FromTheSouth
You don't want it with me.
After the Super Bowl, I left the bar and came home. I sat down and ate some dinner and my television was still on CBS. I decided to go ahead and watch CBS' new reality show, Undercover Boss.
The premise of the show seemed interesting. A high executive with, in this episode, Waste Management was sent to work a few different plants within the company. He performed a variety of jobs; cleaning portable toilets, park duty, separating recycling, in the office, and on a route. The man's name was Larry O'Donnel. He is the chief operating officer and president of Waste Management. Now, he has a bit of backstory, in that he has a handicapped child. It wouldn't be realistic unless, in the only time he ever performs a job, he encounters a situation with, surprise, a handicapped person. More on this later.
Now, I argue that this is the most rigged show I have ever seen, and I will tell you why. First of all, he is sent to work in the park, picking up individual pieces of trash with a spike. He is happened to be paired with a man who has been on dialysis for 20 years. The man, of course, is an unbelievable worker.
He then gets paired in an office with a woman who is the manager, dispatcher, and gate keeper at a dump. She also happens to be host to her kids, and other family members. She has to support them all, and is in danger of losing her "dream home" because of the burden on her. She, also, is an amazing worker, pulling multiple duties and doing them efficiently.
He is also sent to a plant that penalized workers two minutes for every one minute they are late and gets paired with a woman who drives a garbage truck.
Well, throughout the episode, he discovers the effects of some of his policies, as well as the policies of other executives.
In the end, the office manager gets a promotion, raise, two assisstant, and bonuses. The sick man becomes the company health mentor, and many policies get changed. The premise of the show is good, and next week they go to Hooter's.
My problem with the show is that in one five day work week, Mr. O'Donnel happens to meet someone with a comlete and total sob story every day. While out on the route with the driver, a handicapped woman (see, I told you I would get back to it) comes out and reads a handwritten note about how great the driver is. It was a sweet and touching moment, however, when combined with sick man and the woman doing multiple jobs, and the plant penalizing workers, it just seemed like the show found places to put him that would generate good television.
I have no problem with that. I just feel that the show was so poorly produced, the coincidences too obvious, and not a realistic window on the average work day at Waste Management. There is no way he gained nearly as much perspective as he says he did in one day with the total extremes of the company.
As I said, the premise of the show is good. I would love to see executives from companies do the same thing without cameras, and without the chance to make 44 minutes of television in a commercial for their company. I think management needs to see the way it is for the everyday worker. I just think that they need a realistic experience with the company to gain perspective on the effectiveness of their policies.
The premise of the show seemed interesting. A high executive with, in this episode, Waste Management was sent to work a few different plants within the company. He performed a variety of jobs; cleaning portable toilets, park duty, separating recycling, in the office, and on a route. The man's name was Larry O'Donnel. He is the chief operating officer and president of Waste Management. Now, he has a bit of backstory, in that he has a handicapped child. It wouldn't be realistic unless, in the only time he ever performs a job, he encounters a situation with, surprise, a handicapped person. More on this later.
Now, I argue that this is the most rigged show I have ever seen, and I will tell you why. First of all, he is sent to work in the park, picking up individual pieces of trash with a spike. He is happened to be paired with a man who has been on dialysis for 20 years. The man, of course, is an unbelievable worker.
He then gets paired in an office with a woman who is the manager, dispatcher, and gate keeper at a dump. She also happens to be host to her kids, and other family members. She has to support them all, and is in danger of losing her "dream home" because of the burden on her. She, also, is an amazing worker, pulling multiple duties and doing them efficiently.
He is also sent to a plant that penalized workers two minutes for every one minute they are late and gets paired with a woman who drives a garbage truck.
Well, throughout the episode, he discovers the effects of some of his policies, as well as the policies of other executives.
In the end, the office manager gets a promotion, raise, two assisstant, and bonuses. The sick man becomes the company health mentor, and many policies get changed. The premise of the show is good, and next week they go to Hooter's.
My problem with the show is that in one five day work week, Mr. O'Donnel happens to meet someone with a comlete and total sob story every day. While out on the route with the driver, a handicapped woman (see, I told you I would get back to it) comes out and reads a handwritten note about how great the driver is. It was a sweet and touching moment, however, when combined with sick man and the woman doing multiple jobs, and the plant penalizing workers, it just seemed like the show found places to put him that would generate good television.
I have no problem with that. I just feel that the show was so poorly produced, the coincidences too obvious, and not a realistic window on the average work day at Waste Management. There is no way he gained nearly as much perspective as he says he did in one day with the total extremes of the company.
As I said, the premise of the show is good. I would love to see executives from companies do the same thing without cameras, and without the chance to make 44 minutes of television in a commercial for their company. I think management needs to see the way it is for the everyday worker. I just think that they need a realistic experience with the company to gain perspective on the effectiveness of their policies.