CBS to Air Mack Trucks Episode of Undercover Boss

February 15, 2011 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Air Mack Trucks 

CBS announced that the episode of Undercover Boss featuring Mack Trucks, Inc. and its President & CEO, Denny Slagle, will be broadcast Sunday, Feb. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

In production of the episode, Slagle worked side-by-side with employees at the Macungie, PA, plant that assembles every Mack truck sold in North America; the Hagerstown, MD, plant that produces every Mack engine sold in North America; and the Baltimore, MD, distribution center that provides parts to Mack dealers and customers.

“I came away from this experience with a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by our front-line employees,” Slagle said.  “Mack people live up to the brand’s reputation – they’re tough, genuine, dedicated, and reliable.  The future truly is bright for this 111-year-old American icon.”

Source: for construction pros

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How Will ‘Undercover Boss’ Stay Undercover?

May 22, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Undercover Boss News 

Will CBS be able to keep “Undercover Boss” undercover next season?
CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler told TheWrap the crew has some new tricks up its sleeve — but she won’t spill the beans until taping is completed.
“I’m not going to give away any secrets,” she told The Wrap.
At first she said the average employee in the field is too busy to be looking over their shoulder to see if the chief executive of the company has infiltrated their ranks. And then she said even if a camera is following a new employee, “If you hear hoof beats, you don’t necessarily see the horse.”
Then adding to the intrigue, she said, “The show has a very smart production team. I don’t think the employees will realize.”
When asked point blank if that meant hidden cameras, she paused and said, “I don’t want to give any secrets away, but it will be smartly done.”

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‘Undercover Boss’ tribute race part of Arlington Park opening

April 30, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Churchill Downs 

Since becoming a jockey valet in 1988, Kenny Rice has spent a lot of time in the Arlington Park winner’s circle.

His job has him there often to help collect the riders’ equipment when they dismount their horses after each race.

But when Arlington Park opens its doors to start its 2010 meet today, Rice will be in the winner’s circle for a very special moment.

Thanks to an episode of the CBS television series “Undercover Boss,” there will be a race run today in honor of Rice’s daughter Meghan Samantha, who was born with a heart defect and died in March 2009 at the age of 20.

While going undercover to work with Rice on his job at Arlington Park last summer, Churchill Downs Chief Operating Officer Bill Carstanjen bonded with the valet’s story about his daughter during the taping of the show.

Carstanjen noticed the picture of Rice’s daughter and then realized it was in memoriam.

Read the full story on Daily Herald

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Undercover Boss Looks to Wall Street Firms

April 15, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Undercover Boss News 

Undercover Boss, CBS’ unexpected reality hit, is heading to Wall Street, according to the Wall Street Journal. The show has reportedly begun calling financial firms hoping to find a senior executive willing to appear on the show, in which CEOs go “undercover” to see what it’s like to be an low-level employee at their firms.

Source: NY Magazine

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TV Ratings: Golf, ‘Undercover Boss’ give CBS a Sunday win

April 12, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Ratings 

As so often happens, CBS coverage of a popular sporting event carried over into primetime through much of the country and both bumped and boosted the network’s entire primetime lineup. In this case, it was ending of the Masters, which pushed 15 minutes into primetime and added luster to what would have already been a solid Sunday win for the network.

In the 9 p.m. hour, CBS’ “Undercover Boss” (and a bit of “The Amazing Race” for much of the country) did an 8.3/13 and a 4.0 demo rating. The first hour of ABC’s two-hour “Brothers & Sisters” had a 5.8/9 for second. NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” finished third, beating the 3.5/6 for FOX’s “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” which were second for the hour in the demo with a 2.9 rating.

Source: HitFix

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‘Undercover Boss’ season finale recap: 1-800-Flowers wilts our sympathy

April 12, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: 1-800-flowers.com 

The season finale of Undercover Boss told us the thorny story of 1-800-Flowers. The show pumped up a rivalry between the two brothers who head up the company, Jim and Chris McCann. Jim (the CEO) asked Chris (the company president) to go undercover.

When we arrived at the show’s standard doling-out-the-rewards final segments, Undercover Boss seemed to address some of the criticisms that have aimed at the series. Instead of just giving Nciole, the employee lucky enough to come into contact with the (co-)boss, a raise, Chris announced an “incentive system” to be implemented for people throughout the company who exceed their goals.

Read the full recap on EW.


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Marist alumnus is ‘Undercover Boss’ on season finale

April 7, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: 1-800-flowers.com 

Chris McCann, president and CEO of 1-800-flowers.com and a 1983 graduate of Marist College, goes undercover during the season finale of the CBS television show “Undercover Boss” on Sunday.
McCann’s turn on the show features an unexpected twist when his true identity is discovered by one of his employees.
“I am so grateful for CBS providing me with this exceptional opportunity,” McCann said in a prepared statement. “The opportunity to experience our company at all levels makes me a stronger leader and enables 1-800-flowers.com to continue to be the best in the business. Also, the show reaffirmed my appreciation for all our employees and their hard work — they are invaluable to us in our mission to help deliver smiles every day.”

Read the full story on Poughkeepsie Journal

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TV Ratings: ‘Undercover Boss’ rules Easter Sunday for CBS

April 5, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Ratings, Rotor-Rooter 

A holiday Sunday led to yet another low-rated primetime, but CBS’ lineup still triumphed, led by America’s love for the second half-hour of “Undercover Boss.”
In the 9 p.m. hour, CBS got a 7.3/12 for “Undercover Boss,” which also did a 3.9 demo rating. We’re a bit amused that “Undercover Boss” leaps from a 6.6/11 to an 8.0/13 half-hour to half-hour, as viewers tune in for the tear-filled ending. ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was up to a 5.2/9 in its second hour, better than the first hour of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” FOX was fourth with a repeat of “Family Guy” (2.7/4) and a new “Sons of Tucson” (1.9/3).

Source: HitFix

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Management Lessons from Undercover Boss

April 1, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Undercover Boss News 

The new CBS reality show demonstrates that each employee has a story—and the importance of management learning what it is, says Kellogg School’s Michelle Buck.

After watching an episode in which William C. Carstanjen, chief operating officer of Churchill Downs, worked with three employees in varying capacities at Churchill Downs locations in Florida and Illinois, Buck spoke with Bloomberg BusinessWeek Management Editor Patricia O’Connell about the message of the show and the responsibilities managers have to create a culture of openness. Here is some of the Q&As:

Patricia O’Connell: Out of curiosity, what did you think of the show, Undercover Boss?

Michelle Buck: I was very interested, not just for our conversation, but as someone who teaches a class in managerial leadership. … It’s a look at how important it is for leaders to know what’s happening at all levels of the organization. As [William Carstanjen] said, “this is really a people business,” and everything is a people business. [Managers need to find out do] people have what they need to do their job? What are their hopes and dreams? Those are the factors that affect their motivation and their ability to get their work done.

If [Undercover Boss] that can trigger conversations and open awareness of these issues to the fundamental business practice, that’s a great thing.

What do you make of the idea that clearly a lot of employees have no clue what top management looks like? I realize they are showing situations where there are many, many layers between the workers and the top management. But still, I was struck that employees have no idea who their top people are.

I was at an event at Kellogg with an executive of a large global firm and we were talking about the show, before it had aired. He said the premise was scandalous. The ability of people to go undercover [and not be recognized] at a large organization shows the problem.

Workers likely would not have been as open had Carstanjen shown up and said, “Hey, I’m the COO, and I don’t know enough about the way the operation works. What’s hard about your job?” Even if you create a culture from the very top where this kind of conversation is important, and you want to give people the tools they need to do their jobs well, and you set it up so that cascades down throughout the organization, how do you make it safe for employees to be open with you?

Leadership is a relationship, and like any relationship, it evolves with trust and credibility. So a leader has to be consistent in showing desire for the input and acknowledging the feedback—but there has to be follow-up as well.

Too often people feel, “I made the suggestion, they said thank you and smiled, but nothing ever happened.” And that can cause a real decrease in morale ….

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“Undercover Boss” Amuses Theme Park CEO

March 31, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Filed under: Herschend Family Entertainment 

Joel Manby, president and CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment, the largest family-owned theme parks in the nation, learned that it takes a lot of hard work to keep the fun and excitement alive on CBS’ “Undercover Boss.

While undercover, he meets a kid-friendly captain who loves his job conducting the “Ride the Duck” tour and learns that it might be easier to run a boardroom than to keep the attention of a boat full of kids.

Manby also works the front gate at Silver Dollar City Theme Park, where he learns that first impressions and a warm welcome make all the difference.

He also meets a young man aspiring for his job. A roller-coaster enthusiast, Manby’s employee shares his passion along with some ideas he hopes to implement when he takes over the company.

“Albert does overwhelm me a little bit, but you can channel that,” Manby says.

His employee speaks highly of Manby as well, saying, “He is an awesome guy.”

Read the full story on CBS News

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