Methods - Managing Change in Organizations - Research Proposal Example

Download file to see previous pages Diversity and flexibility also serve to create variations in the manner of leadership and management within the organization. Different styles of leadership have become evident through time between the two genders. Therefore, the question that begs to be answered is whether a relationship exists between gender and styles of leadership adopted by managers within formal organizations? If so, to what extent do the personality differences impact the choice of a leadership style as well as sustaining its use through a finite period of time? This does not imply that there is a certain optimal leadership style that appeals most to a given gender. Certainly not; there lacks consensus that one leadership style is most effective although there is evidence through research that demonstrates a sharing of common characteristics and preferences by those in leadership positions, which tends to exert pressure upon those who are different (Carpenter & Sanders, 2006). This proposal examines the leadership characteristics and preferences in relation to gender. It aims to evaluate, specifically, whether successful women simply clone the leadership styles of men (considering that historically, management and leadership were a male-dominated arena). Leadership refers to the ability to influence the actions and directions of these actions towards the desired outcome (Dubrin, 2008). In its exercise, it concerns the ability to form a long-term vision for the firm, communicating this vision with both depth and clarity to other members of the organization and directing and sustaining their concerted efforts towards the attainment of this vision. During the early periods of the industrial revolution, leadership was focussed on primarily ensuring profitability for the organization. This approach favoured poor governance structures and often led to gross misconduct and abuse of managerial authority by those in managerial capacities. Modern leadership utilizes the wide berth of theoretical models that have been developed and tested through time. Management’s leadership function also takes cognisance of emergent concerns and issues such as ethics and corporate social responsibility, in addition to an emphasis of core principles of accountability, responsibility, and fairness (Dyck & Neubert, 2008). Is there a better leader in men than women or vice versa? This has been a source of intense controversy and much interest of most theorists and managers alike. There have been two approaches to this fundamental question in management: Firstly, that men and women fundamentally differ in the way they lead others within an organization (Carpenter & Sanders, 2006). Secondly, and which is the widely accepted position by most social scientists is that there are relatively no significant differences in how men and women lead given a controlled environment (Dubrin, 2009). Those who subscribe to the former school of thought, mostly attribute this difference to the “female voice”. This has, however, been overlooked by most mainstream researchers. Empirical research into these approaches has only served to further the controversy and confusion in this managerial area. Studies carried out between 1961 and 1987 have been cited by Eagley and Johnson in their 1990 meta-analysis on how gender differences influence leadership styles.  ...Download file to see next pagesRead More