The Apprentice (Week Three) - The Man Who Can’t Say Loser…Loses

Not a classic episode of The Apprentice this week, but as usual there was some great business studies material in there, alongside the vomit-looking chicken curry and half-baked pizzas.

“How was Ian as a leader?” asks Sir Alan Sugar. The silence goes on for many seconds, but for Ian must have felt like forever.

“Don’t all speak at once, boys” says Ian. They continue not to. At that moment the die is cast.  Ian’s fate is sealed.  Done like a kipper, or a slightly warmed ciabatta (which apparently sell like “hot cakes”).

For Ian’s failure was essentially a failure of his leadership skills.  He looked hopeless out of his depth, he had no grasp of the essentials of the task.  In such a situation, its not enough to demand that “everyone gives 110%”.  Success is about focusing on the way to make money in a restaurant - serve great tasting food using cheap ingredients.

If you’ve watched Ramsey’s Kitchen nightmares, then you know that the trick would have been to:

- Choose a very small number (3) of easy to cook starters, main courses & puddings
- Price each dish at between 3-4 times cost of the ingredients
- Buy local ingredients from local suppliers (not Tesco)
- Get the food preparation done in good time
- Make a killing (sorry, even higher margin) on the extras (booze etc)

Still, I think it was the right decision.  Here’s a quick summary:

The Task - Transform a local pub by offering a food service - 24 hours to create a themed pub experience
Winner - team making the most profit (girls)

Result:
Boys: sales of £844; profit of £301
Girls: sales of £795; profit of £604

Key mistakes made:

- Failure to create a simple, easy-to-make menu (product) and to identify the ingredient quantities (raw material costs)
- Over spend on marketing (boys overspend of £272 was actually the difference in profit between the two teams)
- Poor production quality - bland food, food sold in short quantities, food that was simply unedible

Revision Presentation - Measuring and Increasing Profit [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Calculating and Measuring Profit [13 May 2012]
Legislation forces Coke and Pepsi to change their recipe [9 Mar 2012]
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Gerald Ratner [27 Nov 2011]
Cut price cup cake deal goes wrong…... [22 Nov 2011]
Unilever hit by rising costs [6 Nov 2011]
Profits dive and put pressure on liquidity - the Distress Monitor [29 Sep 2011]
Revision Presentation - Risks and Rewards to Enterprise [7 Sep 2011]
Revision Presentation - Adding Value [7 Sep 2011]
The puzzle of rising profits [5 Sep 2011]
British manufacturer exploiting a niche [21 Jun 2011]
An end to outsourcing? [18 May 2011]
Partners in profit - the JLP way [10 Mar 2011]
Introducing a new kind of business organisation - the benefit corporation [17 Feb 2011]
CSR - What is “Creating Shared Value”? [16 Feb 2011]
Michael Porter - Shared Value and the Limitations of CSR [15 Feb 2011]
CSR - The Classic Milton Friedman Clip [5 Feb 2011]
Q&A - What is “profit quality”? [7 Jan 2011]
Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 3) - Smart Marketing [26 Nov 2010]
Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 2) - Innovation, Service and Smart Operations [26 Nov 2010]
Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 1) - Driving Competitive Advantage [26 Nov 2010]
Cash flow Clue-doh! The Mystery is Revealed… [2 Nov 2010]
Profits up at Amazon - but so are costs [22 Oct 2010]
Google, Profits and Diversification [16 Oct 2010]
Lesson Worksheet - Adding Value [10 Aug 2010]
Lesson Worksheet - Gross Profit Basics [5 Aug 2010]
British vodka beats the world! [19 May 2010]
Profit seeking paradoxes in an oblique world [15 May 2010]
Flexible working thrives in the recession [1 Feb 2010]
Revision Presentation - Profit and Cash [30 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - Improving Profit [30 Jan 2010]
Product, pricing and profitability in a changing market [20 Jan 2010]
Revision Quiz - Profitability & ROCE [6 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - the Basics of Profit [30 Dec 2009]
Outdoor Ice-skating heads firmly down the product life cycle [3 Dec 2009]
Operations in Action - Video Tour of the Amazon Depot [23 Nov 2009]
Advertising Coming To A Windows 7 Desktop Near You [18 Nov 2009]
Innocent Drinks - Teaching Accounts Exercise [9 Nov 2009]
Brompton Bicycles - Guardian Profile [9 Nov 2009]
Q&A - What is globalisation? [27 Oct 2009]
Managing Cash Flow - Beware the Economic Recovery [26 Oct 2009]
Entrepreneur takes advantage of the postal strike [24 Oct 2009]
Economist on Lean Production [20 Oct 2009]
The Decline of Newspapers Creates a Surge in Local Startups [4 Oct 2009]
V-Water - from start up to exit [4 Oct 2009]
The dramatic slump in advertising revenue continues [18 Sep 2009]
Todd Stitzer’s Strategic Test [14 Sep 2009]
Plastic car is a blast from the past [25 Aug 2009]
Demand and supply in action - tea prices surge [4 Aug 2009]
Product life cycle - end of the line for Teletext [17 Jul 2009]
How to improve profitability? - give customers a “staff appraisal” [12 Jul 2009]
Batch production in action - cricket bats [12 Jul 2009]
Coffee Republic struggles with the daily grind [6 Jul 2009]
What makes a profitable menu? [6 Jul 2009]
Spare capacity prompts a fall in business investment [4 Jul 2009]
Stock control - de-stocking was over £5bn in Q1 of 2009 [2 Jul 2009]
Q&A - Outline the main costs and benefits of inflation [1 Jul 2009]
Q&A - Explain the causes of inflation [1 Jul 2009]
Q&A - Explain the role of corporate objectives in business strategy [1 Jul 2009]
Nationalisation Again - National Express Taken into Public Ownership [1 Jul 2009]
A Mars A Day The Original Recipe Way [28 Jun 2009]
Budget Hotel Chain Now Feeling the Squeeze [17 Jun 2009]
A stunning example of how wage costs can differ for the same job [10 Jun 2009]
How to improve a profit margin through a hidden price increase - the Snickers way [4 Jun 2009]
Britain’s Got Talent - Extending the Brand [1 Jun 2009]
Q&A - What is a sales forecast? [31 May 2009]
Sources of finance - the bank overdraft rip-off [28 May 2009]
Q&A - Why are start-ups vulnerable to cash flow problems? [26 May 2009]
Q&A - How can a business handle a loss? [26 May 2009]
Q&A - How is profit used by a business? [26 May 2009]
Why businesses fail - an interview with Pepita Diamand [24 May 2009]
Video case study - subsidy boosts demand for small cars [23 May 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by Social Enterprise? [22 May 2009]
Television suggestion - Blood Sweat & Takeaways [20 May 2009]
AQA AS Business Unit 1 - Possible Evaluation Questions [17 May 2009]
Q&A -  What is share capital [2 May 2009]
Q&A - What is training? [2 May 2009]
Swine Flu Vaccine - An Interesting Example of Batch Production in Action [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are the benefits of business planning to a start-up? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is profit-sharing? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - How do changes in commodity prices affect businesses? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What taxes will a start-up pay? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are commodities and how are their prices determined? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are retained profits? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are the implications for UK businesses if the pound strengthens? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What causes an exchange rate to change? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is credit and why do businesses need it? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is a bank loan? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is a sole trader? [1 May 2009]
Video case study - Jute in Time [22 Apr 2009]
Trading down - business class feels the pinch [17 Apr 2009]
How can the same product be cheaper to buy new than second-hand? [16 Apr 2009]
Demand and supply in action - oil [11 Apr 2009]
Celebrity chef had the recipe wrong after all [5 Apr 2009]
Q&A - What is a cash flow forecast? [1 Apr 2009]
Cash flow management - dividends in the spotlight [6 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What is profit and why is it important? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What are variable costs? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What are fixed costs? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by repeat business and why is it important? [1 Mar 2009]

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