Cultural Values, Personal Ethics Preppy,

Cultural Values, Personal Ethics

Preppy, Wasp, Conservative -- Republican. These are the adjectives frequently given to the upstate New York State culture from which I hail, so memorably depicted in the fiction of Joyce Carol Oates, herself a proud product of this 'stock' and geographical region, as depicted in short stories such as "Where are you going, where do you come from?" Or the culture, one could add, so memorably satirized in Lisa Birnbach's the Official Preppy Handbook, although I like to think that the New York working class WASP culture has a slightly less noxious sense of entitlement than the New England WASPs the handbook chronicles. My own upbringing placed a strong stress upon hard work and core, American values, contrary to some of the attitudes expressed in the Guide as well.

Of course, the author Lisa Birnbach, of the Official Preppy Handbook might say I am in self-denial -- yes, I did wear a nice, conservative set of blue and gray tailored suits to work, during my first days laboring at IBM and I did live in a pair of loafers as I grew up. I drew the line, however, at the plaid madras monogrammed Bermuda shorts during the summer, that are supposed to be the mark of a true, rather than a faux preppie.

There are some other chinks in my preppie armor, chinks I am proud of rather than ones I wish to conceal. I am the child of a businessperson, not of old money. Rather unusual for the period and in the community I found myself located in, I was raised the product of a single mother. My mother, no 'Muffy' of golf courses and social clubs, ran her own successful silk screening business, and instilled in me the values of dedication to a business organization, of a compassionate yet committed capitalistic ethic and ethos, and told me that in general, one always had to try hard, expect the best, and weather the worst in the business world and in life.

Her own mother was a teacher -- one of the few professions open to women of her intellect, during the day and age when my grandmother grew up. In retrospect, I am in awe of the courage and dedication with which my grandmother pursued her career -- and I must confess, even I, with all of my experience in management, and in facilitating business meetings, would be daunted at the prospect of having to control a room full of unruly children. My grandmother was a great influence upon me when I was growing up, and helped raise me as well when my mother was busy with her business.

Thus, I grew up in the shadow of education, of educators -- not only through the stories and the importance placed upon learning and giving back to the world from my grandmother, but also because I am the child of two Syracuse University alumni. Syracuse is a huge, sprawling campus, located in snowy upstate New York, and the entire town of Syracuse revolves around campus and student life. It is a community as well as a university. My father as well as my mother is a graduate of that institution. It is a very spirited place, full of pride for its athletic teams. It was wonderful to be exposed to such an environment through my parents. I wished to be part of an organization throughout my life, not just in college, with a commitment to learning and education, of improving the world through knowledge as well as simply making money.

IBM improved the world through technology, I believe, and thus I am proud to have worked for that organization for twenty years, and its spin-off company of Intel for seven years.

My mother's success in her own silk screening business was what inspired me to enter the business world. But I wasn't sure, after living vicariously through her business and seeing the hardship she had to go through, just to make it on her own, that I wanted such an insecure business life of an independent entrepreneur, always at the mercy of the capricious whims of the marketplace and government red tape.

IBM's sound structure of benefits and close corporate culture attracted me. I wanted to be a part of a place that both offered me a family-like corporate atmosphere, that was stable and promised its employees great security, yet still had a commitment to changing the future by doing good works. Despite its conservative image, IBM is known for its philanthropy as well as its technical innovation. Thus, I became an IBMer.

My mother, as a woman still struggling with her career in the business world almost thirty years ago, at first disapproved. IBM had a reputation as a male-dominated company -- but male did not necessarily mean misogynist, in my mind. For twenty years, it was my home. Although I have since left the company, I was heartened to see, on its recent website message from the current CEO, "We've been spending a great deal of time thinking, debating and determining the fundamentals of this company. It has been important to do so. When IBMers have been crystal clear and united about our strategies and purpose, it's amazing what we've been able to create and accomplish. When we've been uncertain, conflicted or hesitant, we've squandered opportunities and even made blunders that would have sunk smaller companies."(Palmisano, 2004)

This was the best of what I remembered, from working at IBM -- its willingness to admit mistakes, yet retaining a strong emphasis on community and unity, rather than everyone just doing his or her own thing. The website also affirmed IBM's strong code of professional ethics. It also reaffirmed my decision to stay with a large company, as large organizations often have the luxury of making mistakes that smaller companies do not, which can actually make it easier for large companies to be more daring in research, development, and philanthropy.

IBM's culture of men in gray flannel suits is still much criticized by industry outsiders and management gurus. But things have begun to change.

Corporate culture is gaining recognition as an untapped asset for managers and companies alike. The right corporate biology -- the optimal balance of people and culture -- can mean the difference between success and failure... Since the days of chairman Tom Watson, IBM had been know as a strong culture, with white shirts and company songs, with service excellence and a blue-chip image." But lately, " the company's luster began to fade. IBM had become too rigid and internally focused. The strength of its culture had, in fact, made it too inflexible to change. The company took its eye off the customer and lost its ability to adapt." (Mustante, 2001) Now, however, "accessibility" and diversity "is no longer merely a philanthropic endeavor for IBM Corporation," but good business, as the population as a whole, in America, grows more diverse. (Reed, 2004) as the consumer base of IBM grows more global, too, the company has expanded its mind and its product ranges.