Human Sexuality: The Difference Between Men and Women - Research Paper Example

 Scholarly Vs. Popular Media Focus on Sexuality Paper It is common for educational instructors to recommend pearly reviewed sources for the purposes of studying topics. In most cases, this may result from the in depth and evidence based analysis pearly reviewed sources engage in as opposed to articles form popular media. This paper will touch on the sensitive issue of sexuality through a contrast of reporting in scholarly articles on one hand and popular media articles on another. Summary of Scholarly Article The scholarly article selected by this article is ‘On differences between women and men in leadership behavior’ by Andersen & Hanson (2011). The research was based on the hypothesis that there might be differences in behavior among women and men in managerial positions in organizations. The group under study was composed of 385 Swedish managers who were divided into three for the purposes of determining the validity of the hypothesis. The research methodology mainly employed the use of questionnaires to ascertain the manager’s leadership styles, motivation profile and decision making capabilities. The questionnaires were constructed to ensure that the common qualities of management traditionally attributed to different sexes or the biological characteristics that influence management styles were well taken care of. The result of the study was that there were no disparities in the leadership behavior of either sexes in public organizations investigated. As a result, the authors suggest that the differences in behavior may result from two major influencing factors. They include the nature of organizations and the demographics of the organization. It is therefore concluded that leadership style in the either gender may vary in private organizations but is similar in public ones. For instance, demographics affect the organization in that when there are a large number of say men in a given organization than women, a lady in a managerial position in that organization is likely to alter her qualities to suit this environment. The study therefore indicates that this difference may result out of the nature of organizations than on the question of ability. Summary of Popular Media Article The identified popular media is entitled ‘Gender differences in leadership a myth’ on the March 7th 2013 issue of the Albany Tribune. The main underlying issue highlighted on the online paper is that there are no significant differences in different gender’s nature of leadership. The article is based on a research study by Anne Grethe Solberge who in her study found that there might be marginal differences in the leadership capabilities of men and women in leadership positions and hence gender cannot be said to be a factor in the whole issue. The participants reported in the article were a group of about 917 top and middle level managers in private business established in Norway. Out of the total number of participants, 34% were women. Gender was weighed against androgynous leadership style as exhibited by the various individuals in managerial positions. Since the research measured the leadership styles in the way they were inclined towards masculinity, feminity or a mixture of the two (androgyny), it was easy to identify the best leadership style. The study found out that a majority of the managers assessed were inclined to androgynous leadership. It is therefore concluded by the author that the identified leadership alignment is the best. The study also demystified the myth that efficiency in the work place may be as a result of gender differences. This is based on the finding that both male and female managers in the study had almost equal efficiency levels in their work. The study therefore points out that the difference in gender leadership capabilities may be based on societal stereotypes. It concludes that since the participants had an average of 45 years, it cites the generational influence on the way leadership roles have been handled currently. Critique The two articles that report on the issue of gender differences in leadership positions seem to be similar in the way they have pointed out on their findings that there is actually no disparity in the way women and men are capable of managing organizations. The two articles also point out that it is a combination of the two biological attributes of both sexes that management is able to lead and work efficiently. For instance, whereas the first article talks of homogeneity, the second one highlights the importance of androgyny in the leadership positions. However, there exists disparity in the way the two articles have dealt with the issue. Whereas the pearly reviewed article has categorized influence according to leadership in public and private institutions, the article in the popular media has only analyzed the issue on one dimension. Secondly, the scholarly article has outlined the methods used in determination of the results. It has also used evidence from previous research to validate some of the reasons why it makes certain conclusions. It is however notable that the article in the popular media has largely majored on the fact that there are marginal differences in management styles between men and women as a universal rule. It has been largely based on the issue of judgment rather than providing the reasons as to why this might be the case. As a result, the value for reading the two articles may be different. Whereas the scholarly article provides an in depth analysis on the issue, the article on the popular media mainly summarizes the issue and mostly discuses the main findings of the study relating to the issue. Scholarly articles are the best since they are able to provide both a scientific and theoretical overview of the issue under study. This is because when studying important matters such as sexuality, it is important to get the facts on the either side of the argument so as to make proper judgments. On the other hand, articles on popular media may be of great benefit if there is need for getting the main points of the research findings since it leaves most of the sections of the main research. Conclusion Women are increasingly getting empowered and therefore seen to be rising within the managerial hierarchy. Carli & Eagly (2001) state that the question whether there might be different leadership styles among women in comparison with their male counterparts arises out of this rise. Even though biologically women are constructed differently from their male counterparts, the difference in leadership styles might be insignificant and may in fact be healthy for organizations provided there is homogeneity (Eagly, Johannesen & Van, 2003). As pointed out by Andersen and Hanson (2011), the difference may exist only when there is imbalance in gender within organizations. References Albany Tribute. (2013). Gender Differences in Leadership A Myth. Retrieved from http://www.albanytribune.com/07032013-gender-differences-in-leadership-a-myth/ Andersen, J. & Hansson, P. (2011). At the end of the road? On differences between women and men in leadership behavior. Leadership and organization Development Journal, Vol. 32 No. 5 p428-441 Carli, L. L., and Eagly, A. H. (2001). Gender, hierarchy, and leadership: An introduction. Journal of Social Issues, 57 no. 1, p629-636. Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., and van Engen, M. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men, Psychological Bulletin, issue 95, no.1 p569-591. Read More