Women in Management in the New Economic Environment: The Case of India

Liberalization of the Indian economy has created considerable employment opportunities for those, including women, who possess marketable skills and talent. Historically, women in India have not enjoyed a good status in workplace settings whether in managerial or operative roles. This traditional positioning of women has restricted the intensity of their efforts towards realizing the benefits of the globalisation process. An attempt has been made in this contribution to highlight the important issues relating to women in management in the Indian context. The messages from a review of the literature are analysed. Research evidence from various sources is presented to highlight the dynamics of developments in the status of Indian women managers. The contribution discusses the main aspects of the historical, socio-cultural and economic factors influencing women managers: issues concerning gender-based stereotypes; the main barriers to women's movement to top managerial positions; the impact of developments in information technology (IT) on women managers; and the way forward. Results from two research projects are also presented. The analysis has important messages for practitioners and contributes to women's studies and management in the Indian context.     

Women in Management in Thailand: Advancement and Prospects

Thailand has experienced rapid economic growth over the past two decades. Economic expansion has contributed to an increase in demand for managers and professionals. Changes in legislation to promote gender equality in employment and educational opportunities for women have been implemented. These changes have contributed to Thai women's improved status. The aim of the paper is to assess this progress of women in management in Thailand. There is some evidence suggesting that social class, in addition to education, may play an important role in explaining Thai women's advancement to managerial positions. The contribution examines the changes in legislation and the influence of cultural values, education, and gender on women's access to managerial positions. It identifies the barriers to women's progress and pays attention to social class as another key determinant of women's advancement in management.     

Managerial Life Without a Wife: Family Structure and Managerial Career Success

The model of the successful manager was based on the 1950's family. Thus career demands assumed the presence of a spouse at home to handle family responsibilities. This study seeks to determine whether women and men in alternate family structures will be able to succeed in managerial careers. Data were analyzed from two MBA alumni cohorts: one older cohort with three waves of data collected over a thirteen-year period and a second younger cohort with data collected in the most recent wave. A typology of family structure was utilized to categorize the managers into one of twelve family structures based on marital status, parental status, and spousal employment status. The post-traditional family where both parents are employed was found to be most prevalent for both men and women. A small percent of the MBAs were in the traditional family where the father is employed and the mother is not employed. Family structure in early career appears to be stable over the thirteen-year study period. Analyses reveal that for men, those in traditional families are most rewarded in their careers in terms of income and salary progression. Women had no family structure that achieved career success comparable to traditional family men. Despite increased acknowledgement of the varied family structures of managers and the adoption of family friendly policies by companies, rewards are not distributed equally. This has implications for managers, organizations, and society.     

A Role for Business Ethics in Facilitating Trustworthiness

The relationship between ethics and trust is ambiguous as ethics can promote trust, whilst trust can simultaneously be abused resulting in unethical behaviour. In this contribution to the debate on trust and ethics the focus is specifically on the role that ethics can play in facilitating trustworthiness. The article starts with a definition of the concept trustworthiness. It then reports on an empirical longitudinal study on trustworthiness that was conducted in a South African company in the insurance industry. The facilitators of trustworthiness that were identified in this study and their relative contributions to trustworthiness are then discussed. Finally the implications of these findings for the ethical conduct of managers are discussed. It is demonstrated how ethical managerial conduct can enhance the trustworthiness of managers.     

Subnational managerial transformation and the post‐WTO‐accession business environment in China: Shanghai perspectives

The market‐oriented perspectives held by managers of China's municipal government agencies and urban enterprises constitute critical variables in the business environment encountered by foreign investors. A study of 426 predominantly subnational managers in Shanghai found most study participants generally positively inclined toward implementing accession‐related reforms and toward marketoriented developments. The study also revealed a surging interest in careers with foreign‐affiliated entities and widespread preference for incentives that give foreign‐invested firms a competitive hiring and retention advantage over domestic, especially state, establishments. The overall results suggest the transformation of subnational managerial orientations in a direction that is conducive for foreign participation in Shanghai's postaccession economy. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

International work experience: Is it really accelerating the way to the management board of MNCs?

International work experience is often claimed to be a prerequisite for managers in an MNC. This paper investigates how international work experience affects those managers who reach upper echelons. Drawing on both human capital theory and elite theory, we argue that stays abroad not only have beneficial, but also adverse effects on managers’ ascent to the top. By analysing the careers of 212 management board members from Germany, we find that once a certain threshold of international work experience is exceeded, being away from home impedes managers’ long-term career advancement. However, it is not only longer stays abroad that show a negative time effect; we are also able to reveal that being in countries with high geographic and cultural distance to the home country significantly decelerates managers’ speed of being appointed to the management board. Our findings demonstrate that conflicting interests exist between MNCs and high potentials who consider an international career. We stress that these conflicts call for being solved in managerial practice.     

“Women Home and Away”: Transnational Managerial Work and Gender Relations

This article addresses the intersections, even blurrings, of two “homes” and two “aways” – the personal, ‹private’ home and the corporate ‹public’ ‹away’, and the national home country and corporate base and the transnational work away. Drawing on 40 semi-structured interviews with women and men top and middle managers in seven multinational corporations located in Finland, we examine the complex relations among transnational managerial work, corporate careers and personal, marriage and family-type relations, and their differences for women and men managers. This shows the very different personal and social worlds inhabited by senior women and men managers, and how transnational processes can make those differences even greater.

Stop or go: Reflections of women managers on factors influencing their career development

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how women managers themselves interpret the factors that constrain and those that facilitate management careers for women. We will do this by first reviewing some of the interpretations that have been put forward in the academic literature to explain the relatively small number of women managers and particularly the small number of very senior women managers. In the light of these interpretations, we will examine the opinions of a sample of intermediate and senior women managers in the public and private sectors in Ontario and Québec. More specifically we will look at their answers to questions about what blocks and what facilitates management careers for women generally and what obstacles they themselves have met. We will then compare their interpretations of their own career development with the interpretations that exist in the literature.Caroline Andrew, Cécile Coderre and Ann Denis teach at the University of Ottawa; Caroline Andrew in the Department of Political Science, Cécile Coderre and Ann Denis in the Department of Sociology. All three are actively involved in the Women's Studies Programme at the University of Ottawa.We wish to acknowledge with thanks the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and of the University of Ottawa for this study.     

The ‘layering’ of management in post-war Britain: The case of the Office Management Association

The mid-twentieth century saw the creation of layers of managerial jobs in Britain. The increasing numbers of managers and a persistent degree of social closure at the top of organisational hierarchies led groups of managers to try to define specialist management functions as justification for holding organisational power. The Office Management Association was one such group. It promoted office managers’ expertise in the efficient running of the administrative side ofenterprises as a specialist managerial function worthy of a high place in managerial hierarchies. But specialisation was also fragmentation that would weaken the entire occupational group of all managers.     

Comparing managerial careers,management development and management education in the UK and the USA: some theoretical and practical considerations

This article explores some of the issues surrounding changing patterns of managerial careers, management development and management education in the UK and the USA. It addresses three lines of questioning: the new rhetoric of careers in the new economy, the evidence on changing organisational forms and the implications for careers and management development and education, and the future of management education and the role of business schools. The article is intended as a ‘think piece’ and acts as a backdrop for a comparative study of management development in Scotland and California currently being undertaken by the authors.     

Personal value systems of men and women entrepreneurs versus managers

Many have suggested that the type of individual who becomes an entrepreneur is psychologically distinguishable from the type of individual who becomes a manager. Moreover, it has been argued that within these occupations men and women are fundamentally different. This paper discusses a study that evaluated the accuracy of these characterizations by comparing the personal value systems of men and women entrepreneurs and managers. This information should prove useful to a variety of audiences.First, individuals exploring career alternatives can evaluate the appropriateness of entrepreneurial and managerial careers for themselves by determining whether or not their own value systems match those of individuals already in these roles. Second, venture capitalists, bank loan officers, and individuals in organizations who are in positions to support women's entrepreneurial and managerial pursuits will be able to determine whether or not women and men in these roles are “made from the same cloth” and thus deserve the same consideration. Third, the current research will also shed some light on the compatibility of the entrepreneurial and managerial roles, a role transition that entrepreneurs make as their businesses mature. Finally, by studying the values of individuals in these two fields an assessment of the basic nature of these individuals can be made.Two hundred fifty-five men and women entrepreneurs and managers rank-ordered 15 terminal (desired end states) and 15 instrumental (methods used by individuals to achieve desired end states) values using a modified version of the Rokeach (1973) Value Survey. The results of the study revealed that individuals' gender had very little influence on their value systems. Women valued the terminal value of equality more than men, and men valued “family security” more than women. In contrast, managers and entrepreneurs had vastly different value systems. Entrepreneurs gave significantly greater weight than managers to the following terminal values (listed from most to least important): self-respect, freedom, a sense of accomplishment, and an exciting life, and the following instrumental values (listed front most to least important): being honest, ambitious, capable, independent, courageous, imaginative, and logical. In contrast, managers gave greater weight than entrepreneurs to the terminal values of (listed from most to least important): true friendship, wisdom, salvation, and pleasure, and the instrumental values of (listed from most to least important): being loving, compassionate, forgiving, helpful, and self-controlled.The results of the present study suggest that entrepreneurs want something different out of life than managers. Whereas the latter prefer to enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer, entrepreneurs want to be free to achieve and actualize their potential. Overall, it appears that knowing whether an individual is an entrepreneur or a manager appears to be a better indicator of his/her values than knowing whether an individual is male or female. These results suggest that men and women who become entrepreneurs or, alternatively, secure jobs in the management profession, are more similar to members of the opposite sex within their profession than they are to members of their own sex in a complementary profession. These findings suggest that customers, subordinates, superiors, bank loan officers, and venture capitalists—or in other words, anyone who is involved with men and women entrepreneurs or managers—should be careful not to categorize them according to traditional sex-role stereotypes. As was demonstrated here, these stereotypes are not applicable across the board. Moreover, previous research has shown that they can result in sex discriminatory decisions.Finally, once a business is well underway, managing the operation becomes central to its success. The results of the present study suggest that this change in role emphasis may not be satisfying to the entrepreneur, because the value system of individuals who are committed to the managerial role is at odds with the value preferences of entrepreneurs. This may help explain why many entrepreneurs become less interested and motivated in their ventures once the entrepreneurial component of their job is overtaken by the management aspect.     

Leveling the Playing Field for Women of Color in Corporate Management: Is the Business Case Enough?

A study was conducted in order to examine the unique experiences of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American women in business careers. A multi-phase research design included: a survey of professional and managerial women of color in 30 companies with 1735 survey responses; an analysis of national census data; qualitative analyses from 59 focus groups and 83 individual interviews; and diversity policy analyses at 15 companies. The study found that retention of women of color was positively correlated with supportive behaviors of supervisors. The authors argue that the financial business case for diversity, e.g., the cost of turnover, is necessary but not sufficient for developing and sustaining supportive relationships between supervisors and their women of color direct reports.     

Perception of Women Managers in Singapore: A Media Analysis

The paper exmaines the factors that facilitate and inhibit women's entry into managerial positions, drawing on the findings from a previous study conducted in 1993 and comparing the results against those based on an analysis of selected contributions (from 1993–2003) in the media. A content analysis is conducted in three local newspapers on how they described woman and male managers. Profile, word and theme analysis are carried out on the selected contributions. Findings reveal that successful women managers are increasingly accepted and recognized by the society. Nonetheless, they still have to fulfill their traditional social roles. Only the talented women can make it. Implications of the findings are discussed..     

Japanese Women in Management: Getting Closer to ‘Realities’ in Japan

Women managers are seldom seen in Japan. Female legislators, senior officials and managers are only 9 per cent of the total. It is also one of the main factors that have created the significant gender wage gap; female workers earned just 66.5 per cent of male worker earnings in 2002. This contribution explores reasons for the persistent phenomenon of very few female managers in the Japanese workplace despite economic and political factors favourable for ‘empowering’ women. To what extent is this situation explained by the cliché that women lack the ‘will’ to be promoted? The common explanation is that women ‘choose’ not to be promoted or leave their jobs because of their ‘attitude’ to marriage, birth and family responsibilities. Is that all? A recent study on work organization revealed the mechanism of constructing female private ‘attitudes’ and ‘choice’ within the organization. Although this new approach seems promising, this contribution argues that its local-oriented approach should be combined with macro analysis, especially focusing on the institutionalized practices beyond each workplace.     

Why are women left at home: are they unwilling to go on international assignments?

Increasing numbers of women may be climbing the corporate ladder, but when it comes to sending managers on overseas assignments, women are staying home. Is it that women are not interested in international careers, that for some reason companies are reluctant to send women abroad, or that women in foreign countries experience prejudice that prevents them from being effective on their jobs? Our results, based on an extensive survey of female expatriates and their supervisors, indicate that the key may lie in the significantly different views the women and their supervisors hold on the women’s interest in pursuing international assignments and in their expectations concerning the prejudice they are likely to encounter. In short, these parties typically do not openly discuss the issues surrounding this important management decision. In addition to presenting the results of our survey, this article discusses strategies to encourage companies to consider women for international assignments and that women can use to increase their chances of being considered. It also presents suggestions for future research.     

Modelling CSR: How Managers Understand the Responsibilities of Business Towards Society

The purpose of this article is to develop a model of how managers perceive the responsibilities of business towards society. The article is based on the survey responses of more than 1,000 managers in eight large international firms. It is concluded that the managerial perceptions of societal responsibilities differ in some respects from the mainstream models found in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics literature. The article is an output of RESPONSE: an EU- and corporate-funded research project on managerial perceptions of CSR.     

What causes turnover among women on top management teams?

Women have made major inroads in the upper echelons in recent years, and not surprisingly, this trend has caught the attention of researchers in the management discipline. Recent empirical evidence reveals that greater the representation of women on top management teams, higher is the performance of the organization. Representation on the team needs to be investigated in the context of managerial turnover since turnover can have an adverse impact on organizational performance. Most turnover studies have focused on the determinants and consequences of turnover among managers on the top management teams without specifically isolating the effects for men and women. This can partly be attributed to the minimal to negligible presence of women on the teams. However, as women have ascended the top ranks of organizations in large numbers in recent years, it is important to examine what causes them to turnover at twice the rate of male managers as anecdotal evidence reveals. In this study, I examine the factors that cause turnover among women of Fortune 1000 companies. Also, following turnover, I examine the paths of the women managers who left their organizations.     

Decision augmentation and automation with artificial intelligence: Threat or opportunity for managers?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising and increasingly available technology for managerial decision-making. With the adoption of AI-enabled software, organizations can leverage various benefits of the technology, but they also have to consider the intended and unintended consequences of using the technology for managerial roles. It is still unclear whether managers will benefit from enhancing their abilities with AI-enabled software or become powerless puppets that do more than announce AI-enabled software results. Our research has revealed distinct ways in which organizations can use AI-enabled decision-making solutions: as tools or novelties, for decision augmentation or automation, and as either a voluntary or a mandatory option. In this article, we discuss the implications of each of these combinations on the relevant managers. We consider outcomes related to managerial job design and derive practical advice for organizational designers and managers who work with AI. Our outcomes provide guidance on how to deal with the conflict-riddled relationship between managers and technology with regard to capabilities, responsibilities, and acceptance of AI-enabled software.     

Managerial Talent and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): How Do Talented Managers View Corporate Social Responsibility?

Motivated by the ongoing debate on the costs and benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR), we explore how talented managers view CSR investments. Based on nearly 20,000 observations across 17 years, our evidence reveals a nonmonotonic effect of managerial talent on CSR. Exploiting a novel measure of managerial ability, we find that talented managers view CSR investments favorably. However, only those with especially strong talent are in favor of CSR investments. For executives ranked above the 75th percentile in terms of managerial talent, an increase in managerial ability leads to more CSR investments, suggesting that these strongly talented managers perceive CSR as enhancing firm performance. In contrast, for those with weaker talent, CSR investments are negatively associated with managerial ability, implying that these weakly talented managers view CSR as a wasteful deployment of resources. Further evidence shows that our conclusion is unlikely confounded by endogeneity.     

The Bindingness of Social and Psychological Contracts: Toward a Theory of Social Responsibility in Downsizing

Downsizing has become a significant public issue that has not yet been significantly studied by business ethicists. It is proposed that reasonable social and psychological contracts bound the moral free space of managers contemplating downsizing; the degree of constraint is also dependent on the organization's resource munificence. A framework for considering the extent of managerial moral free space and implications thereof for managerial practice are offered.