Leadership Development - Essay Example

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT A CASE FOR MORE WOMEN MANAGERS Table of Contents Page Executive Summary 3 A Delivery 4 2 Introduction 4 B Design 4 2.1 Development of Source Material 6 2.2 Application of Source Material 6 2.3 Evaluation of the Process 7 2.4 Assumptions vs Evidence 7 C Evaluation 3 The Rhetoric 8 4 The Tradition 8 5 The Authority 9 6 The Knowledge 10 D Synthesis 10 7 Conclusion 10 8 Bibliography 12 1 Executive Summary A group of four persons examined the status of Gender equality and opportunities at the workplace. Its finding has been reported at length in this report. It has been first established that a general Gender inequality exists in the workplace and it is abysmally lower as the person rises in the corporate hierarchy. The main reasons of this are improper training of women for and at the workplace. Traditional theories of a woman as a domestic person have been examined and found that the male dominated society is responsible for this malaise and continues to be so. It is evident that denial of opportunity is due to male oppression and has been addressed only in exceptional rises by individuals. However, this has not translated into any meaningful moves to let this percolate the general status of women executives in general. It has been further ascertained that the time has come for the society to pay its dues to the grand institution of motherhood and what better homage can be paid but for acknowledgement that it is the community’s obligations to accept them as the providers of future generation of knowledge workers. Hence there is need for working mothers to be given special considerations in the hierarchy of corporate governance. A Delivery 2 Introduction Every now and then there is a hue and cry that there are too few women managers and that in the top slots they could be counted on fingers. Yet except for repeated statements nothing really meaningful gets done about it. From the UN downwards the subject is raised discussed and some policy issues debated and framed, but there is hardly any implementation of the same. Most regrettably it has become a cocktail circuit issue rather that a serious debate with programmes and deadlines. A group of four classmates formed an informal group to see if they could develop the idea of having more women managers in the corporate world. The first step was to define the subject matter and it was decided that Management and Leadership Development was the right topic. It was further clarified with a sub tile that it was to be a case for having more Women Managers. The group had several meetings and the outcome was a set of slides to show the concern and to highlight the salient features of the topics. The central idea was to raise questions that could then be answered. As the workplace is a mix of both men and women it was necessary to begin with definitions and some hard facts of the ground realities. B Design “Diversity is the road to a smarter company and lead to a productive workforce” (Source: Journal of Managing Diversity in the Workplace by Joel Makeower -Business and Society Review) Civilizations have progressed, Technology has advanced, Information explosion leaves us breathless, opportunities are galore, cultural outlooks have changed, the world has come closer home but the concept of division of labour between man and woman remains historically the same as before. As a result we find few working women. A survey (2006) of the FTSE 100 companies found that women managers accounted for only 4 per cent of directors and 2 per cent of executive directorships. This is woefully low, and when we analyse further we find it is at its lowest ebb during the work related 16-64 year age group. What is worse is that there is Pay discrimination. The average pay gap between women and men in UK is 17 per cent. The glass ceiling is no myth but a reality holding women back. But why is this so in this age of enlightenment? We have a universal education system and more than once our women leaders have proved their mettle in Politics. Why can they not be perceived to do so in Business? What holds them back? Do they lack the drive to make the push or is their an unseen barrier to their entry to the decision making positions? There have been traditional barriers like barriers such as: Family obligations and Social values. But with families becoming nuclear and more manageable and the society veering towards more liberal values, more opportunities are created daily for induction of women in the workforce. While this is being done at the entry level, why does peter off when they reach the mid-management and just vanishes when top positions are involved? Companies do have Training and Development programmes for lower level management. There is evidence of Mentoring but when it comes to placing the women at the top side by side with the men there appears to be a lack of confidence. Is it created by men only or are the women responsible for it too? It is firmly believed that Training and Development within a company is important as it Improves individual’s performance and therefore the company as a whole benefits from reduced performance problems and it can motivate the staff so they will be more productive. The question is why it does not translate into more women rising to the top? This is an obvious case of discrimination. But, at whose hand? The men, or the women, or both? 2.1 Development of Source Materials Having raised the above questions, the quest now began for finding materials to find answers. This has been a highly debated question over the past decades and there was ample material about it both in the Library as well as on the World Wide Web. The entire group divided the responsibility amongst themselves the responsibility of finding answers to the above questions. Several models of this process were examined with the help of various journals and writings of eminent personalities to arrive at a consensus of how to find answers to the above questions. The team went through the material meticulously to locate the answers from a maze of diverse views. 2.2 Application of Source Material It was finally found that the best answer was to promote education amongst the women executives in order to instil in them the confidence that they seem to be deficient in. They have to be made aware of their abilities and capabilities. A SWOT analysis was carried out and it described the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. The strength lay in the exceptional capability of women to absorb knowledge and the weakness was their dual role as family raisers and child supporters. The opportunity was available in taking advantage of changed social and cultural environments and the threat was lack of training facilities that excluded them from rising in the corporate world. The group decided that the Threat could be effectively handled if proper training was available. The group decided to examine the Training and Development Programmes and see what they really offer. A number of areas for women’s training and development that have been identified as being important are Confidence Building, Career planning, Assertiveness of Skills, Organisational Politics and Stress Management 2.3 Evaluation of the Process This raises yet another important question that under these circumstances and that is whether Women Only Training programmes will produce better results? Is it a good thing in this era of mixed development? Can it help and really add a depth to the diversity debate? Will a separation of males and females be really helpful for the women themselves and will it add to their esteem and relevance in the male bastion? Those for the first favoured it for the reason that it took bias out of consideration. An all women environment offered training without roadblocks and free of harassment. The second group was of the opinion that a mixed environment was more suitable as this provided a natural environment that they would face in the future. Training in isolation will be deficient. There is no denying the fact that there exists a widow of opportunity. Opportunities for women remain important and initiatives need to be taken to train and develop managers. The next step was to check the above assumptions to support this cause. 2.4 Assumption vs Evidence Here were two models to follow and each had its own arguments for the pros and cons. While some took it light-heartedly, it was pointed out that this indeed is a matter of serious consideration, and lighter moments aside, it deserved careful attention and analysis. This warranted a further examination of the Rhetoric, Tradition, Authority and Knowledge in relationship to the original question of how to develop Management and Leadership qualities in women and make them fit the Manager’s role model. A study of these would lead to conclusions. C Evaluation 3 The Rhetoric The European Commission declares that Gender equality is a fundamental right. (Commission of the European Communities) This rhetoric is heard all over the world from most countries. It is proclaimed to be a common value and a necessary requirement to achieving growth, employment and a balance social structure. The rhetoric claims that while many women have indeed ended up at the top, more are needed both in public life as well as in corporate environments. Nonetheless, inequality still exists and in fact has widened with the increase in the number of educated women, especially in corporate cultures. The most common reason handed out is that women, at some point in time in life, have to choose between having a family or a career. This single fact is used against their ambition of rising to the top. This piece of evidence is hammered in repeatedly but attention is focussed on the problem rather than the solution. 4 The Tradition Gender roles have been defined as "The set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity, and in which these transformed needs are satisfied" (Reiter 1975: 159). Traditionally the gender role has always been biased against the women. The roles have been divided between those outside the home and domestic jobs. The first are like earning a living, hunting and house building in the ancient times to careers and jobs in modern era. The second relates to raising a family and the general upkeep of the house. It has always been perceived that domestic roles are inferior and less important and this has given rise to a flawed argument that women are inferior to men due to their domestic duties. This was further augmented through some scriptures and became an unwritten law. It is now well recognised that behaviour is a result of these enforced rules of human society which determines the role of men and women. It is further affected by individual attitude and level of intelligence. Once these rigid rules are bent we see a flourishing creativity which leads to enthralling roles played by women and accepted in this male dominated society. 5 The Authority Today most women at the workplace face discrimination and discouragement besides they do not get the kind of support required for working mothers, except maternity leave. Even this is considered to be a favour rather than a bonafide need. Indeed if a male worker had a traumatic experience he gets more sympathy than a working mother. In addition they have the moral dilemma of spanning two ethical modes of work, the wage related workplace and the unpaid social labour of domestic life. With different values and obligations this often leads to complexities that are accentuated to by the male authority at both places. Indeed the value of motherhood to a society has to be reconstructed and the social welfare system is required to accept that this burden which is for the ultimate welfare of the community should be acknowledged as a value addition to the women’s qualifications. The society needs to understand that to produce well meaning individuals the institution of motherhood needs social support. This gap between individual responsibility and social obligations needs to be narrowed. ." There is a need to reconstruct motherhood and organize an effective social structure to support the work of family and community commitment it alone has traditionally been responsible for performing”. (Buchanan) There is also an urgent need to redefine the beliefs about adult work that presently shape corporate structure. 6 The Knowledge Knowledge is the fountainhead of a human being and the woman is usually more knowledgeable than man. This fact has been so well documented that it needs no elaboration. Right from the beginning of philosophical thought to the modern age of scientific investigation this has been a well established fact that the woman possesses more mental faculties and man more physical ones. Yet the discrimination at the workplace, which is the focal point of knowledge and knowledge management, the woman is discriminated against despite her mental superiority. This is strange fact of life and women are equally to be blamed for this malaise. They have gone for feminism as a tool to shape their cause but it is futile when confronted with male opposition. Yet the one acknowledged tool is totally ignored and remains untried just for the want of will on the part of the woman. It is our firm belief that confidence will be gained from this knowledge and its sober practice will bring about the change more quickly than any other route. D Synthesis 7 Conclusion Equality of genders has become a hot topic of debates and in the present context equality at the workplace is becoming a touchy subject. It is well recognised that companies are now more customer oriented as the buyers now have a wider choice of products. As the world becomes more liberal it is taking shape more as a global village where wares from almost any place are available every where. In case of consumer durable and perishable goods, the women customers have become more decisive and their bias for or against the product carries a lot of weight. As large segment who finally control the purse strings their place in the consumer hierarchy is rivalled by none With this as a reality of life, companies need to turn more towards its women employees to understand the nature and behaviour of the buyers and to cater well to their needs and wants. Promotions of women to a position of authority, certainly in the context of consumer items, are both reasonable and desirable. This healthy trend is now being observed by leading companies like Coca-Cola but such examples are still too few, and deserve to be emulated widely. A case for wider spread of Institutional training is made out very strongly. It is a moot point whether it should be all woman based training or a mixed one. Both methods are equally beneficial in different cultures and will produce positive results. What is relevant is that the argument in itself is futile and time is wasted in rhetoric while the need is to actually put it into practice. The necessity for this training is postponed for no reason at all. It is important to get together and get down to the basics and at upon the above suggestions and the time is now, not tomorrow. 8 Bibliography Anon. (2007) Diversity Made Simple. Understanding Important terms. [Internet] URL available from http://www.purdue.edu/hr/LeadingEdition/LEdi_405_diversity_terms.htm [Accessed: 10th March 2007] Anon. (2003) Working Lives. National Statistics. [Internet] URL available from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=435&Pos=2&ColRank=2&Rank=224[Accessed: 9th March 2007] Buchanan, Constance, Women and Leadership Available at: http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/05.22/ConstanceBuchan.html Collins. (2003). Mini Dictionary. Great Britain, Harper Collins Publishers. COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Brussels, 01.3.2006 ,COM(2006) 92 final Available at: c.europa.eu/employment_social/news/2006/mar/com06092_roadmap_en.pdf Marshall, K. (2006) Perspectives on Labour and Income. [Internet] URL available from http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/75-001-XIE/10706/art-1.htm#sharing [Accessed: 10th March 2007] Mumford, A and Gold, J (2004). Management Development – Strategies for Action (4th Ed). London. CIPD. Reiter, Rayna, ed. (1975) Towards an Anthropology of Women. New York: Monthly Review Press.: pg 159 World Wide Web http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2005_08_01_archive.html [Accessed: 10th March 2007] Read More