????在鏡頭前,，參賽者分成幾組,，運(yùn)營商場(chǎng)里一個(gè)生意紅火的店面，交換著從事翻動(dòng)如意卷,、處理顧客投訴和分發(fā)樣品等工作,。這段視頻模仿了真人秀電視節(jié)目的風(fēng)格，不僅有充滿戲劇性的停頓,，選手采訪環(huán)節(jié),，還出現(xiàn)了一位不速之客：公司創(chuàng)始人安妮?貝勒假扮顧客的模樣,，點(diǎn)了一份如意卷。

????“比賽過程扣人心弦,。選手需要在較短的時(shí)間內(nèi),，在鏡頭前對(duì)剛剛發(fā)生的事情做出反應(yīng)，”比賽獲勝者克萊森特?查普曼說,?！拔业男囊恢碧鴤€(gè)不停?！辈槠章敲苄莞裉m維爾市一家分店的經(jīng)理,。

????這段視頻也讓A&E TV電視臺(tái)產(chǎn)生了靈感，它在一個(gè)名為《我要當(dāng)老板》（Be the Boss）的全新系列劇中專門為安緹安如意卷公司制作了一期節(jié)目,。參與這期節(jié)目的如意卷分店經(jīng)理有機(jī)會(huì)贏得一個(gè)屬于自己的如意卷店面,。

????這類電視競(jìng)賽節(jié)目現(xiàn)在還出現(xiàn)了另一個(gè)主題：團(tuán)隊(duì)建設(shè)。一家名叫Canadian Outback的加拿大公司根據(jù)《極速前進(jìn)》（The Amazing Race）,、《頂級(jí)廚師》（Top Chef）和《飛黃騰達(dá)》等備受歡迎的真人秀節(jié)目,，為eBay、雀巢（Nestle）和通用磨坊（General Mills）等客戶組織團(tuán)隊(duì)建設(shè)活動(dòng),。

????但對(duì)于組織而言,，這種模仿真人秀的比賽是否肯定有益？《不要比賽：反對(duì)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的理由》（The Case Against Competition）一書的作者阿爾?菲科恩說,，幾十年來在工作場(chǎng)所和課堂進(jìn)行的研究表明,，這種比賽不僅不起作用，其實(shí)還會(huì)產(chǎn)生適得其反的結(jié)果——特別是一些需要?jiǎng)?chuàng)意或者需要解決更復(fù)雜問題的任務(wù),。

????“表面看起來,，這是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的主意，但最終贏得比賽的,，往往是大傻瓜,，你肯定不希望在工作場(chǎng)所看到這一幕，”專門從事職場(chǎng)幸福感研究的荷蘭咨詢師亞歷山大謝呂爾夫補(bǔ)充道,。他說,，與大多數(shù)人的認(rèn)識(shí)恰恰相反，一旦參與比賽,，我們大多數(shù)人的表現(xiàn)都比平時(shí)糟糕,。

????在Aflac公司，《美國偶像》式的競(jìng)賽并不一定能夠體現(xiàn)出31歲的合規(guī)分析師布倫娜?斯基恩最擅長的一面,。2010年,，她之所以站在了評(píng)委的面前,，是因?yàn)樗氆@得一份更有挑戰(zhàn)性的工作,，但她卻把這次經(jīng)歷描述成為一起“火車事故”,。當(dāng)評(píng)委看著她，幾乎一句話也不說的時(shí)候,，斯基恩放棄了最初擬定的腳本,。她說：“那一幕太可怕了,?！?/p>

????這次比賽經(jīng)歷讓她知道，她更適合后端數(shù)據(jù)處理工作,，而不是擔(dān)任銷售部門的領(lǐng)導(dǎo),。讓她心存感激的是，這場(chǎng)比賽讓她有機(jī)會(huì)表明自己想多做點(diǎn)工作的心愿,，因?yàn)樽阅且院?，這家保險(xiǎn)公司合規(guī)部門的管理層提升了她三次。

????On camera, contestants divided into teams and ran a busy store inside a mall, swapping jobs rolling pretzels, handling customer complaints, and handing out samples. The video mimicked the style of realty TV with dramatic pauses, contestant interviews, and a surprise visit from the company founder Anne Beiler, who ordered a pretzel in disguise.

????"They kept you in suspense and would take you aside and get you to respond to what just happened on camera," says Crescent Chapman, a Grandville, Mich. store manager who won the contest. "My heart would be racing."

????The video prompted A&E TV to feature Auntie Anne's in a new series called Be the Boss. In the episode, pretzel store managers competed for the chance to win their own pretzel operation.

????TV competition themes are playing out in yet another way: team-building exercises. A Canada-based company called Canadian Outback puts on team-building events based on popular shows like The Amazing Race, Top Chef, and The Apprentice for clients like eBay (EBAY), Nestle, and General Mills (GIS).

????But is that kind of reality TV competition necessarily healthy for organizations? For decades, studies in workplaces and classrooms have shown that competition isn't just ineffective but actually counterproductive -- particularly on tasks that require creativity or more sophisticated problem solving, says Alfi Kohn, author of No Contest: The Case Against Competition.

????On the surface, it sounds good, but usually it's the biggest jerk who wins, which is what you don't want in the workplace," adds Alexander Kjerulf, a Dutch consultant who focuses on happiness at work. He says that contrary to what most people think, most of us perform worse when we're competing.

????At Aflac, the Idol-style competition didn't necessarily bring out the best in Brenna Skeen, a 31-year-old Aflac compliance analyst. In 2010, she stood in front of judges because she wanted more challenges in her job but she describes the experience as a "train wreck" in which she veered away from her intended script as judges looked at her and said little. "It was terrifying," says Skeen.

????The competition taught her that she is better suited to handle back-end data jobs rather than a sales leadership position. She was grateful for the chance to make it known that she wanted more in her job because managers since promoted her three times inside the insurer's compliance department.