The benefits of increasing womens participation in top management teams - Essay Example

? The benefits of increasing women’s participation in top management teams Introduction The role and the position of women, within the society, has remained a major aspect of academic and political discussions, for more than a hundred years. As more women have permeated into roles and positions, ordinarily taken by men, attention has shifted towards the likelihood that they enrich the senior management function. However, more importantly, there is the question of the reasons as to why women are still assuming relatively fewer of these critical positions in corporations. Despite the fact that women account for about 33.3 percent of the players occupying managerial positions, in general, the 2007 survey by the bureau of labor statistics gave surprising statistics (Bureau of labor Statistics, 2007). The statistics include that, from the statistics of 2006, less than a third of the top one thousand and five hundred firms in American had one woman player as a top managerial executive. Further, less than 6 percent of the top firms reported having more than one woman in executive position, and less than 3 percent had a female CEO (Bureau of labor Statistics, 2007). Through this paper, the writer will review the arguments reported through different sources that women are better at executive management than their male counterparts, which will amplify the question of the huge gender gap (Castanias and Helfat, 2001). Through the review of the subject, and reviewing the factual nature of the information showing that women make better executive managers, recommendations will be offered – which are expected to improve the management of different firms and organizations. These aims will be realized through the essay, through reviewing available data, to verify whether the more effective executive managerial capacities can be verified – which will lead to the formulation of recommendations to remedy the situation (Deszo and Ross, 2008). Through the recommendations advanced, the executive managerial staffs of firms and organizations will seek to exploit the varied managerial outlook of male and female executives, which is anticipated to improve the performance of these organizations (Castanias and Helfat, 2001). This paper will cover a literature review, which will give account of sources supporting the excellent managerial outlook of female players, and then offer a case study of an organization that has benefited from female participation in managerial practices. Precisely, the paper will use the case study to support the information supporting the standpoint of the discussion, while at the same time integrating theory into the discussion, towards the formulation of informative inferences and conclusions (Deszo and Ross, 2008). Theoretical background Castanias and Helfat (2001) argue that there is a wide range of literature and research reports giving the information that female managers are not only as good at performance as their male counterparts, but are also more effective in the executive management of organizations. The arguments go ahead to discuss that woman executive managers tend to be less hierarchical in their management of organizations, and their managerial outlook is often found to be more interactive, which increases the engagement and the output of employees (Carter, Simkins and Gar, 2003). Apart from increasing the possible effect of increasing the productivity of the organization, the role of executive female managers is likely to increase the levels of teamwork realized across the organization, and is likely to increase the intrinsic motivation of employees – and the two lead to an increase in the creativity of the workers of the organization, at their different roles (Book, 2000). Eisenhardt, Kahwajy and Bourgeois (1997) support the same point of view that having female members in the executive managerial function is likely to improve the performance and the outcomes of an organization. They discuss that female participation in the executive management of an organization brings into the available potential, a different collection and form of life experiences (Eisenhardt, Kahwajy and Bourgeois, 1997). The different life experiences include that they are more likely to increase the range of the perspectives adopted by the managerial team; they enhance the potential of the cognitive resource and problem-solving capacity is improved (Gneezy, Nieder and Rustichini, 2003). The wide array of managerial outlook improvements – resulting from the contribution of female team members – leads to the realization of better organizational and team outcomes for the good of the firm in general (Hambrick, Cho and Chen, 1996). Therefore, following the research-based accounts of the positive effect of including female team members in the executive management of an organization, they go ahead to propose that having an equal and where possible, a higher female representation in the executive management can benefit the managerial outlook of the firm, which benefits it in the short and the long term (Hambrick, Cho and Chen, 1996). Gneezy, Nieder and Rustichini (2003) discuss that despite the positive impact of involving female team members in the executive management of organizations, there is a down-side to their involvement. The down-side of female participation in the executive management of organizations is that female executives – in general – tend to dislike and in other cases perform less effectively, when they are supposed to work under the highly competitive environments expected at the executive roles of work at many organizations (Niederle and Vesterlund, 2007). Further, due to the diversity created by their participation in executive management, the likelihood of arriving at diverse opinions may be high, which may lead to the development of more cases of internal conflict and managerial disagreements (Gneezy, Nieder and Rustichini, 2003). The adverse effect of such internal conflicts and the managerial disagreements include that they increase the likelihood of a slow-down in the decision-making processes of the organization, which can be adverse to an organization playing under the highly competitive industries or markets (Niederle and Vesterlund, 2007). Through the development of managerial slow-downs and wrangles, it is very much likely that the performance of the given organization may be compromised, especially in the long term (Deszo and Ross, 2008). Case studies of the excellent role played by female executives Goudreau (2010) discusses the huge impact of a women group developed in an industry dominated by male players and male executive managerial staffs, where women only served support and marginal roles. Through the case of the Ford Motor Company, Debbie Mielewski who is the head of a group of six women has led to immense changes in the operational outlook of the Ford Company, which has gained a great standing in going green. For example, through the input of this female executive and her team, the Ford Company has substituted the usage of plastics with that of natural inputs like hemp and soy materials, for the manufacture of the company’s cars (Goudreau, 2010). Through the innovative outlook of this female executive, the company has reduced its carbon footprint and environmental impact considerably. Some of the key change areas that evidence the valuable contribution of female executives are the creation of soy-based seats for the company’s cars and the infusion of plastics with wheat straw materials. Following the huge change in the materials used for the development of Ford Company’s cars, the company has improved its position in the green production of vehicles (Goudreau, 2010). Another company that has benefited hugely from having a female executive manager is PepsiCo. For example, following the unique leadership of its CEO Indra Nooyi, the company has undergone many changes, which have boosted its business outlook and financial performance (Forbes, 2013). For example – through her championing efforts – the quarterly performance of the company increased by 1.2 percent, which marked an increment in the company’s revenue levels to highs of USD13 billion. Other areas affected by the input of this female executive leader are the company’s realization of higher sales levels and the increment of the prices of its products, including those of snacks like Cheetos and Doritos. Following her exceptional leadership style, the company has ventured in the research aimed at the discovery of a sweetening source that can help the company to challenge the leadership of Coca Cola in the industry (Forbes, 2013). Through her innovative outlook towards the leadership of the company, she has changed the financial performance of the company, she has refocused the business of the company and she is also working on performance improvement strategies to help improve the performance of the company (Forbes, 2013). Conclusion and Recommendations on the participation of female executives Conclusion The role of women within society and in other spheres, including business has been a hot topic for academic and political discussions – over the past century. For this reason, this paper sought out to explore the impact of involving female players in the executive management of business, using the case of global corporations. From available literature, it was found that female employees have 33.3 percent representation at managerial roles, but a very small proportion of that number has been allowed to take positions at executive managerial roles and responsibilities. For example, according to a survey done from the case of the US, less than a third of the top 1500 firms in America had a female as the top managerial staff. From available literature, it was found that different authors support the contribution of female executive staffs in business spheres, noting that they offer different exceptional managerial abilities when compared to their male counterparts. These exceptional contributions to the management of businesses and organizations included that they manage in a less hierarchical manner and their managerial outlook is often interactive, which is likely to cultivate and increase the engagement of the organization’s employees. Further, these female executives tend to cultivate organizational teamwork, which increases the intrinsic motivation of employees, and due to the increased motivation of employees, creativity levels are improved. Some of the global organizations that have realized exceptional performance and change due to the participation of female executives include the Ford Motors Company and PepsiCo. Recommendations Following the discovery of the managerial style of female executives, which is notably different from that of men, organizational managers should make it a priority to increase the presence of female executive managers in the administration of firms. These are the recommendations offered to Managers I. Females should be admitted into executive managerial roles – so that they can diversify the organization’s managerial outlook. II. Managers should channel training and development efforts towards the development of female leaders, because they often complement the managerial outlook of male executives. III. Managers should create a work environment that allows the executive management of different firms to benefit from the valuable contribution of female team players, by incorporating them in decision making processes and in strategic meetings. IV. Managers should work on attaining equal representation among male and female executive managers, and where necessary increase the representation of females to surpass that of men. Reference List Castanias, R. and Helfat, C., 2001. The Managerial Rents Model: Theory and Empirical Analysis, Journal of Management, 27 (6), pp. 661-678. Bureau of Labor and Statistics., 2007. Women in the Labor Force: A Databook. Book, E., 2000. Why the Best Man for the Job Is a Woman: The Unique Qualities of Leadership. New York: HarperCollins. Carter, D., Simkins, B. and Gar, W., 2003. Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value. Financial Review, 38 (1), pp. 33-53. Deszo, C. & Ross, D., 2008. 'Girl Power': Female Participation in Top Management and Firm Performance. University of Maryland. Working Paper No. RHS-06-104. Eisenhardt, K., Kahwajy, J. and Bourgeois, L (III)., 1997. Conflict and Strategic Choice: How Top Management Teams Disagree. California Management Review, 39 (2), pp. 42-62. Forbes., 2013. Indra Nooyi. Forbes, [Online] Available at. [accessed 30 October, 2013]. Goudreau, J., 2010. Ford's Green Team. Forbes, [Online] 31 Available at. [accessed 30 October, 2013]. Gneezy, U., Nieder, M. and Rustichini, A., 2003. Performance in Competitive Environments: Gender Differences. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118 (3), pp. 1049-1074. Hambrick, D., Cho, T. and Chen, M., 1996. The Influence of Top Management Team Heterogeneity on Firms’ Competitive Moves. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41 (4), pp. 659-684. Niederle, M. and Vesterlund, L., 2007. Do Women Shy Away From Competition? Do Men Compete Too Much? Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122 (3), pp. 1067- 1101. Read More