DeLisle discusses workplace ethics
KATIE McVOY
Acquiring a background in values and ethics from Saint Mary's is important to enter the global marketplace, said Paula DeLisle, a 1975 graduate and Shannon Alumna Executive Scholar.
DeLisle is a human resources consultant for Watson Wyatt Worldwide in Hong Kong. She said Saint Mary's emphasis on values is helping her create good business ethics in Asia.
"It really did prepare me for being an international citizen," she said.
"I have the ability to work a problem out and find a solution."
DeLisle has lived and worked in Hong Kong for 17 years. She said her experience in Saint Mary's Rome Program inspired her to work abroad.
"After taking part in the Rome program," DeLisle said in her speech Monday, "living outside the United States was something I really wanted to do."
The global market place is accessible to anyone who has the drive to be a part of it, she said. Although she thought grades and a choice of major are important, she explained that other qualities are necessary for successful employees.
"The driving force is the fact that there is a quest for knowledge and continued education," said DeLisle. "Make sure people know you want the international experience. You can't be a passive observer."
Self-awareness, motivation, empathy and social skill are factors in the work place, DeLisle explained. Most women, she said, already possess these qualities.
Flexibility is also essential.
"The most important skill," DeLisle said, "is the ability to eat anything anywhere."
DeLisle offered advice to women interested in the business world.
"Women working against women does not work," she said. "Work together and use women as your support. You build up barriers. Success comes when you tear them down."
DeLisle was a Humanistic Studies major at Saint Mary's. Her lecture covered "Opportunities and Challenges for Women in the Global Market."
All News Stories for Tuesday, August 31, 1999
