The above examples provide splendid illustrations of Gregory Bateson's point about how the culture of the United States re-creates pat- terns found in American parent-child relations. However, the most color- ful example emerging from the Peters and Waterman research is found in the early years of a company named Foxboro, where a technical advance was desperately needed for survival. Late one evening, a scientist rushed into the president's office with a working prototype. Dumbfounded at the elegance of the solution and bemused about how to reward it, the presi- dent rummaged through the drawers in his desk, found something, and leaning toward the scientist said, "Here!" In his hand was a banana, the only reward he could immediately put his hands on. As Peters and Waterman report, from that day on a small "gold banana pin has been the highest accolade for scientific achievement at Foxboro. Positive reinforcement is practiced in many Japanese, British, French and other non-American corporations, often with considerable i on employee motivation and performance. However, the United States stands supreme in the extent to which a concern for winning and appropriate behavior have established themselves as reward for important features of the culture and corporate life.