One of the few TV programmes I end up watching against my better judgement is BBC’s The Apprentice, which never fails to provide irritation and bemusement in equal measure. Ironically having created a mobile app in a previous challenge, this week the contestants were tasked with creating a print magazine, essentially acting out my career path in reverse.

One of the few positives is always the hilarious commentary provided by my Twitter network, and one very valuable suggestion appeared tonight courtesy of @kaigani

Now I know that The Apprentice is a reality gameshow and not a business documentary. It’s easy to forget that behind all the apparent analysis and insight, that it’s essentially Big Brother in the Boardroom, and I’m not going to start going into psychology when it comes to first perceptions, interviews or workplace performance.

But there are times when it really is legitmately painful.

Besides claims that engineers can’t run companies (Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford and originally an engineer, for example?), or Lord Sugar doesn’t need to be taught how to use a phone (Amstrad E-M@iler anyone?), it’s the judgements that tend to make me want the disclaimer more than anything.

So far we’ve had the better mobile app return a lower amount of downloads due to a crap app store description, and the better magazine idea return lower advertising revenue due to the refusal to negotiate at the end of the first pitch to an ad agency, for example.

Despite the fact that the losing idea and team would have been likely to be far more successful in the long run, the ‘rules’ state that they’re being judged purely on one number, generally the financial return.

At which point, the person responsible for the app store description and the refusal to negotiate is selected to survive for another week due to a perceived ‘glimmer’, and a candidate named Glen is fired primarily for being an engineer as far as anyone can tell.

• If you’re going to claim that it’s all about the numbers, then you’ve wrecked that by ever seeing or meeting the candidates.
• If you’re claiming it’s about someone you’re able to work with, then actually the decision could be made after the initial few minutes with them.
• And if you think The Apprentice is about business, then presumably Fawlty Towers was a guide to hospitality management?

Obviously Lord Sugar has been hugely successful in business, but does that actually give him the best insight into what was responsible for his success, and would he have actually made it through his own gameshow?