The best challenge I've seen so far took place on the spoof show "My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss".
They gave each of the remaining contestants a live chicken. They had until 6 p.m. to barter the chicken for whatever else they could trade up for (no money could change hands but they could trade as often as they wanted before the end of the day) and then they each went back to the boardroom where professional appraisers put a monetary value on whatever they came back with. Lowest value got fired.
I enjoyed that episode because there wasn't backstabbing or politics. It was simply a test of one's ability to talk a deal.
ping