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Should CIMA student Howard Ebison have been fired from The Apprentice?

Posted: Thursday 28 May 2009
Replies : 5
Category: Career talk, Management accounting, Networking and social, Risk management, Studying CIMA
Keywords: apprentice, bbc, business, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, howard ebison, students, television, the apprentice, tv series

Question asked by:

Deirdre - view profile

Last night CIMA student Howard Ebison became the latest of the remaining six candidates in the (UK) BBC TV series The Apprentice to be fired.

The 12-week competition sets the candidates through a gruelling series of tasks and the first prize is the job of Sir Alan Sugar's apprentice, with a six figure salary.

According to the BBC website for the TV programme: "Each task is set to stretch the candidates' creative and business skills, but the bottom line is can the team make that important profit?" But last night Sir Alan accused Howard of playing safe and not taking enough risks.

Was he right? Or would Howard have made a good apprentice?

"A total mess - you're fired!"

Posted by Can Do on Friday 29 May 2009 19:12
I would not have described Howard as "risk averse" as he did offer to be project manager in the first epsiode. In addition, he presented a brave "come to Gay Margate"campaign: far less "safe" than aiming at young families, as the other team did. I think what annoyed Sir Alan was that Howard failed to seize the opportunity to flog a high-price high-status "fashion" toy (the life-like dinosaur). It was over £200, so maybe it would have been a disaster anyway, because as Howard said, the kids want high-tech stuff. The polystrene cat and dog set failed to impress anyone at all and was quite hilarious. Not a good advert for CIMA getting his pricings all wrong....and failing to sell the products... ? :)

The Apprentice must see TV?

Posted by Stuart Wayment on Monday 01 June 2009 10:36
I'm probably the worlds least qualified person to comment on the apprentice having seen about 20 minutes worth in total of this series and even less of the others, however it strikes me that "Sell, sell, sell" seems to be the name of the game and there was no mention of margins in this episode, so it wasnt so much about his getting his costings wrong. Cant comment on anything else other than to say i wont be watching the rest of the series

Risk Adverse

Posted by Roary The Tiger on Tuesday 02 June 2009 10:20
Rebranding Margate to a gay market and then facing Sir alan looks high risk to me. He did that task well in my opinion. I think he has the most common sense of the whole sorry bunch. I would pay most on there with washers.
  • Reported

Fire them all !

Posted by B on Thursday 04 June 2009 17:32
Judging by last night's performance I would love to see them all fired. Yasmena describing herself as an FD who didn't seem to know the difference between Gross and Net Profit or that accounts filed with Companies House were searchable, Lorraine adding an extra year to a job, give me a break, best of British I really don't think so! Interesting that the US version of this show which seemed to attract higher calibre people no longer airs in UK even on satellite channels. Wonder why more talented people don't apply in the UK is it that would't want to work for the grumpy one?
  • Reported

Plain subjective judgement

Posted by Goh Pei Loong on Friday 25 June 2010 09:26

It is purely a case of subjective judgement coupled with who is on the judgement table.

Devil or Saint? Not many businesses having to set up charitable foundations. Saint judgement?