ABSTRACT
William H. Whyte's The Organization Man introduced the reader to the standards and drivers of corporate culture in the post-World War II economy in America. The book is both a history and a critique of the high numbers of white, middle and upper class young male employees entering the corporate workforce after graduating from college in the 1950s. As an editor at Fortune magazine, Whyte developed the ability to write for a wide range of readers: business executives, academic minds, and the general public. Whyte defines 'Social Ethic' as the contemporary body of thought which makes morally legitimate the pressures of society against the individual. The "Social Ethic" identified by Whyte is the idea that a sense of belonging and togetherness in a consensus-driven organization are more important than individual creativity. A necessary component of this ethic is the idea of "groupthink", a term Whyte coined in The Organization Man.
