Discussion 5 - Women's Impact on Organizational Performance
Topic to be discussed from Monday October 26, 2009 to Friday February 12, 2010
Introduction to topic:
An increasing number of women are being employed in senior management positions in organizations. For the following weeks, we would appreciate to get your impressions on if this will or will not affect the way organizations perform.
Topic Question:
Increasing numbers of women are being employed in senior management positions in organizations. Will this affect the way organizations perform and if so, how?
We would like to invite your comments on this question. Please read the Instructions beside before posting your ideas and questions.
THIS DISCUSSION TOPIC IS NOW CLOSED. READ THE SYNTHESIS OF IT HERE. YET, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION RE-OPENED SO THAT YOU AND COLLEAGUES COULD PARTICIPATE TO IT, PLEASE LET US KNOW BY CONTACTING US.
The R&L Team
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Comments
What are the goals? Does it matter if a female or male runs the corporate world? If profit, cost effective, criminal acts are the agenda - what does it matter if it's done by a male or female?
What are the defined problems? How can you solve anything if you can't identify the actual problems. I see the preceived problems/solutions and let me just say insanity is the act of doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. Putting a skirt of the problem doesn't mean you are doing anything different. females have learned how to put pants on.
Dear Judy,
Your comment does correctly point out at the
fact that organizations can perform well whether managed by men or women. Yet,
I personally believe that, there are important differences between the
management styles of women and those of men. My own experience indicates that women in
management positions approach organizational performance in a more integrated
or holistic way. They care more for the human side and try to
influence the cultural dimensions of an organization. They often see
these cultural dimensions as important as financial performance.
With men dominating senior management positions it seems that results
and production often come before people.
As you can see I believe that
the present performance culture might change with more women
occupying leadership positions. I believe that, in business like in
elsewhere, we cannot deny the differences between women and men. And although one
approach may not be better than the other, (skirts and pants can/do lead to same issues/results/performance), the way of achieving
these results
can be more pleasant when women run the show!
There is also the issue of whether or not having women in leadership positions makes a difference in the identification of the objectives to reach. Does the fact of having women in leadership position make only a difference internally, in the way they manage the firm? Do they also have a different vision of the objectives to be achieved (externally)? And what about if the external environment is dominated by firms/organisations/institutions run by men?
Hint! Find some inspiration on the discussion topic by visiting our Introductory Guide to OA and also by looking at the IOA framework; this framework presents the factors that can influence the performance of an organization. We would be curious to see how you think the presence of women in managerial roles can influence these factors? And, among the spheres of capacity, motivation, and environment, is there one that is susceptible of being more influenced by the increased presence of women? How could organizational performance be impacted in the end? Also feel free to ask the R&L team and other users some topic-related questions.