The Controversy of Alan Sugar

Alan Sugar can be admired for his ambition and drive for success. Coming from humble origins and working his way up to become one of the most successful businessmen in the UK, he is a growing inspiration  who is well-regarded by entrepreneurs.

Where it all began...

Alan Sugar is known for his autocratic leadership style, characterised by high levels of control which allows him to make all the decisions without consulting his staff (Daft, 2008). Though team members might make suggestions that are in the organisations best interest, Alan Sugar accepts little input from his business partners but takes a ‘my way or the high way’ type approach, and presents himself as the only leader with all the power (Gitman and McDaniel, 2008). Although he continually implements this approach, there are many up and coming entrepreneurs who would jump at the opportunity to work with him by participating in reality television programmes such as ‘The Apprentice’. Potential business partners are subject to the high expectations of ‘Lord Sugar’, whereby they are intimidated and humiliated in front of competing colleagues. Upon watching the programme it appears that Alan Sugar feels he can get the best out of his employees through these degrading techniques; this has led to a number of controversies around his method of leadership. There are many people that disagree with his style as it somewhat belittles an individual and disregards their abilities. Additionally, most people resent being a victim of such treatment which can increase the level of absences and staff turnovers within the business. In contrast some would argue that leading in this manner allows complex business decisions to be thought through and executed quickly and efficiently. Also, the style can be effective when managing large numbers of unskilled workers. As a result, the benefits of the autocratic leadership model can outweigh the advantages some other styles of leadership.

Alan Sugar and apprentice winner
Stella English

Though Alan Sugars way of leading has helped him to become a businessman who is self-sufficient, some of those at the receiving end of his sharp manner have grown to strongly dislike his character. Apprentice winner Stella English is a perfect example of a businesswoman who once admired Alan Sugar, until her dreams were crushed by him and his colleagues (Macarflane, 2011). People might understand that the theme of control is for entertainment purposes, though Stella’s account of working for Alan Sugar would suggest otherwise. In the 2010 series Stella English had believed she’d earned herself an executive role earning £100,000 a year, learning and working closely alongside Alan Sugar; this couldn’t be far from the truth. In reality Stella fell a victim to even more autocratic business behaviours from Alan Sugar and his other business partners. As Stella gave her story of her appalling experience she alleged Alan Sugar to be a rude businessman who gives false hope and has no interests in his staff. From the moment Stella was given the job she felt there was little growth or direction for her development within the business, in particularly she was not given a specific role where her opinions and business qualities were valued, or even put to use. Stella recalls being oppressed at work as she was putdown, intimidated, threatened by other staff members. Although Alan Sugar promotes the opportunity given to those who win The Apprentice, it appears that what is presented differs from the reality. Stella confirms this and reveals that there are many parts of the show which are not filmed, especially parts that could jeopardise the integrity and image of the BBC, the show and Alan Sugars himself. For instance, after the cameras had stopped rolling Stella claims she was told “welcome to the real world, there is no job but luckily for you someone has just left” (Macarflane, 2011). Stella went on to explain that this was a junior role as opposed to an executive role, which consequently meant she’d have little contact with Alan sugar because there were 5 layers of management between them; the complete opposite to what was proposed to her. The misconception combined with experiences of bullying pushed Stella to resign from her position despite of the nice pay check. Stella was not the only winner who quit their job with Alan Sugar, winners Tim Campbell and Michelle Dewberry also resigned from their roles which suggest there is definitely some degree of truth within their experiences (Andrews, 2008). After reading such stories, people might begin to understand that the show does not reflect the reality at all, but is a lie which misleads the people who look up to Alan Sugar and his companies.

Alan Sugar and apprentice winner
Tim Campbell

Not only known for his control in the business field, Alan Sugar is notorious for his strong opinions which have gained interest in the media. There are several accusations of Alan Sugar being sexist and racist publically via his tweets and voiced opinions, though despite of being on trial has not led to any action following the cases. Alan Sugar openly explains why he and other employers would think twice before employing women. He explains that women are risky because they’re more likely to take time off due to family reasons such as marriage and pregnancy; he uses former apprentice Katie Hopkins who left due to family commitments as an example. Despite the fact Alan Sugar has such strong negative opinions it is questionable why Alan Sugar is still respected in the business world, being one of the Governments team of figureheads (Business Matters, 2009).

In conclusion, the autocratic management style which Alan Sugar puts into practice to run his companies can be advantageous as it allows one person to make decisions without disagreements, simply because the respect for the boss is high. In contrast it can be frowned upon because discipline is reinforced through intimidation which results in employees working in constant fear. In some cases the improper treatment can give staff members a reason to leave; this can be considered a management failure as it results in lost assets to Alan Sugars Empire. The approach is the complete opposite to leading employers such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft where the strength of staff members are highly valued, encouraged and supported through their work (Behan, 2007). Having companies like this in the workforce can set an example; preventing people from wanting to work for Alan Sugar because the awareness people have to his negative, narrow-minded and bad tempered behaviour. Those who promote his work ethic positively will contribute to this model of management being employed more frequently across the workforce. There will be a growth in arrogant, shallow and money-oriented businessmen, resulting in more unhappy workers being lead through fear. Whether his style is acceptable is a debateable subject which is much decided by the individual. Love or hate him, you have to admire the achievements of Alan Sugar no matter how convincing he has been to get to where he is today.