Executive Summary
This report looks at several researches that have studied the managerial styles of males and females with an attempt to define perceived differences between them. In addition discussed are the results from studies on the effectiveness of managers between the two genders. The results of these studies have been analyzed through readings of several researches and personal experiences of the students doing this report.
Studies say both genders are at least equally effective in the business world and that success is affected by diverse individual factors and has very less to do with gender. Commonly held perceptions of males being more effective managers are not only a loss to the female manager, but a loss to the
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Concluding on this factor however, the personal experiences and perception of the group correspond with the studies. Instead of defining the female manager as democratic and the male manager as autocratic, it is more unanimously agreed that female managers are generally more democratic or less autocratic than their male counterparts. In both personal experience examples discussed earlier on, it was found that the male manager was relatively more directing, while the female manager more participative.
Task Vs Strategy Orientation
The first dimension considers an orientation towards task achievement or getting things done, whereas the strategy orientation is a where the leader considers the big picture and is thinking more strategically.
The MRG research report on Leadership and Gender (Kabacoff, Peters 1998: 4-5) states that women tended to be more task focused and scored higher on leadership scales measuring an orientation toward setting high standards of performance and the attainment of results. Women were far more apt to organize work in a structured way, to follow-up to ensure objectives were met and to push for results.
Men were viewed as more apt to take a strategic approach to the leadership role. They score higher on scales assessing and orientation towards strategic planning and business vision. Men appeared to co-workers to be more open to new ideas and willing to take
In this article Anderson and Hansson explore the behavioural differences between women and men in managerial positions and propose explanations for the differences and similarities. The authors used data gained through questionnaires of public managers, that measured their leadership style, decision making styles, and motivation profile as to eliminate any effects of organizational differences on leadership behaviour. This investigation employs three dimensions of leadership behaviour – leadership style, motivation
Gender relations - Do stereotypical mind-sets around gender relations lead to gender inequality in this workplace? Do work structures disadvantage women? Is there an alignment of managerial attributes with gender stereotypes, such that male attributes of competitive spirit and technical competence are given
This myth has been perpetuated throughout history and in result; we have barriers such as the glass ceiling in existence. If we were to pull up a list of the Board of Directors for any given company, the probability of it being a predominately male group is high. This notion alone shows how companies have continued to dwell in olds days where men are considered more capable than women. The Glass ceiling effect has continued to place barriers against women endeavor in achieving success in their careers and participation in their work place. Women have not been able to realize their potential in their work places since they are not offered equal chances as compared to their men counterparts who enjoy great opportunities in organizations. The fact that an organization is ran by men, may cause an adverse effect on the performance of men. Obviously, a man thinks differently than a woman. It is likely that a decision made by men only is likely to ignore the interests of women in the organization. This creates a domino effect because it affects the woman’s performance in business since they only get limited chances to learn, and limited job assignments that will enhance their skills. Hence, low or limited skills and experience will lower their overall
| According to the Wilson managerial skills research, effective female and male managers have significantly different skill profiles.
I would like to start by mentioning that there may be decision making abilities and cultural differences that are affected by gender. Women are usually expected to be nurturing and less aggressive than men. Under attribution theory (ORGB), female managers may be less likely to attribute their success to their own abilities. It is not hard to guess that management may end up not having an entirely accurate assessment of a woman’s skills due to her modesty in that area.
In prior studies, leadership roles have been based off one’s sex instead of gender. According to Park, male gender qualities characterized as; aggressive, independent, objective, logical, rational,analytical, decisive, confident, assertive, ambitious, opportunistic and impersonal are distinguished from female gender qualities described as; emotional, sensitive, expressive, cooperative, intuitive, warm, tactful, receptive to ideas, talkative, gentle, empathetic, and submissive (p. 12). These characteristics brings up the notion of how women pursue being leaders because they are opposite of men who dominates the leadership
Vinkenburg, van Engen, Eagly, and Johannesen-Schmidt (2011) found that gender differences in communication style norms can also impact advancement in careers. While the differences in group collaboration and leadership styles between men and women may be trivial, and perception of gender-based leadership style is not. Women were shown to use more effective, leadership techniques then men. However, men were perceived as being slightly better leaders and more inspirational in the work setting, despite the fact that woman’s leadership styles tended to be more rounded. The perpetuation of gender bias in promotion decisions perpetuates the stereotype that men hold
Thesis statement: Leadership depends on the leader’s leadership style and there way of communicating ideas rather than the leader themselves. Both women and men believe in similar leadership styles however women prefer a more participative leadership approach.
Does gender really matter? Being a woman taking the role of an accountant, the male will always be the dominant one in the business room. The company I work for only had one woman manager and it’s a little disappointing so I wanted her point of view on it. She responds “yes and no”. Woman have a different perspective on issues she compared it to different races seeing things differently. I agreed with her when she said woman has a different way of brining their style to leadership then men do. What I really loved and respected what she said was “at the end of the day, I think good decisions are good
Jacobson, Palus, and Bowling’s review explores if women are managed differently than men. This review takes a look at gender and how it affects or impacts internal management and external networking. The review found that women spend less time on external networking whereas men spend less time on internal management. The authors research the different method of management styles and/or techniques that differ between men and women in addition to the external networking styles and techniques. The authors research different management strategies based on a male perspective versus a female perspectives.
I think managers can benefit from understanding gender differences. The differences don’t make one gender better than the other. Women can be good managers, excellent engineers, research scientists and doctors. Conversely, men can excel in professions that are traditionally filled by women, like teaching elementary school, nursing, and being the stay-at-home parent. I have noticed differences in how men and women manage and make decisions. According to Simma Lieberman, men and women use different processes in leadership and decision making (Lieberman, n.d.). Men are more task oriented and process internally while women are more relationship oriented and process by thinking out loud (Lieberman, n.d.) Women lead by consensus, men make their decisions with input from a select few they trust (Lieberman, n.d.). However, in a meeting, men will typically talk more than women and take up more physical space than women. In order to be viewed as equals, women need to assert their physical space and participate in the meeting (Lieberman,
The perceived contradiction between women and the typical leader role tends to create certain prejudices that causes people to think that leadership is more suited for men than women (Eagly et al., 2003)
More and more women are rising to the leadership challenge, even in some of the most male-dominated industries. The increase in the number of women attending college, the increasing number of women in the workplace or starting their own business has demonstrated to men who own businesses that women can be both managers and mothers, thus showing their male counterpart that women can in fact "do it all".
The purpose of this article was to examine women’s and men’s leadership styles, the effectiveness of the different leadership styles, and the true determination of effectiveness as a woman leader (Appelbaum et al, 2003, p. 43). The article present research conducted for theories examined. Comparing this week’s work assignment to this article, I notice a linkage to a few items. The comparable list that is closely related to parts of theories in the reading assignment are gender stereotypes; different leadership style effectiveness; developmental opportunity, and experience. All of these different topics are related to the Leadership Labyrinth.
Gender in Management: An International Journal Vol. 26 No. 3, 2011 pp. 220-233 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1754-2413 DOI 10.1108/17542411111130981