What Works In Womens Networks - Research Paper Example

What Works In Women’s Networks Introduction In the book Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work(Johns & Saks, 2010), the authors focus on the understanding and the manageability of organizational behavior on a number of core factors. These include the behavior of individual workers, manageability of organizational behavior, organizational processes, social behavior and the organization as a whole. The areas to be given special attention during the discussion include the following: work motivation, workers’ personality variations, group and teamwork, leadership, communication and conflict resolution. This paper is an analytical discussion of the impacts of women groups in organizations with reference to the individual behavioral traits of different workers and the effect of social behavior on the processes of the organization. “What Works In Women’s Networks” is an article published in the Bloomberg Business Week (2007). This article is an explicative account of how three organizations designed groups for female staff members, a move that clearly had profound impacts on the success of the organizations (Johns & Saks, p. 120-145). The intentions behind the formation of female staff groups within different organizations include the following: promoting teamwork, complementing personal weaknesses, improving communication, motivating the members and encouraging professional development among the members. However, the failure to address these areas at many organizations falls among the factors that greatly limit the success and the desired prosperity of women within the organizational structure. The major reasons as to why women networks and groups receive a bad welcoming at many organizations is based on the following reasons: 1. Women groups often show so much activity on the fringes of organizations – hosting ‘learning sessions and lunches’ or book association – that in many instances add nothing to the skills and the exposure that women need to prosper within the work organizations. 2. The fact that these groupings seem to achieve nothing in the area of establishments and realizing potential towards the pursuit for the organizational goals. However, this could be the case when women groups are run and headed by individuals who do not have power, as this would improve their success. 3. The socialized assumption that women groups do not work, thus, are treated with light consideration, on the part of the group members as well as the organizations, which do not see any potential in nurturing such women groups. This can be supported by the findings of the interview carried out on 900 female executives in the area the groupings that contribute to their success. 4. The fact that these women groups due to their reliance on female volunteers and the meager funding collected end up, become just a little more than ‘women social gatherings,’ thus, not in a position to attract heavy investors and advisors. The coverage of this report will include detailed explanations of the claims presented through the article, namely: explaining the basis on which the ideas in the article are drawn; relating the claims of this report with those from other studies and giving a comparative evaluation of different claims. Also, it should be understood that organizational behavior is not a study of the behavior of the organization but the study of the behavioral orientation of the individuals within an organizational pattern. The behavioral orientation of the different personnel refer to the differences in personality and learning abilities, the perceptions and the diversity of workers, the values and the work behavior of different workers as well as the different models of employee motivation. Other areas of importance include group and teamwork, leadership, communication and the very important area of stress and conflict management (Johns & Saks, p. 120-145). The unique running and managerial features that give the group a competitive edge include the following: 1. The leadership and the learning summit which is attended by more than 150 top level employed women, where two thirds are customers or suppliers and the focal point of their discussions is the wide range of issues and ideas. This area laid the focus on improving the individual behavioral patterns of the women towards group members, fellow workers, and the organization in general. Citing this success area as a hypothesis, the independent variables are learning and motivation from the summit meetings. The dependent variable is the changes they will make or the willingness they will express in changing their leadership and work lives. The mediator variables in this case include the support they receive from family and workmates as this may help them better realize the changes desired after the exposure at the summit. 2. Five years after the start of the leadership and the learning summit, the meeting attracted top level managers like the vice president of Pay Pal, who is quoted as saying that they attended the agenda themes and the speakers were very appealing and compelling. It presented the opportunity to network with many senior women. The focus of this strength is laid upon streamlining the social behavior of the group members towards improving the organizational processes of the host business. Viewing this group success trait as a hypothesis, the independent variable in this case is the exposure and meeting of other significant business leaders. The dependent variable here is the utilization of the networks towards improving their success, while one mediator variable is the availability of resources as the action taken may depend on the availability of the resources required for such a move. 3. Linking the internal women network with outsiders as a platform, offers new clients and exposure to new areas of focus outside the organization. The focus of this hypothesized strength is improving the performance of the members of the group through creating diversity and a sense of motivation in them. The independent variable here is being networked with the outside world and the market while the dependent variable is the level of action taken in utilizing the exposure towards realizing business success. This could include approaching the contacts on sales ventures. The mediating variable that may be pointed out from this case is the help of the parent organization in pursuing the contacts for business benefit. 4. The practice of community centered activities includes customer-oriented events and philanthropic ventures. The focus of this unique area is improving the socialization, leadership and the communication skills of the group members as this is of great importance towards organizational success. This is a hypothesis area where the independent variable is the exposure and the experienced earned from the different community centered activities. The dependent variable in this case is the ability of the employees in taking advantage of the exposure to create business and marketing links. The mediating variable that may be drawn from this case is the aspect of the community based organizations or the groups that these workers are exposed to, as these may form links to more clients. In line with the research by Al Jishi (2009), it was uncovered that motivated workers could perform better and had more chances of staying at the organization where they were getting motivated. From the case of the Women’s network at Best Buy tackling real business problems and issues is the way through which the group has realized highly commendable success. The areas that give this group a competitive edge with regard to the management and the development of its members and the organization in general include the following (Johns & Saks, p. 120-145): 1. The involvement of the workers operating at the different levels: ranging from executive managers to cashiers actively involved in the core business issues of the Enterprise. This is so as from doing the actual business activities and solving the resultant problems, leadership among other abilities are created in the workers. In this hypothesized area the independent variable is the increased involvement of the workers in the actual business of the company. The dependent variable is the initiative of the employees in using the exposure as learning opportunities and not challenges. Mediating factors in this case may include the orientation of certain employees to the areas that they can operate better as opposed to those exposed to areas outside their talent and skill areas. 2. Establishing a competitive advantage in appealing the target client population is the other area. From this hypothesized area, the independent variable is the competitive advantage created by the organization while the dependent variable is the action of the employees in keeping the incoming customers. The mediating variable in this case is the area of operation for the workers, as some job posts may not receive any significant benefit from the competitive advantage created, in a direct manner (Bloomberg). 3. The formation of innovation teams, which employ different innovative tactics towards the development of business or organizational success. An example here is the innovative adjustment of the Best Buy stores, to make them more appealing to women customers. This strategy, being a hypothesized area, the independent variable in this case is the innovative tactics availed to the different employees for attracting clients or improving their work. One dependent variable, which may be pointed out from this case is the response, the different employees will give to the innovative models, in regards to improving their performance. One mediating variable is the department, at which an employee is working, as some lines within the business will benefit directly from these changes, for example the sales staff at the Best Buy outlets. In line with the inquiry on the effects of employee involvement on organizational performance, the statistics showed that the increased involvement of workers positively affected the productivity of organizations, which is in agreement with the claims from the Best Buy women’s group case. From the research and the Best Buy case, the claims are in agreement, though the Best Buy case is more convincing, because the claims are based on the practical case of the group (Jones & Kato, 2003). From the case of Deloitte, the focus of the women group is bridging the gender divide – giving special attention to the retention and the development of female workers. From the case of the women group at Deloitte, the following areas can be pointed out: 1. The promotion of threatened groups like women, as at this institution, women staff have been developed to cover 19.3% of the highest positions. This strategy is also a hypothesis area, where the independent variable in this case is the promotion of female staffs, while the dependent variable is the initiative they take in utilizing the chances of development that are offered. One mediating variable is – the capabilities of the different female workers, as there are those with the potential to develop the required abilities faster than others. 2. The mass career customization organized by this group, is another managerial practice that can greatly influence the manageability of the employees within an organization. The customization program is intended at making the working conditions favorable for all workers. The program in the current case, was intended at increasing the number of customers, as well as increases the understanding between the men and women. The independent variable is the improvement of the working conditions, while the employee’s adjustment to improve their work as a result of the improved work conditions is the dependent variable. One mediating variable is the motivation and adjustment levels among the different employees, as some will be able to improve their productivity faster than others. 3. Integrating the feminine and the masculine differences in the area of management is the other managerial tactic given special attention. The integration of the managerial tactics of female and male employees is the independent variable, while the dependent variable is the realization of better relations among the workers of the different gender. One moderating variable in this case is the individual differences of the workers, as some will relate better with the opposite gender than others (Bloomberg, 2007). According to the research by Muhammad Ali (2011), the diversity of gender in an organization affects the organization in a positive manner which is in line with the claims contained in the Deloitte case. The research findings in this case are in line, though the Muhammad case also argues that employing gender equity in an organization will also have counter impacts. From the account of the Deloitte women group, the claims are presented from a practical case so it is arguably more convincing (Ali, 2011, p. 7). In the case of General Electronics women’s network, the basis of supporting the ideas is the case study of the 10 years of operation for the network from which the members were able to realize 40 billion USD in sales. In the case of Best Buy, the basis of supporting the ideas is the demonstrated case of the workers of the company where the case cites the start as the result of the gender imbalance that was facing the business before. In the case of Deloitte, the cases of the changes that have taken place after the start of the group are used to support the ideas. For instance, in the case of Deloitte, there was an increase in the number of women holding superior positions from 7% in 1993 shooting to 19.3% (Bloomberg, 2007). References Ali, M. THE IMPACT OF GENDER DIVERSITY ON PERFORMANCE IN SERVICES AND MANUFACTURING ORGANIZATIONS. (2011). Diss., Melbourne Business School,. Al Jishi, H. Motivation and Its Effect on Performance on Nurses in. Aramco Health Center. (2009). Open University Malaysia. Johns, G., & Saks, A. (2010). Organizational Behavior: Understanding and Managing Life at Work with MyOBLab. 8th edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall publishers, May 13, p. 120 - 145. Jones, D., & Kato, T. (2003). The Effects of Employee Involvement on Firm Performance: Evidence from an Econometric Case Study. William Davidson Institute Working Paper No. 612. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.445440 What Works In Women’s Networks. (2007). Bloomberg Businessweek Mag., 18 June. Web. Retrieved on March 23, 2012 from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_25/b4039069.htm Read More