YES, a lot of what we post is indeed speculation. My point is that once we say, “Trump clearly wants to hire a woman this time!” or “It’s no coincidence that the final two candidates are women,” then we are now presenting this speculation as either established fact or something that is blindingly obvious. In reality, it is neither.
Once again, I have no problem with speculation per se. As I keep saying though, I think we should present this as something other than mere empty speculation.
Those two situations are not at all comparable!
We already have evidence – both direct and indirect – about who Trump is likely to choose. We’ve seen how the candidates performed on their respective tasks, and we’ve heard Trump’s commentary at the start of each episode. We also know how Trump formed his hiring decisions during the previous seasons. So while there is still an element of speculation involved, it’s not empty speculation. Rather, we have a wealth of evidence on which to base these claims.
In contrast, we have absolutely NO reason to believe that Trump considers gender to be a significant factor in forming his choices. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Several SDMBers say, “Well, of course he would want to pick a woman this time!” but without any actual evidence to support that claim, this is mere empty speculation. It amounts to projecting what we would do onto Trump himself, even though we have little reason to believe that he would consider gender to be a deciding factor.