A. Chad Ruehle

Soci110 Assignment

Oct. 6, 1998

Growing up, I always heard that simply working hard is the best way to make something of yourself. While this may be true in some circumstances, Hollywood seems to take a different stance. The movies we reviewed suggested that conforming to an organization’s level of social homogeneity is actually the best way to get ahead. Moreover, the readings by Kanter and Jackall also show that in the ‘real world,’ organizations value employees who fit into their social homogeneity over employees who simply work hard.

Kanter states that managers tend to promote only those persons who are similar to them. In the movie "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying," Finch finds himself quickly moving up the job ladder by creating the impression that he is similar to the people in management. For example, Finch pretends to have attended the same university as Mr. Bingley. According to the principle proposed by Kanter, this helped Finch break through the management’s mobility barriers because managers tend to be more trusting of those whom they perceive to have similar backgrounds and experiences.

As one moves up the promotion chain, an organization's community of practice tends to promote a very specific appearance. When Tim Robins is promoted to president in "The Hudsucker Proxy," the management has him fitted into new suits and groomed to look like the other managers at Hudsucker Industries. Similarly, in "Wall Street," once Bud Fox begins working for Gordon Gecko, Mr. Gecko informs him that he must start wearing better suits. Furthermore, Kanter pointed out that in ‘real world’ organizations, like Indsco and IBM, the appearances of their managers are strikingly similar.

Another aspect of conforming to an organization’s level of social homogeneity is being a team player. According to Jackall, being a team player entails using discretion, not expressing moral or political claims, not putting oneself in a position where you are perceived as a threat to others, and aligning oneself with the dominant ideology of the moment. Bud Fox finds out how devastating it can be to one’s career if you stop being a team player. When Bud starts working against the best interests of Gecko Interposes, Mr. Gecko withdraws his trust and sends the Stockwatch investigation committee after Bud. This quickly puts an end to Bud’s career. Similarly, in the movie "Tucker," Mr. Tucker is seen as a prima donna in the automobile industry. His ideas were considered a threat to others in the industry. Consequently, the auto industry show how impermeable it could be to new organizations like Tucker’s. Eventually, the auto industry ran Tucker out of business.

Hollywood seems to reinforce the idea that working hard is not the only key to success. Finch definitely doesn’t work hard. Rather, he simply conforms to the social expectations of the managers. Bud Fox doesn’t work hard either. Bud gets his break because Mr. Gecko thought Bud reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger (homosocial reproduction). On the other hand, Tucker does work hard. In fact, he works very hard to get his business started. However, since he was too much of an outsider in the auto industry, all his hard work got him nowhere.

The evidence presented here shows that the best strategy for getting ahead in an organization is to conform to that organization’s level of social homogeneity. The Hollywood movies and the ‘real’ observations of Kanter and Jackall suggest that a person who is discrete, trustworthy, and possess characteristics similar to current management will get further ahead in an organization than a person who is a hardworking radical.