The Apprentice 2 Weekly Performance Review, Episode 5: Gross!

Ivana: Well, you're very, very slowly redeeming yourself, although it is a very long voyage to redemption in my eyes. My big problem with you was the total and complete anarchy that ruled under your leadership. You want to impress me (and you know you do!), show that you've learned from the spectacular Apex failures of the past and lead your team to victory.

On the negative side, I loved how your argument about Pamela not taking responsibility was cut off at the knees as she steadily took responsibility from everyone else on the team.

Maria: Why are you still here? Have you produced ANYTHING besides attitude? You don't want to be lectured? So the only one that's allowed to be condescending on this team is you? Yes, you're grown women, but as a team, you're pathetic. You need to be lectured, among many other things.

You're like Ereka from last year - you only stayed around because others screwed up more spectacularly than you, and you managed to point that finger of yours in their direction. Like Ereka, the minute you lead, you will fall.

Stacey: I defended you last week, and darn it, I want to defend you this week against Pamela - my enemy's enemy and all that. But I have to say that being the primary "havoc wreaker" two weeks in a row looks pretty bad. I can see your arguments, and agree with you that Jen and Pamela were horrid leaders. But there's one thing in business that many people NEVER learn, which is there comes a time when you have to just SHUT UP and do what you're told, no matter how much you disagree. I'm not saying to do this all the time, in fact, the hard part is knowing when to argue and when to shut up. Continually doing one or the other is a fast track to becoming a troublemaker and eventually NO ONE will listen to you because it will become, "What does Stacey not like about the plan THIS TIME?" Pick your spots. I know you had to be frustrated - I would have been, too. But screaming about it and arguing won't help. Luckily for you, you saved your best ammunition for the boardroom where it counted.

Pamela: Boy, you flat-out suck, don't you? Twice as project manager, two losses. You're also responsible for Mosaic's only loss, which I thought should have gotten you fired for in week one. In fact, the men hated you so much, they actively campaigned the women to get rid of you. Some might say that the men wanted you gone because they were afraid of you, and they'd be partially right - I think the men were afraid that you'd rejoin their team, and they wanted to nip that in the bud.

You've got an MBA degree, huh? Guess how impressed I am by that? Apparently, and I've been saying this since The Apprentice started, degrees mean absolutely nothing if you don't convert what you learn into actual business knowledge. I think you've proven my point quite nicely.

Let's get the good out of the way first, especially since this is the shorter section by far. I did like how you tried to take control of the women's team on the bus to West Chester. Of course, just like your degrees, the speech ended up meaning nothing and turned out putting the rest of the team against you. So while I give you credit for the effort, it didn't work in the slightest.

You refused to take Ivana's advice about the price (and then lied about it in the boardroom), you didn't let Stacey do her job and belittled her for trying to do what you told her to do - and then belittled her legal background in front of Trump's General Council, which in case they didn't teach that at Wharton, IS A LAWYER. As stupid moves go, that one ranks right up there with Bradford giving up his immunity. You were disrespectful. You refused to admit that you even lost! A tie! Did you actually think Trump would buy that? Above all, and something no one seems to understand, is that you refused to take responsibility for the loss. That, more than anything else, got you fired.

But you did succeed in one aspect - you brought the team together. Unfortunately for you, they came together to get you fired, and for the first time in a long while, Apex Corporation was successful at something. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

Mike DeGeorge has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, and has almost ten years of management experience. He is also Associate Editor of RNO. Email Mike at mikmaria@charter.net.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent articles on this show at our The Apprentice page and take a look at our sections on Survivor: All-Stars and Celebrity Mole. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about The Apprentice, be sure to check out SirLinksALot!