The NBC television show, The Apprentice has been a hit with television viewers from day one. I watch it myself and find it to be an entertaining and engaging escape for one hour every week. I view the show as a game, an exercise where the contestants are meant to be sensationalized and eventually kicked to the curb with the words “you’re fired” uttered by Donald Trump himself.

As a business idea, the show is a good one. Pair up America’s most egotistical (and quite abrasive) business man with a group of reality show wannabes. Have teams perform a myriad of helter skelter tasks. Fire one person per week. And finally award someone the “job” of being an executive in the Trump organization. It’s basically Survivor in business suits instead of birthday suits.

As a model for teaching real world business skills the show is horrible. That’s why I was shocked to hear that a number of universities around the nation have interjected lessons from The Apprentice television show into their curriculums. Are they serious? Imagine paying $20,000 a year for an education and getting fed back a television program you could watch for free.

I have no doubt that the professors using The Apprentice as a model mean well. In an age of hyper media, it can be difficult to get and keep the attention of younger (and plenty of older) people. There needs to be a line drawn somewhere though and that line needs to start with using television shows as a provider of “real world” business knowledge. The simple fact here is that The Apprentice is solidly based in fiction. The team members are brought together into artifical environment where they are pitted against each other twenty four hours a day. Unless you’re a soldier, you’ll never be required to live with your co-workers. The close quarters only serve to enhance the drama and liven up the personal interaction. In most jobs you’ll work with a team to achieve a common goal.

On The Apprentice, the common goal is eliminating everyone else. This causes people to do and say things that they might not normally do. Sure, there’s competition in the business world, but no one can be successful if their daily goal is sniffing out weakness and plotting against others.

The biggest mitigating factor here is the fact that all of these people are in this situation because they want to be TV stars. No one quits a good job, moves away from home and spends months sequestered because they are a good business person. The people who do that are pursuing fame and fortune. Those pursuing fame and fortune in television will act very differently than those operating successfully in the world of business.

Finally, there is plenty of editing taking place. How easy can it be to find out what really happened by watching the final product? The producers tell the story that they want in every episode. Donald Trump is even advised by the producers on who to fire.

My final words on the subject are these. The Apprentice is a game show and the only lessons you can learn from a game show involve winning that particular game show.